Chapter 125

“…Not as busy as I thought…”

“Marquis-Class and above don’t usually show up much!”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

—

It’s been a few days since Diamond Dust was banned from extermination missions, and I’ve been taking over her duties.

Since Marquis-Class and above rarely appear anyway, it’s surprisingly quite relaxed, just like usual.

So now, I’m casually practicing swordsmanship in this temporary training ground that surrounds my exclusive training area.

—

Well, even though I call it swordsmanship training, it’s not like those flying swords or invisible swords you see in manga or novels.

A mere human like me couldn’t possibly do that, and even if I tried using magic, it would just be a waste of energy.

Those things only work in the context of those stories.

Getting caught up in such illusions and training swordsmanship would be foolish.

—

…Though, if it’s something like flying swords, having multiple wands connected to me might actually be useful.

But for a magical girl, a wand is a Soul Weapon, and usually, you only have one.

Forcing your soul to split and create multiple Soul Weapons is just…

…Wait, I’m the “Child of Heo,” right?

Having a vessel that grows infinitely means I can compensate for the lack of soul.

Then… no, let’s not think about that.

In the end, it would mean tampering with the Crystal Stones of deceased magical girls.

Doing something like that just for one thing feels a bit off.

—

…Huh? Wait, now that I think about it, there’s a way, isn’t there?

What if I just rely on energy output and control tiny particles separately to create light swords?

Hmm… maybe not?

But the power of the Energy Blade would still be the same, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

…Should I try it?

—

So, I immediately changed the shape of my weapon at the Magical Girl Store.

Of course, the weapon’s shape didn’t change.

It just got slightly, almost imperceptibly, narrower.

That much shouldn’t cause any issues when swinging it.

—

“…Oh, so this is how it works.”

—

By the way, the rest of the tiny particles floating in the air…

They’re all set to emit frontal Energy Blades.

And their shape can be adjusted too, so…

—

“Cool. If I knew this was possible, I would’ve done it sooner…”

—

It’s like the light swords you often imagine.

They’re also small, so even if they break, the recovery time is minimal.

Right now, six of them are floating around me.

The amount of magic required to create Energy Blades is significant, but for someone like me, it’s easily covered by natural recovery.

The only question is whether this is practical… If it’s not, then it’s just a waste of points, and that makes me a bit nervous.

No matter how many points I have, I can’t stand wasting them.

—

“At least I’d like to try it on an Emperor-Class or higher enemy… Oh, right, there’s that.”

—

Since the Fairy Queen made this, I can just ask her to make a special training dummy with strong defensive capabilities.

The mass-produced dummies are too soft and get sliced without resistance, so it’s hard to gauge their level.

At least it blocked my light sword, but with such a small sample…

I need to know how far it can cut compared to my light sword, so this isn’t enough.

—

“Fairy Queen.”

“Oh~ Rampage~.”

“Make me a really sturdy dummy. At least sturdy enough to feel resistance against my sword.”

“…Another difficult request~.”

—

Difficult request? You’re the one maintaining the exclusive training ground, can’t you handle that?

You can do it, so just make it.

—

“Somehow, you seem like the expert for this kind of thing.”

“Well~ it’s possible~…”

“Then do it. I want to try out a new weapon.”

“What kind~?”

“This.”

“…That’s an interesting idea~.”

—

Judging by her tone, she’s not being sarcastic.

If she were, the corner of her mouth would’ve twitched.

She doesn’t hide her expressions in these situations.

She’s completely different when she’s serious compared to her usual self.

—

“I’m curious too, so I’ll make it right away.”

“Good.”

—

The Fairy Queen said she’d make it right away…

Then I should use this opportunity to train until it’s practical for real combat.

And I also need to increase the maximum capacity of each sword’s assigned thought capacity.

—

…I say it simply, but expanding thought capacity is really difficult, even by my standards.

Sigh~… This is going to take a lot of time.

The fact that I’ll have to use the training method my senior forced on me again is terrifying just to think about.

I can endure physical pain, but mental pain is something I don’t particularly enjoy…

—

Anyway, for now, it’s time to test its practicality.

When the Fairy Queen makes various dummies, I’ll use my light swords, which mimic flying swords… What should I call them?

…Alright, since they look like sharp crosses of light, I’ll call them Light Cross Swords.

Intuitive and nice.

Though the purple color is a bit off.

—

Anyway, like this… Oh, they move better than I imagined.

Then… like this, swinging them while moving in between, and swinging the light swords together…

…This is way better than I thought.

Surprisingly, they don’t consume much thought capacity and move exactly as I think, so it feels like I’m scratching places I can’t reach.

But since it’s my first time, it’s quite awkward, so I should train with this too.

Of course, I shouldn’t neglect using just one sword, so I’ll split it into two.

—

“……”

“What’s wrong? Something off?”

“To think you’d use the energy output concentration enhancement like this…”

“So, how is it? The Energy Blades seem about the same level.”

