Chapter 153: Unvoiced Happiness
Croana and I walked through the academy with cool expressions.
After that, Croana had rushed back to her residence and shut herself in the workroom, or so I thought.
An hour later, Croana emerged from the room holding one magic tool, her smile overflowing with a sense of achievement.
While the three of us—me, Fia, and Lea—looked at the completed item, Fia made a proposal to Croana.
Since we had gone to the trouble, why not try it out?
After considering it, Croana decided to test the effect inside the humid academy.
The result could be called a success; it was truly cool.
Croana was smiling happily at the continuous cool breeze released from the magic tool installed at the dead end of the corridor.
Perhaps she was quite delighted, for a little strength entered the hand she was holding, and seeing such a face of Croana made me happy as well.
There was no one who would not feel happy looking at their lover’s smile.
Her hair, so long it almost touched the floor, swayed in the cool breeze, and the hem of the simple black-and-white dress she wore also swayed.
Croana’s enthusiasm and attachment toward magic tools was high; even if it was a failure, she hated destroying it.
There I had brought an idea that could make use of it, so I think she was happy.
Because of that excess of happiness, today I had kissed Croana a countless number of times.
"How long does it look like it will last?"
"I wonder... my prediction is about an hour, but it is still moving."
"It has already been an hour since activation."
"Mmm, shall we watch the situation a little longer?"
Saying that, Croana happily gazed at the slender board she held in her free hand.
What Croana was currently looking at was the failed magic tool; its effect was to link magic tools together.
According to Croana, she had intended to develop something that could store mana, but it had failed and produced this board-type magic tool.
For example, if one fire magic tool was connected to another fire magic tool, the magic tool into which mana was first poured would activate, and that mana would flow into the next magic tool and activate it.
Hearing it sounded amazing, yet the need to keep pouring mana remained unchanged, so the result was simply that activating one was enough.
The street lamps in the royal capital were made from materials that possessed a luminous property, so once mana was poured in they would continue shining for a long time.
In comparison, fire, water, and wind magic tools were made into magic tools from a zero state, so they lacked continuity.
What I proposed there was not simply connecting them, but creating a loop—what would happen then?
Hearing that the board only allowed mana to flow in one direction, I suggested attaching two boards.
In other words, mana would flow from the first activated magic tool and activate the next; once the next activated, that mana would flow back.
Croana immediately produced it, and what was completed was the box that could be held in both arms, visible at the dead end of the corridor.
Cooling was straightforward: a freezing magic tool chilled the iron, and wind was blown against it to produce a cool breeze.
The linked magic tools inside the box were one ice magic tool and one wind magic tool.
In terms of cost it was an expensive item, but the effect, as we were currently experiencing, was considerable.
The only drawback was that the mana itself was also living, so eventually it would run out.
Therefore, once the mana stopped circulating through the magic tools it would cease to activate, and mana would have to be poured in once more.
Yet for now it had been running for an hour, and even that felt more than sufficient.
A magic tool that could activate individually for a full hour—apart from the street-lamp magic tools, nothing came to mind.
Having a woman who produced such a wonderful invention as my lover made me want to boast about her to everyone around.
Well, Croana would probably get embarrassed and dislike it, so I had no intention of boasting...
Croana called a floating pen and paper to her side and instructed them to inform her of the time when the magic tool’s effect ran out.
The softly floating pen and paper circled around the wind-producing box as if dancing.
"Watching the magic of you sisters makes me feel as though nothing is impossible."
"I do not think there is anything that cannot be done, but that much mana is used. More than anything, one must imagine it becoming so. If the process cannot first be imagined, magic cannot be used..."
"...I see. It does not work like attack magic."
"Yes. Even if there is a magic for creating objects, one must think about how, in what manner, and into what kind of thing."
"It is far too difficult for me."
Saying that with a wry smile and looking at Croana’s face, she looked up at me with a blank expression.
Then Croana laughed happily, floated softly into the air, and with her hair fluttering came floating in front of me, so I hugged her.
While feeling the soft sensation of her breasts being crushed and changing shape, I met the eyes of the happily smiling Croana I had caught.
