When You Wish upon a Star

"Ah, another one."

"Huh? Where?"

I returned from my post-dinner bath to find my children sitting out on the

balcony talking to each other.

I came outside to see what all the fuss was about, only to find them all gazing

up at the night sky.

What's going on here?

I looked up at the sky, but there was nothing particularly amiss. The moon

was hidden, and there were a bunch of twinkling stars. There wasn't much air

pollution in this world, so you could see the stars just about anywhere. That

wasn't the case back on Earth. I didn't recognize any of the constellations, but it

was still a pleasant sight. I almost felt like I was being sucked in by the twinkling

lights.

"Ah, look! Another one!" Linne exclaimed as she pointed her finger up to the

sky. I followed her finger and saw a shooting star falling toward the ground in

the distance.

I think I saw on TV once that shooting stars are a gathering of space dust and

other particles from comets that burn up in the atmosphere... But isn't this

world flat? Maybe the stars are literally falling down here. Also, what are the

stars I'm looking up at in the distance anyway? Are they different from the stars

I'd look up at from Earth? Or maybe they're other worlds? I hope none of them

are literally falling toward us...

Part of me was worried that the shooting stars above could be worlds being

annihilated by the god of destruction.

Surely not...

However, the more I dwelled on the thought, the more real the idea seemed.

I decided to stop thinking about it. They were just shooting stars. Regular

shooting stars. That was all there was to it.

"There's been a shower of shooting stars for a little while now."

"Oh yeah?" Elna's words made me glance upward, and I soon saw another

shooting star swoosh across the sky.

Then I saw another one...and another one.

A meteor shower, perhaps? No, I think meteor showers are supposed to have

a more random pattern... Don't tell me this really is the god of destruction at

work... Nah, can't be. Maybe there are star spirits up there playing around or

something...

"Oh, missed it again... They're going by too quickly..."

"They say if you make a wish three times before a shooting star vanishes, it'll

come true. You might not have enough time though..."

"Wait, really?!"

Linne suddenly freaked out and got excited after I finished talking to Frei. It

wasn't just Linne; the other kids suddenly crowded around me with curiosity

burning in their eyes. Even Yakumo seemed interested. The only one who didn't

really react was Kuon, but all my daughters looked like they could barely

contain their interest.

"Oh, uh, it's just an old folk story..."

The kids just ignored me and started looking up at the sky, staring so intently

that they refused to blink.

They're buying into it that hard?!

Just as I started regretting my muttering, a huge shooting star streaked across

the sky.

"I wish for a legendary katana, I wish for a legendary katana, I wish for a

legendary katana!"

"I wish for a rare weapon, a rare weapon, a rare weapon!"

"An interesting magical tool! A magical tool! A magical tool!"

"An unknown instrument, unknown instrument, unknown instrument!"

"Exotic cooking ingredients! Exotic ingredients! Exotic ingredients!"

"A giant stuffed toy... A giant stuffed toy... A giant stuffed toy..."

"An awesome finishing move! An awesome finishing move! An awesome

finishing move!"

Yakumo, Frei, Quun, Yoshino, Arcia, Elna, and Linne wished with all their

hearts. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate was up for debate, but I heard

all of them.

"Our wishes will come true, right?!"

"Uhhh, no... I mean, uh, sure..."

When faced with the smiling faces of my daughters, I couldn't say no.

Quun's sly grin, Frei's smirking face, and Yakumo's concerned look led me to

believe those three knew the star wishes weren't real, however. But I still

wanted to grant them.

Damn it... I have to sort all these wishes out now, don't I? Like Christmas

presents or something... I turned to look over at Kuon, who hadn't joined the

crowd.

"...Nothing you wish for, Kuon?"

"Not particularly. Oh, darn. I should've wished for world peace. My mistake."

What a good boy you are!

I smiled a little at my thoughtful son before turning my mind toward granting

the wishes of my children.

◇ ◇ ◇

"The easiest one to get right now is the giant stuffed toy Elna asked for..."

I looked over the wish list I'd noted down on my phone. A stuffed animal

sounded easy enough, but just how giant did she want? I'd seen stuffed bears

on TV before that were so big they filled up an entire room...

"I can't use [Modeling] for this, so I might have to get it commissioned... Wait,

how about the workshop? I could have it made there."

If you had the right materials, Babylon's workshop could produce anything

you could conceive of. Well, not food. Or medicine. Or just about everything

biological. So not anything.

In any case, I needed to figure out what kind of stuffed animal Elna wanted.

The logical place to start would be with her mother, Elze.

"A stuffed toy for Elna? She makes them herself along with Linze when they

sew together. I'm sure if she wanted one in particular she'd just make it

herself."

When I explained the situation to Elze, that was all she said to me.

Hmm... I guess I could just make a gigantic version of whatever her favorite

one is, then?

I glanced over to the corner of Elze's room, noticing a pile of stuffed toys.

They were all different shapes and sizes, but none were especially gigantic.

There were plush versions of Kohaku, Luli, Sango, Kokuyou, and Kougyoku, as

well as more regular animals like dogs, cats, birds, and bears.

"Hm? What's this?" I mumbled as I spied a couple of unusual animals in the

pile.

"...A giraffe and a penguin?"

Neither of those animals existed in this world.

"Oh, those. Remember when we went to that zoo on our honeymoon? Linze

took some photos of the animals there, they're based on those."

Oh, so that's how she knows about them. Now there's a good idea, how about

an animal from Earth. I bet if I make a giant plushie of one of those, she'll love it.

The only question is what animal should I make... Naked mole rats are certainly

rare, but I have a feeling that might just make Elna cry. How about a panda?

They're the most popular zoo animal out there!

There weren't any pandas at the zoo we went to on our honey, so it'd be new

to Elna. Plus, it was basically just a recolored bear, so it wouldn't be difficult to

make. Also...a big plush panda would just be a plushie version of a giant panda.

I looked up plushie pandas on my phone and there were quite a lot of them to

reference. One of those would be more than enough for Elna to cuddle up with.

Great! Time to head to the workshop and get this stuff made.

"No sir, I'm not sure this is such a good idea."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Rosetta's words took me by surprise.

"The workshop can replicate just about anything, yessir it can. But original

productions? That takes time and resources. Remember when we made your

unique Frame Gears from scratch?"

Oh yeah, good point. When we made Brunhild Castle here, we used Belfast

Castle as a base so I guess that wasn't from scratch either.

"Can't you use these photos as a reference, though?"

"No sir. If we don't have good details to work with, it'll come out strange. You

don't want a stuffed toy with poor-grade materials, right?" Rosetta said, then

shook her head as I showed her my smartphone.

Hm, I definitely don't want it to be flimsy or low quality... But I don't have any

three-dimensional images of what I'm after...

"Sir! All I need is a regular stuffed animal to work from as a base, sir! If you

have ma'am Linze produce a smaller one, I should be able to have the workshop

enlarge and duplicate it, sir!"

"Oh, good idea!"

That was a smart way to go about it. I was thinking I'd have to find a bunch of

different-angled photos of a real panda and splice them together, but this was

much simpler. A cutesified doll version of a panda would probably be better

than a photorealistic plushie anyway.

