[Special] How to Give Diamonds to a Pig
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
"Excali… what?" Percy said with a completely confused expression.
While everyone else was in complete shock. The only one who seemed fairly calm was Harry… who at that moment seemed to remember something from several years ago.
Back when the knights had recovered the broken hero's sword.
…
The sound of the door opening echoed through the house while Sally walked in carrying several bags in her hands… with Percy and Harry following behind her after a visit to the Veil.
Both of them still looked pretty excited after seeing some interesting objects there. Especially Percy, who every time he visited couldn't help getting stuck staring at the sword displays.
At this moment, the dream of building a collection of cool and interesting swords seemed to be starting to bloom.
"We're back," Harry said after noticing Aunt Mor sitting on the nearby couch with her legs crossed reading a book peacefully.
She only slightly raised her eyes and gave them a soft smile.
"Did you have fun?" she asked after seeing them as energetic as always.
"Yeah," Harry answered with a nod, while Percy looked even more excited than him.
"Auntie… do you know what the broken hero's sword is?" Percy asked with slight pride, as if he knew something maybe she didn't.
"Yes, I know it," Mor answered calmly with a somewhat teasing smile while looking at Percy.
Percy, who had been about to proudly show off his knowledge, immediately stopped with a confused face.
"You know it?… ummm…"
He scratched his head, apparently expecting maybe she wouldn't know because she had been sealed away for so many years.
"Of course. How do you think they freed me? Some idiots used it to bring me back," she said calmly.
Harry also walked closer behind Percy, curious.
"Aunt Mor… the hero's sword freed you?" Harry asked.
"Yes. After all, it was also used to seal me away," Mor replied with slight annoyance.
"Then those guys were good people if they freed Aunt Mor," Harry said.
"Yes… very good people. So as a reward, I gave them something that made them insanely happy," Mor said while wearing an amused smile.
Percy and Harry didn't seem to notice the hidden meaning behind Mor's words… but Sally gave Mor a look for a moment.
She already knew the story, since Mor had told her before.
She simply shook her head before placing the groceries on the kitchen table.
"So, Aunt Mor… do you know where the broken hero's sword came from and how it broke?" Harry asked with interest, since the knights themselves didn't know much, only stories passed from mouth to mouth. But according to Mister Vincent, they weren't very reliable.
Percy immediately joined in with interest too, looking attentively toward Aunt Mor.
She looked at them for a moment and thought for a second about how to summarize a story she really didn't feel like telling openly. Especially knowing that most of what she said probably wouldn't even stay in their memories for very long. Especially Percy.
"Well… let's say that in the past the magical world and the non magical world stood on a very thin line, on the verge of starting something truly horrifying for both sides. So an old fool decided to try harmonizing both factions, attempting to unite them and create a bond between the two worlds. Something that, if successful, would've been truly magnificent. And his idea was to find someone special… someone who would lead both sides."
"Someone special?" Harry asked.
"Yes. Well… mmm. About as special as you two," she said with a smile while poking both their bellies proudly.
Both of them laughed, though they didn't really understand what made them special.
"He had to be strong, brave, and incredibly intelligent," Mor said… although she said this part with faint mockery.
"And did he find him?" Percy asked.
"Mmm… I suppose he did," Mor answered with a sigh.
"When that decrepit old man found another idiot just as stupid as him, he immediately ran off to beg a beautiful witch who lived near a lake… to create an object that would give him even more power. For days he wouldn't stop bothering her and interrupting her peace, even dragging that other idiot along with him to annoy her too. That poor witch had no choice. And just to get rid of them, she created a truly powerful sword… capable of cutting through anything and believed to be indestructible…"
Percy's eyes widened with interest and he interrupted immediately.
"Then it's better than the sword Aunt Mor gave me. My sword doesn't cut anything," he said while glancing toward his pendant for a moment.
A while ago, he had tried taking his sword out, but it couldn't even cut paper. Even the wooden sword his master Einjard gave him could at least hit Harry's magic.
Mor gave him a look along with an amused sigh.
"It doesn't cut anything because you still don't know how to use it."
Percy puffed his cheeks slightly in annoyance, while Harry glanced at his brother and laughed mockingly. At least he could use his magical book, which now had the grand total of three spells.
"That sword would cut through everything if you knew how to use it," Mor added lightly before continuing her story.
Harry, who was standing beside Percy, slowly turned his head toward Mor after hearing that. As if he were trying to connect something inside his little head.
Like he was just about to understand something important.
But then he simply discarded the thought.
He was five years old after all.
"So… a lady who lived in a lake gave a sword to an old man and then the old man said he was king now? And the guy accepted that?" he asked slowly. "I don't know, even I feel like…"
"A beautiful lady," Mor interrupted.
Percy and Harry didn't understand why she was so fixated on that part… but she continued anyway.
"And surely, if she had known how everything would end, she would've beaten up that decrepit old man first…"
"…and then the idiot king."
Sally, who had come out of the kitchen, heard that part and barely smiled. Though she also gave Mor a somewhat strange look for a moment.
As if she felt there was far too much resentment in those words for it to be just a casual opinion.
"So… how did it break and where's the missing part?" Percy asked with interest. Because the only thing left of the broken hero's sword was its hilt decorated with fine golden details… and only a few centimeters of the blade.
But the missing piece wasn't in the Veil, and none of the knights knew what happened to it.
"Oh… the decrepit old man and that idiot king fought someone they couldn't defeat… and the sword chose to destroy itself before hurting her. So she took the blade away so the old man and the king couldn't restore it before leaving for a while," she finished.
"Her?" Harry asked.
Mor gave him a smile, but didn't answer.
"Wow… so the blade was still powerful. It'd be awesome to make a sword using its blade if it was that strong," Percy added.
Mor gave him a somewhat amused look.
"Indeed. But no matter how powerful it is, if the fool who receives it doesn't know how to use it… the same thing that happened with the sword I gave you will happen again," Mor said with slight mockery.
"Of course not. If I had that sword, I'd be super powerful and I'd cut rocks easily," Percy answered immediately.
"And why do you want to cut a rock?" Harry asked him.
"To show that I'm strong," Percy answered as if the question itself was stupid.
Mor stared at him for a moment before shaking her head.
"Anyway," Mor continued, "the sword wasn't actually the most powerful thing."
Percy and Harry looked at her again curiously.
"Then what was?"
"The most powerful thing… was its sheath…"
…
Returning to the present, Harry looked toward the sword in his brother's hand… and just like before, he couldn't help finding it amusing how Aunt Mor always seemed to leave them clues that, years later when they finally discovered them, made them feel like complete idiots.
The same thing happened when they found out they were demigods… and about the existence of the mythological world.
And now, with the sword in Percy's hands, Harry couldn't help wondering what other surprises awaited them with an aunt like that.