"Nice work, Brother. That was over in no time."
"You seemed to struggle a bit after he caught you off guard, though. You're still too soft. What would you have done if that were a real battle?"
"Yeah, maybe. More importantly, Fee, Ann—can I talk to you for a second?"
"Huh? Is something wrong?"
His companions, who had watched the match between Yugo and Darom end in mere seconds, hadn't doubted his victory for a moment.
If anything, they looked baffled that he’d even taken that first hit. Yugo ignored their expressions and called over Fee and Anhel, who handled the maintenance for the Blaster, to discuss the Magic Item's performance issues.
"Something’s wrong with the Blaster. Sorry, but could you take a look?"
"Something's wrong? Like what?"
"It's hard to put into words, but it feels heavier than usual... or just off, somehow."
"Hmm. Did I mess up the adjustments? No, there weren't any problems during the last maintenance, and I don't recall adding any New Functions..."
Fee and Anhel tilted their heads, perplexed by Yugo’s vague description. Yugo, who trusted them implicitly, was equally at a loss as to why the Blaster's performance had suddenly plummeted.
"It was fine when I used it for training yesterday... but then this weird dissonance hit me out of nowhere. It actually caught me off guard."
"It's not like you did anything unusual, so that is strange."
"I don't get it either. I'd like to do a thorough inspection. Can you let me borrow it for a bit?"
"Yeah, sure... Wait."
As he moved to remove the bracelet, Yugo suddenly remembered something.
Recalling the strange sensation he’d felt when putting the bracelet back on in the changing room, he considered a possibility he didn't want to entertain. His face contorted.
(Wait, are you serious? Is this the Hated Noble's Calamity acting up again?)
The neighbor who had suddenly crashed the housewarming party. The spilled water in the Dining Hall, and the forced bath that followed. Then the immediate, impromptu Duel with the seniors.
And now, finding the Blaster malfunctioning without warning in the middle of it all... A single, glaring possibility rose to the surface.
Yugo spun around, glaring toward the area where the senior boys were gathered. His eyes locked onto Avad—the one who had dragged him to the bath.
Noticing Yugo's gaze, the boy frantically looked away and hid behind an upperclassman, trying to escape.
"That bastard...! So that's how it is...!"
"Brother? What’s wrong?"
Fee asked tentatively, frightened by the way his brother's face had gone from a grimace to a feral grin as he glared at the other students. Yugo didn't answer.
Instead, he turned to Melt, who was sitting nearby.
"Melt, sorry, but could you conjure a sword for me with your Sword Ring?"
"Huh? Oh, sure, I don't mind..."
Though Melt didn't understand the request, she did as she was told, shaping her Magic Power into a blade and passing it to him.
Yugo deployed the Blaster again and caught the sword, staring at it intently. The Purple-shining Magic Power Sword didn't change at all.
"...Brother, what are you doing? Why are you just staring at the sword?"
"...It won't work. The Weapon Generation Ability—the one that lets me coat things in Micro-particle Metal to transform them—is gone."
"What...!?"
"It's not just that. I can't trigger the Purple Armor or the Flame Armor, either. Now I'm sure of it."
Fee was supposed to have installed the Micro-particle Metal weapon generation system into the Blaster.
But even though he held Melt's sword and willed the ability to activate, the armor remained unresponsive.
Having confirmed he could no longer use the Shape Transformation Ability to swap forms, Yugo let out a heavy sigh. He turned and marched toward Avad, who was still cowering behind a senior.
"Hey, Avad. You really did it, didn't you, you little shit...!"
"I—I don't know what you're talking about! I have no idea—"
Avad’s eyes darted around as he desperately tried to deflect the overwhelming pressure radiating from the armored Yugo.
The senior students tried to step in and shield him, but this wasn't the kind of situation that could be smoothed over with excuses.
"...Judging by the look of things, I take it you seniors are in on this too? Or maybe you're the ones who came up with it?"
"I—I have no idea what you're talking about. None of this makes any sense."
"Don't give me that. I know exactly what happened."
Yugo fixed a sharp glare on Avad through his visor.
Avad’s body stiffened, unable to withstand the sheer intensity of the aura pouring from the Black Iron Armor. Yugo spoke in a low, dangerous tone.
"You bastards stole my Blaster and swapped it for a fake, didn't you?"