0.
The imperial palace’s banquet hall.
I seem to remember there being a saying like this.
If a person with two eyes goes to a village of one-eyed people—
that person is the abnormal one.
And me?
[Compatibility][3.5/40]
[Explosive energy is accumulating in the body. Permanent organ damage is possible.]
[Compatibility][9/60]
[It is slowly consuming the wearer’s mana. Prolonged use will cause debilitation.]
[Compatibility][2/40]
[Uncontrolled mana is encroaching upon the wearer’s mind.]
[Compatibility][4/40]
[Multiple mana interference detected. It is gnawing away at the wearer’s lifespan.]
"Fuck..."
I just happened to have ten eyes.
1.
"...This can’t be happening."
I was thirteen years old.
They waxed me, rubbed me with perfume oil, dressed me in uncomfortable clothes, and put me in a carriage.
I was going to be hauled all the way to the imperial palace looking like this.
"..."
Just give me stockings and powder instead!!
I wanted to enchant something. My hands were itching.
I asked Dolores whether she could get any more powder, but—
Rather unexpectedly, she looked a little troubled and carefully explained it to me.
In the first place, this powder was the sort of product nobody had any reason to use unless they were part of the Dwarf Company.
Since demand was so limited...
the Dwarf Company controlled most of the supply chain, from production to distribution.
So she said she would first buy up as much as possible of what was currently available on the market.
It was not difficult to obtain, exactly, but it was not something we could acquire in bulk like ore.
And most importantly—
Buying it in bulk carries the risk of being traced.
People could not help wondering why anyone was buying it in the first place.
By common standards, it was just useless powder.
"...Then why not buy the ingredients instead of the powder?"
Couldn’t I buy the ingredients and just make the powder myself?
"What are the ingredients for the powder?"
[The basic ingredient of enchant powder is mana crystals.]
[The Dwarf Company distributes them in the ‘proper’ ratios to make the powder.]
[Apparently nobody has ever been curious, since even if they had the powder, they couldn’t enchant anything.]
"Is there a recipe? In the Sun Dwarves’ documents?"
[Just a moment.]
[Huh? There is one?]
[Complete Guide to [Enchant Dust] Formulas]
[But this says it’s a text for the Heirs of Fire.]
I had not expected much at all, but Yuna found the information.
Enchant Dust?
That must have been what that powder was called.
It was a text for the Heirs of Fire, so why had I never seen it before?
[Because we never searched for ‘Enchant Dust’...?]
Right. You needed to know the name before you could search for it.
Putting that aside—
"What the hell, then..."
This looked like it might be easier to solve than I had thought.
I opened the document and checked its contents.
But at the very beginning of the document was something I had never expected to read.
[The representative Heir of Fire of each generation oversees and regulates the quality and supply volume of Enchant Dust.]
What?
[Heirs of Fire and enchanters have a mutually complementary relationship, but one in which they also keep each other in check.]
[When equipment is destroyed through an enchanter’s enchantments, demand for blacksmiths increases accordingly...]
[But if they produce Enchant Dust of too high a quality and heavily enhanced equipment becomes commonplace, demand for equipment itself declines in reverse.]
[The Heirs of Fire must appropriately regulate the volume and quality of this Enchant Dust.]
It was something I had never known.
I had thought Enchant Dust was some kind of reward that dropped in dungeons.
But it was not.
It was originally a manufactured product, produced in regulated quantities.
And it was the Heirs of Fire who regulated both its quantity and quality.
Hey.
Then who was this generation’s Heir of Fire?
"It’s me."
Then, as this generation’s representative Heir of Fire, I would solemnly declare—
"Supply Lionel with one hundred percent of the stock."
Just as I established that perfect and rigorous new supply policy—
"Did you wait long?"
Dolores and Ruby climbed into the carriage, dressed beautifully.
Without realizing it, my eyes widened a little.
Dolores had always dressed beautifully, of course, but now that she was dressed formally as well, she was dazzling.
And Ruby made it clear, too.
She’s definitely going to be beautiful.
She would probably grow up gorgeous. She was going to be popular.
She sat beside me and kept sneaking glances my way.
"You look kind of cute today, you know?"
I said it casually.
"...W-What? All of a sudden...!"
Ruby whipped her head away, her face turning bright red.
What did she mean, what? It was a compliment.
They said we only had to go a little farther than Henrik’s forge we visited last time.
I could probably just zone out and pass out for a little while.
Carriage sickness really was fucking awful.
This world apparently had no concept of suspension.
Though it was ridiculous to expect suspension on a carriage in the first place.
As I hovered on the brink of death, Dolores calmly explained the imperial family to me.
The structure of the imperial household, its family members, things like that.
Ruby seemed to know it already, but I knew absolutely nothing.
"Below His Majesty, there is His Highness the Crown Prince. Then there is another imperial prince, as well as the twin imperial prince and princess."
