“How about this one?”
“Hmm… It’s definitely more refined, but it feels like it’s missing the sharpness I usually have during sparring.”
“I see, I’ll make some adjustments. Take another look.”
A month until the journey.
During that time, the party was busy preparing in different ways.
Among them, Siegfried was focusing on developing his own technique, just like I advised him before.
His greatest contribution to this journey would be his combat prowess.
Thus, he was perfecting his own swordsmanship.
Swish!
The sharp black blade swiftly chased its target and sliced it cleanly in two.
“Wow! That was amazing! It’s perfect for the technique you mentioned!”
That strike was a technique he frequently displayed during sparring.
A rapid draw from his waist right after the match began, cutting through the air.
Siegfried seemed pleased with that sensation and smiled lightly.
“So that’s the feeling. I understand now.”
“What will you call it?”
“A name, you say?”
“Yes! A technique should definitely have a name! Like a spell!”
Of course, it doesn’t have to be called out to activate it, but it’s only natural to name a technique once it’s created.
It’ll also make it easier if someone else wants to learn it.
However, Siegfried suddenly threw me a wooden sword as he hurriedly urged me for an answer.
“Whoa!”
“Let’s pass this technique on to you first, and then think about it.”
“Y-Yes?”
“There’s no time. Grab your sword.”
Siegfried had a joyful smile on his face.
The same expression he often wore when he tormented me during training.
“Yikes!”
“Don’t run away! Ken! Come on!”
Wooosh!!
Siegfried was pouring his time into developing his own technique.
So what were the others up to?
“Ken! Help me out again today!”
“Uh, o-oh, again today?”
“Yes, it’ll be quick. Hehe.”
Emily approached me with a bright smile.
And the place we were heading to was an empty classroom with no one inside.
It was a classroom that used to be occupied by students but now served as a storage room.
As I sat in my usual spot, Emily pulled a chair next to me and settled in.
“Uh, um. Is it really necessary to sit this close?”
“Why, don’t you like it?”
“N-No, it’s not that I dislike it.”
“Isn’t it nice to feel close and cozy?”
Emily, seemingly annoyed by my question, deliberately pressed her body against mine, pouting.
She even pulled my arm in closer.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s not that I dislike it, so please stop!”
Even as I pleaded, realizing I made a mistake, Emily responded with a smirk and whispered in my ear.
“Nope.”
“Yikes…!”
It wasn’t bad, but her breath against my sensitive ear made me let out a strange sound.
Seemingly entertained by my reaction, Emily giggled.
So what were we doing in this empty classroom?
Well, I was assisting Emily with her restoration magic.
To be precise, I was becoming her test subject.
“I’ll finish up quickly, so just hang in there.”
“Ugh.”
Then Emily took my hand and brought it to her.
She slowly brought her lips to that hand.
And then she bit down.
“Ugh.”
Her soft lips felt smooth against my skin, and the pain of her teeth sinking in, along with her warm body temperature, sent a shiver through me.
Soon, Emily pulled away her lips from my hand and wiped the injured area with a handkerchief.
“Sorry, did it hurt?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Even as she apologized, Emily’s cheeks were flushed, and her faint smile somehow looked delighted.
Then, along with my slightly heavy breathing, a status window popped up before my eyes.
[ SYSTEM: Emily Epiris’s arousal level is rising. ]
Perhaps due to her sadistic tendencies, this status window appeared every time after this process.
“Hey, was it really necessary to bite?”
“Ugh, using weapons or knives is way too scary.”
Emily looked away, flustered by my question.
Was she just wanting to bite me?
After waiting a moment, I noticed a trickle of blood seeping from her bite mark.
“……”
Emily’s cheeks flushed as she stared blankly at the sight.
“Emily?”
“Ah! I-I’m sorry, I’ll heal it right away!”
Snapping back to reality upon hearing my voice, she raised her hand to cover the wound.
Closing her eyes, she focused her magic.
“…Hmm~.”
Magic flowed out around her, creating a faint light.
“If it’s hard, why don’t you just chant a spell?”
“W-Wait a sec. I think I can do it without chanting now…”
As she concentrated a bit more, Emily seemed to catch on and carefully began to recite her incantation.
“Vitia.”
Then, the glowing magic converged in her hand and enveloped my wound.
Another warmth, different from her body heat, radiated through me, and soon.
The pain from the bite she had given me disappeared.
“Looks like you’ve almost fully healed this time?”
“Yes, I’ve almost perfected the basics!”
It was a faint little bite mark, almost not even a wound anymore, but Emily smiled widely.
She seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment from her growing abilities.
“Hey, Ken. Can we try it one more time?”
“W-Wait, one more time?”
“Yes, I think I can do it perfectly this time.”
Emily’s eyes looked a bit flushed and her breath a bit rough, almost as if she was mesmerized by something other than her passion for practicing.
Reluctantly, I reached out my hand once more.
“Hehe, ahhh~.”
Her breath tickled my hand as she leaned in closer.
Once again, her moist lips wrapped around my hand, and she bit me.
“Ugh.”
She bit me three more times after that.
Wooosh!!
During the month-long wait, Mary was checking the route to the tower on her map.
“Ken, could you please check it with me?”
She was also passionately participating in this journey and preparing thoroughly.
Calculating food supplies and the cities we would need to pass through.
Recently, it seemed she had also finished arranging for a carriage.
I was truly grateful for how supportive Mary was, considering her magical abilities would have been enough on their own.
“About this corner of the road… What do you think, Ken? I’m a bit worried about the appearance of monsters.”
“…Well, um… I can’t see anything.”
The map she was showing was partially obstructed by Mary’s flowing hair, making it hard to see.
Currently, the place we were in was the Epiris Academy’s library.
