"Welcome back, Krai. I'll be handling today's escort duty! Please rest easy and enjoy the ride!"
"Kirukilu...?"
Citry clasped her hands together and flashed a carefree smile, while Kirukilu—who somehow still maintained his slender frame despite his forced diet—tilted his head.
I was polishing a Treasure Weapon at my usual spot in the Clan Master's office, watching the enigmatic duo of Citry and Kirukilu strike poses in front of me as I spoke.
"Feels like it's been a while since I've seen Citry's face."
"I'm happy to see you again too, Krai!"
I mean, being happy about it was all well and good... but I never actually said I was happy to see Citry? Well, I was, though!
Warm sunlight streamed in through the window behind me. In stark contrast to the Magic Sword incident, the Imperial Capital was peaceful. That whole mess had apparently been swept under the rug by those in power.
Citry circled around to my side with a natural, easy grace, then looked up at me with big, eager eyes.
"I heard from my sister, Krai! You've been up to something interesting again, haven't you?"
She was practically radiating good cheer with her whole body. If she'd had a tail, it would definitely have been wagging. I let out a deep sigh, glanced down at the crown-shaped Treasure Weapon I was polishing, and spoke.
"Riizu was in a pretty foul mood, though..."
Besides, I haven't been doing anything interesting at all... nothing interesting, and nothing uninteresting either. In other words, I've been doing absolutely nothing. The one having all the fun was that Hugh guy, if anything.
I'd gone along with the situation and given some half-baked instructions, but would that be alright? Franz had apparently been behind it all...
My spirits sank at the ominous premonition of getting dragged into something weird. Citry chirped up beside me, bouncing with energy.
"Kusukusuku... My sister is upset she wasn't assigned to today's escort duty. She feels like she was put on the back burner... She apparently had an unavoidable engagement, but—I've been busy all the way up until yesterday too!"
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but sure... She seemed to be having fun, and that was all that mattered! I was already exhausted.
But don't you dare think I'll just stand around and let myself get swept up in incidents like always.
According to Franz, this latest commotion was connected to a curse. And unfortunately, curses and Treasure Weapons were inseparable.
Treasure Weapons were recreations of items that had existed in the past. The rarer and more widely known a previously common item had been, the higher its appearance rate as a Treasure Weapon was said to be.
Cursed items were born from being imbued with intense willpower. Given the principle behind their birth, they were almost always one-of-a-kind—which meant they didn't satisfy the condition for becoming a Treasure Weapon, namely being "an item that was once widespread."
In other words—those cursed items that appeared as Treasure Weapons were, in all likelihood, something truly terrifying: an item of which only one had ever existed, yet was so widely known and feared that it manifested as a Treasure Weapon anyway.
Of course, almost all the Treasure Weapons I owned were safe. I didn't have a single cursed one. But if, by some impossible chance, one of my Treasure Weapons triggered something, this time it would be no laughing matter.
I'd basically confirmed the abilities of all my Treasure Weapons, but there was no guaranteeing that one of my childhood acquaintances hadn't accidentally obtained a Treasure Weapon and slipped it into my collection without telling me.
So, as part of my maintenance routine, I polished each Treasure Weapon one by one while reconfirming their abilities. I beckoned Citry over with a little wave, and placed the freshly polished crown-shaped Treasure Weapon on top of her smiling head.
Citry's eyes went wide, and she spoke with a hint of panic.
"!! C-Could this be my cursed item?!"
Riizu had said something similar... but why did all of you want to be cursed so badly?
"I don't have any cursed items... That Treasure Weapon just makes your hair grow a little faster, that's all... This one's no good either, neither is this one..."
I polished a blood-red gem pendant and hung it around Citry's neck, then put a necklace Treasure Weapon around her neck, and then another necklace Treasure Weapon around her neck, and while I was at it, yet another necklace Treasure Weapon around her neck. How many did I even have? But Citry, having been turned into a living mannequin, blushed deeply and looked thoroughly delighted.
I wasn't giving them to her as gifts, mind you... But if she really, really insisted, I supposed I could part with a few. After all, I'd bought them with money I'd borrowed from Citry anyway.
"Seriously, it's no good asking me to do everything. The big fuss just died down, and everyone's too reliant on being Level 8. Citry, point it out."
I couldn't for the life of me understand why everyone trusted these Level 8s who had been caught up in no small number of incidents and had never even properly resolved any of them—whose reputation was all they had. A moment's thought would make it blindingly obvious that I'd done absolutely nothing.
Grumbling inwardly, I slid a polished ring onto each of Citry's slender, white fingers as she held them out to me.
"! K-Krai, does this ritual have some kind of meaning!?"
"No... there's no particular meaning. Luke and Riizu won't sit still, Lucia gets punched, and Anthem is a pain to dress up... Do you mind?"
"Not at all!! B-But, you do have quite a lot..."
