Chapter 48: Overgearing Is Always The Answer (2)

Upon opening the box, inside lay a dagger made from a unicorn’s horn.

The blade was straight and pure white, with a golden line embroidered onto it, drawing a geometric pattern. Could it be some kind of magic circle?

Next was the hand guard. This, too, was pure white like the blade but not as fancy. Its only decoration was the transparent bead embedded in the center.

Lastly, the handle. Wrapped in black leather, the handle was dark and luxurious. Could it be the leather of a rare monster instead of an ordinary animal?

From a pickpocket’s perspective, this was a weapon valuable enough to bring consequences if stolen.

The 3-star materials used to make it seemed to be worth it… But, how should I say it?

“It seems a bit… lifeless, doesn’t it?” I remarked.

When it was just a unicorn’s horn, there was something about it that felt alive, even though it was a part that had been cut off long ago.

Perhaps that certain power determined whether those who touched it were virgins or not.

After becoming this dagger, that feeling disappeared completely.

As I slightly furrowed my brows and tilted my head, Eve opened her mouth with a surprised expression.

“My goodness. I didn’t expect you to feel that. As Sir Jonah said, this dagger is currently in a dormant state. There’s a specific process it must go through to be awakened.”

“I see. What should I do?”

“Blood,” she replied.

“Excuse me?”

“Do you desire power? Then offer it blood. The blood of someone pure.”

Sacrifice an innocent soul to awaken the cursed sword. (X)

It needs a drop of blood to mark its owner. (O)

“……”

I knew what kind of person she was, but actually hearing her ask if I wanted power surprised me enough to restart my internal translator.

Right. That must be it. Sealing the master’s mark with a drop of blood and activating the engraved magic was a common setting in the fantasy genre.

I knew that because I’d used it frequently myself. This must also fall under a similar category of magic.

With an empty laugh, I pulled out my existing dagger from my pocket. It was well-maintained, but it seemed somewhat shabby compared to the unicorn dagger.

Well, I’ll have to sell this one as used later. It’s somewhat ironic that its last job would be to cut its owner’s finger.

With a bitter smile, I lightly cut the tip of my index finger with the blade.

Spt!

The sensation of the cold blade cutting through the flesh… Did I cut a little too deep?

Replacing the coldness of the blade, a hot pain blossomed from my fingertip. Simultaneously, drops of blood began to fall.

I could feel the tears coming, but I couldn’t whine over a cut I made myself.

That was… even for a gender role-reversed world, too embarrassing.

So, as I tried my best to act as if nothing was wrong and maintain my composure, it was instead Eve and the Lemon Apple duo who became surprised.

“S, Sir Jonah?! There’s no need to make such a deep wound!” Eve exclaimed.

“Bandages! Get the bandages!” Lemon cried out.

“We used them all up yesterday playing the bondage game! Go look for a potion first!” Apple replied.

“It’s okay. It’s just a cut on my finger. It’s not a big deal,” I reassured them, before adding, “…But what exactly is a bondage game?”

What’s with that suspiciously named game? It’s distracting me!

I wanted to calmly sit them down and ask what that game was all about, but there was something else I needed to do first.

“By the way, it seems like I’ve dropped enough blood on it, but why isn’t there any reaction, Miss Eve?” I asked.

Not only did I drop my blood on the crystal ball on the hand guard, which was practically begging for blood, but also on the blade and handle. However, there wasn’t any reaction.

…Could it be that my purity was taken while I was asleep?

For a moment, I contemplated whether I should go find Ellie and make her take responsibility.

But then Eve replied with an anxious voice, “You have to hold it, not just sprinkle blood on it!”

“Ah?”

I immediately grabbed the dagger and lifted it. At once, a brilliant white light burst out from the blade. The brightness was so immense that for a moment, I couldn’t open my eyes.

After cautiously opening my eyes after a while, I found the dagger boasting a pristine white, as if it had never been covered in blood.

“…Did it absorb the blood? Is it a cursed sword?” I wondered aloud.

Vwoonm!

The dagger vibrated faintly as if protesting my remark about it being a cursed sword.

Upon closer inspection, the blade’s edges on both sides had become sharper, and the golden patterns drawn on the blade were pulsing at consistent intervals.

The orb on the hand guard was swirling with a mix of white and pink, and holding the handle felt more like it was clinging to me rather than me grabbing it.

It truly felt as if the sword was alive.

Eve let out a sigh of relief upon confirming that the marking was successfully completed.

“It’s all done now. Your wounds should have healed by now as well. Would you please check?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh, now that you mention it, it doesn’t hurt,” I replied, noticing the absence of pain.

When I stretched out my finger, it had completely healed, leaving only a trace of the cut. Even that was fading quickly enough to be noticeable.

“Hehe. How is it? Do you… like your new power?” Eve asked, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

A suitable power has been bestowed in exchange for the sacrifice. (X)

I worked really hard on this. Tell me what you think! (O)

“Of course, I love it! Who would say no to healing abilities? It has other abilities, too, right? Can you tell me?” I asked eagerly.

Eyes wide and smiling broadly, I lifted my head towards her in a way that, for Eve, it would feel like I suddenly leaned into her.

