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「With the previous colors back, you’re Cielmer now, right?」
「Yes.」
「It’s easy to tell you two apart from how you speak but, if I’m not wrong, Ainsel can imitate you, right? Cielmer.」
「Yup.」
「In that case, your speech patterns can’t be used as absolute identifiers. Are there other ways to distinguish between you two?」

As Ciel and I switched back, Carol quickly reacts and asks Ciel. Changing my colors and speech pattern personally doesn’t take that much effort, so I can likely just trick people if I wanted to. Though, I don’t really think my acting is perfect either, so people familiar with us would probably notice.

Other than those… Just as I started thinking, Ciel answered Carol.

「Magic power changes.」
「…Right, that makes sense. If the soul in control changes, magic power should change as well. Still, people who can sense magic power are by no means common. While I can do it if I try, it’s still difficult to identify who’s who. Also, because of that barrier, it’s even more difficult to tell it apart.」

So this barrier had that effect too, huh. Up until now, Fiiyanamia was the only one who ever mentioned things like the quality and an individual’s magic power, so I didn’t really take notice of it. Wait, but didn’t Fiiyanamia also say that Ciel’s magic power is concealed by mine or something?

While Carol explained so with a serious look, that’s all I can think about on my part. Undoing the barrier is unthinkable anyways.

「Well, it’s fine. Even if it’s Ainsel acting like Cielmer, I’ll just treat you as Cielmer.」
「That’s fine.」
「By the way, was it Ainsel who said she wanted to see my research?」

『Now that I recall, I did say that.』
『Should we switch again?』
『No, it’s fine as is. However, right… Could you try asking her about how to apply the Job’s power to one’s sorcery? Please.』
『Understood! Leave it to me! Leave it all to me!』

Ciel answered excitedly. Is she really that delighted about me asking her a favor? If so, that’s somehow really adorable of her.

Still, if it’s just asking her a favor, this shouldn’t be the first time I’ve ever done that. Is it because this was more personal to me?

「How do you apply Job’s power to sorcery?」
「I see now. That barrier, it’s going to get tougher, isn’t it…」

Carol had a blank stare. Still, I think the barrier is already several hundreds of times stronger than how Carol remembers it. I’ve incorporated divine power, after all.

Saying that the barrier can be further reinforced does sound somewhat excessive even for me. Still, there’s no loss in knowing it anyways.

「Alright. First of all, the Job isn’t a Sorcerer-type, is it?」
「It isn’t, why?」
「With Sorcerer-types, it’s really easy to integrate into sorcery. So since I have a Sorcerer-type Job, this might not be absolute, alright?」
「It’s fine. Tell me.」

Heeding Ciel’s request, Carol nodded.

「From my study, it’s through talent, experience, and a Job’s level of growth.」
「Job’s growth?」
「When constantly using a Job’s abilities, there are cases when its capabilities expand. Someone with a Swordsman Job suddenly doing a sort of physical reinforcement activity is one example. With talent, the integration will be easy. Without, you’ll just have to use your Job’s abilities again and again, until you learn from intuition.」

『Ain, Ain, is that enough?』
『Yes, thank you very much.』

Talent, experience, and growth. As for growth, well, it can’t be helped. While we did have a lot of opportunities to make use of it, we’ve only had our Jobs for 2-3 years. If it grows that frequently, this world’s older people would all be superhumans, which I don’t think is the case.

If so, then do I just have no talent? I’m confident with my skill in sorcery, but that’s not within the scope of my Job. Doing sorcery while singing might be another issue in and of itself. After all, I just can’t help myself from either watching Ciel dance or just focusing on the song.

『So judging from what Carol said, you have amazing intuition, Ciel.』
『Is that so?』
『You’ve combined the use of Dance Princess and Sorcery ever since our first fight. I still can’t use Song Princess’ abilities to reinforce my own barrier, so that’s amazing Ciel. I really envy that.』

Moreover, she’s not just relying on talent, she’s put in effort as well. Being able to run through the sky was the result of her hard work, and she can use Elicinaries¹ other than water, wind, and ice. Like fire, though there’s no telling when it can be useful.

After all, while it doesn’t spread as much as Friere’s, it still turns the area into a sea of flames.

Still, that was pretty awkward of a praise from me. Even so, Ciel seemed to be pleased, and so she replied with a cheerful tone.

『Hearing that makes me feel happy, really happy. But, Ain is even more amazing!』
『Thank you very much. If you’re fine with it, would you mind asking Carol when Jobs will grow?』

Since we’ve ignored the people around us and talked for too long. Carol even looks like she has something to say to Ciel.

