Chapter: The Future

「Well then, let’s continue our lesson on the divine swords today. Last time, we learned about their names, abilities, and locations, right? Does everyone remember?」

「｢｢ Yes, Winal-sensei! ｣｣」

「That’s wonderful.」

Our teacher Winal-sensei is a carefree, silver-haired elf with an ample bust. As you can imagine, she’s always been incredibly popular among the students.

I remember the underclassmen making a fuss about her resembling the protagonist of some manga or another.

「Okay, let’s start with a short review. Since today is the 13th, I’ll pick on… Mark-kun. How many divine swords are there?」

「Twenty-six in total!」

「Correct. Well done.」

The blue catkin Mark, my childhood friend who was seated in front of me, gave the teacher a lively answer. He must be around at that age where boys start admiring mature women.

I could only sigh upon seeing this pitiful side of him. Come to think of it, he did say something about having a thing for older women.

「Next question, how many of them do we know the whereabouts of?」

「Twenty!」

「Also correct. Since the number of sealed Evil God Fragments has fallen significantly in the current era, most divine swords are under strict surveillance to prevent them from being used for war. The managing countries are obligated to display them publicly every year, so the wielders cannot simply take them out on a whim.」

Personally, I’ve only seen the divine sword Chariot, since the Raydoss region holds a festival on the day of the display. All the academy students have gone to see it at least once.

「Among the six with unknown whereabouts, the most peculiar is the Blade of the End, Zero. Although we’ve verified its name via the Oracle skill, its existence has never been confirmed in written history.」

The teacher wrote “Zero” onto the whiteboard.

「Next, Orietta-san. Four of the unlocated swords have a common trait. Can you tell me what that is?」

「Um… Ignis, Gaia, Krystalos, and Tempest are constantly wandering in search of their next wielder.」

「That’s right, and they also share the same creator. These four divine swords have carved their names into history multiple times, but they always appear out of the blue.」

Winal-sensei continued lecturing as she added the names of those swords to the list.

「That is because they travel the world on their own in search of a wielder. What’s more, they appear as ordinary swords to anyone unfit to wield them. Certainly sounds like the beginnings of a grand tale, doesn’t it?」

The boys of the class started to stir, probably all fantasizing about getting chosen by a divine sword themselves. I must admit I had such fantasies when I was a kid too.

No, I suppose it’s only natural for black catkin to have such fantasies. Our racial attachment to the divine swords is unparalleled.

「A few others such as Lindwurm and Valkyrie also tend to wander, but we have a grasp on their current location. However, they will vanish again once their wielders pass away. The Adventurer’s Guild posts a quest to search for them every few decades or so, turning it into quite the event.」

I remember Grandpa saying he participated in one of the divine sword searches, but in the end, it seems the wielder came forward on their own.

「Okay then, what about the last unlocated sword? Fran-san, I’m sure you know the answer, right?」

「Yes.」

The teacher called my name next. Yeah, I kinda saw this one coming!

「Fran’s Master, the Master Blade.」

「That’s correct. Fran’s Master is a divine sword shrouded in mystery, only sighted for a brief period approximately 3,000 years ago.」

The teacher circled Fran’s Master and wrote the word “mystery” beside it.

「We know from the Oracle skill that this sword still exists, but nothing about its current location.」

The divine swords are apparently so powerful that not even Oracle can determine their whereabouts.

「There are several events in history where Fran’s Master was suspected to have been used, but none are backed by concrete evidence. And well, it’s only natural for a black catkin like Fran-san to know about it.」

「Of course, since I was named after that Fran.」

In the first place, Fran is by far the most common name among black cat girls. Just head over to Schwarzkatze, the city known as the holy land for black cats, and you can’t turn a corner without bumping into a Fran.

「Fran is renowned as the hero who restored the black cats to their former glory, as well as the saintess who overturned their divine punishment, thereby lifting the curse on their race. It is also said that she conquered the Hells, the most challenging dungeons in existence. While we know she is the wielder of Fran’s Master, we lack much knowledge of the blade’s abilities.」

Indeed, the stories of Fran’s Master have been told to all black catkin since childhood. Yet they are all pretty vague about its actual powers.

Many tales claim it was no match for the other divine swords in battle, but there are also tales of it defeating those very same opponents.

「However, we can say with certainty that Fran the Black God Empress was a real person. Records of her deeds are still maintained within the Adventurer’s Guild, and she received official recognition as a saintess for saving countless people during her travels.」

I have no doubt she exists, considering the monument in the main plaza of Schwarzkatze commemorating her deeds. Whoever made that thing really went overboard though, since they carved out of an absolutely massive boulder.

I guess that’s a sign of how popular Fran was back then.

Well, everyone agrees that she was the cutest, the strongest, and the kindest. At that point, she’s practically “super amazing”, aka perfect in every way.

「The Black God Empress has left footprints all over the world, for example, her big statue in the Curry Museum for her efforts in popularizing curry. Her records as the youngest adventurer to reach Rank S, as well as the youngest champion in the ongoing Ulmutt martial arts tournament, remain unbroken to this day.」

Oh right, curry is just so tasty. The Lucile Company’s black cat brand curry powder is truly the best. Simply divine.

