By the time I reached the woods again, the sun was already leaning westward, light filtering through the leaves in broken gold patterns. The weight of the artifacts on my back was reassuring—solid, real, expensive. Proof that for once, words had turned into action.
I exhaled, and then the ground vanished beneath me. Something slammed into my side, my legs swept out, and my back hit the dirt with a sharp thud that knocked the air out of my lungs.
Before I could even curse, a familiar weight pinned me down.
Maki.
She was sitting squarely on my stomach, knees pressing into my sides, one hand planted beside my head like she'd practiced this exact move a hundred times. Her face was right above mine, eyes bright, lips curled into a victorious grin.
"You have been tackled," she declared.
I stared up at her, wheezing. "…You're enjoying this way too much."
Mai popped into view a second later, crouching near my head. She looked pleased too—openly pleased—which was new. A month ago, she would've been hovering nervously at the edge, unsure if she was allowed to laugh.
Now? She was smiling.
"That was clean," Mai said. "You didn't even notice."
"I noticed," I grunted. "I just underestimated how coordinated you've gotten."
Maki leaned back slightly, clearly proud. "You always tell us to attack when the opponent relaxes."
"…I hate when my lessons are used against me."
She laughed. They are doing that more often now. This is how a child should act. That alone made the dirt in my mouth worth it.
Mai's gaze drifted to the pack strapped across my back. Her smile softened into curiosity. "What's that?"
I stopped struggling and let my head fall back against the ground. "You can get off first."
Maki tilted her head. "…No."
I sighed. "Fair enough."
"It's artifacts," I said instead. "For you guys."
Mai blinked. "Us?"
"For training," I continued. "We've covered the basics. Movement. Awareness. Coordination. Now we need live practice."
The smiles faded slightly as seriousness took place instead of it.
Maki slowly shifted her weight, no longer playful. "Live... as in curses?"
"Low-level ones," I said quickly. "Nothing suicidal. The kind that run when pressured, something we can handle together; you guys can put these tackles to good use."
Mai hugged her arms tightly. "So… real danger."
"Yes," I said. "But it's okay; I will be with you also."
Silence stretched between us. Maki climbed off me and stood, brushing dirt from her clothes. Mai stepped back, chewing on her lip.
"…What kind of artifacts?" Maki asked at last.
I sat up and shrugged the pack off my shoulders. "Something to level the field."
I opened it. First, I pulled out a wrapped band.
"This," I said, holding it up, "lets you see curses. It was something Toji used, but since he didn't need it now, he left it in the treasury. In the future, I will give you a glass that can see curses; it will be much better, but for now you need to adjust to them."
Her eyes locked onto it like it might disappear if she blinked.
"For you," I added.
She didn't move, and then I took out the second item.
A compact cursed handgun, matte black, humming faintly quickly at touch.
Mai sucked in a sharp breath. "A gun…?"
"Stabilized cursed output," I said. "Low recoil. Easy trigger discipline. You won't need to chant."
Her fingers twitched.
"You are good with a bow, so I thought a gun would do it."
Finally, I reached in and pulled out the sword.
"For me," I said. "Of course, Maki will also use this sword. Naobita was only allowed to take three artifacts, so I couldn't take a weapon for Maki, so we just shared with each other.
Neither of them spoke.
"…You didn't have to do this," Mai said quietly.
"I know, right? If those old fools' looks could kill, I would already be six feet under," I replied.
Maki clenched her fists. "Why are you doing this? There is nothing we can give you."
It was the same as Naobita; they couldn't understand why Naoyo valued the twins. From the current standing, she won't be anything more than a courtesan.
I looked at both Mai and Maki, who are looking for an answer. I felt like I couldn't shrug this off with a laugh.
"To show you this is not a cold world and not everyone is a cold person. What you see in this family is just one dark shade of reality; outside these boundaries, you will see all the color, not just the dark one." With a smile, pat their head. "And who said I am not getting anything in return? Your cute smile is enough payment."
Blood started to flow to the tips of their ears, and Maki and Mai felt an unusual rhythm in their heartbeats. It felt like their heart was going to jump out of their rib cage.
Maki was the first to reach in an almost defective manner to cover her weakness.
"Pervertttt! Stop patting me," then she runs off.
"Pervert! Pervert!" She keeps murmuring with a deep blush across her face.
I just looked at Maki's disappearing figure. Did I say something stupid for her to be this outraged?
"Did she not like the gift?" I murmur.
I don't think that is the case.
"Fufufufu." Mai touched her heart, which was beating like crazy.
"Why are you laughing, Mai?" I asked.
"Oh nothing. I just got an enlightenment."
Weird girls, both of them.
~~~
I like the idea of people who reading my novel leaving their make on my book so Give me lot of comments and Power stones. Give me inspection. Give me reviews.
POWER STONE, GIVE IT ME.
Posted some extra 30 chapter in patron, if you are interested check it out, link is the synopsis.