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“Sufi’s holding him.”
“Thanks.”

I handed the things I was carrying over to Sufi and checked Chýtis Khaleed’s injuries.

His right arm was completely broken, there was a fracture in his right leg, and he had bruises all over his body including his left leg. He was in far worse shape than he looked.

“‘Forging.’”

I pulled some wood out from the rubble and shaped it so it could be used as splints. Taking cloth from my pocket, I fixed his arm and leg in place. That should be enough for first aid, at least.

“Thank you, that’s skillful work.”
“Our grandpa taught me.”

It felt like the medical knowledge he said would be useful on a journey was finally paying off. The injuries were severe, but maybe because he was strong, Chýtis Khaleed still seemed to have some leeway.

“I wonder if the Sister’s okay.”
“Who knows.”

Outside, intense sounds of battle rang out, and occasionally the building shook. It didn’t seem like an opponent that would go down easily.

“Their opponent proves to be troublesome.” Chýtis Khaleed’s expression stiffened as he listened to the situation outside while being treated.

“…………”
“Don’t even think about going to help. Protecting this town is the knights’ job.”

Khaleed warned Noche, who silently twitched her ears while staring toward the direction of the fight.

“Even with all those knights, this still turned into a right mess, nya.”
“It is quite the predicament, I agree, but they are doing their best.”

Even though it sounded like there were already casualties among the knights, both of them were harsh. Still, it was true that the ones doing the most were the Sister and Chýtis Khaleed.

“But can they really win, nya?”
“That’s hard to say. It would be good if reinforcements arrive in time.”

Apparently the situation wasn’t favorable. I picked up the gun I’d dropped on the floor and loaded the next round… five shots left. If it comes down to it, a Full-Burst shot—

…Huh? I turned to Sufi, who was right next to me.

Sufi tilted her head, holding her own sword in her left hand and Ame-no-Murakumo in her right.

“Sufi, you can swing that?”
“Huh? This? Yeah… it’s too light though.”

She deftly swung Ame-no-Murakumo in her right hand. Even though she was left-handed, she handled a sword just fine with her right—impressively dexterous.

…It was so light that even I could swing it easily, and despite moving fast enough that the tip blurred, it made no sound cutting through the air.

“I was wondering, what is that, nya?”

Supporting Filia, who was hiding behind overturned furniture in the corner of the room, Noche showed interest in Ame-no-Murakumo.

“I don’t know.”
“Didn’t you create that weapon?”
“I did, but…”

All I knew was that it was a weapon created by some kind of magic…? With the name of one of the Three Sacred Treasures. I had no idea what its effect was. It seemed to do something to the Divine Soldier, but…

I called the lantern back to my hand. The flame had completely returned to normal.

It seemed I could still manipulate the shadow-like substance even while the sword was out. Though at this point, I wasn’t even sure if this black thing was really “shadow.”

“Can I try holding it too, nya?”
“Yeah.”

As Sufi offered the hilt, Noche reached out to take the sword—only for her hand to pass right through it.

“…Huh?”
“Nya?”

Her hand went through it as if nothing was there.

“Sufi, can that cut anything?”
“Hm?”

Sufi swung Ame-no-Murakumo down on a piece of broken furniture. The black blade slipped cleanly through it. Of course, it left no cut.

Come to think of it, it passed through the Divine Soldier’s arm too. It can’t cut physical matter? What is this supposed to be? Someone give me a manual.

If Sufi could use it, letting her handle it would’ve been an option.

“Are that light-emitting tube and the lantern Artifacts as well? I’ve heard that with normal Artifacts, when you hold them, their usage just comes to mind.”
“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, most Unknowns had some form of mental interference ability. Tool-type ones… weaker ones would let you hear voices or tell you how to use them. Mid-level ones would guide your thoughts. Strong ones would contaminate your personality and thinking.

Using things like cursed blades or magic swords as examples—Class 1 tools would say, “I have this power, and you use me like this!” Convenient.

Class 2 would influence the user’s actions, like “save” or “kill”—the slightly dangerous kind.

Stronger ones, often in Class 2 or 3, could manipulate perception, implant strange thoughts or outright possess the user.

Apparently, these could be resisted depending on mental strength or capacity. From what little they tested on me during experiments in my past life, those tools didn’t affect me at all.

Could it be because of that I’m not getting information I should normally receive?

If that’s still true in this life, I thought being immune to mental contamination was an advantage—but I didn’t expect a blind spot like this.

Hm? Wait. Then why does this lantern feel familiar to me? Like it’s safe?

“Hey! Wait! I said wait!”

Just as I was about to get dragged back into my thoughts, I heard Nick’s panicked voice. Two sets of footsteps came from the corridor deeper inside, and one of them entered the room.

The boy who’d picked a fight with me before… his name was—

“Zig! Wait!”

Zig stared blankly at the wrecked common room. Nick, who came in after him, also froze the moment he entered.

“What… the hell is this…”
“Go back. It’s dangerous.”

Unlike Sufi and the others who could at least put up some resistance, they were completely defenseless. If they got caught up in this, their lives… no, the Sister’s shield was protecting them.

Even so, it would definitely be an unnecessary burden. And right now, we were fighting an opponent we couldn’t let our guard down against. The situation was different.

“W-what happened? There was this huge noise—”
“It’s gotten a bit complicated. It would help if you girls evacuated as well.”

Chýtis Khaleed looked at us. He was right, we couldn’t afford to be stubborn. If that already-strong nun turned into a Divine Soldier, we’d be nothing but dead weight.

“R-right… then Sufi, you guys too—Zig, let’s go back.”

Despite his confusion, Nick moved to follow orders from someone above him. Not for nothing was he the leader of the orphanage group.

“Tch… we’re pulling out, nya.”

Noche seemed to understand as well, clicking her tongue but accepting the retreat.

“Don’t screw around!”

Zig, who had been staring blankly at the room, suddenly shouted and lunged at me.

“Ah—”
“What do you think you’re doing, nya?”

Sufi tried to stop him, but realized too late that she was still holding swords in both hands. At that moment, Noche grabbed Zig’s arm before he could reach my chest.

His eyes were so cold it surprised me. I’d thought Noche and the others got along with him.

“Let go, Noche! Our home got wrecked! It’s because she came here, right!?”
“That’s not it, nya.”
“That’s not correct.”