The truth was, I'd been wanting to protest for a while now how Citry and the others never really adorned themselves while I was the only one constantly rattling around with Treasure Weapons on my person. Even if I wasn't activating them, it felt like I ought to wear them once in a while—out of pity for the Treasure Weapons, if nothing else.
Citry squirmed and trembled slightly, whether from ticklishness or something else, her face beet red as she murmured.
"Could this possibly be... a proposal?"
"Kirukilu..."
Her emotionally volatile master elicited a worried sound from Kirukilu. A proposal?... I already told her there was no meaning behind it!
As for piercings... those would require holes, so maybe I'd skip those.
I tried to calm the fidgeting Citry down by changing the subject.
"So, how reliable do you think Franz's prediction actually is? 'A shadow looms over the Imperial Capital,' or something like that? He was talking about curses and all that—do you know anything, Citry?"
"The... Astrology and Divination Academy's predictions are said to be quite accurate. Under Imperial law, it's permitted to mobilize national forces based on prophecies."
They actually come true...? But there had been similar oracles from Sora, and those had been completely unreliable... That girl had been truly awful.
In any case, even if a curse struck the Imperial Capital, it would probably be suppressed without causing much damage. The Imperial Capital was safe enough that someone like me could still camp out here. Say what you would, it was still secure.
"However, if the prophecy was that dramatic—then if it is a curse, it must be one with extremely deep grudges behind it. Something even a skilled curse-weaver couldn't simply cast... It's understandable that Franz is wary of Treasure Weapons. There haven't been many casualties around the capital, and checkpoints are already in place, so the likelihood of someone bringing in suspicious items from outside is low. Come to think of it, my brother too... He's been mobilized in response to a national request. The Church are specialists when it comes to curses."
"Perfect preparedness."
This was basic knowledge about curses, but a powerful curse wasn't something you could just cast on a whim.
The most dangerous type was the pattern where a person who died bearing a grudge left behind lingering resentment as a curse. Such curses were extraordinarily powerful, often indiscriminate, and by the time word spread, many casualties had usually already occurred.
But this time, it probably wasn't that pattern. After eliminating every other possibility, what remained was a cursed item.
The Imperial Capital was called a sacred ground for Treasure Hunters for good reason—Treasure Weapons were brought in day and night in staggering numbers. When you thought about it that way, it made sense for Franz to contact me specifically... right? No, no, there were plenty of other people he should've contacted instead!
I put on a pair of Treasure Weapon spectacles, draped a Treasure Weapon shawl over my shoulders, and since I had no idea where to put a Treasure Weapon chain, I just wrapped it around my body for now. Citry, now decked out in Treasure Weapons from head to toe, was complete.
Mm, sure enough, there didn't seem to be any unfamiliar Treasure Weapons mixed in. This time, at least, it wasn't my fault.
"K-Krai has dyed me in his colors... I can never be a bride now."
Right, right. If a crisis was going to strike the Imperial Capital, couldn't I just leave the city and avoid it entirely?
...No good. I'd definitely get caught at a checkpoint and create a huge misunderstanding. Sitting tight and staying put was the best approach.
Surely, if I did nothing, nothing would happen.
§ § § Zebuldia Magic Academy. Built centuries ago by the reigning emperor to accelerate the development of magic—a field in which the empire had been lagging—the academy had since cemented its position as the preeminent institution of higher learning, both in name and reality.
A smooth assault on the Treasure Hall demanded powerful Mages . With sprawling grounds and a castle-like campus in the northern district of Imperial Capital Zebuldia, where magic research of every conceivable discipline was conducted, this institution was an object of aspiration for the capital's Mages and Hunters alike. It was even said that eighty percent of the capital's high-Level Hunter Mages had been produced by this very academy.
Twelve towers stood arrayed around the castle-like campus. Each one housed a research wing overseen by one of the academy's professors, and it was in one such wing that the female mage Anna Nordin was instructing a junior mage in no uncertain terms.
"Listen carefully—handle it with care! Don't carelessly pour magic energy into it!"
"Heh heh... I know, I know. Still, Lucia's brother is awfully generous, isn't he? Gifting a treasure from the Sword Saint's personal collection himself. Between that Raiteka staff and this, as expected of a Level 8 Treasure Weapon collector—his acquisition skills are first-rate."
The junior mage with long black hair—Lucia—contorted her face as if irritated by Anna's words. What a waste of a perfectly good beauty.
A Level 6 Hunter. The mage known as "Myriad Transformations," Lucia Roje, was recognized for the breadth of her magical repertoire, but among the various research labs, it was actually her brother who tended to be better known.
Lucia's brother, Thousand Transformations, was the youngest person to reach Level 8 and one of the Imperial Capital's foremost Treasure Hunters. The young Hunter was also famous as a Treasure Weapon collector, and in the female-dominated research labs of the magic academy, he had achieved idol status—people would gather just to watch whenever he paid a visit.
In terms of a similar young Hunter, there was Ark Rodan, but since Ark had no relatives at the academy and rarely visited, it was only natural that the popularity skewed toward Lucia's brother.
