On that day, Luca, who for once did not go to Haku, but unusually went directly to the management layer, found Silvia and asked her.
“Mother. Where is Father?”
“Oh, Luca. That’s unusual. If you mean Kousuke, he’s at the new base?”
“Oh. I guessed as much.”
Upon hearing this, Luca drooped his shoulders slightly. Silvia’s eyes widened a little.
“Did you really have business with Kousuke? You weren’t here to see Haku, were you?”
Silvia’s question made Luca’s usual behavior completely obvious. Luca turned a protesting gaze towards his own mother’s words.
Floria, who had been listening to their conversation from the side rather than Silvia, interjected.
“Don’t make that face, Luca. Before you complain, you should reflect on your own usual words and actions.”
Kicked into memory by Floria’s frank words, Luca looked up at the sky.
Then, as if to avert his gaze, he shifted his body to the side.
“Well, I understand what Mother meant.”
“Is that so? That’s good. So? If you have business with Kousuke, shall I call him?”
As it stands, Luca cannot go to the new base. Therefore, for Luca to speak with Kousuke now, either Silvia or Floria would have to go and call him.
When Floria asked him, Luca showed a moment of hesitation before nodding.
“Yeah. In that case, please.”
“Understood. In that case, I…”
Just as Floria was about to say she would go, Silvia shook her head.
“No. I’ll go. I want to see how the fields are progressing as well.”
Silvia frequently checks the fields she manages at the new base, but she hasn’t seen much of the ones Kousuke manages. She had a desire to see them, as it was a good opportunity.
Floria, who was not as interested in the fields as Kousuke and Silvia, tilted her head slightly.
“Is that so? Then may I ask you to go?”
“Of course. Rather, it’s Luca who’s asking.”
Prodded by his mother, Luca’s face turned grim for a moment.
“Yes. That’s right. Thank you for your trouble, Mother.”
Men, no matter their age, are weak to their mothers.
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Silvia returned from calling Kousuke to the new base in less than an hour. While she wanted to see the fields, there wasn’t anything special happening (apart from the slimes), so there wasn’t much to see.
“….Father, what’s with the outfit?”
Luca, seeing Kousuke in what he called coveralls for the first time, tilted his head and asked.
“What do you mean? It’s farm work attire, isn’t it? Is this your first time seeing it, Luca?”
“Yes, but… you have clothes like that.”
Seeing Luca’s face as if he were looking at something bizarre, Kousuke nodded.
“Yeah. It might look strange if you’re not used to it, but it’s very convenient once you get used to it.”
As Kousuke said this, Silvia nodded beside him. Having used them herself, Silvia also knew the convenience of farm work in coveralls.
Luca turned an indifferent gaze towards his parents. Kousuke continued, “Setting aside the coveralls, what was the business? You went to the trouble of calling me, so there must be something to discuss, right?”
“Ah, yes. About that. The cart I made a long time ago to carry luggage, can I improve it?”
Kousuke, suddenly told this by Luca, had multiple question marks appear above his head.
“The luggage-carrying cart? …Ah, I did make something like that.”
A long time ago, he had made a cart to make it easier to carry luggage in towns, similar to what adventurers did.
Recalling the cart, Kousuke clapped his hands together and nodded.
“I don’t mind that, but that still doesn’t have an official name.”
“Wait, is that what you’re concerned about?”
Luca had braced himself, expecting Kousuke to claim rights as the inventor. He was let down when Kousuke so easily brushed that aside and said something trivial.
Seeing Luca’s reaction, Kousuke shrugged.
“No, because. If you’ve seen the magic circle on it, Luca, you’d understand. I made it so anyone can improve it.”
“Ah, so that’s why.”
Looking at the actual cart, Luca felt what Kousuke had said was true and nodded in understanding. If Kousuke had thought improvements were forbidden, he would have protected it more strictly. The fact that he could easily see the magic circle was tantamount to telling him to go ahead and improve it.
Kousuke, with a face that seemed to say “I bet you figured that out,” asked, tilting his head. “You would have understood, Luca, so why did you come all the way here to confirm?”
“W-well…”
Faced with Kousuke’s question, Luca’s speech became suddenly hesitant.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“…I was told not to just keep acting like a child and get spoiled, but to do things properly…”
When Luca said this, in a voice that could be heard by everyone present, Kousuke and the others paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.
It was easy to guess who had told Luca that. It was probably Schmidt and Dales, who had probably said it to the grim-faced Luca in unison. Kousuke and the others laughed, imagining the scene. It was true that Luca, who modified Kousuke’s creations as he pleased, could be perceived in that light by others. Considering that, the advice they likely gave Luca was sound. And precisely because Luca understood that, he had come all this way.
After laughing for a while, Kousuke nodded and looked at Luca.
“If that’s the case, well, I grant you permission.”
“Ah, thank you!”
Luca hadn’t really expected his permission to be denied, but he still looked happy.
“Also, since you’ll probably be told that every time you want to modify something in the future, you just need to tell someone in the management layer.”
Seeing Luca’s face, Kousuke continued.
It was a waste of time for both of them to be called out every time Luca wanted to modify something Kousuke had made. However, he couldn’t outwardly tell Luca not to come, so as a pretense, he made Luca come to the management layer. After that, all he had to do was inform someone present and get post-approval. By the way, Kousuke believes that anything he makes can be modified if desired. While some items are strictly protected, if one has the skill to properly disengage them, modification should be easy. In short, his stance is that if you have the ability to accurately read the magic circle of a magic tool, you can modify it as you please.
At Kousuke’s words, Luca visibly relaxed. Since Kousuke had made a wide variety of magic tools, Luca felt hesitant about having to call Kousuke every time he wanted to modify one. Despite everything, Luca was well aware that Kousuke was busy. Of course, a large part of the reason Kousuke was busy was related to his own hobbies. In the end, Luca would come to the management layer many times in the future to get permission for modifications, but Kousuke was only caught there a handful of times. It felt like it’s been a while since Luca has appeared consistently… (Perhaps it’s the first time?).
Be that as it may, what I realized anew this time is that Luca seems to have inherited Kousuke’s blood most strongly. (Especially since he’s slyly got himself a girlfriend.) What do you all think?
