by Aneko Yusagi
“Shut up.”
I’d attack if I could, I really would. But I was cursed with this stupid shield, so being an offensive fighter wasn’t an option—but I wasn’t giving up.
If Ethnobalt’s weapon allowed him to attack, then there was still hope for him.
And everyone kept saying that Rishia had potential. I believed it too, considering what she’d done in the battle with Kyo. She’d prove herself eventually, and she’d get there because she never gave up trying.
It’s better to regret trying and failing than to regret not trying at all.
As far as I was concerned, Ethnobalt didn’t have the right to complain until he had really made an effort.
“I understand. Very well then, Glass, may I participate in these training exercises?”
“Are . . . Are you sure?”
“Yes. I want to protect you all, so I must work as hard as I can to get to that point, just like Ms. Rishia.”
“We can do it!” Rishia chirped. They were really hitting it off.
Glass looked over at them and smiled, “I’m a tough teacher!”
Glass appeared to be filled with fresh determination. She looked tougher, taller than normal. “We’ll start by training the body! Let’s get going!”
“Okay!”
“Understood!”
The three of them took off running. Then Ethnobalt and Rishia tripped and fell.
They had a lot in common, those two. They were both so clumsy.
“Now then, Mr. Naofumi. Why did you come to see us today?”
“That’s right, I’d nearly forgotten.”
I got so wrapped up in talking about Rishia’s stats and strengths that I’d neglected the reason I came. I pulled out the katana sheath I’d made and gave it to Raphtalia.
“Thank you very much!” She smiled warmly. That was the face I’d come to see.
I had put a cheap sword into the sheath for the time being, but with the actual katana in it, the design was a perfect match. It made the katana look even more beautiful. When she slid the blade in, it sealed with a satisfying clack.
When the blade slipped all the way in, I thought I saw the sheath’s gemstone flash.
I turned to Kizuna, “You said that special effects can be triggered when vassal weapons, or one of the four holy weapons, are equipped with accessories, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what sort of effects they are.”
“I asked for the accessories to be imbued with effects that would increase Raphtalia’s agility, so she can move around the battlefield easier.”
That’s what I asked the official imbuing specialists to do. When the accessories came back, I checked them over, and from what I could tell, they appeared to have been imbued with the effects I requested.
I guess there was a chance that they had snuck something troublesome in there, but successfully imbuing a vassal weapon at all was difficult enough already, so I highly doubt they could have pulled that off.
“I wonder if it worked?” Raphtalia asked.
“Doesn’t it look like the sheath’s gemstone is shining?”
“Yeah. It actually looks like it’s slowly filling with light.”
“Hmm . . . I wonder what will happen when it’s full?”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“I don’t even know what the sheath would do, never mind the shining gemstone.”
“Me neither.”
“Maybe you should try to draw the katana and see what happens?” Kizuna asked.
She had a point. An effect might trigger when certain conditions are met. The accessory I got from the old guy at the weapon shop in Melromarc had been like that. Its effect might have triggered because I’d been blocking so many attacks at once. Something had triggered it, and it made a defensive barrier like the shooting star shield skill I have. It might have even been better than shooting star shield, because it had actually damaged enemies that touched it.
I hoped that the accessories I’d made would function the same way. Anyway . . . I was getting distracted. Back to the topic at hand.
“Good idea. Raphtalia, try drawing the sword.”
“Alright.”
She slid the blade out of the sheath, and the light drained out of the gemstone.
“The light went out.”
“Maybe you can’t draw the sword until the light is fully charged?”
“That might be it,” Raphtalia said, reinserting the sword. We waited until the gemstone was filled with light.
“Maybe you have to fight with the sword still in the sheath? Should I pull the blade out some?”
“Then what’s the point of the sheath?”
“That is a problem. We’ll need to try using it in all sorts of ways.”
“It takes a while for the gemstone to charge up, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe you should carry another, secondary sword to use while this one is charging.”
“I’m pretty sure that Glass’s fan can split into two separate fans. She dances with them, but it’s similar to fighting with two swords.”
“So you think if she learns a technique or a skill, she’ll be able to use more than one?”
“Maybe.”
“Um . . . Could you please stop staring at my sword and analyzing me?” Raphtalia muttered uncomfortably.
It wasn’t my fault that her accessory was finished first. We had to figure out how they worked somehow.
“It’s so shiny and pretty!”
“Rafu!”
Filo turned into her humming falcon form and perched on my shoulder while I inspected the katana sheath.
It was turning into a pretty weird scene.
Anyway, it felt like three minutes or so had passed by the time the gemstone was fully charged. A bright light flashed, and there was a sound like dropping coins into a piggy bank. The meaning was unmistakable.
“Great. Raphtalia, try drawing the katana again.”
“Alright.”
She held the sheath in her left hand, and used her right hand to slowly draw the blade.
Hm? Was I seeing double? It looked like there were two Raphtalias standing in front of me.
