I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

50 – 050. The Imperial Capital (1)

The carriage moved as smoothly as flowing water.

We avoided sleeping in the wilderness, using villages as bases to travel, and now it had been four days.

“Clunk!”

“Welcome! To the Imperial Capital, Berliner!”

We, riding in a carriage bearing the Imperial crest, were able to enter the capital, receiving a salute from the guards.

“Woahhh!”

“Hey, look, people here too! And more over there!”

Leon and Mary, riding in the carriage, couldn’t stop exclaiming in awe. To be honest, even I was a little surprised.

‘…Seeing it in person, it’s really something else.’

Compared to the city-fortress of Loven, the imperial capital of Berliner boasted a scale that was in a league of its own.

The imperial capital was a massive city that seemed to have sprouted from a low hill. But, perhaps because the city had expanded over its long history, it felt like the whole hill was covered in a castle, a city, a bustling downtown area.

And then there’s this.

‘This is, like, comparable to a modern city, no problem.’

What surprised me further was the clean, organized view of the city’s interior.

It was truly worthy of being a city that many players used as a major hub in the game. You couldn’t find any refuse or trash on the streets, and even the usual city vagrants were nowhere to be seen.

Click.

“We’ve arrived!”

The carriage, moving through the city, came to a stop. Before I knew it, the surrounding scenery had changed.

If earlier it was a vibrant, clean neighborhood, now it was a view of the central district, lined with lavish mansions.

Squeak-!

“Please dismount slowly. The Crown Prince is likely waiting for you inside the mansion.”

“…Already?”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head, accepting the knight’s guidance as I stepped out of the carriage.

…It was truly gracious of them to offer a mansion and even retrieve the Plum Blossom Holy Relic. But I didn’t expect them to be waiting for our party so soon.

“Yes. Please, come inside.”

The courteous knight guided us with measured movements. On his shoulder was the backpack Ariel had carried, and seeing the size of the hefty bag made me wonder what was inside.

Swoosh-!

Lost in thought, we entered the mansion.

“Oh.”

A cool lobby greeted us. It seemed the title of Crown Prince wasn’t just for show; the interior of the house was filled with countless decorations.

“Welcome! Sir Frey!”

As we slowly entered the lobby, someone called out in a lively voice.

Crown Prince Friedrich, his face full of anticipation, was welcoming us.

“Good to see you. Your handling of things is faster than I thought.”

“Haha! It’s a little embarrassing, but I am, after all, in the position of second-in-command in the Empire. This sort of assistance is not difficult.”

After bursting into hearty laughter, the Crown Prince shifted his gaze behind me.

“You’ve traveled a long way, Saintess. Never did I expect you’d come with them.”

“Ah, hello.”

“Haha, and… you have two more adorable guests?”

The Crown Prince’s gaze shifted to the children clinging like gum to Ariel’s legs.

Whether shy or not, Leon and Mary clung to Ariel, who had been acting awkward.

“You two, you should greet him.”

Ariel’s bright, gentle smile poured over the two children.

‘Oh?’

Seeing her like this, she truly did look like a ‘Saintess.’

“Ah, hellooo…”

“I’m, I’m Leon! Nice to meet you!”

With Ariel’s prompting, not quite a nagging, the two children bowed to the Crown Prince. As if charmed by the children’s cuteness, the Crown Prince, a pleased smile on his face, then shifted his gaze to me.

“So, there was good reason to request someone to look after the children.”

“Yes, I won’t likely have much time to spend at this manor.”

“Kuh! Just as expected! As expected, Sir Frey!”

“……?”

What’s with that reaction.

The Crown Prince let out a strange exclamation on his own. I turned away from him and scanned the interior of the mansion.

‘Never in my life did I think I’d live in a place like this.’

Well…

It’s not my own, it’s rented, unlike back in 21st-century Earth, but it’s still quite something.

“You must all be tired from your long journey. Perhaps you should rest for a while?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I want to wash up first.”

“Haha! The bathrooms are already clean. Feel free to pick your rooms and unwind from your travels.”

At the Crown Prince’s explanation, Ariel’s eyes sparkled.

She hadn’t uttered a single complaint until now, seems she really wanted a warm bath.

“Alright, kids. Go pick out your own rooms.”

“R, really?!”

“We, we can really, really have rooms?”

“Of course.”

So, this is why I got the house?

“Woooaaah!”

Thud thud thud!

Two little tykes zoomed raucously through the mansion’s interior. The knight, watching them with a fond smile, spoke up.

“Where should I put the luggage?”

“Ah.”

I’d forgotten for a moment. Ariel’s luggage was still on his shoulder. It must have been quite heavy, but he hadn’t complained once, so I hadn’t realized.

“Ariel, which room do you want to use?”

“Uuuhm…. I want to use the room next to Frey’s. Is that okay?”

“Of course. It’s just using a different room after all.”

Hearing my confident reply, Ariel pumped her fist.

“Ah! In that case, please use the second floor. Sir Frey’s room has also been prepared!”

“Is that so? Then I should probably have a look around myself.”

“Yes, please come this way. I’ll show you around.”

The crown prince is unusually hospitable.

