Side: Kaya
Everyone was shocked by what Yuki had said.
That was only natural—none of us had ever heard of a weapon made using a Dungeon Core as material.
However, according to Yuki, its performance as a weapon wasn't particularly impressive. Well, we already knew that from when the sisters used the magic swords during the experiment. After all, my flame magic was stronger. Yuki's forced level boost was one reason, but I felt the fundamental level of magic itself was on a completely different scale.
While skimming through the documents, I recalled what happened during that experiment.
At the time, Yuki had called for me, and I headed to the testing site.
There, the sisters, Zargis, Ria who was on guard duty, Jessica, and the four little ones were already waiting.
"Kaya. Sorry about this."
"...Don't worry about it. Just make me some inari sushi later."
"Sure thing. Leave it to me."
"Ah, Onii-chan, me too!!"
"Nii-sama!!"
"Yuki-san, me too!!"
"Ara? How cruel. Only Kaya gets special treatment."
Yeah, as usual, it's noisy around Yuki.
I don't hate it, but since I prefer quiet spaces, I don't really cling to Yuki unless we're in bed.
Riel and the others find it strange, but I think this kind of distance is nice too.
"Alright, alright. I'll make some for everyone. Now then, we're working, so don't get in the way, okay?"
"""Okaaaay~!"""
Yuki finished lecturing the kids and turned back to me.
"We have some onlookers today, is that alright with you?"
"Mm, no problem. I think it'll be a good learning experience for them."
The little ones have high levels thanks to Yuki's support, but they still lack practical battle experience.
Increasing that experience even a little is important. If our experiment with the sisters can help, we should make use of it.
"Hey Yuki-san~ isn't there a reward for me too?"
Riel, who was also participating in the experiment, raised a protest.
"Riel gets a sashimi platter later."
"Yay! I'll do my best!!"
Cheap woman, Riel.
...Though I'm not really one to talk.
"And Tori, is steak fine for you?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you very much."
And Tori is way too modest.
There's nothing embarrassing about loving meat, but in front of Yuki she tries to act like a proper lady.
Even though in bed she howls wildly.
"Alright. Are you two ready?"
"...Yes. We don't mind."
"...Um, if we're using the Magic Sword, shouldn't the children stand farther away...?"
I had almost forgotten about the sisters, who were the main subjects of today's experiment.
The two of them still couldn't keep up with our daily pace.
Well, that was only natural.
Aslin and the others really do look like children. But their levels are higher than ours, so except for experience and skill, the sisters lose to them in raw stats. I doubt those two could do anything against Aslin and her group.
Aslin and the others genuinely looked like children. Even so, their levels were higher than ours. Aside from experience and technique, we'd lose in every other category. The sisters wouldn't be able to do anything against Aslin and the others.
"Right. Since the older sisters said so, let's stand a little farther away."
"""Okaaaay~!"""
""......""
The little ones obediently moved back, but the sisters still looked unconvinced, as if simply having them here was the problem.
"Alright, let's start. Here, your magic swords."
Saying that, Yuki casually pulled the magic swords out of his item box and tossed them over to the sisters.
"!?"
"Eh, you can use item box magic yourself?!"
"Of course I can. Stop being surprised by everything. You've already experienced the difference between us, haven't you?"
It's true that Item Box is a rare skill, but it's not like it doesn't exist on our continent.
It seems to be far beyond rare on this continent, though.
"Never mind that. Do you feel anything unusual with the magic swords?"
"...Mist, let's quietly accept reality."
"...Yes, Onee-sama."
Told by Yuki, they swung their magic swords, creating small sparks of fire and drops of water.
Hmm, it looks like they are casting magic using the power of the magic swords while barely consuming any of their own mana.
A different type from Ria's equipment.
Ria's Hero Gear only activated after absorbing her mana. All of us had also received updated personal weapons and armor, but those worked by using our own mana as fuel.
The Magic Sword felt more like those electric lamps being developed for civilians—lamps that could produce light without requiring the user's mana. The comparison wasn't perfect, but it felt accurate.
"There are no particular issues. Though, since you said this was an experiment, I assumed the sword had already been dismantled."
"I agree. It seems perfectly normal."
"Then the experiment can proceed."
"No objections."
"Good. First, show us what you can do with your specialty techniques. You don't have to use your trump cards or finishing moves. As warriors, you probably don't want to reveal your hidden techniques."
"Could you stop glaring at us like that? We are aware that we are prisoners."
Olive noticed our sharp glares and tried to show that they wouldn't do anything reckless.
"...We're guards. Being watched harshly is only natural."
I immediately shot back.
You started a war against us. What exactly are you complaining about?
Personally, I hated people who started wars for selfish reasons. They reminded me of Loire.