Anna gazed down at the pitch-black staff Lucia had brought. The handle was formed from several vines twisted together as if entangled, with a gemstone gleaming at its head. The design was simple, but it was astonishingly light even when held through the fabric of her sleeve.
Its abilities appeared to be unknown, but staff-type Treasure Weapons tended to fetch higher prices than other weapon types. If it was put up for auction, a price tag of tens of millions wouldn't be out of the question. The lightness, too, was a welcome trait for Mages who lacked physical stamina.
To think he'd casually gift a Treasure Weapon staff, even if it was for his sister's mentor. He was quite the generous soul. Strong, wealthy, and from what Anna had heard, a little eccentric—but those weren't purely negative traits. Lucia herself was quite capable, but perhaps it was a case of the brother being the reason for this remarkable sister.
"It's nothing like that—he's just a Treasure Weapon fanatic! Besides, this staff might be a dangerous—"
"I know, I know. You don't need to be so coy about it. I'm not going to steal your brother or anything—"
"Co... coy!?"
Lucia glared daggers at her, but Anna carefully observed the staff without letting it touch her skin.
Lucia Roje wasn't the type to lie out of modesty, and humoring her now might improve her brother's impression of Anna when the time came. A Treasure Weapon staff was powerful and provided stat boosts, but as a born researcher, it wasn't what Anna truly needed.
"By the way, does anything about this staff ring a bell for you, Anna?"
"I'm not really interested in staffs... though I am interested in Lucia's brother..."
"............"
Treasure Weapon staffs came in all varieties. From popular ones with high magic amplification, to the one Lucia had brought the other day specialized solely in lightning attributes, to ones that produced specific phenomena. Most Treasure Weapon staffs couldn't be identified until you actually tried using them.
In rare cases, if a staff was distinctive and famous enough, it could be recognized. But if it were a Treasure Weapon famous enough for Anna to know about, there was no way Thousand Transformations wouldn't already know it.
"Still, for the Sword Saint to have been secretly keeping a Treasure Weapon staff all this time—that's impressive skill. And to have it handed over of his own volition after being treasured for decades—quite the smooth operator."
"He's always been... observant, our leader."
A Treasure Weapon staff that the Sword Saint had never given to anyone, never even let on its existence, and kept hidden away all this time. It was entirely possible that, to him, it was an item more important than his sword. The rumor that Thousand Transformations' negotiation skills were on par with the most cunning of merchants seemed to be true.
Lucia, who had reached Level 6 at her young age, was a considerable genius in her own right, but her brother was undeniably even more so. He was apparently the one who had created the magic tome that had been one of the factors in Lucia earning the title "Myriad Transformations." No wonder Lucia had turned out to be such a devoted sister complex.
"If I could capture that 'brother's' heart now, I'd get everything—and a cute little sister to boot."
"...Anna, there's no way you could handle our leader. Don't come crying to me when you're on your deathbed."
"It's a joke, a joke. I'll store the staff properly without touching it until a professor can examine it. Even if it's cursed, it'll be fine."
Seeing the scowl on Lucia's face, Anna retracted her words. It seemed that to win over the brother, she first needed to win over this sister.
Anna had once been called a genius herself, but the girl before her was undeniably more talented. Compared to her, Anna would come up short—and on top of that, Thousand Transformations was a young Hunter who had reached Level 8 at the youngest age on record. He was certainly quite the catch. As a mere senior to his sister, Anna didn't have a snowball's chance in hell.
For now, she'd accumulate whatever points she could. Someday, surely, an opportunity would come—Lost in these self-indulgent fantasies, Anna was suddenly jolted back by something Lucia said.
"...Anna, you've been at this research lab a long time, right? Could it be that the professor is secretly hiding something important?"
"Secretly hiding... something? .............Well, being a mage and holding a professorial position, one or two hidden treasures wouldn't be unusual... Ah, wait—could it be that thing?"
Lucia's eyes widened. This gifted junior had unmatched magical skill, but she wasn't the type to keep her eyes on her surroundings. If she was spending her days on research and hunting, campus gossip would barely reach her ears.
Wanting to rattle the perpetually composed Lucia just a little, Anna glanced around with exaggerated flair and then lowered her voice.
"It's just a rumor, but apparently this academy has something passed down quietly from the first headmaster. Something of legendary caliber... I've asked the professors, and they all laugh it off, but they say their eyes are dead serious. And this 'thing'—what do you think it is?"
"A potion? Or a magical creature?" Lucia replied with an exasperated expression. Yet her words carried an odd note of certainty.
"Huh, you already knew?"
"No, this is the first I've heard of it... In any case, starting today, our guard will be Shito the Alchemist."
A guard? The Alchemist? What on earth was she talking about?
Anna blinked in confusion. Lucia clenched her fist and spoke as if steeling herself.
"I know what you're planning to do this time. I won't let you run wild like usual. My brother's rampage—I'll put a stop to it."