Kizuna cocked her head and blinked. She must have been seeing the same thing that I was.
It’s hard to explain what it looked like. If I tried really hard I could follow her with my eyes, but it was like she was moving faster than her body could keep up with. It looked just like Filo’s haikuikku attack, actually. Like she was moving so fast she was a flickering blur.
I was impressed that Kizuna and I were able to keep track of her.
Never mind Therese, who had been standing off to the side silently and watching with stars in her eyes.
A few seconds went by and then Raphtalia’s speed returned to normal.
“Huh? Mr. Naofumi?”
“What happened?”
“When I unsheathed the katana you all started moving in slow motion.”
“I bet. You started moving so fast that I could hardly tell where you were. It was like Filo’s haikuikku move.”
“If you attacked us at that speed, I don’t think I’d be able to block it.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
I’d have to be really lucky to block an attack that fast.
“It appears that if you keep the katana sheathed until the gemstone is charged, it will activate haikuikku upon drawing the blade.”
“That’s pretty amazing. You can slay monsters the moment you draw your sword! That’s so cool!”
“I’ve seen you kill monsters with one swipe of that tuna knife, so you must know what you’re talking about. I agree that it’s pretty cool.”
I had to mention that, because even if Raphtalia could fell monsters with one swipe, Kizuna could do the same thing. That much hadn’t changed. Actually, Kizuna’s attack was probably better, because Raphtalia’s skill only activated the first time she drew her sword. If she missed her chance the first time, she’d have to wait an
other three minutes or so without attacking to get another shot.
She could probably go after enemies with her bare hands in the meantime, but she wouldn’t be able to use her sword to fight, because then it wouldn’t charge the gemstone. Some of that could probably be mitigated with support magic, but it wouldn’t be wise to plan our battle strategy around those initial attacks of hers.
Anyway, the move had limitations, but I was certainly glad to have it.
“Again, I really wish you would stop inspecting me like that . . .”
“If she could learn to fight with two swords, like that technique that Glass uses, then maybe she could fight with one while the other one charges.”
“It could be limited to this one weapon though.”
“Maybe. It’s still pretty good.”
“Are you listening to me?”
“Oh, right—sorry. When Kizuna and I get talking, it’s hard to stop.”
Raphtalia looked irritated by our nonstop commentary.
Maybe she was . . . jealous?
I was sort of a father figure to her, so maybe she didn’t like that I was talking with another woman so much. Maybe she felt like she was going to lose her parent.
“I feel weird with you looking at me like that!”
“Alright already. Anyway, that ability is sure to come in handy when we are out hunting monsters.”
“Good point. We can probably end a lot of battles before they ever begin.”
Getting the first attack in was always an advantage.
Filo could move quickly too, but it was obvious when she was charging up for the attack, and that made the enemy extra cautious. But Raphtalia’s katana would retain the element of surprise, so the enemy would fall before they knew what hit them.
With any luck, this new attack would prove very useful.
“I wonder if there is a way that the stone can retain its charge. It’s a shame to lose all that progress just because you had to draw the sword.”
“I’ll ask the imbuing specialist about it. They’ll know more about those subtle particulars.”
“Good point. Let’s see what we can find out.”
Raphtalia frowned, “Enough already! Now you’re already trying to alter my weapon without asking me? What about your accessory, Mr. Naofumi?”
“It isn’t ready yet.”
I’d worked on it with a firm idea of how I wanted it to come out, but I wasn’t very confident that I was going to be successful.
“What about yours, Kizuna?”
“Thanks for asking! Check it out! Ta-da!” Kizuna smiled and pulled out the tacky lure that I’d made for her.
When she saw what it looked like, Raphtalia shot me a disappointed look.
“That’s what she wanted.”
“I’m going to bring it by the imbuing specialist to see what they can do, and then, I’ll use it to go fishing tonight!”
“You really enjoy fishing, don’t you Kizuna,” Raphtalia said.
“Of course I do! It’s my favorite pastime.”
It didn’t seem like anything to be proud of to me. That reminds me, a day or two ago Glass was whining about something related. When we got back to Kizuna’s house, we found the walls covered with gyotaku fish prints.
There were so many of them that it was hard to believe that Kizuna had really caught them all.
Some of them were strange looking creatures—I wasn’t even sure if they should be counted as fish.
“I’ll ask Ethnobalt to take me fishing on his boat!”
“We’ll be leaving in the morning, so don’t stay out too late.”
“Yeah, yeah!”
She’d probably be out until well past midnight.
“We’re going somewhere in the morning?”
“Yeah, we’re going through some monster hunting exercises with L’Arc. Try to take it easy tonight, will you?”
“Very well.”
I felt good about how the sheath had come out. Raphtalia would definitely benefit from that new attack.
“Hey! Rishiaaa!” I shouted to her as she ran. I’d completely forgotten something important.
“What is it?”
