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「 Magic tools are like lampposts or other magic-powered tools, right? And the armor? What’s the difference between a normal one and a magic enchanted one? 」

　As usual, this world is full of things I don’t know. However, this is a world that has developed through a mixture of fantasy elements such as magic and science, so it’s not surprising.

「 Well, before we get into magical armors, let’s go over the magic tools again. 」

Adlas rubbed his beard and he began explaining in order.

「 First, about magic tools…… are tools where you carve circuits into it. It can be used to collect naturally occurring magic that is dispersed in the air or in the ground, or it can be stored and supplied from a battery. It refers to a tool that allows a person to directly pour or otherwise procure magic power into it to produce a uniform effect, do you get it? 」

In short, it has similar understanding to the relationship between electricity and circuitry, so far.

「 Un, I think I get it 」

「 All right, magical equipment is a kind of equipment made by applying the technology of the magical tool. The mainstream used nowadays is that only the circuitry of the technique is engraved, and the wearer can channel the magic as needed, such as……」

　There are swords with only a hilt that generate a blade when magic is channeled through them, swords that are normally ordinary swords or bows that become covered in flames or lightning when magic is channeled through them, and some that deploy barriers according to the magic that is channeled through them.

There are two main advantages to this.

Because they use pure magic power, which is not biased by attributes, they can be used on magic systems they do not originally know.

The second is that you can reduce the mental burden of dealing with formulas, so you can concentrate more on the battle.

「 That’s about it. This may sound like a good thing, but the price is really high, and it requires more magic power than a normal cast spell. It’s a bit of a trump card, but in your case, you can overcome that problem to some extent, right? 」

「 Ah, I see, because of my Automatic MP Recovery 」

It’s true that if you have that thing, you can recover your magic power while fighting, albeit slowly.

It’s not that it’s safe to abuse it, but it’s a big advantage to be able to recover magic power that would normally be recovered after a slow rest while in the middle of a fight.

「 When it comes to Chibi girl, you can usually keep a small, unobtrusive magical device around your neck and use it without regard to form, right? I know just the place to look for the stuff she needs, and you can go there and get everything you need. 」

Adlas drew a map with his pen. It’s a little off the main street, but he says it’s a unique looking place, so it should be easy to find.

「 Shoppingーー?」

「 That’s right, Chibi, now that we’ve decided that, let’s get on with it……」

「 Alright, stop right there 」

「 Wha!?」

　As I was about to stand up, Aino-san, who was standing behind me, stopped me before I knew it. I mean, I feel like she was in the kitchen a while ago, but is that just my imagination?

「 Uh, is anything the matter?」

「 Yes, I still have something to do for you, ok?」

「 What’s wrong? Aino, Master 」

　 As soon as Aino sat me down in a relaxed tone of voice, she began to mess with my hair from behind.

「 Wahiyaa!? What are you doing……!?」

　I couldn’t help but let out a strange noise. Aino took a comb out of nowhere and started to comb out my hair, which was tangled and was a mess.

「 You’re a girl, so you need to tend to your hair properly before you go out. You’re so cute. 」

「 A girl is……that’s……well, that’s true, but also calling me cute and……」

　I think my current appearance is indeed adorable, but when hearing that from others say it, it gives me a ticklish feeling somehow. I blushed a bit, but Aino-san smiled at me and said「 See, this is how you do this, ok? 」 as she shows me a sample of my hair she worked with in front of me.

　My hair, which had been so shaggy, unraveled and became shiny in no time.

「 Amazing …… are all women capable of doing this……」

　I was so taken aback by her skill that I couldn’t help but let out a few words of admiration.

「 Are? It’s not just about everyone, you know? These things, you know, are the accumulation of daily efforts. But you know, Leticia-chan, a girl wants to be her prettiest self in front of the person she loves, right? I could do it, so I’m sure Leticia-chan will be able to do it too. 」

「 The… the person like, is it……」

　I blurt out lightly. I tried not to think about it too much, but physically, I was that of a woman. As for love interests, it would normally be a man. Honestly, it doesn’t feel right at all, or maybe it’s just that I’m still more open to the attraction I feel for women…… Will there ever come a time when I will fall in love with someone?

Honestly, all I have is a creepy feeling, so I won’t think about it for now.

As I was thinking about this, Aino-san let go of my hair and said, 「 Alright, where done 」. She left the ends of my hair slightly curly and gave me a loose curly style. She gave me a lightly wavy style hairdo.

「 Okay, okay, Chibi’s next 」

「 Nnーー? okayーーー!」

　Chibi seems to like the rhythm of Aino-san’s music, while she is playing with her hair.

　As I was watching the scene, Adlas said to me, 「 How’s my wife, isn’t she amazing? 」 with a slightly annoying smile. In fact, it’s a combination of beauty and beast, but what can I say, people have their own backstories behind this.

「 I’m not kidding. Where did you get a wife like this?」

　I’m not jealous. It’s not jealousy, okay? Adlas, undaunted by my scowl, replied, 「 Well, we were party members before 」. I see, Aino-san must have been the rear guard of the party, and he and Adlas got along well…that’s probably how it went.

「 By the way, that was around five years ago…… It was Luka’s assignment for us to have a tavern for adventurers.…… 」

　Luka? Are you telling me it was that Luka? The guild master seemed to be a long time friend of theirs, but as I was thinking about it, I remembered.

「 By the way, Adlas called Elle Luka an old lady, but she looks like she’s only a little older than me, no? Are you telling me she’s still human, and not one of those long-lived species that stays the same for years, are you? 」

「 Nn? Well……that is so 」

Adlas replied, scratching his head.

「 She was probably the same as what you are now when I was just starting out, okay? The senior adventurer I was relying on said the same thing. She hasn’t changed that much at least 30 years. Well, maybe she has a special skill, or she took some special medicine…… I don’t know much about that, though. 」

「 haa…… I guess something like that is also a possibility.……」

So, at least by my estimate, Luka is over 45 years old……. Another World happenings sure is amazing.

While I was dumbfounded thinking about that, Chibi ran up to me and said, 「 Masterーー I’m doneーーー!」. Looking at her closely, I can see that she has been given a style where layers of her hair was tied up in a light ponytail. Aino-san who was looking at Chibi in satisfaction said 「 Oh, she’s so cute!」 and continued praising her work. Ummm …… I wish Aino-san would teach me how to do this for Chibi’s sake, for Chibi’s sake, OK!

　This is not a situation where I wanted to dress up! There’s no point in making excuses like 「 I’m not here because I want to dress up 」!

　Now that we were all set, it was time to go out. Chibi and I decided to go to the store that Adlas had told us about.

　◇

「 is this the place……」

　At first glance, I could see why Adlas had given it his seal of approval, saying that there would be no confusion in locating it.

　Among the buildings in the city, which were all unified with a certain degree of Western-style fantasy worldview, there was one building that stood out from the rest.

　It is a wooden structure with a tiled roof, and the circular windows are covered with shoji paper. Yet, the entrance is a door. Also, for some reason, there is a shisa (Okinawan dolphin) at the entrance. There is also a strange architectural style that seems to be a mixture of Chinese and Japanese, but all of them are mixed up together halfway.

　I wondered if this was really the right place, but Adlas, who had been in town for a long time, had recommended it, so I figured there was no harm in checking it out. Besides, Chibi out of her curiosity was non-stop asking, 「 What’s that! What’s that? What’s that?」 and was excited and happy.

I then placed my hand on the door of the store.