Chapter 71: Gone with the Wind (1)

“Ah, you mean ‘that’?”

As soon as he heard my question, Khamsin’s face lit up, and he immediately picked up ‘it’.

A ring I had never seen before.

“I made this thinking of you, angel.”

Saying this, Khamsin put the ring on his finger, then raised his hand so that the jewel on the ring faced me.

“Would you mind standing still for a moment?”

At that, light suddenly emanated from the jewel and began to scan my body up and down.

As if it were ‘scanning’ me.

Before long, the light faded, and the moment it flashed once more──

“──!”

Everyone present, including me, was greatly surprised.

“How is it?”

Except for Khamsin, who had a confident smile on his face.

Because at the end of the light from the ring Khamsin was wearing, ‘I’ was standing.

Not me, another ‘me’.

“…A projection.”

“That's right.”

At my unconscious mutter, Khamsin said with a grin.

“It's an item I made with the desire to leave the beautiful image of the angel in this city for a long, long time.”

I couldn't help but approach that ‘projection’ as if possessed.

At first glance, it really looked like there was another one of me.

If only the part I touched with my outstretched hand hadn't blurred and passed right through.

“I-It really looks like there's another Mr. Yubin…!”

“It was projected by copying the ‘recorded’ image of the angel from a moment ago, so it’s bound to be identical.”

“One more annoying guy to deal with.”

Ibi snorted and grumbled, but even she couldn't take her eyes off my projection.

The ring itself was an artifact I had never seen before.

However, I knew for sure what the ‘technique’ that created that projection was.

It was 「Advanced Projection」.

--

「Angel of the Philanderer」 (Unique)

Effect - The wearer can use the skill 「Advanced Projection」.

--

Only 「Advanced Projection」 could create a projection with such a high degree of reproduction.

It was a high-level magic that could only be learned much later.

The projection of 「Lesser Projection」, which could be learned relatively early, couldn't completely ‘clone’ a person like this and could only create a silhouette in the shape of a person at best.

So it was possible to lure a distant opponent by making them wonder ‘What’s that?’, but once they got close enough to see the projection clearly, they would immediately realize they had been tricked.

However, this 「Advanced Projection」 was hard to notice unless you touched it directly, so it could hold an opponent's attention for quite a long time.

“Can you only project a still image like this?”

“No. The current form is a reproduction of the angel's image recorded a moment ago, and if you record a moving image, the projection will move in the same way.”

“Can we test that right now?”

“By all means.”

Light emanated from Khamsin's adjusted ring again, and I immediately did a [Performance]── lightly humming and snapping my fingers.

And a moment later.

『Hmm hmm hmm hmmm』

“Wow…!”

Just as I had done, ‘I’ (the projection) began to [Perform].

“However, please be aware that the more movement there is, the more unstable the projection becomes, and the duration also becomes shorter.”

I knew.

In the game, projections created with 「Advanced Projection」 could be moved or made to act.

But the duration (turns) would be shorter.

“To reproduce even the voice along with the movement…! It's so amazing…!”

“A sophisticated magic.”

Just like me a moment ago, even though my companions (not in combat) knew its identity, seeing them all naturally ‘drawn’ to the projection as if imprinted in their instincts, 「Advanced Projection」 was a very useful skill in many ways.

For example, like now, it was possible to attract attention without me having to [Perform] directly.

Or, it could be used in combat by taking advantage of the fact that it was hard to recognize unless you touched it directly.

“…Nice.”

To be honest, this was the first time I had put the so-called ‘Yubin Attack’ plan into practice… the one that stopped the fight in the square with my [Performance] and led the citizens to the council.

It was also the first time I had played a bard of this build (though now I've become one rather than playing one), and in the first place, there was no such ‘choice’ in the game.

Until now, the best way to stop the coup in Daian was to quickly capture Ethesia before the situation escalated.

That was the only way to minimize the damage in the square.

That had always bothered me while playing the game.