「Are you done talking?」
「Yup. Tell me when Jobs grow.」
「Argh, geez, I get it already.」

As though something snapped in her, Carol answered. I understand how you feel, but please pardon Ciel. After all, it’s likely going to take some time for Ciel to learn to be more considerate. Also, I’ve already mostly forgotten how to be considerate in these situations as well.

「I’ll teach you the fundamentals regarding a Job’s growth. If something catches your interest, ask about it afterwards.」
「Understood.」
「First, while it’s referred to as Job growth, this isn’t actually a unilateral thing. Even among sorcerers, there are those who are good at using large spells and those that are good at rapid fire of small spells. You can think of this as a difference in growth. As a sorcerer, it would be best to be able to do both, in short, that’s just how it is.」
「Yup.」
「Now for when growth happens, this actually differs between people. Some just have it earlier, while some have it much later. However, it usually takes between 5-10 years, I think? There are some who are already of old age yet hasn’t had any growth at all, though.」
「I see.」
「But, well, you two shouldn’t have any problems either way.」
「Yup.」

It’s the truth. Ciel still nodded with no hesitation at all, as Carol broke into a strained smile. Rather, it feels to me like Ciel’s Dance Princess has grown, but I wonder if that’s really the case?

After all, it’s not like there would be a level up fanfare when you experience growth like in games, so maybe we just didn’t notice it.

『In that case, there’s no telling when I’ll be able to use the barrier with Song Princess.』
『That isn’t really a problem, is it? Since it’s already enough as it is right now.』
『Well, that is true.』

「Are you satisfied?」
「Yup. Thanks.」
「It’s fine. To begin with, I was able to reach this far because of what Ainsel said. My achievement of A-rank was also thanks to this. Glacio Lentso’s² power has increased compared to that time, but…」
「Not possible. Ain’s barrier won’t break.」
「Thought so. From what I saw, it should be able to breach the barrier that Friere nearly destroyed but as for the innermost barrier, I have no idea at all.」

Carol stares at Ciel, or rather the barrier protecting Ciel. And then, 「Not even a clue.」 she gave up. It’s concealed and has recently been mixed with divine power as well, which caused even more spirits to approach us. So while it might be weird for me to say this, but people who can see it are amazing.

The elves seem to excel in sorcery, so I wonder if they can see it? Will I have another chance to see individuals from other species that I encountered at the building where I was first brought to in Central?

Well, that isn’t relevant right now.

Also, Ciel just exposed that the barrier is mine, but I don’t particularly mind it either. After all, it’s not like knowing it’s mine makes it any less reliable. And if I may add, we have the Creator God’s protection until 15, so we probably won’t die even if the barrier gets destroyed.

「Come to think of it, what do you two plan on doing now? Your objective back then was just to reach Central, right?」
「Find Artificial Divine Messengers.」
「The rumored gold wolf, right? Did Rispelgia perhaps make that too?」
「Probably. There’s a high chance.」
「So it’s not certain yet. Did it have any distinctive traits?」
「Part of its body was covered in special magic power?」

Those parts are probably enveloped in remnants of divine power, but we’ll have to give a more exhaustive explanations if we talk about that. Unfortunately for them, it seems Ciel find it too troublesome to talk to them about this. Ciel likely only agreed to tell them about us because I suggested it.

「Got it. If we gain any relevant findings, we’ll relay it to the two of you.」
「If I’m not wrong, you also asked the Hunter Guild to gather information, no? Will it be alright to share this defining trait with the guild?」

Celia joined the conversation and Ciel curtly replied, 「It’s fine.」

After this, we promised to meet again before leaving Carol’s house.

◇

It’s now our second time at the Hunter Guild. It’s already evening and the place is quite packed with hunters. Not caring about this, Ciel went directly to the reception counter.

A lot has happened today for some reason, so I forgot but we originally came here today to see if we can find Viviana. Therefore, we intend to inform Rhavelt about our search so that he can pass on the message to her when she comes. Admittedly, this might be too small of a matter to ask of him.

Well, Rhavelt is the only person we know here in the headquarters.

There are people glancing at us, maybe the result of our mock battle with Friere was spread? Or maybe it’s because they’ve been warned about me. Whatever the case, it’s nice to have no one obstructing us.

As Ciel’s turn came, the receptionist had a surprised expression and then guided us deeper into the building.

We were led to the same room we were guided to yesterday. Ciel sat down on a chair and Rhavelt immediately arrived.

