While Dedolear took my Azoth Sword to conduct a more detailed analysis, our party relaxed comfortably in a cozy VVIP room.Since we were always so busy, even this waiting time had become something we could enjoy with an easy mind.As I was briefly looking around at the various artifacts decorating the room, Beatrice opened her mouth.“Come to think of it, Loen, is Lady Ciel’s condition all right?”Beatrice was asking about Ciel’s health—she had been badly injured during the previous Competition Battle.I took a sip of tea and nodded.“Of course. Her external wounds healed long ago, and I made her eat a lot of things good for the body, so her mana hole should be even stronger than before. So don’t worry if you saw that weird article.”“Oh, you saw that article too?”At Yulina’s words, I let out a bitter smile.“It was impossible not to see, given the headline. Did you do the interview, by chance?”“N-no. I would never do an interview like that. I’ve been burned by articles before too, you know.”“Hmph.”Yulina shook both hands, firmly denying it.I decided to believe her for now.That article had apparently been written by a reporter named Pelluna, based on statements from Ciel’s friends who had come to watch the match.'I’ll have to take some sort of separate action later, really.'Even if it was based on facts and not exactly adding lies, wording changes everything.Whether I had to feed them money or threaten them, I needed to shut their mouth so they wouldn’t write those kinds of articles again.I shrugged my shoulders and concluded.“At any rate, everything with Ciel has been resolved peacefully, so keep that in mind. Her wounds have healed, and there’s no hard feelings between us.”As soon as I finished speaking about Ciel, Trishy—who had been hugging a shopping bag with a happy expression—asked.“But Loen, that Azoth Sword earlier—where did you even get it?”“I told you, I made it.”For the benefit of Yulina and Beatrice, who looked unconvinced, I explained in detail.“The dwarf-made gold bar I brought back from the Aether Dungeon before. And the five elemental stones I got then—using those, I spent about a month crafting it with care. I also received help from the blacksmith Andrey midway through. The reason the sword is golden, and the reason the Azoth alphabet carries the energy of the Five Elements, is all because of that. Do you believe it now?”“Y-you really made it yourself?”I answered Yulina—who had jumped in surprise—with a calm voice.“Did you think being an Alchemist was just for show? I can make all sorts of artifacts and potions, not just the Azoth Sword.”I still hadn’t moved beyond the basic level yet, but once I got more used to it, most things wouldn’t be hard to make.And unlike when I had to handcraft everything stitch by stitch for the [Intermediate Alchemy] rank-up quest, I could now rely on system assistance, making things much easier.When I proudly stated that I’d manufactured the Azoth Sword myself, Beatrice grabbed my shoulder with a serious expression.“…If that’s true, that’s truly an impressive feat. To be able to craft something close to a national treasure–level artifact.”I removed her hand and shrugged again.“That doesn’t mean I can mass-produce national-treasure-level items. That thing is, at best, a product of coincidence.”The chance of a legendary-grade weapon emerging from [Intermediate Alchemy] artifact crafting was under 0.5 percent.Of course, depending on the grade of the materials consumed, the probability increased slightly.The dwarf-made gold bars and elemental stones used for the Azoth Sword were extremely high-grade, so the odds would have gone up a little, but the expected value was still under five percent.Meaning, it was purely luck.You could call it a first-weapon crafting bonus, or a beginner’s luck proc.At my explanation, Beatrice slowly nodded as if she understood.“Hm, is that so? Well, who could mass-produce national-treasure items as if stamping them out? But what’s certain is that you, Loen, have the talent to create such an artifact even if only by chance.”“Thanks for seeing it that way.”“……”For once, even Yulina held back from making any snide remarks.However, Trishy seemed more fixated on the fact that I had brought back gold bars from the dungeon than on the origins of the Azoth Sword.“But Loen, the gold bars—where did you get so many? Tell me too.”Trishy kept hounding me about the gold bars and where they came from.I found it troublesome to explain and brushed her off.She would make a fortune later anyway from the sparkling-water business, so she could stop being greedy.“There’s a place. Anyway.”I turned toward Beatrice.“If you ever want to request a commission, feel free. Artifacts, potions, elixirs, medicines—anything is fine. And I guarantee client confidentiality.”***A bit later.Dedolear returned from the lab, holding my Azoth Sword after finishing the precise analysis.He adjusted his glasses again and muttered.“Truly, this is nothing short of astonishing. That you, Loen, were really the creator of this Azoth Sword.”“……”When no one in the group reacted much, Dedolear asked me.“You told them all?”“I did.”“I see. At any rate, the detailed analysis results are out. This Azoth Sword shows extremely strong aptitude regarding ‘Transmutation Magic.’”Everything else that followed matched what I already knew.From its unique usage effects to its ability to confer elemental properties.Just when my interest began to fade—since it was all familiar information—Dedolear brought up something that could catch my attention.“And one more thing, we’ve discovered that this Azoth Sword has a hidden effect.”“A hidden effect?”“Yes. You probably won’t ever have occasion to use it, but nonetheless…”He trailed off slowly before continuing carefully.“This Azoth Sword can also be used in ritual ceremonies. To be more accurate, this sword is suitable as a ‘sacrifice’ in such a ritual.”“A sacrifice, huh.”“Yes. If you use this Azoth Sword as a sacrificial offering, the caster of the ritual temporarily gains the ability to forcibly bestow a certain ‘concept.’”“Hm.”So you could offer up the Azoth Sword as a sacrifice to gain the ability to grant a concept.It seemed like a hidden function even the system didn’t tell me about.Hard to believe, but someone like Dedolear wouldn’t dare lie in front of Beatrice.