1.
I walked through the garden, twirling Totality.
I spun it clockwise, then counterclockwise.
The reason I didn’t cross into the spirit realm even while moving around and whirling it with a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh was…
"It really is fine if I spin it without thinking."
Because I was spinning it without putting any thought into it.
So that was what it meant by needing to infuse it with intent.
Thanks to that, it seemed I could use it as an ordinary staff most of the time.
Creak.
I opened the mansion door and went inside.
I wondered what Ruby was doing…
"What else would she be doing?"
She was probably working out again. I could just head straight to the gym and hand her the staff, but this was a competition, after all.
It was a contest, in its own way, to see whether Dolores’s weapon or mine would be chosen… so it seemed only proper to show Dolores first.
With the staff resting across my shoulder, I headed for Dolores’s room.
Knock, knock.
"It’s Lionel."
"Come in~"
As soon as I received permission, I opened the door.
Tap.
As I entered, I lightly tapped the staff against the floor.
"I, um, finished it."
I said it in a confident voice.
"…Oh my."
Dolores looked at my staff and made an oddly complicated expression.
"Mmm… you worked hard, Lionel. Just looking at it… um, it looks incredibly good…"
"It’s four-star."
"Mmm…"
Want me to take a guess at what Dolores was feeling right now?
She was surely happy that I had made good equipment for Ruby.
But if that equipment was excessively good… and especially if it was a staff…
"Mmmngh…"
She probably felt good about it, but couldn’t be purely happy.
After all, it raised the odds of my weapon being chosen.
Then I noticed the staff lying in front of Dolores.
─────────────────
[Dawn Branch][★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment][Compatibility][0 / 80]
─────────────────
[Refines the user’s mana, increasing the casting speed of magic.]
─────────────────
It looked fairly decent. Its body had been carved from wood suffused with a faint blue glow…
The wood was probably bluewood, and there was even a transparent gem set into its tip.
But I’d felt this before: the equipment I made differed from other equipment starting with the compatibility cap.
The cap for my three-star equipment was 80. For four-star equipment, it was 100.
Meanwhile, other equipment usually had a cap of 60 for three-star and 80 for four-star.
I still didn’t know why… but honestly, I didn’t think having a higher cap was a bad thing.
"Hmm…"
I inspected Dawn Branch a little more closely.
This wasn’t bad at all. It would suit a mage well enough, too.
This was the equipment Dolores had prepared for Ruby… I could tell she had put considerable thought into choosing it.
"It’s nice."
It was nice, but…
I didn’t think Ruby would pick this one.
"…Mmm…"
When Dolores saw me inspecting the equipment with a confident expression, she clenched both hands into fists and held them before her chest.
Then, apparently anxious, she fidgeted as she rubbed them together.
Cute.
I wanted to bite her.
I didn’t dare try it, since I was afraid of the repercussions.
"Shall we go right away?"
To see an outcome whose answer was obvious.
"…Yes, let’s."
In the end, Dolores picked up her staff with a gloomy expression and followed behind me.
I took the lead, Totality slung over my shoulder.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
"I feel just like Son Goku~"
"…"
Listening to a song I vaguely remembered, I headed for the gym.
Creak.
When I opened the door, a familiar clanking sound greeted me. Naturally, it was…
Clank.
"Hah…"
The distinctive moan Ruby made when she worked out.
She lay on the Smith machine I had made, pressing a barbell upward.
Now then, today’s weight was… 170.
She’d added another 30 already. That was terrifying. What was I supposed to do with that?
"Ruby?"
Dolores called her, but there was no answer. Once Ruby started exercising, she wouldn’t notice even if a bomb went off beside her.
"Ruby?"
There was no response this time either, so Dolores eventually walked over to Ruby’s head.
Then…
Swoosh.
She gripped the middle of the 170-kilogram barbell.
Whoosh.
And lifted it one-handed onto the rack.
"Oh, Master."
"Will you get up for a moment? There’s something I need to give you."
"Yes."
"…?"
You had to be kidding.
Weren’t mages supposed to be physically weak?
Fuck, so I was the only weak one.
Ruby got up and wiped the sweat from her neck with a towel.
"Hey, Kim Ruby."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
I was twirling the staff as I started toward her when—
"…!!"
Only then did she realize I was there. The moment our eyes met, Ruby’s face turned red in an instant.
Tap tap tap.
She suddenly took several steps back, too.
She had just retreated five steps.
"D-Don’t come closer!"
"…Huh."
"D-Don’t come any closer."
Wow, that hurt.
I froze in place, still holding the staff.
