Tap… tap…
Soren tapped his finger on the table as he sat in the corner of a stuffy workshop.
"Psst, are you okay?" Esper whispered to him.
Soren nodded and smiled in response.
Although he had flown off the handle earlier, he was feeling better now.
'It happened again.'
He thought back to his earlier outburst and grimaced.
Soren had been angry over the dwarf's words, but the extent of his anger didn't make sense.
Even the outbreak of his rage made no sense; the words 'Playing Around' appeared to be the trigger, but to Soren, or more specifically, Isaac, that didn't make sense.
Those were words that hurt the original Soren, not him.
He had experienced Soren's emotions back in the library, but he had no idea that there would be lingering effects like this.
He was experiencing emotions that weren't his own, seemingly at random.
Sure, this may have been the first time outside of the flashback, but it didn't mean it would be the last.
'It's difficult.' He thought as he returned his gaze to the dwarf.
"So to get this right, I just have to appraise your weapon and give you a decent handaxe, and it'll make us even?" The dwarf named Hammond asked, stroking his beard in disbelief.
"Sigh, that's the gist of it," Soren said as he rested his head in his hand.
"Then what about the lady beside you?"
"Uhm… Well, I use magic, so I don't really need anything."
"I'm sorry, Miss, but if I don't give something to you as well, then I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep at night out of worry."
Esper understood Hammond's words and held her chin in thought before glancing over at Soren.
"Then, could you prioritise any commissions that the two of us bring in? We'll pay the full price and bring all the materials, as long as you ensure that you focus on ours the moment they arrive. Don't worry, we won't ask for anything unreasonable."
Soren was taken aback by the stark change in Esper's demeanour, her playfulness gone, now replaced by a shrewd politician.
'I guess it makes sense.'
"Right, Cutie?"
"Uh, sure."
Then, as if throwing all those thoughts into the trash, Esper spoke with her playful voice once again.
"I can do that, so let's see that axe…"
"Soren."
"Let's see that axe, Miss Soren."
"..."
"Pfft."
Whoosh!
Ignoring the girl holding in her laughter beside him, Soren pulled the two-handed axe out of his inventory and placed it on the table.
Hammond's eyes sparkled immediately upon seeing the weapon, then he jumped out of his seat and trotted along in a hurry to pick up his equipment before rushing back to the table.
"Let's see…"
The dwarf inspected the weapon, placing his hand on the grey hilt before infusing mana into the axe.
Twitch
Soren's left eye twitched in response to the mana flowing, so he covered it with his hand, not wanting to experience the pain he had felt previously.
"Miss Soren? This'll take about an hour, so please don't feel pressured to wait."
The moment those words were spoken, Esper jumped up from her seat and held out her hand towards Soren.
"Well, you heard her, Miss Soren, let's go get some food."
Soren rolled his eyes as he took Esper's hand before leaving the store.
He wasn't worried about the old man running away with the axe, given how famous a weapon it was.
'Though nobody knows its name…'
As a dungeon relic, it should have come with a name, but for some reason, the axe's name had never been publicised, same with its abilities, which left people to speculate, including Soren, but alas, it was impossible to guess.
It was only famous because of its original wielder.
"So where should we go?" Soren asked, holding his arm out towards Esper.
She linked her arm with his and began bouncing forward, lost in thought.
"Hmm… No clue!"
"How about a cafe then? We can just decide when we get there."
"Sure!"
"Then let me lead, I know a good place."
"Righty'o Leader!"
Soren chuckled at the ever-bright Esper before leading the way.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
"Ohh! I've been here before!" Esper exclaimed.
The place that Soren had taken them to was the only cafe he knew of, which was Etheheart Cafe, the cafe that Louise had introduced him to.
Although it was popular, the atmosphere was still reasonably quiet, whether that was due to people being polite or simply a result of nobles being gathered together was unknown to him.
They walked into the cafe, arm in arm and sat across from each other at a booth seat far from the entrance, before Soren handed Esper a menu, as he already knew everything on it.
"What are you going to get?"
"Dunno!"
"Why not look at the menu I gave you, then?"
"Don't wanna."
"Should I just order my own then?"
"Decide for me!"
"Sigh…"
Soren took the menu back from Esper's hands and scanned it thoroughly before ringing the bell at his table.
"Don't complain if you don't like it."
"If I don't, I'll just buy more," The girl shrugged.
Soren couldn't stop himself from smiling at their stupid back and forth.
For some reason, just being around Esper seemed to improve his mood.
He also appreciated the fact that she didn't bring up what he had said in his outburst earlier; it was the right amount of distance that didn't make him feel burdened.
And beyond that, she wasn't a character involved in the story whatsoever, unlike almost everyone else he knew, so he felt that it was easier to talk to the girl before him.
"Ah, Louise's brother! Hello, there."
A few minutes after ringing the bell, a purple-haired beastkin appeared at their table.
"Shirone, right? Thanks for taking care of Louise."
"It's no problem, she's one of my best customers after all, speaking of which…" Shirone turned her attention towards Esper, "Here's another of my best customers, seriously, how many people do you know, Essy?"
"Teehee~"
"Well, it doesn't matter to me as long as you pay up, so what can I get for you today?"
Soren thought for a moment before grinning.
"Caramel latte, and a black coffee. Then for food…"
After receiving their order, Shirone left, and Soren looked up at Esper with a grin.
