Amber Sword

"Of course, I’m here to repay my debt while at it."

"I see, then what about Carlo’s father?" Griff couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"Her father has already sacrificed himself in this war."

"Ah!" The Princess finally realized. Brand was also stunned. Actually, it was just about taking on the responsibility of supporting a friend’s daughter, but it was said to be about borrowing money. The Elf Lady really had quite the peculiar temperament.

"You are truly remarkable, Aunt Tania," the Princess sincerely praised, though with some melancholy, "It was all because the descendants of the Colcorva family failed to fulfill their duties that the flames of war spread across the Kingdom. Many civilians were affected in this Ambeser war."

"That’s not your fault, Griff," Tania replied, "The last time I saw you, you were still an ignorant little girl, but now you’ve already become a competent princess. But I’ve heard that you still haven’t found a suitable partner, so is this person beside you the knight you’ve set your eyes on?"

"N-no," the princess blushed, quickly denying. She then explained, "Although Mr. Brand is indeed...my knight, it’s not like what you’re thinking, Aunt Tania."

The Elf Lady smiled silently, and Brand very much suspected she was deliberately teasing them. Elves are known for their fondness for pranks, having a ’good reputation’ for mocking fools in various legends and stories, and now Aunt Tania seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

However, she soon became serious.

"Oh?" The Elf Lady turned her head, curiously looking at Brand, "You are Brand?"

Brand suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine, but nodded nonetheless. Tania asked curiously, "I’ve heard you saved Ambeser, so you’re the hero of this port?"

"Well...not really."

"You probably don’t know about the Holy Sword your grandfather owe me, do you?"

"Is that so?" Brand froze for a moment. "What!?" he shouted, thinking how strange it was that he suddenly had a debt collector. This didn’t feel like the typical inherited debt storyline.

"Surely you know of the Earth Sword Saint’s weapon?"

"My grandfather’s weapon..." Brand was slightly taken aback and suddenly remembered the Earth Sword Saint’s sword—it was a Mythical weapon named ’Meteor.’ It was said to be a replica of Sirifus’s Tooth, the blade said to split the Earth."

Sirifus’s Tooth is a hero of the mountain people, Kula’s sword. The mountain people’s myths roam outside the Cruz people’s epics, but Kula did exist in history and even had adventures with the sky-blue knight. This history is not widely known, but Sirifus’s Tooth is quite famous because legend says the mountains of Alkash were split open by this very sword, creating the chasm.

In the language of the mountain people, Sirifus’s Tooth was originally Siri•Anrita, the treasure sword that parted the Earth. This sword, in a sense, was more famous than Kula himself. Earth Sword Saint Darius was known for this exact reason.

Brand couldn’t help but look at the Princess beside him. Unexpectedly, Princess Griffine nodded at him with an embarrassed expression, "Mr. Brand, sorry, I almost forgot...your grandfather’s sword was a gift from Aunt Tania when she was young."

"That guy even promised to exchange a real Holy Sword for my sword in the future, not keeping his word," Aunt Tania complained like a child, "But fortunately, his grandson is finally grown up now—"

Damn, it really is an inherited debt storyline!

"Wait, what do you want?" shouted Brand. He suddenly felt that coming here today was his worst decision ever. Originally, he just wanted to repair his equipment, but unexpectedly, he ran into a debt collector; this storyline was definitely flawed.

"Don’t worry, I won’t actually make you find a Holy Sword, that was a wish from my younger days, and my adventurous spirit has already faded," the Elf Lady generously replied.

"There’s nothing you could make me find anyway." Brand replied irritably, although he did have a genuine Earth Sword, arguably of Holy Sword caliber. But that was a sword he had managed to find with great difficulty, and he wouldn’t even consider giving it away as payment. He couldn’t help but grumble internally, while other people recognize a strong relative they receive all kinds of benefits, why is it that when it comes to him, he’s either entangled with enemies or debt collectors? Just what god-annoying and ghost-disturbing things did Earth Sword Saint Darius do in his lifetime?

For Brand’s terrible attitude, the Elf Lady wasn’t offended. Instead, she addressed Carlo who was nearby, "Carlo, could you go inside and bring me that box?"

"Huh?"

"The one with gemstones encrusted around the lock."

"Oh." The tearful young girl responded, then obediently ran to the back. But Brand watched as the Elf Lady, akin to a crafty merchant, appeared to be finding a way to send away bystanders. Sure enough, she turned back and said, "Griffine, Mr. Brand, I’d like to ask you for a favor."

"Aunt Tania, is there something you need?" Before Brand could respond, Princess Griffine had already spoken up.

"I’d like you to help me find something."

"Aunt Tania... those legendary Holy Swords have long vanished in the current era, this isn’t the time of the Saint War anymore." Princess Griffine couldn’t help but smile wryly at her words, clearly familiar with this ’aunt’s’ eccentric temperament.

"That’s not necessarily true," the Elf Lady disagreed, putting down her teacup. "The truly glorious era is just about to begin, but that’s beside the point, I’m not asking you to find a Holy Sword for me."

"Huh?" Princess Griffine was slightly taken aback, "Aunt Tania, what are you looking for?"

"This is actually why I came to Ambeser. I’m not necessarily seeking to find it, as long as I can catch a glimpse of it, that’s enough. You could say this has been my lifelong wish."

Brand looked at the indifferent expression on the Princess’s face and knew that this elderly Elf Lady must have had countless so-called lifelong wishes. It’s probable that when she gave the sword to his grandfather, she also said something like that.

"Aunt Tania, so what exactly are you looking for?"

"The Sky Blue Spear, I heard it’s hidden somewhere near Ambeser."

"Ah—"

This is even more outrageous than finding a Holy Sword, Brand’s mind was filled with this single thought.

...

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

(PS: Since we’re in a playful mood, I’ll casually recommend the game Lu Se Ti Ya. Even though it’s just a fan game, the quality is really high. Played it about half a year ago, and suddenly remembered it before writing about a mysterious magic shop, so decided to have some fun with it) (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)