Magic Tools and a Secret Prayer
The magic tools on the second floor were all combat gear. Swords that spat fire, spears charged with lightning magic, shields with defensive spells built in, even accessories laced with blessings—there was a surprising variety.
“They even have things like this,” I said.
Every magic tool shop I’d visited before had been stocked mostly with daily necessities. That was where the real demand lay, after all. I never expected to find combat equipment like this.
“They’re not nearly as efficient as they look,” Maximilian replied.
Is that so? From an adventurer’s point of view, some of them still seemed pretty decent.
“Take this fire-spitting sword, for instance. Cool, right?”
I’ll give him that! As a man, a sword that shoots fire? How am I supposed to resist?
“But there’s no way to block the heat. The one standing closest to that scorching flame isn’t the enemy—it’s the user. Of course, if you actually land a hit, you can deal serious damage.”
The blade already had more than enough killing power, so why bother adding fire…? And if you wounded someone, the flames might even cauterize the cut and stop the bleeding for them.
“It can inflict burns or widen the attack range, sure, but still.”
Apparently someone at the academy had used weapons like that.
“Knights can already wrap mana around their swords to boost cutting power or durability, so the extra effect is even more negligible.”
And for anyone who couldn’t handle mana, the consumption was brutal. You might manage a short burst, but repeated use was out of the question.
“I see… that makes sense. Then what about this one?”
I pointed to the spear that crackled with lightning.
“Among the items here, this one’s relatively decent.”
Lightning coiled around the blade to deliver electric shocks. Well, until you solved the mana problem it shared the same fatal flaw as everything else, so there was no need to belabor the point….
“In the end, if it doesn’t connect, it does nothing—that’s the real drawback.”
It could still be useful for a surprise attack or for channeling current through an opponent’s iron armor….
“Huh…”
The only other downside was that the lightning’s range was short.
“Then how about this?”
I pointed at a shield.
“That’s usable too, but it has a different problem.”
The magic circle was engraved directly onto the shield, so if the shield broke, the magic tool’s ability was gone.
“If you’re not Knight Class, you can’t cast defensive magic often enough. Use it to block attacks and the damage starts to pile up.”
Ah… that was a problem as well.
A Knight Class could simply reinforce themselves with mana from the start. Without mana? You couldn’t freely draw on the shield’s power.
“So it’s basically a defective product.”
At Maximilian’s scathing assessment the clerk began glaring in our direction. Luckily no other customers were around. If anyone shopping nearby had overheard that merciless critique, they would have thought twice about buying anything.
“I see…. Then what about accessories like this?”
It was a magic tool that enhanced the body. Less efficient than a blessing from Holy Magic, but the ability to boost strength or agility still had its merits.
“Not bad, but this one has its own issues…”
First, it guzzled mana. Second, the duration was short. Third, a Knight Class could already reinforce their body with mana alone.
“Of course the magical enhancement and the mana enhancement do stack. Cranking it up mid-battle as a surprise can be useful.”
The downside, once again, was breakage.
“Being large and flashy is a drawback, but a lot of people still use them.”
It was the only item that earned anything close to praise.
“But they’re expensive.”
Fashioned as jewelry with gems as the core, the price climbed fast….
He then launched into stories from his academy days. The knight department had endless sparring classes—always against peers of the same year.
In other words, every knight student thought the same thing:
“I refuse to lose to that guy.”
So the richer nobles would pull out magic tools just to secure a win. When I asked whether that wasn’t a problem, Maximilian laughed.
“The senior knights teach us that on a real battlefield there’s no time to worry about such things.”
He had a point. Obsessing over fairness or chivalry in actual combat was absurd. Adventurers were the same. Once a fight started, they would do anything underhanded just to stay alive.
“Interesting.”
I found myself agreeing completely. Adventurers and knights weren’t so different after all.
“Actually, I have something of a secret weapon myself.”
“Is that so?”
He drew a palm-sized object from inside his clothes. A pendant? The pattern on it looked like a family seal as well….
“It doubles as a house crest. In truth it has a secret…”
He suddenly stepped close and whispered into my ear.
“Channel mana into it and it unleashes a powerful shockwave in every direction.”
“Is it really all right to tell me that?”
“If it’s Miss Julian, it’s fine.”
“But is that a secret weapon?”
“From the outside it looks like nothing more than a crest, doesn’t it? So the opponent never grows wary.”
“Ah…”
So you hit a relaxed opponent with a full-force shockwave?
“Even simply knocking the enemy back opens up all sorts of options.”
“Sounds useful.”
“Mana consumption isn’t that high either, so it’s a solid piece.”
Something like that would be nice to have myself. Wear it as a necklace, and the moment I needed it, pour in Holy Power and—bam!
I stared at the crest with shining eyes, thoroughly intrigued.
“I-it’s a custom order, but if you wish, we could craft something similar.”
“No, I couldn’t impose that much.”
Magic tools were never cheap.
“Yuli, how about this?”
