She wouldn’t take no for an answer, but we all realized what this was actually about. Adeline knew she would have to part with Seraphina for a while and was reluctant to see her go—or so we thought. “Mr. Atobe, the rest of my platoon will also head to District Five as backup… Please feel no need to indulge Adeline’s dramatics.” “You should’ve let that play out a little longer! I was hoping he’d open up and share his true feelings in the heat of the moment, but now it’s gone.” “…Arihito, I just realized I might really vibe with Adeline,” Misaki declared with utmost seriousness. No one blinked an eye at the total disconnect between the tone and the content of what she said. Adeline actually seemed somewhat pleased; I dropped the subject after reminding myself that friendship can bloom in the unlikeliest of places. Refreshing Heaven’s signature limited dish, the medicinal soup, had a reputation for being so good, even monks would jump over the proverbial temple walls to get a taste. They made it with meat and bones harvested from the rarest and most curious monsters one could find in the District Seven labyrinths, ingredients so uncommon that the dish appeared on the menu only once a month at best. “I say, a bowl of something that scrumptious would drag even the most enlightened of monks out of nirvana,” said Ceres. “It was certainly good enough to make you forget your manners and complain about getting only one serving, Master.” The three of us were the only ones left in the living room. The others had figured we’d be better off using the public baths, seeing how large our group was, and had already started out. I told them I’d meet up with them later; I was curious to try this spa that was supposed to be specifically designed to help revitalize Seekers. “I couldn’t help it. It was just too delectable,” protested Ceres. “I’ll simply have to pine away patiently for my next chance to enjoy it… Anyway, Arihito, what are you thinking in terms of modifications? We’ll be limited in the number of items we can process if you want them done before morning.” “Switching out magic stones or runes should take no time at all, and I think we could make two or three pieces of equipment out of any raw resources you’ve got.” “I see… Then, what could we add to Suzuna’s Pan’s Flute?” “It’s got space for one magic stone and a rune. You might consider fitting it with the phonia rune if the flute proves useful in battle,” suggested Ceres. I decided to also add the stagnation stone to Suzuna’s flute since it could accommodate more than just the one rune. It seemed likely adding stagnation-inducing capabilities to a wide-ranged sonic attack would render it that much more powerful. I still had one extra frost stone, but decided to hold on to that as I could also use it in my magic gun. That left the alter rune, which could apparently use half your remaining magic to restore up to full vitality, and the vellum rune we’d recovered from the Merciless Mourner. I considered having Seraphina use the alter rune, given its particular effects, but we might find other options to consider if we acquired other equipment with a rune slot. I appraised the vellum rune and found more details about its effects. ♦Vellum Rune♦ > Increases user’s close combat capabilities depending on how many party members have been incapacitated and rendered unfit for battle > Allows user to activate Solitary Struggle “This vellum rune… It’s a bit tricky figuring out where to put it, given the risks involved. Incapacitated would mean your life is in incredibly great danger,” Ceres explained. I guess this would be best for someone with a higher level like Elitia, or higher vitality like Cion or Seraphina, but neither Elitia nor Cion has any slots for runes on their equipment. I’ll have to check with Seraphina if she’s got one later. “Now let’s see, what other resources could we process…? Oh my! You’ve picked up quite a few varieties of skill-enhancing fruits.” “It’s hard deciding what to do with resources this valuable. Does it look like you could find a use for any of these?” I asked Ceres. “It’s generally recommended to process these so as to maximize their effects, even for high-level Seekers. It might be best to let a powerful Healer carry them for you, if you ever run into one. They should be able to make some very potent medicine with them.” “I see… Then I think we’ll just hold on to them for the time being.” “The other resources you picked up look like they’d be good for making accessories,” added Steiner. ♦Materials Available for Processing♦ Snow Drop x1 Snow Quartz x1 Water Spirit Crystal x1 Blue Butterfly Amber Inclusion x1 “In that case, it might be a good idea to ask everyone what they’d like to use them for,” I said. “Hmph. I’d wager they’d all want one of these… You don’t have enough for everyone now, so maybe you’d best give them out as presents as you find more.” “Ohhh, right… Women do love pretty jewelry, don’t they? I should’ve thought more about what they might like instead of focusing only on equipment.” “Just the kind of keenly insightful advice we’d expect from you, Master, what with your many, many years of studying the human experience and— Ow!” “Age is no matter to either of our races. Isn’t that right, Arihito?” “Y-yes, ma’am…” I hadn’t gotten a very good look at Ceres when I ran into her in the bath, thanks to all the steam, but from what I had made out, she appeared to have been much more mature than the young girl standing before me now. I couldn’t bring myself to ask what that was about, though. “Then what say we meet up with the other ladies at the public bath and ask them what they fancy?” ♦Changes to Magic Stones and Runes on Equipment♦ > Fitted PAN’S FLUTE with PHONIA RUNE and STAGNATION STONE Upgraded to PAN’S FLUTE +1 ♦Processed Equipment♦ > KYOUKA acquired SNOW DROP EARRINGS > SUZUNA acquired SNOW QUARTZ PENDANT > ELITIA acquired WATER SPIRIT CRYSTAL PENDANT > THERESIA acquired BUTTERFLY RING Part II: Doubt I caught up with