The fact that I couldn't prevent the citizens gathered in the square and the lower-ranking soldiers who didn't know Ethesia's true intentions from clashing in the process of suppressing the coup.

After all, most of the citizens and soldiers there were just NPCs whose names I couldn't even properly know, or rather, they were treated as ‘background’ that I couldn't even interact with in the game.

Of course, I knew I couldn't take care of everything… but I thought it might be possible now, so I gave it a try, and fortunately, it succeeded.

Perhaps the appearance of an item I had never seen before was a reward for solving the problem in a way I had never done before.

Considering the things I would have to do in the future, it was very good news.

“I like it very much. Thank you, Mr. Khamsin.”

I didn't expect to be able to use 「Advanced Projection」 already.

With a projection, the strategies I could use would surely increase dramatically.

“I'm glad you like it.”

I took off my gloves and tried on the ring Khamsin had handed me.

The ring fit perfectly as if it had been a part of my finger from the beginning.

“It fits well.”

“How could I forget the beautiful hands of an angel?”

At the blatant flirtatious remark, Ibi, who was next to me, grimaced, and Khamsin laughed and raised both his hands with his palms open as if to say he would stop.

Then he went back to the desk and picked up another artifact.

This time, it was a pair of open-finger gloves.

--

「Gloves of Gale」 (Unique)

Effect - The wearer can use the skill 「Gale」.

--

“This is a gift for the Sister.”

Those gloves were the same ones Khamsin had worn in front of the council before.

“The ‘Wings’ are heavy, so it might be difficult to wear them all the time, but gloves can be easily worn, can't they?”

Saying this, Khamsin put on one of the gloves, then approached a training dummy and gently placed his hand on it.

“With these gloves──”

──Paang!

Then a strong shockwave, no, a 「Gale」 blew, sending the training dummy flying far away.

“You can easily blow away your opponent like this.”

Just like the 「Bard's Song」 buff, which required continuous singing to be maintained, clerics had to keep their hands on their prayer books to maintain the ‘blessing’ they cast on the entire party.

So when they were targeted by an opponent, the blessing would inevitably be broken.

At such times, with these gloves, they could use 「Gale」 to easily knock back approaching enemies while maintaining the blessing.

In short, it could buy time for party members to come and help, or for Lily to regain a safe distance.

“Moreover, it can also be used in this way.”

And although it wasn't written in the tooltip, those gloves had a hidden effect.

Pshshk!

Suddenly, the glove blew out wind as if it were releasing steam, and just like that, Khamsin easily bent a thick iron pipe he was holding in one hand.

Instead of pushing the enemy with 「Gale」, it could temporarily grant superhuman strength── in game terms, it had the effect of allowing you to succeed in a [Strength] check.

The reason why it was a unique grade item and not a rare grade item, even though it only stated the effect of being able to use the 1st circle magic 「Gale」.

“Would you like to try it yourself?”

Lily, who had received the other glove that hadn't been used, took the iron pipe Khamsin handed her and tried to bend it with all her might.

“H-Hiyah!”

At that, wind blew out once more, and the iron pipe folded like a piece of paper.

“D-Did I do this…?”

Looking at the bewildered Lily, who couldn't believe it, Khamsin nodded with a pleased expression.

Most clerics, except for the monk-like priests of Daian who also served as ‘fighters’, had the impression of being weak in close combat, and they actually were.

So, it meant that she could land a blow on an unguarded opponent with the power of the gloves.

“I feel sorry for the guys who mess with her.”

Ibi chuckled as if she had imagined the scene.

“She might smash their heads.”

“I don't think Lily would go that far, but….”

Well, it was possible.

“However, after use, you have to recharge the power of the wind. With the natural wind blowing outside the Daian region… probably about a day would be enough.”

Khamsin took off the remaining glove and handed it to Lily.

“Would you like to try casting 「Gale」 this time?”

Then he tried to subtly approach her and grab her arm to show her how.

