kscans

Chapter 331 - Imbuing a Dazzling Light

『Hey. Sorry to bother you out of the blue, but could you spare a little time right now?』

――――――… 　――――…… 　――…

『Sure, for a little while.』

『Thanks. Is your partner with you? I have a request for the Eastern Wings.』

『Heeey? In that case, could you please tell me why you chose to contact Ri-na instead of Mi-na-chan, the face of Mi-na Ri-na???』

『Why am I getting a message from the red one under Ri-na's name… Is this a virus?』

『Alright, it's war!!! Show your face, you punk!!!!!』

『Well yeah, of course I'll come to you.』

『…Mi-na and I will be waiting at the Round Table.』

◇◆◇◆◇

"You're forgiven!"

"W-Wha—!?"

Using my ranker privileges, I brought Sora to the Eastern Round Table. The moment the transfer finished, my partner was snatched from my side.

I didn't exactly bring her as a peace offering to quell their anger… but while Sora looked quite surprised by the red one's vigor, she didn't seem to mind, so I'll let it slide.

"Yo."

"Good evening."

Unlike her ever-hyper partner, Ri-na was sitting quietly in her chair. I exchanged greetings with her. When I gave a little wave, she diligently waved back.

Yep, the blue one is a good kid today, too.

I've always thought this, but the sight of her tiny avatar sitting primly in that huge chair is strangely adorable and sooth—

"Oof—!"

"Wah…!?"

"Sooo? What's this request you have for us?"

An impact to my lower back from behind sent me stumbling. I somehow managed to stay on my feet thanks to my recently beefed-up VIT stat.

I shot a glare over my shoulder. The red-haired girl, who had charged into me with Sora still in her arms, was pressing in close, demanding to know the details of my 'request.'

My hand instinctively wanted to reach for her face, but I was here to ask a favor. I decided to grit my teeth and be humble.

…As for Sora, who was getting squeezed in the middle and looking dizzy, she'd just have to bear with it for a moment.

"Well, a few things happened, and now I need some huge magic—"

I had told my partner I 'had an idea' for the magic to imbue in her ring. Taking responsibility for bringing her here, I began my negotiations with the 'two little mages.'

"—ALRIGHT, LET'S DO THIS!"

"I'll do my best."

…And so it went. As if there was ever any need for lengthy negotiations with these two, who had been completely smitten with Sora from the day they met.

The matter was settled the instant the words 'for Sora's sake' left my mouth.

They agreed in a heartbeat, and I was promptly escorted to the training grounds where I'd once sparred with Irori. And here we are.

"I don't really get it, but we just need to hit it with our strongest magic, right?"

"Does it matter what kind?"

"I wanted to talk about that a bit, too."

Their enthusiasm was greatly appreciated, but this wasn't something we could decide on a whim. As Arcadia's renowned strongest artillery cannons, I definitely needed their advice.

"Let me explain in more detail—Sora."

"Right!"

I'd already revealed at the victory party that 'my partner is even crazier than I am,' but Sora got embarrassed and stopped me, so I hadn't explained how she was crazy.

So, we began with a demonstration of my partner's abilities.

Sora held up her right hand, and the [Cradle of Sword-Craft] pulsed with light. A torrent of mana blew past us, rustling our hair, and—

"—……………………Ugh, wow…"

Whether she was fired up or secretly panicking, I couldn't say, but the thousand swords she deployed at full throttle from the get-go made the red and blue pair's eyes go wide. Mi-na let out a sound that was half-impressed, half-recoiling, while Ri-na wordlessly approached the magic swords forming countless rings and reached out a hand.

Sora, using her Psychic Sword Control skill, offered a single sand sword to her. The girl stroked its surface with a familiar touch.

"…And that's the gist of it. Right now, she can only handle this 'sand,' but her Anima tiered up, and now she can add one more attribute. The way to fill that slot is—"

"To imbue it with magic."

"I see…"

I nodded at Sora, who looked to me for confirmation. At their master's command, the thousand magic swords vanished into thin air. Ignoring the red-haired girl who was muttering "Hmm," Ri-na asked Sora to summon another one. Did you take a liking to it?

"This is… a lot more responsibility than I thought, huh?"

"This will affect our future combat strength."

"Ugh…"

Even Sora-san, after fighting alongside so many rankers, had come to clearly realize that she was one of them.

My partner swallowed any meaningless denials or humility, fidgeting restlessly under the words of the two, who had switched from their usual playful and listless modes to serious.

After that, we shared more details about the magic swords, and—

""—We recommend 'Fire.'""

The 'Eastern Wings,' who aren't twins, let alone sisters, stated their conclusion in perfect, startling harmony. Wow, it sounded almost exactly like a single person's voice.

"Fire attribute…"

"Hmm… And your reasoning?"