“…This is your first time using this, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“…Really, your first time?”

“Yes, why?”

“…Well, in terms of pure combat power, there’s nothing to worry about.”

—

Is that a compliment or an insult…? I don’t get it.

Well, I’ll take it as a compliment for now.

With six of these… six swords mean roughly seven times the attacks.

If I slowly increase them, could I get up to 100?

But that would be too dizzying, so maybe stopping at around 10 would be better.

Alright, let’s stop at 10.

That should be enough.

Too many would be wasteful.

—

“Really… You’re not planning to do that training Lunatic made again, are you?”

“I am.”

“…Don’t overdo it.”

“I know.”

—

The Fairy Queen is worrying again.

Back then, my senior forced it on me, but now I can control it myself.

Does the Fairy Queen still think I’m such a fool that I can’t handle it?

—

…Oh, by the way, can I use 「Ether Blast」 like this?

I should try it once.

Then… 「Ether Blast」…!

—

“……”

“…An overwhelming amount of violence.”

“…Indeed.”

—

Using six Light Cross Swords to remotely fire 「Ether Blast」 was a success.

And it’s almost on par with the 「Ether Blast」 from the light sword I wield directly.

With me included, that’s seven times the slashes plus 「Ether Blast」, creating complete chaos.

The target was completely pulverized and vanished.

—

“Next…”

—

Next, all the blades around me point forward and fire a laser-type [Ether Blast].

In an instant, it felt like something out of a sci-fi movie, and both the Fairy Queen and I were speechless.

It seems no magical girl has ever thought of this, as even the Fairy Queen looked quite surprised.

—

“Is this… are you trying to make a bio-sword or something~?”

“Not that. More importantly, are you even keeping up with that stuff?”

“I’ve watched all the series~. Though some were trash~.”

“Ugh… You really are an old-timer…”

“…Even I can’t let that slide~.”

“Ah, sorry.”

—

Even the Fairy Queen gets mad when called old…

But that expression is something I’ve never seen before.

If I really tease her, it might be dangerous…

—

“By the way~, a new snack just came out~, want some~?”

“I’ll eat it.”

—

A new product… I haven’t heard anything in a while, so it’s been a while since something new came out.

And this is… could it be a biscuit half-covered in chocolate…!

The taste is really rich, I like it.

I could eat this endlessly with milk.

Too bad it probably doesn’t go well with alcohol…

Well, not everything goes well with alcohol, so it can’t be helped.

—

“By the way, is this on sale at the Magical Girl Store?”

“It’s on sale~.”

“Then I’ll head there. Thanks for helping with the experiment.”

“You’re welcome~.”

—

Anyway, the experiment’s done, and I’ve trained enough… I should head to the Magical Girl Store to stock up on snacks and ice cream.

And I can grab some new products and check out the Global Zone while I’m at it.

—

“……”

“……”

—

So, after buying a decent amount in the Korean Zone, I headed to the Global Zone and got flashy again while buying more.

As I left the Magical Girl Store, for some reason, Gravity was standing there, dazed.

…Why do I keep running into you here?

—

“…Why are you here?”

“…Snacks, new product…”

“Ah~ that? The chocolate biscuit?”

“Yeah…”

“Alright… enjoy it.”

—

What, this time it was nothing serious again.

But why do I always run into her when I go to the Global Zone for snacks or ice cream?

…Must be my imagination?

Wait, why are you grabbing my clothes all of a sudden?

—

“…Can I… come to your house…?”

“…Do as you please.”

“Yay~…”

—

Oh no… this time she wants to come over.

Well, it’s not a problem, but her intuition is oddly sharp, so it’s a bit…

Of course, she doesn’t use that intuition properly, just looking for food and sleep, so she won’t poke at anything.

But still… her sharp intuition is a bit…

Can’t she just pretend not to notice?

No, she probably noticed something, but doesn’t even know what she noticed, so it’s probably not possible.

—

“By the way, your way of speaking has gotten quieter, hasn’t it?”

“…Sleepy.”

“Ah, I see…”

—

Her way of speaking felt a bit off, and she’s holding her rabbit doll tighter than usual.

She has a habit of holding it tightly before sleeping, so it seems I wasn’t imagining it.

—

“Then, after buying snacks, follow me. Chubby’s making some bread you haven’t seen before.”

“Ooh…”

—

Her eyes sparkle at the mention of new bread…

She’s going to devour all the bread Chubby’s making as soon as she gets there.

Well, we’ve been stockpiling a lot lately, using space-time magic to extend the expiration dates, so we need someone to help clear it out.

Actually, it’s a good thing…

Since I won’t be doing anything like self-defense for a while, it shouldn’t be a problem.

—

“Bread~…”

“By the way, did you get permission from your parents…? Ah, you’re an adult, right.”

“Umm… I’ll talk to them and come…”

“Alright, talk to them and come. We’re living together, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Then talk to them first. I’ll wait.”

—

Really… it’s hard to believe she’s an adult this year.

—