“Galene and Abby went off on their own, so I’m heading back now. Where are you?”

  “Uhmm… Sarasa dragged us to a tavern near the guilds.” In the dark, tight alleys of Ebrilyon, Carol’s voice cut through the silence as it passed through the speaker. “She might be going crazy. She’s saying she’s gonna drink until she passes out. You gotta hurry back and put a stop to her. Tell me when you’re nearby, and I’ll step out to find you.”

  “Ahahahaha! Sounds like you’re having fun. I’m on my way, so I’ll see you soon. Love you!!” A surprised gasp came through the speaker, followed by a nod. Then the call ended. Hehe~

  Sarasa’s causing trouble again, huh? How does she still have energy for that after our fight to the death? She was actually scared this time. It was kinda fresh to see, actually…

  Well, my business with Galene and Bea is over for now. Can’t really keep my precious Carol and Ririna waiting for too long. They probably need someone to comfort them after what they’ve been through. I know I’d like it.

  Or at least that’s what I think, but my pace doesn’t speed up much. A quiet pce like this, away from the world’s eyes, is just perfect to think for a bit. I’m still near the castle, so even the alleys are a sight to behold. On the upper floor, two of the buildings extend out while hanging, creating an arch that connects them over the alley.

  After focusing for a bit, a few floating, transparent textboxes appear in my field of view. Fighting the monster we fought caused some interesting things to happen. Lots of level-ups among my skills, but the most interesting one today is this…

  [Mind – Psychological Attack Resistance is now Lv.10]

  This weird thing is now level 10, max level. It’s never done much for me, I think, and I don’t even remember getting it. After I first went to the other world… Balterra, wasn’t it? I met Katja when I returned, and she threw me in jail! By the time I noticed, I already had it. I must have bought it while I was freaking out, but I was never too pleased about it.

  I think it has helped me stay calm here and there, but other than that, seems a bit useless. Not only that, but it even stole one of my precious slots for skill trees. But whatever. It is what it is.

  What is important is that now it is max level, and that has unlocked some interesting things.

  [Mind – Mind Transience (Cost: 50 Skill Points)]

  And if I poke around a little, I can learn what it does.

  [Regardless of outside interference, the mind remains.]

  Which is extremely cryptic, but I think I know what that means. If I get that, I’ll be able to think normally, even some kind of mental attack would normally make that impossible. For example, if someone managed to actually brainwash me, I may lose control over myself, but I’d still be able to think.

  It’s not an instant win, but that would at least give me a chance to fight back. Mental attacks sound pretty scary to me. Getting forcibly enraged doesn’t really scare me, but being under someone else’s control sounds very nasty. I’m getting this one.

  [Skill – Mind Transience acquired.]

  Psychological Attack Resist makes it harder for mental attacks to have an effect on me, but I still want some insurance. Seems nice to have both.

  [Mind – Omen (Cost: 30 Skill Points)]

  Then there’s this skill… I don’t really know what to make of it, since all it really does is make me scarier to my enemies… It works like a passive aura that constantly frightens nearby enemies. Do I even want that? Isn’t this just going to make them be more careful around me?

  Either way, it’s a funny skill. I’ll keep it in mind for when I need something to make me 10% cooler. Wait… Maybe that’s its purpose… What if it helps me win some girl’s heart? Maybe it should become one of my new priorities. But I can’t justify spending on it just yet.

  [Gunslinger – Impact Round (Cost: 30 Skill Points)]

  Because of this. It has nothing to do with the Mind skill tree, but it is a pretty nice skill. It would allow me to fire rounds that explode with magic in a small radius. Being able to deal magic damage would be very helpful against enemies that resist my other attacks. Like those statues.

  Well, just ignore the fact that my attacks were actually effective. With a sword like mine and a fuckton of Violence stacks, anything is possible.

  [Skill – Impact Round acquired.]

  And for now, I’m satisfied. The power of my gun is getting up there, so I should start using it more. At least in this world.

  With a couple more steps, I go down some stairs and enter an open street. They’re waiting for me, but I actually have something else I wanna do first.

  Near the fast-travel station, there’s a hotel for travelers. It doesn’t get used much, so I can rent a room for cheap. I need somewhere private for a very important conversation. Clean and dignified is how I’d describe these rooms. It almost feels like a waste stepping inside a room like this just to talk.

  “Here we are. Now we can get down to business… Fufufufu…” I giggled energetically, but naturally, there was no one around to answer. Yet, the meeting was already underway.

  “Hey, can you hear me?” In a few movements, I grab the sword at my waist and expand it. I hold it in front of me with both hands and start talking.

  “Let’s get to the bottom of this. Who are you? Why did you suddenly talk to me?” The mysterious voice I heard before we fought the monster… The voice that convinced me to work with Galene and warned against fighting the monster by myself… Just who are you?

  “…”

  “No response?” Now I feel like I’m going mad! There was definitely someone who talked to me back then. I mean, it happened just a while ago! No way I’m misremembering things!

  “Say something! Stop ignoring me! I know you’re in there, and I know you can talk!”

  “H- hi?” A white glint passed through the sword’s bck edge, then a voice rang out. “Can you hear me?”

  “I- it’s working?! Yes! I can hear you. Are you the one who said I couldn’t beat the monster?”

  “Sort of… I helped you assess the monster’s strength so you could make the right decision. That’s all.” The sword spoke with a feminine voice. She was pretty direct with her words, but her tone sounded lighthearted and pyful.

  “Woah…” I’m actually holding a conversation with a sword… I’m not sure what’s real anymore. “Expin yourself! Who are you? Are you inside the sword? How? Were you always able to talk?”

  “Uh… Yes, that’s correct.” What is correct exactly? I asked so much crap that I can’t tell now. “I can come out and expin if you want.”

