Chapter 283

The staff and the slime-shaped item, Secom-kun. Tatsuro had thought there were only these two, but now there were three.

Wondering what the additional item could be, a question mark floated in his mind. Leah, deciding it was better to show than explain, took out the remaining two items at once.

“Secom-kun and… gloves… maybe?” Ai said.

As Ai pointed out, Leah presented a slightly larger Secom-kun, with a Magical Brain core embedded, and a pair of black gloves that reached the elbows. On the back of both gloves, a red hexagonal gem-like object was embedded.

“So, these three, including the staff, are all my equipment?” Tatsuro asked.

“Exactly. Now, please try them on,” Leah replied.

“Alright.”

Tatsuro first took out a coat from the Infinite Item Field and put it on. He then infused Water Magic into the enlarged Secom-kun, letting it seep in.

The core then fixed itself to the left chest area on the inside of the coat, and Secom-kun fully integrated into it.

Next, Tatsuro picked up the gloves and put them on both hands.

“Hm, the inside feels soft like a fluffy carpet. It’s comfortable,” he remarked.

“The base material is a special blend of dragon scales from a dungeon boss, wing membranes, and Geshmagmin. But the inner lining uses the fur of a golden crystal Defrustal.

It absorbs impacts while making it hard for attacks to penetrate the interior,” Leah explained.

“That’s convenient.”

In hot environments, the gloves might normally cause discomfort due to trapped heat, but with Tatsuro’s Endeniente title effect, he could adapt, so it wasn’t an issue.

In fact, the gloves offered both comfort and a fluffy sensation while providing top-tier defensive capabilities—a perfect combination.

While thinking about this, Tatsuro picked up the rifle staff, now complete with the main core attached at the back.

“Now, please infuse a Magical Entity into both the staff and Secom-kun,” Leah instructed.

“Got it.”

Tatsuro willed a Magical Entity with Fire Magic as its primary attribute to enter the rifle staff’s Magical Brain core and one with Water Magic as its primary attribute to enter Secom-kun’s core.

He felt a sensation as if something slipped out of his body effortlessly, and immediately, both cores housed the entities. Blue particles, like those in a snow globe, began swirling inside each core.

“There doesn’t seem to be a slot for a Return Stone in Secom-kun like there is in the staff… How do I activate it?” Tatsuro asked.

“With the Magical Entity integrated, it can now operate using its own magic power. At level 17, it should have more than enough energy,” Leah answered.

“I see. So, does that mean the staff doesn’t need Return Stones anymore?”

“The main core works that way, but we kept the Return Stone energy supply for the sub-cores since they’re trickier to manage.

However, the main core can also supply energy to them. Now, please activate them. The Magical Brain should automatically start up if you ask the Magical Entities to do so.”

“I get it. Let’s do this.”

Tatsuro first set the number of Return Stones in the rifle staff to the maximum of twelve, then pulled the trigger to activate all sub-cores.

“Alright, activate.”

At Tatsuro’s words, the two cores awakened instantly. The claw-like ribs around the rifle staff’s main core snapped open with a clank, and blue particles began swirling outside the core as well.

From Secom-kun, several water orbs connected by thin tubes deployed in an instant, surrounding and protecting Tatsuro.

As he confirmed the activation of the two new pieces of equipment, Tatsuro suddenly felt a faint flow of magic power leaving his body through both hands.

Activating his Spirit Eye to use Magic Vision, he saw threads of Magical Thread extending from the gems on the back of the gloves.

Tracing their path, he observed the Magical Thread connecting to the cores of the rifle staff and Secom-kun, linking them internally.

“There are Magical Threads extending from the gems on the gloves. What are those?” Tatsuro asked.

“It’s a mechanism designed to synchronize the staff and Secom-kun.

Since both now contain Magical Entities with their own will, there could be issues with spontaneous coordination. This system ensures they work together seamlessly,” Leah explained.

“So, synchronizing them allows better coordination?”

“Yes. The Magical Thread from the gloves shares information between them. For example—if you channel magic into the staff while thinking of a specific spell, Secom-kun understands and moves to avoid interfering.

Similarly, the staff can instantly assess Secom-kun’s actions and support them.

Moreover, through the gloves, you can convey your thoughts to both without speaking.”

“So, the gloves’ defensive function is just a bonus?”

“Exactly. Their primary purpose is to enhance the coordination between the staff and Secom-kun.”

“But they’re still top-notch as armor,” Leah added, puffing out her chest proudly, emphasizing that she hadn’t cut any corners in her work.

Smiling at her enthusiasm, Tatsuro decided to test some magic that wouldn’t destroy the inn.

As he raised the rifle staff, the Water Net automatically shifted to avoid obstructing him, demonstrating the presence of a will within the equipment.

Noting this, Tatsuro channeled magic into the staff while visualizing his intent.