I left the workshop and went to find Linze. As luck would have it, none of the

children were with her, so I quickly explained the situation.

"Ah, I see. So you want me to make a toy panda?"

"Yeah. A cute one, if you can. Think that'd be possible?"

"Of course, I should be able to do that... But what about the fine details? I

don't know what panda tails look like, and such..."

I'd shown Linze the pictures of the toy pandas on my phone, but they were all

frontal views.

...Do pandas have tails? I guess they do, right? Aren't they round like rabbit

tails? Wait, are they black or white?

I quickly ran a search for panda tails, and apparently, they were generally

white. Then, I showed a few photos of actual pandas to Linze as well, just so

she'd have a little creative inspiration when putting together her plushie.

"That should be enough for me to work with. You can let me know if I need to

make any adjustments afterward."

Linze began taking out various cloth materials, threads, needles, cotton

stuffing, and a set of sewing scissors from her phone's [Storage] app. She

wasted no time at all, cutting through the fabric immediately.

What the heck?! Don't people usually draw out the shape they want to cut

before starting the cutting?!

"The shape is just a basic bear, no? I've made dozens of toy bears at this

point, so there's no need for me to draw out the shape."

Damn, talk about experience... I guess pandas are bears though, so fair

enough...

I stared on in stunned silence as Linze's deft hands sliced through the cloth

with her scissors. Once the cutting was done, she began to expertly run a

needle and thread along the edges, stitching them together exactly where she

needed them.

I've never seen anyone sew so fast and so precisely before... I guess it makes

sense, though. Linze spends most of her afternoons making clothes for the kids.

Maybe it was wrong of me to expect anything less than this.

She formed the head, torso, arms, and legs in no time at all, stuffing them

with cotton until they were well and truly rounded out. All the parts were then

stitched together, resulting in a cute little panda that sat on the floor in front of

me.

"All done."

Hey, hold on a sec... That didn't even take you ten minutes! That's insane!

In all honesty, maybe I didn't even need the workshop. Maybe Linze could just

put the giant panda together by herself...

I was still blinking in disbelief when Linze handed me the finished product.

"Does it look right to you?"

"Oh, uh... It looks good, yeah..."

I flipped over the panda in my hands, observing every detail I could think of. If

she'd told me she'd actually bought this at a gift shop and tricked me into

thinking she'd made it, I'd have believed her. It was the kind of professional

quality toy you'd find at a zoo on Earth.

I didn't want to ask Linze to make the giant one because I didn't want to put

all the pressure on her. It was my predicament in the first place, anyway. It

would be better to have something new in the workshop's existing blueprints

anyway.

Before leaving, I made sure to tell Linze not to breathe a word to Elna, then I

headed back to the workshop with the toy panda in tow.

"Sir! This is the plushie panda, sir?! I see... I see... It sure is plenty cute, sir!"

Rosetta took the toy panda from me and tossed it into one of the workshop

boxes, where a whirring machine began scanning it.

Linze had given me some cloth and other stuff for making toys, so I tossed

those into the material repositories. I didn't include cotton as the filling, though.

Instead, I opted for something harvested from a particular monster, it was

somewhat similar to that bead-like material found inside bean bag chairs. They

were the perfect kind of filling, creating a soft material that you could just sink

into. I didn't want to spoil my daughter, but I couldn't pass up the chance to

give her something incredible.

Just as I was pondering how long it might take, an enormous box sprouted out

of the workshop's floor. It popped open, revealing a massive stuffed panda that

looked remarkably similar to the one Linze had made.

"It's... It's huge... Wait, isn't this way bigger than the real thing?"

"It is, sir! But pandas don't exist in this world, so nobody's going to notice,

sir!"

I guess...

I leaned in against the panda, and immediately I felt myself sinking into its

soft fur. I was swallowed up by the cozy embrace of the plush beast.

Ahhh! This is amazing! So soft... So warm... Ah... I don't wanna get up ever

again...

"Master, sir! Get it together, sir!"

"Ack!"

...Oh dear. I nearly fell asleep. I might've made a terrifying weapon... This is a

lethal panda...

In any case, Elna's wish had been granted. It was time to move on to the next

wish.

◇ ◇ ◇

Yakumo had wished for a legendary katana, while Frei had wished for a rare

weapon. They were basically the same thing, so I decided to handle them both

at once. Thankfully, I knew a resident expert when it came to unusual

weaponry.

"Oh, so that's why you're here."

"That's why I'm here, yep."

King Felsen nodded and crossed his arms. This man was the biggest weapon

maniac I knew, so it was a simple matter of opening up a [Gate] and popping

over to his kingdom for some advice.

Once I explained the situation, his expression was a little stiffer than I'd

expected.

"A legendary katana and a rare weapon, eh...? That may be harder than you

were hoping for."

"Huh? How come?"

He was a weapon collector like Frei, so I assumed he'd have some easy leads.

"Well, if I had any leads on such things, I'd surely go after them myself. And if

they were in my collection, Grand Duke, I'm not sure I'd easily give them

up...even for you."

"Oh, I see."

...Goddamn weapon junkies. You're all the same.

"Well, hold on. Putting the legendary katana aside, shouldn't making a rare

weapon be a trifling matter for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"A rare weapon needn't be a weapon with a story behind it, or one wielded

by some great hero. It only needs to be something peculiar, at least that's how I

see it."

...Oh. I hadn't even thought about it from that angle. So Frei's request doesn't

have to be anything historic or made by some master craftsman, huh? Guess it's

fine even if it's made by me, so long as it's something unusual.

But that begged the question, what to make? I had a feeling that making her a

gunblade or a pile bunker weapon like we had on Gerhilde wouldn't quite cut

it... I didn't think cobbling together a baseball bat with nails embedded into it or

making a multishot gun would count either. They'd count as rare weapons in

certain games, but that probably wasn't what she was after.

She'd probably have been more interested in the kind of weapon that

required some special technique to wield, or a weapon that had terrible aim but

incredible power. The kind of weapon you'd find in a daring tale of chivalry.

Hmm... I guess I should just try searching...

I took out my phone and ran an image search for daring, chivalrous weapons.

There were a lot of results...

Oh? This one seems interesting. I bet I could get it to work well with [Program]

too.

"...Is all well?"

"I was just thinking about what to make..."

I noticed King Felsen taking a sneaky peek at my phone screen. I'd

inadvertently caught his interest.

"...You couldn't make one of those for me, could you?"

"I don't mind making you one, if you can pay. I won't give it to you for another

six months either."

"Hm? Why the wait?"

"The request's for a rare weapon. If you have one too, then it won't be rare

enough for Frei. She'll be disappointed about it."

It was plain from my perspective that Frei definitely wanted bragging rights.

She respected King Felsen's collection, so having something he didn't have

would be a point of pride for her.

"Hmh... I can't say I don't know the feeling... Very well, then."

"Now we've got that sorted, are you sure you don't know anything about a

legendary katana?"

