Side Story: A Promise Fulfilled

Uzoh and Muzoh came to a new dungeon in search of a magic sword.

It was land under the Demon King's control. Untouched dungeons were abundant here, and among them was one said to produce magic swords.

"Were we a bit reckless this time, Uzoh?"

"Maybe, Muzoh."

The one-year deadline they'd made with Kehma was fast approaching.

Find a magic sword and bring it back. They had no intention of breaking their promise, but they still hadn't found one.

That's why they'd pushed themselves a bit. And now, a very strong-looking monster was walking through the corridor right before their eyes.

A white wolf larger than a human. If they recalled correctly, it was called a Fenrir. They could tell at a glance that it was bad news. They'd escaped into a room that turned out to be a safe zone, saving their lives――but it was a stone dead end.

"Guess we'd better brace ourselves, Uzoh?"

"There's no way out… We're not trapped again, are we, Muzoh?"

"What do we do? We have a month's worth of food this time, at least."

"Good to know we learned our lesson, Muzoh."

"If we wait a month, it'll probably wander off. Let's just sit tight."

"Yeah."

Three days passed, but the Fenrir was still there.

They were eating the preserved foods that wouldn't last the longest first… but they had a lot of free time.

"Hey, couldn't we just attack it from inside the safe zone…"

"Nah. They say the safe zone temporarily deactivates if you do that, Muzoh."

"Well, that's no good then."

With nothing else to do, the Uzoh Muzoh brothers decided to play dice. They'd prepared entertainment for situations just like this. Dice took up almost no space, making them the ideal pastime for adventurers on the road.

"Chips times five, I'm rolling two dice, Muzoh."

"Fine, I'll stay at times one and roll one… Roll!"

"Roll! … Dammit, snake eyes."

"Four. My win, Uzoh."

The Uzoh Muzoh brothers clinked small copper coins back and forth. Since they had limited funds, it wasn't serious gambling. They were just using real coins as chips for a game.

After each round, they'd reset the coins and play again. They'd played so many times they'd lost count of wins and losses. That was the nature of the game.

"Still, being trapped in a room with a safe zone. If only there were a magic sword in here too, just like that time."

"That's not exactly a memory I want to revisit…"

"At least we have food this time. Whether help comes again, though, who knows."

With nothing better to do, Uzoh started poking around the room.

Just then, a die happened to roll out of his pocket.

Clink, clatter… the six-sided die rolled across the stone floor and landed on a six.

"… How about we wait six more days? If no one comes to help and that thing's still here, we charge it."

"Yeah…"

Just as he reached down to pick up the die.

One of the floor tiles was a different color. You'd never notice unless you looked closely, but Uzoh caught that it was ever so slightly lighter.

He knocked on it. A hollow sound came back.

"Muzoh, there's something here."

"What? What's there?"

He jammed his dagger in and pried the tile up. Beneath it lay a sword.

And that sword had a magic stone embedded in it.

"Ooh! We did it, a magic sword!"

"Nice work, Uzoh! … Think putting it back would open an exit?"

"Not a chance. This isn't the same dungeon, Muzoh."

"True. So what kind of magic sword is it?"

"No idea. Should we try channeling magical power into it?"

Muzoh picked up the magic sword and channeled magic into it.

And collapsed.

"O-oi!? Muzoh… Fwaaah… W-what is this…"

"Aah… I'm fine, but so… sleepy…?"

The sword, it seemed, had the effect of indiscriminately spreading drowsiness.

By the time the two woke up, even the Fenrir beyond the wall was fast asleep.

That was close. If the effect had been 'indiscriminate attack,' the safe zone would have collapsed. No, if this sleep counted as an attack, the safe zone might already be compromised.

The two of them slipped past the Fenrir and escaped.

"Hey, think we could take it out while it's sleeping?"

"Don't even try. No telling how long it's been asleep, and if we can't kill it in one hit, we'd just wake it up. We'd be dead, Muzoh."

"Yeah. You're right, Uzoh."

Squish. He stepped on something. "Grrrr!" The Fenrir growled.

They dashed back into the safe zone and readied their weapons facing the entrance.

"Oi, Uzoh… don't step on its tail!"

"Ah, uh, sorry about that…"

Whatever the case, the Fenrir was awake and glaring at them now… But the safe zone still seemed to be in effect. They let out a sigh of relief.

"… Phew. Muzoh, what do we do now?"

"What can we do? Another waiting game, I guess."

It was then.

"Oh, found a Fenrir… Let's do this."

A boy with dark red hair came walking up from behind the Fenrir. Casually, without any hesitation. As if strolling through his own backyard.

"Oi, it's dangerous!"

"Nn? … Ah, adventurers?"

The Fenrir lunged with bared fangs, but the boy deflected it with the sword in his hand.

Its momentum thrown off, the Fenrir plowed face-first into the ground.

"This one's my prey, right? Right… I've already started."

"Eh? A-ah, sure."

A boy smaller than either of them was toying with the Fenrir. It looked like something out of a joke, but all the Uzoh Muzoh brothers could do was watch.

A few minutes later, the Fenrir that had seemed so threatening collapsed onto the ground covered in wounds.

"Good, it's not dead. Captured alive, mission complete… Ah, right. Seriously, that old man and his pain-in-the-neck requests."

