Weapon Maintenance is Essential

After the exhausting "celebration" party at Tsubaki-san’s house—which turned out to be far more intense than expected—I spent the morning performing maintenance on Reima’s weapons. Or rather, I was trying to make sense of the two weapons I’d used purely by instinct last time. Given how recklessly I’d handled them, I figured I should at least check if they were broken.

It’s no use. I don’t understand the mechanism at all.

I had set out to tinker with them, but I immediately hit a wall. I couldn't grasp the structure or the finer details of the mechanics. Despite being Merli’s disciple and having a decent grasp of magic items, these were completely beyond my comprehension.

"Let’s see... there are multiple magic stones embedded inside, and it feels like magic is stored within them. I get that much, but—how does it actually trigger properly?"

The bare minimum I could gather was that it switched between magic stones to activate different spells. Under normal circumstances, trying to pull that off would result in the spells interfering with one another and blowing up in your face.

"[Summon] Othinus Ambrosius Merlinus."

The last thing I wanted to do was break them. After agonizing for thirty minutes, I resorted to a desperate measure: summoning the mage I hadn't seen in ages until yesterday.

A ridiculous hybrid of an elf and a succubus, she tried to lung for a hug the moment she manifested. I’d seen it coming, though, and stepped aside.

"Gah—Ow! Hey, Reima! What was that for? Why’d you dodge!?"

"If I took one of your tackles head-on, I’d just end up injured again. Anyway, you know why you're here, right?"

"An inspection of your magic items? Leave it to me. I am, after all, the great genius mage of Mythologia—recognized by myself and everyone else!"

"That helps. So, to be blunt: are these broken?"

"Let’s see here... Ah, because your mana was output directly into them, the magic stones inside are a bit chipped. It looks like the spells imbued within have deteriorated as well."

She understood the internal state just by looking at them. Meryl took Noir and Blanc in her hands, dismantled them, and extracted the magic stones containing the spells.

"Let’s see what we have here. In the white one, there’s Strength Enhancement, Speed Enhancement, a Shield... Buff Dispel, Debuff Dispel, and finally, the fire-attribute [Infernus]."

"It’s surprisingly well-thought-out. The Reima who actually mastered these was incredible."

"He was. I took a quick look at that notebook over there; I could feel the extraordinary effort he put in."

The effort the Reima of this world had exerted was apparently enough to earn even Merli’s respect. It was a rare sight for her—she looked almost compassionate, her expression uncharacteristically gentle.

"The black one is the exact opposite. It’s specialized for debuffs, and it feels like lightning magic is the core. The Reima of this world really was something. As expected of you."

"He’s different from me. He did all this with zero mana."

"Isn't that the same for you? You started with as much mana as a literal infant, but you never stopped working to increase it. You gathered that entire lineup through sheer persistence. A normal person would have lost their mind."

"It wasn't just my own power... I nearly died more times than I can count, and I was constantly collapsing from mana exhaustion."

The reason I’d been able to increase my mana was simple: I never stopped using magic. I kept calling forth my Summoned Beasts and pushed myself to support them. That wasn't a realm I could have reached alone. I couldn't simply claim it was because I "worked hard."

"That’s a bad habit of yours. You need to learn to acknowledge yourself a little more."

"……Sorry, Master."

"Hmph. Well, maintenance is finished. I’ve repaired the stones and imbued the same spells back into them."

"I appreciate it. Though... I probably won’t have much use for them."

With my fighting style, I’d never be able to master these weapons. They’d be nothing more than pearls before swine in my hands. I decided to send them to the Soul World for safekeeping, treating them like a lucky charm.

"By the way... I wonder who made these? Looking at the structure and the logic, the person who crafted them is a genius. They might even be on my level."

"Now that you mention it, I don't know. Ayane might have an idea... I'm curious now. I guess I'll ask."

"Good! I'm curious too!"

I sent a message to Ayane. The reply I got back was: Do you really want to know?

I sent a simple "Yeah" back, and my phone rang almost immediately.

"Really? It’s... not because they did something to you, is it?"

That was the first thing she said. Her tone was heavy with implication—or perhaps fear. It was an unusual way for Ayane to speak, but I simply told her I was curious.

"...I don’t know if the timing is good or bad, but I can arrange a meeting. However—"

"However... what?"

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Reima, are you currently in good health? Is your mental state stable?"

"Uh, yeah. No problems here."

"Good. Next: if you feel any physical abnormality while meeting that girl, stop the conversation immediately and leave."

"What kind of person is this? You're making me want to take back the request..."

"I’m going to give you the rest all at once. Three: do not think too deeply about anything she says. Four: for the sake of your mental hygiene, just accept things as they are. Don't overthink it. Protect your own heart."

"Just what kind of monster are you sending me to meet?"

"That would be—Ah, wait! Don't grab the phone!"

Something happened on Ayane’s end. I heard a struggle, and then a different voice cut in.

"Ah! So you’re the other Reima-kun! I’ve been dying to meet you! To think you’d be the one to reach out! So, when are you coming? As far as I’m concerned, right now is fine—actually, come right now! I’m sending Ayane to get you! Hurry!"

It was an incredibly high-tension voice. Being bombarded by that manic rattling, I could only manage a strained, conflicted expression. I wondered if this person was even sane. After hearing Ayane’s preamble—which sounded like the warning before a ghost story—I didn't feel at ease in the slightest.

Afterword

It’s been about a month since I started writing this! It’s perfectly fine if you want to give me follows or stars as a celebration, you know?