[647] Into the World (2)
* * *
After resting at the Ozent household, Shirone finished preparing to depart with Rian.
They couldn't rest for long—the Ivory Tower trials awaited, and the competition would be fierce.
During the three-day break, Tess had come down from the capital and was making boxed lunches herself with Amy for the two who were leaving.
"You're sad, aren't you, Amy?"
"...."
Tess had always been Amy's champion, so the thought of a possible permanent parting from Shirone left her furious.
"Don't just sit there—say something. Tell him you'll wait, tell him not to see other women, set a place and time to meet again."
What frustrated Tess most was that nothing resembling a promise passed between the two of them.
Amy smiled sadly and shook her head.
"I don't want to. It wouldn't change anything anyway."
"Why wouldn't it change anything? Even saying those things makes a man watch his actions."
Amy stopped shaping the rice ball she had been molding.
"Tess, do you remember when we went to Galliant?"
Of course Tess remembered.
That trip had been full of strange incidents—from fighting the Parrot Thief Gang to the bizarre things they'd experienced in Heaven.
"You said then that sometimes Shirone seemed faintly distant."
"Yeah, I remember. You said it felt like Shirone sees the world from an omniscient viewpoint."
"They call that 'kar' in the Ivory Tower. The ability to exclude oneself and analyze phenomena objectively."
No wonder the Ivory Tower's residents placed such unwavering trust in the stars.
"Hmm. He definitely has that side."
"There's a saying that the worst person in the world is the one who hurt you—it means people are still trapped by the self. But Shirone seemed different."
"He doesn't use himself as the standard, then?"
"Right. Mages always strive for objectivity, but Shirone goes so far as to deny even himself. When he took Marsha in, when he forgave the royal Pony. Then again, maybe that's just my view—perhaps Shirone has simply followed logic all along."
"That sounds extreme. Shirone is cool-headed, but he isn't a cold person."
"To be honest, I'm not sure."
Amy thought of Shirone's kar score.
"A kar near ninety percent means subjectivity accounts for only ten percent of his judgments. That's not very human. Most people act expecting an emotional premium, but Shirone's actions focus solely on achieving the goal."
Tears welled in Amy's eyes.
"That's why I don't say anything. Promises to wait, words about the future—none of it will affect Shirone."
The knife hit the cutting board with a sharp thud.
"That's not true, Amy!"
Tess gripped Amy's shoulders with both hands.
"You can't measure the heart with numbers. You'll be in that ten percent for sure. You'll fill it with feelings greater than the ninety percent."
"Do you really think so?"
Amy wiped the tears with her sleeve.
"Do you think Shirone will really forget me?"
"Of course not! You—who know Shirone best—if you get anxious, what would that be for him?"
"All right. I'll believe him. I'll believe Shirone."
Facing an indefinite farewell and the Ivory Tower's looming evaluation, Amy's resolve had quietly weakened.
Tess hugged her and smiled.
"Then let's make the best food we can. If not us, would those idiots even remember to eat?"
Amy finally smiled and nodded.
"Ahaha! Right, they wouldn't."
* * *
With two horses waiting, Shirone took the still-warm boxed lunch from Amy with both hands.
"Thank you, Amy. I'll eat well."
"Take care. Sometimes… send letters."
Even asking for letters felt like a burden, but Shirone nodded gladly.
"Yeah. I'll contact you once I settle."
Rian checked the sun's position, glanced to the horses, and said, "Let's go. We don't have time."
Tess narrowed her eyes angrily.
"Hey! We might never see you again—aren't you going to say goodbye?"
"We'll meet again sometime. Shirone's got to compete against some incredible people now. Saying goodbye isn't the important part."
Tess was taken aback by his bluntness.
'What kind of person is this?'
Rian added tersely, "Finish sword school first. Hurry and join me."
At last a smile tugged at Tess's mouth.
"Hmph. Of course I will. I'll graduate top of the class and rise far above dropouts like you."
"Hahaha! You don't know yet—by then I'll be the great sword hero the whole world knows."
They argued like that, but Amy envied them—talking about each other's futures.
"Oh! I almost forgot this!"
Shirone slipped the boxed lunch into the bag hanging from the saddle and pulled Armand out of the cubric.
Having made mental progress during the graduation test, Armand must have changed as well.
Amy set a hand on her hip. "Right. Now that you're a mage, you can carry weapons, right?"
"Yeah. I'll try to wear them as much as possible."
When he activated his diamond armament, the blade split and wrapped around Shirone, filling the gaps in the metal skeleton with organic matter.
- Multiple focus points detected. Function reset.
Armand, having confirmed the quantum superposition stage, sought another change after Heaven.
"Huh?"
The pristine white robe had shifted into a sober gray hooded garment with a slightly worn look.
