Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata ~Senjou wo Kakeru Kaifuku Youin~

　After we finished eating, me, senpai, Kazuki, Nea and Ferrum moved outside to the training area.

　The reason for the training ground is that while Amako and Nack were cleaning up the dishes, we were shown the armour of the two heroes as we talked about what we were going to do.

“You haven’t even come home, Bluerin. ……”

　As I look at the empty stables and mutter this, Nea, who was nearby, speaks to me.

“They say he’s still over there because he’s so powerful.”

“I wonder if he’ll cause trouble for the people over there. ……”

“Don’t worry about it.”

　…… Well, it’s all right, isn’t it?

　When I arrived at the training ground after visiting the stables, I first heard from Kazuki and his senpai why I was sent back to the kingdom first.

“The reason we were sent back here hasn’t been revealed yet, you know.”

“The king has only told us to rest in case things go wrong.”

“When you say it hasn’t been revealed, you mean …….”

　Kazuki nodded his head at the words of senpai.

　As if to prepare for a situation. Is it like Lloyd-sama brought us back here in anticipation of what happens next?

“I think it was probably a decision to keep us from worrying about the battle that just ended.”

“I see. ……”

　I understand that, but why did Nea and Ferrum come back?

　I ask Nea and Ferrum, who came to the training ground with me, and Nea answers me.

“Rose said she was going to accompany me.”

“…… That’s it?”

“She’s a capable woman, she’s got to have an idea, doesn’t she?”

“Well, she’s not the kind of person who makes decisions without thinking. ……”

　I do think about it, though, and sometimes I’m unreasonable.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait until we hear from the kingdom now. ……”

“Right. The castle is also busy dealing with the aftermath of the war, so it’s not a situation where you can get an audience right away.”

　After the war, they’re probably busy processing communications to the various kingdoms, operating supplies, and so on. ……

　The knights are also out, so they are likely to be genuinely understaffed.

　Oh, and speaking of knights,…….

“I heard that Leona-san is coming over here, but ……”.

　In the middle of the battle, Miarak’s hero, Leona-san, came to the rescue.

　If she is coming here, I should go and tell her thank you right away, I thought, and senpai answered me.

“Oh, she’s at the castle now. I was talking to the people at the castle when I came here, but I think I can see her if I go.”

“Then I’ll have to say hello to her when I get to the castle.”

　When we do, shall we take Nea and Amako with us?

　I’d really like to have Arc-san with me, but I don’t know if he’s back this way. ……

“But, Usato-kun. The connections you’ve made in this world are tremendous.”

“No, it’s not—“

　When I was about to say “no”, I saw a lot of faces in my mind.

　I have known people like Halfa, Eva, Lucas and others who are so powerful that the word ‘strong’ is not enough, so I nodded to senpai while breaking out in a cold sweat.

“…… Well, well, I’m aware of it.”

“It’s true that his friendships and normal ones seem to be few and far between.”

“You could say that.”

“……”

　And don’t forget that you’re in the unusual category too, right?

　I stare at Ferrum and Nea, who are nodding, sighing and speaking to senpai.

“The best part of it, though, is that you’re my senpai.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

I smile back at senpai who tilts her head with a smile on her face.

“You are the most characterful. You’re the best by far.”

“That’s not something you say with a smile, is it?”

“Yes, you have a point.”

“Even Kazuki-kun!”

　Her cheeks relax as Kazuki smiles funny.

　In case you’re wondering, Eva is in the same league as her senpai.

　The impact when I first met her was so strong that I still remember it.

　The Norn-sama, Leona-san, Kanoko-san and others I met afterwards were also considerable, though..

“Now that we’ve digressed, I think it’s time for me and Kazuki-kun to show you the armour of the hero.”

“I guess so.”

　Kazuki nods at senpai’s words.

　Nea, reacting to the Armour of the heroes, transforms into an owl and jumps on my shoulder.

　Apparently, she wants to see it up close.

“The armour of the brave, eh?”

“After all, Nea is also concerned about it?”

Of course not. Unlike you, she has unique abilities.

“My gauntlet has abilities, too.”

“It’s not as if there was no such thing. It’s just a hard gauntlet that doesn’t allow magic to pass through.”

　That’s true, but …….

　A gauntlet that is just hard enough to be impervious to magic, sorcery and all kinds of things.

