Round Two Ends; Round Three, an Even Fiercer and More Spectacular Clash Among the Gods, Begins at Once! (Continued)

Then Rhine woke up.

He felt as though he was lying on a wonderfully soft pillow.

It was probably someone's thigh.

And judging by its softness and size... it wasn't Constance's.

Then Rhine vaguely heard Constance and Hela talking.

Hela: "This sword is fascinating. It doesn't absorb elements or react to magic, and it only works in your hands. Shia, do you know where it came from?"

Constance: "I don't."

Hela: "Really?"

Constance: "Mm."

Hela: "But Prince Rhine must know all about it. After all, he prepared this sword especially for you."

Hela: "I think I understand now. Prince Rhine went hunting for an ancient dragon neither because the evil dragon ordered him to, nor to bribe me. It was because I'd just taken your only golden weapon at the time..."

Constance: "No..."

Hela: "Hmm?"

Constance: "My relationship with His Highness isn't that close. He wouldn't give me such a precious gift. I think he just lent me the sword so I could help him kill the ancient dragon."

Hela's voice turned sour. "...Shia, are you showing off to me?"

Constance: "I'm not."

Hela: "You two give each other the cold shoulder every day. You can meet ten times without saying a word, but the moment something happens, you spoil each other rotten... Don't tell me you're just flirting with each other?"

Constance: "Hela..."

Hela: "Oh~ Am I wrong?"

Constance: "Why are you suddenly so interested in Prince Rhine?"

Hela: "Ahem... Of, of course it's because I took His Highness's money, so I should show some interest in my boss... Ah, His Highness is awake."

Hela looked down at Rhine, who was resting his head on her thigh, and greeted him with a smile. "Did you sleep well, Your Highness?"

"Not bad..."

Rhine saw the nameless golden sword lying beside him.

He asked, puzzled, "Constance, why haven't you put the sword away?"

Constance replied calmly, "It belongs to Your Highness."

"No, it doesn't."

Rhine thanked Hela, then got up and handed the golden sword to Constance.

"Keep it safe. This weapon belongs to you alone. You're the only one suited to wield it."

"Your Highness..."

Constance's gaze was complicated. If this really was a sword Rhine had given her, then that meant... just as Hela had said, Rhine had left the Imperial Capital, ventured into Laita, and risked his life challenging an ancient dragon—all to get this weapon for her.

Constance murmured, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Rhine nodded, unconcerned. "Oh, there's one more thing. The sword's maker didn't have time to name it. An artifact like this deserves a meaningful true name, so think of something for it."

Constance: "Can I give it any name I want?"

Rhine: "Mm."

"Then..."

Constance gently wiped the edge of the golden sword.

Without Constance needing to say a word, the golden sword sensed its master's thoughts. Two characters appeared on its blade, forming its name.

After countless years, the work of the Primordial Gods had finally gained the true name that belonged to it.

[Rhine]

Just to clarify, this book doesn't take place in a game world. When I wrote "New Single-Handed Sword 01" earlier, I meant that one of the creator races had left behind an unfinished design without even deciding on a name before they fled. The ancient dragon had enshrined it as a sacred relic, thinking "New Single-Handed Sword" was some kind of holy true name. Basically, I couldn't think of a cool name, so I came up with this on a whim. There's no deeper meaning.

Thanks to Li Huahua for the tip. You're so generous!

0: Mithril Skull

Once Constance confirmed that the sword really was a gift from Rhine, she put it away with the utmost care.

"The sword is yours now, but remember to limit how often you use it. Try not to use it unless absolutely necessary."

Constance nodded obediently. "I understand."

Rhine: "..."

Constance: "..."

Rhine: "You could at least ask me why."

Constance: "Why?"

Rhine: "Because the resource this sword consumes when activated isn't energy. It's gold."

Just as casting a spell consumed mana,

when the golden sword was activated, it automatically vaporized the gold nearby.

Hela, standing to one side, froze. "...Gold?"

No wonder the dolls had told me they hadn't found a single Gold Coin while sorting through the spoils...

Most of Obadiah's collection consisted of exquisite, powerful, and rare treasures.

But he'd also stockpiled a few worldly possessions, such as gold and jewels.

