Chapter 4

Crisis (1)

Why was the Messiah Empire called an "empire"?

There were several reasons, but the answer was simple.

It possessed the largest territory, the greatest wealth, and overwhelming military power.

Of those, military strength was inevitably influenced by the power of exceptional individuals.

And the Empire possessed a Sword Master.

What was a Sword Master?

A monster who stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship and was regarded not merely as a tactical weapon, but as a strategic one.

Sword Masters were famous for splitting the earth with one strike and cleaving mountains with the next.

The existence of a Sword Master was precisely why other nations could not recklessly defy the Empire.

Title: Are Sword Masters Supposed to Be Rare?

I thought they were everywhere in the old days.

└ Yeah, they were back then.
└ Why aren't they now?
└ Ash is gatekeeping the title. She says anyone weaker than her has no right to call themselves a Sword Master, lmao.
└ Fuck, is she the level cap? LMAO.
└ Hahahaha.
└ The Sword Saints of the past would only qualify as modern Sword Masters.

└ Are there no Sword Masters among races other than humans?
└ There are. They just all got wrecked by Ash.
└ Is she even human? LMAO.

At the age of fifteen, Ash made a declaration.

And everyone accepted it.

Anyone who desired both her beauty and her hand in marriage had only to defeat her.

After she became an adult, of course.

Three years passed.

She reached adulthood and waited with anticipation, but no man capable of defeating her appeared.

Five years passed.

She was approaching the ideal age for marriage and began growing anxious, but she patiently continued to wait.

Ten years passed.

Her family began begging her to marry someone.

That was when she first sensed that something had gone terribly wrong.

In truth, the rank of Sword Master was not exclusive to the Empire.

It was simply that the Empire's Sword Master was the strongest.

Overwhelmingly so.

Ash Menethil, the Sword Master of the Empire, was renowned as the greatest swordswoman of the age.

She was famous not only for her strength, but also for her snow-white hair, blue eyes, and exceptional beauty.

Her looks had blossomed brilliantly from an early age, stealing the hearts of countless men.

Naturally, marriage proposals poured in even while she was still young.

"I will marry a man stronger than me!"

Title: ???: "I'll Marry a Man Stronger Than Me"

Fifteen years had passed since then.

No man had managed to defeat her.

└ She's become a total auntie now, lmao. Wait, someone's knocking at my door.
└ Only a cold, lifeless comment remains.
└ What happens if you call Ash an auntie to her face?
└ Not sure, but apparently some brat heard her age and teased her by calling her one, lol.

└ Couldn't an elf or demon take her?
└ There's no one clearly stronger than Ash, lol.
└ Humans are surprisingly powerful, anyway. Their average is low as hell, but their peak is absurdly high.

└ Just how strong is she?

Fifteen years passed.

Her abilities continued to rise, yet still no man appeared who could defeat her.

She had undergone Bone and Marrow Cleansing and retained the beauty of a woman in her twenties, but her actual age was now in her thirties.

She had long since passed the usual age for marriage, so very few men dared approach her.

Of course, some men were captivated by her beauty and proposed anyway.

The problem was that every last one of them was weaker than Ash.

She did not want to abandon her final shred of pride and the conviction she had upheld for so long.

So she endured.

And endured.

Men also found women stronger than themselves intimidating, so they understood her position.

"This can't continue."

She could not simply wait forever.

Ash decided to personally train disciples.

She would raise promising candidates herself.

Surely, at least one of them would succeed.

Not a single one did.

They all lost to Ash and married other women.

People in this world generally married young, so they all ran off before reaching her level.

"I'll share all my knowledge with the gallery."

Feeling a growing sense of crisis, Ash began carefully uploading her swordsmanship expertise to the gallery.

She hoped to create a virtuous cycle.

It actually worked.

The general level of martial ability across the continent steadily rose.

At this rate, a man stronger than Ash would surely emerge from one kingdom or another.

Would that not cause international problems?

Her path to marriage was completely blocked.

International relations could go fuck themselves.

Yet even then, no man appeared who could defeat her.

Instead, mass-produced Sword Masters simply began appearing everywhere.

To make matters worse, Ash's strength continued increasing even when she did nothing but breathe.

"Why? Why is there no one? Why the hell?!"

Ash could not understand it.

Why was there such a complete lack of talent?

She had tried everything imaginable, yet no man capable of defeating her emerged.

After examining the problem, she finally realized something far too late.

"I get stronger just by breathing? Are you kidding me?!"

That was right.

The woman praised as a heavenly genius was also a natural disaster in another sense.

