1.
Apparently, the bracelet with two-thousandfold sensitivity had perfectly hit Isabella’s tastes. Holding me in her arms as she sat by the lakeside, she chatted away.
"This weapon acts second, but you can use it while the opponent is preparing, right? That means you don’t have to deal with their completed spell at all."
"...Yes."
"And this card is a setup card that can neutralize the opponent’s attack before it happens..."
"Yes."
She was shoving cards in front of me and explaining them, but... honestly, I could barely understand any of it.
Anyway, she was chattering away in a state of extreme excitement.
"I need to use the restroom..."
"I’ll come with you."
Isabella was about to scoop me up and carry me there...
"Whoa, whoa, no!"
I nearly had a heart attack.
I wasn’t that much of a baby.
"It’ll be around the corner here."
"Okay."
"...I’ll come with you."
"No!"
Just as I was heading alone down the side path toward the restroom—
Rustle.
"Baby, shall I come with you?"
Yeomhwa emerged from the bushes and beckoned to me with a languid wave.
"...Are you all right?"
"Hehe."
I had wondered whether she had been helplessly beaten despite wielding a four-star weapon enhanced to +20...
She was covered in dust, but she did not seem to be injured anywhere.
Brushing off her clothes, she said,
"It’s a new weapon. You should be happy, at least."
"Ah... Did you let yourself get hit on purpose?"
"If I wanted to dodge it, I would have, right?"
That explained it.
To begin with, I had not thought Yeomhwa’s weapon was inferior in terms of specs...
So she had simply let herself get hit to test the weapon, too.
Thanks to the leading Korean game companies back home, I was genuinely wary of power creep... I had wondered whether they had pulled that kind of thing.
Fortunately, that did not seem to be the case.
Besides, she was a high ranker. If she wanted to avoid something, she probably could.
It looked like she had just deliberately taken a hit.
Yeomhwa glanced toward the lakeside, but Isabella was so busy poring over the cards that she had no interest in this side at all.
"See how happy she is?"
Then she held up her fingers toward me.
"V."
"..."
She was awfully cute.
Like a puppy that had just crawled out of a dust pit.
"...But."
"Yes?"
"Getting hit hurts like hell..."
Her eyebrows drooped.
"Oh, dear."
"I’m okay..."
Comforting her was all well and good, but I really needed to use the restroom.
"Sorry, but could I..."
"O-oh, yeah, let’s go!"
I hurried after Yeomhwa.
No, but what was this? Why was I ending up going to the restroom with her...?
Before I even had time to dwell on how strange that was, I did my business in the restroom Yeomhwa led me to and came back out.
"..."
"Shall we go, baby?"
Fortunately, it was a proper restroom building, so it was not like she had pulled down my pants for me or anything...
Anyway, with my body feeling lighter, we headed back to the lakeside.
Then, at that moment—
Smack! Smack!
"Hehe... Hehe..."
What was that sound?
When I turned my head, I saw Dolores, who had arrived at some point.
And in front of her was Isabella. The sound I had just heard was... Dolores smacking Isabella’s butt twice.
Whoa, she hit her really hard.
The person getting hit was just grinning foolishly, apparently so dazzled by the weapon that she did not care.
Then Dolores’s eyes met mine.
"...Lionel!"
Before she could even finish speaking, my body was buried somewhere.
Someone had hugged me from behind.
Ah, so soft.
"Phew..."
I could feel hot breath against the crown of my head.
Anyway, to briefly summarize what I heard afterward: when Dolores returned to the estate and found me gone, she thought I had been kidnapped.
She searched the duchy, found Isabella by the lakeside giggling while wearing the bracelet, figured out what had happened, and promptly whacked her on the butt.
"Let’s return to the estate for now."
We immediately got into the car, returned to the estate, and headed for the reception room.
Now that I had made equipment for her, anyway.
Dolores and I decided to bring Isabella within the circle of people who would protect me.
And I felt that we needed to impress it upon her once more.
"Take it off."
"Eek... My bracelet..."
Isabella shrieked at being told to take off the bracelet, but it was forcibly removed.
Who said anyone was taking it away?
