"Wha?!"
Yoshino and Mako were startled by Setsuna's blunt invitation.
"I-I-I... Sir, wait, we..."
Their thoughts were in such disarray that neither of them could even form a coherent sentence.
They stammered and gestured helplessly for quite a while.
"Th-This is too sudden!!"
"Wh-Why?! W-W-We're just ordinary people from Hoori Town! Well, Lady Yoshino isn't exactly ordinary, but..."
Mako summoned all her courage and puffed out her cheeks as she questioned him.
Being invited to a completely unfamiliar place by someone they had only just met was strange no matter how they looked at it.
"Weren't you just wondering where the Starsea Empire came from and wishing you could speak with aliens?"
Setsuna smiled and pinched her cheek, making the girl's face instantly flush bright red.
"Y-Y-You even knew about that?!"
"This world will be governed by the Starsea Empire from now on, and Hoori Town naturally falls within imperial jurisdiction. Is it so strange that I know a few things?"
"Relax. I mean you no harm."
Setsuna answered with a smile.
Unlike an ordinary invitation, Mako sensed that Setsuna naturally radiated an aura that compelled others to obey him. It was probably the authority of one accustomed to standing above everyone else.
"Um, do you want me to become a shrine maiden in the Starsea Empire?"
Yoshino Tomotake had misunderstood him slightly.
"But I'm still responsible for the shrine. Without me, Hoori Town will..."
As the descendants of those who had defeated the demons, the ancestors of the Tomotake family had been cursed several centuries ago.
Each generation could have only one child, who would invariably be female. Those who carried the Tomotake bloodline would grow canine ears due to the curse and the cursed god's corruption. Their health would deteriorate severely, causing them to die young.
Corrupted beings known as cursed gods would also occasionally appear in the forests around Hoori Town at night and attack people. They grew stronger over time, and every outbreak brought heavy casualties.
The Tomotake clan had to regularly perform votive dances to suppress the cursed gods, or confront and eliminate them directly.
"Oh?... So we also have to rescue a princess from demons and monsters?"
The mention of a potential battle immediately drew Gudako and the little gray-haired girl's interest.
"Are these cursed gods strong? How powerful are they?"
"Uh..."
Yoshino thought for a moment before her expression turned solemn.
"They're very powerful. Left unchecked, the cursed gods can trigger landslides and earthquakes. They might destroy all of Hoori Town."
"Oh?"
The Stellaron girl looked around.
"City-level? It doesn't seem quite that high. This town is a little small... What about under normal circumstances? How do you fight the cursed gods?"
"We cleanse the corruption through votive dances, then fight them with swordsmanship."
Yoshino answered earnestly.
"...How weak. I forgot this was a low-magic world."
Gudako slapped her forehead.
From the perspective of ordinary people, creatures like the cursed gods, which were both impossible to eradicate and carried a curse, were certainly terrifying. To the Trailblaze team, however, they were no more troublesome than stray dogs by the roadside.
Even under the most extreme circumstances, allowing one to grow to the absolute limit of its power would merely let it dominate a small town.
"We can solve a tiny problem like that without any effort. I could let that thing use both hands and feet and still wipe out a whole horde of them by myself."
"..."
Yoshino and Mako had never encountered supernatural power before, so they could only sense that she sounded incredibly impressive.
"There's no need to decide immediately. We'll remain here for several days while we deal with this world's affairs."
Setsuna instructed an Angeloid to hand each girl a tablet computer.
"These contain information about the Starsea Empire. You can look through them first and treat it as an opportunity for us to learn more about one another."
"Rather than spending your entire lives in a small rural town, why not make time to see other places?"
"Everything you desire and everything you have ever imagined, including the things you have seen in films and manga, can be found there."
"Oh!"
The two girls hurriedly agreed and thanked him.
Setsuna was considerably more reasonable than they had imagined. At the very least, he had given them a choice.
Of course, judging from past experience, no native had ever been able to refuse the Starsea Empire's superior conditions.
The Starsea Empire could resolve every problem and concern they had while providing a living environment and benefits beyond imagination.
