Once upon a time, in a small village on the outskirts, there was a beautiful girl.
Not only was she exceptionally beautiful, but she was also intelligent, possessing knowledge of medicine and talent in swordsmanship, making her hugely talented. Despite this, she had a calm and kind-hearted personality, and as the only daughter of the village chief, she was the center of attention, beloved by everyone—a picture-perfect ideal girl.
She must have been satisfied with her life up until then and would not have harbored any dissatisfaction at being engaged to the strongest warrior in the village.
However, one day, when a boy magician visited the village, her fate began to unravel.
The boy had come to the village to take on a request to exterminate a powerful monster that had recently begun to appear. Although he was a newcomer to magic, having just completed his training under a master, he felt a sense of mission that compelled him to accept this dangerous request, unlike anyone else who deemed the risk and reward unworthy.
Thus, the boy ventured into the mountains with the village’s warriors to confront the monster.
However, this monster was not only powerful but also cunning, using a horde of smaller monsters under its command to ambush the boy and the warriors.
As a result of the ambush, the warriors scattered in disarray, and the boy was unable to attack even once, being interrupted during his incantation by the smaller monsters as he barely managed to escape back to the village.
He returned severely injured, and she, with her knowledge of medicine, healed him; yet her feelings at that moment mirrored the despair felt by all the villagers at this dismal result.
Though his injuries healed, the boy had completely lost the villagers’ trust.
However, he did not give up.
Despite being weak, the boy’s sense of justice was the same as that of the heroic magicians in fairy tales—his resolve was unshaken by a single defeat.
With the villagers refusing to cooperate with him, the boy once again ventured alone into the mountains to defeat the monster.
Of course, he was unable to take down the powerful monster leading many underlings and returned injured yet again.
She healed him once more, but the villagers once again looked down on the boy as he displayed his pitiful state.
Still, the boy, who refused to give up on defeating the monster and saving the village, once again entered the mountains alone as soon as his wounds healed.
He would lose again, get healed by her, and attempt to challenge the monster again—a cycle that repeated numerous times.
The boy gradually gained strength from his battles with the monsters and steadily thinned out the numbers of the smaller monsters.
Yet, the crucial boss monster remained unharmed, and to the villagers, it seemed that no progress had been made, and his trust had not been restored.
However, each time he returned wounded, she continued to heal him, and she began to see the boy magician, who was so tenacious in his resolve, in a different light.
It didn’t take long for the girl, who was always serious and devotedly watching him, to develop even deeper feelings for him.
“Thank you for always being there.”
As the boy expressed his gratitude upon receiving treatment from her and prepared to take on another monster, she said:
“Can I come along, too?”
With a great axe in hand, she spoke to the boy.
Naturally, he refused.
However, the girl stubbornly insisted on joining him.
She expressed her desire to help him, who fought alone for the sake of the village, her wish to fight for the village’s sake as well, her confidence in her swordsmanship, and the fact that she brought an axe instead of a sword, which wouldn’t alert the village chief—she logically countered all his refusals.
“Will you let me join you?”
Ultimately, the boy succumbed to her overwhelming enthusiasm.
At this point, the girl was already strongly attracted to the boy and had earnestly desired to accompany him solely out of a genuine desire to help him.
In fact, the importance of the village was secondary to her.
Perhaps, by this time, the girl had already begun to lose her sanity due to her first love.
“Yay! We’re going to achieve a great victory today!”
With her joining, their combat power exponentially increased.
To unleash powerful magic, incantations were necessary, and to buy time for them, a swordsman or warrior to protect him was essential.
It was almost natural that the boy, who had already gained sufficient strength through battles with monsters, could exert more than double the power with just one additional swordsman.
Furthermore, the girl superbly defended the boy as he cast his spells.
Though it was ultimately just a great axe, she managed to slice through all the smaller monsters targeting the boy with ease, her skills far surpassing those of the village’s warriors.
From that point on, the boy and girl entered the mountains together, successfully cornering the monsters.
“Today, we’ll settle this once and for all—”
In the last battle, they had pushed the horde to the point of destruction, causing injury to the boss monster, achieving their goal.
The boy steeled himself and headed into the final battle with the girl by his side.
“Yay, we did it—”
After a day-long fierce battle, the boy and girl finally defeated the monster.