Just as I was starting to feel genuinely upset—
Perhaps startled by my dejected expression, Ruby said,
"N-No, that’s not it…!"
Wipe, wipe.
Ruby hurriedly wiped her neck and face with the towel.
Apparently that wasn’t enough for her, because she quickly shook her head back and forth.
"M-Master, can I go… go wash up?"
"Yes, go ahead."
As though she understood something, Dolores let Ruby go with a benevolent expression.
Thududud…
Maintaining exactly twenty meters of safe distance from me, Ruby ran along the wall and slipped past.
Ruby disappeared from the gym.
"…Hmm."
What was that about?
[Sigh.]
[You really lack consideration.]
[Ruby is an adolescent girl, you know?]
"…?"
Ah, was it because of the smell of sweat? Because she had been exercising and sweating?
No, what the…
We had worked out together just two weeks ago. Of course sweat smelled like sweat when you exercised.
And it wasn’t as if she had ever smelled sweaty, either.
She hadn’t cared then, had she?
[That’s just how it is. They change so quickly from one day to the next.]
"This is hard…"
No wonder it had been difficult to catch her working out over the past few days.
Plop.
I sat down on the floor for a moment.
Pat, pat.
Seeing me like that, Dolores approached and stroked my hair.
"Mmm… I think Ruby just wanted to wash up after exercising."
"Yes, she must have felt sticky."
We brought over a table and set it up in front of us.
We were going to place the weapons on it and have her choose.
After waiting for a while…
Creak.
The gym door opened again.
"I’m back…"
Ruby strode in confidently, changed into clean clothes.
Her hair was still damp at the ends, and her shoulders were squared… What was this?
Unlike before, she wore a remarkably self-assured expression.
But when Ruby approached us—
"…?"
A very, very familiar fragrance brushed the tip of my nose.
It was a faint, refreshing floral scent—the perfume I smelled every day whenever I embraced Dolores.
Well, well…
She had even swiped Dolores’s perfume and put it on.
I had no idea how badly she wanted to seem like an adult.
Naturally, Dolores noticed right away as well.
"Pfft… ahem, hm."
She covered the corners of her twitching mouth.
"Now, Ruby."
"What?"
It was time to get started. Time for the main course.
Dolores and I met each other’s eyes, then looked to the table before us.
Set.
Dolores placed Dawn Branch down, and beside it, I—
Tap.
—stood Totality upright.
"Choose one of the two, will you?"
"…"
Ruby’s eyes widened for a moment before she began looking over both weapons.
I could say this without hesitation: Ruby had exceptionally high standards.
I had watched her pick out clothes before, and it was no joke.
Well, that was only natural.
Scurry…
Ruby’s steps passed right over Dawn Branch and headed for Totality.
"…Wow."
The expression she had worn while pretending to be mature until moments ago melted away.
Honestly… I had been certain Ruby would choose my staff.
Swoosh.
Ruby immediately crouched down and looked up at Totality.
Her eyes sparkled, her mouth hung slightly open… It felt as if she had turned back into a child.
"…Mmm."
Dolores finally let out a groan, as if she sensed her defeat.
Her intuition seemed accurate.
Grab.
Ruby grasped Totality.
Hummm…!
The staff suddenly gave off a blue glow.
W-What was that?
It had never reacted like that when I held it.
"This."
"Y-Yeah? What is it?"
I asked back, wondering if something was wrong.
"Is it mine…?"
"Hehe. Of course it is."
"I’ll take this one."
Her choice was quick.
She had looked at Dawn Branch, right?
"…Eeeh."
In the end, Dolores retrieved Dawn Branch and slung it over her back.
Had Dolores just said, ‘Eeeh’?
Sigh…
I really couldn’t take it anymore.
Of course, there was nothing I could do even if I couldn’t take it, so I looked forward again.
Hummm…
Totality hummed as though it had finally found its true owner instead of that equipment hoarder.
Ruby stared ahead as though entranced, while I began my own task.
‘Now, what’s the compatibility like?’
The most important aspect of equipment was its affinity with its user.
Hoping it would boast a high compatibility, I looked ahead.
And sure enough…
─────────────────
[Totality: Ascension][★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility][100 / 100]
─────────────────
[Having achieved Compatibility 100, all of the equipment’s abilities manifest at their peak.]
[The wearer’s aptitude as a spirit mage and Totality resonate completely.]
[No conflict occurs even when accepting the power of spirits with different attributes simultaneously.]
[The spirit sensitivity of a wearer with the aptitude of a spirit mage is amplified.]
[The wearer can temporarily share senses and power even with spirits they have not contracted.]