“Hey, you there. Let’s not hit on the Sister, okay?”

“Are you one to talk?”

But it seemed my warning was unnecessary, as Lily skillfully avoided Khamsin's touch on her own.

At that iron-clad defense, Khamsin gave a bitter smile, then stepped back and taught Lily how to cast 「Gale」 on her own.

“Of course, it doesn't have to be natural wind, it's also possible with wind created through magic, so it won't be a problem for you all.”

Then, he pointed to the last artifact remaining on the desk.

Both in terms of order and appearance, it was clearly Ibi's item.

--

「Dandelion Thorn Dagger」 (Unique)

Effect - Returns to the wearer when thrown.

The wearer can use the skill 「Thorn of the Wind」.

--

Perhaps that's why Ibi went up and picked it up and started to look it over before Khamsin could properly introduce it.

“If you throw that dagger while wearing the glove here, it will automatically return to your gloved hand without you having to go and pick it up.”

As soon as she heard Khamsin's words, Ibi put on the glove and threw the dagger at a nearby training dummy.

Thud!

The dagger stuck in the middle of the dummy's head, and then.

“Ooh.”

With a whoosh!, it returned to Ibi's hand like a magnet.

“Damn. That's f*cking cool.”

Ibi, who seemed to have found it fun, threw the dagger once more, and the dagger returned to her gloved hand again.

“The name of this dagger is 「Dandelion Thorn Dagger」. It was originally a weapon that was being produced at the request of Ethesia… the Great General, but I slightly modified the production direction to suit Miss Evie.”

“Dandelion? Does this one spread voices or something?”

“It spreads something much scarier.”

Khamsin, who answered immediately, lightly tapped the back of his hand towards Ibi and said.

“This time, after you throw it, try pressing the button on the glove before it hits.”

At that, Ibi threw the dagger as Khamsin had said, and after pressing the button──

“──!”

Shwaak!

Several small ‘blades’ scattered from the flying dagger.

As if the seeds of a dandelion were spreading.

Those scattered blades── 「Thorns of the Wind」── soon stuck into the nearby practice dummies with a thwack thwack thwack!.

“…Awesome?”

“I’ve been called a genius technician for a reason.”

This dagger, like the other items, needed to have the power of the wind charged, Khamsin added.

In game terms, it meant that it could be used once a day.

Unless you charged it somewhere separately.

“Can I use this without throwing it?”

“Yes? Without… throwing it?”

“Like, after stabbing…”

Ibi, who had made a stabbing motion with the dagger, soon made a “Pshoo─” sound and spread her clenched hand wide.

“Um… it’s possible, yes….”

Khamsin, who seemed to have imagined the scene and covered his mouth for a moment, seemed to like Ibi's answer very much.

“Good. From now on, your name is Dosun.”

Ibi soon raised the dagger in front of her eyes and said as if making a grand declaration.

“……What? D-Dosun?”

“Yeah.”

At that, Khamsin, who seemed somewhat shocked that his masterpiece had suddenly been given a strange name, asked again.

“Why… such a name…?”

“Huh? Because it's cool, obviously?”

“……Cool, you say?”

“It shoots out thorns with a thwack thwack thwack!, doesn't it? Isn't it more like a hedgehog than a dandelion?”

“……Eh?”

At that, I quietly approached the dazed and dumbfounded Khamsin and patted his shoulder.

Ibi, not caring about our reaction at all, began to perform tricks, spinning the daggers… ‘Bokdol’ and ‘Dosun’ in both hands.

She really seemed to like them.

──Anyway, with this, we had received all the artifacts that Khamsin had specially made for us.

So.

“Shall we go and wrap things up?”

“Wrap up? What?”

It was time to finish up before leaving Daian.

“There are three wings of the windmill.”

And retrieve the hidden, lost ‘Fragment of Memory’ in Daian.

“Don't we have to say goodbye to the last remaining wing?”

And, while we're at it, prevent Ethesia's jailbreak.