"Hmh... I don't know right now. It might be best to ask Lord Tokugawa of

Eashen, don't you think? If anyone would know about unique katanas, it would

be a man from the far east."

Oh, good idea. Tokugawa probably has a bunch of rare katanas or something.

First up, however, I decided to make Frei's rare weapon. Thus, I started work

right in front of King Felsen, since I couldn't be bothered to move. I could just

grab the materials from [Storage], and having King Felsen there to gauge his

reaction would give me a good idea of how Frei would feel about it.

Let's see... Mithril should work. I'll use [Modeling] to warp the base form.

"Hm? A sword?"

"Swords are always reliable, right?"

It wasn't just any old sword, however. This one was special. Once I'd shaped

the sword, I separated the blade from the hilt. Then, I began slicing the blade

itself into various segmented parts.

...It's meant to be like this, right?

"...Grand Duke, what in the world are you doing? Why is the blade in pieces?"

"It's a sword that also functions as a whip, you'll see."

King Felsen looked on with curious eyes as I put together the segmented

blade. I'd gotten the sizes right, so now I just needed to join the mithril bits

together.

Just gotta make holes in each part so I can feed a mithril wire through the

middle, then... Wait, no... The blades need to be fixed in place or the centrifugal

force will just make all the segments clump up at the tip. Looks like I'll have to

connect every individual bit with mithril wire, can't just use one long length...

Then I can just use [Program] on the wire to make it extend and retract at will.

Awesome.

After a whole load of trial and error, I finally completed my first prototype

whipsword. We then headed over to the Felsen castle courtyard to test it out.

"Hup..."

I pressed the button on the hilt as I swung the sword and the blade suddenly

split and stretched out like a whip midswing. After that, I pressed the button

again.

Schwing!

The sound rang out as the whipsword pulled back, reforming itself into...a big

mess. The sword had not taken its original shape, various parts were now

overlapping each other. What I was wielding could barely be called a sword at

all, it was just a hunk of twisted metal, honestly.

...Crap, I forgot to include reforming to the base shape in the [Program]

sequence...

I ran the spell again, adding that it needed to take its original form and harden

itself when reverting.

All right, let's try that again.

I swung it out like a whip, then retracted it back into its base blade form. It

worked perfectly.

I pulled out a large tree log from [Storage], set it on the ground, and stood a

short distance away. I then used the whip form to lash the log and cast it high

into the air, then switched it back to sword form and sliced the log in two as it

fell back to the ground.

Great. Both forms work without any issues.

"Grand Duke! Me too! Let me try too!"

King Felsen could barely contain himself as he ran toward me, making grabby

hands in my general direction. The sight was terrifying, in all honesty. I let him

play with the whipsword, and he began lashing it around as if he were playing

with a new toy.

"You can't have it, you know?"

"I-I know that! Six months, I know! B-But can you make mine a bit bigger? It'd

suit me better that way, I think."

If I make it any bigger, it'll be harder to use as a whip... But I guess some

things are better left unsaid. These kinds of weapons aren't meant to be

practical, they're just meant to be cool. It's fine.

That was that for Frei's wish, so now I just had to grant Yakumo's. A trip to

Eashen was in order. A katana sounded like just the right thing for Yakumo, and

Ieyahsu would surely have some knowledge of that variety of legendary blade.

Thus, I thanked King Felsen for his assistance and opened up a [Gate] to Oedo.

◇ ◇ ◇

"A legendary katana, you say? I know of many, but most are owned. A blade is

a samurai's soul, and few men part with their souls."

"Mmm, I guess that's true..."

Dammit. I'm getting nowhere here. If Yakumo just wanted a rare katana, I

could've had some master smith make one...but she specifically wanted a

legendary katana, which means it needs to be one with some fame or history to

it... Ieyahsu's right, though. Few legends are willing to part with their own

legendary arms.

"However, only most are owned. Some legendary blades have no owner..."

"No owner? How so?"

Ieyahsu's words caused me to raise my brow. If he knew of any that didn't

have any owners, then that was exactly what I needed.

"I refer to the blades of the deceased, or blades that have since gone missing.

Oda Nohbunaga's hoshi-kiri tachi, for example. Its whereabouts are unknown. I

was under the impression that Akechi Mitshuhide had taken it after his

betrayal, but seemingly not."

...Hoshi-kiri tachi? Haven't I heard of that before? Didn't Nobunaga give that

to his son, Nobutada? The Earth Nobunaga did, at least. Maybe this one didn't.

I asked Ieyahsu about that, but apparently, Nohbunaga's son had died with

him in a fire. History had played out differently, as I'd suspected. The history of

Eashen had some similarities to Japan, but there were some notable

differences. I decided not to worry about it. After all, the elite four of Takeda

were working under me in Brunhild. That was definitely a major divergence

from the history I knew.

"Know where I can find it, then?"

"I am afraid not. Stories say that Mitshuhide's retainers stole it amid the

confusion and hid it. Though it may have burned alongside Lord Nohbunaga as

well."

"Have you seen the sword before?"

"That I have. Lord Nohbunaga showed it to me before his death. It was a

beautiful katana, wrought of gleaming gold and silver with a beautiful mithril

star adorned its guard."

Hmm... If I run a search using those specific details, I just might be able to find

it.

I had a feeling Yakumo would be very happy if I could get her a sword that

once belonged to Nohbunaga Oda of all people.

"Run search, hoshi-kiri tachi... Oh, found it. Lucky me."

My smartphone picked it up immediately. I grinned as I glanced upward, only

to find Ieyahsu staring at me in abject disbelief.

"...Enigmatic as ever, Touya-dono..."

"Ha ha ha... That's, uh... Ha ha ha ha..."

"...Would you mind searching for any undiscovered gold mines within my

territory while you're at it?"

"...Sure, why not."

Just the kind of request I'd expect from a Sengoku era legend. Always trying to

keep a stranglehold on his nation's wealth.

I decided to run the search for him, since I didn't just want to get the info, say

bye, then poof away without another word. I found a reasonably sized gold vein

not too far from Oedo, then told him exactly where to locate it.

He was still smiling when he saw me off through my [Gate].

This world's Nobunaga, Nohbunaga, was killed at Honno-ji, in Kyo. It sounded

similar to the Honno-ji affair from Earth, but it wasn't quite the same. Close

enough, though.

So one of Mitshuhide's people probably did hide it away somewhere and never

came to retrieve it, huh?

I headed toward where the pin had fallen.

"Uhhh... It's here?"

I stood on the grounds of Honno-ji, where Nohbunaga had breathed his last.

The pin on the map pointed toward a small pond a little outside the building.

...Someone hid it in there? Sheesh. It's been a long time since the temple was

burned, so whoever hid it probably died before they could come back to retrieve

it. That monkey...Hideyooshi, took care of Akechi's army, so whoever hid it

probably died then... But it's in a pond, huh...? What should I do? Oh, I know.

"[Gate]."

I opened up a portal at the bottom of the pond and dumped out all the water

into a faraway spot above the sea. The water drained out of the pond in no time

at all, leaving a soggy, muddy pit. I'd seen something like this happen on a TV

show once, so it was fun to try it out. I'd only drained the water, so fish and

other creatures were flapping about here and there.

