Chapter 1307: Fran's Mug

「Here you go, miss. This is the item you sent out for repair.」

「Yay, thanks.」

「Please confirm the condition.」

「Nn. Got it.」

One month had passed since our battle with the Evil God Fragments.

A lot happened in terms of post-battle cleanup, but we somehow wrapped it all up and returned to the Kingdom of Kranzel.

Right now, we were visiting an alchemy shop within the town of Alessa.

Fran gently opened the box handed to her by the shopkeeper. It contained a white mug with small black swirly patterns.

She took the simple mug with a smile on her face, lifting it up delicately as if handling a treasure, and hugged it softly.

Then, she raised it above her head and turned proudly to the man behind her.

「My mug is fixed!」

「Hahaha, that’s great.」

「Nn!」

Colbert replied with a laugh. He was currently staying in Alessa after getting sent in as reinforcements from Belioth. However, he seemed genuinely frustrated for missing the final battle with the Evil God Fragments, so he came straight to Fran’s side.

「Thanks!」

「Please come again anytime.」

「Nn!」

The moment Fran stepped outside, she was greeted by a crowd of people.

「Good day to you, Miss Black Cat.」

「Oh, it’s Fran-neechan!」

「Salutations to Black Lightning Princess-dono!」

Her popularity knew no bounds. Not surprising, since many people in Alessa witnessed Fran’s battle through Trail of Bonds. They understood that this little warrior had contributed to saving the world.

As a result, Fran was now a hero. And she wasn’t the only one.

「Her divine sword looks so cool!」

「Hello there, Divine Sword-dono!」

「So that’s the divine sword with an Evil God Fragment sealed inside…」

All of them knew of my existence. During the battle, Fran had spoken to me out loud, and even called me Master. These scenes were clearly displayed to everyone connected by Trail of Bonds.

The connection apparently got cut off before Jashin-chan started telling her side of the world creation myth, but that was enough to out my identity. That said, it didn’t turn out to be as big a deal as I thought.

Honestly, I underestimated the amount of trust they had in the divine swords.

You’d think a sword for sealing the Evil God and using its powers would be considered evil, right? Nope! It’s just my power as a divine sword! Then everyone goes “Whoa!” and “Cool!”

So yeah, it seems that’s enough to convince most people.

「Dang, even Curry Master is quite popular!」

「Of course. Master is the greatest sword ever.」

「Yeah, considering how he’s the divine sword who invented curry. “Greatest sword ever” is no exaggeration.」

「Nn! You get us, Colbert.」

『Haha, you’re embarrassing me with all the praise.』

I still have the soul of an ordinary guy even if I’m a divine sword, so this many compliments feels kinda awkward, you know? Especially when Fran and Colbert are together, since there’s no one to play the straight man. Someone get these two to settle down!

『Urushi, help!』

「Woof?」

『…Actually, nevermind.』

The wolf was just following us while gnawing on a huge bone. There’s no way he can play the straight man, so I immediately gave up on his assistance.

That said, Urushi had also risen in popularity as one of the heroes who defeated the Evil God Fragments. Originally only a fluffy mascot in Alessa, he had been upgraded into a full-fledged idol wolf who received treats just by strutting around.

「Fran!」

「Hmm? Alistair!」

「I see you’re still as popular as ever.」

Approaching from across the street was the divine blacksmith Alistair, along with Ashwrath.

These two came rushing over after learning about the situation through the Trail of Bonds, hoping they could be of some help. Well, I bet Alistair was probably more interested in me more than anything else.

After her constant probing and inspections, I think I’m starting to get a bit sick of her.

「Oh? That’s a cute-looking mug.」

「Nn.」

「But it doesn’t seem to have any special enchantments. If you’d like, I can reinforce it to never break. Or maybe you’d prefer to make it durable enough to beat monsters to death?」

「No thanks, it’s fine as is.」

「Is that so?」

「Nn.」

Fran replied while stroking the mug. Seeing her so happy made the joy spread to me.

During our conversation with Alistair and Ashwrath, a shadowy figure suddenly jumped towards Fran. A few onlookers shouted in surprise, thinking that this was an attack, but Fran didn’t even try to dodge.

「Fran-chan!」

「Hello there, Fran-san.」

We turned around to see a leaping Amanda, and Nell standing behind her with a wry smile. Amanda promptly wrapped her arms around Fran’s back, nuzzling against her cheeks.

「Fran-chan! I missed you so much!」

「Nn. Long time no see.」

「It’s been over a week! You could at least act a little excited or cry a few tears of joy, you know!」

「But I am excited.」

Amanda had been out hunting magic beasts in Raydoss, keeping her away from Alessa for a while. The current Kingdom of Raydoss was hardly functioning as a sovereign nation, instead operating under the supervision of support units from Kranzel, Belioth, Phyllius, and various other countries.

