The holy sword wife was secured, but not entirely.

In the dilapidated church, Altair sat on a stone, studying the contract seal on his right hand, his brow furrowed.

He sensed a new power within him, Est's, no doubt, but it was weaker than expected. Far from rivaling his dragon form, it paled in comparison. As the highest-ranking sword spirit, the Queen of Steel, Est should have been formidable, akin to a top-tier Steel Hero in the Campione! world.

The answer was clear: the Est he'd contracted was, like the one Kamito bonded with, a fragment possessing only a tenth of her true power. Her main body remained hidden in the Elemental Spirit World.

That wouldn't do. Altair wasn't native to this world and intended to take Est with him. That meant retrieving her full form, not leaving it behind.

"So, how do I enter the Spirit World? And once there, how do I find Est's true body?" Altair mused, gazing at the seal.

Given Est's status as the highest sword spirit, second only to the five Spirit Kings, she wouldn't be left unguarded. As a supreme weapon, her true form was likely concealed by the Spirit Kings or tied to them.

In the original story, Est briefly reunited with her true body during the Blade Dance, regaining memories that revealed her nature as a demonic sword. She lacked the knowledge to locate herself, so relying on her was out.

To find Est, Altair needed to reach the Spirit Kings.

Per this world's lore, the Spirit Kings were corrupted by a dark force akin to the Nasuverse's All the World's Evil, driving them mad and keeping them hidden. The only way to meet them was to win the Blade Dance, a tournament where pure maiden Spirit Users battled to entertain the Kings. The victor earned an audience and a wish.

In truth, the Blade Dance was a ritual for the Spirit Kings to offload their corruption onto the Spirit Users, preserving their sanity. But tampering had rendered it ineffective, leaving the Kings insane.

For now, the Blade Dance was the sole path to the Spirit Kings.

"Looks like I'm joining the Blade Dance." Altair concluded, recalling its requirements. First, he needed to be a Spirit User. With Est contracted, he qualified. Next, he'd join a team, win regional qualifiers, and represent his region at the tournament.

The protagonist, Kamito, had competed once before, cross-dressing as a girl, no less. This time, he planned to enter as a male, despite male Spirit Users being branded as Demon Kings and hunted by the Spirit Kings. With the Kings preoccupied by their corruption, Kamito faced little risk.

If Kamito could compete, so could Altair. But his identity posed a problem.

He didn't want to pose as a Spirit User. Most Spirit Users were pure maidens, sheltered noblewomen who viewed male Spirit Users with disdain or fear, raised on tales of the Demon King. The world's female-dominated power structure also fostered prejudice against men, as Kamito's frequent "pervert" Accusations attested.

Unlike protagonists who endured such treatment for harem-building, Altair had no interest in playing the fool. His only "wife" Here was Est, and he was loyal to her.

Thus, he wouldn't join as a male Spirit User.

That left one option: posing as a spirit.

The five Spirit Kings held divine status, however weak Altair found them. Human power derived from spirits, so high-ranking spirits enjoyed elevated status, some even worshipped as hereditary contracted spirits by noble families.

Altair could pass as a spirit. Though human in appearance, he could transform into the black dragon Nidhogg, whose God-Slaying Fang could fell a Spirit King, qualifying him as a top-tier dragon spirit.

High-ranking spirits could take human form, allowing Altair to blend in. Claiming to be a spirit was plausible, and as a "high-ranking spirit." He could dictate the terms of any contract.

Grinning at his plan, Altair chuckled. "I'm getting better at this deception game."

In the Grail War, he'd fooled Mordred without revealing the truth. She'd likely returned to the Throne of Heroes elated, believing she'd earned a parallel-world Knight King's approval. In a way, he'd fulfilled her and Kairi's wishes, a good deed.

"Whose wish will I grant in this world?" He wondered. Winning the Blade Dance was a foregone conclusion, ensuring his teammates' desires were met.

He could proudly claim a new title: Mobile Wish-Granting Machine.

"Now." Altair said, brushing off his pants and standing, "time to find the academy the protagonist's enrolling in."

***

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