the others at the spa. After our baths, we all gathered at the lounge that also served as a bar, so I took the opportunity to go over our newly available skills. ♦New Available Skills – ARIHITO♦ Level 2 Skills Doll Assist: Strengthens golems and similar pawns created by allies in front of user. Backdoor: Provides a constant stream of intel on enemies whenever user is in retreat. (Prerequisite: Rear Stance) Escape Anchor: Significantly increases swiftness when activating Rearguard General. (Prerequisite: Rearguard General) Level 1 Skills Front Line Support 1: Inflicts knockback on enemy whenever party members in front of user sustain an attack. Remaining Skill Points: 3 ♦New Acquired Skills – KYOUKA♦ Level 2 Skills Frosted Armor: Reflects attacks with an added ice attribute. Applies to any decoys or golems the user creates. (Prerequisites: Decoy, Ether Ice) Level 1 Skills Ether Ice: Installs ether with ice attribute. Remaining Skill Points: 3 0 ♦New Available Skills – THERESIA♦ Level 2 Skills Trap Detection 2: Gives user a special trap-detecting vision. (Prerequisite: Trap Detection 1) Antibody: Nullifies systemic status ailments due to poison or similar substances with a fixed probability of success. Temporarily augments user’s attack power and speed. Weapon Bite: Blocks enemy weapon attacks and steals weapon upon success. Level 1 Skills Dodge: Evasion skills increase when user equips specific types of shields. Remaining Skill Points: 3 2 ♦New Available Skills – MELISSA♦ Level 2 Skills Plattered Alive: Increases chances the user will deal a single fatal blow to fish-type monsters whose vitality has fallen a certain degree. Cat Step: Increases evasion rate. Can Charm opponent on successful evasion. (Prerequisite: Cat Walk) Level 1 Skills Toxin Test: Allows user to detect poison in food consumed. Reduces effects of poison. Remaining Skill Points: 3 0 Leveling up had given us access to new skills, but there were also many others we lacked the points to afford. We could always acquire them as the need arose, so it was better to hold off on everything except for the ones we knew for certain would prove useful. Theresia’s Trap Detection 2 sounded great, but Antibody also required two skill points, so I decided not to get either for the moment. Weapon Bite would likewise come in handy only if we ran into a monster that fought with some kind of weapon. Dodge, on the other hand, I did have Theresia acquire since it complemented her skill set, worked with her buckler, and cost only one skill point. Melissa told me she wanted an evasion skill, so she wound up taking both Cat Walk and Cat Step. The members of Four Seasons begged to stay the night; for a second it looked like we’d run short on beds until the ladies whipped out sleeping bags they’d apparently used before and turned the second-floor bedrooms into a regular campsite. I dozed off on the sofa to the raucous voices coming from above and before long fell into a deep sleep. It was the dead of night the next time I opened my eyes. They took a second to adjust to the darkness of the room but eventually landed on Theresia, who’d fallen asleep seated on the sofa without anything to keep her warm. I laid her down so she could stretch out and covered her with a blanket. I worried I might wake her up, but she was fast asleep. “…Zzz…” I could hear her softly snoring and saw her chest rising and falling very, very slowly, almost imperceptibly. It looked at first glance as if she wasn’t actually breathing, so I kept an eye on her for a bit to make sure. …I guess it’s kinda creepy to stand here in a dark room watching her sleep. I tiptoed out of the room and decided to get some fresh air—and ran into Igarashi standing just outside the front door in her pajamas. “Igarashi, what’s up? Why are you out here so late?” “Atobe, I’m so glad you’re up… You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you. I think Elitia and Suzuna went out somewhere.” “Elitia and Suzuna…? Okay, I’ll take a look around the neighborhood.” “Oh, do you mind? I wish I could join you, but I’m a bit underdressed.” She had a point; I imagined she’d be a little chilly in her pajamas with only a cardigan draped over her shoulders. The weather in District Seven the past few days had reached summertime highs during the day but got quite cool once the sun had set. “…It’ll be chilly if you go out like that,” she said. “Here, why don’t you put this on?” “Oh… But if I take it, you’ll be cold, too, Igarashi. I’m okay, really…” I tried to refuse politely but lost in the end and found myself with that same cardigan now draped over me. It smelled really nice—not that I could tell that to her, though. “You have such broad shoulders… Good thing I went for the larger size.” “Th-thank you very much. All right, I’ll be back.” “Okay, be careful.” Igarashi saw me off as I left the house. My license told me right away where to find Elitia and Suzuna: at a park in a residential district about a five-minute walk away. Trees were a rare sight in the cities of the Labyrinth Country. This park must have been installed as a green respite from the city’s stony architecture; the trees there appeared to have been planted after it was created. The soft glow emanating from the magical lampposts gave me just enough light by which to see the two girls sitting in front of a monument erected in the park. “…Ellie, do you think we’re not strong enough yet?” I heard Suzuna say, and I stopped in my tracks. I debated whether to call out to them; depending on the topic, I figured they may not feel comfortable including me in their conversation, but standing here and eavesdropping wasn’t much better. Still, I couldn’t just leave them. “You’re worried it’s going to be too dangerous…especially if we don’t work our way through the labyrinths in District Six first, right?” “…I can go back to District Five alone if I have to. But I couldn’t do anything on my own… That’s why I needed to find friends to help me.”
Chapter 39
11 min read