Mana accumulated inside her simply through breathing, and she possessed the talent to channel it into her sword effortlessly.

Her obsession with marriage had distracted her, but had she trained consistently, she would have reached the rank of Grand Sword Master at a remarkably young age.

Yet Ash was already always included whenever people debated the strongest person on the continent.

She had no need to become any stronger.

"Fuck my life."

Everything suddenly felt meaningless.

A crushing wave of emptiness washed over her.

In the end, Ash abandoned every one of her official positions and withdrew from public life.

The Emperor personally begged her to remain, but she rejected every request.

She did permit the Empire to continue using her name whenever necessary.

Still, a symbolic figurehead had value precisely because people could see her.

The fact that the Empire itself trembled at the mere possibility of losing Ash demonstrated once again just how great her presence was.

And so, after a total of twenty years had passed, the reclusive Ash was—

"Hehehe."

—lying on her bed and eating a banana.

She giggled foolishly.

Her snow-white hair had been tied into a messy bun, and she wore the simple, comfortable clothes of a complete shut-in.

The round glasses on her face completed the image of an unemployed recluse.

These days, she spent her time diligently lurking on the gallery and enjoying her peaceful, if questionable, life.

Smack!

"Ow!"

"You little brat! I told you to go outside!"

A powerful slap landed on the back of Ash, who had been endlessly browsing the gallery.

Her body was as hard as forged iron, yet the blow stung strangely badly.

"Look at your younger sister! She's thirty and pregnant again! She's about to have her fifth child—her fifth! You were even the captain of the Imperial Guard, so why aren't you married?!"

"Ah, Mom..."

Naturally, it hurt because the blow was filled with a mother's love.

Ash rubbed her stinging back and looked at her mother.

Though her face was marked by many wrinkles, her features closely resembled Ash's.

She must have been stunning in her youth.

Ash was already in her thirties, but her mother had given birth to her at nineteen.

For this era, that was perfectly normal.

"What am I supposed to do when there isn't a man I like...?"

"Lower your standards! Where in the world are you going to find a man stronger than you?!"

"..."

Ash had no answer to her mother's criticism.

It was, in fact, mostly correct.

Even among all races, Ash was exceptionally powerful.

She was stronger than elves and demons alike.

Of course, there was probably some man somewhere in the world who was stronger than her.

She simply had not found him.

"My goodness, this mother's heart is going to burst. What good is being a Sword Master or whatever if you're still unmarried at thirty-five? I'm already in my mid-fifties, so please listen to me!"

"Well... my younger sister married well, didn't she? Mom, we're nobles now. Nobles."

Ash's family had originally been commoners.

They rose in status when Ash became the greatest swordswoman on the continent.

The title she received was none other than countess.

Considering that marquises generally governed the borderlands, it was among the highest honors the Emperor could grant.

Her younger sister was also beautiful and had married well.

The fact that she already had five children made it obvious that she and her husband were very affectionate.

Unlike her older sister, she had found her perfect match.

Ash was jealous.

"What good does that do when my eldest daughter is in this state? At least go outside and exercise!"

"I get stronger just by breathing..."

"Do you seriously expect me to believe that nonsense? Get out!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

No matter how old a child became, they remained a child in their parent's eyes.

At her mother's shout, Ash hurriedly climbed out of bed.

She picked up a practice sword and headed toward the estate's exit.

Then, after pretending she was going outside, she turned around.

Training was annoying.

Because she became stronger merely by breathing, she felt no need to do it.

'I should upload another post.'

She returned to her bed and accessed the gallery.

Her role there was simple.

Title: You Can Do It Too! Advanced Swordsmanship Lecture 15
Sword Master

Today's advanced lesson is about parrying. What is parrying, you ask—

Uploading swordsmanship knowledge to the gallery had become part of her daily routine.

Originally, she had posted these lessons to raise the continent's overall level of swordsmanship.

Now, it felt more like a job.

She had not always been so deeply immersed in the gallery.

In the past, she had merely lurked from time to time.

But after belatedly discovering the truth about her constitution and falling into despair over the feeling that the world itself had deceived her, she became completely addicted to it.

└ What do you think about quick-draw swordsmanship?
└ Sword Master: You should learn the fundamentals instead of wasting your time practicing that nonsense.
└ But it looks cool.
└ Sword Master: Do it after you become a Sword Master.
└ But Sword Masters are strong no matter what they do, lmao.

There were occasionally some complete idiots, but Ash always responded politely.

Why did she bother maintaining such decorum in a gallery where everyone openly displayed their desires?

