Chapter 2

The next day. I was facing Velkt and the others in the reception room of the Myra branch of the Martial Imperial Company.

Not the headquarters, but the branch. The headquarters is located in the capital of the Martial Law Kingdom of Martial, as the name of the company suggests.

On the company side, there were two of us: me, the president, and Gram, my half-elf female secretary. On the hero party side, there were five: the hero Velkt, the holy maiden Tasha, the magic swordsman Izma, the spy Asra, and the magic knight Meishin.

The purpose was to hand over the new equipment produced by the imperial company.

"This is it."

I touched the lid of the long wooden box on the table in the reception room.

"Orichalcum Adamantia Alloy Fifth Generation Forged Sword Weiss Rexima. Total length five feet, weight fifty pounds. It has eight large magic circuits of the Bosen type installed. The downside is that it's heavy and large, but you should be able to handle it."

While saying this, I opened the lid. A large sword was sitting on a bed of tightly packed wood shavings.

"Wow."

Velkt, peering into the box, his eyes shining, let out a childlike voice.

"Can I touch it?!"

"Of course."

For this, I had developed Orichalcum mines, researched processing techniques, and repeatedly prototyped weapons. All for Velkt, my friend of ten years, with whom I had traveled.

I met Velkt ten years ago in a small country called Rhoades, which had been destroyed by the Demon King's army. Immediately after the fall of the capital, a mysterious little girl appeared from somewhere, crushing the Demon King's army with unbelievable combat power. That was Velkt. Velkt, who displayed god-like combat power, was also an owner of unbelievable economic sense. She was incredibly kind and charitable, always reaching out to help or fight for others, even when she herself was hungry and ragged, without seeking any return or support, acting as if she wanted to become a living Buddha in an Eastern religion.

I, who had been burned out of my family's hardware store in the capital of Rhoades, noticed such a Velkt and decided to travel with her. I explained the problems of her unselfish attitude, which wanted to do everything according to her conscience, and helped her find sponsors to avoid working for free, taking a margin as a manager.

The journey of a thirty-something merchant who couldn't fight but was meticulous with money, and a ten-year-old girl who was incredibly strong but couldn't handle money, went well enough. However, as Velkt grew up, she became stronger and more famous, and was called the reincarnation of the hero. Eventually, she received the title of "Hero" from Aresta, the strongest human nation that opposed the Demon King's army.

My place in the group began to disappear.

Me, who could only handle money, and Velkt, who received the title of hero and was surrounded by excellent and well-groomed companions as a Demon King extermination team.

When I started to seriously consider my future, Velkt lost.

Five years after our meeting in Rhoades, five years ago.

The Demon King's army, fearing Velkt as a spiritual pillar of the human race, launched a surprise attack with a few elite soldiers led by strategist Degis. Three of the seven members of the party at the time were killed, and Velkt barely survived by having the female spy Kagura, who had the ability to transform, take her place.

I, who was there, could do nothing and had my right arm torn off by a monster.

I left the party at that time. Meishin, one of the initial members of the hero party and the second prince of Aresta, a magic knight, declared that there was no longer any room to drag around a merchant who could only handle money.

It wasn't a pleasant story, but it was a good opportunity. During my travels as a member of the hero party, I had come to see what I could do and what I should do. It was a job that couldn't be done on the front lines as a member of the hero party.

I was worried that Meishin, who would act for the benefit of Aresta, would become more influential with my departure, but fortunately, the female leader of the Martial religion, the holy maiden Tasha, had survived. I entrusted Velkt's guardianship to her and used the connections and resources I had built up during my adventures, as well as the support and imperial permission of the Martial religion, to start a company.

The Martial Imperial Company.

An armed economic organization that arranges military and living supplies to oppose the Demon King's army and supports the reconstruction of areas liberated from the Demon King's army.

At the same time, I began to develop new weapons to oppose the upper demons. When Velkt was attacked by strategist Degis, she had the holy sword Horus Ray, provided by the Martial religion. It was one of the five great swords of the continent, but it was broken by Degis.

To defeat Degis and the Demon King Gales above him, a weapon superior to Horus Ray was needed. However, Horus Ray was one of the strongest swords on the continent.

A new weapon was needed.

I focused on the rare metal Orichalcum contained in the broken Horus Ray, found and developed its mines, and recruited craftsmen and technicians of all races and generations, as well as magicians and alchemists, to design and develop Orichalcum equipment. After hundreds, thousands of prototypes and failures, and repeated practical use, the large sword Weiss Rexima, prepared for Velkt, was completed. Its strength is 27 times that of the holy sword Horus Ray, and the output of the magic circuit, which produces various effects according to the amount of magic power poured into it, is 40 times that of Horus Ray. However, the result of prioritizing strength and output was that it became super large, and its monstrous weight made it almost impossible for a normal human to handle.

Velkt picked up the large sword. It was a super thick, high-density sword, more than four times the weight of a normal large sword, but Velkt easily lifted it with one hand and drew it from its scabbard.

She didn't seem to think it was heavy. She was humming a tune with an excited face.

The blade was silver. The magic circuit was embedded in the belly of the sword, and fine magical characters glowed faintly in gold.

