1.
The crisp morning air...
It had been a while since I’d gone out.
More precisely, I had stopped Ruby’s academy-bound carriage as it passed through the duchy yesterday and hitched a ride with her.
I told her we should go together tomorrow, then caught her on the way.
I did see the worried look on Dolores’s face, but... there was really no problem.
Because she came along right away.
Before the carriage had even set off, she flung open the door on the other side and climbed in.
"...You’re coming with me all of a sudden?"
Ruby looked a little flustered by the unexpected company, but...
The corners of her lips kept twitching, and she looked pretty pleased.
"Yeah. I have something to do nearby."
"At the academy!? Are you enrolling too, Lionel?"
"No, nearby."
How old did she think I was? Why would I enroll...?
"...Hmph."
As though she understood, Ruby nodded while fiddling with Totality.
Ruby attended Astera Academy.
Today, she was taking the carriage... Well, there were no horses, so it was not really a carriage, but anyway, once she got there, she would be staying in the dormitory for three days.
The vehicle would drop Ruby off and return.
Her studies... seemed to be going well, I guess?
There was a bookshelf right beside Ruby’s Smith machine.
So she worked out, then studied during her breaks between sets... Ugh. If she weren’t Ruby, she would be exactly the sort of person I would never want anything to do with.
I leaned back against my seat and turned to look out the window.
...Come to think of it, I hardly ever left the estate or the workshop.
Whenever I had something to make, I went to the workshop. Once I finished making it, I went to show it off. Then, after seeing their reactions, I would think of something else to make.
A perfectly wholesome life, though my range of activity was a little narrow.
So while the carriage stopped today to replenish the mana stone, Dolores and I decided to look around the shopping district near the academy.
The reason being...
‘Card weapons are rather novel.’
Kiss.
One question, one kiss—she was kiting me along.
‘More people than you think use cards as their primary weapon.’
It had come up while we were talking about Isabella’s equipment.
Cards... seemed to be a more mainstream weapon than I had thought.
I could picture spears, staffs, swords, and the like in my head, but card decks were a little...
So I figured it would be better to look into other things rather than focus solely on [Silent Dealer], and came out to broaden my horizons.
"..."
The journey really was longer than I had expected.
Only after Ruby and I had rested our heads on Dolores’s lap and traveled for quite a while longer did a fairly tall wall begin to appear beyond the window.
"Almost there..."
As Dolores murmured softly, Ruby’s expression rapidly darkened.
"..."
Rattle.
When the carriage stopped and its door opened, all the sounds from outside that had been completely muffled came rushing in at once.
We were in front of the main gate of a massive complex.
"...So this is it."
So this was the academy.
It really was huge... It might even have been larger than the university I attended.
Carriages dropping off students were lined up in front of the main gate.
Dolores and I got out as well, to see Ruby off.
And then...
"..."
"..."
As expected of Dolores.
One by one, the gazes of passersby began to gather on her.
Mama was such a famous figure, after all...
Meanwhile, Ruby was not getting out of the carriage.
There was no need to rush her by asking why she was not getting out.
Ruby was only fourteen, a first-year middle schooler. I had to be considerate.
She might feel upset and lonely about going in by herself.
"...Ruby, have a good time, okay?"
It was not like she was leaving on an expedition, but I put on the most wistful expression I could and held out my hand into the carriage to escort her out.
"Hehe."
Apparently, that had been the right answer. Dolores snickered, and Ruby finally moved.
"See you Thursday."
"..."
"It’ll be here before you know it."
"I knooow..."
Dolores chuckled quietly and bent down in front of Ruby.
She straightened Ruby’s clothes...
"Have a good time."
Then she saw Ruby off.
I patted Ruby’s head once as well...
At last, Ruby headed for the main gate.
Perhaps her mood had improved...
Whoosh, whirr... whirr-whirr-whirr...
Whoa.
She started walking in while spinning her staff.
She definitely would not get picked on anywhere.
2.
While the carriage’s mana was being topped off, Dolores and I headed for the commercial district near the academy.
It was the same anywhere, really. Wherever there were a lot of people passing through, a shopping district was bound to develop.
And near an academy, no less...?
You come to drop your child off at school and see the equipment another child is carrying.
Then you look at what your own child has in hand.
‘...Huh?’
Your eyes would go wide.
There were surely parents who could accept that their child might lose due to a lack of skill, but could not stand seeing them lose because their equipment was inferior.
And with all those parents ready to open their wallets...
It would be stranger if the nearby equipment shops did not flourish.
Of course, there were also forces looking to milk that easy money...
"...What the fuck."
A pair of gloves displayed in a case caught my eye.
Blue gemstones, gold trim—it looked like they had thrown in every bit of gaudy nonsense they possibly could.
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[Hand That Will Grasp the Continent] [★★★☆☆]
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『If you wish to inherit the crown, prove your worth. Victory is never freely given.』
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Words that subtly stirred nobles’ ambition and fed their fantasies.
Up to this point, it might have been all right, but...
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[Looks Impressive]
[Aesthetically Outstanding]
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That was it.
In my opinion, the appearance alone ate up at least two of those stars.
And everything here was like that. Maybe because this was a place frequented by the wealthy...
Something was seriously off.
"...Hmm."
Perhaps because she had been living with me, Dolores’s standards had risen too. She placed a hand against her temple and shook her head.
