The Stars Dance in a Spiral ②
Every Blacksmith I went to was no good.
They could repair the Spear. But they said it was impossible to restore it as an OOPArts.
Even the only Blacksmith in Hydrangea capable of restoring and maintaining OOPArts couldn’t do it.
The words he told me then still linger in my heart.
‘This ain’t an OOPArts anymore. It just doesn’t have that power left in it.’
Despite his stern face, the Dwarf master chose his words kindly.
I know. My beloved weapon, the 『Fairy Phantom Spear』, isn’t a very strong OOPArts.
Its only ability is to enhance my 『Spiral』.
And even that enhancement isn’t very significant.
In the first place, my Relic: [ Spiral ] itself is rare.
The OOPArts matches it, so it has value, but its power is weak.
Mother once said it was likely a replica.
I know that the Witch found it, and Father was the one who maintained it.
I heard that the Witch, my mentor, and Mother were once in the same Party.
A women-only Party, like the current 『Torquetum』.
Mother’s precious memory. Father’s precious memento.
That’s why I’ve used it all this time.
Seeing me like that, Mother would sigh with exasperation.
‘I won’t tell you to let it go. But you must stop treating it as a weapon.’
‘But Mother…’
‘It is nothing more than a keepsake of memories.’
‘…………’
‘—Don’t come crying to me when you regret it someday.’
It was just as Mother said.
I knew. No matter how carefully I treated it, the 『Fairy Phantom Spear』 was a weak OOPArts.
It’s been four years since Mother gave it to me. If anything, it lasted quite well.
My mentor said nothing.
But through Ax, I understand now.
My mentor probably wanted me to grow, using the regret and sorrow of loss as fuel.
That’s why she deliberately said nothing.
Mother, who warns me, is kind.
I’m also happy that my mentor believes I will grow.
However, it feels like even those two are telling me to give up.
That is the correct assessment. Both of them care about me.
“…Even so, I… what?”
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the Seeker Guild.
It’s rather noisy. Are people gathering? Bystanders? No, there are Seekers I recognize too.
Eh? The Guild is closed? What’s going on?
“…Indefinite closure… huh?”
What does this mean?
As I stood there confused, my eyes caught sight of Wof and the lewd rabbit.
That lewd rabbit. She’s stepping on my seat (Wof’s left shoulder).
Hayyarn, that lewd rabbit.
Honestly, what does that rabbit think girls’ chests and butts are for?
Speaking of which… I wonder if it’s true.
‘If you go to the Lab, it can be fixed. It can definitely be fixed.’
She said it with such confidence… It’s irritating, but maybe I should ask her for details.
Right now, I’m desperate enough to clutch at straws.
As I approached the two, they were talking about something. Eh? Going to the Dungeon?
Does that mean— I quietly slipped into Wof’s pouch.
Wof. He hasn’t noticed, but his pouch… it’s a Legendary item with storage capacity.
It’s not like a whole room or a warehouse, but it’s bigger than it looks.
It’s filled with various things, somehow feels very much like a boy’s stuff.
Ah, an Elixir Sacred Egg. A real… Egg.
“…”
Looking at the Egg gives me a strange feeling.
Maybe it’s because Mother told me long ago that ‘Fairials are born from eggs’.
I gently touch the Egg.
Why is it? It contains Elixir, but… it’s warm.
Born from an egg. Someday, I too…
Ah, um, I hear voices. The Witch, Wof, and the lewd rabbit.
What’s this ‘Come this way…’? It’s a nice voice, but I prefer Wof’s voice, relatively speaking.
Voices. Voices.
Huh? Entering the Dungeon, that’s illegal, a serious crime! You could lose your license permanently!
Just because it’s closed indefinitely, why would you go that far… eh, an anomaly in a new Dungeon?!
Even so.
‘There’s a girl crying. I don’t want her to cry.’
Is that… me? Is he talking about me?
Wof. You know, I haven’t forgotten the words you said to me back then.
‘I, I don’t want to see Mineha-san make that face.’
I’m happy, but… my chest feels tight. Hey, why?
Eh?
The 12th Floor… pale metal Minotaurs…!?
Minos Units. Because we woke up the lewd rabbit.
It’s our fault. Our responsibility.
We have to stop it.
But if we enter the Dungeon without permission, our Seeker licenses will be permanently revoked.
Wof intends to finish this… alone, without telling anyone, not even me.
Even if it means the permanent revocation of his Seeker license.
“………………”
What should I do?
Ah, the day has finally come.
Without finding an answer, I find myself hiding in Wof’s pouch again.
But I realized, even if I hide, coming this far makes me an accomplice, right?
The moment I slipped in, I also face permanent revocation of my Seeker license.
“…Feels strange.”
There’s no regret or anything like that, it feels strangely simple.
All that conflict and worry just passed by, leaving me bewildered.
Wow. I’m surprisingly detached.
Have we arrived at the Lab? What kind of place is it?
I quietly slipped out of the pouch.
What is this place… Ah, it resembles the ruins near my hometown.
Anyway. So this is the Lab.
Then all that’s left is to find the Infinite Spawn Core thingy and destroy it.
