Chapter 7
“Hmm… the friend who left an impression? Well, there was this guy I got close to when he was first summoned as a gacha character. Always clean-shaven, preferred juice over alcohol, and ended up marrying an elf. This is the third time I’ve been summoned, but no one has left a deeper impression than him.”
Josephine tilted her head curiously after hearing Adam’s story. “Why did he leave such an impression?”
“Because his race was dwarf.”
It was a tale that still circulated among dwarves, both in life and death, about <Gigantic Axe> Ben Dukin, inspiring both fear and contempt.
Josephine wasn’t the only one captivated by Adam’s stories—Zandra, the royal guard, listened with growing interest too. But Lucy, who was also listening, was feeling extremely annoyed.
EXTREMELY.
Though struggling to find the right words, it was clear she wasn’t happy.
‘Mine…’
Lucy had nothing until now. Adam was her very first possession.
Even if she didn’t know how to properly deal with him sometimes, the fact that Adam belonged to her was firmly ingrained.
No, “firmly” wasn’t the right word—it was more like an obsession.
Unbeknownst to herself, Lucy’s attachment to Adam was growing stronger each day.
‘Her Highness already has everything…’
Though blind, Lucy could sense that the princess had been born with everything.
Living in a grand palace, safe from any threats…
Never having to rummage through garbage cans for food or steal rags from frozen corpses to keep warm…
Never losing sleep fearing attacks from slum thugs or being beaten while begging…
And the princess even had an SR-tier gacha character guarding her!
How could she be so cheerfully talking with Adam when she already had everything?
Surely she wasn’t trying to take him away…?
That couldn’t happen. Absolutely not. Clenching her teeth, Lucy thought: without Adam, she couldn’t go on living anymore. Having tasted such happiness, she could never return to her old life, even if it meant dying.
‘There’s no way I can let him be taken…’
Dangerous glints began appearing in Lucy’s eyes as she looked at Josephine, unnoticed by anyone.
This was the moment Lucy first became aware of her capacity for murder.
“!”
Just before Zandra could react to Lucy’s murderous intent, Adam cut in.
“I’m sorry, but we should probably wrap things up here. It’s about time we head home.”
“Already? How about staying for dinner?”
“Next time.”
Adam gently turned down Princess Josephine’s invitation, then stood up and picked Lucy up in his arms.
The murderous aura disappeared instantly.
—
It had been dangerous.
He’d noticed Lucy’s mood worsening while he talked with Princess Josephine, so he’d planned to end their conversation at an appropriate time. He hadn’t expected Lucy to develop actual murderous intent toward the princess during that short period.
“Lucy.”
Looking up with a pout, Lucy gave him a “what?” look.
She probably didn’t even realize she’d directed murderous thoughts toward the princess.
Thinking this would need to be addressed later, Adam asked after leaving the palace: “Are you upset?”
“No, I’m not.”
Judging by her clearly sulky face, Lucy had become quite the lady.
“How about we go get some pancakes?”
“What’s that?”
He remembered seeing a decent café while passing through the market last time.
Maybe taking her there for something sweet would improve her mood. Though he might be oversimplifying things, judging by her reaction to the word “cake,” it should work out fine.
Holding hands, they were walking toward the market when Lucy suddenly fixed her gaze on something.
“What’re you looking at?”
“It’s nothing!”
Worried he might think she was asking for something, Lucy refused to answer while pulling at him. Ignoring her protests, Adam followed her line of sight.
She was looking at a magic tool shop.
“Did anything catch your eye?”
“No, it’s not that. I just felt drawn to look…”
“Hmm?”
Since they weren’t in a hurry, maybe they should check it out.
“Welcome!”
The cheerful, booming voice belonged to an elderly shopkeeper. The store was fairly large, filled with various gacha items.
Though magic had nothing to do with him personally, he occasionally used magic tools – especially convenient ones during war, like portable fireballs.
“Is there something specific you’re looking for?”
“Just browsing.”
“Please feel free to look around!”
What a lively old man.
While checking out potential household items, Adam noticed Lucy focusing on a particular catalog.
“Recording Mirror?”
“The description says it records moving images rather than static pictures.”
“Interesting.”
“Shall we give it a try?”
“Can we…?”