Even though the water was gone, I couldn't see anything that looked like a

sword. The mud at the bottom was kind of obscuring some stuff, though. I

wondered how the guy who threw it in there was planning to retrieve it in the

first place. I cast [Fly] to hover over the pond, then used [Search] to pull up a

more detailed approximation.

"Oh... It's under here, I think?"

I cast [Earthwave], a weak Earth spell, and moved the mud around until I

caught something glimmering back at me.

There it is!

I reached down my hand and pulled the sheathed katana from the mud, using

a quick Water spell to clean it off. The mithril star I saw soon after was enough

to dispel any possible doubts I might've had. It was the hoshi-kiri tachi.

I pulled it from its sheath, and the blade shimmered beneath the sun. The

water droplets caught the light too, creating a beautiful sight. Even a total

layman could see that this sword was something special. It had been at the

bottom of a pond for years and wasn't rusted at all, so the blade was probably

made of mithril. I noticed a little bit of damage on the grip, but that was nothing

the workshop couldn't fix up.

"Sweet. That's Yakumo's wish. Now for Quun, Yoshino, Arcia, and Linne. I

guess the next easiest one would be Yoshino's wish for an unknown

instrument."

It sounded easy at first, but then I wondered just what instruments didn't

Yoshino know. I was sure she knew every single one that existed in this world.

That could only mean one thing. It needed to be an Earth instrument.

However, I'd already introduced a lot of those to this world...

"I guess I just need to think of a really uncommon one, then... Something you

wouldn't see much back on Earth..."

I pulled out my phone and looked up unusual instruments. There was a

surprising amount of them.

The vibraslap seems interesting... It's a percussive instrument that goes like...

Kaaaaaah!

It was certainly unique, but I wasn't sure if Yoshino would be happy with it.

When compared to what I'd put together for Frei and Elna, it certainly came off

as a bit simplistic...

Hmm... The cajón? It's another percussive instrument. A box with holes in it

that you can tap all over... Maybe this one's a little simplistic too. Oh, how

about...? Aha, now this one seems good. I've certainly never seen one before,

and it doesn't look like an instrument at a glance. I bet Yoshino's never heard of

this one either. All right, this one seems good to me. I can't make it myself,

though. Way too complicated. Gonna have to ask Doc Babylon for help.

With that, I headed back to Babylon.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Is that really a musical instrument?"

"It is."

I was in the research laboratory, showing a video to Doc Babylon. On the

screen projected in the air, a woman was playing the instrument by wiggling her

fingers as she held them up. One hand was vertical and the other was

horizontal. It was the world's first electronic instrument, the theremin. It played

sound without even being touched. I had no idea how the electronic

component worked. I knew that the vertical pitch antenna controlled the pitch,

while the horizontal volume antenna controlled the volume.

I didn't need a theremin identical to this one, I just needed an instrument that

worked in the same way. In other words, I needed a theremin she could make

and operate with magitech.

"Can you show me more?"

"Sure."

At Doc Babylon's request, I loaded up more theremin videos. Some were

performances, while others were explanations of the mechanics. I also showed

her some theremin schematics I'd found on the internet.

After going through the videos for about an hour, she gave me a small nod.

"If I had the actual article in front of me, I could just use [Analyze] on it...but I

think I can make sense of what you've given me. A Babylon theremin should be

possible."

Seriously? You might be a perverted freak, but you sure are a genius...

"There's something missing, however. In order to replicate the sound, I'll

require a rare mineral that's known as radiore, or reverbium."

"Mmm... I gotta collect it, huh? Where's it at?"

"You needn't worry about that. We should have at least three lots of it in the

storehouse. Lucky you."

Oh, seriously? There's some in the storehouse? That's a load off my mind.

Oh, how wrong I was...

I went to the storehouse thinking things would be easily dealt with, but it

wasn't so simple at all.

"Mamma mia... Isn't this-a right?" Lileleparshe, the gynoid charged with

taking care of the storehouse, said as she summoned various boxes. None of

them had what I was looking for.

Babylon's treasures and legacy were all managed by the storehouse, which

was on the lowest level of the floating facility. The items were stored in boxes

beneath the structure and summoned using a black monolith controller.

The boxes were all numbered, and I'd taken great care to compile a full list of

the contents some time ago...

"It would-a seem that some of the boxes were-a numbered wrong. Some of

the contents were improperly stored-a too."

"You can't even keep things straight here?"

Some might have found her ditziness charming. I certainly didn't. She made

up for her own clumsiness with more stupidity, and I certainly didn't have the

patience for it. To make matters worse, she was the type who seemed

competent at a glance...so it was kind of a double whammy when she messed

up.

"That's enough. Just summon all the boxes into the main atrium."

"All-a three hundred at once?"

"Gah... Yeah... Slow and steady wins the race... We'll sort through them all.

Just summon them slowly, one at a time."

"Capisco!"

One after another, square boxes sprouted out of the storehouse floor...and

before long, three hundred boxes, ranging from small to large, were lined up in

a big row.

I began opening them one at a time, confirming whether or not they

contained the thing I needed. If I came across anything mislabeled or

mispackaged, then I fixed it up.

In total, I spent about five hours opening all the boxes and putting the

contents back correctly. Yes, I even put them back... I couldn't trust the gynoid

with it.

"Where was it?!"

"Hm? What's-a wrong?"

"Don't gimme that! What do you think?!"

I'd opened up every box that matched under the search conditions, but I

hadn't found any radiore at all. Was Doc Babylon just wrong or something? Or

was the radiore in another box somewhere deep in the storehouse? The three

hundred brought up by my search conditions were hard enough to find...

"Oh... Wait. Radiore? It should-a be reverbium, no?" Parshe said as she

curiously looked over the letters floating on the monolith.

Wait, don't tell me...

"...I forgot-a to file radiore as an alternate name..."

"YOU FORGOT WHAAAT?!"

Isn't there a limit to how stupid you can be?! Didn't you just waste five hours

of my life?! Wait, no, I guess I got to organize some of the stuff...but still!

"Wah!"

Just as I was about to stomp my foot in fury, a box came up right underneath

me and bowled me off my feet. I fell flat on my ass.

"A-Ah! That was an accident-a!"

I clenched my teeth together as I staggered back to my feet. I felt like a vein

was about to burst in my skull.

I slowly regained my composure before opening up the box. There were three

hunks of blue rock with golden stripes running across them. It was the radiore.

...So it was here the whole time. If she'd just had radiore as a listed term

alongside reverbium, then this could've been avoided...

"I-I'll help-a you take this to the research laboratory!"

"Nope! I'm good, thanks! I'll take it on my own! You must be tired, so stay

here and rest!"

"If-a you're sure..."

I desperately resisted Parshe's attempt to help me.

No way! If you try to assist me, I'll lose this stone!

I tossed the radiore into [Storage] and dashed away from the storehouse as

fast as possible.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Welcome back. You're a bit late, aren't you?"

"Don't say a damn thing..."

