"Yo, Yugo."
"Huh? Jinba-san!? What are you doing here?"
One holiday, Yugo was hard at work alongside Fee, having accepted a request to help out at the care facility where he had served during the Rush incident.
As he expressed his surprise at Jinba-san's sudden appearance during their break, the man spoke with a smirk.
"Putting in the hours, I see. You seem popular with the kids; this might be the perfect job for you."
"A-Ah... I appreciate the praise, but what brings you here? Did you have some business with me?"
It didn't look like Jinba-san had just happened to pass by on patrol, so Yugo repeated his question.
While Yugo worried that another troublesome incident might have occurred, Jinba-san finally provided an answer.
"I do have a request, but it's not for you—it's for Anhel."
"Eh? For Ann? Why her?"
"I'd like her to do a little maintenance on this thing..."
As he spoke, Jinba-san pulled an object from inside his coat.
Yugo took it from him, staring at it intently as he muttered to himself.
"What even is this...?"
"Is that a folding-type crossbow?"
"You know what this is, Fee?"
"Yeah. I believe if you do this here—"
What Jinba-san had handed over was a black, grip-like object.
It was heavier than Yugo expected and featured something resembling a trigger. As Yugo wondered about its purpose, he turned to Fee, who seemed to recognize it. Fee took the grip from his brother's hand and manipulated it while infusing it with magic power.
With a mechanical clack!, a barrel deployed from the grip. Just as Fee had predicted, a complete crossbow took shape.
"The fundamentals are the same as a Blaster. It’s essentially a portable crossbow made by combining folding parts with sections composed of micro-particle metal."
"Heh! But what about the arrows?"
"The arrows are generated by converting the user's magic power. It's similar to Melt-san's Sword Ring, right?"
"Huh! That’s pretty convenient. Is it standard equipment for the Security Force?"
"Hardly. Fee gave a good explanation, but this thing isn't actually that useful as a weapon. It’s my personal property—a relic from about twenty years ago."
Jinba-san replied to Yugo's question with a dismissive shrug.
Noticing that the crossbow certainly looked aged upon closer inspection, Yugo pressed further.
"Couldn't you just ask the Security Force Maintenance Team? That would be a lot faster, wouldn't it?"
"Don't be an idiot. I told you, it's my personal property. I'm not leaving the maintenance of something I don't even use for work to the guys on the Force."
"Well, I guess that makes sense... but why now? It doesn't look like it has any major damage, and if you don't use it for work, there shouldn't be any rush to get it serviced..."
"...Just a feeling. There’s no deep meaning to it."
As he spoke, Jinba-san pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
Just as he was about to light it, Yugo snatched the cigarette from his hand and silently pointed toward the children playing behind them.
Jinba-san gave a wry smile, realizing his blunder. After offering a silent gesture of apology, he turned back to Yugo.
"Sorry, but please ask Anhel if she'll take it on. Tell her I'm willing to pay a decent reward for the trouble."
"Understood. I can't guarantee she'll say yes, though. Ann has been holed up in her workshop lately, focused on a project."
Ever since she had received the Dragon Material from the Heads of the Three Great Houses, Anhel had been consumed by her research and fabrication.
Yugo warned him that she might not accept a sudden request for magic item maintenance in the middle of all that, but Jinba-san simply nodded.
"Just ask her for me. If she turns it down, so be it. Sorry for dropping this on you so suddenly."
With those final words, Jinba-san waved and walked away.
Watching his retreating back, Yugo took the crossbow—which his brother had already folded back into a grip—and whispered to himself.
"An old magic item... Why would Jinba-san suddenly want this fixed now?"
Though perplexed by the request, Yugo decided he would at least bring it up to Anhel.
If she agreed to the maintenance, he planned to ask Jinba-san for the full story when he returned the weapon. With that thought in mind, he went back to looking after the children.