Due to the significant reduction of nobles, it’s not clear how they will be able to govern themselves in the future. Still, I suppose they had many civilians as well as the North Conquest Duke and the King. Given their ample military power, it’s unlikely that foreign forces will attempt to occupy them.

My first impression of the North Conquest Duke was a stoic old man who looked like the perfect warrior. However, he was pretty much exactly what he appeared to be on the surface, making him decently trustworthy. Makes sense, since he had apparently been preparing for generations to eventually defeat the Evil God Fragments.

The reason he had been buying slaves was to train them as military forces. That said, he never pushed them beyond their capabilities, and those without potential were allocated to rear support roles. As such, his slaves respected him greatly, and many even refused emancipation.

Oh right, and regarding Kaleid’s survival. The fragments he had been sealing were now gone, so he no longer needed to maintain the divine sword in an active state.

He should have a decent amount of time left, as long as he doesn’t overuse his blade in the future. Not that there’s anything he can do about his mechanized body though… We made sure to give him a huge stock of curry, but I’m thinking of teaching him the recipe the next time we meet.

Maleficent and Persona had vanished without a trace, and I have no clue where they went. They might be living an ordinary life somewhere now that there’s nothing holding back Persona.

Neidhart said something about training with Dimitris before disappearing. He managed to accomplish his goal of rescuing his comrades, so he’ll likely show up again once the heat dies down. As for Dimitris, the old man stands out. It’s only a matter of time until we hear about his next shenanigans.

「The guild is really working me to the bone, wouldn’t you agree?」

「What are you talking about? I still see you slacking off all the time.」

「But, Nell!」

We walked for a while to the background noise of Amanda’s complaints, before arriving at our destination: a restaurant in the newest district of Alessa. This district was built for the various foreign aid units that had deployed to Alessa after the incident.

Earth mages had been put into overtime to make about 200 huts, and the restaurant was housed in one of them.

「There it is!」

『Wow, there’s even a proper signboard.』

「Nn! The “Curry Restaurant”!」

A pretty straightforward name, since Fran was the one responsible for it. Nothing wrong with keeping things simple.

We took a step inside and were greeted by two familiar-looking chefs.

Felmus, the former Rank A adventurer and owner of the Dragon’s Dining Table, as well as Io-san, the genius cook from the orphanage. They had come all the way to Alessa to help out with the aftermath of the incident.

Io-san had initially intended to take in the war orphans, but that proved unnecessary with Amanda here. After a bit of discussion, Felmus, Io-san, and Fran decided to team up and open the Curry Restaurant for a limited time.

Our initial plan was to serve the visiting soldiers for a month or so. However, Fran ended up having to leave the restaurant under the pretext of procuring ingredients.

She was initially eager to work, but she had simply become too famous… A tiny restaurant with like fifteen tables couldn’t possibly fit everyone who wanted to see her. Due to the very foreseeable outcome, we quickly abandoned the “waitress Fran” strategy.

That said, we were visiting the restaurant today for a special event. A banner hung from the ceiling of the shop, with beautiful letters that read, “Congratulations to Fran on your Rank S promotion!”

That’s right. We were celebrating the day when Fran officially becomes a Rank S adventurer.

「Congratulations, Fran-san.」

「C-Congratulations!」

Felmus and Io-san congratulated us first, and were promptly followed by our other acquaintances in the restaurant.

It wasn’t only our fellow adventurers; even our friends like Randell and Satia were here. They had all made time in their busy schedules.

One by one, they congratulated Fran and some even offered a gift. She was absolutely delighted.

What’s more, an all-you-can-eat curry buffet was waiting for her afterwards. That smile won’t be going away anytime soon.

Fran glanced at the mug on the table in front of her, before pouring in some steaming hot coffee.

For a brief moment, her expression turned somewhat lonely and nostalgic.

『Fran, are you okay?』

（Nn? I’m fine. I was just telling Mom and Dad.）

I secretly communicated with Fran almost by reflex, even though everyone knows I’m capable of telepathy now. Well, I suppose it’s fine since there are some subjects we want to keep secret.

『Telling them what? About your promotion to Rank S?』

（No.）

Fran shook her head before responding with a smile.

（That I’m okay now. You’re here for me, so I’m not lonely anymore.）

『Fran…』

「I’m glad you stuck with me, Master. Let’s go on more adventures.」

『Yeah! Of course!』

「Nn!」

Fran, it’s the other way around. I had no clue what I was going to do with myself after getting reincarnated as a sword, and then you showed up. By taking me into your hands, you made me Master.

Without you, I couldn’t possibly be the me I am today. Maybe I would’ve degraded into a mindless sword, or perhaps reincarnated back onto Earth…

I’m truly grateful that I met you, from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you so much.