“Very well, I’ll keep that in mind.”With a small sigh, I engraved Dedolear’s words into my memory.'The temporary ability to bestow a concept, obtained by sacrificing a legendary-grade artifact.'I had no idea where I would ever use such a thing, but you never knew what life would bring.So I committed the information firmly to memory.***Time passed, and darkness settled over the harbor.Bwooooom—.A magnificent ship horn rang out through Stella Harbor.The floating ship, having finished passenger identification and cargo loading, was finally departing.Vrrrrrm—.Leaving behind the glittering Stella Harbor like stars in the night sky, the floating ship advanced through the darkness.It resembled a mystical white whale swimming through a sea of stars.When I came back to my room after stepping out briefly, a neatly pressed, stiff tailcoat lay atop the bed.I’d heard there would be a shipboard party for students tonight; this must be the tailcoat for it.“Hm.”Unlike Altair’s suit—designed with combat practicality in mind—this was a purely ornamental, glamorous tailcoat created for aesthetic purposes.I looked it up and down and let out a small sigh.'Maybe I should just rest in the room.'A shipboard party really only amounted to listening to an orchestra while eating.So I considered staying inside and resting comfortably, but I ultimately decided I should still step out.It wasn’t often I could see other students dressed in tailcoats or gowns.Once I thought that far, I ended up changing into the tailcoat.It was uncomfortable and didn’t fit my body perfectly, but I had to admit it looked good.Since Loen had a good “clothes hanger” physique to begin with, most clothes suited him.Then I fixed my hair with hairspray and finished neatly with some perfume.When I stepped outside after preparing, students in tailcoats were laughing among themselves, striking exaggerated etiquette poses as they joked around.“Hehe, may I have this dance, my lady?”“But of course, gentleman.”“Ugh, what are you guys doing? It’s gross seeing dudes act like that.”“……”The clothes I wore weren’t all that different from those of the other male students making noise.The colors and designs varied slightly, but they were all ready-made outfits anyway.But as with fashion, even identical clothes don’t feel the same depending on who wears them.Clothes are wings, but in the end the body wearing them has to hold up its end of the bargain.It felt a little arrogant to admit it, but if we all wore the same outfit, I would’ve looked the best.“Hm.”I scratched my cheek for no reason before heading out of the cabins toward the deck where the shipboard party was taking place.On the floating ship’s wide deck, colorful lights and flags from many nations were already hanging; below them were round tables for dining and a full buffet layout.At the center of the deck, the orchestra performed to great enthusiasm.Given the usual speed of a floating ship, there should have been strong winds making a mess of everything, but thanks to the protective barrier surrounding the ship, the deck was calm and still, like the eye of a storm.'The atmosphere is amazing.'Under the brilliantly spread Milky Way, the floating ship advanced across the dark sea with a cool breeze.Students gathered in little groups, eating, chatting, dancing, or enjoying the orchestra.Just watching all of it from a step away made my heart feel full.After observing for a while, I headed to the bar table near the buffet and asked for a drink.“One glass, please.”“Here you are.”The bartender slid a glass toward me.A tall glass filled with a lightly carbonated, amber-colored liquid. It looked like some sort of champagne.I thanked him and tilted the glass to taste it.“……”Since there was no alcohol, it seemed to be just a type of soda.Well, giving students actual alcohol in such a nice setting would make them hard to control, so this was reasonable.Enjoying the lemon-flavored soda, I walked toward the center stage where the party was at its peak.Turning my gaze, I saw a crowd gathered on one side.I wondered if a celebrity was there, so I checked—and indeed, I saw someone surrounded by people.A female student in a clean blue dress.It was Freya, with her pure-white hair braided into a braided-bun style.Her dress wasn’t significantly different from what other girls were wearing.But as I’d said earlier, clothes feel different depending on who wears them.She was already strikingly beautiful on a normal day, but dressed up in a gown for a shipboard party, her beauty shone even brighter.No wonder people were crowding around her.'She looks troubled, though.'Freya was surrounded in the crowd, receiving an overwhelming amount of attention.She was smiling, but her restless hands and uneasy steps in uncomfortable heels were plain to see.Just then—“Oh, Loen.”Amid that large crowd, Freya spotted me with perfect accuracy and hurried over.It seemed after being harassed among the people, she found an escape in me and ran straight toward it.At the very least, if she stood by me, fewer annoying flies would cling to her.You could call it using barbarians to fight barbarians.Indeed, many students who had been hovering around Freya turned their steps away when they saw °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° me.I looked down at Freya standing before me and smiled.“It suits you very well. Popular, huh?”“…Please don’t tease me. I’m already regretting wearing this. The heels hurt, and the waist is tight.”Considering she always insisted on comfortable clothes and shoes, the dress must’ve been extremely uncomfortable.“Well, that makes sense. My outfit’s uncomfortable too.”If even my tailcoat was uncomfortable, a dress would be even worse.But one must endure some discomfort for beauty and style.At least for the duration of the shipboard party, it was worth enduring.As I spoke with Freya for a moment—Tap tap—.Someone lightly tapped my shoulder from behind.“Hm?”I turned around, and there was Ciel in a dress, giving me a polite bow.Ciel lifted both ends of her pure-white dress with her hands as she greeted me.Then she reached out her hand toward me, inviting me to dance.“Lord Loen, please share a dance with me.”

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