Chapter 123. Holy Sword Matis
"Here?"
"Seems like it."
A cave we found at the bottom of the valley after defeating the behemoths and searching around.
It appears to be a cave leading even deeper below the valley floor.
Inside, the cave slopes gently downward.
"Just like Sebast said, there's mist coming from here."
The cave is pleasantly cool.
With early winter's arrival, it's a bit chilly.
"Maybe because of the mist, the whole cave is damp. Watch your step so you don't slip."
"""Roger that!"""
The cave isn't particularly large,
and we soon found the shrine.
"That it?"
"Looks like it."
Though called a shrine, it's small since it's built inside the cave.
Appearing carved from the cave walls, its interior continues into the stone.
As for the mysterious mist, it doesn't come from inside the shrine but seems to emanate from the shrine itself.
Perhaps the shrine itself functions as some kind of magical artifact.
"This shrine has been here since the Hero's relic was enshrined, right? It's remarkably well-preserved."
"True. There should've been earthquakes and such."
The shrine remains in pristine condition, as if newly built.
Normally, it should be as decayed as any ancient ruin.
Likely, some preservation magic has been cast over the entire shrine.
Inside, a straight path leads immediately to the innermost door.
"The relic should be beyond this. Noella?"
"Right. Checking now."
Noella checks for traps or the like.
She's accustomed to this role, handling it with practiced ease.
The inspection ends quickly.
"No traps. But there's a magical lock. I can't open it."
"A magical lock... Then it must be this."
Written above the door are the words: [Answer my question].
"But there's no question here."
"Seriously. How can we answer without a question?"
"Hey, Isis. When you found that bracelet, was there something like this too?"
"Nope. Just golems guarding it."
"Just guarding...? That sounds dangerous enough on its own."
"Yeah. It was dangerous."
Asking for details:
Stone statues of knights and magical beasts stood before the relic's chest. The moment she touched it, they attacked.
"I didn't get why they were lined up like that. Never expected statues to come to life. Scared me good."
For someone familiar with Japanese games and manga, it seems like a pretty common trap.
But such things don't exist in this world, so it's no surprise she couldn't anticipate it.
"Anyway, right now we've got this door to deal with. How should we open it?"
"Without knowing the question... Should I just break it down?"
"Let's save brute force for last. Let's investigate more."
"Maybe if we say 'Give us the question,' it'll appear?"
[Answer my question]
"Whoa!" "That startled me!"
Apparently voice-activated.
How was this made?
The echoing voice could belong to either a young boy or girl—hard to tell.
[What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?]
"""......"""
Isn't this the exact riddle from Greek mythology, the Sphinx's challenge?
Ai and Yuu both wear expressions of vague recognition.
Yeah. Never expected to encounter this riddle here.
"It's a riddle, right?" "I don't think I can solve this."
Sebast seems deep in thought, while Noella has already given up. Come on, let's think a bit more.
"Hmm, Hati, do you know?" "Hmm... no idea!"
Hati's thrown in the towel too.
Lily seems to be struggling through it, finger on her chin—a rather cute thinking pose.
"Franco, got it?" "Thinking now." "Hang in there, Franco."
Seems Franco's the brains of the Hero's party.
Isis and Celia cheer him on, while Barthold remains silent.
"Sis, you know?" "No..."
Kristea and Lucina are stumped too.
Guess without prior knowledge, this is tough.
Finally, Shakti...
"Four legs in morning, two at noon, three in evening? A creature that changes forms by time? Bugs? No, bugs have more legs..."
Shakti seems the type to think aloud when puzzling things out.
Muttering seriously with a focused face.
Clearly, this is a hard one without knowing the answer.
Since no one else could solve it, I decided to answer.
I glanced at Ai and Yuu, asking silently who should respond, but both gestured "Go ahead," so I did.
"The answer is [man]. As a baby, he crawls on all fours; grown, he walks on two legs; in old age, he uses a cane."
I wonder how Oedipus felt when he answered the Sphinx.
At least, it must've been very different from how I feel now.
[You may pass.]
With these words, the door opens.
The Sphinx, upon hearing Oedipus's answer, later committed suicide—but thankfully, this one doesn't go that far.
"Jun-sama, amazing!" "As expected!" "Jun-sama, so clever!"
Everyone showers me with praise, but it feels like cheating, leaving me guilty.
"Let's just move forward."