This was supposed to be the best arms and armor store in the district, but... this place was bad too.
At that moment, a neatly dressed man approached us.
After bowing deeply to Dolores, he turned toward me and began rubbing his hands together eagerly.
"Gloves... They are quite popular with young masters and young ladies these days."
"Ah... I see."
I did not want to continue the conversation, so it seemed best to leave.
They did not even have card decks, which had been my original purpose for coming. This seemed to be mainly an armor shop.
"We’ll look around a little more."
Then I gripped Dolores’s hand tightly.
Reading my intention, Dolores headed straight outside with me.
"...Ha."
It was not as though I had been expecting some incredible discovery.
I had merely hoped I might be able to see things from a slightly different perspective.
After all, I had basically been cooped up in my little room, doing nothing but hammering away.
"Shall we try somewhere else? We still have some time."
"Yes. Since we’re already out."
Holding Dolores’s hand, I walked down the street.
There was a whole row of similar arms and armor shops in the district, but... they all looked alike, and I did not want to go inside any of them.
Then, at that moment...
A general store caught my eye.
A half-open door beneath an awning meant to block the sunlight...
Beside it hung a sign painted with a palm and an eye.
There were cards in a box placed by the entrance.
"Cards."
The box was full of cards.
And there were other goods on what looked like a display counter beside it.
"What kind of place is that?"
"...It appears to be a general store, but I believe they also tell fortunes as a side business."
A fortune-telling general store...
Well, cards suited fortune-telling more than combat, I supposed.
"Would you like to take a look inside?"
"...Yes."
Jingle.
When I pushed open the door, a bell rang.
A person reclining in a chair inside raised his head.
Then, upon spotting Mama, he rose to his feet.
He briefly took in Dolores’s attire... then bowed politely.
"My humble discernment has failed to recognize such an esteemed guest. Please forgive my discourtesy."
"Not at all. We came without warning, after all."
Dolores shook her head.
The fortune-teller bowed once more, then gestured deeper into the store.
"Please make yourselves comfortable and look around."
I gave a small bow and immediately hurried toward the display counter.
What had I noticed?
Tick, tick, tick.
I had heard a steady sound from the moment I walked in.
"...A metronome?"
They had things like this here too.
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[Rhythm of Silence] [★★☆☆☆]
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『No matter how tumultuous the mind, everyone needs at least one rhythm to return to.』
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[Its steady beat calms the listener’s body and mind.]
[While listening to its sound, distracting thoughts diminish and concentration improves.]
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"..."
I turned to look at the owner of the general store.
Without making any particular sales pitch, he had returned to his seat.
Buy something or do not—it was that sort of attitude.
...This place.
It was no ordinary shop, was it?
It was not equipment, but I had already found something quite good.
I moved a little farther inside.
I thought I could sketch it out here.
The design for the equipment I would make for Isabella...
Tick, tick, tick.
Listening to the metronome... the agitation in my body and mind from seeing that equipment which barely even deserved to be called equipment settled down...
And I began to focus.
Actually, on the way here, I had looked through footage of Isabella fighting in the carriage.
Most mages who used ‘cards,’ Isabella included...
Had a very... unique style.
The Resonance School, which attuned itself to nature, and card users... both seemed, at a glance, to ultimately rely on ‘luck’ to a considerable extent.
If a good card came up, their burst damage went wild. On the other hand, if their hand was bad, they became docile.
There seemed to be some kind of rule that required them to draw one card at a time from the top of the deck.
There even seemed to be a concept of taking turns, so it appeared they could only perform one action at a time.
But the payoff was tremendous too.
It felt like the returns were high because there were turns.
The firepower of a good card... looked to be on the level of Yeomhwa’s momentary bursts of power.
When Isabella drew a good card, the corners of her lips rose... But when she got a shitty hand, she suddenly flinched and took a step back.
That was pretty damn cute.
Her expression gave everything away... She really should not gamble anywhere.
But watching that made me think... What if?
What if she could draw the hand she wanted every single time?
‘I’m betting everything on this card...!’
You know, like that feeling from somewhere I had seen before.
...She could draw the precise, perfect card needed to break through whatever situation she faced.
"...Lucky draw?"
Going beyond hoping to get lucky—making sure luck was on her side every time.
Tick... tick...
As I listened to the metronome ticking, I headed farther in.
A tiny crystal ball, a worn-down stack of cards, wooden boards so weathered they were hard to identify.
I was scanning everything with my eyes, but in my mind, hands of cards were constantly being shuffled.
For the necessary hand to make it into her grasp in any situation...
"..."
A small basket in the corner of the counter caught my eye.
A basket full of tiny gemstones... and among them, one violet gem stood out.
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[Response Stone] [★★★☆☆]
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『It answers the call.』
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[It can store mana within it.]
[When it detects an external stimulus, it releases the stored mana.]
[It emits different mana wavelengths depending on the type of stimulus it detects.]
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"...Oh."
It emitted a specific wavelength in response to external stimuli.
And the wavelength changed depending on the type of stimulus...?
Then, if I set it to react with a different wavelength for every card Isabella created...
In theory, if she wanted to, she could trigger and draw any card she wanted.
"This..."
I stared down at the violet gemstone.
...You are my lucky draw.
"I’ll take it."
Oh, of course.
"And that too."
The metronome as well.
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