“—Hmph.”

The staff instantly drew the necessary amount of magic, requiring no further control from Tatsuro. In a flash, it created a complex geometric pattern with a Laser Cutter at the tip.

“Just supply the magic and intent, and it handles the rest.

Now, let’s see what Secom-kun can do.”

Testing Secom-kun’s changes, Tatsuro found it moved independently to avoid interfering, as expected. Beyond encircling him with a Defensive Net, it could transform into wing-like shapes or morph into giant water arms, showing increased versatility.

“Hey, hey! Those guys have wills like Cardina and the others, right?” Ai suddenly chimed in, watching Tatsuro experiment.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Tatsuro replied.

“Then we’ve gotta name them!

If they’ve got a system installed, their status will just say ‘Nameless’ otherwise.”

“You’re right. I was thinking the same thing.

‘Staff’ and ‘Secom-kun’ aren’t their real names.”

Thus began the naming session, but Ai, brimming with enthusiasm, started suggesting names—each one so absurd that Tatsuro couldn’t help but wonder if they were meant as jokes, rejecting them mercilessly.

“Ugh, fine! What kind of names do you want then?” Ai pouted.

“Please, just something that feels like an actual name. What’s with ‘Water Yokan’? They’re not food!”

“But it’s all jiggly with Water Magic, so I thought it was perfect!”

“That’s Secom-kun’s thing, not the core itself.”

“Oh, right. Hmm…”

“How about I get to name them for once—”

“Nnnnnnnn!”

“Forget it. She’s not listening.”

Ai had completely immersed herself in her thoughts, oblivious to Tatsuro’s words.

Seeing how seriously she was pondering, Tatsuro decided to let her take the lead.

(Hmm… Fire kid and Water kid, huh. Their attributes and roles—attack and defense—are opposites, like a pair. Hehe, a pair, just like me and Tatsuro! —Wait?)

Ai’s gaze fell on the small sun-themed necklace she wore, bought at a Lyadas department store to match Tatsuro’s moon-themed one, which she had gone to great lengths to purchase.

(That was so embarrassing… I never knew such ero-ero stuff existed in the world.)

“Hm? What’s wrong, Ai? Why that look?” Tatsuro asked.

“Ero-ero eyes.”

“I’m not doing anything ero-ero today, am I!?” Tatsuro exclaimed, startled by the sudden accusation and her suspicious stare, despite having no recollection of anything inappropriate.

Ignoring him, Ai returned to brainstorming names.

(Hmm, moon and sun, huh. The sun god was Amaterasu, a goddess, right? The sun’s hot, like fire… Wait, what’s the moon god’s name?)

“Hey, Tatsuro, what’s the moon god called again?”

“The moon god? Wasn’t it Artemis or something? And the sun’s Apollo.”

“No, no, not the American ones, the Japanese ones!”

“American…? It’s Greek mythology, you know…”

“Is it? Whatever, so what’s the name?”

“Hm, the sun was Amaterasu, right? The moon is… uh, hold on a sec.”

Forgetting the name, Tatsuro pulled out a smartphone from the Infinite Item Field and opened a dictionary app to look it up.

(Ai says to just search online, but a dictionary app is handy for times like this. Let’s see, if I look up Amaterasu…)

He quickly found the information.

“Right, here it is. Izanagi’s left eye gave birth to Amaterasu, the right eye to Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. And from the nose came Susanoo, I think.”

“We don’t need Susanoo. So, is Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto a goddess like Amaterasu?”

“It’s generally considered male, but since there’s no clear mention of gender in the Kojiki or Nihon Shoki, it’s technically ambiguous.”

“So, it could be a girl, right?”

“Are you saying you want to use those as names?”

“Yup! The staff’s kid, with Fire Magic as its primary attribute, will be Amaterasu-chan. And Secom-kun’s kid, with Water Magic, will be Tsukuyomi-chan. What do you think? Pretty good, right?”

“Well, there are manga characters named Tsukuyomi as girls, so it’s not a bad fit. Sun and fire, moon and water—it does feel right when you put it that way. What do they think?”

When Tatsuro spoke to the staff and coat, their cores flashed brightly, and through the gloves, he felt their joy.

“Hm, looks like they like it too. Alright, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, we’re counting on you from now on!”

“Nice to meet you!” Ai added.

“Peewee!”

“Neigh!”

“Nice to meet you!”

“Pleased to work with you!”

“Yo, what’s up!”

Welcomed by everyone present, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi’s cores flashed happily again.

As Tatsuro and the others celebrated, a party invitation from the system arrived for everyone.

Naturally, the senders were Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. With no reason to hesitate, everyone accepted immediately.

“So, they do have a system installed. Can I check their statuses?” Tatsuro asked.

A feeling of affirmation came through to him.

So, without hesitation, everyone looked at Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi’s statuses together.