"Waaah… cough, cough… I'm saved…"
Martin, who had been pulled out of the Peerless Rarity by Silver Branch, lay sprawled on the snow, gasping for air. Then he rolled over and, not even caring about the cold, just lay there face-down in the snow.
Surviving a disaster…
At this moment, Martin felt completely drained. He had really thought he was going to die.
When he first ran into Silver Branch, he had hoped the man would take him to the nearest branch office set up in a star system cooperating with the company.
However, for "normal people" like them, it was really hard to reason with members of the Knights of Pure Beauty. Silver Branch had made up his mind to come to Jarilo-VI, saying he wanted to see the oases and scenery of this planet.
As a company employee, Martin knew a bit about this planet that had lost contact with the outside world, and he told Silver Branch that the place had long been swallowed by freezing winds, with no oases or rivers left.
Yet this Knight of Pure Beauty actually said, "Oh my! Wind and snow are beautiful scenery too. And since this planet is covered by a cold wave, the people living here must be having a very hard time. As a believer in Pure Beauty, as a Knight of Pure Beauty, we naturally ought to help them!"
At that point, Martin finally realized that no matter what he said, he wouldn't be able to persuade this knight.
With no other choice, he followed him to Jarilo-VI.
What he hadn't expected was that when they were approaching Jarilo and preparing to dock and land, Silver Branch's ship seemed to be affected by something. In an instant, all operating systems completely failed, and the power system also began to shut down.
Then the two of them fell along with the ship onto this planet.
Martin no longer wanted to think about what had caused the crash. Amber Lord bless them, the Peerless Rarity had recovered just before hitting the ground and, under Silver Branch's control, barely managed a "safe landing."
Being alive was really great…
After that, Martin lifted his head and saw the Knight of Pure Beauty standing there, full of energy. His gem-like eyes shone brilliantly, and his fiery red long hair looked scorching amid the wind and snow, this guy seemed as if he were standing under a spotlight, no matter the environment, nothing could hide that calm, noble presence and his gleaming silver armor.
Silver Branch placed both hands on the Peerless Rarity and began to exert force. The massive spaceship slowly started to move before his battle-hardened body, and in the end was righted again.
After setting the Peerless Rarity upright, Silver Branch stood at the edge of the snow peak and spread his arms toward the world before him.
"Although the sky is covered by gloomy clouds, this world is still bright, how resilient! These snowflakes falling on my armor are so dazzling, and this cold wind and snowy plain make it feel as though one is walking through a pure white world. How beautiful! Jarilo-VI!"
"If this guy didn't talk, he could definitely be a big star, absolutely perfect model material," Martin thought to himself, then got up from the ground.
Then Silver Branch turned his head, looked at Martin, and said sincerely, "Martin, have you recovered some strength? Although I've already done some basic treatment, your injuries are quite severe, and it's so cold here."
"Your body isn't like that of a knight, tempered from childhood through countless hardships, if you can still move, then I think we should hurry to somewhere inhabited."
"Thank you… I can still move," Martin said.
"That's wonderful," Silver Branch replied. Standing at the edge of the snow peak, he looked off into the distance. In his gaze was a valley surrounded by mountains, and within that valley he saw a pitch-black city of steel.
"We're quite lucky. I've already spotted where the city is. Let's head over there."
Then Silver Branch turned again to look at the Peerless Rarity, which he had maintained very well. "Unfortunately, the Peerless Rarity's power system was damaged during the forced landing. We'll have to go on foot."
"Then let's set off quickly," Martin said, rubbing his slightly trembling arms.
After that, the two of them headed toward Belobog. The snow peak was steep, and Silver Branch carried Martin down the mountain.
On the way, Martin noticed the black box Silver Branch had been holding the whole time, and asked, "Why are you always carrying that? What's inside it? Can't you leave it on the Peerless Rarity?"
"To prevent it from causing harm to this world, I believe it's safer to keep it with me."
Silver Branch said, "This item was taken from a remote planet. On that planet, all weapons became living entities for unknown reasons and began slaughtering the people there."
"What's inside this box is the source that caused the weapons to become alive. I fought it for quite a long time before finally defeating it."
As he spoke, Silver Branch opened the box and showed Martin what was inside.
Inside lay a massive sword, entirely pitch-black, without any visible patterns, resting quietly in the box.
The sword's shape was similar to the ancient swords of the Xianzhou, but it was excessively large. Just looking at it, one could feel how astonishingly heavy it was.
Martin looked at the weapon with a strange expression and roughly estimated its specs.
The sword was nearly two meters long in total. The hilt was around forty centimeters, and the blade was unusually wide, with a blade length of about one hundred and fifty centimeters.
This sword didn't look like a weapon at all, at least, not one that a human-sized being could wield.
Noticing Martin's expression, Silver Branch spoke up, "It truly isn't a weapon. Before the disaster occurred on that planet, it was worshipped there as a treasure symbolizing something."
"In their traditional beliefs, bowing to this object was equivalent to bowing to the god of craftsmen."
"And according to what I learned, in their legends, that planet was originally attacked by some ancient beast or a terrifying cosmic creature."
"When the people were plunged into utter misery, a star fell from the sky and took root in the planet. The magnificent waves it emitted temporarily intimidated the ancient beast."
"The locals all knew that the ancient beast would one day return, and that day would not be far off. They saw hope in that fallen star."
"So a craftsman made a decision. He led a group of artisans, carrying the belief and wish to slay the evil beast, and forged this sword from that star, which contained immense power."
"In the final part of their story, when the ancient beast returned, the sword was completed. All the craftsmen became one through the sword's power, gaining bodies capable of wielding it, and used it to slay the evil beast."
"After that, those smiths vanished without a trace, leaving only this sword on that planet. The people there called those departed craftsmen 'craftsman gods,' and called this treasured sword the Falling Star."
By the time Silver Branch finished telling Martin about how he obtained the sword and how he took it away to spare that planet from disaster, he had already closed the box.
This box had originally been used on that planet to contain the sword and seemed to possess some kind of sealing power. To avoid excessive exposure causing the sword to awaken again, Silver Branch tried not to keep the box open for too long.
And just as the two of them continued on their way, several Silvermane Guards were also exploring in this direction. Among them was one person who looked serious and upright, with blond hair, holding a stance-shield device known as "Bulwark"…