Chapter 60: The Saintess’ Achievements
  “The next thing is……”
 
  Eld sat up straight and adjusted his posture.
 
  “I heard that you succeeded as the Saintess, but what did you do to become the Saintess in the first place?”
 
  It was something he had been wondering about for a long time. If she had done something significant, he would have heard about it even when he was the lord. However, he received the summons for the succession ceremony without hearing any rumors.
 
  “Ah, you were wondering about that after all. It wasn’t explained at the succession ceremony either, but well, it might be better to tell you.”
 
  If he recalled correctly, Al had also said that he didn’t know what she had done to succeed. He figured that Al must have heard it from King Balza. When they received the recognition of their second names, the reason was explained, but the fact that it wasn’t explained this time meant that it was something that should be kept secret to some extent.
 
  “You see the staff she’s holding, right?”
 
  “Ah, yes.”
 
  The staff that she had been holding ever since they met at the party venue. Its length was about as tall as Eld, so when the short Moira held it, the tip of the staff came above her head.
 
  “This is a magic sword. Its name is Healing. It’s a magic sword imbued with recovery and barrier magic.”
 
  Eld and Marie’s eyes widened. That was only natural.
 
  “I heard there were only two magic swords in this country, but there was another one?”
 
  “Yes. I also learned about it for the first time when I was told this time. Moreover, it seems it was originally enshrined on an altar in the basement of the castle.”
 
  There were probably countless things that were not disclosed to the public for national defense purposes, but it seemed insane to keep something like a magic sword in the basement of the central capital.
 
  “So, the fact that it was in the basement and is now here means that the Saintess…… no, Moira-san……”
 
  “Please call me Moira. Sister Moira is also fine.”
 
  Moira interrupted Eld’s words.
 
  “I, is that so? Does that mean Moira was recognized as its owner? Is that related to the Saintess succession?”
 
  “It seems so. You guys who have magic swords would understand, but magic swords only recognize those they like as their owners. I’ve heard that their magic power has to be similar, or that they have to be able to use the same magic that’s imbued in them, but I don’t really know how true that is. However, she herself can use both recovery and barrier magic, so it’s probably not wrong.”
 
  Eld couldn’t even touch the magic sword Meteor. Marie could touch the magic sword Tempera, but she couldn’t channel magic power through it. He recalled that they had talked about how magic swords seemed to have preferences.
 
  “The minimum requirement for successive Saintesses is to be able to wield the magic sword Healing. And in the end, their role is to transfer their magic power to this magic sword and have it create a barrier that protects this country.”
 
  “Wow…… there was a barrier? There are a fair number of monsters and magical beasts in this country…… No, could the dungeons be related to that……?”
 
  Eld voiced his question. When a dungeon appeared, the surrounding monsters and magical beasts would stay there. That had always been a mystery to him. If he considered that they were trying to escape the effects of the barrier, and that the inside of the dungeon, where magic power was concentrated, had a weaker barrier effect, it would make sense. As evidence of that, there were research results showing that the monsters inside dungeons were stronger.
 
  “I don’t know the details, but it seems so. That’s why, conversely, the North Front Line is outside the range of the barrier, so monsters attack.”
 
  “That barrier covers the entire country? It’s amazing that the magic power is still remaining even though the previous Saintess died 50 years ago.”
 
  “The magic sword Healing is constantly absorbing my magic power. Perhaps the previous Saintess and the one before that have been doing the same thing all along. The amount of magic power it contains feels like it would be more than the combined magic power of everyone in this country.”
 
  Moira gently stroked the magic sword.
 
  “C-Constantly having your magic power absorbed, are you alright with that!?”
 
  Marie let out a surprised voice. When she used her magic sword, she would pour in magic power when she wanted to use its abilities, so she was surprised by the difference. Of course, Eld felt the same. He was only able to control the output of magic power with the ice blade he created because he was suppressing the amount he was putting in.
 
  “Yes. My hair has color, so my magic power is quite high.”
 
  She said, touching her white hair.
 
  “Besides, this child also seems to understand that it’s not good to absorb too much, so it only absorbs the amount necessary to maintain the barrier.”
 
  She stroked the magic sword again. She stroked it gently as if she were stroking a living thing.
 
  “I see. I was wondering how the barrier was being maintained after it was taken out from the underground, but it’s because it’s being maintained that magic power is being absorbed. The characteristics of magic swords really vary.”
 
  Eld crossed his arms and said as if convinced.
 
  “That’s right. It seems the barrier not only suppresses monsters and magical beasts, but it also has the effect of erasing the malice of humans who come from other countries. That’s why it absolutely cannot be made public. Could you please keep this a secret?”
 
  Hearing that, Eld and Marie nodded. As people born and raised in this country, they didn’t want to start a war with other countries. Of course, the Lutodelein Kingdom had experienced wars with other countries several times in the past, but even the last one was more than 500 years ago.
 
  “Being told all these national secrets makes me feel like I’m being kept in the dark.”
  Eld said, crossing his legs.
 
  “It seems that’s what Father and my older brothers, Lios and Fonias, want to do. You and Marie are the only ones who have magic swords, have contributed to the country to some extent, and currently don’t hold any official positions.”
 
  Hearing that, Eld sighed.
 
  “But that doesn’t excuse the farce from earlier. If you hadn’t intervened when you did, there really would have been an ice statue of the First Prince.”
 
  Imagining that, Al shuddered.
 
  “That’s good. I was watching from the moment Father started talking, but you activated Perception Interference in the middle of it, so it was hard to time it right.”
 
  “I was getting anxious about when to step in.”
 
  Moira covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled. Seeing that, Marie also laughed.
 
  “You used to complain during our student days that you didn’t want to be born into the royal family, that you had eight siblings, and that the first and third were tyrannical, but people change, don’t they?”
 
  “Well, that’s, you know…… youthful indiscretion, or something like that……”
 
  Al scratched his cheek in embarrassment.