"Amazing, beautiful."

Velkt, with a voice like she had seen the first snow, narrowed her eyes. She looked more like she was admiring something beautiful rather than evaluating a weapon. I was worried if she was properly assessing it. Rather, her companions behind her seemed to be looking at it more carefully. The holy maiden Tasha said, "Wow." The masked swordsman Izma, whose face couldn't be seen as usual, seemed to be impressed.

The prince of Aresta, the magic knight Meishin, clad in luxurious armor and a cloak, stared speechlessly.

Asra, the spy of Aresta, who stood by Meishin, raised a grating voice.

"Too much."

Her voice was as poisonous as always. Asra was the older brother of the spy Kagura, who had died in Velkt's place, but he showed no trace of a family resemblance, being completely unlikable.

"The hero's sword can only be the holy sword Agathos Daimon of Aresta."

Agathos Daimon is the name of the holy sword Velkt is currently using. It is one of the five great swords of the continent, known alongside Horus Ray, and is famous for being wielded by Aresta's brave crown prince Ashur to defeat the evil Elder Dragon.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward, but Velkt didn't seem to be listening. She put the silver blade of Weiss Rexima back into its scabbard and showed a full smile.

"Amazing! Barad! Thank you!"

Couldn't she say something a little more heroic? I smiled wryly and nodded.

"It's an honor. I thank you on behalf of the employees, investors, and supporters."

Weiss Rexima wasn't a sword I made alone. I gathered people and funds and summarized the necessary specifications, but the miners who extracted the rare metals like Orichalcum and Adamantia, the dwarven craftsmen who forged the sword, the elven craftsmen who refined the hilt and scabbard, the magicians led by the great sage Bosen who embedded the magic circuit in the blade, and the Martial Church, which invested as a financier and performed the sanctification of the materials, all played a part. The contributions of the land and sea transporters and the mercenaries and adventurers who escorted the materials and personnel cannot be forgotten.

"Please wait, Your Excellency the Hero."

Asra repeated in a squeaky voice.

"It's impossible. The only sword worthy of the hero is Aresta's Agathos Daimon. A sword prepared by a lowly merchant with money is not worthy of the hero."

"Our church has also contributed financially."

The holy maiden Tasha of the Martial religion said in a low, cool voice.

Our company is the Martial Imperial Company. Through Tasha's introduction, we received investment from the Martial Church and were granted permission to engage in free economic activities in the countries of the Martial religion. Asra couldn't have been unaware of this, but in her zeal to assert Aresta's face, she had forgotten it.

"You know as well as I do that Agathos Daimon doesn't work against Gales. The knife that killed Degis was made by the imperial company. If the holy sword that didn't work against Degis is supposed to work against Gales, you must be kidding. If Velkt loses this battle, there will be no second chance. This isn't the time to talk about the face of the country. If you want to lick the prince's ass, do it where no one can see."

Tasha continued in a witch-like tone. The Martial religion is a huge religion worshipped in many human nations, not just Aresta. Asra had no choice but to keep quiet.

I wanted to say "serve you right," but it would be pointless to say such childish things. I decided to pretend I didn't hear.

"Tasha is right."

Prince Meishin said. With his golden hair, blue eyes, tall and well-proportioned body, and handsome face, he was the epitome of a prince. He was the one who had asked me to leave the party, but I didn't bear him any grudge.

Whether he was trustworthy was another matter.

He was a prince of Aresta, good and bad, not as vulgar as Asra, but a cold-blooded nationalist with a unique personality that made him hard to get along with.

"This isn't the time to talk about the face of the country. If a better sword than Agathos Daimon has been created, then it should be used. I apologize for Asra's rudeness, President Barad."

Prince Meishin said in a calm tone.

"Not at all."

I responded with a businessman's smile.

"Thank you. However, there is some truth to what Asra says. If the hero were to give up the Agathos Daimon prepared by our country and use a new sword made by a civilian, it could cause problems. I don't mind, but there's no guarantee that we won't receive trivial complaints from the noisy ones. How about we continue to call Agathos Daimon the hero's sword in name and make Weiss Rexima a backup weapon?"

How about it, he said.

He's acknowledging the use of Weiss Rexima but wants to keep the honor of the hero's sword for Aresta's Agathos Daimon.

"That's a good idea."

I responded, maintaining my businessman's face.

It's probably a compromise for Aresta, but it's a reasonable solution. I can't afford to worsen relations with Aresta and hinder the support for the hero.

"Is it okay, Barad?"

Velkt asked me, concern in her eyes. I smiled at her as a friend.

"It's fine."

I feel sorry for those involved in the production of Weiss Rexima, but what matters is whether it can defeat the Demon King. If it can end Velkt's battle, the name of the sword doesn't matter.

He might even get angry and say, "Don't worry about such trivial things."

"I'm sorry."

Velkt apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Just win for me."

Just win. Just come back alive.

That's all I want for my friend.

And Velkt went to the final battle with Gales, armed with Weiss Rexima.

The survivors were Meishin and Asra.

Tasha and Izma were killed in action, and Velkt, who defeated Gales, was also felled by the curse Gales cast in his final moments and passed away.