As the dark night’s curtain lifted and the warm sunlight began to shine through the curtains, it was time for Luke to rise from bed. However, Luke was nowhere to be seen in the bed, which looked as neatly arranged as if it had not been used at all.
Yet, the answer to where she had vanished was not far away. There was something special in her room that had never been seen before.
This was, of course, a large box that was difficult to miss.
If one were to look for Luke, they would find her lying inside, absorbed in something.
Luke lay sprawled in the wide box, her tail swishing, surrounded by various reference books, notes, and sketches, murmuring as she glanced at the computer screen connected to a pot for increased computational power.
“Hmm, I see. So this structure was the problem. Then what should I do….”
Recently, Luke had been stuck while designing the magic circle to be inserted into the magic stone, and it had been frustrating.
Luke had always known that when she hit a mental block, sitting in the box helped a great deal. This was a physical characteristic manifested by this body.
Being in a confined space brought a sense of mental stability, aiding in her brain activity. So Luke often utilized this characteristic. When her ideas stalled, she would retreat into the box.
However, lately, she hadn’t been able to use that method.
This was because, as she rushed to grow her Circle, her body had grown alongside it, making the boxes she had collected that were suited to her previous size unusable.
Yet, that was a story from the past. Since acquiring this box, Luke had certainly changed.
Entering a confined space allowed her body to change sensations to better focus. The suitable darkness and sense of enclosure within the box wrapped around her, blocking out distracting sounds from someone using the bathroom or Diana and Pyris chatting and playing, while the unique damp smell of the new cardboard box provided comforting stability through her nose.
Indeed, it was much easier to concentrate than cramming her body into a space that was too small or huddling under a desk.
The feeling of being entirely focused was even more pleasant for Luke, who was already feeling pressed for time.
Hasn’t everyone experienced a feeling like that at least once?
When confronted with a barrier, suddenly one day, new ideas spring forth, and creative bursts flow like an explosion from the cosmos, allowing one’s hands to move freely and complete everything perfectly without realizing it.
That was exactly the state Luke was in now.
To think that such an incredible sensation could be achieved with just one box; how amazing was this body?
“……”
At that moment, Luke felt Liv sitting next to her and gazing at her, prompting her to speak.
“What is it?”
Liv looked at Luke for a moment before mimicking a gesture of cupping one hand on her cheek.
That was probably asking, “Aren’t you going to sleep?”
To this, Luke shook his head and responded.
“I can be fine without sleep for a few days. It’s more important to maintain this momentum right now.”
Luke felt that if she slept, this sensation would vanish forever.
And that was something Luke absolutely did not want.
Unlike other tasks where spending time invariably produces a certain level of results, ideas do not arrive at the moment one needs them.
When faced with a problem that cannot be solved, one cannot know how long it will take to resolve it.
Thus, maintaining that momentum when things are going well is incredibly important. Sleep could wait until after everything was completed.
Continuing, Luke muttered as he scanned various magical calculations displayed on the computer.
“Ah, great. This will work. Hmm, but approaching this structure will result in insufficient capacity. Is there no optimized alternative route? Yes, if I connect these in parallel and change the structure to 3D, I can improve performance by more than 40% with the same magic power!”
But this sensation of having her mind race so rapidly was something she hadn’t felt in a long time, even in her previous life.
To think that a problem she had been mulling over for days would have an answer come to her as soon as she lay down in the box!
Thus, she might have been just a bit exhilarated.
“……”
Liv could only shake her head helplessly as she heard Luke’s gleeful murmurs.
After all, Liv knew that Luke had been on edge lately due to unresolved issues.
What Luke was creating was that important.
Perhaps Luke was worried about what would happen if problems arose with the crucial design, even if everything else was ready.
After all, this involved the lives of so many people, including her loved ones.
It would be strange if she weren’t anxious.
She had been so anxious that, despite usually disliking waste, she had recently resorted to binge eating as a way to cope.
This was, in fact, a kind of side effect caused by the Circle that had grown steadily and stably enough that emotions did not need to be constantly regulated, resulting in a variety of emotions being expressed.
Emotions are not always positive.
When one experiences joy, sadness or anger is bound to follow.
Perhaps Luke, who had lacked opportunities to properly express emotions, particularly negative feelings, had become clumsy in this regard.
She might have found herself snapping at others, speaking sharply.
Though Luke was usually good at spotting the positive sides of everything and showing a bright disposition, now that she was feeling more tightly wound, it must have become difficult for her.
“……”
So Liv could no longer force Luke to talk.
After all, she existed to serve her master in any case.
If her master was happy, that was enough.
“Master!”
At that moment, Kate barged in.
Luke looked up at Kate with a perplexed expression and asked, “Huh? Why are you suddenly here? Did something happen?”
In response, Kate crossed her arms, standing imposingly, and shouted at Luke.
“What happened is, something has occurred!”
“What is it?”
“Wasn’t it your turn to make breakfast this morning? Don’t tell me the Mage is trying to break her promise?”
“…Ah. Was today that day?”
It was only then that Luke realized she had indeed promised last week that she would take breakfast duty today.
Oh dear, how could she forget such a promise!
Had she become so absorbed in her successful focus that she completely spaced on it?
“This, this is bad. What time is it? Have Yerna and Dayton woken up?”
“They are waking up. At this rate, they will be leaving for work without eating the breakfast you prepared! If that happens, you will break your promise!”
Oh, that absolutely could not happen.
Immediately, Luke tried to stretch and rise.
But at that moment—
– Zing—
– Thud.
As Luke attempted to rise, she suddenly felt a jolt in her tail and legs, causing her to slump back down.
She had cramped up.
Luke bit her lower lip and began to massage her foot.
“Oh no, I’ve been in one position for too long….”
As she stretched, it seemed that blood was flowing back, bringing sensations with it.
It was only natural for her legs to cramp up, given she had maintained a position that was comfortable and conducive to focus for too long.
The pain from cramping was not the result of external factors, making it in some ways even harder to endure than a cut from a knife.
Moreover, since her sensitivity had increased compared to her previous body, the sensation of cramping was extraordinarily painful.
“Master, why are you delaying? If you keep this up, breakfast will pass us by!”
“Ugh, can you wait a moment? My legs are cramping….”
Even as she tried to tolerate the intense sensation and stand up, her body simply wouldn’t respond.
While she had had cramps before, the feeling she experienced now was impossibly different.
“Don’t make strange excuses and be lazy! Is it reasonable that you can’t get up because of something like that?”
However, Kate, being made of golem material, had no way of knowing what that sensation felt like.
Thinking Luke was just being slack, Kate grasped Luke’s hand and pulled.
“Ah, Kate, just a moment, I really can’t right—!”
As a result, the intense sensation inevitably struck Luke’s nerves once more.
– Zing—.