  “Y- you can come out? Wh- what?”

  “Is there anyone around?” There was a certain cluelessness in her voice. Almost idiocy.

  “I’m speaking to a sword like a madwoman right now. Do you think I have the guts to be doing this in public?” Clueless or not, she picked up on the sarcasm, and the sword’s bde started glowing.

  Next thing I know, there’s a small girl on the floor, looking up while on her knees. She had a beautiful, otherworldly appearance. Her hair was perfectly white, and her skin as pale as—wait a minute.

  She looks exactly like the girl from the Endless Silver! The one who said she was an avatar of the Pilr of Silver! Not exactly the same… She’s shorter and more petite, but other than that, they look exactly the same. What’s going on?

  “Wh- who are you?” I nervously looked down at her.

  “I’m the soul powering your sword.” She slowly stood up, then spread her arms under her kimono, smugly boasting.

  “Huh… That doesn’t really help me… Are you reted to the Pilr of Silver? You look just like the girl there… Well, almost.”

  “Let’s see… Hmmm… I guess you could say that.” She cheerfully leaned forward with her hands behind her back. “I’m the soul of the flower used for your sword. I’m connected to the Pilr of Silver, but unlike the girl you met, I’m a mere fragment while she’s the pilr’s avatar.”

  “So… you two are not the same… being? I mean, you act completely different. The girl I met was imposing and solemn. Meanwhile, you’re…” Too carefree? What’s a nice way to put it?

  “Hey! Why do I feel like you’re making fun of me? I’ll have you know my personality is affected by your thoughts and expectations of me. I act this way because you want me to act this way. If you have any compints, you can bme yourself.” She turned her head away with a pout. Is this supposed to be what I want? I mean… It’s kinda cute…

  “Ah! Y- you’re being serious, aren’t you? How does that work?”

  “This can only happen thanks to the connection formed between our souls.” T- the matching? “Normally, souls have no shape and no personality. But by making use of your imagination, we’re able to talk like this.”

  “Ahh…” I couldn’t help but chuckle at myself. “So I’ve been talking to a figment of my imagination, huh? I feel like I’ve just crossed a line I should have never crossed. Do you have a name, little dy?” Just as I asked, a name popped up in my head. “Endell?”

  “Endell?” She tilted her head curiously.

  “It’s just what came to mind. You’re from the Endless Silver, right? Endless, Endell. It’s also kinda cute, so I thought it would fit.”

  She tapped her chin, then nodded in approval. “That’s fine. I accept. Or rather, you’re correct. That’s my name. The moment you thought it up, it became my name. So yeah, my name’s Endell. Nice to meet you.” She introduced herself with a smile but then remembered she had a grudge to settle. “Don’t call me little! Don’t make fun of me.”

  Ahhh yes… The reaction I wanted with just the right amount of dey. No doubt about it, she really is just a figment of my imagination. I’m not beating the delusional allegations now…

  “I have something important to ask you, Endell. Are you connected with the avatar you mentioned? The one I spoke to? Do you know what she was gonna say before the connection cut off? Felt really important…”

  I remember it well… She had just expined to me that she was an avatar of the Pilr of Silver and that the three pilrs wanted stability between our worlds. She then started talking about a different force, a force that wanted to separate the worlds, which had an avatar of its own. She was going to say tell me something about that avatar, when the connection suddenly turned off.

  “Back then, she said the connection would st around five minutes, but I’m pretty sure it cut off in less than half of that. Did she misjudge the time? What happened?” Endell heard all my questions before speaking up.

  “Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what she wanted to tell you. We may be connected, but we don’t share information like that.” She shook her head and spoke with a very neutral tone. “But I know why the connection was cut off.”

  “You do? Really?”

  “That’s right. The connection should have sted five minutes from the moment she told you. It was cut earlier. You’re right about that.” She expined with one finger raised.

  “I knew it hadn’t been that long. What happened then?”

  “The answer’s simple. There was outside interference.”

  “Outside interference?” How’s that even possible? What happened when I matched with my sword happened in my head, didn’t it? Well… I did it to connect with Endell’s soul, right? I guess it wasn’t entirely on the inside. But still, who could interfere with that? “What does that mean?”

  “Even I can’t really say… You connected to the Pilr of Silver through me, so your time limit was just how long I could maintain the connection. It should have sted longer, but suddenly, I ran out of power. From my perspective, it was like time suddenly jumped forward and my energy was gone. Or something like that. Ahahaha…” She’s smiling way too much… Oh well, what’s done is done.

  “Was it the… avatar… of the force that wants to separate our worlds the one who did it?” That was a mouthful.

  “I’m not sure, but it’s definitely possible…” She thought for a moment, then spoke up to save me from my plight. “Hey, how about we call them the separator from now on? It’d be easier to refer to them that way, right?” This chick’s looking out for me, isn’t she?

  “Ahahaha… That’s a good idea. Let’s go with that.” I pat her head briefly. “Can you tell me more about the separator?” She shook her head to the sides. “You don’t know? Is this why I was told to go to the Pilr of Silver in person? Would the pilr know?” This time, her head bobbed up and down.

  “I see… Well, I guess that’s it for now then. What are you going to do from now on? Are you gonna follow me around?” I asked Endell, who closed her eyes, then vanished. A second ter, the bde glowed white again.

  “My soul is now bound to this sword and to you. As long as you carry me with you, I’ll stay with you. If you need me, feel free to speak and call out to me at any time.”

  And thus, I made a new ally at the cost of my confidence in reality. I’ll never be entirely sure of what’s real and what’s not ever again. Hooray!

  But seriously, Endell seems like a helpful girl. She helped me avoid fighting an enemy stronger than me directly, and she helped crify the mess surrounding the separator, even if just a little bit. It will be nice to have her around from now on.

  Bam100