[When worn over a long period, [Spirit Eyes] can be permanently acquired.]
─────────────────
Compatibility 100.
Just like Dolores’s Spring Breeze Carrying Fire last time, this Totality had also successfully reached 100.
This was Ruby’s first piece of equipment aside from the original item, so I had been a little nervous…
"That’s a relief."
It suited her well—
But then.
One line I had noticed too late.
[When worn over a long period, [Spirit Eyes] can be permanently acquired.]
Wait a second.
What?
She could permanently acquire [Spirit Eyes]?
"…"
[Spirit Eyes]. The power the spirit queens had taken from the fairyfolk for the sins of their past.
Eyes that allowed one, while remaining in the mortal realm, to perceive the forms and voices of spirits… and, I suspected, the spirits’ true forms.
She could gain that power simply by wearing this for a long time?
Then, a new message appeared beneath the equipment window.
[★★★★☆] [Reconnect the severed link, inherit the will.]
[Target: Ruby von Dolores]
[Title acquired ─ [The One Who Opened a New Door]]
Along with the achievement notification—
[Reward]
Could it be this time?
─────────────────
[Crafting Recipe ─ Totality: Vision]
─────────────────
Totality: Vision?
The instant I read the name in my head, a blueprint unfolded before my eyes.
─────────────────
[Totality: Vision][■■■■■■■]
[Unique Equipment][Compatibility][- / 100]
─────────────────
『With one ■■, see the mortal ■■■; with the other ■■, the spirit ■■■.』
『For ■■■ the true forms and ■■■ of ■■■ beyond the boundary between the two ■■■.』
─────────────────
[Required Crafting Materials]
[Harmonics × 1]
[???? × 2]
[Whiteheart Iron × 1]
─────────────────
[Special Crafting Condition]
[Only a craftsman who has reached the boundary of the spirit realm may craft it.]
─────────────────
"…"
This was the first time a recipe had arrived as a reward.
But perhaps because I had only obtained the recipe, most of the detailed information was still locked away.
Totality: Vision.
Vision…
One meaning I knew was sight.
Seeing the word ‘eyes’ mentioned amid those fragmented descriptions, was this equipment that would let someone see spirits?
Glasses? Or goggles?
"Huh."
I was curious.
Way too curious.
And those materials.
What in the world were those materials covered in question marks, the ones I needed two of?
This was seriously exciting. Until now, I had always made equipment freestyle.
Now it had suddenly tossed me a recipe like this, and the novelty of it made my heart race.
I felt like rushing straight into the workshop.
Somehow, I wanted to strip away those black veils and see what lay beneath you.
Then—
I looked away from the blueprint and blinked.
Fwoosh…
Whooo…
"…Huh?"
At some point, flame and wind had begun coiling around the Totality Ruby held before me.
Brilliant white fire blazed from one end of the staff, while blue wind spiraled around the other end, glittering as it coiled about it.
And on top of that—
Flash.
One of Ruby’s eyes, as she tightly gripped Totality, gleamed red.
Just as I thought.
Perhaps because she fundamentally possessed the aptitude of a spirit mage, she didn’t even need anyone to explain how to use it…
"Can you see it?"
The spirit realm.
I asked with the corners of my mouth curling upward.
"Yeah."
Ruby grinned and nodded with me.
"…Ruby can already wield spirit power to this extent…?"
Dolores put a hand to her forehead as though she couldn’t comprehend it.
"Lionel. Just what did you make…?"
At some point, Dawn Branch had been abandoned on the floor.
Fine. As long as she liked Totality, that was enough.
"Okay, congratulations on your entrance gift, Ruby. I have something urgent to do, so I’ll—"
Bang!
Wind exploded from the spot where Ruby had been standing.
"…Huh?"
At the same time, Ruby appeared directly before me, lightly holding the staff behind her back.
Her hair, scattered by the wind, settled a beat later.
Her red-glittering eye stared intently at me.
"Hm?"
Ruby suddenly turned her head to look to the side.
"…Should I?"
She looked as if someone had made her a suggestion.
…Who was she talking to?
"Should you do wha—"
Ah, had she been talking to a spirit?
Then—
Smooch…
Before I could finish speaking, something warm touched my cheek…
Smack.
Then pulled away.
Ruby had kissed my cheek.
"…The thing Master always does."
"…"
"I want to do it too."
Then Ruby stared at me quietly…
Bleh.
She stuck out her tongue.
Even though her face was as red as a sun spirit’s.
"…Thanks for the weapon, Lionel!"
Squeeze!
Unable to contain her happiness in the end, she threw herself into my arms and hugged me tightly.
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