I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

Vizil Lionheart sipped his wine against the backdrop of Yoram cloaked in the veil of night.
When his statue-like body was reflected in the deliberately well-placed mirror, he let out a sigh ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) of admiration.

“Handsome, aren’t I.”
No wonder women go crazy for him.
Moments like this reinforced the conviction that everything he touched went well simply because he was this exceptional.

Wasn’t it he who was chosen by both the First Imperial Prince and the Second Imperial Princess—arguably the most powerful people in the Empire?
“...Come to think of it.”
He had heard there was another royal in Yoram—someone expelled from the Imperial Family.

He remembered the person because they ranked just below him.
“Ilia... was it.”
Just some trash who’d completely withdrawn from the succession race. Not even worth acknowledging, really.

“...”
Although, if something seemed off...
For someone supposedly not worth caring about, the First Prince and Second Princess had shown... odd reactions.

“Telling me to report on the whereabouts of some discarded trash? Why?”
It felt almost like they sensed a threat far beyond what was visible.
Vizil hadn’t pressed for details—no one was about to tell him anyway—but it still stuck with him.

Whatever. It was an assignment, so he’d do it. He’d take a break tomorrow from stirring up chaos inside Yoram.
Earning Dean Sior’s fury was more exhausting than it looked.
As he was lost in thought—

A knock came at the door.
“...They’re here.”
Well, a task was a task.
And enjoying the occasional pleasure along the way was like a little lubrication for the gears.

“You’re late. Did you at least wear what I told you to—”
As he said that and touched the doorknob—
The door shattered, and Vizil’s body was flung backward.

It had been a strike so overwhelming that even a trained martial artist like him couldn't react in time.
“—What the?!”
For someone who fancied himself quite strong, the sheer impact of it made the contrast even sharper.

Whoever was on the other side of that door was a monster—the kind that would crush him before he could even resist.
And the next moment confirmed it.
“Miss Vespa couldn’t make it. She’s busy.”

A calm male voice sounded, and before Vizil could even rise, a fist slammed into the side of his head.
A precise, needle-like blow that obliterated his sense of balance and sent him crumbling to the floor.
“I brought you a little gift instead.”

With those words—
A vial was shoved into his mouth as he collapsed.
It felt like fire was coursing down his throat, his entire body cracking and warping from within.

“Khh—KEEHEEEECK!”
He rolled across the floor, coughing violently in a way utterly unimaginable for someone normally so composed.
It hurt like hell.

After a while of thrashing and choking, when he finally came to his senses, what stared back at him from the mirror...
...was enough to make him wish he had just blacked out instead.
“Wh-What the hell is this?!”

The voice that came out was far thinner than usual.
Unbelievable.
That face and body that once bewitched women like a spell? Gone.

Only the delicate, gentle curves of a small, soft female body remained.
“Wh-What did you do to my body?!”
Even his scream sounded completely unlike his usual low baritone.

Vizil, trembling violently, glared up from the floor at the man looking down at him.
Who was he?
What was his name again?

His mind spun, but eventually, he remembered.
Carlyle Belfast. The assistant who came with the Hero.
He’d barely remembered the name because the guy was just some man.

He was always wearing a light, meaningless smile, giving off the impression of a harmless fool—but now, his face was frozen in a chilling expression, the shadows on his features making him look utterly lifeless.
“Is this the Hero’s doing? You think you’ll get away with this—”
“Yes.”

He cut off Vizil’s words with chilling indifference.
“You won’t be able to use any special powers in that body.”
And it was true.

Nothing. He couldn’t feel a trace of power from within.
And in that state—
“...”

Vizil stared between himself and Carlyle, his face turning pale.
In the middle of the night.
A defenseless woman, alone with a man who had just used force.

It wasn’t unreasonable to think he could do anything to her. She couldn’t resist, and even if something happened, she had no way to retaliate.
In that moment—
“...Hk.”

She reflexively covered herself and backed away.
Who knew what this bastard would do? He was insane enough to turn a perfectly normal man into a woman.
If he really wanted to do something, he could do anything...

“Yes. That’s the idea.”
Carlyle spoke, still cold, still emotionless.
“That’s exactly how all the women you dragged into your bedroom against their will must’ve felt.”

“......”
“Looking at you now, it’s almost reassuring. Maybe you’ll finally understand how they felt.”
“W-What... what are you going to do to me...?”

“What do you think I’m going to do?”
That dead, unfeeling voice...
To Vizil, he now looked like a freshly risen demon straight from hell.

“If you dare do anything to me, I’ll—!”
“You’ll what?”
“...”

“Now that you’re a ‘woman,’ no one will believe you’re Vizil Lionheart anymore.”
“...”
“Even if something awful were to happen here and now, people would just assume you vanished. I doubt I’d face any consequences.”

“......”
As those words sank in—
Vizil’s face turned ghostly pale.

His mind rapidly accepted the truth in Carlyle’s words.
If something happened here and now, in this form, it really would just go down that way.
“What... what do you want from me?”

“Well, that depends on your attitude from here on out, doesn’t it? We’ll decide based on your behavior.”
As Carlyle said that, Vizil’s vision started spinning wildly.
The drug shoved down his throat clearly had side effects on top of the transformation.