""Because it's strong.""

Okay, that's creepy. The unison is enough. Please speak one at a time.

"When you're thinking offensively with magic and attributes, the fire attribute is super effective, you know?"

"Arcadia's fire attribute has a biological special effect. It's effective against most things besides players, aquatic life, and non-living enemies. There are very few opponents it doesn't work on."

"Plus, you can aim for extra damage with burn and scorch effects by default. Its damage modifiers are generally excellent, so when you think offense, you think 'Fire.' It's common sense."

"It's mana-efficient and high-powered. You learn a wide range of single-target and AoE spells, so it has few weaknesses and is easy to handle."

"And 'easy to handle' means 'strong.' It's strong and easy to handle, so it's super strong, you know? If you have the choice, I think most people would pick 'Fire.'"

"If it's likely to inherit the properties of the imbued magic…"

"Then yeah, the first thing we'd recommend is the fire attribute."

Are you guys really not related? You're perfectly in sync even when you speak separately.

"I understand your reasoning… but Tetra told me you two use 'Star' magic. He said it was super strong, but you don't recommend that?"

"Star magic…!"

Oh, she must not have heard of it before. The name itself exudes a special quality, and Sora's eyes lit up—but…

"Well… 'Star' is a little…"

"…We don't recommend it."

Surprisingly, the response was extremely negative.

"Hey, it's not like we're trying to hold back, okay? It's just that…"

"Star attribute is, fundamentally, a type of magic that demands a 'price.'"

"A price?"

As Sora tilted her head, the expressions on the other two didn't change. Even Ri-na, who was usually expressionless, had a slightly troubled frown.

"To be blunt, the magic that Ri-na-chan and I use—whether it's 'Fire,' 'Water,' or 'Wind'—it all originates from Star magic."

"Huh?"

"Say what?"

I have no idea what she's talking about… but fine, continue?

"Because of that, no matter what kind of magic we use, we're bound by that 'price'… and that's exactly why, as users ourselves, we don't recommend 'Star.'"

"At the very least, it's not convenient. When you don't have many options, I think it's better to add other, more manageable attributes."

Both of them were completely serious. I didn't doubt them from the start, but it was clear they weren't holding anything back.

"I see…—Sora, what do you want to do?"

"—Huh? Ah, right, well…"

We'd gotten plenty of opinions, but in the end, it was up to Sora.

If she were to say she still wanted 'Star' magic, I had a feeling these two would agree, despite their reservations—but…

"Then, um… I'd like to have the 'Fire' you recommended, please."

Unlike me, Sora-san generally prefers stability.

I knew that she, being her honest self, would choose the attribute that the 'professionals of magic' had recommended in unison.

And so—

"I'm in your hands…!"

We placed the [Cradle of Sword-Craft], now activated to receive magic, on a pedestal of indestructible objects we'd created by manipulating the training ground's settings.

Sora bowed her head, half in anticipation and half in nervousness, and in response to her request…

"Okay, then we'll imbue it with something extra special!"

"You won't regret trusting us."

The two energetic, small avatars joined hands without prompting.

"—[Mi-Helnaria, Brush of Manifestation]."

"—[Ri-Zelnataku, Brush of Dream-Drawing]."

Red and blue quill pens appeared in their free hands.

And manifesting above their heads was a single, massive crown formed by the two of them—the one and only unique crown in Arcadia's history, which I was seeing with my own eyes for the first time.

It was a 'special' sight that made it easy to understand why they had so many fervent fans. As Sora and I were momentarily stunned into silence—

"'One.'"

"'Two.'"

"'Three.'"

"'Four.'"

"'Lined up.'"

"'Layered on.'"

""'Weaving a truth.'""

The long, long song of an incantation spun by the Eastern Wings began to echo.

"'Gazing up at the clear sky.'"

"'The scorching sun that burns the eyes.'"

""'A doll reaching for the ever-falling light of the stars.'""

""'Burning its body to beg for a heavenly sign.'""

"'The light of a star, fingers growing hot, a searing roar dwelling in my eyes.'"

"'My name is the usurper, and the ruby stolen from the heavens,'"

""'I now cast down upon the horizon—shine red, high and endless, to the far side of the sky.'""

"With twin wings—"

"We shall paint it here————ah, you two?"

""Huh?""

As the roaring mana whipped around us, we had been completely captivated by the true 'song.' A casual voice suddenly cut through, causing both Sora and me to let out a dumbfounded sound.

The twins glanced back. Mi-na flashed a mischievous grin that was twice as wide to make up for Ri-na's still-blank expression—

"It's gonna be a little hot and bright, so be careful, okay? —Alright, on three!"

And, in the next moment…

""[Vanishing Light, Sunfire Ruby]—!""

The 'little sun' that manifested dyed the pure white training grounds an even more brilliant white.