"Just endure it. You started a war, got captured, and still have all your limbs. Nobody's beaten you either. That's already better treatment than what your own army's situation, right?"
"......"
"Onee-sama, there's nothing we can do about it."
They didn't deny it.
Hmph, just as I thought. They talk big but don't have the power to back it up.
Yuki doesn't torture people unless it's absolutely necessary.
Actually, he wouldn't even go through the trouble.
After that exchange, the sisters showed us their magic sword techniques.
"Waaah, amazing!!"
"Nii-sama, do you want a weapon like that too?"
"Fumu, fumu."
"...The weapons Yuki wants are definitely way more brutal."
The little ones were excitedly chattering while watching the sisters' magic swords, but for us who were monitoring and gathering information, it was rather underwhelming.
So far, nothing they did surpassed standard high-level magic.
The only real benefit was that the mana needed to cast seemed incredibly low. Just as I saw, the mana they consumed was overwhelmingly less than when we cast magic ourselves. I have the Mana Perception skill, so I can see the flow of magic clearly. There's no doubt about it.
Was this equivalent to the staffs used on our continent?
The staff techniques I specialized in also became easier to use because magic stones assisted activation, so maybe something similar? But the power difference feels... on a completely different scale.
"Hmm, what do you think, Zargis?"
"Let's see. How should I put it... it is rather disappointing."
Yuki and Zargis seemed to share the same opinion as me.
As expected, it really did feel lacking. Maybe we've just gotten too strong?
"...Very well. We may have been defeated, but looking down on our magic swords and our power is an insult to the name of the Jilva Empire."
"Onee-sama... I understand. Let us show them our full power!!"
Then, the two fools drew an immense amount of magic from their swords, enough to cover the entire training ground, trying to cast large-scale fire and water magic, but...
Whoosh.
Splash.
With those sounds, the flow of mana vanished.
"What are you two doing? If you use magic with that much power, it'll explode. The equipment and documents will be wasted, so stop."
"Ah..."
"Huh?"
"Good grief. Why get that heated so quickly? So, Zargis, what do you think?"
I believe Yuki used a magic that made the mana disappear.
Even though he's my husband, that's terrifying. With that, magic becomes completely unusable.
If one had physical ability and body enhancement magic like Derieu, it wouldn't be a problem, but we still can't control it even halfway as well as Derieu can.
"Fumu, the scale is certainly impressive, but replicating it individually is quite easy. If it were someone highly skilled in magic like you or me, Yuki, we could do it much faster and on a larger scale, wouldn't you say?"
"More importantly, the charge-up time is terrible. Dropping a bomb would be faster, right?"
"That is true, though I should note only you can do that, Anyway, it's clear they're drawing power from the Dungeon Core. With the sisters' own mana capacity, they couldn't possibly activate such large-scale magic. Yuki, why don't you try taking control of the core?"
"I considered that. But if there's still an administrator attached to it, it could reveal our existence. That's the problem."
"Ah, I see. Then perhaps we should simply try making one ourselves."
"That would be best. Also, let's have a light mock battle. We completely shut them down last time, after all."
"That would be the most effective way to test them in actual combat."
Once the two finished talking, they turned their gaze toward us.
"So that's the plan. Riel and Kaya, I'm counting on you to take on the sisters like before."
"Leave it to me~"
"Understood."
When we stepped in front of the sisters, the older one looked slightly displeased.
"Are you sure? Fighting against demi-humans makes it difficult to hold back, you know?"
She ignored me and spoke directly to Yuki.
This woman... stop addressing Yuki so casually.
"Ah? Oh, well, do your best. Kaya, don't kill them."
"...I'll only beat them half to death."
"Ara? You shouldn't say things you can't do."
The next instant, I had already sent Olive flying.
"Onee-sama!?"
"Ahh~ Kaya, no good. We need to see how they use the magic swords."
"...Ah, sorry. I forgot."
I walked over and pulled Olive up from the wall where she had slammed into.
"Ugh..."
"...Your bones are broken. Haah, Heal."
I reluctantly healed her.
Recovery magic really is convenient. I should thank Lilishe-sama for making it possible.
As for Luna... well, never mind.
"...Come on, let's keep going. If you don't actually use the magic sword to attack me, it makes things difficult for me. Since you clearly can't block that last attack, I'll hold back this time."
"H-Hold back!? Eek!?"
Since there was no other choice, I treated it like a practice session and lightly struck at Olive using my staff techniques.
That day, Olive collapsed without ever managing to properly use her magic sword.
It looked like Riel handled Mist perfectly on her end too.
Because of how quickly it ended, Yuki made less inari sushi for me.
Good grief, I'll make sure she actually uses her magic sword properly tomorrow.