“If... if you do anything to me—”
If he lost consciousness, who knew what would happen?
Even through his fading awareness, that fear pierced through like a spike.

And that was the last thing on his mind before he blacked out.
***
Carlyle stared quietly at Vizil’s unconscious body.

...That should’ve gotten the message across, right?
[The trauma imprint is guaranteed.]
At the very least, he’d clearly made an impression: if you act recklessly, this is what happens.

Now all he had to do was get a clear promise of obedience and turn him back to normal.
Even Carlyle didn’t want to leave him in that state forever.
...Or so he thought.

“Finished?”
Gray peeked her head through the door.
“...Miss?”

What the hell was she doing here?
How did she even know about this?
“I figured you’d do something reckless. I was keeping an eye on you just in case.”

Gray approached Vizil’s collapsed body and calmly raised a hand over it.
Mana surged from her body and flowed into Vizil.
“Miss? What are you doing?”

“Fixing a mistake.”
“...Excuse me?”
What mistake?

As Carlyle blinked in confusion, Gray continued like it was obvious.
“You can’t just apply the effect this lightly. If you’re gonna do it, do it right.”
“What do you mean... do it right?”

“I enhanced the drug so it can’t be undone. The duration should be much longer now.”
“...”
“Now, no matter what he tries, he’ll never be able to undo it—why are you making that face?”

“...Why would you do that?”
“...Huh?”
“...Excuse me?”

“...”
“...”
Carlyle stared at her blankly.

“Wait, that’s not what you were trying to do? I thought you were just low on mana, so it was weak.”
“No, I didn’t mean to go that far...”
He had only intended to scare Vizil a little—make him feel what it was like to be powerless and objectified.

Just a warning. Make him promise to behave and then revert him.
Did she even think about the consequences of permanently turning a royal into a woman?
When he explained that, Gray narrowed her eyes.

“Are you insane?”
“...What?”
“You think anyone would be scared off by that? You want to fix someone’s attitude, this is what it takes.”

“...”
Is this woman... a demon?
She literally flipped someone’s gender just to fix their manners?

Hero...
[...What is it.]
The original truly is on another level.

[...]
Carlyle couldn’t even imagine trying to compete with that kind of crazy.
“...Can this be undone?”

“It can... but he’ll have to live like that for at least a few weeks. Otherwise, there’ll be side effects.”
“...”
So Vizil would be stuck like that until the demon beast incident blew over.

This is nuts.
How was he supposed to cover the gap that would leave behind?
This wasn’t just anyone—it was a royal. The aftermath of mishandling this would be catastrophic.

...No choice, then.
[What do you mean, no choice?]
I’ll have to ask someone else for help.

Thankfully, someone perfect for that happened to be in Yoram right now.
The next morning, Carlyle explained everything to Felix—who burst out laughing.
“You... you’re actually the type to do crazy shit without blinking?”

“...I thought I stayed within the line.”
“Sure, Gray did the overkill part, but you were the one who started it, weren’t you?”
“...”

No rebuttal.
At least Felix wasn’t taking it seriously.
Like it was nothing.

“So, where is our little prince—no, princess—now?”
“She should be passed out in her room. Why do you ask?”
“Drag her here before she wakes up. She’ll throw a fit otherwise.”

“Won’t that inconvenience you, Your Eminence?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Felix grinned.

“Sixth Prince, right? What the hell’s he gonna do to me?”
I’m the Cardinal of the Orthodox Church.
Second only to the Pope.

“...”
Goddamn. I think I’m falling for his confidence.
And sure enough, when Vizil came to and had a private conversation with Felix, the result was clear.

“Mmm—we had a little intimate chat.”
“...”
“She won’t be acting out anytime soon.”

Felix patted Vizil’s back as she trembled, face pale, nodding frantically.
Whatever exchange they had, it was obvious.
...Was that a threat?

[...It was a threat.]
No one knew exactly what was said in that room, but from the look on her face, it couldn’t have been anything else.
What the hell did he say to scare a prideful royal that bad...?

“Well, like you said—I told her whether she gets turned back depends on her behavior.”
“...”
“She’ll behave. For now.”

“...Understood.”
With no better response, Carlyle nodded.
Felix clapped Vizil’s back again.

“Alright. Let’s try that line we practiced.”
“...Eh?”
Practiced?

What the hell?
As Carlyle stared in disbelief, Vizil trembled with tears in her eyes and finally forced her lips to move.
The humiliation was plain on her face.

“F-From today... I, Vissels, will be attending to Master Carlyle...”
“There you go.”
“...”

“Use her well. I’ll smooth things over with the First Prince and Second Princess.”
“...”
“If she gives you trouble, let me know. Got it?”

Seeing Felix smile so cheerfully as he said that made Carlyle’s skin crawl.
...Are these people actually demons?
***

[System Message]
▶ You have renamed “Vizil Lionheart” to “Vissels Lionheart.”
▶ You may now access “Imperial Household” information.
▶ You are likely to come into contact with forces related to “Demons”!