"Goodbye, Takumi-sama~~"
"See you later, Takumi-senpai."
After spending some time walking around with Tsubaki and Koneko and building up their rapport, Takumi parted ways with them.
Koneko had snacks stuffed in both her hands and her mouth, looking exactly like a walking hamster.|
Tsubaki wasn't nearly that gluttonous, but her face was full of lingering reluctance.
The more time she spent with Takumi, the more she found herself noticing his charm.
And he really did smell amazing. Tsubaki wanted nothing more than to breathe in a few more deep pulls of his scent, but in broad daylight and out in public, she didn't dare act that shameless.
After watching the two girls leave, Takumi began circulating his magic power.
"Alchemy Technique: Construct!"
An endless stream of glowing particles poured out, gathering in front of him and forming the Sacred Gear Mirror of Recollection.
"The Mirror of Recollection's ability is pretty damn good. Not only does it reflect damage back at double strength when the mirror is shattered, it can also summon aberrant monsters through the mirror to fight for it. I don't need the monster-summoning part, but if I make good use of the first mechanic, I can really screw someone over."
When the other side spent forever charging up some big finishing move and hurled it at him, he could just raise a mirror and block it.
Double damage reflected right back at them. Just imagining that made the whole thing feel delicious.
Because of the Sacred Gear's rank, the Mirror of Recollection in Tsubaki's possession could probably only reflect attacks up to the Ultimate-Class Demon range.
But in Takumi's hands—especially after being fused into the Boosted Gear—that mechanic plus his stats turned it into a fully maxed-out monster. The power would be on a completely different level.
As usual, he smoothly fed it to the Boosted Gear, then mass-produced another batch and stored them away inside a vault in the spacetime realm.
"The Amazons in the Battle Kingdom are overflowing with energy anyway. I might as well set up some kind of contribution-point system and let them go out, conquer, stir up trouble, and exchange those points for these Sacred Gears."
Tech-based items and fantasy weapons, both at once. Rewards were always the best way to motivate people.
"But for something on the level of the holy sword Durandal, I can't just hand it out casually. Ordinary followers wouldn't be able to draw out its power—instead, they'd just get hurt by Durandal itself. If I tweak the sword's shape a little, Kureha would probably love it. She's already passed her trial and become the Sword Hero, so it suits her perfectly."
After thinking it over for a moment, Takumi quickly arranged where these newly forged Sacred Gears would go.
Once that was done, he set off again, following the same route as before until he reached the hospital where Rikka and Tsumiki Fushiguro were staying.
After meeting and chatting with Tsumiki Fushiguro for a bit, Takumi arrived outside Rikka's hospital room.
Creak~~
He pushed the door open and entered the single-patient room.
Rikka, dressed in a plain white hospital gown, was sitting propped up against the head of the bed.
Her chin-length black hair was neat and proper, and at the sound of the door opening, she turned her head.
The profile that came into view was gorgeous—mature and alluring, with a seductive beauty that hooked the eye.
Especially those shadowed, beautiful eyes of hers. One look from them was enough to make a heart skip.
And the moment those golden pupils landed on Takumi, they shrank sharply.
"Takumi-kun?!"
Even though Takumi was nothing like he had been before, Rikka still recognized him instantly.
She sat up in excitement, her slender body immediately outlined beneath the gown.
But as if noticing her own current state, Rikka lowered her head in fear.
After Takumi had left, she had slipped back into the self-destructive state she used to be in.
Because she was immortal, she rarely ate and frequently killed herself.
And while she couldn't die, that didn't mean her body stayed in perfect condition forever.
Without proper nutrition, her muscles had wasted away, leaving her thin and frail.
Rikka felt that in this state, she simply couldn't bear to meet Takumi.
"Don't look at me, Takumi-kun... don't..."
"Rikka-neesan, I came to see you. Lift your head."
Takumi didn't care at all about how gaunt she looked. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.
He reached out and stroked her cheek, fingertips brushing her delicate skin.
That unnaturally pale complexion gave Rikka an extra layer of sickly, fragile beauty.
"Takumi-kun~~"
Feeling that familiar warmth and touch, Rikka couldn't help clutching tightly at Takumi's hand.
Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes, making her look heartbreakingly pitiful.
"Restore!"
Takumi directly cast restoration magic, resetting Rikka's body.
By now, he could already control the degree of restoration with increasing precision.
This time, he didn't completely revert her body back into that of a normal person. He merely restored her to a healthy state.
Her formerly frail figure filled out again, becoming lush and tall.
That shapely, womanly body stretched the hospital gown back into graceful curves.
"Huh!?"
Rikka looked shocked. She hadn't expected her body to recover so quickly.
Under normal circumstances, she would've needed much longer to recuperate.
"Takumi-kun... over these years apart, not only did you grow taller and broader, you even came to possess power like this."
Rikka wrapped both arms around Takumi's waist, greedily breathing in his scent.
She was like parched earth, desperate for every drop of rain.
Takumi, no longer afraid of her the way he used to be, lifted her chin and kissed her red lips.
Rikka's eyes widened in shock for a second before turning hazy and intoxicated.
The once-quiet room began to heat up.
When their lips finally parted, Takumi looked into her moist, shimmering eyes.
"Takumi-kun~ you've changed. You've changed too much... Back then, you clearly—"
"Back then I couldn't handle your huge rack, alright? If I hadn't run, I would've died in your bedroom."
Without the slightest hesitation, Takumi wrapped an arm around Rikka's slim, easily gripped waist and shot back in annoyance.
If Rikka hadn't been acting so absurdly yandere back then, he never would've slipped away when he had the chance.
Her cheeks flushed crimson, and after hearing that, Rikka muttered in defense, "How could I ever have killed you? You're more important than I am, Takumi-kun... It was all because of my constitution. But don't be afraid—I've already found a way to become human again. As long as it works, I can use human imagination to turn myself back!"
Clutching tightly to Takumi's arm, Rikka suddenly grew agitated.
She didn't want Takumi disappearing from in front of her ever again.
For that, she was willing to pay any price.
But hearing all that, Takumi let out a deep sigh.
"That's exactly why I came."
"Takumi-kun... what do you mean by that?"
Rikka, who had been overflowing with joy as she shared this with him, instantly calmed down at those words.
"Stop, Rikka-neesan. You can't keep fabricating the Steel Lady thing."
"..."
After several seconds of silence, Rikka raised her eyes, her voice trembling.
"Why? Do you think I'm wrong??? I'd do anything if it meant getting rid of this damned constitution!! Are you going to stop me, Takumi-kun!?"
Rikka stared straight at Takumi.
She desperately did not want the man she loved to say something like this to her.
After all, everything she had done... had been for Takumi.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.