by Tôwa
Part III: Energy Sync
Ariadne was possessing Suzuna’s body through Suzuna’s Medium skill and returning the magic I charged her with back to me, after which I would use Charge Assist again. Well, that was the plan anyway, but when it got to the point where Ariadne would use her skill to return the magic, I suddenly felt really uncomfortable.
Her skill was called Energy Sync, which sounded like it would even out the magic between the user and the person it was used on. My magic went down when I used Charge Assist, but it refilled Ariadne’s magic more than mine went down. The amount I lost would be filled using Energy Sync, and I’d use Charge Assist again. That meant my magic would always return to the amount it was before I used Charge Assist.
This was all in the realm of possibility, but we had to be physically touching for Ariadne to be able to use Energy Sync. It shouldn’t have been a problem if I touched her somewhere that wasn’t problematic, but when it came down to it, I realized I wasn’t comfortable touching her anywhere.
“U-um… Arihito, you can touch me wherever; don’t worry about it.”
“Whoa…! S-Suzuna? You can talk even though you’re using Medium?” I said, quite surprised since just before, it had been Ariadne’s monotone voice, but it suddenly changed back to Suzuna’s normal voice.
“You seemed so hesitant, so I asked Ariadne to let me switch with her… It feels very strange, though.” Suzuna wasn’t completely unable to act of her own volition while using Medium, but she seemed uncomfortable because it felt strange having just gotten control of her own body back.
“…You have to give her a lot of magic in order to strengthen…Guard Arm…right?” asked Suzuna.
“Yeah… Apparently, her defensive abilities will improve if we improve Trust Levels between her and I.”
“And if you do that, it will be more capable of defending against attacks… We should improve trust between you two as much as possible tonight.”
“I’m grateful that you’re on board. No, not just me. This is about the whole party.”
“Yes, it’s for the party… All for one and one for all, right?” said Suzuna, a little jokingly, which was unusual for her. She wanted to protect the party, the same as me, and that mind-set directly influenced the strength of our party’s bonds.
Thankfully, there was no animosity between any of the party members; we all got along, but that didn’t mean we could forget to be considerate of one another and focus on ourselves instead. That was just how relationships worked. I had to be especially careful, since I was the only man in a group of women.
“…Um. She’s going to use Energy Sync soon. Could you touch me somewhere?” asked Suzuna.
“Oh yeah… Where? …I think I’d feel better if you tell me.” I knew I shouldn’t really be thinking about it this much, but I was worried she might be ticklish or something. I just wanted to be incredibly cautious about it.
“Anywhere on my back is fine. Go on.”
“Okay… Is this all right?” I said, placing my hand on her back between her shoulder blades. Suzuna put her hands together like she was praying. She was activating Energy Sync.
♦Current Status♦
> SUZUNA activated ARIADNE’s ENERGY SYNC by proxy
> ARIHITO’s and SUZUNA’s magic synchronized
“…It’s warm. I can tell that my magic flows into you and your magic flows back, leveling out,” observed Suzuna.
“If only it could be used with multiple party members. We could recover anyone who was particularly low and even out everyone’s magic,” I said, and Suzuna switched back to Ariadne so she could speak.
“It would be possible. As of right now, I can only use skills on you. However, a Hidden God’s skills become more powerful when the party becomes stronger. Once your party’s level passes a certain point, my skills will advance to their second stage,” explained Ariadne. If she could come out from the hidden level in the Field of Dawn, then she could even join the party itself. If that happened, she’d be able to use her skills herself.
“That would be possible if you gather enough parts for me.”
“Oh… I guess you can still read my thoughts even though you’re just here through Medium.”
“Yes… And no. I am not certain. Humans tend to conceal things when they wish to remain private. I will not reveal any of your thoughts to others.”
“I appreciate it… I mean, I don’t actually mind that you can hear my thoughts; I’m just worried it might annoy you.”