“Why not?”
Inserting silver coins into the gacha machine, Adam had Lucy pull the lever.
Plain color. Looks like a common item.
As expected, the mirror displayed on the metal panel was an N-tier item. Since design varied by tier but functionality remained consistent, it shouldn’t matter.
“According to the catalog, we need to hold it together… KYAAK?!”
As soon as Lucy lifted the mirror, it exploded into pieces.
“Are you hurt?”
“Ack, no… thank you, Adam.”
Though unharmed thanks to his quick reflexes in shielding her face, imagining the possibility of injury made him feel somewhat irritated.
“Are you alright!?”
The startled shopkeeper rushed over, bowing repeatedly upon realizing the situation.
“I sincerely apologize! I never imagined there would be defective products…! I’ll fully compensate you!”
With overwhelming apologies, Adam received his silver coins back. However, Lucy tugged on his sleeve before they could leave.
“Can we try one more time…?”
“Really want it?”
Lucy nodded.
Considering the odds of getting two defective items in a row were slim, and since this was her first time asking for something, Adam decided to indulge her request and inserted another silver coin.
However…
“KYA!?”
Another explosion.
Seeing the mirror shatter again, the shopkeeper turned pale while Adam realized something was off.
He vaguely recalled witnessing a similar occurrence long ago.
“Lucy, wait a moment.”
Despite thinking the probability was low, he lined up several magic tools from the gacha machines.
“Wanna try touching them? I’ll protect you if anything happens, so don’t worry.”
“Um, okay…”
Carefully reaching out, Lucy touched each item in turn. Every single one immediately exploded or broke upon contact.
Sigh.
So it was true.
“Um, why is this happening, Adam…? Did I do something wrong…?”
“No, you haven’t done anything wrong.”
Someone else was definitely at fault.
Returning a silver coin to the shopkeeper, Adam said to Lucy:
“Lucy, you’re a mage.”
—
Magic is fundamentally the exclusive domain of nobility and royalty.
Occasionally, a commoner capable of using magic is born, but this is usually explained by tracing distant ancestry to mages.
Magic is heavily tied to bloodlines, considered a kind of privilege. Mage families in every country place great importance on lineage.
Some families have special magics that are passed down through generations, known as family magics.
“I’ll pay whatever it takes to find Adam. Even just confirming whether he’s been summoned would help.”
Placing a heavy pouch of gold coins on the table, Iris spoke to the beautiful woman sitting across from her, who removed her long pipe from her lips and smiled.
“Tsk tsk, passionate love. To see the heroic Iris Erlig reduced to such desperation – love truly makes even heroes mere women, doesn’t it?”
“Shut up and tell me if you can do it or not, witch.”
Despite the killing intent emanating from Iris, the smoking woman casually tapped ash from her pipe and grinned mischievously.
“Hey, I’m royalty too, you know. Isn’t that a bit rude?”
“I’m sure you are. We don’t have time for word games, so stop if you’re not interested.”
As Iris moved to retrieve the gold pouch and turn away, the witch softly called out to her.
“Didn’t you see today’s paper?”
“…The paper?”
“Hm? You really don’t know?”
Using her mana, the witch levitated a newspaper toward Iris.
After catching it and glaring suspiciously at the witch, Iris lowered her head to read.
Her eyes widened dramatically.
“Babulus Kingdom?! Adam as a swordsmanship instructor? What does this mean!”
“What does it mean? That the man you love has found a new life.”
Before Iris could finish her sentence, her sword slashed through the air, colliding with the witch’s barrier and producing a loud explosion.
“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! There’s no way Adam would betray me! There must be some mistake!”
“Is that so? From what I saw of that man, he seemed content to simply serve a new master…”
The witch’s barrier shattered under a second slash, causing her to blink in surprise as Iris growled threateningly.
“Watch your words. There won’t be a next time.”
“That’s scary. Anyway, do you really have time to argue with me?”
“…”
Sheathing her sword, Iris vanished in an instant. Watching her departure, the witch flicked her finger to lift the top half of the ruined building with mana.
“Work hard, Miss Erlig. For bringing him back to me as well…”
With a wave of her hand, the building fragment disintegrated into powder, scattering in all directions as if it had never existed.