Even those who went merely out of curiosity, thinking they would only take a quick look, eventually became so enchanted that they settled there permanently.
After making arrangements for Yoshino and Mako, Setsuna turned his attention toward Murasamemaru, which stood embedded in a boulder at the center of the shrine.
"That is Ikuta Shrine's divine blade. Would you like to try drawing it? Only the chosen one can pull it free..."
Yasuharu Tomotake hurriedly stepped aside for him.
"Mm. Let's get little Murasame out first."
Setsuna wrapped one hand around the hilt and gave it a light pull. A faint repulsive force traveled into his palm.
Rumble—
The entire ground trembled.
Given Gudako's personality, she probably would have treated it like the Sword of the Hero in Frieren's world, lifting it together with its pedestal before forcibly smashing away the stone and claiming the sword within.
Setsuna was not quite so crude.
Whoosh—
A surge of power poured into the blade.
Crack!—
The boulder immediately split in two, allowing Murasamemaru to be drawn with ease.
"Wow—"
Yoshino and Mako cried out in admiration, while the King of Knights found the scene both familiar and nostalgic.
"You... truly drew Murasamemaru?! Could it be that?!..."
Yasuharu Tomotake's expression changed once again.
Then Setsuna held Murasamemaru in his hand and examined it for a while.
The blade was exquisitely crafted and carried a faint trace of unusual magical power.
In terms of raw power, it was not particularly strong. It possessed no special abilities, and its combat performance was probably comparable to a Teigu at best.
However, its true value lay elsewhere.
Chime—
He lightly flicked Murasamemaru's blade, causing ripples of magical power to spread through the air.
"Murasame, wake up."
Poof!—
A surge of energy was released from the blade and gathered in midair, forming an adorable little girl.
She wore dark Japanese-style garments with a red sash around her waist and detached long sleeves that exposed her pale shoulders.
Her flowing light-green hair spread out on either side, tied with reddish-purple cords. She appeared slightly younger than Yoshino and Mako.
"Huh? You can actually sense me? Who exactly are you?"
The little girl floated in the air like a ghost and studied Setsuna.
"Aren't you supposed to call me Master?"
Setsuna laughed.
Murasamemaru was Hoori's divine blade, while the little girl before him was its administrator, Murasame. She could also be considered its sword spirit.
"Uh... It is true that whoever can wield Murasamemaru is my master..."
Murasame slowly descended toward the ground.
"But I never imagined my master would be an alien. You don't seem like an ordinary person either, Master. The divine power within you is far stronger than Murasamemaru's."
"Huh? Wait."
"Commander, who are you talking to?"
Gudako, the little gray-haired girl, and the others looked around in confusion.
From their perspective, Setsuna was the only person there.
"Only Murasamemaru's master and descendants of the Tomotake bloodline can see her. Try using detection magic."
"Oh!"
Everyone cast perception spells on themselves. When they blinked again, they saw little Murasame standing there with her arms crossed.
"She's so cute!"
Jibril tried to rub her head, but her hand passed straight through Murasame as though she were an illusion.
"You can't. Nobody can touch me, and I can't pick up anything either."
"My form of existence is different from yours."
Murasame reached for Murasamemaru's hilt, but her hand passed through it as well, leaving her unable to grasp anything.
The moment she finished speaking...
"Eeeeeeeeh?!—"
Setsuna picked up little Murasame and raised her high above his head.
"Master, what are you doing?! Put me down right now!!!"
"H-How did you do that?! You're going to touch somewhere strange!!!—"
The loli blade flailed wildly in the air, waving her arms and legs.
"You're merely a spiritual body. Why wouldn't I be able to touch you?"
"Come on. You're coming inside with me."
...
"Ugh—"
Half an hour later.
Inside Ikuta Shrine, Setsuna sat little Murasame on his lap and stroked her head as though petting a cat.
"Well, as you can see, this is Murasamemaru's sword spirit. Cute, isn't she?"
Although the loli blade's figure was somewhat underdeveloped, she looked clever and exceedingly lovable.