Following his guidance, I went up to the second floor.

Creak—!

‘Hmm.’

The room that the crown prince said he had prepared was located in the furthest corner of the second floor.

“It’s the space that received the most attention in this entire mansion.”

“……It seems that way.”

Just like the crown prince’s confident voice suggested, the room clearly had a lot of effort put into its decorations.

First of all, the pure white modern-style furniture, and the elegant artworks and ornaments were quite to my liking.

Of course, I wasn’t usually one to care about ‘decorations.’ However, the things the crown prince had prepared felt quite nice even to me.

“I’m going to unpack my things in the next room for now.”

“Alright. I’ll come help you soon.”

“Okay!”

Ariel spoke briefly and went out of the room first. I slowly looked around the interior of the room and suddenly turned back to the crown prince and said.

“That’s odd.”

“Yes?”

“…I thought His Imperial Highness was being unusually kind.”

*Sssik.*

…Why are you laughing?

Upon hearing my words, the Crown Prince plastered a grotesque smile across his face. And, after a brief pause, he slowly opened his mouth.

“I like Frey-nim.”

What the hell?

A sudden chill ran through me. I had wondered why he was being so excessively nice to me…

“Don’t misunderstand. I like women. I even have a match arranged by the Imperial Family from the start!”

Perhaps conscious of my gaze, the Crown Prince quickly waved his hand, exclaiming.

“Thank goodness. I almost ended up killing the Crown Prince here.”

“Ha, haha! That’s a joke that makes me unnecessarily afraid.”

The Crown Prince shrugged his shoulders and said. It wasn’t a joke, though.

Before I knew it, a weak chuckle escaped me. Back when I was doing ＜Silvering＞, I wasn’t very familiar with the Imperial Family.

But now, facing him like this in private, Crown Prince Friedrich. This guy… he had a rather fun and straightforward personality, which I liked a lot.

‘He seems cheerful and unceremonious.’

You can’t spit on a smiling face. Seeing the Crown Prince overflowing with goodwill, it was impossible not to feel my heart soften.

“Ah! Frey-nim, no. Sir Frey.”

“Yes.”

“Recently… stories about Sir Frey have been resounding throughout the continent. Did you know?”

“…Really?”

I had somewhat expected it. The things I’d done were all achievements that far transcended common sense.

Like a needle in a bag, naturally, the awl inside the pocket reveals its form to the world.

“And on top of that. A ‘title’ has even been created for Sir Frey.”

A title?

I couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

A title, a title. That I, an alien from another world… have already reached a level where I’d have a title. I couldn’t help but feel a bit tickled.

“Hmm, I see.”

After calming myself for a moment, I looked at the Crown Prince. I was curious. What title had been given to me, and I was planning to ask him straight away.

‘I hope it’s somewhat cool. Surely it’s not something like ＜Feces Lover＞, is it?’

The titles from Silvering were filled with all sorts of bizarre things. Naturally, a strange mix of anticipation and worry arose.

“What is my epithet?”

“Hahaha! Don’t be too surprised when you hear it.”

…Is it pretty good, though?

The Crown Prince, with a look of confident exuberance like a lottery host, opened his heavy lips.

“The epithet bestowed upon Sir Frey by the people is…”

All my nerves were drawn to him.

An epithet, something like a new title I’ll be called, I wondered what it could be.

“＜Black Sword＞.”

“……＜Black Sword＞.”

It was a pretty decent title. Could it be that the jet-black sword aura, symbolic of the ‘Shadowless Sword,’ was the root of the epithet? It felt like it suited me very well.

“I think it’s an incredibly cool epithet. The holy knight, chosen by the gods… wielding a black sword. Kiyahhh!”

“……”

Well, alright then.

The Crown Prince, as if he had gained something himself, shook his head back and forth, and loudly exclaimed.

‘Black Sword, Black Sword.’

Silently muttering the word, I slowly nodded.

‘Not bad.’

It didn’t have the weight of titles like ＜Sword Saint＞ or ＜Mad Blade Slayer＞, but it was a pretty cool epithet. I was curious what epithet I might be called if I gained more achievements.

But then, that was when it happened.

“Kyaaak-!”

Ariel’s scream echoed loudly through the corridor.

“Just now?!”

“……!”

The Crown Prince and my gazes simultaneously met. And, instantly, we threw ourselves toward the room where Ariel’s scream had come from.

And then.

Fluttering, fluttering.

Ariel was there, her fingers trembling with how startled she was.

“Ariel! What’s wrong?”

“Th-th-that… that…”

“What?”

Ariel was pointing at the backpack she’d brought from the Vatican, like she’d seen a ghost.

“What’s in there?”

Doubt naturally reared its head. I took a step closer, asking her.

Then.

“……Huh?”

An unbelievable scene met my eyes.

The Holy Grail.

The ＜Grail of Life＞, the sacred relic of Ceres that had saved Ariel’s life. It was glowing with a yellowish light from inside the backpack.

“You… brought that? Seriously?”

“Ah, no!”

Ariel shook her head vehemently, yelling at my surprised question.

‘Then what is it?’

The Grail was shining brightly. As if to say, “Listen to what I have to say.”