Doc Babylon's words pierced me to the core. The storehouse was hell itself,

and I didn't want to visit it again any time soon.

I handed over the radiore and asked the doc to make a theremin with it. I

would've preferred to have made it myself, but it was way too complex for me.

I made a cute frame for it, at least. Something a young girl would appreciate. It

was even cherry blossom pink, to match Sakura and Yoshino's hair.

I left that to Babylon and decided on the next present to tackle.

Quun wanted a magical tool, right? Hmm... Maybe I can find something like

that in the storehouse, but I don't want to go back there. Not today, at least.

Plus, Quun probably knew about all the stuff in the storehouse already.

She wanted an interesting one, right? Does that mean it has to be one of a

kind? Hmm... Maybe I could just give her a theremin too? Nah, that'd be a bit

tacky.

If our magic tools weren't enough, then one from another country would

have to do the trick.

Luckily, I knew exactly where to go, so I opened up a [Gate] and hopped on in.

Haaah... I'm shooting all over the place to grant these wishes... Is this how

stars feel when people wish on them?

◇ ◇ ◇

"An interesting magical tool, eh?"

The oil-stained woman standing before me was Berlietta, the former princess

of Strain. Though that was a title she'd discarded once she'd married Lupheus,

first prince of Triharan.

I'd come to Triharan to visit this odd couple, and I found them in a small

mechanic's garage outside the imperial palace. I wondered if it was really okay

for the crown princess to be standing here in oil-slicked coveralls, but it wasn't

my place to comment.

"I have a few magical tools laying around, but they're mostly things I've

tinkered with. I don't think they'd compare to anything Elluka could've come up

with."

Hrm... Maybe I was wrong thinking Berlietta would have something unique to

offer, then.

"Triharan royalty doesn't have much in the way of historical tools of interest

either... Not anymore, at least. Our heritage items were all sold when the

Senate took control..." Lupheus said, speaking up as he continued tinkering with

the EV in the middle of the room.

...Should the crown prince really be laying down under a car with a wrench in

his hand? These two really were made for each other, huh?

Nothing about this couple had changed since the last time I'd seen them,

which was precisely what I'd been hoping for.

I had told them the gist of the situation, that I needed an interesting piece of

magical technology for a young girl who was related to me, but they didn't

really have anything particular in mind.

"Grand Duke, surely you can make a one-of-a-kind magical tool, no?" Berlietta

said, stating the obvious as if it were a bold new idea.

That was the first thing I'd thought of too, but... Well, I'd already made most

of the most interesting electronic devices I could think of. My castle had a

washing machine, a fridge-freezer, and more smartphones than you could

count. I wasn't sure what I could make that I hadn't already created.

Hell, even she had already made interesting stuff like powered suits.

"If I were to receive an interesting magical tool, I'd opt for something I could

improve myself. Like this EV here."

"Oh, yes, I agree. It's rather fun to tinker with, isn't it?"

Hmm... Something you can modify and improve freely, huh? Like the Frame

Gear or powered suits she likes to play around with... I guess that makes sense.

So if we're going for something in that vein, then how about a vehicle?

"Maybe she'd like a bike."

"A what?"

"Uhhh...it's like an Ether Vehicle, but it has two wheels and is for fewer

passengers."

"Two wheels? Like a vehicle that only has wheels at the front or the rear?"

"Uh, not quite..."

Lupheus was apparently imagining something like a cart with two wheels. It

was a pain in the ass to explain what was going on, so I just pulled up some

pictures on my phone. Then, I pulled up a video of a motorcycle doing a few

laps.

"Amazing! It's really running on just two wheels!"

"How can it lean in like that without losing balance?! Oh! The driver's knees

are almost touching the ground!"

The video of the motorbike race had them glued to the screen. We watched

the race until one of the contestants suddenly swerved on a corner and fell

from his bike. The two were shocked at first, but breathed a sigh of relief when

the racer got back up. His bike wasn't quite so unharmed, however.

"As you can see, motorbikes are a bit more unstable than Ether Vehicles. It's

really easy to get injured if you get in an accident while on it, which is why

riders wear special suits and helmets."

Hmm, maybe it's not such a good idea to make one of these for Quun... She'd

definitely take safety precautions, though.

"Interesting... So it's a potentially dangerous vehicle, then."

"It's likely unstable due to the two wheels. Standard Ether Vehicles have four

wheels because it's the most sensible design...but, hm... Could you not make a

safer bike with three wheels?"

"I mean... Tricycles do exist, but..."

I wasn't sure if Quun would appreciate receiving a tricycle as a gift.

Although...maybe a three-wheeler motorcycle? She might like that.

I pulled up a search for three-wheeled motorcycles, and there were a lot of

results.

"Yes, if we used a compact design based on these outlines then it'd be much

safer. We can improve the size of the tires for stability too."

"How wonderful! Some designs have two wheels at the front, while others

have two at the back."

"Why not both?! I'll make the former, while you make the latter."

"Got it!"

Huh? You're making two of them now? And two different ones at that? I only

came here to ask for ideas, guys...

"The chassis will need to be small if it's for a child!"

"Let's consider speed limiters as well! Oh, and a heavy frame sounds good!

For durability!"

I'd started them down this path, so it wasn't my place to stop them at this

point. Thus, I simply sighed and let them get on with it.

I could've just taken the idea to Rosetta at the workshop, but I'd gone and

pushed these two off the deep end by mistake, so now I had to see them see it

through.

Hrm... It's never simple around here, is it?

◇ ◇ ◇

I helped them out by forming various parts using [Modeling], and in just

under two days the two of them were finished with their inventions.

Two motorized trikes stood before me in the Triharan garage.

The one with two wheels at the front was pretty compact and looked more

like a scooter. The design allowed you to sit on it with your legs close together.

You could even wear a skirt on it without worrying about anything showing.

The one with the two rear wheels looked more like a traditional motorbike.

The wheels at the rear had much thicker tires for extra stability too. The chassis

itself was child-sized, but I could still see an adult being able to get on it. It was

also adjustable. The seat could move back allowing for more or less leg room.

We completed test drives for both of them, and they moved smoothly and

safely. That meant my present for Quun was now complete. There was only one

problem...

If I gave both to Quun, the other kids might complain that she got two

presents. It'd certainly be unfair for her to get two gifts while the others got

one, which meant I needed to pick and choose one to give her.

The only question was which one... The scooter model certainly seemed

easier to ride, so I ended up picking that one.

"I went to great pains to make mine, you know...?"

Berlietta, whose trike I hadn't chosen, glanced nervously in my direction as I

laid hands on the other one. She was probably afraid of me taking it, the damn

tech junkie.

"I'm not taking both, so you guys can keep this one. I just want the

blueprints."

"Oh, thank you!"

The trike I'd chosen technically belonged to me, as I had supplied all the

materials and commissioned the two to make it.

At the end of the day, I wasn't going to let them keep the one I wanted, since

that would've defeated the whole purpose of my visit. Thankfully, they seemed

to be completely fine with receiving the other trike in lieu of the commission

payment.

