8 She Returns to the Scene (2/2)

”I dunno. Maybe buy myself a mansion and have high tea every day. I hear that's what the nobles do in the capital.”

”You mean, the noblewomen, ey!?” The entire room burst into laughter as the men began to drink themselves silly.

'Sword? Stone? Are they talking about THAT sword in the stone?' Robin thought to herself, as she listened. Thinking back to her weeding job, that sword...why did they make it seem so hard? Hadn't she easily pulled it out in one swing?

She did admit that the gold coin reward was exremely tempting. In a world where she had no background or power to speak of, having a fair amount of capital would be a tremendous help. Moreover, it was a contest open to all, so no one could say that it wasn't a fair one.

'Maybe...I'll go and check this evening, before I hit the sack.' She made up her mind, and hungrily tore into her dinner.

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The glow of the evening twilight after sundown still gave a fair bit of light to the surroundings. That, coupled with the rising of the full moon, further illuminated the ground around her.

Re-tracing her steps, she managed to find her way back to the courtyard. Peeking around from the entranceway, she didn't see anyone around. The raised Pavillion was also empty of people. She glanced around behind her as well. The street itself was empty.

Feeling somewhat timid, she quietly ran over to the sword in the stone. It hadn't been moved since the last time she had been there. After examining it by eye, there didn't seem to be anything about it that could hold it in place. She slowly grasped the hilt, and pulled it out in one quick motion, the moonlight flashing from the blade.

Examining the blade, there didn't seem to be any sort of gimmicks either. Robin's glance slid down the blade. To tell the truth, she really wanted it. As a blade that was light, well-balanced, and well-sharpened, she would need a blade such as this, if she was going to be taking on more requests.

Her mind went back to the rumor that she heard at the inn. If it was true....

Her train of thought was interrupted as someone spoke from the nearby treetop.

”See, I told you he'd come back. He even managed to pull it out again.”

”Shut up! I don't want to have to chase him if he runs away again!”

Robin swiftly whirled around to see two men jump down from the nearby tree.

”Who are you?” She asked, placing the blade in between her and the men. They both raised their arms non-threateningly.