It’s a form of service. I’m not sure what other functions it had, but the power emanating from the dagger didn’t seem ordinary.

That wasn’t just because of the good materials. This was possible only when a great blacksmith and magician combined their powers.

Even Eve, with her extensive connections from living so long, would have found it burdensome to do this for free just on the promise of my frequent visits.

So, I had to give her something like this, at the very least.

Eve momentarily clutched her chest and staggered but quickly regained her composure and nodded.

“Of course I will. As you have seen a moment ago, it has a constant healing ability. Basically, it’s a power that applies only to the wearer, but if Sir Jonah wishes so while in contact with the sword, it can also heal others. There are some restrictions, though,” she explained.

“That’s amazing! But what do you mean by restrictions…?” I inquired.

“The person being healed must also be pure,” Eve stated.

“?”

“Or they must have given birth to more than two children and be living happily after having gone through a process of pure and devoted love… Honestly, I’m not sure about that part either. Unicorns have always been such mysterious creatures… I mean, they’ve been extinct for so long that there’s hardly any remaining documentation related to them,” Eve elaborated.

Realizing she had accidentally revealed how long she’d lived, Eve hurriedly corrected herself.

An agility fit for someone who lived during the olden days when unicorns used to stab the husbands of cuckqueans.

Pretending not to have heard her, I gestured to Lemon and Apple, who were hurriedly putting the potion they had taken out back on the shelf.

Flick flick

“No, no!” Lemon protested.

“We oppose live experiments!” Apple chimed in.

“You know I’ll catch up right away if I chase after you, right? Ah, but if you come right now, I’ll bite you with my teeth instead of using the dagger. Then I won’t accidentally cut too deep, right?” I teased.

“…I’m coming right now!” Lemon exclaimed.

“Lemon! No cutting in line!” Apple complained.

“It’s not first-come-first-served, so take your time!” I said, standing up.

Lemon and Apple obediently lined up in front of me with very tense expressions.

The experiment was a success.

Chuckling as I saw Lemon and Apple, who were honest about their desires, sucking on the healed wound with their mouths, I sat back down.

Not in my original seat, but next to Eve.

“……”

Somehow, Eve was glaring at Lemon and Apple with a scarier atmosphere than usual. I nudged her in the side with my elbow and asked, “What other effects does it have?”

“Huh? Uh, eh?!” Eve stammered, startled by my sudden proximity. She briefly trembled, seemingly unaware that I had sat right next to her.

It was kind of funny. She looked a little like a fish….

“Were you listening to me? I asked what other effects it has, Miss Eve,” I repeated.

“Yes, yes, of course. It contains all the basic functions of a unicorn’s horn,” Eve replied, trying to regain her composure.

See? I made such an awesome weapon. (X)

So close. So small. Smells good. (O)

“Does it have the ability to discern one’s experience?” I inquired.

“…That might be the most well-known, but there are many other abilities, too. For example, protecting the user from all sorts of negative effects, purifying anything dirty, and enhancing luck,” Eve explained.

“Luck…!” I exclaimed, my eyes lighting up.

While the resistance to status ailments and an automatic cleaning function were nice, luck was the most important for me, who had a gacha ability.

“You really seem to value luck, Sir Jonah. Just like the Lucky Strike you took last time,” Eve remarked.

“Well, of course. The most important thing in gambling is luck, isn’t it?” I said with a grin.

“……”

I smiled slyly towards Eve, who stared at me quietly.

“If you find a treasure from the past or a relic of a dead god in the labyrinth, you can make a fortune! And I like money!” I declared.

“…Ah. That kind of gambling. Well, the life of an adventurer in itself is a gamble with one’s life,” Eve mused.

Ah, so you care about luck because you deal with such dangerous tasks. (X)

A shame. If you were a gambling addict, I could have made sure I would become indispensable to you, even if it meant I needed to use the powers of my people. (O)

???

You mean you’d turn me into a lazy husband who lives off the elves’ hard-earned money?

What a scary thought you have, Eevee…

I almost blurted out that I’d like that, but because there was still so much to do, I barely managed to hold myself back.

“…Seeing as you mentioned basic abilities, that must also mean there are some abilities that aren’t usually found in a unicorn’s horn, correct?” I asked, steering the conversation back on track.

“You catch on quickly. While it does have convenience-oriented magic like automatic restoration, automatic retrieval, and security spells… these are basic features for any expensive weapon. The real deals are what comes next,” Eve said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Oh… What is it?” I inquired, leaning in closer.

“You are able to deal a fatal blow when facing those who are sexually promiscuous or evil,” Eve revealed.

“What!” I exclaimed, my eyes widening in surprise.

A non-virgin slayer…?

I did hear that it also applies to evil entities, but that wasn’t really important.

I pressed my body close enough to Eve for our shoulders to touch and brought my lips to her long ear. Then, I whispered softly, “What happens if I’m no longer a virgin…?”

“…Then the dagger will turn black and split into two. Perhaps you could call it a Bicorn Dagger,” Eve replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

It won’t harm the user, so rest assured. (X)

Is there something I could look forward to? (O)

“……”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seems like my internal translator is broken.

Anyway, that was the gist.