(Ryuta POV)
I'm still conflicted about seeing her.
Nanahoshi's room isn't far—just down the hallway, third door from the right—but it might as well have been on the other side of the continent. Every step felt like a gamble. I knew what I was capable of now. Knew what that part of me could do when unshackled. Man or woman, friend or stranger… it didn't matter.
I make no exceptions.
But I also can't avoid her forever. Not after everything she's done.
So I stopped outside her door and took a breath, willing the tension from my shoulders. I needed to keep myself composed—for her sake.
Then I knocked.
"{Come in}," her voice called softly from the other side.
I opened the door to find her sitting cross-legged at her usual work desk, hair loosely tied back, sleeves rolled up, a pen still clutched in her fingers. The room was filled with parchment. Dozens of sheets scattered around the floor, stacked in messy piles across tables, even pinned along the walls with tiny sketches and formulas. For Nanahoshi, who was usually obsessively tidy, this was chaotic.
She turned toward me, eyes narrowing slightly. "{Where have you been?}"
I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me. "{Checking up on things at the mansion. Making sure what the masked man wrote in the notebook actually holds up.}"
Her lips parted slightly, as if she had more questions, maybe something biting ready. But her gaze softened. She only nodded.
Even if she didn't say it, I could see the concern in her eyes. The urge to press, to demand more. But she didn't. She held back.
"{...You've been busy,}" I murmured, eyeing the papers.
"{Mm.}"
This wasn't just busy. This was obsessive. Even for her.
Was it a research marathon? A continuation of what she started during that first experiment with the cross-dimensional summoning? It had worked, after all—summoning a watermelon from Earth wasn't a small feat. But still… this looked like something else.
My thoughts were interrupted when she picked a thick stack of parchment from one of the nearby piles and handed it to me.
"{Here. Examine this.}"
I raised an eyebrow, taking the stack and flipping through the first few sheets.
My eyes widened.
Complex arrays. Intricate mana circuits. Custom-layered spell matrices designed for long-term reinforcement. These weren't just for enchantments—they were Magic Circles made for augmentation. Specifically…
"{For the familiar,}" I muttered aloud.
She nodded. "{Figured you'd recognize it.}"
I kept scanning through the notes, the gears in my mind turning faster. "{You've been working on this the whole time…?}"
"{Hints from the masked man's notebook,}" she said, crossing her arms. "{I built on top of that. Reversed some formulaic redundancies, worked in planar reinforcement runes, and tested them using isolated mana channels.}"
I stopped flipping through the sheets, fingers pausing against the parchment.
For a moment, I didn't say anything. My throat felt tight.
Even after everything—after how I distanced myself, how I acted cold and distant, how I hurt people and buried myself in guilt—she still did all this.
For me.
"{...Thank you,}" I said, quietly at first. Then firmer. "{Really. I mean it. You didn't have to do all this. But you did.}"
Nanahoshi blinked at me. A little caught off-guard, maybe. But she composed herself quickly.
"{It's no problem,}" she said, looking away as if to hide her expression. "{It also doubled as research on my end. The spell circle theories involved tie into my own goals too.}"
A faint smile tugged at my lips—unbidden, but real. "{Still… thanks. Especially for the variety.}"
"{Variety?}" she asked, cocking her head.
I turned back to the stack. "{There's too many for just one familiar. You made multiple templates, didn't you? Different styles, capabilities, behaviors.}"
She shifted slightly in her seat. "{I didn't know what you'd be going for. You said you wanted something more practical than strong. So I experimented with some options that fall into your interest.}"
"{I appreciate that,}" I said again, more earnestly this time. "{All of it.}"
She raised an eyebrow. "{So? Which ones are you planning to use?}"
"{Most of them,}" I answered without hesitation. "{If not all.}"
Nanahoshi stared. "{All of them? Ryuta, that would require an absurd amount of mana. Some of these would need a source on par with the spirits used by Perugius. You'll overload any standard summoning conduit.}"
I didn't flinch. "{I've already figured out a way to fit it all together.}"
Her expression became wary. "{You're not planning on… summoning multiple familiars, are you?}"
I met her gaze, calm and sure. "{Actually, I intend to do both in a way.}"
"{Both…?}"
"{A singular familiar split into multiple bodies. That way, the mana consumption will be more distributed and can maintain versatility," I explained.
She blinked slowly, absorbing it. "{You're planning to give it one mind but multiple bodies? That's a bit… ambitious.}"
My gaze drifted back to the stack of papers. "{It won't be a problem. Not with what I've learned.}"
What I plan is quite literally adding bits and pieces of other existing tools to my own work.
