Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Magical★Girl Lulu Appears!
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Two people returned right away.
I felt bad just sending the Professor off like that, so I suggested we have breakfast.
[Should I? I usually skip breakfast, but if you're making it, now I want some.]
"It's a hassle to cook for yourself, but someone else's cooking is easy and convenient."
[That's true.]
The Professor clearly knew the truth that food prepared by others always tastes better.
We headed home and enjoyed a simple breakfast I'd whipped up.
And that's when it happened.
"Daddy-nya... Lulu's hungry-nya..."
"Arin too..."
Woken by the smell of food, my daughters came toddling into the living room with rumbling tummies.
I pulled out the food I'd prepped yesterday from the Emerald Cauldron (SS+) and fed my two girls, wrapping up a satisfying breakfast for everyone.
We sat there for a bit, rubbing our full bellies and succumbing to the drowsiness...
"Nya...? Daddy-nya. What's this red cape, nya?"
"That? It's a gift from someone Daddy knows."
"I see-nya. It's a super mysterious cape-nya."
Lulu spotted the Cloak Infused with the Sun's Blessing hanging on one side of the living room.
She stared at it with curious eyes.
Then she started talking to it like it was alive.
"Nice to meet you-nya! I'm Lulu-nya!"
...
"I see-nya? That's a sad story-nya..."
......
"Nya? You need fire, nya? Then Lulu can help you, nya?"
.........
"Great-nya! Then Lulu will help you-nya!"
At that point, I just thought Lulu was chatting with an imaginary cape friend.
So I smiled like a proud dad, watching her cuteness.
But that didn't last.
When an alert popped up in front of me, I realized something was off.
'Lulu' uses skill 'Spirit Flame'.
"Take this-nya! This is the biggest fire Lulu can make-nya!"
"Lu, Lulu?!"
"Sis?!"
[Job Hunt Villain!? What did you do this time!]
"This time it really wasn't me! I'm innocent!"
Lulu suddenly activated her skill, blasting the cloak with her maximum output flames.
Startled by her unexpected action, I jumped to stop her.
But then a new alert appeared, and I froze, staring blankly at Lulu.
'Lulu' begins communion with 'Cloak Infused with the Sun's Blessing'.
'Lulu's flames draw out the hidden power of the 'Cloak Infused with the Sun's Blessing'.
Success in communion grants a new skill.
[Current communion rate... 1%]
[Current communion rate... 2%]
"...Communion rate? New skill?"
I had no idea what that meant or what was going on.
But one thing was clear.
"Nya-!!!"
[Current communion rate... 4%]
I shouldn't interrupt Lulu while she was pouring out all her flames.
And if she succeeded in this communion, something good would definitely happen.
Once I grasped the situation,
I explained it to the Professor.
[Communion with equipment? Then that cloak is ego equipment... What the hell did that idiot couple use to make it...!]
"Um... what's ego equipment...?"
[It refers to equipment with its own ego that's rarely found in the Tower.]
[You know, like those talking holy swords or demon swords that pop up in subculture stuff.]
[After the Tower appeared, they started showing up one by one. Ego equipment has a habit of testing those it finds worthy.]
"So Lulu is right now..."
[Yeah. She's undergoing that test.]
[No wonder they wouldn't sell it no matter how much I offered... They couldn't sell it.]
The Professor clicked his tongue, saying he'd give that idiot couple an earful later for all the secrets.
Then he channeled his mana to check the energy flowing between Lulu and the cloak.
[...This isn't a bad situation.]
[It's the best case I've seen for communion so far.]
"What usually happens?"
[The equipment's energy is different from the start. Usually, it emits a violent aura like 'Can you handle me?']
[Ego equipment is picky and tests users thoroughly.]
[But look at the energy flowing between Lulu and the cloak now.]
[No resistance at all—they're accepting each other. That means the equipment likes Lulu a lot and is accommodating her.]
The Professor was spot on.
The energy between them felt considerate, like they were adjusting to each other.
It didn't feel like a test at all.
But even so...
"Nya...!!!"
[Current communion rate... 55%]
It wasn't called a test for nothing.
Lulu's flames were gradually losing power.
At this rate, failure was certain, so I asked the Professor,
"Is there any way I can help Lulu?"
[Normally, outside interference fails the test, but you're her owner and dad, so maybe it's fine.]
[You have Pure Flame (S), right? Try using it on Lulu.]
"On Lulu?"
[Lulu's a fire spirit, and you hatched her egg by feeding it your flames, right?]