My sister, who had been browsing on her own, appeared wearing some bizarre helmet.
“Sister?”
What on earth was that monstrosity? Maximilian looked equally flustered.
“Doesn’t it look strong?”
The helmet covered nearly eighty percent of the face, with horns jutting from both sides for maximum intimidation.
But why was something like that even here?
“Is that a magic tool too?”
“Dunno.”
My sister pulled the helmet off and began tapping it with her knuckles.
“Um… customer, please don’t do that.”
Merchandise, right…? I snatched the helmet from her hands and returned it to the clerk.
“By the way, what magic is on this helmet?”
“Ah, this one has invisibility magic. When activated it prevents facial recognition and makes the wearer look ferocious, instilling fear.”
Interesting… but completely useless!
“There really are a lot of fun things here.”
Just nothing worth buying. We wandered through several more magic tool shops. Honestly the merchandise was nearly identical. Combat gear prices varied by the craftsman who forged the weapon; daily necessities stayed roughly the same.
Still, I managed to snag one decent find: an ultra-vibration magic tool. For laundry, of all things.
You tossed it into a tub full of water along with the dirty clothes, activated it, and it would thrash and spin wildly, doing the washing for you.
“Will it actually work?”
“Who knows? We’ll find out when we try it.”
Maximilian clearly didn’t understand why I’d bought it. My sister looked equally baffled….
But to my eyes it was different. Wasn’t this basically the same principle as a washing machine? No detergent, sure, but used properly it should still be effective. Of course it wouldn’t get clothes perfectly clean on its own.
Still better than nothing.
Even the shop clerk had called the thing a failure, which was why I got it for a bargain five gold.
Once we finished touring the magic tool shops, we headed next for the Magic Tower.
“It’s wider and taller than I expected.”
Up close the Magic Tower was enormous. Its grounds were smaller than the temple’s, but once you factored in the height the total volume might have been comparable.
But… there were far too many people!
“I heard there’s an academic conference, so the crowds make sense.”
As expected of the Magic Tower. So many people thronged the entrance that we couldn’t even get inside.
“A shame, but we’ll have to be content with looking from outside.”
“Yeah.”
Even without the church’s exchange meeting, scholars and mages had already gathered in droves.
Naturally they would start exchanging ideas among themselves.
“Too bad. I was hoping I might learn something about Master here.”
Judging by the books he had co-authored with the church, Master had definitely been affiliated with the Magic Tower once.
“Then let’s head back.”
“Isn’t it still early?”
“Going back early to rest isn’t a bad idea, and there should still be things worth seeing at the temple.”
That was true enough….
“Sister, anything else you want to look at?”
“Dunno.”
Ha. As if my sister would ever care about sightseeing. On the way back to the temple we passed the goddess statue and fountain in the city center. The statue itself was only moderate in size, yet carved with astonishing delicacy. The folds of her robes, the drape of her veil, the soft curves of her body—all of it looked utterly natural. The sculptor’s skill was remarkable.
Water welled from beneath the goddess’s feet and cascaded into the fountain below.
“Beautiful.”
It was clearly a city landmark; crowds milled about, and we could see people kneeling in prayer at the statue’s base. After finishing their prayers, many of them tossed coins into the fountain.
“That’s…”
“Probably a wish.”
An act of offering a prayer—and a sacrifice—to the goddess…. Of course that didn’t mean the goddess actually granted every wish. Still, people prayed for comfort, for luck, for wealth, seeking whatever solace they could find.
“Shall we do it too?”
“Do you have a wish of your own?”
“I’m human, aren’t I? Of course I do.”
We joined the line and waited quietly. When the people ahead of us finished, we stepped beneath the goddess statue. Dressed in priest’s robes and a nun’s habit, we drew a few odd looks, but we decided not to care.
“Well then—shall we pray?”
Perhaps it was the presence of the statue itself. Maximilian and my sister both grew solemn and began their prayers.
What wishes would they make? I wasn’t especially interested… yet I couldn’t help being a little curious.
No—this wasn’t the time. I lifted my own prayer to the goddess.
Goddess, please… please! Let me return to being a man!
I prayed and prayed and prayed again.
When I finished, I tossed the coins I had prepared into the fountain.
My sister and Maximilian did the same once their own prayers ended. We stepped away from the fountain looking refreshed.
“Sister, what did you wish for?”
“Yuli’s health.”
“What? You’re supposed to wish for something for yourself.”
“I did. For everyone to stay healthy.”
If that wasn’t just like her….
“Maximilian, can you tell me what you wished for?”
“Even for Miss Julian, I’m afraid I can’t.”
Fair enough. I had made a wish I couldn’t tell anyone either. He was entitled to the same.
“I hope it comes true.”
He gave me an ambiguous little smile, then laughed.
“I hope so too—though it’s a rather difficult wish. Well then, shall we head back?”
We had seen enough of the sights… time to return?
Business finished, we set off for the temple.
