I told everyone about going on a journey, but not anytime soon.
A long journey would require preparation, and more importantly, I hadn’t decided where to go.
Also, there was the matter of who would accompany me.
Until those things were settled, I would continue my life as usual.
In the first place, there was no rush to go on a journey, so Kousuke planned to take his time with his preparations.
One day, Kousuke received a certain consultation from Shurein.
The consultation was about the Divine Tool, a staff, that Kousuke had given him the other day.
“…And thus, I understood that handling magic power becomes much easier during rituals. However, that’s about all the uses I’ve found so far.”
“Hmm. I see. That’s good, but is there a problem with that?”
Kousuke tilted his head as he looked at Shurein, whose expression was one of anxiety rather than dissatisfaction.
“It’s not that there’s a problem. Rather, I want to ask if that’s really all there is to it.”
For Shurein, it was strange that such a magnificent tool as a Divine Tool had effects no different from ordinary tools.
He was anxious that the Divine Tool, which he had made with such effort, could only be used to that extent by himself.
Sensing Shurein’s anxiety, Kousuke smiled reassuringly.
“You don’t need to worry about that. As you can see by looking at Silvia and the others, drawing out the full potential of a Divine Tool, while not impossible, takes time.”
Whether it was because the user of the Divine Tool needed time to become familiar with it, or because they didn’t know how to use it, or simply lacked the ability, the reason was unknown.
Nevertheless, the fact that Silvia and the others were struggling was undeniable.
The same was true for the Divine Tools Kousuke had made.
This was something that could not be avoided as long as Divine Tools were using divine power.
In that sense, Kousuke didn’t mind at all that Shurein couldn’t fully utilize the Divine Tool he had made.
He wouldn’t say it, but he even thought that perhaps only Asura could grasp and use the capabilities of a Divine Tool in an instant.
Shurein, as if reading Kousuke’s thoughts, let out a small sigh.
“I’d like to say that’s good, but it’s so frustrating.”
He knew that if he could fully unleash its power, it would exert great force.
Nevertheless, being unable to unleash more than the capabilities of an ordinary magic tool was frustrating for Shurein.
“I can understand how you feel.”
Kousuke nodded at Shurein, adding,
“After all, as the name suggests, Divine Tools use divine power. Come to think of it, perhaps you can’t bring out its abilities properly if you can’t handle divine power well.”
“Divine power, huh… I see.”
Shurein’s expression became one of deep understanding at Kousuke’s explanation.
It had been over twenty years since Shurein had started consciously handling divine power, yet he could hardly say he could use it satisfactorily.
Compared to Silvia and the others, who started using it around the same time, they were on par, but compared to Kousuke, Shurein recognized that he was far behind.
If Kousuke were to hear this, he might offer a different opinion, but at least the other women would likely express the same sentiment as Shurein.
“…Hm? Does that mean Kousuke can fully bring out the abilities of a Divine Tool when he uses it?”
Shurein voiced a question that had suddenly come to him, but Kousuke made a troubled face and crossed his arms.
“Hmm. I wonder about that? Like the staff I gave to Shurein, there’s a matter of compatibility.”
The staff he gave to Shurein was made to be usable only by Shurein.
Therefore, no matter how proficient Kousuke was at handling divine power, he could not use it.
What Kousuke referred to as compatibility in a word meant that Divine Tools with will generally had similar characteristics, and if the Divine Tool itself didn’t like you, you couldn’t use it to its full potential.
Shurein’s face contorted with the difficulty of handling Divine Tools, but then he became serious, realizing something.
“Hmm? …So, if I don’t use this staff skillfully, it will remain unable to exert its abilities?”
“That’s why you don’t need to think of it as that difficult.”
Seeing Shurein adopt the same rigid expression as at the beginning, Kousuke said with a wry smile.
When Shurein was like this, his seriousness would come to the fore, and the tension that had been eased might return.
“Even so…”
Shurein looked like he was about to say that what he was curious about was still on his mind. Kousuke suddenly snapped his fingers as if he had thought of something.
“That’s right! Then how about this? Divine Tools don’t just grow with the user; they grow together with the tool itself.”
“Wha- What? What do you mean by that?”
Shurein’s eyes widened, confused by Kousuke’s words.
Shurein wasn’t the only one interested in Kousuke’s statement; Silvia, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, felt the same way.
“…I’m curious about that too.”
She said, turning her gaze to Kousuke with interest.
“Oh? Silvia, you didn’t realize it either? Divine Tools have wills, so they can change to match their users.”
Kousuke continued, saying it was the same when talking to others, to which Shurein and Silvia both nodded in understanding.
Anyone’s attitude changes depending on who they associate with and how deep their relationship is.
This was no different for Divine Tools that harbored a will.
Whether one considered this growth or simply change was a matter of personal opinion, but at least Kousuke believed it was growth when it came to Divine Tools.
“If the Divine Tools change to match their users, does that mean they change their abilities to match us?”
In response to Silvia’s question, Kousuke tilted his head slightly.
“Hmm. Strictly speaking, it’s a little different.”
“Meaning?”
“It’s not the abilities that change, but rather the synchronization with the user.”
Kousuke spoke of synchronization in a complex way, but essentially, it was communication with the user.
For example, when Kousuke and the others rode Hiryuunos to fly through the sky, they synchronized and exchanged certain emotions.
The same could be said for Divine Tools.
Divine Tools were, after all, tools, so it was easy to forget that they had feelings, but it was one of the important elements in mastering them.
From what Kousuke observed of each of them, Wanri was the one who could use them the best.
“Perhaps it’s because Wanri has more of the nature of a fox? In that regard, she’s not bound by common sense.”
“I see. I’ll ask Wanri about that next time.”
When Shurein said so, Silvia nodded in agreement.
“Yes. However, since Wanri probably doesn’t do it consciously, she might not be able to answer if you try to question her about it.”
“That’s true. I’ll be careful to ask about that.”
Shurein nodded at Kousuke’s caution.
Later, Shurein and Silvia went to Wanri to ask about synchronization with Divine Tools, but ultimately, it was unavoidable that Wanri did not have a clear answer.
It was a story about the difficulty of conversing with tools.