[It'll definitely help in some way.]
I hesitated a bit at the thought of using a skill on Lulu.
"Nyaaang..."
But seeing her struggling more and more, there was no time to hesitate.
Trusting the Professor's and my alchemist instincts once more, I used the skill on Lulu.
"[Pure Flame]"
Whoosh-!
The moment I activated it, a candle-sized purple flame ignited above Lulu's head.
A moment later...
Whi...sh...
...Contrary to our expectations, it fizzled out without effect.
Just as I thought the communion would fail...
"Nom!"
Whi......sh-!!!!!!
"!"
[!]
Just like last time when egg-Lulu absorbed the purple flames and blazed up,
the moment Lulu gobbled the fading purple flame with her tiny mouth,
an enormous blaze erupted from her body, roaring to life.
"Thanks, Daddy-nya! Now Lulu's full of power-nya-!! Cat energy fully charged-nya-!!!"
Whoosh-!!!!!!
[Current communion rate... 62%]
[Current communion rate... 73%]
[Current communion rate... 88%]
Re-energized, Lulu unleashed massive flames at the cloak.
The communion rate shot up at an incredible speed.
Soon it hit 100%, and Lulu's body began to glow.
New alerts scrolled up, announcing her changes.
[Current communion rate... 100%]
'Lulu' is acknowledged by 'Cloak Infused with the Sun's Blessing'.
'Lulu' acquires skill 'Sun's Blessing (A)'.
'Lulu' possesses 'Spirit Flame (C+)', a skill of the same lineage as 'Sun's Blessing (A)'.
The two skills resonate!
The two skills merge into one, granting a new skill!
'Lulu' acquires skill 'Solar Spirit (A)'.
'Lulu's rank grows one step due to skill influence!
Outputting updated status window.
-Ding!
After Lulu's rank rose due to the new skill,
all her skills leveled up too, slightly changing her appearance.
"Daddy-nya! Lulu's no longer just a small, cute kitty-nya! Now Lulu is... a cute and majestic kitty-nya!"
At a glance, her size had more than doubled.
Well, that just meant she reached knee height instead of ankle height.
Still, it was a pretty significant difference.
"Lulu's nya-nya punch is even stronger now-nya! Lulu is Punch King Lulu-nya!"
"So cool, sis!!"
Whether from her bigger body or her Toughness (C) trait upgrading to Resilience (B), I wasn't sure.
But her nya-nya punch, which already turned goblins to mush, could now shatter average trees or rocks like tofu.
"Wow! Daddy-nya! Look at this-nya! Lulu's tail has a sharp stinger now-nya!"
"Eek! So scary, sis! There's deadly poison beading at the tip...!!!"
The end of her chubby tail now had a thin, sturdy stinger—so fine you'd miss it without close inspection.
Even more shocking: the Professor said Lulu's deadly poison was a type he'd never seen, and warned me not to get stung.
And then...
"Nyaaang! Lulu can fly now-nya! Flying Lulu-nya!"
"Wow! So cool, sis! The cape flapping makes you look just like Puss in Boots!"
Wings about the length of my finger joint sprouted from Lulu's back, letting her take to the skies.
The Cloak Infused with the Sun's Blessing had resized to fit her tiny frame.
From afar, it looked like a cat in a Puss in Boots cosplay flying through the air...
Sigh... I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.
Anyway... finally...
"Nya nya nya... I feel it, Arin-nya..."
"Feel what, sis...?"
"With Lulu now... 'that' is possible-nya...!"
"No way...! You're doing 'that'?!"
"Yes-nya! 'That'-nya!"
...My daughters suddenly made a huge fuss about doing 'that' and struck weird poses.
"Magical★Girl! Transform-nya-!!!"
"Transform-!!!"
They shouted the magical girl transformation line from yesterday's TV and leaped into the air.
They somersaulted while gliding midair.
A moment later...
Flash-!!!
Lulu's body really started glowing like she was transforming.
When she landed, she no longer looked like a cat.
"Magical★Girl Lulu-! Arriving on scene-nya-!!!"
"Kyaa-! So cool, Lulu sis! I wanna transform too!"
The Professor and I, witnessing it all live...
"......Professor. Help. Explanation. Needed. Urgently."
[Hold on... My brain's overloaded too. Can't think straight.]
Overloaded with info, my language skills tanked, and I gave up thinking.
The Professor analyzed [Does this even make sense...?]
It wasn't until afternoon, after a long time, that he concluded it was all thanks to Growth (S).