Chapter 15: The Disaster Star has no thoughts.
****
Enoch, having slept like the dead, opened his eyes blankly.
"Are you awake?"
Rionne, lying next to him, smiled sweetly.
He marveled at how pristine she looked, not a hair out of place, despite having just woken up.
"Yes."
He nodded and toddled off to wash up.
Rionne expertly set the table.
After Enoch returned, it was breakfast time.
The food on the table vanished in a flash.
Enoch patted his full belly and went out to the yard.
"Alright."
Rionne stood up straight, ready for their lesson.
But today, unusually, Enoch spoke first.
"Rionne."
"Yes?"
"Can you do spirit fusion?"
Rionne blinked, her gaze shifting to the fox on Enoch's head.
'Did Undine tell him?'
"Yes, of course. Why?"
"I want to see."
"Really?"
It was no trouble.
She extended her hand.
"Undine."
[This isn't some performance trick, you know.]
Undine grumbled, but settled onto Rionne's hand.
Then…
Flash!
Undine's form dispersed in a blue light.
The blue particles seeped into Rionne's body.
She opened her eyes slightly and exhaled.
"Fuu…"
At the same time, the tips of her golden hair began to turn blue, a shimmering, watery blue.
Watery orbs appeared around her, swirling gently.
"There. That's spirit fusion."
Rionne smiled, and Enoch clapped.
The faint blue glow in her eyes made her look mystical.
"I suppose I should show you the abilities too, right?"
She smiled and held out her hand.
Her thin sword flew to her from somewhere and landed in her grip.
She shifted her stance slightly.
"Watch carefully, Enoch. This is a level you'll have to reach someday."
Her arm moved.
A simple, straight line.
She swung her sword upwards, connecting point to point.
"Hmm."
She nodded in satisfaction, and then…
Whoosh!
All the clouds in the sky vanished.
"…?"
Enoch tilted his head, completely bewildered.
What had she done?
He hadn't felt anything, but the clouds were gone.
Then…
Whoosh!
A sudden downpour from the clear sky.
The dispersed clouds were now falling as rain.
Thanks to Rionne's power, Enoch remained dry, but he was too awestruck to notice.
"Ah…"
The rain covered an area roughly the size of the forest.
Rionne hadn't done anything yet, but what if she infused her will into this rain?
That entire area would become her attack range.
If she wanted, she could wipe out a city, leaving no survivors.
Literally.
Enoch shuddered.
A warm sensation enveloped him.
"As expected of our Enoch. Honestly, I didn't think you'd be able to grasp anything from that."
[He does have some talent, after all.]
Undine, having canceled the fusion, chuckled.
Enoch flinched as his eyes met Undine's, but the fear quickly vanished, replaced by a surge of defiance.
"Gnat, you're noisy."
[Wh-what…!]
Still in Rionne's embrace, Enoch picked up the fox from his head.
[Kyi?]
The fox, awakened from its nap, blinked sleepily, its eyes meeting Enoch's.
"Fusion."
[?]
The fox tilted its head.
"It's not working."
Enoch glared at Undine.
She'd said it was possible with a companion spirit.
[Well, it doesn't happen instantly! Even with a companion spirit, you need to build a connection!]
Undine's condescending tone made Enoch slightly dejected.
He put the fox back on his head.
The fox draped itself over his hair.
[At least give it a name. I've been waiting, but you haven't even thought about it.]
A name.
Enoch looked at Rionne.
Their eyes met, and she smiled.
He made his decision.
"Eri."
'E'noch, 'Ri'onne.
It was a simple name, and Undine chuckled, realizing its meaning immediately.
[…Crazy, elf-obsessed Disaster Star.]
But Rionne was overjoyed, beaming.
"Oh my, so she's our child? A daughter, since she's Eri?"
BOOM!!!
A mental thunderbolt!
Shock! Excitement! Joy!
Enoch, who had already planned out his grandchildren's names, opened his mouth…
"Hehe, just kidding."
The fall from such heights was devastating.
As Enoch froze, speechless, Rionne gently ruffled his hair.
"But I'm happy. Thank you."
"…"
"Enoch?"
"…Yes."
Undine's lips trembled as she watched the dejected Enoch.
[…Isn't she going to get stabbed at this rate?]
***
After Undine was punished for teasing Rionne about being an old maid, Rionne sat Enoch on her lap, mounted her sword, and took to the sky.
"We're going somewhere different today."
"…Okay."
Enoch, still slightly dazed, nodded listlessly.
He deliberately let his mind wander, and a thought struck him.
'Eri, spirit, dungeon, golem.'
His stream of consciousness led him to the question: What's the connection between spirits and golems?
Come to think of it, why would a spirit suddenly appear in a dungeon filled with golems?
What was the link?
He asked Rionne, and she answered gently, "There's no connection. That's just how dungeons are."
Don't expect dungeons to make sense!
"Dungeons are usually formed from tangled flows of mana, so there are many things that defy logic."
The dungeon Enoch had entered was relatively normal.
Golems could suddenly be followed by goblins, or dungeon-created elves or humans.
Or just a bottomless abyss.
"Ah…"
Enoch nodded.
Eri, on his head, yawned widely.
"Hehe, I understand why Eri is a fox now."
"Huh?"
"It's a… secret. You'll find out when you meet her."
'Meet? Who?'
Enoch tilted his head.
Rionne hugged him tighter.
"We'll be late if we keep going like this, so I'll speed up a bit, okay?"
And then…
Rumble!
The sword tore through the air, leaving a sonic boom in its wake.
The fact that Eri nearly fell off was a minor detail.
***
As the sky turned reddish, Rionne pulled an ore from her pocket.
"Enoch, do you know what this is?"
"What is it?"
"Mithril. A precious metal. Since it came from a naturally occurring dungeon, it's probably of higher quality than usual."
Mithril was a rare metal.
Its mana conductivity was far superior to ordinary metals, making it a popular material for magic reagents and weapons.
Due to its rarity, it was incredibly expensive.
"Well, it's not that rare, but it'll still make a decent weapon."
In this world where strength reigned supreme, mithril was a metal even superhumans desired.
It was rare, but not impossibly so.
Rionne was actually quite pleased.
If she made him a weapon from an incredibly rare metal, he might attract unwanted attention from powerful bandits when he ventured out into the world.
"A weapon? I don't use weapons."
"There are many types of weapons, Enoch. Besides swords and spears, there are also claws."
Claw-shaped gauntlets would be quite useful for Enoch, who used footwork techniques.
"We're here. This is it."
They descended rapidly.
"Whoa…"
Enoch gasped, looking around.
A wave of heat washed over him.
A sea of fire.
The surrounding landscape was painted red.
A river of lava flowed between towering mountains, and rising steam obscured his vision.
He was sweating even as they descended.
'People live here?'
As he marveled at the sight, Rionne landed gently, still holding him.
"Enoch, there's something I should tell you."
"Yes?"
"Hmm… how should I put this? The person we're about to meet is… a friend… or was… I don't know. Anyway, she's like that."
Rionne's uncharacteristically hesitant words made Enoch blink.
"We're not close, but I have a favor to ask… and… I know you wouldn't, but… don't say anything mean to her, okay?"
It was a given.
Enoch wouldn't say anything mean to Rionne's friend…
"What the—what are you doing here?"
Enoch turned towards the voice.
And blurted out, without thinking,
"Stumpy dwarf?"
Rionne gasped.
Sensing her shock, Enoch corrected himself.
"Ah, ore thief? Bitch?"
"…This little shi…!"
Her friend was a dwarf.
****
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