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“Hey, I brought her. You ready yet?”
“Death.”
“Wow, Mr. Mintark is dead.”

Guided by Mr. Arnitta, we arrived at the basement, where Mr. Mintark lay collapsed in the middle of a stark, bare room, looking like a ragged old mop.

Scattered tools of some sort surrounded him, and the atmosphere practically screamed of harsh, backbreaking labor. He had clearly given it his all.

“Don’t mind him. Just overwork, that’s all. The thing’s already ninety percent finished, so just let him sleep it off.”
“Ninety percent, huh. Which means the last ten percent needs Momo?”
“Exactly. Here, lass, put this on.”
“Whoa—ah, got it… oh, this is it!”

The moment I caught the “staff” he tossed at me, I let out a small sigh of relief. It had kept the form I requested—a ring.

The precious ring Master had bought for me… now with a pitch-black glove attached to it.

Well, more like a stylish hand-cover than a glove, really. When I slipped my arm through, the long sleeve and open palm gave it that impression.

“Oooh, I feel like a rock band guitarist now!”
“What nonsense is that? Forget that, how does it feel? Too tight, too heavy? Tell me anything you notice.”
“Hmm… it’s like I’m not wearing anything at all. It’s super comfortable!”

Even though the hand-cover extended all the way to my sleeves, I could clench and open my fist or swing my arm around without a hint of discomfort.

Not even the faintest trace of stuffiness—so much so I’d probably forget I was wearing it.

“You could wear it day and night with no problem. The material’s special—resistant to decay, dust, fire, water, you name it.”
“Momo, let me see it too.”
“Sure! Pretty cool, right—”
“‘Burn.’”
“Waghyaaa!?”

The arm I held out to show off to my master was instantly engulfed in flames.

I flailed and rolled across the floor, but the fire refused to go out—Expected nothing less from Master. But why on earth did she suddenly do something so cruel…?

“…Wait. Huh? It’s not hot at all?”
“As expected, the fire resistance is excellent. My magecraft can’t even scorch it.”
“Please don’t try to scorch it in the first place!? Geez, what’s with the sudden test!?”
“It was a durability check. If there’d been any danger, I would’ve stopped immediately, and besides, we have treatment ready here.”
“Even so, people still get shocked, you know!”
“Anyway, what matters is its performance as a staff. Try it out.”

Master brushed it off without the slightest hint of remorse.

But since I really wasn’t hurt, and truth be told I was curious about this glove’s power, I swallowed down my complaints.

…Just you wait, Master. I’ll remember this later.

“…So, what exactly am I supposed to try?”
“What do you think? When you test a staff, you test it with magecraft. Cast whatever spell you like, whenever you’re ready.”
“Oi, lass, aim at that target there. Don’t you dare point it this way.”

Mr. Arnitta pointed toward the wall, where a splendid suit of armor stood propped against a stand.

It was about ten meters away. At best, my magecraft could only spark a tiny flame on my fingertip, nowhere near enough to reach it.

“…Not dragon-scale quality, but made by a skilled craftsman. Anti-blade, anti-rust, fire-resistant, anti-magic—that about right? Is it really okay to use something like this for target practice?”
“I asked if the king had anything we could use for a scarecrow, and he just handed that over. Still, sharp eye you got there.”
“Anyone can do it if they try. In time, Momo will learn to as well.”
“Master, I really don’t think that’s the sort of thing just anyone can do!”
“Enough pointless protests. Just fire already. If the staff works correctly, it should amplify your magecraft.”
“Hmm… well, don’t get mad if it doesn’t even reach, okay?”

I raised the gloved hand toward the armor and focused on the ring.

For some reason, gathering my magic felt much tighter, more controlled than usual. Must be the staff’s effect.

Thanks to that, the spell formed far more smoothly. All that was left was to channel it into the ring and picture the flames…

“…Huh? Momo, wait a—”
“Here I gooo! Fire!!”

The instant I squeezed out the magic power I’d gathered at my fingertip with my own little chant—

my whole field of vision turned blazing red.

A pillar-thick stream of fire shot forward like a beam, swallowing the armor and smashing into the far wall.

When the blast wind and rolling smoke finally died down, all that was left beyond the shimmering heat was a human-shaped silhouette scorched into the blackened wall.

“…A-a-a-ahhh… M-m-m-master, w-what… is this…?”
“I did… tell you to wait, didn’t I…”
“Maaasteeer!!”

Master and the others who’d been standing behind me were now sprawled against the opposite wall, flung there by the recoil of the blast.

Ah. Now I finally understood why this room had nothing in it but tools. Mr. Arnitta and the others had predicted this would happen.

“Gah-hahaha! Now that’s something, eh, Mintark?”
“Ruin.”
“What, still asleep, is he? Pity he missed the show.”
“Was that his sleep talk? …No, more importantly, what was with that terrifying power just now!?”
“Gahaha—calibration error!”
“Error!? Error, you say!!”
“Look, Momo. The armor’s completely gone. Not even a trace of melting left.”
“Stop saying scary things, Master!!”

I yanked the glove-and-ring off my arm and gingerly set it on the floor.

This was bad. Even a rookie wizard like me had produced that much power. If a great wizard like Master used it, it would be catastrophic.

“Master, no. We have to seal this up. I’m sorry to Mr. Valka, but…”
“Now, now, don’t be like that. As he said, it was a calibration mistake. We’ll tune it to you from here on.”
“But I can’t carry something this dangerous around! What if someone stole it…?”
“On that point, relax. It’s keyed so only you can use it.”
“Eh? Really?”
“Oh yes. To be precise, it recognizes the reaction of the dragon gem inside you.”
“Huh, so that’s how it works… wait, what?”
“That’s right. No ordinary person can handle it—only someone with one foot already in the dragon’s world like you, lass!”