Then I lifted the bracelet and showed her the [Heirs of Fire] emblem engraved on its inner side.
You would not notice it unless you examined it closely.
It was engraved very small.
"Right here."
"...Huh?"
"I’m actually a Sun Dwarf... one of the Heirs of Fire, you know?"
This fire coming-out never got any easier, no matter how many times I did it.
How much time passed?
She looked like she had been stunned for a moment, but I had told her beforehand, after all.
"...Ah, right! That’s true!"
Our master sprang to her feet... Ugh, Isabella.
I had expected her reaction to be lukewarm because of her insensitivity toward equipment, but apparently the Heirs of Fire felt different even to her. Her response was definitely different.
"So that’s why you made equipment like this... Right..."
Isabella’s gaze returned to the bracelet.
I continued my explanation while I had the chance.
At the time, I had not gone into detail because of the Abyss, but the truth came with enormous responsibility.
So far, the people in this room were the only ones who knew, and it had to be kept secret from the outside world.
"So you have to keep it a secret."
"O-of course, disciple. It’s a secret!"
Isabella repeatedly nodded, then lowered her voice a little.
Then, suddenly fidgeting, she asked,
"But I felt this before, too... Is it really okay to tell me secrets like this? Don’t I seem unreliable...?"
"I trust you, Master."
"..."
When I even gave her that line, Isabella pressed her lips tightly together and nodded.
I did trust her.
Birds of a feather flock together. Looking at Dolores and Yeomhwa, I did not think Isabella, who belonged to their group, was a bad person.
And what I had personally experienced and seen of her was the same.
I handed the bracelet back to her.
Even after taking it in both hands, Isabella did not put it on right away.
She carefully brushed the emblem on the inside once with her thumb...
Then she looked at Dolores with a pensive expression.
"...But, Dolores."
"Yes?"
"If the Dawn Apostles are going to become Lionel’s circle of protection..."
She meant whether we planned to tell everyone, right?
Having more people to protect me was a good thing.
But Isabella hesitated slightly... and placed the bracelet on her lap.
"...What about her?"
"..."
"Wouldn’t it be a little dangerous to tell even her?"
Dolores fell silent.
Yeomhwa, who had been listening beside us, also stopped smiling. She parted her lips as though she wanted to say something, then simply lowered her head.
"..."
The mood had turned a little unpleasant.
I did not know who "her" was, but the reception room went quiet.
"Right. We need to be careful."
Tap, tap...
Yeomhwa, who was looking at me and tapping the beanbag with one finger, added,
"I think it would be best to keep it completely secret, too."
"I feel the same way. I called it the Dawn Apostles, but I never intended to include that person."
Dolores trailed off.
I was reading the room, too, but...
The way the three of them spoke made me even more curious. I could not stand not knowing something.
"Excuse me... but who is that person?"
The three women’s eyes twitched as they looked at one another... before they finally settled on Dolores.
It felt like Mama would be the one to tell me in the end.
Dolores leaned toward me.
"Lionel, do you remember the companion I told you about some time ago... the one who said she would challenge the top floor?"
"Ah, I remember."
That was right. She was supposedly challenging the 200th floor around now.
I had been rather surprised.
"Why? What about her?"
"That person is currently sponsored by the Company."
The Company?
In this world, there was only one place that word made me think of.
The Dwarf Company.
But people did not normally refer to the Dwarf Company as simply the Company.
In that case... it must mean the side called headquarters.
Above the Dwarf Company...
"There are several climbers the Company directly supports. She’s one of them."
Yeomhwa added an explanation.
"Have they been supporting her from the beginning?"
"...No."
"Then..."
"Should I say it was somewhere in the middle... or after we parted ways?"
So she had not been sponsored by the Company when they were together as the Dawn Apostles.
...I was reasonably good at reading the room.
Seeing their expressions steadily worsen...
It seemed that from here on, this was getting closer to a story about the past.
Something they did not particularly want to bring up right now.
I should not ask any further, either.
Still, okay, if she belonged to the Company...
"No. There’s no point discussing this any further."
Dolores cut off the conversation first.
I did not say anything, but I more or less agreed.