It wasn't only the exterior that changed—the first thing noticed was that the external artificial brain was gone.
'Because of quantum superposition.'
If an artificial brain operated while thought was overlapping in the Force Dimension, integrating it into Ultima would become much harder.
'Valhalla action still disabled.'
It seemed Terraje still hadn't paid its price, but according to Miro it wouldn't take long.
With the external artificial brain gone, Akamai's antithesis seemed to have shifted to Armand's robe.
"Hmm."
When he opened the antithesis, the robe split as if sliced by a blade and dozens of pupils blinked.
"Ugh!"
Tess grimaced, but tactically the change removed blind spots.
Linked with Ringer's carapace—which reacts instantly to shocks—the user protection function was top-tier.
'Huh? This is gone?'
The biggest change was that Kuzen the devourer's tentacles no longer emerged.
'Because the psychology has changed.'
When Shirone modified the diamond armament in Heaven, survival had been the top priority, so the manifested traits were extreme.
Kuzen's tentacles gnawed and swallowed external organisms to absorb energy.
They could deal physical damage, but they didn't suit Shirone's temperament.
'Most importantly, they clash with quantum superposition.'
Too active an ability becomes harder to control as overlapping events increase.
"Wait, then how do you absorb energy?"
Shirone, whose mind was integrated with Armand, noticed the shift immediately.
"Ah—Kuzen eats me."
"It… eats you?"
"The efficiency of energy metabolism has improved. So when I eat, Kuzen consumes part of my body back."
It was more stable than trying to draw energy externally.
"That's creepy. Thinking of it as eating you—"
"I say 'eating,' but it's just promoting metabolism. Like losing weight when you starve."
All organisms live in part by digesting their own bodies.
"You'll still drain stamina fast. Isn't that dangerous?"
"It's fine. I decide when to activate it. Kuzen's metabolic feeding is especially useful against schemas."
Combined with Kencer's cell-regeneration ability, the body would gain defenses against internal shock.
'So—Armand provides a four-stage defense system.'
First, Akamai's antithesis restrains; second, Ringer's carapace protects the user.
Third, Kuzen's metabolic boost strengthens the body; finally, Kencer regenerates the cells.
Reality may differ from theory, but with that level of defense he could probably face anything.
'Next is offense.'
Galtomic's reinforcement of the Law would strengthen not only magical power but also the Incarnation of the Radiant Angel.
There was also a technical improvement in pure mana amplification.
The mana-amplifying orbs on both gauntlets had been consolidated into the right palm for greater efficiency.
'This is better. Obsessing over balance prevents creating variables when it matters.'
That suited Shirone's tendency.
"I like it."
From form to function, he felt he'd shed the extreme pain from Heaven and finally worn something that fit him.
"If you like it, that's what matters."
Rian spoke casually, but Amy clicked her tongue at Armand's function of enhancing the whole psychophysical system.
Shirone's abilities shown during the graduation trial had already proved immensely synergistic—and now Armand's functions were layered on top.
'How strong is Shirone now…?'
Shirone himself liked that the once-ceremonial style had become field-ready.
"I think I prefer this shabby outfit."
Honestly, the thought of parading around in a flawless white robe made him blush.
"It's more practical, and above all…"
Shirone fluttered his sleeve and smiled brightly.
"Is this waterproof?"
Amy looked blank, but for Shirone—who'd be wearing it constantly—that mattered.
Tess said, "Still, for the world's most expensive clothes, it's a bit plain. Good clothes have the designer's name on them. Why not add something like that?"
"Ah, right."
Finding the suggestion reasonable, Shirone closed his eyes and activated Ringer's carapace.
Click. Click.
Metallic lines moved beneath the soft sleeve and etched the name Arian Shirone.
"How's that?"
True to his modesty, he only had a single name engraved, but it made the garment look far more refined.
"Yeah, it's cool. Now you really look like a mage."
Shirone looked at Amy with a tender gaze.
There wasn't enough time in a day to voice everything inside, so the two shared their farewell with their eyes.
"All right, I'll be off! Take care, everyone!"
Shirone and Rian mounted their horses, waved, and quickly faded into the distance. Tess put a hand on Amy's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Amy. A moment ago—"
"Yeah. I heard it too."
Amy nodded through her tears.
"Shirone."
After they left the Ozent estate and turned onto a mountain path, Rian asked, "Why didn't you engrave Amy's name too? She looked like she wanted it. It wouldn't have been hard."
Shirone smiled contentedly and stared at the sleeve with his name. A moment later he flipped the sleeve to show the lining.
"I already did."
Inside, beneath Arian Shirone, another line of script shimmered in the sun.
Karmis Amy
(End of Volume 26)