I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [248]

"Magic Sword Gram?"

Nero's expression betrayed disbelief as she muttered, "The Sun Demon Sword Gram, wielded by Sigurd, the Warrior King of Norse mythology's Völsunga Saga? The weapon symbolizing 'Glory and Ruin,' considered one of the prototypes of Siegfried's Balmung and King Arthur's Excalibur?"

"Uh… probably just the same name," Kyouya Mitsurugi replied, offering an awkward yet polite smile. "I didn't expect you to know so much about it."

"Just the same name? What a shame…" Nero furrowed her brow slightly. "I had hoped to witness the weapon wielded by a warrior hailed as the King of Heroes. What sort of sword must it have been?"

"Ah… sorry to disappoint you."

"Umu! No matter. My sword has even cut down a Holy Sword of the Sun. Even if the blade you hold was truly Gram, I'm confident my sword wouldn't lose to it."

Nero's momentary disappointment vanished, replaced by a confident smile.

"You have great faith in your sword, which is crucial for any skilled swordsman. If one cannot trust their weapon, how can they stand on the battlefield? It seems I have much to learn—Nero-dono, you've taught me something valuable today."

Kyouya's earnest humility seemed to please Nero immensely.

"Umu! Naturally, since this sword was forged by my own hands. Trusting it is akin to trusting myself."

"Still, is Gram truly one of the prototypes of Excalibur? Arthur's legendary sword?"

"Indeed! Alongside the Caladbolg, the magic sword wielded by Fergus mac Róich of Celtic mythology. It's said to contain the power of heavenly lightning within its blade, and it too is considered a prototype for Excalibur as well as Gawain's Galatine."

"I… I see. That's fascinating! I've never heard of these myths before."

Kyouya listened intently, clearly captivated by Nero's recounting of these legendary tales.

"That said, the myths you speak of don't exist in this world, so…" Placing his hands on his hips and smiling confidently, Kyouya locked eyes with Nero. "You're a reincarnator too, aren't you, Nero-dono?"

"…"

Faced with his question, Nero remained silent. She neither confirmed nor denied his assumption.

"Honestly, I started suspecting as soon as you called yourself the Emperor of Rome. As far as I know, there's no such place as Rome in this world—at least, I've never heard of it. However, there was a Roman Empire in the world I came from before I reincarnated. Even so, I wasn't sure… until now."

Kyouya seemed quite pleased with his deduction skills and elaborated on his reasoning with visible pride.

"Besides, the Roman Empire should've fallen long ago. That means you couldn't possibly be from there, let alone its emperor. And, I've never encountered any reincarnators here who weren't Japanese. So, you must be Japanese too, right? You just made up the Roman Emperor persona as a backstory. Even the name 'Nero' must be part of the act."

"Such audacious claims cannot be ignored, you insolent fool!"

Nero glared at Kyouya, clearly annoyed, but her expression quickly shifted to one of wistful melancholy.

"Still, I cannot deny it… The sun that once belonged to me and my Rome has long since set. The prosperity of the past has faded into twilight—how very tragic."

"Uh… my condolences?"

"Even if your intentions are kind, they cannot erase the impudence of your earlier remarks."

Picking up on the dissatisfaction in her tone, Kyouya offered a sheepish smile.

"So, was that all you wanted to say to me? Or do you wish to test your mettle against me?" Nero's lips curled into an eager smile. "You must be strong. I could sense it from the way the guards respected you. Also, while your sword may not be the legendary Gram of myth, I can feel the significant magical power it contains."

"No, no, no! I'm not here to pick a fight, and I certainly don't want to battle a young lady!"

Noticing Nero's rising excitement, Kyouya quickly waved his hands in protest.

"Hmph, how dull. I was so ready for a duel." Nero sighed dramatically, sliding her hand away from her own sword.

"You shouldn't go unsheathing weapons in the middle of the street. You'll scare people," Kyouya chided, scratching the back of his head. "It's just that, well, I found it strange. You clearly have the strength to cut down a greater demon effortlessly, yet I'd never heard of you before. I thought you might have only recently reincarnated into this world, granted some cheat power by a goddess. If that's the case, I figured I should offer you some help—after all, we reincarnators ought to support each other in this strange world."

To emphasize his point, Kyouya gestured to the magic sword Gram hanging at his waist.

"As you can see, my cheat ability from the goddess is this magic sword, Gram. It's a testament to the bond between me and that goddess. By wielding the divine weapon she entrusted to me, I vowed to become a true hero, defeat the Demon King, and fulfill her expectations."

Gripping the hilt of Gram, Kyouya's resolve was evident.

"You must have received one too, right? The cheat power the goddess gives to every reincarnator so they can adapt to this world?"

Nero was tempted to explain that she wasn't like him or the others. While she indeed had a "cheat," it wasn't granted by their goddess.

And frankly, she didn't want to see that idiot goddess anyway.

"Your cheat must be the skill you used to strengthen everyone on the battlefield, right? Or…" Kyouya stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe it was that thing from a few days ago at the celebration banquet—that… um…"

It seemed that, like Alice, Kyouya hadn't lost his memory of Nero's performance. Perhaps resistance to her singing was proportional to one's physical constitution?

Even so, Kyouya's expression soured at the mention of the banquet. Rubbing his temples, he muttered weakly, "It could also be that… golden palace you summoned. I've never seen anything like it—it must be your cheat ability, right?"

"Hm? Wait a second… I get it now! Of course!"

Watching Kyouya's face light up with an expression of sudden clarity, Nero barely resisted the urge to blurt out, What nonsense are you about to spout now?

"That golden palace is your cheat power! The ability you used to strengthen the army on the battlefield was just one of its manifestations. You need to meet specific conditions to freely wield your cheat ability. That's why you claim to be Emperor Nero—because it's part of the requirement to activate it! Isn't that right?!"

Kyouya seemed utterly convinced of his "brilliant" deduction.

"So that's it. No wonder you keep calling yourself the Roman Emperor. It all makes sense now."

As Nero stared at the smugly self-satisfied Kyouya, she found herself at a loss for words.

Because… he was sort of right?

She did possess a "cheat"—her connection to the Nero Claudius Saint Graph.

Her skills and Noble Phantasms came with that identity, and her behavior was indeed influenced by the essence of Nero.

Which begged the question:

"How on earth did this guy stumble upon the right answer with such a completely wrong process?"

It was like someone using the Pythagorean theorem to solve Goldbach's conjecture—a ridiculous, yet somehow correct, leap of logic.

---

T/N: ahhh konosuba (hehe future me here i just noticed that gram makes another appearance next world hehe)

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