「And we certainly can’t forget her record for defeating Evil God Fragments. Fran is the only individual who participated in the subjugations of a whopping seven fragments. The era when she lived was famous for having a number of divine sword wielders, such as Kareid the Crimson King, Amanda of the Wind Whip, Nemea of the Dragonic Flame, Jean of the Underworld Legion, Ashwrath the Ogre God, Izario of the Crimson Blade, and Sophilia of the Sacred Notes. It’s said that she cooperated with them on many occasions against fragments all over the world.」

Man, multiple divine swords on the same battlefield must have been a sight to see. Many call it the Twilight Era because of the perpetual fighting, but I kinda wish I could see it for myself.

「Oh, and I particularly enjoy the story of the Black God Wolves.」

「Me too!」

「Me three!」

My classmates raised their voices one after another. I like that story too. They are the descendants of the one-of-a-kind wolf that served as Fran’s companion, whose bloodline continues to this day.

Pretty much all the black cats of Schwarzkatze raise wolves as pets, so they’ve kinda become a part of our daily lives. We recently got a baby wolf too, and he’s just super cute.

「However, Fran’s final moments are still shrouded in mystery. We know little about her family, descendants, or even her death. While it is confirmed that she had several male friends, historians often debate whether or not they were romantic relationships.」

Fran apparently never married. There were sightings of her walking alongside a young girl in her later years, but it’s unknown if that girl was her biological child.

Many authors try to fill in these blanks with their imagination, but I’m sure every black cat girl has their own point of view there.

Personally, I like to think she got together with Kareid-kun, the wielder of Chariot and governor of Raydoss back then.

Fran saved his life, and they remained close for decades, until separated by death. Whatever happened in between is lost to history, but how can that be anything but love?

Other popular choices include the handsome elven guildmaster from the Adventurer’s Guild, as well as the hero Zefmate of the blue cats.

Some more controversial works pair Fran with everyone in a reverse harem situation. There are even NTR stories where she steals Izario, the husband of her friend Nadia. I have to say I’m not a fan of those.

As I was pondering such things, Mark turned to me and whispered something.

「Psst! Fran!」

「What?」

「So you really don’t know where the divine sword is?」

Honestly, this is a question we black cats get all the time. But come on, you’ve known me since we were kids, and you still have to ask?

This dumbass…

「Of course not.」

「Oh, okay. Well, I guess someone like you wouldn’t know anything about a divine sword.」

「Just drop it!」

He does have a point though. We may share the same name, but I’m just an ordinary girl. How could I possibly compare to the legendary hero Fran?

I only chose to study magic here since it’s useful for finding a job. I’ve always been awful at swinging a sword, and my grades are closer to the bottom than the top. A few people have praised my decisiveness, but that’s about it. Even if I’m lucky enough to stumble upon a divine sword, there’s no way it would actually choose me as a wielder.

「Still, aren’t there rumors about it being hidden in the Black Cat Training Grounds?」

「They’ve already searched every nook and cranny of that place, you know.」

The Black Cat Training Grounds is a dungeon that only black cats can enter, said to have been created by Fran using the power of Fran’s Master.

Apparently, she made the dungeon right under Schwarzkatze to help train the black cats there. Ancient heroes sure knew how to get things done.

「But there’s always a chance, right! Aren’t you heading into the Black Cat Training Grounds this summer?」

「Yeah, just for a little when I return home.」

「Damn, I wish I could go too. If you really find the divine sword, you better show it to me!」

「Yeah, sure. Big if though.」

Literally millions of black cats have explored that dungeon throughout the ages. How am I supposed to find what they couldn’t, under a time limit of a few days?

But, well. If by some chance I do find something, I might as well brag about it to my friends.

Thinking about it that way, I’m starting to look forward to my return.

「The Black Cat Training Grounds…」

I wonder what kind of place it is. What encounters will I experience? What is waiting for me there? I’m getting excited already.

For some reason, I have the feeling something good will happen. It’s as if I could hear the footsteps of lady luck.

Author Activity Report

I started TenKen in September 2015, and it ends with this chapter. Thank you, the readers, for supporting me over the past eight and a half years.

I truly enjoyed writing this work, and reading all of your feedback gave me strength. While bringing it to an end does feel a bit melancholic, I believe it’s best to conclude it at a good stopping point, as originally planned.

Now let me talk about my post-conclusion schedule (maybe a bit of an oxymoron). I intend to post some side stories to coincide with the second season of the anime, and possibly other projects as well.

Of course, TenKen will still continue in other forms of media. I know everyone is eagerly awaiting the second season of the anime, so please rest assured that it is proceeding as scheduled. That said, I don’t know when the exact broadcast date will be. As soon as I get an update, I will inform you all through activity reports and other mediums. In the meanwhile, feel free to watch season one again as it is now available for free.

Also, I’d like to complete the Characters page since I left it unfinished. It might take a while until I have some free time, but I’ll get to it eventually.

The light novel version will naturally continue as well. As I’ve mentioned a few times before, the ending will be slightly different, so please give your continued support.

As for my future plans, I plan to start posting a new work once my dental treatment is completed. This is something I have been preparing for a few years now, so it’s not like I’m overworking myself or anything. It should start around the middle of March, so please check it out if you are interested.

-Yuu Tanaka, February 2024