『EX Caliber』

"What's up, Kaori-chan?" Her friend worriedly asked.

"It's nothing serious, it's just... I'm still embarrassed, I can't believe I've done that to the duke's son..."

"Don't worry, older brother Arthur might be slightly weird—but he's not a bad person." The girl said jovially, reassuring her.

The Hrothford family is considered to be amongst the most influential family in Lizea Kingdom—as the head of their family, Eira's father, is the queen's uncle. It could be said that their status is even comparable to the queen herself; but although that was the case, the Hrothford family carried themselves with a humble temperament—never abusing their status to get their way.

"Kaori... Marika has called for you..." Minami yawned, she had just woken up it seems.

"Hmm...? Ah, It's the thing that I requested of her, it's finally here!" She stood up in great stride, waving her friends goodbye.

By now, Marika, although she still has some reservations, was comfortable enough with the group—as it seems that she has started making Soul Equipment for them. Although there were multiple Soul Arts practitioners in the castle, the queen had wanted Marika to be the one to do it—the reason being for her to gain experience.

And while she was new, her talent was not to be underestimated—as everything she had made so far had been top-notch. Though that wasn't the selling point that made Kaori and the others ask her for equipment—it was mainly because most of the things she made were extremely personalized and fashionable for their tastes.

<<----------->>

"Voila! I present to you, my best creation yet, the [EX Caliber]!" Marika said in great excitement, contrary to her usual meek behavior.

"Oh...! Finally! I can't believe I'm seeing a gun in another world, Hoshizawa-san."

That's right, the thing that Kaori had requested of her was a gun—to be precise, it was a gun that perfectly complemented her fire arts, as it was a Soul Artifact that is reliant on the amount of fire input.

Although guns weren't popular in Zenia, as power is reliant on the soul, there are still rare soul artifacts that had similar designs like the one Marika made—though this was probably the only one that is used for combat.

"Right? I know what you mean!"

"But... Hoshizawa-san, if you can make these, why haven't you cultivated and used these for yourself?"

That's right, one could still technically cultivate while being a practitioner of the Soul Arts—which is why it had puzzled Kaori that she hadn't done like so.

"Ah..." Marika looked hesitant.

"Eh—ah! That was thoughtless of me, you don't have to answer it!" Kaori apologetically said.

"It's fine, just..."

Marika fiddled with her hands—it seems it was not easy to say it. Though she knew that she couldn't just hide things forever, she doesn't want to return to being the same old self that she used to be, after all.

"I'm scared, you see. Battles and fights always make me freeze up—even simple arguments can cause me to shake. It's impossible for me, but I know I can't just do nothing—so I think doing this is perfect for me."

"Hmm... I see, I can understand that sentiment. As for me, the reason why I decided to cultivate in the first place—the reason was probably that I felt like I had nothing to do in my life back in my old world. It felt like there was no purpose in it all—and as I have met various people, I felt like I was growing distant and skeptical with them."

"You were a shut-in, right? Hoshizawa-san" Kaori continued.

"Yeah, when my parents died, I couldn't face the world anymore—It's ridiculous, isn't it? I've become more silent and reserved, I couldn't even talk to people properly. Before I knew it, I just stopped going to school and soon became a shut-in."

"You see, for the longest time that I've been a shut-in, I just hope—hope that someday I'll change, that someone will take me out of my shell. I knew that it was a foolish wish—but Anize-sama had helped me gain the courage to improve, even if I still fumble."

"Hmm... now that I think about it—most of us who were transferred seem to have something we deeply struggle with. And although it's odd, this world feels much closer to home compared to our own..."

"Haha, that's right, in this workshop that the queen had given to me, I feel so liberated—it's as if I've regained my will to face the world."

"Yeah, I'll look forward to the things you'll make here—and we'll all be relying on you, Hoshizawa-san." Kaori smiled at her friend, so as to lighten the mood.

"Hah..! I feel much better now, why don't we try this out, Fujiyama-san!?" She declared excitedly, as if the tension in her heart had been released.

"Yeah!"

<<----------->>

"How did it turn out like this...?"

"Peasant! Watch out!"

"Ah—"

Naoki had barely dodged to the side, a boulder lunge nearly flattened him out—it appears he was dozing off. He began moving, joining the fray—it seems he has no choice but to go along with the two of them.

It has been several days since that night back at the inn, as they were outside of the capital in the nearby jungle—to hunt and collect materials for Naoki's alchemy. Recently, Astria and Dorothy had started asking Naoki for pills—much to his dismay, since he has to work 3x more.

"Hah... Naoki, you have to be more careful." Astria sighed, the gorilla-looking monster lies motionless in front of her.

"Here, transmute its Soul Fragment, peasant."

"Yes..." Naoki grimaced, this has been his fate when he is not in the academy—to make pills.

Although Dorothy demanded of him in a harsh tone, one could see that her hands were shaking—it seems like she was really worried. Astria, seeing this, can't help but laugh.

"Still, we've all grown a lot these past few days." Naoki couldn't help but feel proud, as he had already unlocked his 7th soul node.

"Yeah, yet you're still careless as ever, peasant. Sooner or later, you'll die from a furball."

"Hehe, what she meant is that you should not die and leave us, Naoki."

"I'll try to be more careful..."

As Naoki said that, he began performing Alchemy. He knew that what Dorothy had said was purely out of concern despite its bluntness—as her nature was a bit pridish, after all.

And due to the recent skirmishes that the three had done, Naoki had gotten one new Dedicated Soul Node, which he had named [Handling] since it has the ability to increase hand strength—which was perfect for his style of combat, throwing objects and using fists.

Though his naming sense was still questionable, the days seems to have progressed smoothly. It appears that Naoki had grown accustomed to this world despite the number of things he does every day and night—though he can't help but wonder if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

He could only sigh at the thought.