The boy was talking to his sword. The blade was wreathed in flames, so it was unmistakably a magic sword.

Talking to a sword was a bit off-putting, though. Well, maybe there were magic swords that could talk?

"That's enough for today… Sorry, was I in the way?"

"Ah, no. Not at all."

"Are you kidding? You saved us! Ha ha ha."

"… Is that so. Well, I'm off then."

With that, the boy walked off the way he came. This time, however, he was dragging the Fenrir by its tail.

"We somehow made it, Uzoh."

"Ah. We forgot to say thanks… Next time we meet, we've gotta thank him properly, Muzoh."

They didn't know exactly what they were dealing with, but that boy was clearly on another level. They'd missed their chance to get his name, but if he was an adventurer, he'd surely make a name for himself before long. They could thank him then, or if they happened to cross paths again.

Either way, with the threat of the Fenrir gone, the two were able to return to the Raverio Empire's Imperial Capital virtually unharmed.

Back from the dungeon, the two had a magic sword in hand.

… With this, they could show their face to Kehma. They'd finally obtained the promised magic sword.

"We finally got a magic sword, but… this one's a problem."

"A magic sword with a drawback… It's hard to use. Outside of a lucky coincidence like this time, anyway. Should we get it appraised, Muzoh?"

"Yeah, let's take it to a shop. If we sell it, combined with our savings, we should be able to buy a proper magic sword."

The appraisal confirmed its effect: indiscriminately spreading drowsiness to the surrounding area. And the offered price was one gold coin. For an ordinary sword that would be fine, but for a magic sword, they were clearly being lowballed.

"Think we could sell it at a premium for the sleep-inducing effect, Uzoh?"

"Aah… Normally you'd just buy a [Sleep] skill scroll instead. Unlike this magic sword, [Sleep] lets you pick your targets."

"And if you've got no magical power, you wouldn't need it in the first place. Keeping a blade near your bed is just asking for trouble too, so it wouldn't appeal to nobles either."

"So it's useless. The low price is only natural, I guess."

Haaah, he sighed.

They'd figured that selling this sword plus their savings would let them buy a new magic sword, and technically the math wasn't wrong… but all they could afford was another second-rate magic sword with drawbacks.

"Maybe if we earn a bit more and take on some debt, we could buy a magic sword without drawbacks?"

"Maybe… Let's check the Imperial Capital for well-paying commissions."

Setting the magic sword sale aside for now, they headed to the Imperial Capital's Adventurer Guild.

They found a well-paying commission that was a bit of a hassle, and got it accepted.

However, just as they were about to head out, they ran into someone rather unexpected.

"Huh, aren't you Kehma-san? Why're you in a place like this?"

"Hmm? Who is it?"

There stood Kehma, the man who had saved their lives. But it seemed he didn't quite remember them.

For Kehma, saving people was probably an everyday occurrence. It made sense that he wouldn't remember every single one, and conversely, it meant he expected nothing in return.

Feeling the greatness of their savior all over again, they steeled their resolve to repay his kindness no matter what.

From what he told them, the dungeon had changed quite a bit.

It had been a year since then. Yes, the one-year deadline.

"Ah――umm, Kehma-san. There's something we have to apologize for."

"We said we'd get a hold of a magic sword and give it to you within a year, but, uhh…"

They hedged out of awkwardness, but Kehma picked up on it. And then,

"What, the magic sword? Don't worry about it. I don't mind waiting another year."

He said it without hesitation. As expected, he hadn't helped them for any reward.

Almost as an excuse, they blurted out that they had managed to get a magic sword. Even though it was one with a drawback.

"Alright, show me. The magic sword."

Kehma said that, examined the magic sword they'd obtained, drew it from its sheath, confirmed its drawback, and then――

"I've never seen such an amazing magic sword. This is fine. No, this is the one I want!"

――He wanted this magic sword from the bottom of his heart.

This magic sword with a drawback. The magic sword Uzoh and Muzoh had risked their lives to obtain.

"Kehma-san…!"

"I love it. I'm not giving it back, got it?"

He looked genuinely overjoyed. Yes, perhaps even more than the magic sword itself, what made him happy was that they'd kept the promise of 'obtaining a magic sword within a year.'

"It's secondhand, but here's your change. Take it."

"Kehma-dono, this is…"

"Same type of magic sword as the one from the [Greed Trap] where you got stuck."

Of all things, he handed over the magic sword at his waist as if it were change.

Moreover, it was a magic sword that enhanced sharpness, with no drawbacks whatsoever.

And on top of that, since there were two of them, he gave them another one.

"A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, think of it as my appreciation for keeping your promise."

Was this man a saint?

On paper, the debt was settled, but they'd just incurred a bigger one. After all, they'd given one magic sword and received two in return.

Nobody asked them to repay it this time――but they absolutely wanted to repay this kindness.

"Golen Village, was it? Kehma-san's the Village Chief, apparently, Uzoh."

"Settling down and working for the village doesn't sound half bad, Muzoh."

At any rate, they no longer needed to buy a magic sword, so they had plenty of money even after travel expenses.

Once they finished the commission they'd just accepted, they'd head for the village. The Uzoh Muzoh brothers made up their minds.