The thing itself, lagging behind
In the morning, I picked up DORECA in front of my house.
"Menu open"
--------------------------
Akito
Classification: Fronz Card
Mana Value: 999999
Item Creation Count: 1099
Number of Slaves: 2
--------------------------
"Could it really be a mistake?"
The mana displayed in the menu is six 9s in a row—meaning less than a million.
After creating the Eternal Slave Re: version yesterday, each unit was charged with over a million mana. Combined with the previous total, it should’ve been more than two million.
Yet now it’s less than that. And it’s clearly showing a capped value.
I tried creating a single Psinyi spell circle.
Mana dropped to 999998.
Not staying at 999999—dropping to 999998.
That means the overflow was wasted. Not a case where the display hits the cap but the actual amount is higher.
It really is just that much.
Wasteful, sure. But no choice.
For now, I shelved the issue.
I figured the limit would probably rise at some point down the line.
Maybe the card’s rank goes up. Or the number of slaves increases.
No proof, but I’m certain.
It has to go up somewhere.
So I decided to leave it be.
Risha and Mira came out from inside the house.
They wore the green dresses they’d made yesterday, smiling brightly as they stood before me.
“Master, what should we make today?”
Risha spoke, Mira gazing at me.
A routine we’d grown used to.
“Yeah. Since magic’s such a waste, let’s just build the whole house at once—enough for everyone.”
“Waste it… and still build?”
Risha tilted her head, puzzled.
That’s the natural reaction from someone who doesn’t know about magic cap limits.
I was about to explain it when—
“Wait, what’s this?!”
A voice rang out—familiar, male.
Looking over, there stood Seiya.
Shin'ya stood just as he always did, a steel sword slung at his waist.
The slave he was dragging still wore the same clothing as the one from when we were summoned.
Like they hadn’t aged at all… a cliché flickered through my mind.
I stepped closer to the startled Shin'ya.
Me and Shin'ya faced each other, our slaves standing behind us, facing one another.
As masters, the slaves kept their mouths tightly shut.
"Hey."
"What's this?"
"What's this? You mean *this*?"
"You found this place pretty well. Didn’t think there’d still be a town like this left on the surface."
"Huh? Oh, I didn’t build it. I just… used the town that was already here."
"Obviously."
Shin'ya looked utterly unimpressed.
"You seriously think you could’ve made all this? So many houses… just one of these would take nearly fifty thousand mana. Add in everything else… it’s gotta be at least a hundred thousand."
Shin'ya scouted the area, tossing out estimates.
She’d been carrying the same DORECA, so her calculations weren’t off by much.
“Meh, that’s about right.”
“Hmph. Well, you’ve got a handicap like that, so it’s fair. Wouldn’t be fair if you beat me otherwise. You want to be shocked? My mana’s crossed ten thousand. Just a little more and I’ll have enough. Then—boom—I’m building something incredible.”
“…I see.”
“See, the trick is making items, then using them to do things efficiently. Watch—my breakthrough’s just around the corner?”
Shin'ya boasted about her ten-thousand-point goal with a smug grin. It was pitiful.
Even more pitiful was the slave behind her.
Still in slave clothes, face twisted in sorrow, body scarred all over.
No need to ask how she’d been treated, or how she’d gathered ten thousand mana. You could see it in the way her bones looked.
"Right, I came to tell you something good today."
"Good?"
"Yep."
Shin'ya grinned, smug.
"Open the menu in DORECA—there should be something called Eternal Slave."
"Ah, yeah, found it."
"Knew it, huh? They say it uses a steel sword as a material. I’ve been eyeing that thing like it’s the greatest weapon ever. Name’s name, after all."
"Ah, totally agree."
Or rather, I already knew.
I’ve got the 'Revised' version strapped to my hip.
"The steel sword’s already here. All that’s left is finding some ridiculous slave gift. That’s all."
"Can’t find it?"
I looked at Shin'ya’s slave.
Elven Eternal Slave, looks like her.
She had long hair, just like Risha used to.
Hair’s plenty, shouldn’t be an issue.
"Can’t find it. Probably something about this one, though."
Shin'ya said that, then slapped the slave like he was breathing.
A dry crack echoed. The slave’s face reddened, swelling like a bruise, tears welling up.
“Ooh, tears. Tears make decent magic power, you know. That one’s about four hundred.”
“…Is that so.”
“Say, your weapon’s got a weird look to it. What kind of thing is that?”
“Eternal Slave… Revised.”
I answered flatly.
“…Huh?”
Seiya blinked, confused.
“Eternal Slave? What’s this ‘Revised’ nonsense?”
“It’s… revised. A version made using an Eternal Slave.”
“W-w-w-w-what!?”
Seiya’s relaxed expression collapsed in an instant.
“What kind of nonsense is this? How could you even make something like that?”
“How should I explain…”
I paused, thinking how to answer.
“…So you’ve got two slaves, then.”
“Huh?”
“Is that it? Hey, tell me—how’d you get the other one?”
“…”
Looks like she’s mistaken about something.
She probably thought she could make it just because she’s got two Eternal Slaves.
Not that it’s actually like that.
“Teach me.”
“Sure, but have you ever fought a monster that looked like a monkey?”
“That one with the long claws?”
“Yeah. Kill that thing, and a monkey turns into a human. I picked one from among them.”
“I see. So I just need to beat the monkey.”
“Yep.”
“Got it. Watch me multiply these slaves in no time.”
“……”
“Hey, dummy, come on.”
Saint Night walked off with her slave in tow.
Just before she left, the slave’s face looked so sad it hurt.
…….
“Risha.”
“Yes?”
“I’m making a universal remedy right now. Give it to that slave.”
“To her?”
“Yeah. A slave’s best state is being alive and well. Whether she’s laughing—whether she’s crying.”
“Yes!”
She hurriedly channeled magic and produced the universal remedy on emergency recall.
Hand the resulting item to Risha and have her chase after the Saint Night group.
"Right—tell anyone who comes back from Schreiviju and has nowhere to go that they should come here."
"Understood!"
Watching Risha leave with the universal remedy in hand.
Beside me, Mira stares straight at me.
"What's wrong? Why're you looking at me like that?"
"You're a generous sort, master."
"Is that so?"
"Because you worried not just about her, but about the other humans too."
Well, that’s true—Saint Night wouldn’t be able to take care of all the people coming back from Schreiviju.
"Besides… you really understand slaves."
"Yeah."
"I'm glad I’m your slave."
Mira gives a thumbs-up, grinning.
"I’ll aim to be a strong, healthy slave!"
Her smile was lovely.
I’d say, once again, that slaves are the most resilient and adorable creatures in this world.