Chapter 6: THE SWORD THAT KILLED ME

The young woman did not need rescuing.

Vael realized that immediately.

One goblin lunged.

She stepped aside, hooked its ankle with her boot, and slammed the pommel of her sword into its forehead.

The second attacked from behind.

She ducked without looking.

Its club passed over her silver hair.

Her elbow broke its nose.

The third goblin reconsidered its career choices and ran.

Vael approved.

Efficient. Controlled. No unnecessary movement.

Then she turned.

Vael saw the sword clearly.

His approving expression vanished.

Silver blade.

Blue leather grip.

A sunburst engraved beneath the guard.

A shallow notch near the base where Vael himself had once caught it between two fingers and nearly snapped it.

His chest suddenly remembered pain from sixty-one years ago.

Valcrest Pass.

Rain.

Burning banners.

A blond man in shattered armor charging through black fire.

Arthas Valcrest.

One of the three Heroes who had nearly killed Vael.

The young woman wiped goblin blood from the blade.

"You all right, sir?"

Vael stared at the weapon.

"That sword stabbed me."

She froze.

Vael froze.

The System displayed:

[Excellent opening line.]

Vael corrected himself.

"I mean... I have seen that sword before."

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"This blade is unique."

"Then I have seen a similar unique blade."

[Deception Skill +1]

Vael mentally cursed.

The woman sheathed the sword.

"Lyria Valcrest."

Of course.

Vael looked toward the sky as if asking whether the gods had personally arranged this inconvenience.

"Vale."

"Just Vale?"

"Yes."

She looked him over. Thanks to the System, he now appeared somewhere around his mid-sixties—old enough to seem harmless at first glance, young enough to travel without a walking stick.

"You heading east?" Lyria asked.

"Unfortunately."

"My escort contract is going that way. Merchant broke an axle and the goblins scared off his mule."

The merchant shouted from behind the cart, "I did not get scared!"

"You hid under a barrel."

"Tactical positioning!"

Vael liked the merchant slightly more.

Then the System exploded into pink light.

[MAIN HEROINE CANDIDATE DETECTED!]

Vael nearly stumbled.

[Name: Lyria Valcrest]

[Age: 24]

[Occupation: Adventurer]

[Lineage: Hero Arthas Valcrest]

[Compatibility with Host: Calculating...]

"Stop calculating."

Lyria blinked.

"What?"

"Nothing."

[Compatibility: 94%]

Vael’s face became blank.

"No."

Lyria glanced around.

"Are you talking to me?"

"No."

[Primary Route Available!]

"No."

[Suggested trope: Enemies to Lovers.]

"Absolutely not."

Lyria drew her sword halfway.

"Sir, are you cursed?"

Vael considered the question.

"Yes."

That was technically true.

Lyria immediately relaxed.

"Oh. Why didn’t you say so?"

Because ordinary people apparently accepted curses more easily than romantic systems.

She crouched beside the broken axle.

"I know a priest in the next town. Maybe she can help."

Vael stared at the Valcrest sword again.

The man who had carried it had hated him.

For good reason.

Arthas had died twenty years after their final battle, praised as a savior across half the continent.

Vael had never visited his grave.

He had never cared to.

The System flashed softly.

[New Quest]

[Travel with Lyria Valcrest until the next town.]

[Reward: Biological Age -2 Years]

Vael sighed.

He walked toward the cart.

Lyria looked up.

"What are you doing?"

"Fixing the axle."

"You know how?"

"I have commanded siege engineers."

"What?"

"I said I have repaired wheels."

[Deception Skill +2]

Lyria smiled.

"Useful old man."

Vael stopped.

"Old?"

"You’re what, sixty?"

Vael felt irrationally offended.

He was ninety-seven.

But somehow being mistaken for sixty was insulting.

The System displayed:

[Host has discovered vanity.]

Vael tightened his grip on the wheel.

The axle cracked in his hand.

Lyria stared.

Vael stared at the broken wood.

"...Rotten."

The merchant began crying.

They spent the next hour repairing Vael’s repair.

Lyria worked without complaint. She held the wheel steady, cut replacement pegs, and mocked Vael every time he used too much force.

"Do you break everything you touch?" she asked.

"Historically?"

She looked at him.

Vael cleared his throat.

"Occasionally."

When the cart finally rolled again, the merchant crossed himself before touching the axle.

Lyria fell into step beside Vael.

"You really are strange, Vale."

"So I have been told."

She tapped the hilt of her sword.

"You also look at this like it owes you money."

"It owes me blood."

"What?"

"Nothing."

[Deception Skill +3]

Vael hated that he was leveling the wrong ability.