F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 230: Egress and the Princess

The mystical boundaries of the Hidden Reprieve rippled, and the moment Sigrun entered, she was dumbfounded for a moment.

The abominations seemed to have disappeared, replaced by bladeborns of various races.

There was even an SS-ranker human and an S-ranker Veshari standing just a few meters away from her.

The former seemed quite friendly, and the latter, as expected, looked at her quite coldly.

Of course, why wouldn’t she?

They were enemies in the Sword Trials, after all, so seeing such a mighty champion like her must be quite intimidating.

Sigrun scanned her eyes over the entire area.

The gray, misty theme of the godless realm was gone, replaced by vibrant colors, though the ashen ground surface remained the same.

There was, very surprisingly, a thriving town just a hundred meters away from where she stood.

A lot of the bladeborns had also seemed to stop what they were doing to look at her.

Why wouldn’t they? She was gorgeous, after all, and a mighty SSS-ranker.

Overall, Sigrun was pleased.

She had been quite exhausted roaming the boring expanse of dead trees, stone slabs, ashes, and dying shrubbery.

This strange town, which the mysterious Onimaru Kunitsuna is a part of, was an unexpected but welcome haven.

"I must say, this town of yours, shabby as it may be, is quite impressive. But why would you fellows even try to build one in this distasteful realm, though? I must say your preferences are quite...peculiar. You, Ascalon, why haven’t I heard of you before? And you, Onimaru Kunitsuna, what are you doing, wasting time here?"

Caleb sighed.

He was torn between liking the rather stuck-up SSS-ranker and hating her.

On one hand, she was a legend in the making, basically a future Sword Saintess, and she’s a Visitor.

Sigrun was among the best comrades he could ever hope for in this god-forsaken realm.

But on the other, she was aloof and somewhat arrogant, though both said qualities were strange in her hands.

The best summary would be: she’s quite polite in her condescending ways...if that even made sense.

Nonetheless, Caleb couldn’t be more glad that they met her, even if the encounter was not exactly friendly, and some of his temporary subordinates got their limbs severed.

Sigrun was probably a lot of effort to be around, but her combat prowess and her status as a Visitor made it more than worth it.

"We won’t be able to talk properly here, so let’s do it in the meeting shack," Caleb answered.

"I’m fine with all eyes on me, but whatever, you lead the way."

He turned to Daru, instructing him: "Da– Onimaru, you two go first, I’ll give Lesha and the party leaders a few instructions first, then I’ll follow."

Daru was initially confused about how Caleb addressed him, but soon realized, grateful at the older bladeborn’s sharpness and consideration.

Sigrun had most probably already signed her loyalty to one of the Seven Sword Guilds, so it would be quite the trouble if she learned of even just his first name.

Still, her knowing about his true appearance was already bad enough for his prospects of peaceful living, but strangely, he wasn’t too against it now.

Perhaps being one of the leaders of Egress changed him more than he expected?

In any case, he was not one to shy away from responsibilities now, so whatever comes in the future, he could probably handle it better.

He would officially sign with the government, at worst.

At least they showed sincerity in respecting his wishes and preferences. Maybe he could even keep his peace if things went well.

The meeting shack wasn’t too far from the borders.

So, they arrived in just a dozen minutes.

Everyone hurried after Daru, Caleb, and Lesha, and with them being given instructions, the meeting shack was empty.

The old man was also nowhere to be seen, perhaps trying to take advantage of the commotion to sneak out again.

Thus, Daru was alone with Sigrun for now.

The silver-haired SSS-ranker appraised the interior of the meeting shack but said nothing.

Instead, like Daru, she chose a random seat and sat down, twirling her hair while deep in thought.

She then cleared her throat and spoke a moment later:

"So...everything here. They must not be as simple as what I thought earlier, correct?"

"Correct." Daru nodded, following up with the best explanation he could come up with: "Everyone here is trapped and wants to return to the Surface."

"The Surface, huh? Also, trapped? Quite plebeian, I’d say..."

Daru’s brows rose.

"What about you? Are you not trapped? Why are you wandering here, then?"

"Ha! Me, trapped? Please do not lump this princess in with you commoners. I-I’m not trapped at all. It’s just that I have to wait for my sword’s innate ability to go off cooldown before I can return, that’s all. As for why I’m wandering here, I’m in search of an appropriate Soul Avatar. What are the accursed odds that the portal I would open would send me to a land of unworthy abominations?"

Sigrun’s slight stutter didn’t sound so convincing, though, and she sighed the last part of her words while shaking her head.

"I see." Daru nodded in understanding before continuing: "Your sword is quite amazing, huh, directly opening portals to the underworld? How long would you have to wait, though?"

"A month this time, I guess," the self-proclaimed princess sighed again. "A bummer, really..."

"It seems you want to leave earlier?"

"Why, of course. Who would want to stay in this boring realm for a month?

"Indeed." Daru nodded in agreement, then, with a pause, offered: "Then help us so we can all leave soon."

"Hmph." Sigrun snorted in response.

She saw this coming from a mile away, but since she’s here already, why not learn more about how the Underworld works from those who experienced living here? After all, this isn’t the only region she would visit.

"Out with it, then. How do I help?"

At that moment, the door creaked open, and Caleb and Lesha entered.

To their surprise, Daru had a faint, smug grin on his face.

Such things were usually unnoticeable.

However, they’ve been with Daru every day for quite some time now, so they could easily notice the changes in his expressions, subtle as they were.

The two were curious, but there was no need to ask.

After all...

"I succeeded in getting her to help."

Daru would tell them what he was so proud of himself, and not even two moments had passed, and he already could not resist.