The Holy Sword, nicknamed Shin, is a minor character in Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon. They live inside Kobayashi's headspace, of whom they refer to as their mother. After using the Holy Sword in battle against Telne, Tohru is also considered their mother. They first debut in Chapter 88, or "Kobayashi and the Voice", although their physical form isn't revealed until Chapter 99, or "Kobayashi and the Holy Sword".
Appearance[]
The Holy Sword looks around the age of a child, with short, messy hair around their face while the hair on top of their head is pulled back, creating a long braid that falls down their back; they also wear a long cloak and dress that appears tribal themed. While there are no known colored drawings of Holy Sword, it can be assumed that their hair color is a light color, perhaps white, while their outfit is very colorful.
Since they're originally a sword, they are able to transform into one, and they can also transform each individual finger into individual sharp objects (in one instance, they're able to cut vegetables with one).
As confirmed in Chapter 116, they do not have a gender, and they are unable to feel lust in comparison to other characters-- this may imply that they're asexual.
Personality[]
The Holy Sword is very mysterious but truthful, having a lot of knowledge on the otherworld and magic. Having been created for the sole purpose of fulfilling God's desire to kill any dragon in sight, Holy Sword does not believe they have their own thoughts or opinions, but they do appear to have a sense of mortality, as they worriedly tell Kobayashi that they will die if she dies.
In general, Holy Sword has a very child-like demeanor, from saying whatever they'd like regardless of any repercussions to pranking others. They are also incredibly sleepy, only being able to form for brief moments at a time. They love materializing into the real world to play with Kanna, Ilulu, and the others. According to Chapter 116, Holy Sword did not have a personality prior to merging with Kobayashi.
Background[]
Kobayashi about to pull sword out from Tohru
Before the start of the series, while Tohru was fighting God, He threw the Holy Sword her way, fatally stabbing her through the back and sending her down to the Human Realm. Having been grounded in the middle of the wilderness, Tohru was left to succumb to her wound and die, seeing how there was no way for her to remove the sword herself.
It wasn't until a drunken Kobayashi climbed up the mountain and encountered Tohru that there seemed to be hope. Thanks to Kobayashi's disbelief in God, she slowly but surely pulled the divine sword out of Tohru, leading it to magically vanish into thin air[1]; it was here that the sword materialized inside Kobayashi's mind, eventually gaining sentience and becoming its own being.
Plot[]
It first telling Kobayashi to run away to get some breathing room from all the chaos around her and later asking her if it is foolish to risk her lives for others for the time spent together, even though it will be very short for them. When Kobayahi wonders what happened to the Sword, it tells her it is closer than she thinks, stating it is right next to her.[2]
Later, it made its debut waking up Kobayashi, explaining the situation of what and how it is inside her head and strikes a conversation with her. It will later pop up at sudden moments, talking with Kobayashi over some situations, like reminding her she is its mother or appearing while Kobayashi talks with Telne.[3]
It talked with Kobayashi about her feelings over the situation with Elma's marriage, being able to feel anything "Mommy" feels.[4]
It transforms into its original self, making it usable for Kobayashi, Tohru and Elma to use to hit Telne and knock her out.[5]
After the battle, they tell Elma Telne isn't dead, just passed out, as it used up most of her energy to block its attack, to make the battle more realistic.[6]
The appears and presents itself to the family. They later hang out with Tohru so she won't get so tensed up when seeing her and confessed his feelings of remorse foe hurting her and leaving her the awful scar, promising not to scare her anymore.[7]
Powers and Abilities[]
- Shapeshifting: it is able to turn any of its body parts into a knife or a sword, even being able to turn completely into a sword or any other weapon.
- Essence Change: it is able to change its essence, so not only can it use attacks used by gods, it can also change its attacks to affects those blessed by gods.
Relationships[]
Kobayashi[]
They think of her as their mother, as she was the one who pulled them out of Tohru and merged souls with them. Due to being merged with Kobayashi's soul, they're capable of finishing Kobayashi's thoughts and can appear at her command (although this was not possible at first).
While they originally wanted to be by Kobayashi's side in order to slay dragons, they now want to be by her side in order to experience the world the way any normal human would. They have enjoyed watching Kobayashi's story play out, and they wish for it to get even better.
Tohru[]
Tohru originally thought that Holy Sword was her and Kobayashi's love child, but soon realized that she was talking to the sword that almost killed her; for this reason, Tohru has an obvious grudge against Holy Sword, and appears to act hostile when near them. Similar to Kobayashi, Holy Sword is able to telepathically communicate with Tohru, and they can appear when she wants them to.
Despite the tension between Tohru and Holy Sword, the latter affectionately refers to her as their mother (alongside Kobayashi) due to the fact that she "bonded" with them during her fight with Telne in Chapter 112. They crave to bond with Tohru on a deeper level, going as far as accompanying her to the town marketplace for groceries. By the end of Chapter 116, Tohru seems to warm up a bit more to Holy Sword, offering to help them bathe before they disappeared once more.
Holy Sword appears to feel deep regret for hurting Tohru in the past as they gently touched the physical scar they left on Tohru, stating that they always wanted to apologize and can sense that it still hurts to this day. In return, Tohru rubbed their head softly.
Tohru feels a subtle difference between Holy Sword and the other children, and wonders if Holy Sword is what her and Kobayashi's child would be like.
Trivia[]
- In chapter 135, the Holy Sword gets the nickname Shin.