After nuzzling her, Star-trail looked up and gently draped its tail over Yuki's wrist.
“...I won't do it again.”
“And?”
“And... I'm sorry.”
Yuki let go.
She placed Star-trail back onto her lap and gently rubbed the ear she had just pinched.
“...Don't keep things from me next time.”
This was her way of forgiving it.
After all, it was her most important partner, and it had promised not to keep secrets from her anymore. That was enough.
Star-trail silently nuzzled Yuki Kurokawa's hand.
They had a little misunderstanding before because of my secrecy, but fortunately, the misunderstanding was now resolved, and the atmosphere had softened.
However, there was still something weighing on Qiluo's mind.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but as their shared source of mana, things had indeed been a bit difficult lately.
Not that she couldn't handle it!
It was because Qiluo needed to use mana too!
Of these two, one trained like her life depended on it, while the other had been in a coma for so long that her magic circuits had only just recovered and required a massive amount of mana to nourish them.
Although the mana inside her body was vast, it couldn't withstand both of them consuming it at such a high intensity at the same time.
“There's one more thing,” Star-trail said, standing up from Yuki's lap.
It looked up, as if contemplating some important decision.
“Do you two... want to become stronger?”
Why does that sound so much like an evil villain tempting a bystander...
Kizuna, who had been resting her chin on her hand, paused with her fingers in midair and blinked.
Yuki looked up. Neither of them answered immediately, but their gazes fell upon Star-trail at the same time.
“Stronger?”
“Yes. Your current mana supply is mainly drawn from me through our contract link, but the conversion efficiency of the link itself has a limit. If you want to break past your limits in battle, relying on me alone won't be enough.”
“I can engrave an amplification array onto your marks to make your magic circuits run more efficiently.”
It raised a front paw and drew a glowing circular pattern in the air.
Intricate lines emerged inside the circle, eventually forming a complete star-trail-shaped array.
In reality, this was an Energy-gathering Array, a high-tier spell Qiluo had used in her original world to assist with mana.
During training, it could automatically absorb mana from the surroundings.
Using it here would prevent their contract link from being a one-way drain, instead creating a self-sustaining loop that absorbed mana from the environment.
This way, they could automatically absorb mana from the surrounding environment and become self-sufficient.
That way, I won't have to act as a human power bank every day, and they can steadily grow stronger. It's a win-win.
Yuki stared at the array for a long time. When she looked up, a faint, barely perceptible trace of wariness flashed in her eyes.
“You seem to be in a hurry. Does this array place an extra burden on you?”
“...No,” Star-trail replied, dispersing the glowing circle and pretending not to notice Yuki's look.
How could an all-knowing, all-powerful Contract Spirit admit it was about to be sucked dry? That would be far too embarrassing.
“I just hadn't found a suitable time to engrave it on you before. Since you're both here today, it's the perfect opportunity.”
Yuki Kurokawa nodded suspiciously and gently pressed her hand against Star-trail's forehead.
“Then engrave it. Tell me what I need to do.”
Kizuna stretched out her left hand as well, placing it right next to Yuki's in front of Star-trail.
The two contract marks shimmered with different colors in the sunlight—one deep blue, the other light purple—leaving just enough space in between for Star-trail to place both of its front paws on them at the same time.
Star-trail lowered its head. The star-shaped mark on its forehead lit up, and two silver-white beams of light extended from it, sinking into the backs of Yuki's and Kizuna's hands.
It closed its eyes and began to draw the first stroke of the amplification array onto their contract marks.
As a top student, a simple magic array like this was child's play for Qiluo.
As the final stroke of the amplification array was completed, the contract marks on the backs of their hands glowed with a soft halo.
A ring of silver-white patterns slowly extended along the edges of the original designs, like vines climbing up a trellis, eventually forming a complete star-trail-shaped halo around the perimeter of the marks.
The halo flickered a few times before slowly fading beneath their skin, leaving only a faint trace along the edges that would barely glint under the sunlight.
Kizuna turned her wrist over to look at the faint halo on the back of her hand. She gently touched the edge of the mark, and a faint warmth seeped into her fingertips, feeling like a tiny hot spring slowly flowing through her magic circuits.
Kizuna held the back of her hand up to the sunlight, studying it over and over. She could feel it pulsing gently beneath her skin, perfectly synchronized with her heartbeat.
Yuki also looked down at the changes on the back of her hand. She tried to channel a sliver of mana and found that the circuit's response time was slightly faster than usual, and its operation was smoother than before.
Mana that she previously had to consciously guide now seemed to have a will of its own, rising and falling naturally with her breathing.
Star-trail gently backed away from their hands and crouched back down on the armrest of the bench.
The star-shaped mark on its forehead was still glowing faintly, but it didn't look exhausted at all.
In fact, it even seemed a bit pleased?
Of course it was!
At least now she wouldn't be too weak to stand!
“The array will absorb ambient mana on its own, so it doesn't require any extra maintenance. Just train normally, and it will gradually adapt to the rhythm of your circuits.”
“Thank you,” the two said almost in unison, then glanced at each other.
Yuki stood up first. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out, gently scooped Star-trail up from the armrest, and placed it on her shoulder.
Star-trail's tail brushed against the side of her neck, feeling pleasantly cool.
“The array is very stable. I can feel it operating automatically.”
Kizuna also hopped up from the bench, brushed some nonexistent dust off her skirt, and leaned close to Yuki's shoulder, reaching out a finger to gently poke Star-trail's ear.
“Star-trail, make sure to share any secrets with us in the future. Yuki and I are on the same side now, right?”
She turned to look at Yuki with a playful glint in her eyes.
Yuki gave a slight nod.
“Lunch break is almost over. I'm heading back to class.” Yuki turned and walked toward the school building. After a few steps, she paused and glanced back at Star-trail.
She seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she just gently patted Star-trail, lifted it down from her shoulder, placed it on the bench, and continued walking.
Kizuna watched her figure recede. Only after Yuki disappeared around the corner did she bend down, lean close to Star-trail's ear, and whisper, “Was Yuki blushing just now? The back of her ears was a little red. I saw it.”
She scooped Star-trail up and carefully placed it on her own shoulder.
Rate on N.U.
