Chapter 6 | The way to a Woman’s Heart is Through her Stomach
“OH! Right! Take this with you.”
Just as we’re about to head back, Kiefer calls out to us while handing Ektor a beautiful golden bracelet embedded with a green stone.
“You’re giving me a bracelet?” Ektor asks.
“That’s right. And lookie here, I’ve got one, too. Now we match!” As he answers Ektor’s question, Kiefer shows us the bracelet on his own wrist. It’s a similar design to Ektor’s, although the color is different—his bracelet is yellow-green with a sparkling yellow gem.
“Gross…” Ektor seems clearly disturbed by it but accepts the bracelet anyway.
“You don’t know how to take a joke, Ektor. Hahaha!” Kiefer laughs. “If I’m going to be matching with anyone, I’d rather it be with a cute girl myself!”
This must be one of Kiefer’s famous magical gadgets!
“What is it this time?” Ektor asks, suspicious. “Does it show your emotions in a rainbow of colors? Or perhaps it makes high-pitched sounds whenever you nudge it just right?”
“That’s the one I gave you last time, right? Truly a genius piece of craftsmanship. I’m happy you remembered!” Kiefer nods enthusiastically while he talks.
Ektor’s expression is one of clear annoyance.
Rainbow colors? A high-pitched sound? In what situation would you use those kinds of things? I’m impressed he can even make stuff like that.
“This one’s just as amazing as the rest!” Kiefer chuckles as he holds up his index finger.
“He always says that,” Rinny whispers to me.
Oh, I get it…maybe? He must be really proud of his work!
“This bracelet has the ability to let you talk to anyone, no matter how far away they are! I call it the Long-Distance Babbling Bangle!”
“Why do you insist on naming everything you create?” Macro sighs.
It is quite the name… Still, a gadget that lets you talk to someone far away seems neat! I’ve heard of people using incredibly specialized magical techniques to do that, but if the power is embedded in a bracelet, then anyone can do it!
“Are you serious?!” Ektor exclaims. “Kiefer, it’s been a while since you made something actually good!” He seems incredibly excited.
“What are you babbling about, Ektor? All my gadgets are actually good!” Kiefer protests.
“That really is impressive,” Claire says to herself, muttering something about communication capabilities and long-distance calls.
Huh? She’s seen this before? It must be similar to something she used in her past life. I’ve thought about this often, but it seems as if Claire’s other world has a lot of amazingly useful stuff. For example, mechanical objects that transport folks long distances or objects that fly through the sky… I almost couldn’t believe my ears when she first mentioned them.
“This is just a prototype, so I’d appreciate it if you could test it out for me,” Kiefer says, tapping his bracelet. “I’ve programmed it to let Ektor and I communicate flawlessly, but I plan on making more for everyone else.”
“This is great! Really great! What’s the range, by the way?” Ektor asks.
“It’s based on the user’s magical ability. Knowing your power, Ektor, I bet you could reach the next town over or the outskirts of the forest. I’m not as powerful as you, though, so I’m limited to the confines of the city.”
“I see. So, the range is dependent on whoever’s the weakest,” Ektor summarizes.
“Since it runs on magic, you shouldn’t have to make too many minor adjustments,” Kiefer explains.
This seems like something that could make everyone’s lives ten times easier! Kiefer, you’re a genius!
“You having this on hand today seems too convenient,” Macro says, suspicious. “You threw this together knowing we’d stop by, didn’t you?”
“Of course, Macro. I just didn’t know how many of you were visiting. But now I know how many more I need to make.”
He’d known from the beginning that we were coming and was preparing the bracelets for us.
“That explains the lack of sleep!” I say in awe.
Seeing my surprise, Candice explains, “Forgoing sleep for work is a bad habit of his.”
“Really?”
I guess he does seem like the type who gets so wrapped up in his work, he forgets where he is.
“But make sure you don’t go overboard, okay, Kiefer?” I say to him. “You’ll collapse from exhaustion at this rate. I’m sure Candice is worried sick about you.”
Just because nothing really bad’s happened yet doesn’t mean it’ll always be that way. And just because Candice is always here to take care of him, doesn’t mean he should take advantage of her kindness!
“That’s right, Kiefer,” Claire joins in, supporting my opinion. “You really have to take better care of yourself. Just saying ‘I’ll be fine!’ doesn’t instill me with much confidence that you will be. You should think more about how your actions affect those around you, especially that one special someone who’ll be extra distraught the day your body finally has enough.”
“Your name’s Claire, right? You’re not the type to hold back, huh? Even on first meetings. Strong-willed girls are a-okay in my book.”
“Are you trying to avoid the topic?” Claire asks, hands on her hips.
She’s right, even if her delivery was a bit harsh. Still, Kiefer is mature enough to laugh it off, clearly understanding her kindhearted intentions.
“Sorry, sorry. The truth is a hard pill to swallow sometimes. I promise to keep that in mind. And Candice, thank you for everything.”
It seems she got through to him. I can tell by the anxious look in his eyes and the awkward way he scratches his cheek that he understands what he’s doing isn’t great. It seems he has the ability to accept honest criticism. Candice, who’d suddenly been dragged into the conversation, blushes bright red.
“You b-better, mister! Not that I think it’ll make one ounce of difference.”
“I said I’ll do better, and I meant it.”
“Sigh… I know you, and I know you’ll never stop being totally engrossed in your work. But at the very least, listen to me when I’m talking to you!”
“Of course! Thanks for always being my rock, Candice.”
They seem to trust each other a lot. It’s clear the deep bond they share has grown over a long period of time. Maybe this is simply the nature of their relationship. I glance over at Claire, and we share a smile.
“Now, we really need to get going. Thanks a lot, Kiefer. I’ll be in touch once we secure the other guild members. But before we leave…how the heck do I use this?” Ektor peers quizzically at the bracelet on his wrist, which I’m jealous that he gets to use right away.
There’s so much I want to talk to Kiefer about, but I guess I’ll have to wait until my next visit.
“One moment. It’s fairly intuitive. The jewel glows when magic is flowing through it and begins blinking when your partner is connected. When you see it blinking, that means you can start talking. I hope.”
“What do you mean, ‘I hope’?”
“I haven’t had a chance to test it properly!”
It seems easy enough to use, and all it takes is a little magic. It’s probably similar to a gadget that spits out fire. I’m impressed that Kiefer can make a complex gadget like this one, connecting folks via the power of their own magic.
“I’ll try it out later tonight…so stay tuned,” Ektor says.
“Hahaha! We’ll see!”
Does that mean Kiefer might be too busy with work to answer or possibly sound asleep? Maybe… I’ve only just met him, and I already know him pretty well. I still can’t figure out whether he’s joking around or being serious half the time… But I’m sure it’ll be fine! After all, we have plenty of time to get to know each other.