After a heartfelt prayer and the blood vow she made in the name of Atame, Setsuna stood up and walked with the sword of her loved one in her hand.
"Do you plan to use the two swords at the same time?"
Setsuna looked at her own sword with wonder before holding it in her right hand while holding Ayame's sword in her left. After swinging once then twice, and then she frowned slightly as she felt her skills in dual wielding to be inadequate.
"I w'ould need a few days to get used to it but moving my two arms at the same time isn't that hard. Even more so now since I have ascended to the Duke rank."
Sol grinned as he heard those words. That was indeed the case here. The Nito-ryu or simply dual sword style was a rather unorthodox style in his past world.
It wasn't impossible to enact it per so. But using two weapons of the same length needed a great degree of coordination and extensive training for it to show its full might. But in the end, the results the sword style brought forth were not something particularly impressive. At least, not by the standards of his old world.
This was why the best way of dual wielding involved a sword and a shield or a long sword and a short sword.
...Well, this was how it was in his old world.
Thanks to the absurd mental capacity the higher realm of being bestowed to an individual of this world, dual wielding was far easier and came more naturally to them. Furthermore, there was no problem in terms of strength either.
'I wonder if I should give her a third sword to form the Santoryu sword art. Or perhaps one giant sword for her wolf form.'
Sol could feel the chunni in him screaming but he pushed it down for later. Now wasn't the time to delve into these ridiculous desires.
"So. Tell me, what does it feel to have become a Blessed now?"
"I... I really don't know."
Setsuna looked down at her body and her golden fur that shone under the gentle light of the moon. She felt like it was not her own body anymore. The changes the transformation had brought forth were so drastic that it was hard to get used to it in a short amount of time.
"But, ever since I woke up, I felt like all my past worries were just laughable and that nothing is impossible for me anymore."
It was like she was floating in the high skies above and was finally seeing the world for what it truly was. It was a weird feeling that she could hardly explain in words.
"Interesting. We will have to ask Camelia about that later on. She also became a Blessed way later in her life, so she should be able to give you a better insight into the changes you are currently feeling and how to properly sync with your new abilities."
Sol mused while looking at Setsuna with his 'Eyes of Akasha.' He had never noticed this with Camelia or Aurora since they were already Blessed by the time he obtained these eyes of his, but when comparing the threads of Fate surrounding Setsuna before and after her transformation, it was easy to see that the threads had increased by an explosive degree.
The fact that her connection to Ira grew stronger aside, he felt like there were thousands of possibilities opening themselves to Setsuna now. Almost as if her potential was simply limitless.
'Interesting.'
Sol knew that he had the bad habit of getting hyper-focused on certain things, causing him problems in the long run. There were so many things he wanted to give a try and test or get answers about.
This was giving him a headache already.
"Well, we first need to go back to the camp then go back home."
"What about the dungeon?"
"I placed a barrier, no one will be able to find it, and if anyone does, I will be alerted immediately."
Only a Demigod on the level of Ambrosia would be able to put down that barrier without him noticing, and even then it wasn't a certainty.
The dungeon crawling had clearly been very rewarding for them, and once Theresa analyzed all the materials inside and took them in, along with the blueprints, then their harvest here would be fully complete.
Sol did not want to pay any more attention to this place for now.
"Let's go."
This time, the three of them moved at full speed rather than the leisurely pace they had used on the way here.
Back at the camp, Lilith was coming back from the last execution that had been scheduled to be enacted today. She didn't even have to participate. She was happy to see that the knights of her kingdom had become skilled enough to handle everything on their own.
The bandits were a little tricky but nothing major, and this ended with no wounds on their sides, much less casualties.
The knights had been a little surprised to learn that they would be observed by the queen and might have been fighting with a little more fervor than usual. If Lilin was the new rising star that they had recently become fans of, then Lilith was the Legend they admired and respected with all of their beings.
When the prince finally came back with the princess and someone entirely covered by a black cloak, they couldn't help but gulp in nervousness.
Standing on the podium were the Queen Regent, the future King, and the Princess of the Empire. This was an honor of the likes they never thought would be possible.
The prince was the one at the forefront as he started his speech,
"Not long ago, I was worried..."
Sol's voice was low but everyone could hear it clearly. They couldn't help but marvel at this perfect use of his mana.
"The war is approaching and I couldn't help but wonder, the Beastkins are a race of proud and powerful warriors. Could we truly win against them?"
The few Beastkin in the knight order couldn't help but straighten their backs at the mention of those words. They were born and raised in Lustburg, but this did not change their origin. This was why they were sometimes angry about the heavy and insulting words some people would use against them.
Sadly, they could say nothing back. They were happy to see that the prince did not think as such of them.
In fact, there was one thing Sol did not know. The beastkins born and raised in Lustburg knew that Setsuna, someone like them, was the bodyguard of the future King.
This, in a way, gave them hope and confidence about their future. Setsuna was like the target of admiration for all of them, showing that discrimination did not completely block their road to success.
This also made Sol very popular. After all, he was only partially human. Since a great part of the Lustburg's population was hybrid humans, because of all the interracial breeding, they had an easier time cheering for a hybrid like them.
"But now, I am worried no more."
Sol smiled, and a golden aura started to emanate from his body and covered the surroundings. It looked like the sun was literally rising on the horizon from the aura he was giving off.
"You, my knights, showed me that Lustburg is in no way helpless against the powerful Beastkins."
He clenched his fists, "The Beastkins are strong. But we are even stronger, and this is all thanks to your dedication.
"Princess Lilin..."
"Yes!"
Lilin answered and approached Sol before putting one knee down in front of him with her fist over her chest.
"Are you listening?"
"I am."
"Beautiful."
A gentle smile appeared on his face, "Captain Lilin Luxuria."
"Yes."
"Will you do honor to our kingdom?"
"I will."
"Will you hoist our flag high in the sky as you tear down the enemy rank and destroy everything in your path?"
"I will."
"Will you bring us victory?"
"I will."
"Then... With the world and the goddesses as my witnesses... Henceforth, I announce the creation of a new Knight Order... The Scarlet Knights, and I name you the captain of that new order. Do you accept this responsibility?"
"I would be honored to do so."
This scene, which was something completely out of a fairy tale, was something the Black Knights.... or rather, the Scarlet Knights, would never forget in their lives.
(AN: Well, the moment is approaching, and this time, there will be no skip.)