“I wish to further understand human emotions. Relations between men and women would be greatly helpful for deepening my understanding—”
“L-look, I already told you…”
I wouldn’t have been surprised if Suzuna took over at any point now, since she was listening to this conversation as well. The best I could really do was explain to Ariadne that men and women didn’t engage in such things without good cause.
There was a limit to devotion levels that Ariadne could have based on the party’s level, and it had reached that limit. Every time I used Charge Assist, I felt there was some sort of change in Ariadne’s behavior as she looked back at me. She seemed more conscious of the fact that I was touching her.
“Are you all right, Ariadne?” I asked.
“…I am being influenced by emotions. Perhaps it is an effect of the medium…”
“Wh-what’s wrong? Do you not feel well?”
“…No. Both my and the Shrine Maiden’s vitality are full. There is no issue.” Ariadne clenched her hand to her chest. She really didn’t have any life in her eyes, so I definitely did feel strange when she stared at me. She kept saying she wanted to understand humans, which was probably why my thoughts and emotions were going down a certain path. But what could you really expect from a healthy man? I just hoped she wouldn’t judge me too harshly.
“Devotion levels have reached their maximum. Now I will be able to protect you with Guard Arm. It will be even safer if you have a companion who excels at defense.”
“I see… Well, right now, Cion, a silver hound, is in charge of our defense. Would a guard dog work?” I asked.
“I am not specialized in protecting beasts. The most appropriate match would be a humanoid warrior who is equipped with metal armor.”
If that was the requirement, the people in our party most suited would be Igarashi or Elitia, but Elitia was focused on offense, and it was safest for Igarashi if she could dodge instead of taking the hit.
Specialized in defense with metal armor… The only person I can think of would be Seraphina, of the Guild Saviors. But she’s probably not even in District Eight anymore.
“All right, I understand. Thank you for everything. I think we’ll be needing your help soon, Ariadne.”
“Understood. I…believe it has been good for my circuits…to have a conversation with you…”
♦Current Status♦
> SUZUNA’s MEDIUM has ended
Suzuna’s head suddenly hung limply. Perhaps Medium only lasted a set period of time.
“Suzuna, are you okay?” I asked, and she slowly opened her eyes and looked in front of her, where I was. She jumped back a little and covered her mouth with her hands.
“Wh-what happened? I’m sorry, did I surprise you because I was suddenly right in front of you?” I asked.
“…N-no… I was looking out from inside Ariadne… She said she was going to sleep for a little bit…,” said Suzuna, touching her ears and brushing the bed. She didn’t seem able to calm down. I didn’t think it was that she’d suddenly become more aware of the fact that she was alone in a room with me. After a moment, she noticed I was looking at her, and she jumped a little again.
“Um… I’ll go get some water or something. You’ve been concentrating this whole time; you should relax,” I said.
“Ah… N-no. I’ll go. You can just stay there… B-be back soon.” It was strange to see her so flustered when she was normally so calm, though she was still a high schooler, so it wasn�
�t like she’d be calm in every possible situation. I knew that, but…if Misaki saw her now, she’d probably assume the wrong thing. I hoped she’d be able to calm down by morning.
I finally fell asleep sometime after midnight and woke up thirty minutes before breakfast. Everyone was able to order what they wanted, so I had a bacon sandwich made from the meat of a wild boar monster. Even though it was boar, it’d been treated with fruit juice to remove the gamy taste and was really quite tender. It was freshly prepared, and the meat was still juicy.
Kinda tastes like pig, though…and pig makes me think of ginger pork, but you can’t get the flavors right without soy sauce… That’s something I’ll probably never be able to enjoy again.
Igarashi chose a grilled fish, which seemed to suit her tastes, because she was really enjoying it.
“Thank goodness they’ve got fresh fish in the Labyrinth Country,” she said.
“Suzu, your mom used to always grill fish in the morning, wouldn’t she? My mom also— Hmm? Suzu, what’s wrong? You seem out of it,” observed Misaki.