Eh, in the middle of a huge swarm? Stopping them, is that really okay?
“Hold on.”
“Whoa?! M-Mineha-jou!?”
“Hold on, lewd rabbit. What is the meaning of this!”
I fly towards the lewd rabbit.
“Wait, calm down. Why is Mineha-jou here?”
“I’ve been here the whole time. Inside the pouch, see!”
“Muuu. So it wasn’t just my imagination…”
“Well, answer me. Wasn’t the Infinite Spawn something-or-other supposed to be here?”
I was angry. The lewd rabbit answered, looking troubled.
“It was supposed to be. But look at this map. It’s moving.”
“Why is it moving!”
And this floating map… what is it?
Countless red dots. A blue dot in the center.
But they’re all moving.
“It’s moving because it was made that way, probably.”
“That’s not a reason! What are these red dots? There are so many.”
“Those? Those are all Minos Units.”
“All of these are enemies?”
“Yes, but they are all currently stopped.”
“Even so, Wof is alone!”
“…Wait, Mineha-jou.”
“Let go of me! Wof! Wof is!”
This lewd rabbit. Her grip on my arm is surprisingly strong.
“I don’t think Mineha-jou going there will improve the situation.”
“…”
She’s right. As I am now, I wouldn’t be able to do anything even if I went.
『Oriones』 is powerful, but it lacks a decisive blow.
The same goes for Relic: [ Spiral ]. I don’t think I can even scratch those Minos things.
Right now, I— I ask the lewd rabbit.
“Hey, is it true that OOPArts can be repaired in this Lab?”
“It is possible in the Lab.”
“…Then fix this Spear.”
I grow larger and take the fragments of the Spear out of my pouch, placing them on the table.
The lewd rabbit gazed at them with cold eyes and spoke.
“Restoring it as an OOPArts is possible. But something like this won’t even serve as a proper weapon.”
“…You can tell?”
“I am Hayyarn. I can tell just by looking.”
“What should I do…”
“Hmm. This Spear is a Relic enhancement type. What are Mineha-jou’s Relics?”
“…Why do I have to tell you?”
“There are things that cannot be made otherwise.”
“…………My Relics are [ Spiral ], [ Fairy Avatar ], and [ Remote Control ].”
“[ Spiral ] is rare. Ho. Remote Control? What is its OOPArts?”
“This.”
I show her 『Oriones』.
“This is the type where the triangles separate, I see.”
“Y-Yes, that’s right, but…”
How did she know just by looking?
“I recall there was a prototype design for a weapon capable of handling close, mid, and long ranges. An all-rounder. That was… tch, rabbit paws make this difficult.”
What is she doing, tapping on the platform she’s standing on?
“Hey, what have you been doing?”
“Found it. The archive is fully accessible up to Confidentiality Level 0? They didn’t restrict permissions, huh. Now, checking the data, the prototype design was redone many times, I see. It was conceived as a sword type. Hmm. Then, if we adapt this into a different type and integrate it…”
What, a picture in the air? This picture… is this… it’s… a Spear.
But this Spear isn’t the 『Fairy Phantom Spear』.
“What is this…”
“Do you want it?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“This can be built right now. However, it requires that 『Oriones』.”
“—Can you really make it? This Spear?”
“I am Hayyarn. Allow me to show you the power of an Alchemist who can handle the Lab.”
I hesitate. Then, the 『Oriones』 in my hand… yes, I understand.
You want to become stronger too, don’t you?
“I’m asking you.”
“Leave it to me. There is no OOPArts more wonderful than this for the comeback work of a genius Alchemist. Cauldron System, activate. Administrator name: Hayyarn = Megalopolis.”
Behind her, the area beyond the glass partition glowed brilliantly silver, and the strange sphere and other things in the center began to spin.
The lewd rabbit, or rather, Hayyarn, was saying something.
It was mostly, or rather, entirely in an ancient language, so I couldn’t really understand.
As instructed, I placed ‘Oriones’ onto the other table.
The table glowed, and both the ‘Fairy Phantom Spear’ and ‘Oriones’ disappeared.
After that, red text appeared along with a sound.
“What—what is it?!”
“Hmm. Is the synthesis success rate insufficient? I see. In that case, shall we mix various things? This, and this, and this, and Unobtainium. Let’s put that in too. How about this?”
When Hayyarn struck the pedestal, the red text and the sound vanished.
Numbers appeared, and when they reached 100, a Spear materialized on the central table.
“It’s complete. Magnificent. Miss Mineha. This is your weapon. You should take it.”
Nervously, I slowly gripped it.
In that instant, it came to me.
Yes, your name is… I see.
“Here I go! ‘Phantom Star Spear’!”
Stars twinkled.
To be precise, parts of the Spear Mineha-san held detached, forming triangles.
The Spear had become blue overall, and the spiraling section extending from the tip had turned white.
That white part separated into triangles, rotating and floating mid-air, twinkling like stars.
Larger and faster than ‘Oriones’, the swirling triangular stars pierced through the Minos Units.
“How pathetic.”
Mineha-san said, tossing a small bottle to me.
It was an Elixir.
Mineha-san danced with the stars.