Four children in total.
Today was the twins’ birthday.
I had never encountered the very concept of an emperor outside of fantasy novels, so I was a little excited.
After about an hour of hovering on the brink of death in the carriage—
"...Lionel, you have motion sickness, don’t you?"
Dolores looked at me with pity.
"...Come here. Rest your head on my lap for a while."
"No, I’m fine—"
"I’m not fine."
Unable to refuse, I obediently laid my head on Dolores’s lap.
Rustle.
Ruby really was more mature than I was.
Please keep being mature from now on, too. That way, I could keep lying on her lap.
Just as I closed my eyes, intending to rest for only five minutes—
"...Huh?"
When I came to and opened my eyes, the carriage had already passed through the imperial palace gates.
Dolores’s thighs were magic. Seriously.
My motion sickness had completely vanished.
"I didn’t realize I’d sleep this long..."
I jerked upright and apologized to Dolores.
Her thigh had to be numb by now.
"I’m sorry... Your leg must be numb."
"Hehe... I enjoyed it. It reminded me of when Ruby was little, too."
She gently smiled as she stroked my hair.
Just as I witnessed the oceanic generosity of Dolores—
Clunk.
The carriage stopped.
The instant the door opened—
the people who appeared to be servants waiting in front of the imperial palace all bowed at once.
"Greetings to Duchess Dolores."
Oh.
She really did receive different treatment.
Dolores stepped down gracefully first, and then Ruby and I climbed down hand in hand.
When we stepped out of the carriage, the sun had already begun to set.
With the sunset at its back, a vast banquet hall came into view.
It seemed the banquet had not begun yet.
[...But this is kind of strange.]
What was?
[Normally, a high noble like a duchess waits until all the other guests have arrived, then deliberately makes a late entrance.]
[The later they arrive, the higher their status is supposed to be.]
Contrary to Yuna’s explanation, carriages were still continuously rolling in behind Dolores’s.
Which meant we were nowhere near the last to arrive.
The real deal never needs to show off. Isn’t it the empty cart that rattles the loudest?
I discreetly looked up at her walking ahead of us.
Bathed in the sunset glow, she looked even more magnificent than usual today.
Ruby and I each held one of Dolores’s hands as we climbed the stairs.
Click, click.
When the three of us appeared beyond the wide-open doors of the banquet hall—
"Her Grace, Duchess Dolores, has arrived!"
The gatekeeper’s voice resounded through the hall.
Many nobles had already arrived.
In an instant, countless gazes that had been engaged in casual conversation...
turned toward us all at once.
More precisely, they seemed to be focused on me.
Ruby’s face appeared to already be known to them.
But as I met those gathered stares, I noticed something strange.
Something was off.
The people in the banquet hall were dressed in a distinctly odd way...
Every single one of them was dripping in glittering finery.
Shining jewels, armor—it all felt far removed from what people ought to wear to a banquet.
They looked like they had walked straight out of a fantasy story.
It was completely different from Dolores, who wore only stockings, gloves, and a beautiful dress.
She was a duchess, though. What was this?
Swish.
Then, from up ahead—
a middle-aged man with a rather large belly approached us with arrogant steps.
"...Well, if it isn’t Duchess Dolores."
His chest was covered in gaudy medals.
Flesh and clothing bulged out from between the plates of his armor. Could this man even breathe properly?
And then, in the middle of it all—
I spotted the necklace he was wearing.
─────────────────
[Ornate Peacock Feather Necklace][★☆☆☆☆]
[Compatibility][1/40]
─────────────────
[An accessory draped in vanity. It is of no help in any way.]
[A pearl necklace on a pig’s neck.]
─────────────────
『Those who obsess over adorning their exterior fail to notice that their insides are becoming hollow.』
─────────────────
What caught my eye—
was a necklace with compatibility of one.
What was with that infuriatingly ill-suited necklace?
No joke, the compatibility was making my eyes rot.
It looked genuinely expensive, though.
"It is an honor to see you, Your Grace."
"...Count Valmon."
Dolores answered shortly.
She did not seem particularly pleased to see him. I knew because I was currently taking the Dolores Course.
Her eyes and the corners of her mouth looked calm, but they were subtly lowered.
She was quite displeased right now.
Dolores’s enemy was my enemy.
I stared fixedly upward.
The greeting ended more uneventfully than expected.
[I think he was trying to solidify his position by greeting the highest-ranking person in the banquet hall besides the emperor first.]
That was Yuna’s assessment as our resident psychological analyst.
He must have been in quite a hurry.
We followed Dolores deeper into the hall.
As expected, the seat she was shown to was directly beneath the seat of honor.
In other words, right before the imperial family—the stars of today’s celebration.
One of the highest-status seats in this vast hall.
The moment we settled into our seats—
Swish.
Swish.
Nobles came endlessly to greet Dolores, as though they were standing in line.
"Greetings, Duchess."