Taking Berlietta's blueprints instead of her actual trike was better, anyway.

That way, Quun could make her own if she wanted.

I took the blueprints and the front-two-wheeler trike, tossed them into my

[Storage], and I thanked the two before returning to Brunhild. They didn't really

see me off, though. They were too engrossed in their latest invention to care.

Now then, just two to go... Arcia and Linne...

I wasn't exactly sure what kind of exotic ingredients Arcia wanted, nor was I

entirely sure about Linne's desired finishing move... Thus, I decided to just get

Arcia's out of the way, since it seemed more straightforward.

What's exotic for her, though? Like something rare, or fabled? What kind of

ingredients would I associate with being rare or exotic back on Earth?

Matsutake mushrooms, maybe? Nah, they're a bit too common. You can get

them in any supermarket.

The most fantastical ingredient in this world was Dragon meat. Most people

couldn't kill a Dragon, after all. And even when someone did, the meat was

traded at such a high price that it was out of the reach of the masses.

Dragon meat would be the obvious answer... If we didn't regularly cook with

it. To Arcia, Dragon meat was as mundane as chicken. And so, I had no choice

but to turn to my castle's foremost culinary expert.

◇ ◇ ◇

"An exotic ingredient, eh?"

"Mhm. What's something that's almost impossible to find? Putting aside

dragon meat, that is."

The obvious person to ask here was Lu. She was an imperial princess, so she'd

eaten fine dining since the moment she was born. I reasoned that if there was

something Lu had never eaten, then Arcia had surely never eaten it either.

"I see... If we're talking rare, then abyssal shark roe, blackstone shrooms, and

roughbird liver would be the usual things I'd list off...but those can be rather

easily acquired for the right coin."

Yeah, those are all A-rank ingredients for sure, but I'm after S-rank stuff.

"I suppose... Behemoth meat."

"Really?"

Those giant things? They're actually tasty? I've killed a few, but have never

thought about eating them. Hell, I sold most of the carcasses from my

encounters with them.

"Well, Touya, as you know, magical beasts contain an infusion of magical

elements in their bodies. This magical element enriches the flesh and deepens

the flavor."

"Yeah. That's why Dragon meat tastes so good, right?"

Stronger monsters typically had a higher concentration of magic in their

systems, so the logic usually went that the stronger the monster, the tastier its

flesh.

"Behemoths are magical beasts who have been exposed to entire wells of

mana, taking in so much that their bodies become oversized and mutated.

Therefore, their bodies are so rich with magical elements that it's said their

flesh is a grade above any other creature's."

That made a lot of sense. In fact, I was surprised I hadn't put that together

before. If magical elements determined good taste, and it was an abundance of

that magic that made Behemoths so big...then it stood to reason that they'd be

the tastiest beasts of all.

"Not just any Behemoth meat will do, however. Take that scorpion beast, for

example, Scorpinus. Its base species didn't taste especially good, so even

enriched by its Behemoth transformation, it wouldn't taste much better than

low-grade beef."

Oh, right. So if it's a species that doesn't taste great from the outset, it won't

make a difference? Actually, it might be the exact opposite. Maybe the magical

element would make a bad-tasting thing taste even worse, amplifying the bitter

taste? Yuck!

"If you're going to target a Behemoth for meat, then you should go for one

that mutated from a species that was already delicious. Cattle, pigs, or birds...

Oh, fish would work well too."

Hmm... We already encountered one like that back on Palerius Island, right?

Hilde killed that gigantic power bison, I remember... So that's the kind of meat I

need, eh?

Sadly, while I kept the crafting materials, we sold the meat to the people of

Palerius. They were living in a sealed city, so their food supplies were dwindling.

It certainly wasn't a decision I regretted either.

Well, whatever. Just gotta find a tasty-looking Behemoth and kill it for meat,

right? That's hardly difficult.

The only issue would be sourcing such a tasty foe.

"Run search... Behemoths that count as cows, pigs, birds, or fish."

"Searching... Search complete."

A bunch of pins dropped down on my map. More than I'd expected, even. I

wondered if you could really call it exotic if there were so many sources just

roaming around...but then quickly realized there were only around ten in the

whole world, so it was definitely pretty exotic. Plus, once you killed one, there

was no guarantee another would ever show up again. That was the sheer

definition of exotic.

Hmm, which one to go for? The ones in the ocean are definitely fish, while the

flying ones have gotta be birds.

I wasn't sure if I felt like going to the trouble of a nautical or aerial battle,

though...

Do I want beef or pork? A pig would probably be easier to handle than a cow...

I could also go for some pork cutlets right about now. Hmm... Yeah, let's go with

pork. Pigs it is.

I searched more specifically and found two pig Behemoths. One was in the

snowy mountains of Elfrau, while the other was in a mountain range amid

Yulong's ruins.

I couldn't hunt in Elfrau's territory without permission, so Yulong was the safe

bet.

"Touya."

"Hm? What is it?"

Lu looked up at me with pleading eyes.

"...You'll, um... You'll let me have some of that meat, won't you?"

"...Oh, uh... Yeah... Of course..."

I folded... I guess she's worried I'll only let Arcia try it. I don't think she'll mind

if I give Lu some, so it's whatever. Actually, if I give Lu some, it might inspire the

two of them to have a contest to make the yummiest dish! Hell, since it'll be

their first time working with the stuff, Arcia'll probably consider it even and fair.

I decided to head off hunting right away. Pork was going to be back on the

menu.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Oh... It was that kind of pig..."

I pinched my brow and sighed as I stared at the porcine Behemoth in front of

me.

It was an enormous boar with shaggy black fur and ridiculously oversized

tusks.

Boars are pigs too, I guess...

I'd killed a boar Behemoth back on Palerius Island. It was called a Grand Boar

or something like that. Apparently, I'd slaughtered an entire rare beast on that

island without even realizing it.

The black boar in front of me was different from the Grand Boar, however. It

resembled a Black Fang Boar. I'd heard that it was quite the tasty species.

I'd hunted regular Fang Boars before, but this was my first time seeing a black

one...even if it was considerably oversized. I wondered if it would taste like

Berkshire pork, but quickly realized it probably wouldn't. If I remembered right,

Berkshire pork was a species that had been specifically bred to taste good, and

it was known internationally as kurobuta pork. A wild beast like this wouldn't

taste as good as a selectively bred pig, at least not on its own... Though, it was a

Behemoth, so there was still a chance it could taste even better.

"HOOOIIIIIINKH!"

The black boar Behemoth lunged toward me. My Reginleif was in the middle

of a tune-up, so I would have to fight this one on the ground.

I didn't think just slashing or shooting it with Brunhild would do the trick

either. Thus, I quickly started chanting, casting [Iron Wall] and manifesting a

twenty-meter-high and four-meter-thick wall of metal out of the ground at my

feet.

The Black Fang Boar was unable to stop its own momentum, sending it

smashing full speed into the sudden obstacle in its path. A dull thud rang out

into the surrounding area as it smashed its head into the iron wall, leaving a big

dent in the back of it.

Holy cow, how strong is this thing?! It seriously made a dent?!

