“Sera, I’ve prepared the same target. Try it out.”

“Okay!”

I could see the visual change from the enhancement.

Next up was its performance.

Facing the same target that Fiora had created earlier, I swung my right hand with a bit more care than usual.

The result was the same.

Just like the normal version, it only cut through.

No explosions or bursts of flame… I guess there aren’t any special effects?

“It’s the same… Fiora, can you make it a bit sturdier this time?”

“Sure.”

Fiora focused a bit more than before and produced another target.

The target itself had no magical power imbued in it—she had clearly taken into account the performance of 【Shadow Sword】.

“Alright, here I go… Ready—go!”

I swung my right arm in the same stance and with the same force as before…

“Ouch!?”

This time, it didn’t even cut—it stopped right on the surface.

Since the enhanced version activates from the wrist, it only caused a bit of pain there, but if I’d used the normal version, I might’ve injured my fingers… That was close.

“Are you alright, Princess?”

While I dispelled 【Shadow Sword】 and activated 【Prayer】, rubbing my wrist, everyone came over to check on me.

Teresa and Elena looked over my right wrist, but it’s fine.

It was firmly stabilized, so it just hurts a little.

More importantly…

“Fio-san, how hard is this thing, roughly?”

“It’s not harder than iron. 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 should be able to shatter it.”

“Hmm… Step back a little… Alright!”

They stepped back a bit, and I activated 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 and kicked the target with it. As Fiora said, it shattered perfectly.

I see… Someone strong enough could probably smash it with a blunt weapon too.

“So basically, the blade just got longer?”

Even I could tell my voice lacked enthusiasm.

【Hideout】 gained one room, and 【Floating Orb】 increased in number with a new 【Small Orb】.

I thought maybe these came with some special effect too, but…

“Oh? Your narrow range has expanded, hasn’t it? That’s plenty.”

“Huh?”

“Indeed. It already had sufficient power against living beings. The only real weakness was, as Madam mentioned, the short blade. Improving that is a big deal, I think.”

“Oh?”

“However, since your range increased, you’ll need to adjust your fighting style a bit.”

“Mmm…”

Seriana, Teresa, and Elena each listed the enhanced version’s characteristics and points of caution.

As they said, for a sword-type weapon, increasing range is a significant improvement.

With a normal sword, a larger size means more weight and a change in how you handle it, but that doesn’t apply to 【Shadow Sword】.

As Elena said, I’ll need to be a little more aware of my surroundings—but then again, I usually fight solo anyway.

Ah… it really is a solid upgrade!

“Well, for now, you’ll probably only be training here for a while… I hope you get used to using it well.”

Fiora joined the discussion for a bit, but Seriana wrapped it up with that comment.

“Yeah!”

Just swinging it around in an underground training area might feel a bit dull, but it’s far better than causing an accident outside or in a dungeon.

Plus, come to think of it, 【Shadow Sword】 finally feels like a real sword now.

This could actually be kind of fun!

◇

“Alright! Thanks for all your hard work today, everyone!”

Along with those words of appreciation, I cast 【Prayer】 on the roughly 30 soldiers gathered in the Knight Order headquarters’ meeting room.

They had been in charge of guarding the town and its outskirts this morning and had just rotated shifts with the afternoon crew.

It’s been three days since Liesel and the others left the town.

Or maybe… it’s only been three days?

With our forces reduced, both Squad 1 and Squad 2 need to step up—but if they push themselves too hard and get worn out, that’d be a problem too.

Which means… it’s my time to shine.

Back in winter, I used to cast 【Prayer】 regularly like this, but lately everyone had gotten used to their duties and managed breaks well on their own, so I hadn’t been needed. It’s been a while since I’ve done this.

“Vice Captain’s doing this again, huh… Still hits the spot.”

“Just don’t rely on it too much—if the Captain or Commander find out, you’ll be in trouble.”

“Same goes for Lady Teresa.”

A few light jokes flew around, and laughter broke out here and there.

Yeah, yeah.

Looks like they’re handling things smoothly even under the current setup.

“Anything unusual happening?”

Might as well ask how things are around town too.

I haven’t been out in the town lately myself.

“The town? Everything’s normal.”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s only been a few days since the lords left. If something went wrong this quickly, that’d be scary.”

“Right.”

“Haha, we patrol regularly anyway. Vice Captain Sera, no problems so far.”

You can tell which squad someone’s from just by how they talk…

At any rate, no abnormalities. That’s good.

“I see… Makes sense. Thanks! If anything comes up, no matter how small, please let me know.”

“Of course!”

They each responded to my request.

Morale’s high.

Both squads are working in sync… I’ll be counting on them to keep it up!

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind’s Garment】

Blessed Item ・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】+1 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 【Red Sword】 【Monkey’s Arm】 ・8 cards

Seriana ・【Range Identification】・【】・0 cards

Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec ・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards