Is it wrong for a weapon spirit to lie to its master? Maybe. But do I care? Not at all. You can blame my personality on Roland, the most dishonorable kidnapper in the world. Lucia really thought that bastard died of a curse? Sure, probably 99% of the people he’s ever met, including me, have cursed him at least once in their lives, but no one’s ever succeeded. Mostly because Vera, his amulet spirit, was too strong. I wonder if she’s still around. But let’s forget about her—we didn’t exactly end on the best terms and talking about her irritates me.

Anyways, I actually have no idea how Roland died, but Lucia needed motivation to train because clearly the threat of being pursued by a kingdom isn’t enough for her. I had to make her think there’s a danger that I can’t protect her from in order to stimulate her growth. Is that mean? Well, what Lucia doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Besides, I’m doing this for her own good. Her growth totally doesn’t relate to my freedom in any way whatsoever. I have absolutely nothing to gain from her growing stronger. Except, you know, everything I want.

And that part about avenging Roland’s death? What a joke. How many of my brothers have died because he locked us in that miniature dimension? Shouldn’t I be avenging them instead? It’s a shame that bastard kicked the bucket.

Let’s ignore those minor details for now and review Lucia’s progress. The first day, she nearly died under the duress of carrying a five-hundred-pound weapon. That very night, she recovered after sleeping for six hours. Then she endured holding a horse stance for eight hours until dawn. And now she’s taking a nap after collapsing of exhaustion. She’s a lot stronger than I expected her to be, but maybe I shouldn’t have been training at the same time as her. I do use up a lot of energy.

Lucia isn’t a bad master to have. Compared to when Roland first started, her body is in much better condition. It most likely has to do with her beastman lineage. Her reflexes are sharp, her strength is above average, and her senses are heightened. The only thing Roland beat her in was amount of mana. Lucia has no chance of ever using magic in her life without the assistance of those arrays of hers, but her qi seems to be greater than the average person’s. Give and take, I guess. And while I don’t like him very much, I have to admit Roland was a lot sharper and more focused.

“I…ce … cream.” Lucia’s lips smacked together a few times. Is that what she’s dreaming about? Faint snores caused her exposed belly to rise up and down.

Well, a simple master isn’t a problem. I do wish she were a little more ambitious. I’m a legendary sword. I can carry her to new heights if only she had the drive. But it’s like pulling teeth when I try to improve her strength. Currently, she’s at the level of a novice, maybe borderline apprentice. At least, that’s what it would be called back in my day. She said she could beat a lot of the knights in the army, so the standards of the current times must have dropped. A novice has to focus on training their bodies and trying multiple weapons until they find a suitable one. Of course, she’s going to use a sword. There’s no other choice for her. Ignore the fact that I’m using a spear. Most weapon spirits use a weapon identical to their weapon bodies. I … destroyed mine while attempting to engrave an enchantment on it. I think our first goal is going to be finding a dwarf colony to create a new weapon for my use. Yes. That’s a good goal.

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Afterwards … I’m not sure what happens afterwards. Roland always had a goal: live unfettered without scruples. The majority of our time was spent being tyrants while goofing off somewhere. He was the strongest, but he had zero sense of responsibility. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why he died. Maybe the people he constantly bullied got sick of him and conspired against him. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what really happened. I don’t want Lucia to suffer the same fate. …Let’s pretend I didn’t provoke a whole empire, okay? Old habits die hard.

As soon as we escape this godforsaken forest that appeared out of nowhere, we’ll be able to plan accordingly. It’d be best if we could leave the Ravenwood Empire and enter the fae or demon territory. Boundaries between nations are respected—the humans should stop their pursuit once we’re out of their lands. They shouldn’t spread the news of my being found so quickly either. They’d want to keep me for themselves after all. Is that a bad thing that I want to escape from? Yes. No way in hell am I going back to a human owner.

Now that Lucia knows how to circulate qi, traveling with me weighing five hundred pounds shouldn’t slow us down as much. As long as we continue walking in a straight line, we’ll have to exit this forest eventually. If I’m not wrong, we should be in the Dark Woods. That was the only heavily forested region back in Roland’s day, but I’m not sure why there aren’t any wild animals or beasts around. It’s also possible a new forest sprouted in the time I was sealed. Is eighty years enough time for a forest to grow? I’m not sure. All I know is too many things have changed in the time I was gone. I’ll have to keep a low profile until I figure everything out.

Lucia stiffened and sat up. She probably needs to pee. “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s coming,” Lucia said and pursed her lips.

Really? I didn’t notice anything. Don’t tell me my sense are inferior to a half-asleep squirrel-lady. “Oh? You noticed?” In the off chance she’s right, I have to maintain my image as a master.

Lucia nodded and stood up, quickly putting on her leather armor. She placed my weapon body on her lap and sat next to me, facing the fire. Her ears swiveled back and forth while her tail twitched repeatedly. It makes me want to stroke it.

“Eep! What are you doing at a time like this!?”

Stroking your tail, is that wrong? No need to look so flustered. “Just checking something.” I’m curious, okay? Roland didn’t have a tail.

The snapping sound of a twig breaking caught my attention. Well, it looks like my senses have dulled. I’m ashamed of myself. Lucia looks so serious—it’s really strange. I’m too used to seeing her excited with sparkly eyes, sad with watering eyes, or lewd with her eyes and mouth half-open. I didn’t know she had a serious side expression. As her weapon, it brings me joy to see her like this. It almost reminds me of the times Roland waited in ambush. If the intruder is a person, I wonder what action she’d take. Somehow, I’m excited to find out more about my new owner. I hope you won’t disappoint me, Lucia.