True to its reputation as an academy where many distinguished guests gathered, this place was so vast that it required a building solely for the library.
Finding a corner, Mary and I were discussing our plans.
However, there was one issue with our arrangement.
You see, Mary was sitting right on my lap.
“M-Mary? Is there any particular reason you’re sitting on my lap?”
“……”
In response to my question, Mary just shrugged her shoulders and remained silent.
After a moment of silence, she leaned her back against me, pressing her waist closer.
Her flowing hair tickled my nose, and I was charmed by the nice fragrance wafting from her.
Feeling the warmth coming from her petite frame.
To be honest, it wasn’t that I disliked it.
After a while, Mary turned her head slightly and looked up at me.
“Recently, you’ve been hanging out a lot with Emily and Raphne, haven’t you?”
“Y-Yeah?”
I assumed she was talking about practicing restoration magic or assisting with weapons crafting.
Mentioning it, Mary looked at me with an expressionless face but with slightly gloomy eyes.
“It feels as if I’m being left out.”
“W-What do you mean left out? I’m close to you too, Mary.”
“But you’ve been getting closer to not just Raphne, but Emily as well.”
In an instant, the warmth radiating from her body was replaced by a chilly aura.
Why, I felt like something was off with her mood.
“So I thought I’d try to get closer too… Is that uncomfortable?”
The sudden coldness dissipated, replaced by an anxious look as she gazed up at me.
Of course, it was somewhat physically uncomfortable, but I didn’t feel bad about it emotionally.
It just created a tension due to her close proximity.
With her sitting on my lap, it could easily lead to a disaster if I made the wrong move.
However, looking into her sparkling eyes, I smiled and shook my head.
“Uncomfortable? Not at all. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Okay, then let’s get back to the map.”
Mary seemed pleased with my answer, beaming as she resumed viewing the map.
This time, she lifted it above her shoulder so I could see it more easily.
Wooosh!!
And so, time flew as each of us busily prepared, and after a few weeks, we found ourselves with just about a week left until the planned date.
During that time, I had pondered over what equipment to create and was ready to hand them out to the party.
Although the actual crafting didn’t take long, the time spent deciding what to make was substantial.
First was Emily.
“Did you make this for me?”
Receiving the round shield I fashioned, Emily’s eyes sparkled with surprise and joy.
“Thank you!”
She hugged the shield tight to her chest, her eyes welling with tears.
It seemed she liked it a lot, so I felt a sense of pride.
I crafted a shield for Emily, who would be our healer.
A round iron shield with a magic stone and a magic absorption stone embedded in the center, excellent for defending against magical attacks, and it had undergone a runic process to make it lightweight.
Next was Mary.
“Is this a staff?”
“Yes, I thought this would suit you best.”
I made her a wand-like staff that was light enough to be held in one hand since she was specialized in magic.
Even without a staff, her magical prowess was impressive enough, but with the amplification stones and spells for controlling magic inscribed in the staff, she’d be able to use her specialty of freezing magic even more comfortably.
“This is…”
Mary waved her staff around a few times, testing her magic.
She conjured something resembling a snake made of ice to dance elegantly in the air.
Mary also smiled brightly as she firmly grasped her staff after confirming its effectiveness.
With her usually expressionless demeanor, that rosy smile of hers appeared particularly radiant.
“I’ll cherish this, Ken. Thank you so much.”
Then I moved on to Adrian.
Though like Mary, he might not strictly need the equipment, having it was certainly better than not having it.
“Are you giving this to me?”
“How’s the fit? If it doesn’t fit, I can adjust it.”
“Nope, it fits perfectly. Hehe, I’m glad you know my hand size so well.”
“W-Well, I made it by eye.”
What I crafted for him was a pair of magical gloves.
Unlike Mary, who mainly uses magic, Adrian sometimes wields weapons, so I made equipment suited for him.
The engraved spells and effects were similar to what I made for the staff.
“This is… impressive. Ken. I didn’t expect it to be this good.”
After snapping his fingers to conjure flames, he seemed to be mesmerized by the effects of the gloves, staring at them with astonished eyes.
And lastly, Raphne.
“Wow… you made this for me, Ken?”
Raphne’s eyes sparkled as she received her item.
I hoped it would meet her expectations, and I was glad it seemed to.
She twirled the long staff in her hands a few times.
She had never trained in staff techniques, yet she handled it perfectly.
“Perfect! I love it! Thank you, Ken! I’m so happy!”
I made her a spear.
A long spear gleaming in golden light.
After pondering over what to create for Raphne, who was skilled in various types of weapons, I settled on this.
Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary spear.
“Look, when you channel magic into it…”
“Wow! It shrunk!”
Demonstrating, as I poured magic into a specific part of the spear, it shrank down to a size comparable to Mary’s staff.
“Depending on where you channel the magic, you can lengthen the staff or enlarge the spearhead.”
A versatile spear.
This spear, like Goku’s powered staff, could only have been created after repairing the Aspetra and studying its design.
The effort that went into the design was immense, but the result was very satisfying.
With this spear, you could wield it as a sword, and it would be easy to carry around.
Thus, I completed the primary equipment for the party.
Now all that remained was to wait for Adrian’s news.
The last week was spent confirming everything was on track and preparing.
On the promised day.
After sunset, late in the evening.
Wearing the hooded cloak I provided in advance, the six of us gathered at the academy’s entrance.
“Is everyone here?”
Emily and I shared the supplies and luggage, thanks to our subspace pocket.
The others kept their important belongings on them.
All six of us had gathered, each wearing expressions filled with determination, ready for our journey.
“Let’s be back soon.”
At my words, we nodded together and set off, leaving the academy behind for our adventure.
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