What is a miracle?
No matter what its usual definition may be, at least within the card's system, one could tell from the name alone that it had already departed from the realm of ordinary authorities.
And this miracle I had newly obtained, whether in its title or in its description and source, gave me an intense sense of something extraordinary.
—
Miracle: [The Sensei's Sword, the Dream-Forged Unformed Ideal Land]
Description: What method must be used to depict our dreams?
Source: If you have forgotten, then please take my hand and go search for it together.
—
At the time, as I looked at these words, my emotions could not help but surge.
Beyond the countless conjectures that arose, what truly moved me was this.
Although I had already begun to grow somewhat accustomed to the card's habit of speaking in riddles,
I never imagined that this damn card could pull something like this.
At least the previous authorities would tell me their general function. As for this miracle, all I knew was that it would probably be extremely useful. Beyond that, nothing.
But I did not expect that the answer to this question would arrive so quickly.
At the instant my fingertips touched the Sword of Light, a feeling arose in my heart as if I had established some kind of connection with it.
And when I tried to lift it, I discovered that the Sword of Light, which had previously been so heavy that I could not wield it for long, now felt as light as a feather in my hands.
The relationship between charge time and power came to me intuitively. The landing point of the light cannon responded as naturally as my own arm. Even the massive recoil was smoothed away by some invisible force.
In other words,
I could freely use the Sword of Light as a weapon.
Although its power was certainly inferior to Arisu's, and adding mystery to it would still cost me life, against a heavily injured Kei, even the Sword of Light's base output was more than sufficient.
At this very moment, this was the weight that could tip the scales of victory.
"Impossible..."
Kei stared at me in disbelief. "With your frail physique, even if you load archived mystery, how could you possibly wield such a heavy weapon? Did my calculations go wrong? No, what despicable method did you use this time...!"
Visibly, her fighting spirit plummeted. She stood there, fists clenched, lips pressed tight, staring at me with Arisu's face, wearing an expression that looked like she was barely holding back tears.
At the very least, it seemed she no longer had the desire to trouble the others.
But I did not relax my guard in the slightest.
I had to admit, Kei was an extremely troublesome opponent, and the weapon she was best at wielding was deception.
Through lies, she had successfully taken one precious life from me. Through lies again, she had made Arisu believe that no one would be hurt as long as the mission was completed. And still through lies, even in such dire straits, she had nearly found a way to make us pay a price.
Kei had taught me that no enemy should ever be underestimated, no matter the circumstances.
Therefore, I would grant her special respect.
"Ah? What did you say?"
I cupped a hand to my ear and raised my voice in confusion. "Your voice is too stupid, I can't hear you. Could you say that again?"
Respect between enemies meant that even when holding an absolute advantage, one should exhaust every possible tactic, including humiliation.
I felt my understanding was correct.
After a stretch of silence that I found immensely pleasing, Kei reached up and rubbed her eyes hard.
Then, without a word, she launched her final, desperate assault toward me.
But it was already too late.
After only a few steps, glowing blue eyes surfaced. Arisu, who had fallen to the ground, lifted her face and said excitedly,
"Wow, Sensei changed classes to a hero too? Or were you actually the previous generation hero? That's great! Bum bum bum! The Sensei who pulled out the Sword of Light will be crowned king."
Crimson covered her pupils, her tone weary. "Princess, what are you saying? The one who should ascend the throne is clearly you..."
"No way. Arisu doesn't want to be king at all. According to RPG tradition, the king should be an older hero, someone responsible for issuing quests to newly born heroes."
Thankfully, she did not say elderly, otherwise I might have started to suspect that I looked a bit old.
With my current handsome and refined appearance, even if I were to expend too much lifespan someday, I would probably just become a dashing middle-aged man.
Perhaps after being tempered by time, I would grow even more profound and reserved, and even more attractive to innocent young maidens.
But for now, I was still as young and promising as ever. Calling myself a handsome youth was not an exaggeration at all.
As for Kei, her voice had already taken on a sobbing tone. "Princess... why... Princess, why is it like this..."
She tried to climb up from the ground, but control of the body was taken back by Arisu, who complained unhappily,
"Arisu already said she wants to be a hero. And if Sensei is going to change classes into king, then Arisu doesn't want to be any princess at all."
Sigh, the little android I personally picked up had already grown to the point where... what came next again?
I would have to ask Shiroko and Hoshino later to review it.
When control of the body returned to Kei again, she glared at me fiercely and finally could not hold back her tears.
Red and blue alternated. With tear tracks on her face, Arisu looked at me holding the Sword of Light and revealed a calm smile.
"Anyway, please attack Arisu and make Arisu temporarily lose the ability to move."
Kei forgot to cry, exclaiming in shock,
"Princess, what are you saying!?"
I fell silent for a moment, then nodded slightly and aimed the Sword of Light at Arisu.
"Because Kei was the one who misused Arisu's body first."
Kei choked, then shouted at me,
"No! If you attack now, the Princess will really be seriously injured!"
Ignoring her, I pulled the trigger, and the barrel began to charge.
The girl's eye colors switched more and more frequently, until it was impossible to tell who was speaking.
"No... don't! Princess, why... Princess!"
"Sensei, do it."
"No, don't do it!"
"You can go ahead now."
"Wait a moment!"
The girl shut her eyes tightly, struggling as she begged me,
"I, I am the Princess... I am AL-1S! Please don't hurt AL-1S, Please, Sensei! Sensei, please don't let AL-1S get hurt!"
For some reason, a sentence suddenly came to my mind.
It was especially suitable for reuse here.
"She is not a princess, nor is she AL-1S."
I took a deep breath and shouted loudly,
"She alone, is mine... is everyone's Arisu!"
As my words fell, the condensed light shot forth from the barrel.
It brushed past Kei and detonated with a thunderous explosion not far behind her.
"So," I put away the Sword of Light and let out a scoff, "how could I possibly hurt her? You idiot."
The confused purplish red in those pupils gradually gave way to clear azure, and did not change again.
Arisu swayed as she stood up, looked at me, blinked, and smiled sweetly.
Like the warm sun of winter, gentle and comforting.