"It has been a long time, Your Grace."
Each time, Ruby and I bowed our heads like greeting robots.
"Hello, yes, hello. Hello..."
By this point, I thought I understood why Dolores had brought me here.
Maybe she wanted to impress upon everyone whose protection I was under.
"..."
But there was one thing I simply could not understand.
Not Dolores.
Right.
Everything else was fine.
But why the hell did all these people, supposedly great nobles—
have such godawful equipment?
Swish.
A marquis who had come to greet us.
[Compatibility][5/40]
Swish.
The viscount who followed him.
[Compatibility][6.9/60]
Did they all coordinate this or something?
Every last one of them had one or two stars because they were nobles, yet their compatibility was utter garbage.
I did not know whether it was an occupational hazard, but seeing trash-tier compatibility made me want to throw up.
I was a blacksmith born and bred.
After suffering the double burden of endless greetings and eye-rotting compatibility—
I finally got a brief break.
Taking advantage of the lull in the crowd, I quietly asked Dolores, who was seated beside me.
"...Um, Dolores?"
"Hm? Lionel, are you having a hard time?"
"No, it’s not that..."
I gestured toward the entire banquet hall.
"...Why is everyone here wearing so much equipment?"
This was a place where they could comfortably wear just dresses or formal suits, so why did they insist on covering themselves head to toe in such heavy magical equipment?
If they were going to wear it, they could at least wear it properly.
At my question, Dolores looked down at me for a moment and smiled faintly.
"That’s what you’re curious about, Lionel?"
"Yes."
Honestly, I was not very interested in anything else.
Enchant Dust had been the only thing on my mind, but seeing the state of their outfits had left me seriously bewildered.
"It’s a kind of culture."
"Culture?"
"Yes."
Dolores slowly looked around the hall.
"At some point, how high one climbed the Tower became the standard by which a family’s status was measured in this world."
"Ah..."
"The higher you climb, the stronger the equipment you need. And good equipment symbolizes that family’s wealth and capability."
Dolores’s voice lowered slightly.
"It’s a kind of display. A statement that our family has climbers of this caliber and wealth of this caliber."
"Aha."
That made perfect sense.
It was fundamentally showing off, but it was also a symbol they could not afford to give up.
In that sense, didn’t that make Dolores genuinely cool?
A high ranker had no need to drape herself in equipment.
She had stopped climbing, but her epithet remained.
That was what true status was, wasn’t it?
Just as I was secretly lost in praise for Mama—
Boom, boom, boom.
That was when it happened.
Drums rang out from the far end of the hall.
Murmur, murmur.
The nobles who had been chatting all fell silent at once.
Then, as if they had planned it—
Swish.
they all turned toward the seat of honor at the inner end of the hall.
Going by the flow of things, this was...
"Lionel, Ruby, it’s starting."
Dolores whispered softly.
"It’s time for His Majesty to enter."
Swish.
Before long, the great doors beyond the seat of honor slowly opened.
And then—
"His Majesty the Emperor enters!"
Along with the gatekeeper’s booming cry, a man appeared through those doors.
His stride was filled with authority.
A golden crown rested upon his head, and he carried an immense dignity about him.
I never thought I would live to see an emperor with my own two eyes.
Then a beautiful woman followed behind the emperor and stood beside him.
She seemed to be the empress.
[By the way, she’s his third wife.]
...Third?
Flinch.
Yuna, the goddess of gossip, gave me that information.
I looked at the emperor again without realizing it.
Was this what it was like at the top? Three wives, wow.
As I was admiring that utterly irrelevant detail—
two more people walked into the hall side by side behind the imperial couple.
Those two had to be today’s stars... the twin imperial prince and princess.
I shifted my gaze toward them.
...Hmm.
Honestly, it was a little unexpected.
Both of them somehow looked rather frail.
Their complexions were bloodless, and there was something precarious about them.
The prince in particular looked a few years older than me, but his face was remarkably pale.
Was he sick?
Just as I tilted my head in confusion—
Swish.
I spotted the necklace around the prince’s neck.
─────────────────
[Moonlight Essence Necklace][★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility][0/80]
─────────────────
『May the moon goddess caress you with her merciful hand.
May that blessing last forever...』
── In the name of Selaea, Goddess of the Moon ──
─────────────────
[Restores the wearer by an amount equal to its moonlight essence.]
[Once its essence is depleted, it steals the wearer’s vitality instead until the essence is fully replenished.]
[There is no limit to the vitality it can steal.]
─────────────────
At a glance, it looked like exceptionally good equipment.
But that last line was the key.
There was no limit to the vitality it could steal?
What the hell did that mean? Wouldn’t that kill him?
"...Fuck?"
I cursed in a low, quiet voice without realizing it.
I did not think anyone had heard me, but—
Tap.
"Nice words."
Only Dolores had heard me.
She gently touched my lips as she scolded me.
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