“I hate to say it, but you’re not wrong,” Mamoru admitted—and this was the guy who made the thing, not to mention a Shield Hero who could actually attack.
“It’s just bizarre, that’s what it is,” I said.
“It increases your attack quite a bit, right, Mamoru?” Filolia confirmed. “You relied on it a lot when we were starting out.” I bit my lip in frustration. Mamoru and his balanced approach to combat pissed me off! I was so focused on defense I couldn’t do anything alone! I blamed the shield too. Why did it allow Mamoru to attack but not me?
“Well, Raphtalia? Ren? Are you happy now?” I gave my best unhinged laugh.
“You sound so sad . . .” Raphtalia sympathized.
“I’m feeling a little bad about it,” Ren admitted.
“Being unable to attack has allowed you to defend us from all sorts of things, Mr. Naofumi,” Raphtalia reminded me.
“That’s right! The very fact you can’t attack is what makes you the toughest! You’re more durable than Mamoru too, right?” Ren said, picking up from Raphtalia.
“I’m jealous of that myself, it’s true . . . but still . . .” Mamoru stopped for a moment. “No, that’s enough about this. Saying anything more will have the opposite effect, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.” His consideration of me actually only pushed me further into the corner. I knew all too well that everyone pitied me for being unable to attack! I didn’t need their sympathy!
“You two had better remember this!” I warned Raphtalia and Ren.
“I was starting to regret forcing this on you, but that threat has removed those feelings,” Raphtalia said pointedly.
“You mess with us all the time! This makes us even,” Ren added.
“I’m not sure we should be fighting among ourselves,” Holn said, watching our exchange with a sigh.
“I think this is how they show their affection for each other,” Mamoru told her.
“A bond of trust, yet constantly picking at each other at all times . . . I like it,” Filolia said.
“I guess we do tussle like this quite a lot,” Fohl admitted.
“Everyone, I’m sorry to interrupt, but what about the accessories?” Imiya had been quiet up until now, but she tried to get things back on track—as much for my sake as anything.
“You’re my only ally, Imiya,” I said. I hugged her from behind and stroked her head. She moaned uncomfortably and stiffened up in my arms, embarrassed. It might be worth calling in Raph-chan and Ruft to bolster my forces. If I toyed with Raphtalia too much, she might turn against me.
“Mr. Naofumi, please don’t make too much trouble for Imiya,” Raphtalia said. But I decided to ignore her calmly delivered request.
“You’ve always got a quick retort, Raphtalia,” I bemoaned. “I miss the time you were more like sweet little Imiya here.” I continue to stroke her.
“I’m sorry . . . I went too far,” Raphtalia said, backing down. It was all the stuff with the Raph species that had made her more prickly toward me. Before that, Raphtalia had been better at matching the general atmosphere and was more conscientious in her replies.
“Please, Raphtalia,” said Imiya, still moaning.
“I’m not angry, don’t worry,” Raphtalia replied. “Mr. Naofumi, please stop causing trouble for Imiya,” she said to me again after taking a calming breath. Imiya did seem close to passing out. She was very shy about pretty much everything. Raphtalia wouldn’t be jealous of Imiya over just this. If she was willing to compromise, so be it. Our Raph species research would continue.
I stopped stroking Imiya and checked the accessories. We’d found some good ones. I was pulling my weight.
“Okay, everyone. Can you split the accessories up into those you want to keep and those you don’t need? I’ll try reworking the ones we don’t need and see if I can bring out a different effect,” I said.
“Understood,” Raphtalia replied.
“Hey, could you make a special accessory exclusively for me?” Filolia asked Imiya, her eyes sparkling. Accessories were always very sought after in video games.
“Ah, I’m not sure . . .” Imiya said.
“What do you mean by exclusive, anyway?” I asked. Since I was an accessory maker myself, that seemed like a legit question. In games there were accessories that only specific characters could equip, but I had no idea what an exclusive accessory would look like in real life. Exclusive to a profession, maybe—or to a weapon. For my shield, that could be a cap to cover the crystal on the shield, but with a little work, it could be a hilt for a sword too.
“I mean . . . make it knowing that I’m going to be the one using it!” Filolia replied.
“That’s one way of doing things,” I admitted. “That could be an exclusive accessory. But you could only make such a thing with a good understanding of the person you’re making it for.” Imiya or I probably didn’t know enough about Filolia to pull that off. To me, she was just a chuunibyou bundle of mouthy angst. “You might get an equip effect from a wedding ring, if Mamoru made one for you,” I suggested. Filolia’s face turned bright red instantly, and she started to stammer. Mamoru was looking embarrassed too. Two twittering lovebirds. Holn was fanning herself with an annoyed look on her face. “Exclusive equipment though. That might be quite a thing,” I pondered. The leaf that Holn had given me felt like an exclusive accessory. It was something easy for all the Raph species to use. I remembered Raph-chan using it like a throwing star. She played by tossing multiple leaves around. It had been made using the bioplants and sakura lumina. I had no idea how it worked, but somehow it could multiply. There was a main leaf, the actual accessory, but that could multiply, allowing you to throw the extra leaves like ninja stars or ofuda. The clones would wither away after a while, but they kept their shape until they hit a target.