The Dwarf Company was already something to be wary of, and this was the Company above it?
Even if she was a former companion, that was impossible.
I picked up my cooling teacup.
It really did not seem as though they had parted on good terms.
"...Still, I hope you don’t get hurt, you bitch."
But Yeomhwa muttered quietly.
And seeing Isabella and Mama’s expressions darken for an instant...
"..."
It seemed she had been a companion they cared for deeply.
2.
After Isabella received her equipment, that evening.
She and Yeomhwa decided to stay at the estate for the night.
And late at night, in my workshop.
I was facing Dolores.
"...You’re not feeling cold or anything, are you...?"
"No, no! Lionel... It’s not that..."
It was time to do what I had been putting off.
Why were we doing this in the middle of the night?
How was I supposed to enchant Dolores’s underwear in broad daylight while Isabella and Yeomhwa were both awake?
We had already agreed to do it at night.
Isabella would not go to sleep at all and kept thanking me, so I told her to please get her ass to bed. Only then did she finally go to sleep.
After barely getting her to bed, we crept to the workshop like cats.
Inside that paper bag was... Dolores’s worn underwear, [Spring Breeze Carrying Fire].
Of course, Dolores was currently wearing the spare underwear she normally used with the headset.
...She was wearing it, right?
I did not really know, either...
"Then I’ll begin."
"Okay..."
I took the underwear out of the bag and spread it over the workbench.
I had only unfolded its creases... but it smelled so nice.
Ah, wonderful.
Though her face had reddened, Dolores brought over a chair and sat beside me.
With a satisfied expression, I picked up Dawn Bringer.
All right. Let’s do this well again today.
Sssh...
I scattered Enchant Dust.
The settled powder glowed and seeped into the underwear. Watching its pace, I gradually added more powder.
There was something people could misunderstand here...
Even I did not do something insane like use less powder to adjust the difficulty once I got past +15.
It was true that using more powder raised the success rate.
But did it keep rising endlessly the more you poured on?
No.
Up to a certain point, it rose proportionally, but there came a range where the curve no longer climbed.
Simply put, there was a point where no matter how much you sprinkled, it would not absorb any more.
For valuable equipment, assume that I always filled it to the limit.
Like now.
Sssh...
I brushed away the remaining powder that would not absorb any further.
"Here I go."
Dolores nodded.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang, clang!
─────────────────
【Attempting...】
─────────────────
【Enhancement Successful】
─────────────────
[Spring Breeze Carrying Fire] [★★★★☆]
[+4 → +5]
─────────────────
Directly to +5...
"Phew... It’s +5 now."
It had not been particularly difficult.
Setting down the hammer, I examined the equipment.
Now then.
Shall we check the first latent ability?
[The first latent ability of [Spring Breeze Carrying Fire] is unlocked.]
─────────────────
【Latent Ability】
[+5 ─ Choose a Path]
[Spring Breeze]
Further blossoms the wearer’s femininity.
Gradually adjusts the body, including the breasts and hips, into its most alluring proportions.
Improves the skin and natural body scent, while greatly reducing stamina consumption during certain acts.
[Spring Fire]
Circulates the fire energy dwelling within the underwear through the wearer’s mana circuits.
Increases mana recovery and spell-casting speed, while accelerating the recovery of damaged circuits.
─────────────────
Here, Spring Fire probably meant something like the fire of spring.
Not that lewd... thing.
"..."
Wait a second...
Honestly, since the item was underwear... I had been a little worried.
But I had not expected the two options to be this blatantly opposed...
"...I’ll explain them first."
"Okay. Please do."
I carefully explained both choices.
I stumbled over my words several times while explaining Spring Breeze, but I read out Spring Fire very smoothly.
One was... actual performance, and the other was... femininity... Yeah, I had no idea what it was even supposed to be used for.
When I finished explaining...
"..."
Dolores sat there with her mouth open blankly, as though she had been stunned.
"Hahaha... There’s really no room for deliberation here, right...?"
I asked again, urging her to hurry and choose the latter, but...
Dolores’s face reddened... and she merely fidgeted with her fingers.
"Um..."
She could not easily choose either one.
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