Episode 44.3

Lecan agreed with Eda's 'Oh, no', but not in that sense.

The tremendous power he felt from this Yurika magic beast was her true nature. It has been concealed by some means now but the spine chilling force Lecan felt earlier is this magic beast's real face.

Which means, that applies to Jericho as well.

But his power has been concealed. By some sort of means.

Of course it's Shira's handiwork. She must have cast some kind of spell to hide Jericho's true nature. She did the same with Yurika.

It's questionable if Lecan could even win against one, and now there's two of them.

This is exactly a situation that calls for an 'oh no' reaction.

But when he thinks about it again calmly, Shira herself is a threat. If she ended up opposing Lecan, he'd probably have no hope of victory. Lecan had spent not an insignificant amount of time near that mage, and she never showed any sign of ever harming Lecan and Eda except for the short while during their first encounter. He still doesn't fully get what she's thinking at times and he's got a feeling that he'd be in a world of pain if he let his guard around her, but she's undoubtedly one of the few people in this world Lecan can fully confide in.

As for Jericho, considering how he's been thus far, there's probably no worries of him ever turning against Lecan. No point to act alarmed around him.

"Burufufun?"

Jericho peered in Lecan's face, like he was asking, 'What's on your mind?'

"It's nothing."

"Buruburu."

Jericho tapped Lecan's shoulder twice.

As if he's saying, 'Don't worry about it.'

Then he pointed at the sword Lecan was gripping in his right hand.

"Bururu?"

Right, he still got his sword out. Lecan put it away.

Afterward, Shira chatted with Eda for a while before leaving. Lecan tried to stop her from leaving since he still had business with her, but Shira's glance silenced him.

Lecan, Eda, Jericho and Yurika went to Goncourt Mansion.

The gatekeepers were shocked to see an additional Longarm Ape.

The construction of the detached building is finished. It's not too big but looks comfy. The second floor has Lecan's, Norma's, Eda's and a guest rooms. Though Norma is usually sleeping in her own room at the main building. A small hut next to the building is where Jericho lives. Although it seems Jericho is quite fond of looking over the pond from the guest room, so he might stay there.

There's a passage connecting to an outhouse for the medicine making.

After taking baths, Lecan, Norma, Eda, and Jinga had a meal together. They had fun chatting. Lecan enjoyed a restful sleep as gentle breeze blew over him.

The following day, Lecan harvested Shiagi Sprouts at Shira's garden. Jericho lent a hand too. Yurika came with them, with Jericho giving her instructions on how to do the harvesting. Even Lecan learned something new from watching them. Thanks to Jericho and Yurika, he gathered all the sprouts he could from the garden that day. Though the amount was still not enough for Lecan's needs. He started going out of town to collect more the day after.

As for Eda, she went to clean their old house after giving souvenirs to the neighbors. They likely won't stay in that house any longer, but they've paid out this whole year's rent already. What comes next year will be for later.

That day, Lecan got up in the middle of the night.

He sensed Shira's mana.

Lecan cast <Concealment> on himself, jumped off his room's window, ran through he garden and jumped over the wall, heading toward Shira's dwelling at District Rikonen.

As usual, Shira was at the terrace over her house's inner garden waiting with tea ready.

"Heya."

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"Shira. I need to ask you something."

"Same as ever with you, isn't it. Well, come have a sip first."

As Lecan sipped the warm tea, and got wrapped in the gentle fragrance, his mind was soothed.

"So? What do you need to know this time?"

"When <Ring of Undying King> and <Talisman of Dakness Demon> get activated at the same time, both of them lose their effects. Does this apply to all other <Genesiac Grace Gear>?"

"What did you say? Explain to me in detail."

Lecan gave a rundown on his testings.

Shira got lost in thought with a serious expression. That went on for quite some time.

"This reminds me of something I heard from a certain researcher. 'Ancient Grace Gear will likely cancel out each other's effects.'"

"So you're saying they will lose their effects when two are activated together no matter which Genesiac Grace Gear."

"How would I know about that. To begin with, there's no one who's ever owned more than one <Genesiac Grace Gear> at once. Well no, I've had suspected a few individuals who were exactly that before, but I can't be certain. Never heard anyone using both at the same time either. I also don't know whether two wielders of <Genesiac Grace Gear> ever fought each other."

"I see. How'd you reckon that researcher got to that conclusion."

"Who can say? There's no way to confirm that now. Sorry, I'm not helping."

"No, it's a big help already. There's a possibility of having my <Ring> and <Talisman> get canceled out. And I can potentially cancel out my opponent's <Genesiac Grace Gear>. That alone is a major intel."