All the residents of Empyrean Citadel gathered in the front yard of the house, enjoying the bright morning tranquility.
Astraea, Kei, and Aishia sat in rattan porch chairs, accompanied by cups of warm herbal tea.
They calmly observed the adventurers passing by outside the fence, each with different expressions.
Astraea watched with a calm observer's attitude, Aishia only occasionally glanced with reddish-pink eyes, while Kei—as a newcomer to this world—was still filled with high curiosity.
The figure of a dwarf with his large hammer or an elf walking gracefully, races that Kei had only encountered in fairy tale books or fiction stories in her original world.
Meanwhile, Est looked very comfortable sitting quietly on the Black Turtle's shell, which crawled very slowly on the lush green grass.
The sound of the door opening diverted their attention. Charlie came out of the house with firm steps and stopped right in front of Kei.
"Remember what I said last night?"
"Of course. Charlie-san said he wanted to give me a surprise." Kei answered while nodding seriously.
It was impossible for her to forget the promise of the man she loved so much.
Hearing their conversation, Astraea shifted her attention, her eyes full of curiosity.
What had Charlie prepared for Kei?
"Since you've become an adventurer, having the right equipment is a necessity. For that, I've made it especially for you, Kei."
Without beating around the bush, Charlie channeled a bit of magical essence to the Space Time Cache bracelet on his right wrist. A soft flash of light appeared, and another bracelet suddenly appeared in his palm.
It was a beautiful bracelet set with golden-yellow four-leaf clovers. The bracelet was a masterpiece he made himself using a combination of Mystery Development Ability and Spirit Arts.
"Its name is Yotsuba. Each four-leaf clover gem inside contains very powerful Mana. Each time you face danger, defensive magic will activate automatically, with an effect equivalent to a Level 5 adventurer's body defense."
Gently, Charlie took Kei's right wrist and put the bracelet on. The bracelet fit perfectly, neither too loose nor tight, which was indeed made specifically for her size.
"So beautiful... Thank you, Charlie-san! I really like it!"
Kei stared at the bracelet with sparkling eyes, admiring its elegant artistic beauty.
"Don't thank me too quickly, Kei. This isn't finished yet." Charlie chuckled.
If Kei was mesmerized by its design, Astraea was shocked by the concept behind it.
"This is the first time I've seen defensive equipment in the form of a bracelet. Really, your ideas are always unexpected, Charlie. I'm worried if other craftsmen find out about this, they'll go crazy and invite you to exchange ideas." Astraea couldn't help but praise Charlie's innovation.
"This isn't something worth bragging about, Goddess Astraea." Charlie said humbly. "It's just a difference in perspective because we've seen different things."
He didn't look down on the craftsmen in the Danmachi Planar World at all. However, he realized his creativity was triggered by his knowledge from the modern world full of entertainment industry references.
In this world, craftsmen's common sense tended to be rigid and conservative. For them, defense meant shields and armor. That was basic common sense.
However, Charlie thought outside the box. For him, defense could be anything—a bracelet, an earring, even a necklace. That's what made him different.
"This is the second one."
Charlie took something else out of his Space Time Cache. This time, what appeared was a pair of bright pink shoes with a sleek and elegant design.
The shoes looked light, almost like modern running shoes, but there was a pattern of pale blue light grooves faintly visible along the soles.
"Its name is Sylph Acceleration." Charlie said while handing it to Kei. "There are two magical effects in it. The first is passive magic that will increase your running speed by 30%. The effect is continuously active as long as you wear them."
"The second is active magic you can activate. When activated, your speed will surge up to 80%. Use this to escape if facing an opponent you can't possibly defeat, or when you're in mortal danger."
Charlie looked at her seriously.
"Remember, Kei. Running away isn't something shameful. As long as you're still alive, there's always a chance to turn the situation around, devise a new strategy, or simply survive until help comes."
Kei accepted the shoes carefully, then quickly put them on herself. She was too embarrassed to let Charlie put them on her right now.
After all, they weren't alone; Astraea was beside them, watching. If it were just Aishia, Kei might not mind, considering both girls had already had a threesome with Charlie, so the embarrassment between them had greatly diminished.
After the shoes were on, Kei jumped a little in place, testing the feel. She immediately felt the difference, her body felt lighter, more responsive. She felt like she could beat Usain Bolt right now.
"Defense and support equipment are ready. What remains is a weapon. Well, here it is."
Charlie took out an object from his Space Time Cache again.
This time, what appeared was a large object that looked very strange to the Danmachi Planar World. It was a futuristic modular rifle with dominant black and metallic gray colors, decorated with neon line accents that emanated a magical aura.
"That's a rifle!" Kei exclaimed in surprise. Instantly, she understood the meaning of Charlie's question yesterday. "I see... Charlie-san had me choose between hot and cold weapons for this."
"Yeah. Correct." Charlie admitted with a small smile.
"Its name is Adaptive Combat Emitter: ACE-K. Besides its basic form, there are three modes you can change according to the situation: sniper mode for long-range shots and high precision, machine gun mode for rapid fire rain, and long barrel mode for maximum firepower with medium range."
Charlie then showed a part that looked like a magazine, but empty.
"Adaptive Combat Emitter: ACE-K doesn't use conventional ammunition. Its energy source is the user's mental power, which will be converted into energy projectiles in the form of lasers or shock waves."
Charlie took technical references from Pumpkin, Mine's Teigu in the anime Akame ga Kill. A weapon that grows with the user and transforms emotions into power.
"Ugh... The name is too long and hard to remember. I'll call it Flare-chan."
Hearing Kei so easily change the name of that futuristic rifle to a cute name, the corner of Charlie's eye twitched. But he just sighed.
"It's yours. It's up to you what you want to call it."
Charlie then used Spirit Arts to manipulate the soil in the front yard. Within seconds, the soil moved and solidified forming several target shapes resembling monsters.
"You need to get used to the sensation of energy pull while training your shooting accuracy before we actually go down to the Dungeon."
"Yes!"
Although Kei didn't have the explosive enthusiasm like most men obsessed with firearms, she still felt excited. For her, holding "Flare-chan" wasn't just about style, but about having the means to stand beside Charlie without being a burden.
The way it worked was also very efficient. According to Charlie's explanation, Kei only needed to pull the trigger. That very second, her mental power was absorbed subtly and automatically converted into laser ammunition by the Adaptive Combat Emitter: ACE-K—which had now officially been renamed Flare-chan in Kei's dictionary.
*ZZAP!*
A flash of red light came out from the barrel end. Kei successfully hit the earth target made by Charlie at a distance of less than ten meters. However, as soon as she tried to shoot a target placed farther away, her accuracy began to decline drastically. The rifle barrel wobbled slightly because she wasn't used to the weapon's weight and the slight energy recoil produced.
Charlie, who in his past life was a police officer, was no stranger to firearms training. He immediately approached, corrected Kei's foot position to be more stable, adjusted her shoulder support, and taught her how to hold her breath briefly before pulling the trigger.
After ensuring Kei's posture was correct and the girl began to understand the rhythm, Charlie let her practice alone. He stepped back, then sat relaxed in a porch chair next to Aishia, watching Kei who was focused on aiming.
Aishia turned toward Charlie with a gentle smile.
"She learns quickly, doesn't she?"
"Yes, she's talented." Charlie answered while leaning his back, enjoying the view in his home's yard.