“This book is supposed to say something about the waves.”
Rishia started flipping through the book that I handed to her.
“I thought that you might be able to get some information out of it, since you’re so good with languages. Would you take a look at it for me?”
“Why me ?! ”
“Because you’re good with books and studying.”
“I like to read, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to understand it all.”
Humility was a good thing, but Rishia was starting to get on my nerves. She was naturally gifted when it came to books and studying, so it was kind of sad that she wanted to be an athletic warrior.
“Take it as an order, and do your best to see what you can get out of it. The more we figure out, the more weight we can take off of Itsuki’s shoulders.”
The book might detail the wave’s secrets. Rishia wasn’t usually much help at all, but this could be a great opportunity for her to contribute.
“I’ll see what I can do!” Rishia stuffed the book into her bag and ran off.
“Naofumi, what shall we do about today’s magic practice?” Therese asked. She’d been quiet this whole time, probably privately freaking out over accessories or something.
I forgot to mention that Therese was giving me lessons in magic use when I wasn’t busy crafting accessories .
I learned a new technique from Ost when I got the Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield. It was called the Way of the Dragon Vein. It seemed to be a new way to use magic, but I didn’t understand it very well.
At the time she had walked me through a sort of magical puzzle, but now I couldn’t even figure out how to access it. It was supposed to be a type of magic that let me borrow power from something outside of myself.
I didn’t have any ideas, and I’d seen Therese do something similar once, so one day I just asked her. She said that she was familiar with a different system, and that her techniques might work for me too. So she started to teach me how to use magic.
I’d learned a lot from her over the last few days, but honestly it was pretty difficult. A lot of it went over my head.
“Let’s do it. I want to learn that support magic too.”
Thanks to Ost’s help, I’d been able to cast a very powerful support magic spell called “All Liberation Aura.” It substantially raised everyone’s stats.
We were going to need it to survive what was coming. Besides, I had a responsibility to Ost. I had to learn to command the power she’d entrusted to me. There was no time to relax or slack off.
So, in return for her help with magic training, I agreed to let Therese watch me when I worked on crafting accessories. This agreement had been in place for a few days now.
To learn from Therese, we needed gemstones to work with, so I was crafting those too. Therese was a Jewel, and so she didn’t actually need to use the gemstones I made. I needed them so I could borrow their power during our training.
“Then let’s start our training for the day, shall we?”
“Sure.”
I stood in the castle courtyard with a gemstone in one hand, and our training session began.
“Do your best, Mr. Naofumi! I’ll be training with Glass!” Raphtalia shouted.
“Thanks, good luck, Raphtalia. I want to learn how to use energy too, so I’ll join your training session later.”
I had to focus on magic first.
I needed to find a way to fight against enemies that were able to use a terrible technique called “defense rating attacks.” But more than anything else, I wanted to learn how to use the power that Ost had given me.
Chapter Three: Lure
The next morning, right when we were about to leave to meet up with L’Arc, Kizuna showed up with heavy bags under her eyes. I was so annoyed I couldn’t think of anything to say.
The night before, she had gone out to the ocean with the new lure I’d made for her. She must have stayed out really late with it.
“This lure is amazing! I just attached it to my fishing line and threw it in and the fish lined up to bite it! I catch something every time I cast it. I love it! Can we put off this trip until tomorrow?”
Was she insane?
Her pupils were wide and dilated, and she looked like she was about to run off and go fishing again. She looked like something out of a horror movie.
Glass looked like she understood what was going on, so she tried to calm Kizuna down a bit.
“Kizuna, you’re a little worn out, aren’t you? Why don’t we take a little break?”
“I don’t want to! If I take this lure to another place, I can catch even bigger fish! Don’t you want to eat something good? Don’t you? If you do, you better let me go!”
“Kizuna! That’s enough! Enough! Please calm down. You need to rest.”
“But . . .”
She was stuck between her duty and her love of fishing and the scales seemed to hang evenly.
I didn’t see what she was so obsessed with. Her eyes were freaking me out. I wished she’d stop looking at me.
“Fine. Alright . But you have to let me go fishing when we get back.”
“Very well,” Glass said, and Kizuna sat down with a humph .
She was already worn out by all the battles and training. Then she went fishing all night on top of that. She must have been exhausted.
How much fun can fishing really be?
“That lure must be cursed.”
“You’re the one that made it.”
“Are you trying to kill our Kizuna ?! ”
“This is my fault now?”
Kizuna was the one that was obsessed with the lure. It wasn’t my fault.
“Hey Alto, are you coming too?”
“Yeah, just to see what sort of materials I can get my hands on. I don’t enjoy fighting very much.”
He was a merchant, after all. He was competitive on a different battlefield. I assumed that he was coming along to see if he could find any interesting drop items.
“I’m coming along for the drops. I’m trying to buy some special powders, the sort that have ability names.”
“What’s that?”
“You know, like strength powder and magic powder.”