“…Sorry, what?” said Suzu vaguely, surprising everyone. I’d thought she’d seemed a little off all morning, but apparently, what we did last night wasn’t good for her.
“…Arihito, did you do something dirty to Suzu?” asked Misaki.
“No, I would never! Why would you say that?”
“But Suzuna’s so shaken up… You can’t blame us for thinking something happened,” said Elitia, shocking Madoka, who was joining us for breakfast for the first time while Melissa just steadily ate her chili.
“Um… Has Arihito done anything with any of you…?” asked Madoka.
“N-no way! Atobe’s too honest. He’d only do something if he imagines a future with them…”
“Kyouka knows him best, after all. Oh! You know, I never asked him if he’s got any ex-girlfriends,” said Misaki.
“…I don’t…think so… But I wonder… He was normally just working with me on his days off, and he rarely slipped out to answer any phone calls…,” said Igarashi.
“So you noticed that, too… Were you always paying that much attention to him?” asked Elitia.
“Uh, n-no, I, um …” Igarashi was at a loss. I wanted to come to her rescue, but I felt it might be stupid to say she didn’t really pay that much attention at all. Considering she was so controlling a boss that she’d care whenever I got up from my desk.
“…Anyway. Atobe, what happened with Suzu?”
“Uh… I—I guess you could say we had a late night.”
“A late night… So you mean you guys—?”
“Pull it together, Misaki! We’ll never hear the rest of the story if you keep cutting him off,” snapped Elitia, effectively silencing Misaki. I wanted to get the others’ feedback on the situation anyway, so I decided I should just spit it out already.
“Well, I figured I should report it to you anyway, but we had a message from Ariadne last night. Suzuna used her skills and called on Ariadne’s spirit so we could speak with her.”
“So that’s what happened… And what’d she say?” said Igarashi.
“There’s a chance that a part of a Hidden God will come out when we open the Black Box, and it’ll attack anyone who’s trying to obtain it… Which means there’s a chance we’ll end up in a fight when we have the box opened,” I explained, and everyone suddenly looked serious. Even Suzuna, who’d been blank and inattentive a moment before, returned to her normal self.
“In order to defend against that attack, Suzuna helped me to increase Ariadne’s devotion levels. But if we’re going to play it safe, it’d probably be best to wait on opening the box and level up first,” I continued.
“…Yeah. If this part is incredibly powerful…,” Elitia started to say.
“But it’s one of Ariadne’s parts. Isn’t it likely that she’d be able to defend against it with her power? I don’t think she’d suggest we do something incredibly dangerous,” said Igarashi. I honestly agreed with both of them. Should we put off opening the box and avoid all potential risks? Or should we open it, knowing we might get the part along with other magical equipment?
…We can’t risk it, can we? There’s no guarantee that Guard Arm will prevent all damage…
“…I’m going with Arihito. I’ve already decided that much,” said Suzuna.
“Yeah… It’s a weighty decision, but I don’t think we’ll easily lose as long as Arihito is there. It’s because of him that we’ve been able to beat monsters I never thought we could,” agreed Elitia.
“……”
Theresia was looking silently at me. I think she was trying to say she would be with me no matter what. Safety was most important, but it didn’t feel right to put this off in the name of safety considering there was a high probability we’d get one of Ariadne’s parts.
“…I want to open the Black Box. It’ll probably be dangerous, but we know that the rewards will likely be high,” I reasoned.
“Yeah, I agree. Monsters will be more powerful once we move up to District Seven. It will be safer for us in the future if we can change even one piece of equipment up to something better,” said Elitia, nodding without hesitation. She wasn’t afraid at all; no, it was because she had faith in the party.
“Atobe, it’d probably be good to make sure we’re ready to use our Morale Discharges, right? It’ll take time to prepare it, but I think it’ll be worth it,” said Igarashi.