　The ability is plain, but I like it, so it’s not a problem for me.

“It’s a great thing that you can do with no risk of magic outbursts, you know?”

“…… I think it’s just that you’re crazy. I wonder how you ended up fighting the way you are now. ……”

    Nea gives a small sigh and her cheeks twitch as she wonders if that’s as far as it goes.

　As we are talking, Kazuki steps out into the middle of the training area.

　Apparently, he’ll be the first to show off his armour.

“Let’s start with me. Usato, I’m going to do a little magic here, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Okay, …….”

　He nodded and held his left hand up in front of him, as if to remind himself of something.

　Then the wristband on his wrist was enveloped in light, and in the next moment it had transformed into a silver gauntlet.

　A pulsating glow emanated from the scaly ripples carved into it, and it seemed to take on a slightly sharper and more aggressive shape than my own.

“My armour is a gauntlet case that encourages the manipulation of magic. It allows me to handle light magic as danger-free magic, and it also allows me to strengthen my system.”

　Having said that, Kazuki, who created the magic bullet, touches it with his right hand, which is not caged.

　As he grips and crushes it like a softball, could it be possible to adjust its hardness and elasticity?

　As I looked at his magic and pondered this, Kazuki lightly released a magic bullet held in his right hand towards me.

“Here!”

“Oh!?”

　Quickly, he deploys his right arm to catch it.

　What returned was the feel of a resilient ball. Fearfully, when I touched it with my left hand, the light system magic did not disappear and I could touch it normally.

“Is it really magic power, this?”

“I want to touch it too!”

　Nea on his shoulder is also interested, and when he gets down to his palms, he starts poking them with his wings, as if he’s drinking.

　I notice that Ferum is also looking at my hand, blinking his eyes.

“Wow. I don’t think it’s magic if you’re just touching it. …… It’s a simplified version of light magic that makes anything you touch disappear?

　As she spits out an exclamation of admiration, the magic bullet on her palm returns to Kazuki.

　Kazuki nimbly catches the magic bullet with a snap and makes it float in the palm of his gauntlet.

“I’ve had to worry about a lot of things when using this magic, but with this Kagome, I don’t have to worry about that.”

“Wow, it’s like a rubber ball……”

“Haha, I realised that later, but I can also give hardness and elasticity to magic bullets like now, so I guess I can apply this to something too.”

　So saying, Kazuki slams the magic bullet to the ground and bounces it

　I’ve never thought of adding elasticity to the magic bullet itself.

“Kazuki, is it your basket hand’s ability to make magic bullets elastic?”

“No, this is a kind of benefit from the assistance of magical manipulation. It’s more like weaving magic into a sphere. “

“Weave the magic power in. ……”

Weaving in is only a metaphor, and in reality it is probably a technique that is achieved through meticulous manipulation of magic.

　…… I wonder if I could do it too?

He takes a small deep breath as he puts his hand to his chin and stares at the magic bullet, catching it with a snap as it rebounds from the ground.

“And ……!”

　Kazuki begins to pour magic power into the magic bullet floating in his palm.

　The magic bullets that were poured in and converged became more and more luminous——

“—This is it.”

As Kazuki mutters this, the magic power fizzles into the air as the magic bullet in his palm is squeezed.

　The residue of magic power overflows from the pattern on gauntlet’s hand as if smoke is releasing heat.

“It’s a great way to make sure you’re getting the most out of your money. It’s still difficult to adjust the output, and after using it, the function of the gauntlets will be restricted for a while, though.”

“No, it still felt pretty bad, but ……”

“Yeah, it’s really dangerous, to be honest. At least not in the presence of allies.”

　In the event that you have any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.

　If at all possible, I can only hope that he doesn’t have any opponents who would use his systemic enhancement.

“Well then, I guess that’s the end of my introduction.”

“Yep. Well then, I guess it’s my turn next.”

　Senpai stepped forward to replace Kazuki.

　On her left wrist is a sort of yellow and black ribbon, and when it glows as it did on Kazuki’s, it reveals a sword in a scabbard.

　Clutching the scabbard with his left hand, the senpai turns to me with a smile that cannot hide his happiness.

“Mine is a sword! It’s a Japanese sword!”

“I understand that you are happy, so please calm down a little.”