However, while Hela had been letting Rhine rest his head on her lap, the dolls had been sorting through Obadiah's estate.

They'd discovered that, despite the tower being decked out in gold, there wasn't a single gold item in Obadiah's treasury.

At first, Hela had assumed it was just a quirk of Obadiah's collecting habits.

But now she understood.

When Constance had used the golden sword to kill the ancient dragon, all the gold near the battlefield had been vaporized for fuel.

In every previous cycle, no matter what name Constance gave the sword, Rhine had always called it the same thing in his heart.

The Pay-to-Win Sword.

Killing the ancient dragon Obadiah in one blow was impressive, sure.

But once you knew the terrifying bill the golden sword had charged Constance to kill that dragon, you couldn't help but feel sick...

In fact, the Pay-to-Win Sword could take gold not only from the nearby area, but directly from Constance's assets as well.

And even more outrageously—if it had taken all the gold in Constance's savings and the astronomical bill still wasn't paid, the user's relatives would become the golden sword's next targets.

It was a simple matter of equivalent exchange.

The life of an ancient dragon was extraordinarily valuable.

So killing one demanded an equally exorbitant price.

The small amount of gold ancient dragon Obadiah had stored up as a token gesture wasn't enough, and neither were the savings of the ascetic Constance.

So next, it was the turn of those closest to Constance.

In theory, her sisters in the Imperial Guards should have paid the bill.

But in reality...

Rhine checked his wallet.

Sure enough, it was empty.

Rhine's assets had been vaporized too.

Of course, that still wasn't nearly enough.

At nineteen, Rhine hadn't had much money. Back when he was a prince, he'd spent every day studying, attending classes, and enjoying himself. He'd never had the habit of saving.

So the question was...

Who had ultimately paid for the gold equivalent to an ancient dragon's life?

Imperial Capital of Hain, Dreamland.

Since their new boss hadn't given them any orders yet, the Succubi could only prepare for their usual pointless infiltration work.

But just moments ago,

they'd received some good news.

Their leader, the Dragon Succubus, jumped to her feet and demanded in shock, "What?! You're saying the Gold Coins in our treasury are gone?"

"That's right!"

"Was it the Imperial Guards?"

"No! The Gold Coins just vanished into thin air! I, I have no idea what happened! They just... unbelievably evaporated!"

"So that means..."

"We can finally sleep in our beds?!"

"Yay!"

"Long live!!!"

One third of the heaps of yellow scrap metal piled up in Dreamland had disappeared for unknown reasons. They finally wouldn't have to let it keep taking up their rooms!

The Succubi wept tears of joy.

Laita, ancient dragon's barrier.

Rhine woke up at just the right time. The ancient dragon's barrier was about to disappear, and the Imperial Guards were preparing to leave.

Now,

there was one last thing Rhine needed to do in Laita.

With only ten minutes left before the barrier vanished, he had to find the second item he'd chosen.

Although Rhine had previously only been able to challenge Obadiah in the later stages of a campaign because he was immortal,

Obadiah had so many treasures that whenever Rhine managed to survive until the later stages, he'd bring Constance over to check what Obadiah had in stock.

Rhine knew exactly what treasures Obadiah had and where they were kept.

He could find them with his eyes closed.

Rhine didn't go to the pagoda where Obadiah kept his treasures. Instead, he went to an inconspicuous graveyard piled with corpses.

These corpses belonged to all sorts of creatures who had entered Obadiah's lair for one reason or another and been killed by him.

They weren't as powerful as demigods, nor were they worthy of being hung by the entrance as scarecrows. So Obadiah had simply dumped them to one side, intending to deal with them once there were enough.

So calling it a graveyard wasn't quite right.

Though countless bones were piled up here, no one had buried them.

At best, it was... household waste?

After the battle, the bones had become unrecognizable.

When Obadiah burst through the ground, the lava he sent flying had triggered a rain of molten rock. After that, the Grand Tutor and Histia—two divine natures, Compassion and Order—had fought desperately in the abyss for over a hundred rounds.

This stretch of the Blazing Sun Deep Wall had been left as barren as if it had been bombarded by City-Destroying Curses.

But even so,

one special sacred relic remained completely intact amid the blackened cinders.

Rhine picked out a silvery-white skull.