"I ordered for you, so you better like it." He said playfully.
"Who knows?" She returned his mischievous grin.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
"You're so mean!" Esper said with a tearful expression.
"Ahahaha!"
Soren couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.
She had been so confident until the order had arrived, but the moment she realised which items were hers, she began acting like this.
'She did finish it all, though.'
"There, there, good job." He said, patronisingly as he patted her head.
"You're horrible…"
"Fine, I'll buy you something nice, okay?"
Ding-
He rang the bell once more and ordered a couple of parfaits.
Once they arrived, Esper's previously tearful expression disappeared, and she almost seemed to be salivating.
"Take whichever you want."
"I'll have the apricot one!"
"Then I guess I'll take the cherry."
As they dug into their desserts, Soren appreciated the sight before his eyes.
'She really is gorgeous.'
At first, he had disliked the immense energy she carried with her, but after spending most of the day with Esper, his thoughts had long since changed.
Of course, she still fit within his ideal type in terms of appearance, but he also appreciated her easy-going personality that made her so easy to talk to.
'I hope we can stay friends.'
If someone like Esper were around, Soren felt that his daily life would never be boring.
"Hey, Cutie! Give me some of yours."
"Sure, you too."
"Ah~"
He fed her some of his parfait and then let her return the favour by opening his mouth.
"Cutie, you're meant to say 'ah'!"
"Can't you just feed me?"
"Say. Ah."
"Ah…"
He awkwardly made the noise, inwardly regretting his choice, but that regret didn't last long.
"It's good."
"I know, right! Want some more?" She said with a grin.
"I'll… pass."
It was far more embarrassing than he expected to receive food in such a way.
"Tch, too bad."
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Swoosh!
"Hey, old man, we're back."
"Great timing, I've just finished up with this, come see."
"Ooh, already? That's a dwarf for you." Esper said.
Soren stepped inside the workshop and leaned against the table that the axe sat upon.
"So what's the deal?"
If it had been appraised, then Soren could use his information window on it, but instead, he waited, slightly excited by the suspense.
"Its name is Labrys. I'm not sure about its rating, but it's high, beyond my skills."
It was a name entirely unknown to Soren, but he liked the sound of it.
"As far as the weapon itself goes, the mana conductivity on this thing is truly magnificent. I've never seen anything like it. When you pour your mana into the axe, it truly feels like it's become a part of you."
Instead of Soren, it was Esper's eyes that widened in surprise.
"Wait, really? That's crazy…"
"Yes, it is, Miss, that factor alone would make this weapon invaluable, but there are some downsides."
"Those being?" Soren asked, worried that the weapon he had been treasuring might be useless.
"It's nothing too bad, just… The blade is almost completely dull, likely a result of the mana conductivity."
"So… it's like a club instead of an axe?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Can't it be sharpened?" Esper asked.
"That… would be difficult. The material is too tough, it seems as if the weapon was made with pure brute strength and mana conductivity in mind."
"In other words, it was perfect for my sister," Soren added.
With all the knowledge he had on Freya, he had figured out that her fighting style was straightforward, without the flashy techniques that most nobles would use.
It was a fighting style of pure brute strength where she would crush her enemies with her overwhelming mana enhancement.
Both Hammond and Esper nodded in agreement at Soren's words.
"So what about the skills?"
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to figure out everything, but there was one thing I had found right away. It's a skill called [Synchronise], which should make the axe fit perfectly to its wielder."
This time it was Soren's turn to be surprised.
"Does that mean I can make it smaller?"
Instead of answering, Hammond simply gestured to the axe, as he had no idea how the axe would change in response, and Soren reached out towards it, grasping it in his hand.
"「Synchronise」"
The three of them watched on in awe as the axe shrank itself from a two-handed, double-sided axe all the way to the size of a handaxe that Soren typically used.
"Holy shit." Soren couldn't stop a curse from slipping out as he lifted the handaxe up and down in his hand.
The reason for his curse was simple.
'I can use this.'
The two-handed axe was far too heavy for Soren to make use of in combat, even if he upgraded his stats hugely, as his fighting style wasn't that of a tank, but along the lines of a dealer, where agility mattered.
But the axe in his hand? That was perfect for him.
Not only did it have a mana conductivity that surprised not only a duke but a dwarf too, but it also had more skills yet unseen.
Although it was heavier than the axe he currently used, that wasn't an issue, as he could just keep raising his stats as he had been.
Even the downside that the dwarf spoke of would hardly affect Soren, as he mainly used a handaxe to put pressure on opponents or to block attacks.
'Plus, that problem could be solved in the future.'
By learning mana enhancement, he would be able to create a blade out of mana or magic.
Soren swung the weapon up and down a few times before storing it in his inventory with a satisfied expression.
"Thanks, old man, I guess there's no need to take a handaxe now, though."
"I once again apologise for earlier." Hammon bowed deeply in the direction of Soren and Esper.
In response, they both just shrugged it off and reminded him of their deal.
"Just remember to focus on our commissions in the future."
"What he said."
"Of course."
With all said and done, both Esper and Soren left Hammon's Hammer and decided to split up for the day.
"Ugh, what a tiring day."
Soren had decided that the moment he reached his dorm, he would collapse onto the bed and sleep; he was exhausted.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
"I challenge you to a duel, Soren Arden"
"Eh?"
'What's going on?'
————「❤︎」————