Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

So she guessed:

"So what specific conditions need to be met to wield the holy sword?"

"Yes," Ciel answered affirmatively, "Uncle Elvis told me that if you want to wield the holy sword with ease, you need to have the 'qualifications' to become a hero."

"What is the 'qualification' to become a hero?" Rachel frowned. "What is that?"

Charles smiled bitterly: "I don't know either."

"Then you haven't asked Elvis...Uncle Elvis carefully about it?" Rachel asked after a pause.

"No, I asked, but Uncle Elvis told me he didn't know either."

"What? He doesn't know either? How is that possible? If he doesn't know either, then how did he become a hero?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Charles stared at Rachel with his iron-gray eyes and replied:

"Like all the heroes of the past, he was chosen by the Holy Sword."

"..."

Lacey also fell silent.

Ciel's answer was a little too... "correct" that she didn't know what to say for a moment.

Indeed, in Pangaea, this is undoubtedly a fact that everyone knows.

Those who are chosen by the holy sword will become heroes.

Just as it is difficult for ordinary people to doubt such common sense as "thunder and rain in the sky" and "grass and trees grow on the ground", Lacie never thought that there was anything wrong with this fact.

But now, after being reminded by Charles, if you think about it carefully, how does the Holy Sword select the appropriate "Sword Wielder"?

Does it mean that after the death of the heroes of all generations, it will find a random place to dig a hole and bury itself, and whoever can dig it out will automatically be recognized? Or will it become a sword in the stone, and whoever can pull it out can become the king of Britain on the spot?

Where did Britain come from in Pangaea?

Although there is indeed a Victoria in Pangea, this Victoria is not the same Victoria.

Besides, the current king of Victoria is not called Arthur, and a country built of steam and steel will not have such fantasy things as the Fairy of the Lake and the Sword of Promised Victory.

So Lacielle put aside her messy thoughts and asked Charles curiously:

"Then do you know how the Holy Sword selects the next generation of heroes?"

Ciel hesitated for a moment before answering:

"I also asked Uncle Elvis about this issue..."

He recalled it carefully, carefully considered the words, and tried to repeat the words of the previous generation of heroes in full:

"'The Holy Sword is alive. If I meet a suitable successor, it will remind me and urge me to hand over the responsibility of the hero to that successor. Then, the successor chosen by the Holy Sword will become the new hero' - this is what Uncle Elvis answered me."

"Shocked!" Lacier muttered softly, "The holy sword is actually alive?"

She had had similar guesses before she left Lentiheim, but Charles's answer at that time was vague, and it might also involve the secrets of successive heroes, so she tactfully did not continue to inquire.

Now that she had the right opportunity and reason, she asked confidently:

"I asked you this before, back when we were still in Lentiheim. Do you still remember? At that time, I asked you if the Holy Sword was alive, but you played dumb!"

The time of reckoning has come!

Lacey is already itching to do it:

"Speak up! Tell the truth! Is that holy sword alive or not!?"

Ciel scratched his head in embarrassment after hearing this, and then honestly repeated the answer he had given last time:

"I do not know."

"You don't know?" Rachel asked with a frown, "How could you not know?"

"Because when I had the holy sword, it... never showed any signs of being alive, and it never reminded me who the right successor was, so I pretended to be a hero with it, because sometimes I wondered..."

Ciel stretched out his hand with a complicated expression, clenched it twice towards the place where the holy sword should have been hanging, and then said:

"If I keep carrying the holy sword, maybe one day, just like Uncle Elvis said to me, I will meet someone who is truly qualified to inherit the holy sword. Then, I can unload the heavy responsibility on my shoulders and hand over the title and responsibilities of a brave hero with peace of mind."

"after all……"

He said calmly:

"——I'm just a fake hero."

However, Lacie seemed to be able to hear a hint of unwillingness hidden in these words.

Was it an illusion? She didn't know, but if it were her, she might indeed feel a little unwilling.

Although he is not inferior to any other hero, he is denied by his so-called "qualification"...

Rachel decided to do something.

Consider it a response to Charles's frank confession of his feelings - she suddenly raised her hands, covered Charles' face, and forced him to look into her eyes.

After that, she stared into Charles' iron-gray eyes with a little shyness, and told him very seriously:

"I won't let you say that! Even if you think you are a fake hero, I still have to tell you..."

She spoke word by word, revealing her feelings to Charles:

"——No matter what, you are my hero!"

After saying this, she felt a little embarrassed, but now was obviously not the time to be shy. She had to stand up and cheer Charles up.

So she mustered up her courage and forced herself to continue looking at Charles.

Charles, who was being stared at by her, was stunned when he heard the words, then he curled up the corners of his mouth imperceptibly, revealing a very faint smile.