"Wow—"
Jibril, Gudako, and the others accompanying him watched with fascination.
"Besides shipgirls, horse girls, and Cthulhu girls, does this count as a weapon gaining sentience?"
The people of the Starsea Empire were well traveled and knowledgeable, so they were not particularly surprised by an anthropomorphized weapon.
Many legends, films, and novels also featured artifact spirits residing within swords and blades.
"More or less. Strictly speaking, however, Murasame isn't the incarnation of Murasamemaru. She's the divine blade's administrator."
Setsuna answered while teasing Murasame.
Several centuries ago, little Murasame had been sacrificed during the campaign against the demons, after which her spirit became attached to Murasamemaru. She was somewhat different from a conventional sword spirit.
"Cease your insolence! I am the administrator of the divine blade Murasamemaru!!!"
The little girl opened her mouth and bit Setsuna's hand.
"Mmgh—"
It was strange. Ordinarily, she could not interact with anything in the material world.
Her body could easily pass through rooms and walls. She could neither grasp nor lift anything, and eating was naturally impossible.
Yet Setsuna was tangible to her.
His body heat and the sensation of his hand stroking her head both felt perfectly real.
"Master, what's going on?!"
Murasame tried to pick up the cup before her, but her fingers passed straight through it.
She then tried to touch Himeko beside her, but likewise failed to grasp even the hem of her clothing.
Yet when she pinched Setsuna's arm and rubbed her head against him, he felt warm.
"You're a spiritual body, similar to a soul. As long as someone possesses sufficient magical power and perception, seeing and touching you isn't difficult."
"To give you an example... you're similar to the souls in Ereshkigal's Underworld."
Setsuna rubbed her head again, drawing a series of soft, contented noises from the loli blade.
"Oh... Amazing!"
"So Master can see me because you're so powerful?"
Compared with Yoshino and Mako, Murasame possessed far keener magical perception and could tell that Setsuna was no ordinary person.
"You can understand it that way."
She had remained alone inside Murasamemaru for several centuries. Apart from members of the Tomotake family, almost nobody had ever been able to sense her existence.
She had also been unable to interact with the real world in any way. She was like a ghost or wandering soul detached from the world, isolated and lonely.
Now someone had suddenly appeared who could both see and touch her. Although this stranger was somewhat peculiar, Murasame did not dislike the sensation.
"Th-Th-Then... can I touch anything as long as Master is holding it?"
The loli blade looked up and asked.
"Of course. Would you like a snack?"
Setsuna picked up a pastry and infused it with a faint trace of magical power.
"Ah..."
Murasame cautiously opened her little mouth and allowed him to feed her.
She chewed.
"Mm!"
A sweet flavor blossomed across her tongue.
The pastry's soft and delicate texture, its faint fruity fragrance, and the excessively sweet cream all felt astonishingly real.
As a spiritual body, she had previously been able only to accept the wine and offerings presented at the shrine, absorbing a little spiritual power from them. She had never been able to enjoy food personally.
"Delicious!"
Murasame's eyes immediately lit up.
"Mmm... slurp, slurp... smooch!"
"It's so sweet! So delicious!..."
After finishing the pastry, she hugged Setsuna's finger and licked it, refusing to leave behind even the tiniest trace of jam.
A constant tickling sensation traveled from his fingertip.
"More! I want more!!"
"..."
Setsuna picked up another small cake.
"Smooch... Mmph, ah... So sweet!"
Murasame hugged his hand and sucked it completely clean once again.
"Ah, it's sweet and delicious! This is the first time I've ever eaten anything so wonderful!!"
"...I never imagined food several centuries later would taste this good?!"
"Hiss... Ah..."
Perhaps because she had spent several hundred years as a wandering ghost with nothing to eat, consuming real food for the first time dealt an enormous shock to Murasame's taste buds.
Even the crude food she remembered from childhood could not compare with snacks produced using modern techniques.
She clung to Setsuna and continued their feeding play.
"Uh..."
Mako, Gudako, and the others watched Murasame's movements with flushed faces, hesitating to speak.
"Why does this feel a little obscene?!"
