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"Haha… Kyouya?"
Mitsurugi Kyouya's sudden apology seemed to surprise even his two teammates; they clearly hadn't expected it.
But Mitsurugi Kyouya's expression was very serious.
"Back then, because of Lady Aqua, I harbored prejudice against both you and Satou Kazuma. I even suspected you of being a despicable fame-seeker who used his teammates and said all kinds of rude things…"
He seemed genuinely remorseful.
"But you… Not only did you not resent me, you directly accepted my challenge and defeated me in the most flawless way possible, proving yourself. The ray of light you unleashed back then is something I still haven't forgotten. I doubt anyone who witnessed it has."
As he spoke, Mitsurugi's gaze drifted to Fang Li's waist.
"Looks like even Princess Iris felt the same way… she handed the Holy Sword over to you."
Having returned once again to the Adventurer Guild in the Royal Capital, Fang Li was still dressed in casual clothes, looking as laid-back as ever. Only the sword at his waist had changed; it was no longer an ordinary blade, but the legendary Holy Sword.
Not only that, the sword's scabbard was ornate and emitted a divine aura.
"That's the matching scabbard for the Holy Sword, isn't it?" said Mitsurugi Kyouya. "That's also an Artifact, you know."
Indeed.
The legendary Hero's Holy Sword didn't come alone; its scabbard was a bundled Artifact with powerful effects, including immunity to all kinds of status effects and even curses. It had always been used by Iris.
But ever since the Holy Sword acknowledged Fang Li, Iris had entrusted the scabbard to him as well.
"Since I'm staying in the Royal Castle and don't really have many chances to fight, it's better if an Adventurer like you uses it temporarily," she had said.
Fang Li accepted it without the slightest hesitation or sentimentality.
"Though honestly, for me, whether I have the Holy Sword or not doesn't make much of a difference."
After all, even Demon King Army Leaders couldn't last a single round against Fang Li. With his current strength, not even the Royal Capital's magic or might could threaten him.
In this world, there was likely no one who could.
At least in this Royal Capital, someone like Mitsurugi Kyouya, who ranked among the top three, was only worthy of a second glance from Fang Li. So, naturally, there was no real threat to him here.
Besides, Fang Li also wielded Bo Xie, an Ogre Lux that was equal in rank to the Holy Sword. Whether he had another sword or not didn't matter, it wouldn't make a decisive difference.
If Iris hadn't blushed red and run away every time she saw Fang Li after kissing him, and hadn't sent the scabbard to him via Rain, he might not have accepted it at all.
After all, Iris was technically his fiancée in name.
So the weapon used by his fiancée wasn't something he'd casually hand off to fulfill some quest issued by the Main God's Dimension.
Naturally, his need for the Holy Sword was virtually zero.
Of course, to others, Fang Li's claim sounded like nothing more than false modesty.
"Clearly, he only beat Kyouya thanks to the power of the Holy Sword…"
"Exactly, exactly…"
Mitsurugi's two teammates whispered to each other.
In response, Fang Li simply smiled faintly at Mitsurugi and said:
"Oh? Is that so? How about we both toss aside the Holy Sword and Demon Sword and have a fair fight?"
That half-smiling, half-serious tone instantly reminded the two teammates of something important,
Mitsurugi Kyouya, ranked among the top three in the Royal Capital, also wielded an Artifact, the Demon Sword, a counterpart to the Holy Sword.
And without the Demon Sword's power, Mitsurugi wouldn't have reached his current level either.
That shut his teammates up immediately.
Mitsurugi Kyouya could only give a wry smile and said:
"I wouldn't dare underestimate you again. I feel like… even if we both didn't have Artifacts, I still wouldn't beat you. So let's not."
This time, he was rather straightforward.
Combined with his earlier apology, it became clear, this Hero Candidate didn't have a bad heart. He was just a little chuunibyou and self-absorbed.
But now, in the face of someone like Fang Li, who had overwhelmingly defeated him, Kyouya couldn't act chuuni anymore, nor could he keep up his narcissism.
The only thing left in his heart was a single question.
"Um…" Mitsurugi asked hesitantly, "How is Lady Aqua doing?"
It was clear from his tone and expression that to him, Aqua, the one who granted him his Demon Sword, was a true, pure goddess.
From his eyes and words, Fang Li could see it clearly.
Mitsurugi Kyouya… most likely harbored a faint crush on Aqua.
Only someone this chuuni and narcissistic would actually fall for a goddess like Aqua, who had nothing going for her except looks.
As for Fang Li, he was the only one who would speak about Aqua with absolutely no politeness.
"That idiot's probably still wandering around somewhere. Never learns her lesson."
His blunt tone didn't anger Mitsurugi.
"...You seem to get along really well with Lady Aqua," Mitsurugi said, a little dejected. "Looks like… I probably can't form a party with her. A goddess like her is obviously better suited to travel with an adventurer like you…"
Wait a minute!
You want to team up with Aqua?
Go right ahead!
Please, take that useless, troublemaking goddess away. If you do, we'll finally be free. So don't give up so easily, keep at it!
Just as Fang Li was about to say this, a loud crying voice rang out from outside the Adventurer Guild.
"Fang Li-sama! Fang Li-sama!"
Out of nowhere, Aqua appeared.
And somehow, she had once again figured out where Fang Li was, charging in at full speed.
She launched herself at him and clung tightly to his waist, bawling her eyes out.
"I was falsely accused! Totally framed! All I did was perform a little talent show on top of the Royal Castle and made that super cool-looking flag disappear! And now the Knight Order wants to arrest me and throw me in jail! Hurry, help me clear my name! This is definitely a conspiracy from the Church of Eris, they're trying to crush me because I've been recruiting too many followers lately! You have to stand up for me!"
As Aqua clung to his waist, crying loudly and yelling all that nonsense, Fang Li finally realized what the Holy Sword, which he'd thought was mostly useless, could really be used for.
It was the perfect Artifact for prying open this Goddess's head to see what kind of garbage she had stuffed inside.
Meanwhile, Mitsurugi Kyouya stood off to the side, watching the scene play out. His expression was a mix of envy and melancholy.
And he softly muttered:
"You two really do have a good relationship…"
It seemed, for this Hero Candidate, chuunibyou wasn't the problem.
Being blind was.
(End Of This Chapter)