Just as I was marveling at the Behemoth's power, I heard the dull thud again...

It wasn't dead, and it wasn't done smashing into the wall, apparently.

"No way... Seriously?"

I used [Fly] to rush up into the sky and look down at the situation...only to

catch the Black Fang Boar running back and charging the wall another three

times.

...It's bleeding from the head. Why's it still hitting the wall?

After the third violent crash, the metal structure warped and crumbled before

fading away entirely. The wall had been formed from magic in the earth, so it

was destined to either disappear after a certain period of time or fade away

after sustaining a certain amount of damage. It wasn't as durable as real forged

iron either. It was still iron, however, so the fact that it had been so thoroughly

smashed was no small feat.

The Black Fang Boar let out a triumphant roar upon felling its inanimate foe.

I narrowed my eyes and realized it wasn't just bellowing at random, but up at

me. It was as if it was taunting me, trying to tell me it had overcome my trick.

...You're pretty good...but not good enough.

I snapped my fingers and cast [Waterball], launching a sphere of water about

ten meters in diameter over at the black fang boar. The orb struck the

Behemoth square in the head, enveloping its nose and mouth in the water. It

began to gargle and thrash around, desperate for air, but it couldn't stop itself

from drowning where it stood.

Behemoths were strong, but they were still regular living creatures. A boar

couldn't breathe underwater, so a giant boar couldn't either. The Black Fang

Boar thrashed its head around, desperate to shake the orb off its face, but it

was to no avail. It couldn't even move away, as I'd used my magic to fix its limbs

to the floor.

Eventually, it fell limp and motionless to the floor. It was still alive, but it

wouldn't be alive for much longer. I dissipated the orb of water, used Earth

magic to dig a huge pit beneath it, and then used [Levitation] to dangle it

upside down in the air. When it was floating in front of me, I used Wind magic

to slice open its throat, draining the blood into the pit I'd just dug.

Black Fang Boars weren't just renowned for their meat, after all. Their tusks

and fur made good raw materials. This was the most efficient way to kill it

without damaging its valuable pelt, even if it was somewhat harsh.

"I'll have the adventurer's guild take you apart and ask them to set aside the

meat for me."

I pulled out my phone and called up Relisha, checking if she'd be able to

disassemble a Behemoth for me as soon as possible.

◇ ◇ ◇

I used [Gate] to summon the monster dismantling team to the Yulong

mountain range.

First off, I asked them to harvest the best meat. They prioritized the loin,

shoulder, rib, fatty meat, and tenderloin (the cut that made the best cutlets). I

was going to get all of the meat later, but for now, I needed enough for Arcia.

It was at this point that I was a little amused by the prospect of getting raw

meat as a gift for a child, but it was what she wanted, so who was I to judge?

Either way, that was it for Arcia, so only Linne's wish remained. She had

wished for a finishing move...or something to that effect. I could assume she

didn't mean a move that literally finished people off. She probably meant some

cool or flashy attack.

I personally felt her [Gravity] and [Shield] combo already fell into that

category.

Yae's Kokonoe techniques and Hilde's Lestian attacks were probably the kind

of moves Linne must have had in mind. Though, Elze and Ende had their special

ki attacks too. Linne probably felt a bit left out without having something truly

crazy to call her own.

I guess asking Uncle Takeru would be best, right? He's literally the god of

combat. Maybe there's some easy answer I'm missing that'll help me figure it

out.

I went to Takeru to ask, but he flat-out told me that there was no easy

answer. Apparently, I'd hit a dead end.

"There's no simple guide to it, but you could always learn the martial arts and

record them for her to learn from."

"Huh? Me?"

...Do I look like I have time to learn martial arts and start recording my journey

in an esoteric tome or something?

"Wait, it doesn't have to be me... Can't I just ask Ende or Elze to do that?"

"Ende's a natural genius who learns new abilities intuitively. I doubt he could

properly record or explain his techniques to others. Conversely, Elze is a

destructive force all by herself, which isn't something you can communicate in

text."

Ugh... I guess that's true. Whenever I ask Elze about how she fights, she

always says stuff like, "Well, first you go bam! Then, you twist around and go

thwack!"

Her explanations were always hard to decipher... I was amazed she could

understand herself.

In Ende's case, he was the kind of person who'd go over something

complicated and then act like it wasn't a big deal at all. I was not exactly a fan of

natural geniuses like him.

Takeru was somewhat similar, but he was definitely better at explaining the

processes. It was probably that similarity between them that led to Ende and

him becoming such fast friends.

...Do I really have to learn martial arts myself? And do I really have to write it

all down? Wait, no. Can't I just use a crystal ball to record a video that explains

finishing moves, then enchant it to play back the recording with [Mirage]? That

way Linne can just watch it and learn.

"Could I record you doing a special finishing move?"

"I suppose so, but wouldn't it be better to have me do it on a target rather

than thin air?"

Takeru had a point. It'd be easier to understand how to use the move against

a foe if there was a foe having it used on them in the video. Thus, I decided to

go and get a lucky volunteer to receive Takeru's beatdown. It couldn't be me, of

course. I had to record. Luckily, I had the perfect guy in mind...

"Why me?!"

"You're his best student, so you're best suited to dealing with him. That's just

how it is, man."

I grinned slightly as Ende stood there grumbling.

I'd dragged him here by opening up a [Gate] under his feet. He'd initially

refused, but then I told him Allis would appreciate having the recording to learn

from and he reluctantly agreed to participate.

Technically, Ende would be getting beaten up in this video, so he might've had

some reservations about letting his daughter see that. But sometimes a father

had to make sacrifices for the good of his child.

"Now, what kinda attack do you wanna see? I could do one that drains my life

span in exchange for an ultimate strike that guarantees a killing blow..."

"Absolutely not!" Ende and I yelled in unison.

I didn't want my daughter to learn something terrible, no way! But that said, I

wasn't exactly sure what kind of attack I wanted to show her. She wouldn't be

too happy if it was something difficult. An attack that would take her years to

even begin grasping didn't exactly make for a good gift.

On the other hand, showing her a really simple attack wouldn't be very

interesting either. Thus, we needed to hit a happy medium.

"How about I beat up on Ende here with a couple of intermediate-grade

attacks, and we pick the one that looks simplest?"

"Sure. Let's do that."

"Hwah?! Don't I get any input here?!"

Ende tried to protest, but it was too late. Takeru and I had already decided

that this was the best path forward.

"Okay, go!"

I stood a good distance away from the two of them and began recording with

my phone. Yet for some reason, by the time my recording had started, the

screen showed only Takeru. Where had Ende gone?

"Bwauuugh?!"

I glanced upward just in time to see Ende crashing to the ground.

Huh? Did Takeru hit him that fast?

"As you can see, I instantly charged beneath my enemy's bosom and drove

my entire body's force through my palms to strike him upward in the blink of an

eye..."

"Wait, wait, hold on! Uncle Takeru! You went too fast! I couldn't catch that on

video at all!"