"Yeah, I get it," he said with a smile, "and... you're so cute."

After being praised by Charles for being cute, Lacie subconsciously tried to be tough.

Although she was indeed quite cute, it still felt weird to hear Ciel say that.

Maybe it doesn't match her macho persona? Although she was dizzy from Ciel's talk last night and said something stupid like "I will definitely be a good female in the future", after she regained consciousness, her stubborn male dignity revived like a weed.

The witch lady tried hard to hide the joy she felt after receiving the compliment, while tightening her face and muttering, "Who are you calling cute?"

Then she asked:

"In other words, whether before we met or in the three years since we met, you have never met someone who is suitable and has the 'qualifications' to inherit the Holy Sword?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Tsk..."

Miss Witch made a very unhappy sound.

But she soon realized the new problem and asked:

"Speaking of which, what is the so-called 'qualification'?"

[To be continued]

-

34. Origin of the Holy Sword

The word qualification can be understood in many ways.

Age, bloodline, physical indicators, and even character and morality...

But the Holy Sword is just a sword after all. Can it really recognize these messy things?

Or does it just look like a sword, but in fact, there is another "essence" hidden beneath the appearance of the sword?

Lacey doesn't understand.

She just had a strange idea, and couldn't help but become suspicious, and asked Charles beside her:

"Hey, you brave warriors are going to take up your posts... You don't need to take any qualification exams in advance, do you?"

Of course, Charles didn't understand what she was saying:

"Qualification certificate? What is that?"

"It's okay if you don't understand," Lacier waved her hand. "It's not an important thing anyway. The child is just joking."

Since brave men don’t need any qualifications to take up their posts, what do the so-called “qualifications” refer to?

If you want to know the answer to this question, you may have to ask the brave men of all ages.

Unfortunately, the inheritance of heroes has been interrupted in a sense. Most of the heroes of previous generations are sleeping underground, and the contemporary hero Charles can only be regarded as a fake at best, just like the half-baked witch Lacie.

In this case, we can only turn to history for help.

Rachel had an idea.

She drew her wand, but did not cast a spell immediately. Instead, she turned and glanced at Ciel.

Charles, noticing her movements, immediately deactivated the forbidden spell without hesitation. However, this action caused Lacier to complain in a helpless manner:

"I'm not asking you to turn off the forbidden spell! I just want to ask if you are familiar with the records of the heroes before you."

Charles was stunned for a moment, then reacted:

"You want to infer what qualifications are needed to become a hero based on the common points of heroes throughout the ages?"

"I guessed it right!" Lacie snapped her fingers briskly, "It's a pity there's no reward."

Then she added in her mind:

"Of course you can, but that depends on whether you are brave enough to help yourself!"

It was unknown whether he was not brave enough or simply did not notice her subtext. Anyway, Charles quickly immersed himself in the conjecture proposed by Lacielle, frowned and began to mutter to himself:

"Before me, there were five heroes in the Pangaea."

"Among them, there are four male heroes and one female hero. They come from different countries and regions and even have different beliefs. The thing they have in common is probably—"

"They are all human beings, all of whom have almost impeccable noble character and exceptionally strong bodies..."

Here Charlton lived.

His expression became confused, he turned to look at Lacier and whispered:

"I'm sorry, but these are the only common points I can think of among the heroes of all generations."

"Why are you apologizing? This is not your problem!" Laciel comforted him first, then asked, "But are these really the only three things that all heroes of all generations have in common?"

Charles shook his head.

"I can't really think of anything more."

"Tsk..." Lacier bit her finger, "This shouldn't be..."

Although there are only five people and the sample size is a bit small, it is precisely because the sample size is small that there should be more similarities!

So she tried to offer a suggestion:

"I heard that all the heroes of the past seem to be alone... Do you think this is true?"

Charles responded in the negative:

"No, in fact, the second hero, Ms. Nereia, had a very happy marriage."

"Ah, this..." Laciel bit her fingers more frequently. "Then... age? When the Holy Sword selected the heroes of each generation, were their ages similar?"

"That's not right. The first hero in the legend was chosen by the Holy Sword and became a hero when he was nearly fifty years old. The second hero, Ms. Nereia, was recognized by the Holy Sword before she even reached adulthood."

"Hmm...bloodline? Do all the heroes of the past come from a certain family? Do they have similar blood flowing in their veins?"

"I'm afraid not," Charles shook his head again, "The heroes of all generations came from various countries and regions in the Pan-Continent. It's impossible for them to come from the same family..."

Having said this he suddenly paused.

He seemed to have thought of something.

The same thing happened to Rachel. She also thought of something:

"But the heroes of all generations do have similar blood flowing in their veins—at least they are all humans, not elves or dragons."