'This is the only way to keep people from suspecting me.'

It was because of Ash's usual personality.

She was rather rough and outspoken by nature.

That had allowed her to get along well with nobles despite being born a commoner, but none of that mattered here.

More importantly, she had been using the gallery for far too long.

Her activity was nothing compared to the truly hardcore gallery addicts, but she had still been around for years.

She was someone who had consistently used the gallery for a very long time.

She had even drawn suspicion when she first began uploading swordsmanship knowledge.

'I'd rather kill myself than die of embarrassment.'

There was always a chance someone might discover her identity, so she deliberately adopted a calm and refined manner of speech.

For the same reason, she never uploaded photographs or videos when posting swordsmanship lessons.

Fortunately, as a genius among geniuses, she seemed to possess considerable talent for writing as well.

Her explanations were so excellent that the lack of visual material caused no problems.

"Ah. I want to get married."

Ash muttered while scratching her firm abdominal muscles.

Even though she had long since passed the usual age of marriage, she had not given up.

She was still willing to accept a challenger.

The Empire simply rejected them on her behalf because she was living in seclusion.

Since the gallery served as her main window into the outside world, she remained completely unaware of that fact.

"Could this one be strong?"

When browsing the gallery, she occasionally encountered people who showed promise or boasted about their strength.

She had wanted to meet some of them personally, but their lack of ability was usually exposed before long.

└ Fuck, how are you supposed to dodge that? Are you joking?
└ Sword Master: Why would you be unable to dodge it? Flexibility is essential. To think you do not even understand that. You were nothing but a loudmouthed insect.
└ Damn, she went straight for the throat, lmao.

It usually went something like that.

Most of them had theories that were complete garbage.

Others simply lacked knowledge.

Still, not everyone was an idiot.

There was one famous user who had caught Ash's attention.

'Just how strong is this Heavenly Demon?'

Heavenly Demon constantly produced posts that were no better than excrement.

The users treated her like any other eccentric gallery addict.

Ash had initially done the same.

However, some of Heavenly Demon's occasional remarks were deeply connected to martial arts.

Others scoffed at them, but Ash did not.

In fact, she hated Heavenly Demon several times more than everyone else did.

'That bastard made me even stronger...'

A genius recognized another genius.

Heavenly Demon's posts had influenced Ash considerably.

It was almost like having enlightenment forcibly injected into her.

Every time Ash read one of Heavenly Demon's posts, the mana within her visibly increased.

It did not happen only once or twice.

At first, she dismissed it as a coincidence.

But after experiencing it several times, she realized the truth.

That Heavenly Demon bastard was carelessly scattering her own enlightenment everywhere.

The amusing part was that most users failed to recognize its true value.

'Judging by the way she talks, she's definitely a woman...'

Had Heavenly Demon been a man, Ash would have found him by any means necessary.

Someone capable of reaching such profound insights had to possess extraordinary strength.

However, Heavenly Demon constantly referred to herself as "this lady," and everything about her speech suggested she was female.

An elderly woman, at that.

One thing was certain.

She was older than Ash.

'...Not that I'm in any position to say that.'

Ash also freely distributed her swordsmanship knowledge through the gallery.

Swordsmanship was traditionally highly secretive.

Yet because she spread techniques that anyone could learn, everyone's abilities began rising.

The nation that benefited most was the Iris Kingdom, the Empire's eternal rival.

Originally, the Iris Kingdom was a country where mages were stronger than knights.

Thanks to Ash's trolling, however, its knights had now caught up to the continental average.

"Bring me this user called Sword Master at once!"

"Your Majesty, it is impossible to identify the personal information of gallery users."

"Y-You... You...! Urgh! Ugh!"

"Y-Your Majesty!"

Naturally, the Emperor of the Empire had erupted in fury.

But there was no way to capture an anonymous gallery user.

It was one of the reasons Ash had resigned as captain of the Imperial Guard.

How could she continue serving while enduring that level of awkwardness?

If the Empire encountered a problem, the Emperor had to come and find her personally.

From Ash's perspective, this allowed her to enjoy a comfortable life.

Title: The Heavenly Demon Is a God
Wild Grylls

(A picture of dead dogs lying on the ground and a hand tightly gripping a sword.)

And this sword is invincible.

"Hmm?"

Ash was diligently browsing the gallery while avoiding her mother's eyes when a registered user caught her attention.

It was the person who claimed to have suddenly awakened in a forest.

At first, she had assumed it was another ordinary shitpost.