　How happy are you? I know how you feel.

　But …… I like my current gauntlets, but I also like swords.

　I didn’t intend to pick up a weapon that could hurt people, so it took the form of a gauntlet, but if I hadn’t been a healing wizard in the rescue squad, it would have taken the form of a sword like my senpai.

“Nea. If my armour was not a gauntlet, but a sword–“

“It heals the person you cut. Or maybe a sword that only gives pain.”

“I haven’t told you anything yet.”

　What kind of sword only gives pain to the opponent?

　Is that it? Is it the sword version of the healing punch?

　Either way, I don’t know how to handle a sword, so I’ll probably just use it as a blunt instrument while it’s in its sheath.

“Its name is Inumaru.”

　Senpai who spoke proudly turned back to herself and looked at the sword closely.

　The black scabbard has a lightning-like pattern engraved on the tsuba.

　It’s the first time I’ve seen a real sword, but it’s more massive than I expected.

　Moreover, the name Inumaru is …….　

“I see, so you put “Inugami senpai” (Inugami senpai’s “dog”) on top of it? Did you go for a daring simplicity?”

“Do you understand? Do you get it?”

“Yes, of course. I like the simplicity of it.”

　I nodded my head in agreement.

　If you give it an elaborate name, you might forget it later on.

“How do you know that ……?”

“I know it’s lame. Other than that, I don’t know.”

　Nea and Ferrum, who are puzzled by the exchange between me and senpai, are muttering something, but let’s concentrate on talking with senpai for now.

　Now, it seems that he will teach us the abilities of the hero’s armour —- the Inumaru. A little further away from us, senpai put her hand on the hilt and pulled out the sword from the scabbard.

　The blade of the sword, which has a pale yellow light and a wet sheen, is exposed.

　An electric shock then gushes from the blade to the hilt, flowing into senpai’s body and electrifying it as it is.

“My sword’s main abilities are to assist with magical power output, enhance sharpness, and provide additional attacks with electric shocks. By the way, I’m in what used to be called ‘Thunder Beast Mode’. If I had to name it, I would call it …… Thunder Beast Mode 2.”

　When you say thunder beast mode 2, you mean that the operation has not only been improved, but also genuinely strengthened.

“It used to be very violent, but now …… it’s much calmer.”

“Yes, it is. Before, the thunder beast mode wasted a lot of electricity and the duration was extremely short. That’s what this sword has solved.”

　Senpai swung her sword lightly, and just like that, she instantly scuttled out of sight.

　I manage to follow her with my eyes, but her speed has increased and she is more difficult to catch.

　Senpai’s figure, which is moving in a slow and steady manner as if stepping on a step, gives the illusion that it is an alter ego.

“Amazing …….”

“Wow. I’m going to pull it off here. Humans can move this fast, can’t they?”

“Yes, we can. It’s nothing compared to me.”

“…… You’re human, but you’re not in the human category, are you ……?”

　Feeling unaccountable to Nea, who turned her gaze away from me with a subtle expression, I returned my gaze to senpai, who glided to her original position and landed on her feet.

　Having dispelled the sword and scattered the electric shocks, senpai slowly sheathed the sword while taking zanshin.

　With a mindlessly smug look on her face, she calls out to her after she has delivered the sword.

“Senpai.”

“…… Hoo, what’s that? In case you’re wondering, I’m the type of person who thrives on praise.”

“What? Well, it was cool.”

“……”

　Why are you embarrassed when you’re the one who prompted me to praise you? ……?

　Why are you making me embarrassed too……

　I cough and talk to her to get her mind off it.

“That said, you’ve practised, haven’t you?”

“Yes!”

　Wow, what a great smile.

　After returning the sword to its ribbon state in a good mood, senpai comes back to us.

“Well, next is Usato-kun, isn’t it?”

“What? Me?”

“Yes, yes.”

“But you both know the characteristics of my gauntlet, don’t you?”

“Oh, no. What I want to know is–“

　Senpai, her eyes blazing, broke off and then opened her mouth.

“I’m talking about the black and white Usato-kun I saw on the battlefield!”

“Black and white? Oh, you mean that!

　I remember that time you said, “I’ll look forward to it later!” I had forgotten.

　I forgot all about it, but I didn’t think I’d have to explain it here and now.