The boy rejoiced at having finally saved the village after a long struggle.
However, the girl felt joy not from the village being saved, but only from the boy’s happiness.
At that moment, the girl could think of nothing but the boy, convinced that everything else was worthless, her love having taken a twisted turn.
In secret, the days spent fighting alongside the boy, away from the villagers, became the most fulfilling moments of her life.
They returned to the village to announce that the boy had finally defeated the monster.
In the square, where many villagers gathered, including the village chief and warriors, she raised the head of the defeated monster and boldly recounted her tale of fighting alongside the boy like a hero’s story.
The crowd erupted into applause. The villagers sincerely apologized for their previous treatment of the boy, who had accomplished such a remarkable feat, and he was welcomed as the new fiancé of the village chief’s daughter—foolishly, the girl had never doubted this would happen.
“Indeed, if you defeated the monster, I suppose I will pay you for your request.
However, it is unforgivable that you brought my daughter into danger; you must leave the village immediately.”
The girl couldn’t immediately comprehend the meaning of her father’s words, the village chief.
To the village, the boy was already so scorned that he could never be trusted again; even if he finally defeated the monster and brought complete peace to the village, they would merely complain, saying, “It’s too late now.”
As the village chief, he thought it was already a generous treatment just to pay for the requested reward.
Most importantly, not just the chief, but all the villagers were furious that the boy had put their beloved girl in such dangerous situations.
“Why—” she uttered in disbelief, though the intelligent girl understood the villagers’ sentiments all too clearly, she simply didn’t want to accept them.
However, upon seeing the boy deeply bowing his head in apology,
“Thank you for everything until now, goodbye.”
The sorrowful words from the boy reached her ears and turned her world upside down.
The village, which had once blessed her and the boy, now became an unforgivable enemy that hurt his heart, more so than the monsters.
“I won’t forgive you—”
First, she severed the head of her father, the village chief.
Next, she slashed the stomach of the man claiming to be her fiancé.
After that, she indiscriminately slaughtered every one of the villagers who appeared before her.
“I will never forgive you!!”
The great axe, enhanced by the boy’s magic, had severed countless monsters and finally slain their boss, now exuding some magical power, displaying strength that surpassed any ordinary sword.
There was nothing in the village that could stop her, who wielded the axe turned into a magic sword and had no hesitation in killing in her rage.
The girl massacred as many people as she could see.
In the end, only the boy, paralyzed by the shocking tragedy, and the blood-soaked girl with a ghastly smile remained.
“Wh-why… like this…”
Sitting on the ground, grasping his beloved staff, he shakily spoke to her.
“Why? It’s obvious, isn’t it—”
The girl answered with a charming smile that captivated everyone.
“Because I love you.”
Thus, a cursed great axe imbued with both love and hatred was born.
For the girl, the world that needed protection was just the two of them, and all others were enemies, both people and monsters, hence a curse of indiscriminate attack was born.
—
“—That’s the incredibly dangerous backstory of this axe,” said the boy.
A cursed great axe obtained from goblins.
Once the appraisal results from the tool shop came in, he learned about this gruesome tale from another world that he hadn’t particularly wanted to know.
I mean, to think appraisals reveal the background of curses… wow, magic is amazing.
By the way, the official name is “Cursed Axe ‘Tsuji Kiri’,” and when it absorbs blood, it is said to become even stronger, changing both its name and shape.
What a terrifying level-up feature; I wish they would say something softer like “experience points” instead of talking about the blade absorbing blood…
“Also, this black staff is rumored to be a replica of a legendary weapon known as the Black Ballista, which holds the magic to shoot a black magical crossbow that can pierce any castle wall.”
I don’t know what the original Black Ballista is like, but at least the replica works nearly the same as me shooting bullets with magic, simply utilizing the staff to wield shotgun shells or rifles to unleash above-normal firepower—this item perfectly complements my abilities.
“The dagger is known as the ‘Ifrit’s Thumb,’ and it seems it allows the user to utilize some flame magic.”
While it sounds good to say that the dagger found in the treasure chest along with the staff possesses fire magic, I just have to point out that my version of ‘some flame magic’ is underwhelming…
“Uh, I can only use two things: produce small flames and lay down a barrier of fire that’s only strong enough to roast insects.”