Ritsuka Fujimaru was inexplicably reminded of the way she used to play a certain instrument.
It looked exactly the same.
Nothing came out, though.
"I don't care! I-I still want cake!! And ice cream! That's ice cream, isn't it? Master, feed me..."
"Ha... Ha..."
Only after being fed an entire plate of small pastries did Murasame finally smack her lips with lingering satisfaction.
"Ah, I'm so happy. I wouldn't mind dying right now."
"Wait, I suppose I can't really be considered alive in the first place?"
"..."
"Lady Murasame?..."
Yoshino Tomotake and Mako Hitachi had never imagined that the administrator of the divine blade guarding their shrine would be tamed by Setsuna at lightning speed.
"Thank you for the meal! Master, I'll be relying on you for all my meals from now on!"
Having eaten and drunk her fill, Murasame patted her flat chest with a thoroughly satisfied expression.
"You're amazing! I wish I'd met Master sooner..."
"No, wait. Where are you from, Master? You aren't a native of Hoori, are you?"
Only then did she remember the question of Setsuna's identity. She had no idea who Murasamemaru's new master truly was.
"Here. Read this yourself and ask me about anything you don't understand."
Setsuna instructed an Angeloid to hand the loli blade a dossier.
"Ooooooh—"
"Master is actually an alien?! What?!"
Murasame stared at it in dumbfounded amazement...
To someone born several centuries ago, both the concept of a multiverse and that of an interstellar civilization were far too advanced.
"But don't worry! I will properly fulfill my responsibilities as the divine blade's administrator! It doesn't matter whether Master is an Earthling or an alien!..."
She placed her hands on her hips, then lowered her head and muttered softly.
"...As long as you remember to feed me on time!"
"Fine. From now on, you can be my personal sword spirit. I'll keep Murasamemaru with me at all times."
Compared with an old grandfather living inside a ring, carrying a little girl around as a sword spirit suited Setsuna's preferences far better.
She was attractive and useful in every sense.
Her strength was secondary. He did not need to charge forward and cut people down with a sword, and he possessed countless methods of strengthening a weapon.
Setsuna gently stroked Murasamemaru.
He activated the Herrscher of Reason's authority, poured magical power into the blade, and began reconstructing it at the molecular level.
Hum—
Murasamemaru's blade emitted a faint glow and a low vibrating hum.
"Master! Murasamemaru is a divine blade formed from the accumulated power of Hoori Town's land! You can't alter it recklessly!"
Little Murasame hurriedly warned him.
"The power of Hoori Town? I'm the Commander of the Starsea Empire. What is there that I cannot alter?"
Whoosh—
As Setsuna gently brushed his hand across Murasamemaru, the blade twisted and transformed beneath the light.
Several minutes later, a simply designed long blade appeared in his hand.
While retaining the original weapon's overall structure, its edge had become smoother and more streamlined, giving it an appearance similar to a miaodao.
Magical decorations were etched into the hilt, while the blade gleamed with a cold and austere radiance.
"Wow—"
Murasame tried touching Murasamemaru and sensed the incomparably vast magical power contained within it.
Even the tiniest amount leaking from the blade far surpassed all the power Hoori Town had accumulated over the previous several centuries.
Even an ordinary person wielding this blade would possess the power to destroy cities and annihilate nations. Several centuries ago, it would undoubtedly have been a peerless divine weapon capable of conquering the world and pacifying the realm.
"All right. It should have no trouble cutting through a star now, and it can withstand the power of Taixuan Eminence."
"I'll strengthen it further when the opportunity arises."
Setsuna sheathed the blade.
"W-W-Whaaat?!—What is Taixuan Eminence?!"
"And what do you mean by cutting the sun apart?! Is it really that powerful?! Master, how did you make Murasamemaru so incredible?!"
Murasame was stunned.
"Study hard from now on."
Setsuna rubbed her head.
"The original Murasamemaru was too weak for me. It needed some proper refinement before it could be used."
"The same goes for you. Train your body well. It will be useful in the future."
"Useful? Me?..."
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