— — — — — —
"Wait—Kazuma, don't tell me you're a Celestial Spirit Mage too?!"
Lucy's eyes lit up the moment she saw the box full of Celestial Spirit keys in Kazuma's hands. She put on her best flattery face and started massaging his shoulders like a suck-up.
"I'm not a Celestial Spirit Mage," Kazuma said evenly, "and don't even think about getting one of these keys from me."
"I collect them. That's all."
He placed the Virgo key neatly back into the box. There were eighty-eight constellations in the sky, and naturally, about eighty-eight Celestial Spirits too.
Only the twelve Zodiac keys were unique—one of each in the whole world. The rest could exist in multiples.
Since no one besides a Celestial Mage could use them, most keys were dirt cheap anyway.
"Eh, collecting them? Isn't that such a waste?" Lucy said with a pitiful grin, pressing her hands together like she was praying. "Come on, Kazuma-sama, our future guild master, onii-chan~ Lend me just one, okay? Pretty please? I swear I'll give it right back after using it!"
She stared longingly at that box packed full of keys, her heart pounding. For a Celestial Mage like her, this was pure temptation.
It was like putting a full-course feast in front of a starving foodie… or a pile of gems in front of a treasure lover… or a bunch of gorgeous women in front of a man.
It wasn't that Lucy had weak self-control—the temptation was just too strong!
"No." Kazuma shut the box with a snap. "I told you, they're part of my collection."
"Besides, a Mage's strength comes from themselves. If your magic power isn't strong enough, you can only summon one spirit at a time, and even then, it won't reach its full power. Giving you more keys won't change that."
"You've already got three Golden Zodiac keys, but you're nowhere near drawing out their potential. You haven't even fully mastered your silver-key spirits. You should focus on the basics first."
He placed the box back, remembering how his collection had started by accident.
The first key he'd gotten was a silver one, a bonus tip from some job. Then one became two, two became a dozen.
At some point, he'd thought, "Why not try collecting them all?" Silver keys were cheap anyway.
It was like a guy collecting trading cards or action figures—utterly pointless, but somehow irresistible.
"Ugh, you're right, but at least let me look one more time! Just one peek!" Lucy pleaded, practically bouncing. "I'll probably never see this many Celestial Spirits in my whole life!"
She clung to Kazuma's arm, shaking it like a little kid begging for candy.
"Nope. If you want them, go collect your own. Actually…" Kazuma paused, frowning slightly. "Come to think of it, my Treasury should have some Celestial Keys too."
Technically, his Gate of Babylon contained every treasure in the world. So logically, the keys should be in there somewhere.
But finding them would be a pain, and he was far too lazy to bother. Maybe they would even be sealed.
Besides, the fun of collecting came from the process. If you already had everything from the start, what was the point?
"Anyway, stop goofing off. We still need to find that book."
Kazuma glanced around, then waved his hand. A dozen shadow soldiers appeared out of nowhere and began searching the room.
Lucy's jaw dropped. "Wait—these… these are your summons too?!"
There had to be dozens of them. Dozens! She could barely manage one spirit at a time, and this guy summoned a small army with a flick of his wrist?!
"How is that even legal?" she thought in disbelief. "If this isn't cheating, I don't know what is!"
"Yeah," Kazuma said casually. "They're pretty weak though. If you don't summon any spirits, one of them could probably take on five of you."
"They're basically cannon fodder. I mostly use them for chores—cleaning, carrying stuff, that sort of thing."
Lucy's face puffed up in outrage. "Excuse me?! Did you just call me weaker than your janitor army?! I'm a Mage, ok?! I could totally take one in a one-on-one fight!"
Kazuma gave her a deadpan look. "Lucy, you have a great sense of humor. That joke was hilarious."
He didn't mean to insult her; he was just being honest.
"Ugh…" Lucy groaned, cheeks puffed like a pufferfish. She knew she wasn't that strong, but being reminded so bluntly still stung.
"I've decided!" she declared suddenly, raising a fist. "I'll duel one of your summons! One on one! I might look weak, but actually—"
"But actually, you are really weak," Kazuma interrupted dryly.
Before Lucy could protest, a shadow soldier rose silently from behind her, pressing a cold black dagger to her throat before she even realized it was there.
"In direct combat, one of these can take on five of you."
"In stealth?" Kazuma said calmly. "You wouldn't even notice before you were dead."
With a wave, the shadow melted back into the floor. That was the terrifying part—they could vanish completely.
Lucy's eyes filled with tears. "That's… that's just cruel…"
"Don't cry. You're a Celestial Mage —a summoner. It's normal for your physical strength to be low," Kazuma said, patting her shoulder. "Focus on training your endurance and escape skills. Leave the fighting to your spirits. Your job is to stay alive."
He picked up the book titled Daybreak from one of the soldiers' hands.
"Mission complete. Time to go home."
"Okay, let's head back," Lucy said quickly, her tears vanishing as she brightened up again. It was honestly impressive how fast girls could change moods.
As they made their way out, she suddenly blinked, realizing something.
"Wait a second. Your shadow soldiers can move through shadows, right? So why didn't you just have one sneak in and grab the book? Why'd we bother coming in at all?"
"…" Kazuma froze.
"…I forgot," he admitted, smacking his forehead. He'd only gotten that ability recently, and old habits died hard.
He'd just acted on autopilot, doing things the old-fashioned way without thinking.
"Whatever. I'll get used to it eventually."
Lucy burst out laughing, covering her mouth. "Pfft—finally! You're the one embarrassing yourself for once!"
Kazuma reached out and started squishing her cheeks into funny shapes. Soft, warm, surprisingly pleasant to the touch.
"Ow ow ow! You're bullying me again!" she mumbled through squished lips, looking pitiful.
...
After that, they finally returned to the client's home. Kazuma placed the book on the table.
"Here it is. To avoid any disputes, please confirm this is the book you requested," he said. "Once you're sure, I'll destroy it in front of you and collect the payment."
"Oh, and by the way," he added, "this book has a spell on it. Touch it, and you'll see its true contents."
As he spoke, Kazuma dispelled the enchantment. The letters on the cover shimmered and rearranged themselves, revealing something entirely new.
.
.
.