Even when they say flame magic, it boils down to being useful only as a lighter or for bug repellent.
It’s practical enough, but the abysmally low power is kind of depressing.
“I also bought a cursed weapon from the shop, but hmm, it’s also difficult to utilize in a real battle.”
If it were a straightforward sword, it would’ve been fine, but since it’s a “needle,” it’s questionable whether it can even be called a weapon.
Well, I bought it because it was cheap…
“Hey, hey, Chrono.”
“Hmm?”
“What happened to the boy and girl afterward?”
Even such a cruel tale seemed to catch Lily’s interest sufficiently to ask about it.
“Ah, well—
The two of them lived happily ever after… happily ever after.”
After that, without being attacked by the dagger raptors or other monsters, they safely reached a place where Rikisai grass was naturally growing.
“Oh, there are a considerable number of them. With this, I should be able to fill a bag.”
Rikisai grass is an inconspicuous plant that, if you didn’t know it was there, you could easily overlook.
If I had to highlight its features, it has jagged leaves similar to dandelions, but it doesn’t bloom, making it seem pretty much like any other weed.
However, it’s said that they only grow in a sufficiently magical environment, like deep within this Fairy Garden.
Just like with people and monsters, magic also affects plants, which is something modern people like me find hard to comprehend.
“Can this really be made into medicine?”
“That herb alone won’t work, you know?”
“Oh, that’s what Nyareko also said.
You’d think that a medicinal herb would recover around 10 HP, right?”
“HP?”
While explaining the concept of HP to Lily, I recalled Nyareko’s point that even herbs called medicinal require proper brewing and processing to be effective.
As Lily mentioned, Rikisai grass, even by itself, has no healing effects on the human body.
Even without specializing in pharmacology, living in rural areas naturally teaches you whether certain herbs work or not, and many people know this.
But those from urban areas often mistakenly believe that any herb that serves as an ingredient for potions or healing salves is effective.
I was completely of the latter ignorant type; how embarrassing.
“It’s fine. I’ll learn from now on.”
I began to cut the Rikisai grass with Ifrit’s Thumb, of course without using fire—what if a fire broke out?
“Combining a knife, lighter, and bug repellent is like a multifunctional pocket knife.”
While it feels like the benefits of fire magic are being lost, it’s still useful, so let’s consider it a good thing.
“By the way, how does Lily cut grass?”
Even with a body capable of exerting more strength than an average person without magic, it’s undeniable that using a knife is far quicker for gathering.
It seems inefficient for Lily to be collecting with her bare hands, especially since she’s not even wearing clothes, so it’s unlikely she’d be carrying a knife or sickle.
A question arose in my mind as I observed her diligently collecting herbs like a kindergartener digging up potatoes behind me.
When Lily grasped the base of the grass with her small hands, a flash of light sparkled in her palms.
Next, the grass was completely severed from its roots, and she simply tossed it into the bag she held under her arm.
“Cutting it with a laser… terrifying girl.”
The reason Lily was able to collect medicinal herbs with her bare hands without any issues was, after all, due to her magic.
Hmm, I need to learn to utilize my magic more creatively!
Having caught a glimpse of Lily’s casual use of magic, I resolved to enhance my skills as a mage.
By the way, witnessing Lily storing the herbs she picked in her spatial magic made me feel a bit down again. I thought controlling “Shadow Space” was my exclusive specialty…
Oh, and after this, the quest was completed without any particular troubles.
I gathered three full bags and received a potion made with 1000 milligrams of Rikisai grass extract from the requester, the tool shop owner.
However, I could hardly come up with a timing to use the potion since this was a Rank 1 quest and I probably wouldn’t get injured—it’s fine to keep it, but I wonder if the shelf life is okay?
I ranked first in the daily standings! Even though the story hasn’t progressed that much yet, thank you all so much for your support!
By the way, are you familiar with the game “Drakengard”? Known as a heavy game, this DOD allows you to read stories related to the weapons’ levels as they increase. I was so impressed by this system that when I introduced a cursed weapon, I decided to establish its backstory, leading to the creation of “Cursed Axe ‘Tsuji Kiri’.” By the way, it’s read as “Junata ‘Tsuji Kiri’.”