Le Fay's eyes sparkled like stars as she looked up at Izumi, her entire expression that of an excited little fangirl.
"Could you lend these Holy Swords to my brother?" she asked eagerly.
"I'm sure he'll be able to discover something from studying them!"
Izumi went speechless. Seriously? That's it?
Did she really think the Holy Swords he projected were that valuable?
And… she was even asking to borrow them?
Still, this girl was unexpectedly considerate.
With that thought, Izumi answered without hesitation:
"No problem. I'll just give them to you outright."
"If you need more, just come back and ask."
To him, it was only mana anyway—something he would never run out of.
The Third Magic gave him infinite mana, and with the creation-simulation engine inside him—whose true nature even he didn't fully grasp—he effectively possessed a perpetual machine.
One plus one was far more than two.
Weapons he projected now were nearly indistinguishable from the originals.
Meaning: he could produce as many as he wanted.
Hearing Izumi's easy acceptance, Le Fay turned to her brother with crisp determination:
"Onii, I'll be joining Izumi-kun's team from now on."
"Take care of yourself!"
With that, she abandoned her brother without a shred of hesitation.
Arthur could only sigh helplessly at the sight of his sister being so decisive.
But he had no complaints.
This was exactly what he'd wished for.
Arthur stepped forward, expression serious, and bowed slightly.
"Then… I leave my sister in your care, Izumi-kun."
Izumi nodded.
"Don't worry about it, brother-in-law—ah, whoops. Slip of the tongue."
"Anyway, I'll take good care of her."
"She's my teammate now. I won't let anyone bully her."
Arthur's face twitched.
Did he just say brother-in-law?!
Was this guy planning to marry his sister!?
Le Fay also froze. Her cheeks reddened as she fidgeted.
"U-Um… Izumi-senpai… I'm still a middle schooler, you know? Isn't this a bit too early…?"
…
Arthur covered his face with both hands.
Good grief. They'd just met today!
He never knew his sister could be like this…
Izumi's mouth twitched too. Come on, girl… even if I was thinking it, saying it out loud ruins the joke.
Still, despite the awkwardness, Le Fay officially joined Izumi's party.
Izumi then stuffed all the projected Holy Swords into Arthur's arms.
As for the Holy Spear—absolutely not.
Projected weapons were limitless, but he only had a single copy of the radiant spear of the end—one that couldn't be projected at all.
He wasn't giving that up.
He might let Le Fay examine it, but Arthur? No way.
Arthur happily hugged the mountain of (technically fake but nearly real) swords and dashed off without a second thought—completely forgetting about his own sister.
Meanwhile, Vali, who had watched the entire scene, didn't know what to say anymore.
This guy…
First meeting: Izumi injures him before he can even make an entrance.
Second meeting: Izumi steals his potential teammate right in front of him.
Vali was starting to think Izumi was some natural enemy fated to bring him misfortune.
Soon after, Asia came running back, clutching a small box with both hands.
She beamed with pure happiness.
"Izumi-sama! This is from Lord Michael! Please accept it!"
Izumi blinked.
He felt the divine energy radiating from the box and froze.
This was… Ascalon?
The legendary dragon-slaying Holy Sword?
Michael actually gave this to him?
Looking at Asia suspiciously, Izumi asked:
"Did he tell you why?"
"What exactly did you two talk about?"
Asia nodded and recounted obediently:
"Lord Michael apologized to me."
"He also gave me a blessing… and said he awakened my hidden talent."
"And he told me I'm welcome to visit Heaven anytime."
…
Asia chatted on cheerfully, telling the story from beginning to end.
Izumi finally pieced it together.
Michael indeed apologized, blessed her, and awakened her innate holy potential.
He didn't try to force her back to the Church. Instead, he encouraged her to stay with Izumi—
And entrusted Ascalon to her so she could deliver it to him.
So… Heaven was offering him goodwill.
Izumi chuckled.
He held no hostility toward Heaven anyway, so it didn't bother him.
Ascalon he sent straight into the system storage.
He didn't exchange it for anything—after all, it felt wrong to immediately sacrifice a gift.
He'd keep it for now.
After the banquet ended, Izumi left with Asia and Le Fay.
Throughout the event, he'd gotten acquainted with representatives of the various factions.
Since both the Mercenary Guild and the Mage Guild were human organizations, they greeted Izumi warmly—he was human too, after all.
He even exchanged contact information with many of them.
Including Vali's sister.
Though Vali seemed extremely wary of Izumi and didn't let them talk long.
Izumi didn't mind; there'd be plenty of time later.
Walking home with Asia and Le Fay—who, surprisingly, had already become fast friends—Le Fay tilted her head curiously.
"Izumi-sama, am I going to live at your house?"
"Or should I find my own place?"
Izumi replied seriously:
"You're a middle schooler living alone—way too dangerous. So you'll stay at my place."
"My house is huge. There are more than enough rooms."
Le Fay puffed her cheeks in mock disapproval.
"Izumi-sama, no committing crimes, okay?"
"I agreed to join your team, but I never said I'd be your girlfriend."
"Le Fay may be mature, but she definitely doesn't want to become a mama this early!"
The middle-school girl declared something incredibly misleading with a perfectly straight face.