Thanks to Nanahoshi, I'm feeling motivated to work on my project once more.
"{But I do have one problem with this,}" I said, enthusiasm dropping a bit. "{I will require an excessive amount of Magic Crystals to give it an element AND reduce mana consumption after it is summoned. Not to mention the amount of mana I need to use up to summon it in the first place.}"
"{You really want to go that big for a single summon?}" Nanahoshi asked skeptically. "{If you actually want to go that far, then maybe raiding a labyrinth will solve it.}"
Labyrinths. A term used by people in this world to refer to places like cave systems or structures that absorb too much mana and create a Magic Crystal at their center. These structures attract monsters and select the strongest one to be their guardian, which can also be seen as a boss monster because the crystal breaks down once it's defeated.
Due to the high mana density inside, it harvests more crystals once the boss has been defeated. This has led to adventuring parties specifically forming groups to dive into these monster-infested lairs.
What's more, the Magic Items, gears of those who have fallen inside it and evolved from the exposure to the high mana density, can turn into strong weapons if lucky.
In short, it carries both fortune and damnation, depending on how it is approached.
"{I would need to be careful, though. I could easily rile up some adventurers for looting everything from a labyrinth, especially when I claim I did it alone.}"
"{Then, how about doing it secretly in a place where your actions wouldn't be noticed? Like on the Begaritto continent.}"
She's right. The continent saw a high decrease in bandits before I met her and Orsted. Still, it is considered one of the most treacherous continents in the world, with its harsh environment and high levels of monsters.
That being said, there was a different option for me to take on the same continent.
"{Or I could just try and kill a Behemoth? I could probably try and modify my [Stone Canon] to make it braindead?}"
"{You mean those elephant-legged land whales? Aren't those tough-skinned and incredibly ginormous?}"
"{That's why I would aim for the eye to reach the brain. It shouldn't be that tough.}"
Nanahoshi stared at me, her expression shifting from skeptical to horrified.
"{You're… planning to kill a Behemoth by aiming for its eye? Ryuta, do you even hear yourself right now? That's… that's monstrous!}"
I frowned. "{What's monstrous is letting opportunities slip by when I can act. It's not about cruelty—it's about efficiency. I don't take pleasure in killing. Besides, it's only a rumor that they carry crystals. It would be more like for the sake of research on monster biology.}"
"{That doesn't make it better,}" she said, rising from her seat. "{You're talking about targeting a living creature's weakness like it's just a line of code. It's not just some dungeon boss to wipe off a screen!}"
I held her gaze, trying to keep my voice steady. "{You think I don't know that? I've seen what happens when hesitation gets people killed. I've made those mistakes. I'm not making them again. If something stands in my way—and it's kill or be killed—I will take the shot.}"
Her lips parted, some kind of retort forming—but she hesitated. The room hung in that fragile stillness, like we'd both stepped to the edge of something neither of us could name.
I glanced down at the summoning diagrams still in my hands. The lines blurred slightly, not from magic—just the weight of too many thoughts pressing in all at once.
Then—
*knock* *knock*.
Sharp. Measured. Not someone uncertain.
We both froze.
Another knock, louder this time.
I turned and opened the door carefully.
Standing there was a man in silver armor, polished and emblazoned with the crest of Sharia's knight order. A short navy cape fluttered behind him, and a sheathed sword hung at his hip.
"Sir Ryuta, correct?" he asked, eyes cool and formal.
I gave a slow nod. "That's me."
"You are requested to accompany me to a meeting with the city council," the knight said. "Your recent activities have raised concerns that require formal discussion. The matter has escalated to national relevance."
I didn't respond immediately. The way he spoke—calm, direct, but with just enough weight—made it clear this wasn't a courtesy call.
I narrowed my eyes slightly. Mentally, I was already putting the pieces together.
The Red Dragons.
Their movements, the disruption in the Upper Jaw Mountains, Kagami's warning, and now this. I had anticipated the possibility of a summons sometime today.
Looks like it came sooner than expected.
I glanced over my shoulder at Nanahoshi, who had gone quiet, her mask back on her face.
"I'll go," I told the knight. "Just give me a moment."
The knight gave a respectful nod and stepped aside to wait.
I turned back to Nanahoshi.
"{I'll explain later,}" I said, voice softening. "{This is probably about the dragons. If it isn't… well, I'll handle it.}"
But I caught the way her hand tightened around the parchment, just slightly.
I offered her a half-smile and slipped out the door.
The knight began walking, and I followed, footsteps echoing against the corridor tile.
'Let's just hope this doesn't get worse,' I thought.
But I wasn't holding my breath.
///