Then he found some herb called the New Moon Spirit Herb, and the entire gallery erupted into chaos.

That was when she began taking a slight interest in him.

She wondered what kind of person he was.

'Is the New Moon Spirit Herb really that valuable?'

For the record, Ash knew nothing about it.

Her body had no need for medicinal elixirs.

Later, he encountered Mad Dogs as large as cattle.

She had wondered how things would end, only for him to kill two of them.

'Those cuts... are incredibly clean.'

Ash looked surprised.

Interest glimmered in her blue eyes behind her round glasses.

Even from the photograph, the severed surfaces were extraordinarily smooth.

No matter how good the weapon was, most people could not even cut tofu in a perfectly straight line.

There had been no wavering in his strike.

He claimed to be an ordinary person, which only made him more intriguing.

More importantly—

└ Sword Master: If you have nothing else to do, would you be interested in learning swordsmanship? You seem to possess talent.
└ Heavenly Demon: Silence! This lady shall personally pass down a secret manual to him! How dare you interfere!

Heavenly Demon was interested in him.

That Heavenly Demon, who was usually too busy posting garbage!

She fussed over him as though warning everyone not to touch something she had already claimed.

She failed to realize that her behavior only drew more attention.

'Would you look at that?'

Ash flashed a broad, healthy smile.

That reaction made her want to tease Heavenly Demon even more.

Heavenly Demon was famous for doing whatever she pleased without caring about anyone else.

And now she was reacting like this?

Ash wanted to provoke her even more.

It would also be useful to learn more about Wild Grylls.

Ash waited for him to upload another post.

Title: Found a Cave. Should I Go Inside?
Wild Grylls

(A picture showing the entrance of a dark cave.)

It's getting dark, so I need somewhere to rest. Should I go in? What if there's a bear?

└ You'd better pray it's only a bear. It could be a dungeon, lol.
└ Wild Grylls: What comes out of a dungeon?
└ No idea, lol.
└ Wild Grylls: You bastard.
└ It's basically a real-life loot box, lmao.

Ash had initially thought he was pretending, but it seemed he was genuinely surviving in the wilderness.

Adventurers who wandered the world occasionally posted on the gallery.

But none of them did so completely unequipped like Wild Grylls.

└ Don'tAbandonTheHero: Since there are no torches, it probably isn't a dungeon! Still, you should throw a rock inside just in case!
└ Wild Grylls: What if a monster comes out?
└ Don'tAbandonTheHero: Then you fight it!
└ Wild Grylls: The head admin says anything she wants because she's strong. ;; Fine, I'll try it.

Five minutes passed.

Title: This Cave Belongs to Me Now
Wild Grylls

(A picture of the surprisingly comfortable cave interior and a thumbs-up.)

I can do whatever I want with it.

└ Was there nothing inside?
└ Wild Grylls: Nope. It's a little damp, though.
└ Don'tAbandonTheHero: Be careful! The owner may return later!
└ Wild Grylls: I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep for now.

Ash was not quite sure what to make of him.

If Wild Grylls needed something, she could give it to him then.

Afterward, he appeared to have genuinely fallen asleep, because he stopped posting.

Ash continued browsing the gallery.

Even though it was nighttime where Wild Grylls was, it was still daytime in the Empire.

She had plenty of energy left.

Eventually, the sun began to set, and evening arrived.

It seemed he had managed to secure a cave where he could stay for at least one day.

Ash chuckled.

There was something strangely entertaining about it.

After spending every day watching idiots upload meaningless posts, this felt refreshingly different.

Still, none of it would matter if he died.

Later, she should tell him to read the survival-related posts she had uploaded.

'What sorts of things would he need to survive?'

[Someone Help Me. Urgent.]

"Hmm?"

A new post from Wild Grylls appeared.

Even the title looked ominous.

Ash immediately opened the post at the top of the page.

What could possibly have happened?

"Eek?"

She could not help crying out in shock.

Title: Someone Help Me. Urgent.

(A picture of a right arm riddled with holes and bleeding heavily.)

(A picture of the Mad Dog leader from earlier lying dead with its head severed.)

Fuck, this bastard was inside the cave. I'm losing too much blood. Can anyone help?

Wild Grylls's right arm had been mangled.

Severely.

It was not merely punctured.

The wounds were so deep that bone was visible.

At this point, excessive blood loss was a more immediate concern than infection.

└ Put a gore warning on this.
└ Wild Grylls: I'm about to fucking die, and that's what you care about?
└ Not my problem, lol.
└ But isn't this actually dangerous?

An emergency had occurred.