“That means you’ll be telling us Let’s go! or Keep it up! ten times, right? Reminds me of a sports coach. I could be into that,” added Misaki.
“Which means we’ll get to hear lots of Arihito’s voice…,” said Suzuna.
“Yeah… That’s pretty normal now. Are you sure you’re all right, Suzuna?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m fine. Actually, for some reason, I feel I can do more today than usual…,” she said. She seemed somehow more alluring than normal… Or she was just giving off that kind of vibe. I looked at my license; there weren’t any status ailments at work, but I was already aware that the license didn’t always show everything.
Is it just that…her trust in me increased because I used Charge Assist? If that’s the case… I used it quite a lot…
“Suzu, you seem like a caterpillar who’s turned into a butterfly for some reason…,” said Misaki.
“I think that sort of thing is normal for her age… Or if Atobe’s to blame, then he can explain what exactly happened when it’s our turn to share a room.”
“N-no, it won’t work if it’s not Suzuna… I don’t mean that in a weird way at all,” I said. The only reason we could do our perpetual loop of magic restoration was that Suzuna was acting as Ariadne’s medium. If that wasn’t it anyway, it was possible that Recovery Support increased trust far too much while we were asleep… If that was the case, then the thing this party needed the most was some sort of skill or something that would keep me from rolling over in my sleep.
Part IV: The Second Black Box
I considered having Melissa join the party so I could see how strong she was, but she and Madoka were prioritizing their production work.
“…I’ll do any modifications. Bring back good materials,” said Melissa.
“Make sure you all stay safe…,” added Madoka.
“Yep. We’ll probably get a large amount of equipment again, so I hope you can help us then,” I said to Madoka.
“Of course. I’ll use my connections and negotiate to get you the best possible price for them,” she replied. The two saw us off as we left the mansion, and the seven of us, including Cion, went to the Chest Cracker shop.
…Hmm? Is that…?
We passed near the Guild and saw Louisa speaking with a row of armored individuals. They were the Guild Saviors. Maybe they were saying their good-byes because they were about to leave District Eight.
“…Ah, Mr. Atobe. Perfect timing,” said Louisa.
“Hmm… Me?”
“Yes, Seraphina of the Guild Saviors wou
ld like to thank you again for saving Polaris yesterday,” she explained.
Seraphina turned to face me, her smooth hair pulled up this time. She was as beautiful as before, but I couldn’t show that on my face in front of Louisa and everyone else.
“As Louisa explained, I would like to thank you again. I would also like to offer your party a Savior Ticket. While you have this, you can use your license to submit a support request to ask for our help,” said Seraphina, holding out a rectangular piece of thin metal with rounded corners. It was made of a light blue metal; I had no idea what kind of material it was.
“A Savior Ticket… This seems valuable…,” I said.
“It’s made from a metal called crystium. You can think of it as a step up from a Mercenary Ticket. You can’t hire any mercenaries that are above level five in this district, and Guild Saviors must be level eight before they can even join the Saviors,” explained Seraphina.
Higher than level 8… I was starting to think as she spoke. If we asked someone as strong or stronger than Elitia to front our defenses… Before we went to open the Black Box, I wanted to find someone who could protect us, even if they were only with us for a short time, so that they could defend against the first attack that would come out of the box.
“Seraphina, could I ask you something?” I said.
“Go right ahead. We don’t have any current support requests, so we have some time until we’ll be returning to headquarters.”
“Thank you. As far as I can tell based on your large shield, you act as your party’s vanguard, or primary defense, right?”
“My job is Riot Soldier. I was originally part of a squadron that worked to maintain the peace, if that makes sense.”
Riot Soldier… Was she in the military, then?! I knew there were women in the military, so she must have been reincarnated, too…
“I use this riot shield to defend against and suppress enemy attacks. There are no guns in this world, so I don’t have one of those. I use a baton instead, making my job here in the Labyrinth Country focused almost entirely on defense.”