Chapter 9: Destined encounter

――Yes, it's been a week since I left the village.
You see, Kuro-kun, meaning I had planned to head south towards the imperial capital.

I knew it was far, but I was determined to walk there.
And yet, what happened…??

“Haa, haa…
Muramasa-san, we're supposed to go east, not dash off in some random direction!?”

――Soul…! Soul…!――

“Ah… Why aren’t you listening to me!?”

My body was sprinting at full speed through the dimly lit forest and dashing as fast as it can.

…And, yes.
As you might have guessed, the cursed sword Muramasa-kun tends to run towards areas with powerful monsters whenever it gets hungry.

As a result, we have made absolutely no progress towards our destination, and my body is already exhausted.

“Ugh…I'm scared of fighting those monsters too…”

When I'm under Muramasa's control, I become strong and defeat any monster that comes my way without thinking.
But it's still my body that's fighting, and I feel like I'm not really alive as I watch their claws and fangs barely miss me.

“Haaah, I could get injured at any moment…”

I let out a sigh as I catch my breath.
Honestly, if this goes on, my muscles might give out even without taking a hit from a monster.

The usual routine till now is as such: I drag my tired body towards the south whenever Muramasa is full, but soon enough, he gets hungry again and drags me towards some ridiculous direction for another battle.

It's too much for me!

“Hmm… What is I let my body fight on my own while I'm in control of my body and feed my soul to Muramasa.
That way, he won't get hungry…
But no, that's too dangerous for an amateur like me.
If I die, that would just be stupid.”

“Hmm… What if I fight voluntarily while keeping the control of my body and feed the defeated soul to Muramasa.
So, that I won’t have to be led on its control, but… No, that's too dangerous…”

I’m an amateur with no whatsoever experience in fighting on my own.
It would be too stupid if I seek death from such atrocity.

“I wish I could ride a carriage or something and move forward while my body is still under my own control.”

“Well, that's only possible within the 'safe zone' around the imperial capital…
sigh.
“

As I thought about wanting to head in that direction, I let out another sigh.
It’s not easy to get there with this hungry bastard with me.

――Soul――!

Here, it goes again!

As Muramasa's cheerful voice echoed, I know what’s going to happen.
The prey it was looking for seemed to be close by, and my pace quickened involuntarily as I ran through the forest.

“Hmm, I wonder what kind of monster we'll battle next.
The stronger they are, the more delicious they seem to be.
Ugh, I don't really like it…”

As I continued to run (not on my own), lost in thought, suddenly a woman's voice rang out.

“Ku…
Is this as far as I go…!?”

Breaking through the dense foliage, there was a giant bull-man monster, the “Minotaur,” about to strike down the woman.

I was taken aback, not just because a person was about to be killed, but also because of the woman's appearance.

She appeared to be in her twenties, with long blond hair, deep blue eyes,

 

white skin, and pink lips…
but who cares about her face at a time like this! The problem was her clothes.
That white military uniform she was wearing…
that's right…

 

‘I've heard of it.
That's the outfit of a “magic knight”!’

Magic Knight, the Guardian of the Kingdom, is an official of the national army who is authorized to use magic armament.
Their purpose is to defeat dangerous monsters and kill black magic users who abuse their powers – they're like modern-day police officers.

This is bad, really bad!

'Oh no, no, no, if someone sees me wielding magic armament without permission… ah!'

My body leapt out without my permission, on its own as if I was pushed from behind.

Muramasa-kun always puts his appetite first without so much concern to my wellbeing.

As if it didn’t care whether I might be arrested or not, controlling my body, it pulled out a strange jet-black sword.

Thank you very much, you sh*t headed bastard!

‘Ah, now it’s come to this, I can't take it anymore! Let's go, Muramasa! I'll deliver a great line and appeal as the “Evil Condemner” at the perfect timing!’

I'm not sure if the illegal utilization of the magic armament will go unnoticed, but all I have control over is my mouth.
I have no choice but to go for it.

“Bu- Bu-moo!?”

The Minotaur seems to have noticed me approaching.
But it's too late.

My body (with a creaking of bones) jumps several meters into the air and approaches the neck of the bull-man, then…

“Evil! Perish!”

With a flash of demonic slash, I decapitate him, taking his life in an instant.

‘Afterwards, when I landed, my ankle made a crunching sound.
Ouch!!!’

‘Ugh, it hurts so much! I'm so tired, my legs might even give out!’

Honestly, I feel like crying.

But I hold back my tears, and with a determined expression, I stare at the corpse of the fallen creature.

Alright, blond knight lady, let's make the “Evil Condemner” appeal, shall we?

“――Scatter to the sword of judgement.
On behalf of God, I shall deliver the judgement on you evil being for harming the lady with beauty compared to that of a pure white flower here.”

I uttered nonsense with a resolute expression.

…So, what do you think, lady knight? I think that was a great line, earning me 100 points for using the words “sword of judgment” and “delivering punishment in place of God”, with each contributing 50 points!

Now, what's your reaction?

“Eh- pure white, flower!? Me, the outdated me is a beautiful lady!?”

The knight lady turns bright red.
How cute.

But wait, that's not the kind of reaction I was expecting!