「It appears that we have caused you trouble again today, my apologies for that.」
「It’s fine.」
「If that’s the case, I’m grateful to hear that. Incidentally, what might be your purpose for visiting today?」
「Tell me where Viviana’s house is.」
「Viviana… Ah, of the Amyulute family, correct? From here…」

When Rhavelt disclosed the information without hesitation, I initially had concerns about personal privacy. However, I quickly realized that we have enough authority to overlook such concerns. Nonetheless, we should be cautious about who we approach for requests and favors. There may be instances where we make a request under the assumption that it will be declined, only to find that the other party cannot refuse it.

If it’s Carol, she’ll likely say no when she doesn’t want to do it, but for people who only know us based on our status, they may be hesitant to refuse our requests. Nevertheless, since this time it was Rhavelt, or rather the Hunter Guild, that we made this error with, I do not feel particularly guilty about it.

「Also, if Viviana comes, inform her about me. And that I might have no more opportunity to use that.」
「Sure, loud and clear.」
「That’s all for today. Have you found the person I asked for yesterday?」
「Found already. How should they be dealt with?」
「I’ll leave it to you. Just punish them properly.」

Even if we were asked about it, we do not have any good ideas, and we are not particularly interested in receiving any money. Hence, leaving it to them would be more convenient. However, if this were not Central, we would not entrust the punishment to the same guild that they are a part of. It is only because Central is under Fiiyanamia’s supervision that we can agree to this decision. Otherwise, I would have to be capable monitoring them like Fiiyanamia does³.

With this, our business is done. Just as I thought that, Rhavelt lined up several cards on top of the table. Several of them look familiar, but there’s one that is unfamiliar.

「These will be the new hunter cards.」
「Understood.」

Two whole sets of cards from A-rank downwards. One should be Ciel’s and the other mine. Come to think of it, this might be the first thing that belongs to me.

Well, technically, the black-haired form is mine. Still, Ciel and I generally share our possessions, so I don’t think I’ve ever had anything with my name on it, anything that undoubtedly belongs to me.

As I told Ciel that, 「Let’s go shopping tomorrow! Yes, definitely!」 she then became competitive for some reason.

Heya~! We’re quite heavy in exposition this chapter, moreover, it’s exposition regarding Jobs! Yay~!

But first of all, let’s focus on the character interactions. With Ciel on the driving wheel this time around, Carol seems quite frustrated in multiple occasions, lol. It’s understandable with Carol’s character in mind, she doesn’t seem to be that patient with people, nor does she seem good with children. But maybe that’s just my bias. Still, you can really see that Carol is having a hard time adjusting to Ciel in her full social awkwardness. And to be fair to Ciel, she’s not really used to keeping a conversation going, nor is she usually interested in doing so. She’s just happy to be of help to Ain, which is adorable but is admittedly awkward. I blame Ain for being overprotective, lol. This is why I can’t see you as a parent figure, Ain. You over doting guardian, you. But that should be fixed now that they’re out of Estoque. Also, they’re really making the grandmaster do chores, huh.

Now, for the Jobs! For this one, if you’ve ever read the raw, I’ll be using Job “power” and Job “ability/-ies” interchangeably like I do with “sorcery” and “spells”, just a heads up. Anyhow, it appears that Jobs have a level up-like growth system to them. In gaming terms, a Job’s abilities and powers act like skills, and there seems to be “active” and “passive” types… actually, there’s no assurance because the Jobs really are intertwined with the people that have them at their best case. For example, is Ciel’s dancing mesmerizing because of how well she dances or because her Job makes it mesmerizing? Or is dancing well what actives some mesmerizing effect? To what degree? Etc, etc. Anyways, Job growth seems to be either an expansion of one’s ability skillset (ex. Physical Reinforcement without Sorcery use, Quick Casting) or an improvement on one’s use of the existing abilities (ex. Maybe Ciel’s dance enabling her to cast even more powerful spells than before?). I honestly like it because it’s more like an extension of the person itself rather than the person tapping into a game-like combat system. Your Job has abilities, figure it out and get a grasp of it first, then maybe you can grow into it and refine it. It’s just that, honestly, Ain hasn’t been very creative and open with her use (or rather she just had more focus in her barrier), so it’s fair that she hasn’t figured out how to use it in parallel with her barrier yet. Also, Ciel just seems to be a natural at dancing, and has more child-like creativity, being an actual child and all. And that’s it.

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay clean, stay safe, and have a nice day~!

1. Stages
2. Spear of Ice
3. i.e. Spy on them using nationwide detection