I had to stop Takeru mid-explanation. He'd done it so fast that I hadn't even

hit the record button before Ende was halfway to the stratosphere. I wouldn't

be able to record a thing at this rate.

"Sorry, Ende. Let's go again."

"Wurgh..."

I cast a recovery spell on Ende while giving him a supportive thumbs-up.

Don't glare at me, man! That one wasn't my fault!

Ende staggered to his feet and faced Uncle Takeru once more. He stood in a

defensive stance this time around. His arms were crossed and his hands were

protecting his jaw.

This time I pressed the record button before calling out for them to begin.

"Okay, now you can..."

"Bwroguh?!"

Ende was once again catapulted up into the sky, landing in a heap a few

seconds later.

Seriously?! That was way too fast! I couldn't see you move!

"As you can see, I instantly charged beneath my enemy's bosom and drove

my body's force through my palms to strike him upward in the blink of an

eye..."

"Hold it! Stop! Hold on!"

I had to stop Uncle Takeru mid-explanation again.

I went over the video I'd recorded at the slowest possible speed, frame by

frame, but even then, I couldn't see Takeru move. Ende was just blasted into

the sky.

How fast is he?! He's going beyond the recording speed!

"You're too fast! You need to go slower so we can use it as a proper

instructional video!"

"If I go slower, I won't be using my actual technique."

"Ugh... I get it, but... Well, okay. How about you do the technique, then slowly

explain it while showing all the parts of it in sequence?"

"Oh, I see. That works, yes. Come, Ende. Once more!"

"Up you go, Ende."

"Gimme a break..."

We had to do a few retakes, but eventually, I got footage of a few special

attacks. I edited the video together and enchanted it into a crystal ball. I

could've just sent the video to Linne's phone, but I felt like that took away from

the magic of it being a present.

I also made one for Ende to pass on to Allis. For some reason, he didn't say

anything to me when I saw him off. He just stared and groaned. Still, I had a

feeling he'd feel a lot better once he saw his daughter's smiling face. It was all

for the greater good.

That was the end of Linne's wish, which meant I'd granted them all. I felt a bit

weird about granting wishes for all my kids except Kuon, though. I wanted to

give him something that'd make him happy, but what would that something

be? I knew he enjoyed putting dioramas together, so something related to that

seemed like a safe bet. He'd gotten pretty excited that one time I'd shown him

all those different dioramas, after all.

Oh, maybe I could get some videos on diorama-making?

I was a little curious, so I looked it up on a popular video hosting site. There

was a massive number of videos to choose from. I was amazed, as I hadn't

expected it to be such a popular hobby.

All right, great. I'll stitch some of these videos together and enchant them into

a crystal ball like Linne's here.

It felt a little low-effort, but I had a feeling he'd still be happy.

The theremin for Yoshino was also complete, so now I had everything. The

only question that remained was how I was going to deliver the presents...but I

had a certain idea in mind. It had to do with an old custom from Earth...a rather

classic way of preparing gifts.

◇ ◇ ◇

The next morning, all of my children woke up with a present by their bedside.

They were initially unsure what to think, but after a little urging from their

mothers, they opened up their boxes.

At first, though, Linne and Kuon didn't quite seem to understand what they

were looking at, which was a bit understandable, since they'd just been

presented with crystal balls without any explanation.

Thankfully, I'd written out accompanying cards detailing what each of their

presents contained. Once they read those, they smiled wide.

Yoshino didn't seem to realize what a theremin was at a glance, but once she

read her card and realized it was a musical instrument, she immediately started

playing with it.

I'm glad she's happy, but maybe I should've reconsidered giving her this? The

sound of a theremin so early in the morning is a little jarring...

Yakumo gleefully swung her hoshi-kiri tachi around, while Frei lashed her

whipsword through the air. Quun merrily rode around on her trike. The sound

of the theremin was flowing out nonstop from Yoshino's room, and Arcia had

already taken the Behemoth meat to the kitchen and begun working on her

next master dish. Elna was practically buried in the bosom of the giant stuffed

panda she'd received, while Linne was studying her video, moving her body

here and there as if memorizing the motions. Kuon was pondering his orb,

attentively picking over every detail of the diorama instructional video I'd put

together for him.

It'd been a lot of work putting all of it together, but seeing my kids happy

made all the effort worth it.

"Wishing upon a star... I wish I had made a wish as well, I do."

"Right? I'd wish for our busy husband to calm down and do something with

us."

Yae and Sue started jabbering about something that annoyed them, but I

pretended not to hear.

"I'd wish for a grimoire, something new that you couldn't even find in

Babylon's library."

"I-I'd want some romantic novels and manga from Earth..."

"Oh, if we could get things from Earth, then I'd want a new idol song to

learn..."

Leen, Linze, and Sakura joined in.

Crap... Don't tell me I've gotta grant all your wishes too!

It wasn't that I wasn't happy to get them gifts, but it'd be better if they gave

me six months or a year of notice or something.

"I already received a present from Touya, so..."

"That was just leftovers from the meat he got for Arcia, no? Although I

suppose that was a present, wasn't it...?"

I could sense my other wives narrow their eyes at Lu, who spoke with a sense

of pride and just a little bit of gloating.

I-It was just leftovers! Please don't turn this into a thing...

"Touya?"

"Eep!"

My voice was completely gone. Yumina was smiling at me, but there was a

great invisible pressure welled up behind her. I could feel the pressure

emanating from all of my wives...except Lu.

"The Mochizuki family motto is what, Touya? All wives are equal, yes? You

understand, yes?"

"O-Of course I understand! Of course!"

This was my first time hearing about this apparent family motto, but I could

only assume it had been created without my knowledge.

L-Look, I agree! I agree! Just gimme a minute to rest! I've had a rough time!

I'm tired! Obviously, I'm not gonna say that out loud, but... Bwuh, fine...

I decided to just suck it up and do as my wives asked. It took me the whole

day to grant their wishes, and it wiped me out pretty hard. Thankfully, they

weren't children, so their wishes weren't quite as unreasonable. Linze and

Sakura's wishes were easily downloaded via my phone too. The only one that

gave me real trouble was Leen's wish, which was a grimoire you couldn't find in

Babylon's library.

Luckily, I'd promised King Felsen a whipblade of his own, so I had him permit

me to copy the contents of his family grimoire in lieu of a cash payment. It

wasn't a particularly powerful tome, but it had some interesting stuff in it.

By the time I finished, night had fallen. I sat out on the balcony, gazing up at

the dark sky. From the corner of my vision, I spied a shooting star. It felt like a

bit of a mean-spirited joke. I'd certainly had more than my fair share of wishes

as of late.

I decided to set a rule that you could only make a wish on a star once a year.

That seemed fair to me. I also figured we should probably make it a childrenonly event, like Christmas. That would probably be fine. Might be a bit unfair to

parents, though.

I saw another star streak across the black sea above me. It was as if it was

trying to urge me to make a wish of my own.

"I wish...to take a break tomorrow... To take a break tomorrow... To take a

break tomorrow..."

The shooting star glimmered in the sky above as if to answer my prayers.

Perhaps tomorrow would be a peaceful day...