Lifting the sword wasn't a problem for me, but why?
"Why should I lift the sword?"
"Because you are the rightful owner. You are meant to," Muna answered, composed.
"Earlier, you were doubtful as to how we could train without a sword. Now that you have a sword, are you still supposed to be doubtful?"
My face flashed with confusion at the whole occurrence. There was no answer to Muna's rhetorical question, either.
SWISH!
"We all have swords," Muna said, examining the sword in her hands.
I turned to my left; Linda had already summoned her sword and nodded, urging me to go on and lift the sword.
'It's yours,' she communicated with her shadow ability.
Still noticing my unwavering reluctance to lift the sword, Muna dismissed hers and began to pace around the hall, explaining why to me.
"Swords are like self-servants that choose their master. Most of the time, the swords find their owners at the time of their birth, and on rare occasions, we find them ourselves. Whichever path one follows, only the master of a sword can wield it effectively, without a backlash."
"Mobix, even though there are laws in life, there can still be those who can defy these laws," Muna muttered, holding my hands, before rereleasing them.
"What do you mean?"
"According to the tradition of Montana, swords naturally choose their owners, and are never inherited", Muna said and turned to me. Then, with a hushed voice, she added, "Only four swords are inherited."
'Four swords?'
I never intended to speculate, but Muna's explanation so far suggests I might be the successor of the sword before me.
If every citizen of Montana naturally owned a sword at birth, would I be among the rare occasional sword masters? Or, the Inheritors?
Why has this little girl chosen to make things complicated for me since today?
Noticing that my mind was bathed in a sea of thoughts and confusion, Muna came closer to where I stood and pointed at the sword.
"It is called the 'SEA SWORD' and only the heir of Seafrost can become its master", Muna clarified.
As if I asked for additional information, Linda communicated to me, saying: 'It is called the SEA SWORD because its craft came from the powers of the sea'.
'Thank you, Linda.'
"But, if a successor can only inherit the sword, why is Mom my predecessor?"
Muna pressed her lips together, then raised her head towards me, emotion comfortably settling in her delicate eyes.
If it weren't for the current situation, this could have been my perfect opportunity to test whether she was worthy of being a member of my harem.
But isn't the system supposed to notify me of potential harem members? Was that of Linda a coincidence?
"Mobix..."
Huh.
"When mom was still alive, she used to say that not everything in the world needs an answer to it," she paused, then continued. "And father also told us that even when we find answers to some mysteries, we still must prove them outright."
What she said made sense, but using it as a response to my question made it sound odd.
"Muna," I held her hands and looked straight into her eyes. "Ever since we came into this hall, your attitude has changed from straightforward to something else. What are you hinting at?"
Muna released her hands from mine and glanced at the shimmering sword. "The only way to solidify your position as the master of this sword is when you can lift it. Just two steps, Mobix. Pass through the mana barrier around the sword, then lift it outright".
Linda, who stood by my left side, immediately shot a knowing glance at Muna, narrowing her eyes as if trying to remember something.
'….unless, he's not Mobix Seafrost.' Linda remembered Muna muttering those words. 'Is she testing little Lord Mobix?'
Now, everything played clearly before my eyes. Muna must have developed doubts about my real personality, and is only trying to either dispel those doubts or solidify them.
Logically speaking, being able to pass through the barrier will make me a member of the Seafrost, but it does not end there.
Any member of the Seafrost can choose to become the heir. So, only when I can successfully lift the sword without a backlash can I be called the real heir of Seafrost. Only then can I be her real big brother.
It's fine. Ignoring the fact that Muna tried to save me from dying, making sure she saved the right person isn't wrong.
Tightening my teeth and clenching my fists by my side, I stepped forward.
My conscious life began in an orphanage, where I never got the chance to acknowledge a family. It was just the widespread euphoria of waking up, attending to various functions, eating in the refectory, and so on.
There was no one I could call my real friend, except Sannu.
Thinking of her name, my heart beat dropped to a slow rhythm.
It wasn't actually because I thought about Sannu; I was trapped in the barrier protecting the sword.
An unknown force caused me to raise my eyes to the ceiling, widening as my pupils completely turned white.
The green strands of my veins became visible, and the blood in them turned cold.
As if I had proved Muna's doubts were right, she immediately summoned her sword and flew towards me, with the sword pointing at my chest.
Good thing there was a third figure.
Linda released a surge of mana from her hands, directing it towards Muna, and hit her sword just as she was about to pierce my chest. Then, with another outburst of mana, she attacked Muna, who flew backwards to avoid the attack.
"You really doubt that he is Mobix?" Linda questioned, hands outstretched as she tried to maintain the temporary barrier she created to prevent Muna from further action.
"If he were even a Seafrost, he could have passed through the barrier. He is only a spy! Everything needs to be done outright. Allow me to kill him," Muna lamented.
"Spy? Kill him?"
"Linda, I'm only respecting the fact that you are my brother's shadow. And I believe that one day, he will return to life from wherever he has disappeared. Your spiritual energy has drastically reduced. I'm afraid you are no match for me. If you continue to go against me, I will have no choice but to__"
"Kill me too?" Linda busted out with a sober tone.
"Have you ever imagined how I'm able to dissolve into his shadow? Or, have you heard that more than one person can own a shadow?"
"Do you think that people after falling into a comatose state gained their consciousness easily? Muna, come back to who you are!"
Muna willed her hand, and her sword shot out from the wall, where it stuck, and returned to her hand. Moving with speed, she waved her left hand and shattered the barrier Linda was holding against her, and was almost at the point of piercing my chest when the barrier trapping me vanished.
I bowed my head, trying to withstand the fast flashing images in my mind and the fragments flooding in.
Mobix Seafrost's memories had returned, coupled with knowledge of my ten-year-old self concerning the plot of the novel. That's good.
Muna stopped. The sword in her hand fell to the floor with a clang.
Ignoring her actions and determined not to lose my chance at owning a family, I took another step towards the sword. Grabbing its ice hilt, I lifted it from its carriage, pointing to the ceiling.
A strong streak of energy, with a solid sea blue color, shot out from the sword, escaping the blockage of the ceiling into the sky.
The outburst of power from the sword diffused on the surface, drawing attention across all existing Duchedoms.
Once everything returned to normal, I felt so weak that standing on my feet was impossible. So, I gradually descended into collapse until Muna rushed and collected me in her arms.
Flickering my eyelids to a blurred sight, I saw the stream of tears gushing forth from her eyes, and smiled.
Suddenly, the screen notification appeared before me, but before I could get a full grasp of what it was about, my eyelids betrayed me.