Croana’s small body seemed as though it would break if I put too much strength into it, so I hugged her as gently as possible.
Tilting her head slightly and smiling affectionately, Croana gave me one kiss and spoke in a gentle voice.
"But Raide possesses imagination. Thanks to that, that magic tool lived. Thank you, Raide."
"...Being praised by Croana makes me feel strange."
"Kuku, was it a nostalgic scent? You said something like that before."
"Yeah... it is a scent that makes my heart squeeze."
"I will not leave your side. You may rest easy."
Burying my face in the neck of Croana who spoke as if admonishing me in a gentle voice, I smelled the nostalgic scent like that of books.
Croana gently stroked the back of my hair with her small hand, and that again made me feel a sense of security.
Separating my face from her neck, I held Croana in a princess-carry fashion and began walking toward Croana’s residence on the rooftop.
Then, when I told her that there was something I wanted to give her just as I had told Fia, Croana made a certain proposal, and I blinked in surprise.
Having returned to Croana’s residence, I sat alone on the sofa in the room that overlooked the outside and was drinking tea.
Told by Croana to wait in the room, I took out the box containing the Sephrim Necklace from my magic bag and waited.
What is this tense feeling...
It was not that there were no times when I felt tense while with my lovers, but this was a different kind of tension.
To explain simply, it was the sensation of about to confess.
My throat grew dry, so the silver tray that had been bringing tea earlier was busy.
Hearing the sound of the door opening and turning only my face behind me, I was a little surprised.
The one who entered was Fia as usual, but the clothes she wore were the black dress she had been wearing when we first met.
No, looking carefully, it seemed to have been arranged into nightwear; it had become negligee-style, the skin showing through, and it was seductive.
Seeing my face, Fia smiled alluringly, walked quietly in front of me, tilted her head slightly, and spoke.
"Fufu, does it feel strange?"
"Yeah... somehow I am nervous."
"Nfufu, I can tell from looking at your face. Goodness, you are sweating."
While smiling gently, Fia took out a handkerchief from somewhere and wiped the sweat that had appeared on my forehead.
The scent of Fia drifting from the handkerchief as well eased my tension.
Thinking there was no better timing to hand it over, I held out the necklace box in front of Fia.
Opening the box and showing the necklace, I spoke in a gentle voice to Fia whose gaze had fallen on the necklace.
"Will you accept it?"
"...Experiencing unvoiced happiness is the second time."
"The second time?"
"The first was when I received the bracelet. The next is... now."
To Fia who made her eyes a little moist and smiled happily, I took the necklace from the box and fastened it around her neck.
When I explained the necklace and its effect, Fia gently grasped the gem with both hands, covered it, and began pouring mana.
Immediately the gem shone, illuminating the inside of the room with a pale green light before vanishing.
When Fia released her hands from the gem and peered at it, she was surprised at the state of the gem she was seeing for the first time.
Around a shape like a green leaf, white had enclosed it.
At the pattern of the gem that seemed to represent nature, and at the first phenomenon, I ended up staring intently at the gem.
Perhaps it was the same for Fia; she lifted the changed gem with one hand and smiled affectionately.
"Is it all right to be this happy..."
"Of course it is. ...Croana said she wanted me to give it to Fia first. Looking back on everything until now, no matter how much I thank her it is not enough... so she asked me."
"That child..."
The figure of her smiling happily while tears rolled one after another from her eyes, together with the night view of the royal capital behind, was beautiful, and I involuntarily drew her small body close.
Thinking that she, with a body smaller than Croana’s, had carried heavy burdens, something gripped my heart.
The older sister who had destroyed her own clan for the sake of her younger sister, and who had searched for a way to prolong her life so that her younger sister would not be left alone.
That was Fia, the beloved lover I was now holding.
"I will absolutely never let go. Not of my younger sisters, not of this happy peace, and... not of you either."
"I will not let you let go. I am surprisingly possessive, so prepare yourself."
"Fufu, yes... do not let go."
To Fia who smiled beautifully with teardrops still remaining on her face, I brought my face close and kissed her.
Kisses that only touched the small lips, over and over, until we looked at each other’s faces and laughed together.