Staying here being praised is just painful, so we proceed.
Beyond lies another door, this time unlocked, opening smoothly.
"That's..."
"Yeah. That must be the Holy Sword Matis."
In the room's center rests a single large sword.
About the same size as the one Isis wields.
Decorated modestly but elegantly.
Indeed, past Sword Heroes supposedly used blades of this scale.
"Go on, Isis." "Yeah."
As Isis approaches to take the sword, a voice echoes from nowhere.
[Oi, finally showed up, eh? Guess my boring days are over, huh?]
"Whoa, what?" "Where's that from?" "Same voice as the question earlier?"
Definitely the same voice, but... why the Kansai dialect?
[Did I scare ya? Sorry 'bout that. I'm Matis. The sword right in front of ya. Nice t'meet ya.]
""""Eh?""""
An intelligent talking sword?
Is this the power granted to the Holy Sword Matis?
You could call it a living sword.
"Wait, what? The sword? The sword's talking?"
"It's alive?"
"Truly a blade blessed by the gods. To think it's alive..."
"I'd heard rumors of such relics belonging to Heroes..."
Only Barthold in the Hero's party seems familiar with intelligent swords, while the other three are clearly surprised.
Even if they knew, they'd probably be as shocked as Barthold.
"Uh, um... your name's Matis, right? That's the sword's name—so the goddess's name too?"
[Yep. Goddess Matis-sama's the name of my creator. Bit confusing, maybe, but it's not like there's two Matises here. Just call me Matis.]
"The goddess... hey, what's Goddess Matis the god of? I've never heard of her."
[Huh? Really? Rude lil' brat, ain'tcha?]
"S-sorry."
Matis is a name I think appears in modern Earth's myths too... I'll ask Yuu later.
But since Isis doesn't know, maybe this goddess isn't well-known in this world either.
[Ah, well. Was like this when I was born too. Goddess Matis is the goddess of wisdom. Or maybe intellect and counsel.]
Goddess of wisdom.
Makes sense. That's why she could give wisdom to a sword.
"So, Matis, what can you do? Surely not just talk?"
[Course not. I'm awesome! First off, since I can talk, givin' advice is a given. Then, bein' a holy sword, I can sense evil presences. Within 10 km, I'll nail the direction and distance.]
"Evil presences meaning...?"
[Undead like ghosts or zombies. Magical beasts too, if they're hostile.]
Wow, that's... kinda tempting. Or not.
Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
[And now, my pièce de résistance! Check it!]
Five or six fireballs materialize around Matis, orbiting erratically.
It can use magic?
[See? I can use magic! Not just that—I can sync with my wielder's magic to amplify spells! Offensive, support, even spirit magic!]
The fireballs vanish, replaced by water and wind orbs, appearing and disappearing at will.
Quite an impressive skillset for a sword.
Isis did say she's not great with magic.
"By the way, that mist from the shrine—is that your magic?"
[Nah. The shrine itself is a magic artifact. A security measure against thieves. Had some beasts gathered nearby, right? Dunno what kinds, though. Anyway, I've been supplying magic from this pedestal to the shrine. Once I leave, the mist'll fade eventually.]
I see.
Even if they didn't expect behemoths, the presence of beasts was anticipated.
"What about the door's riddle? Did you come up with it?"
[Oh! Yeah, ya solved that neat! Got that knowledge from Goddess Matis-sama! So prolly her idea!]
Then it's likely the same goddess from modern Earth's myths.
Or maybe one involved in creating those myths.
[So, who's gonna be my master? From what I see, the big-sword-wieldin' sis here?]
"Yeah. I'm Isis Nova. The Hero. Nice to meet you!"
[Likewise! Let's get along, sis!]
"""Huh?""""
[Wha? Somethin' wrong?]
"You're a girl?"
[Yep? Name and voice didn't tip ya off?]
"Uh... sorry, didn't realize. Wait, swords have genders?"
[Swords don't, but minds do!]
"O-oh... okay. Let's get going."
[Yeah! Finally gettin' outta here!]
"First, back to Astravan."
Thus, Isis gains both the Hero's relic, the Holy Sword Matis, and a new partner.
Now the difference in swords is gone—next time we fight, I might lose.
Anyway, I need to take Isis to that place.
Finally, we'll learn what lies beyond that door.
Once we've settled things in Astravan, we'll talk.