The dispute between the engineer and the earth mage didn't subside all day, so sneaking out of the forge for a short while was a relief for me.
School classes had already ended in anticipation of the festival, and the students were given a short break to prepare for their performance. They were rehearsing in the courtyard behind the school, under the watchful eye of a girl wearing thick glasses and a wig, giving advice on how to better portray each scene.
"Excuse me?" I approached the girl, trying to call her name. "Ri..."
"Sa." She didn't let me finish. "Yes, it's me. Have you finally brought them?"
Indeed, it was unmistakably Rizel, even though she was trying to disguise herself with the wig and a different name.
"Yes, here are the blades," I laid the wrapped swords on the bench and leaned closer to her. "But did you go overboard with the disguise?"
"Unfortunately, I realized too late that it wasn't necessary, and now I can't just take it off."
"Alright, for now, I brought the swords. I'll work on something for the magic later. Who needs to learn a few moves?"
"Jim, Mark, come here," Rizel called over two boys. Mark was lively, with chestnut hair, and Jim was a gloomy boy with black hair and a not-so-cheerful expression.
"I think I know who's playing Krito."
"Yeah, that's me," the boy reluctantly nodded.
"I'll teach you a few techniques with this weapon."
"Is that necessary?" Enthusiasm seemed to evaporate upon approaching this boy.
"Nothing can be done; it might come in handy later."
"Why?"
"Well, for example, to protect the girls."
"Darn it, as always, when something happens, it's my fault, but when it comes to protecting, it's me again," the boy grumbled under his breath.
I turned to the necromancer.
"Excellent choice, it suits perfectly."
"I knew you'd like it. I'll need to call Algo as well for the training."
"Alright, maybe you can fetch him, and in the meantime, I'll keep an eye on them. Besides, I'm somewhat familiar with the script."
"Okay. I'll be back soon. My friend will watch over you for now. Rehearse the scenes."
"Alright!" The students surprisingly replied in unison. It seemed that Rizel had become a good teacher.
"So, here are your swords. Although they're not sharpened, they can still deliver a painful blow," I handed the blades to the boys and began the training.
If the entire script followed the story verbatim, they would have to fight at the end, so training together was the best option. At first, I taught them how to properly handle the weapons and basic movements. Jim grasped everything easily; it seemed that he had fought quite a bit before and adapted quickly to the new weapon, although Mark struggled to adopt the correct stance for a while. Soon, they were able to portray a decent semblance of a fight, even though their jumps and powerful strikes weren't quite there yet.
Rizel returned accompanied by Algo, Leira, and their whole group from the daycare.
"I thought you only went to get Algo."
"Sorry!" The swordsman lowered his head apologetically. "Leira was afraid to stay alone with them, so we decided to take them on a, um, stroll."
"Nicely thought out. Well, you can continue training them for now, and I'll take a break."
"Alright."
Algo greeted the boys, and unlike me, Mark's training went more smoothly. I was intrigued by a quiet girl sitting in the corner, wrapped in a black cloak. In her hands, she held a silvery staff with a skull, strangely reminding me of a familiar weapon. Although the form and size were perfectly suited.
"Hold on a second," I leaned towards Rizel. "Just don't tell me that girl is wielding your staff."
"Well, well, I won't say."
Rizel tried to turn away, but I circled around to the other side.
"Is it normal to give your staff to an unknown girl?"
"But I really liked her, and her personality is similar to mine. So, I thought, why not indulge her? Besides, I tried with other items, but it seems I can only channel necromancy into my staff; we have a special connection."
The girl gave a slight smile, but her words sparked an interesting idea in me.
"I think I've figured out how to turn our actors into mages. Kurone, can you briefly call Katrina, Seleria, and Ragni here?"
"Krito? Oh. "
"Did I distract you?"
"By the way, I'm sewing here, and I pricked my finger because of you. And now?"
"Yes, and can you ask Grain to bring three small adamantium ingots from the blacksmith? And if he objects, let him say it's for decoration."
"You're lying now, right?"
"Yes, but it doesn't matter. I need it for the performance."
"As you wish."
After half an hour, the girls arrived at the backyard of the school, where Grain had already handed me the ingots.
"Krito, can you hurry up? We left the cafe to Vina and Levris."
"Wow, such beauties," the kids from Leira's group quickly shifted their admiration, causing the girls to nervously flinch.
"Liri!" Katrina pleaded when a couple of girls pulled her hair. Apparently, the princess had released her built-up charge recently and was now harmless to the children. "Now I understand how hard it was for you."
"Hey, let them pass, I need them for something," after shoving the kids aside, I made my way to Katrina. "Here's your task; try to charge this piece of metal as strongly as possible."
I handed one of the ingots to the princess.
"Well, okay," Katrina held the ingot with the sharp tips of her index fingers and began to gather electricity in it.
As I thought, the magical capacity of adamantium was superior compared to other metals, making it the best fit for my purposes. Soon, the ingot literally began to glow with electric discharges, and Katrina stopped.
"That's all it can take; it probably won't withstand any more."
"This will be enough. Hold it steadily."
I took a copy of my blade from Jim, and although it was unsharpened, if I infused it correctly with mana, it would become an incredibly sharp edge. Gathering wind mana on the edge of the blade, I delivered a swift downward strike at the center of the ingot, cutting it neatly into two halves. Falling from Katrina's hands, they still retained their energy, now I needed to test if they could be used.
"Take this half and grip it in your hand, and on this one, we'll conduct an experiment," I placed the second half on a bench about five meters away from the princess. "Now, release a lightning bolt, but imagine that you're directing the discharge into the hand holding the ingot, and the lightning will emerge not from your hand but from the second half of the ingot in front of you."
"That's absurd! It's impossible! Inanimate objects can't use magic without contact with a mage!"
"Come on, Asura can use ice magic bestowed upon her katana."
The princess fell into deep thought. While Asura came from a line of mages, her family had long forgotten how to utilize that particular talent.
"I'll give it a try, but I still believe it's impossible."
The girl sat on the ground and extended her hand with the ingot held in it. At first, it seemed nothing was happening, but after a couple of minutes, electric discharges began to flicker on the surface of the second ingot. A few more efforts, and the second ingot unleashed a lightning bolt without any contact with the mage, striking the wall of the building with force.
"Wow!"
"Amazing!"
"Incredible!"
Inspired by the displayed magic, the future actors surrounded Katrina.
"I'm at a loss for words. But how did you do it?"
"It seems the metal memorizes the mana of its owner, and if you create two objects from the same magically charged ingot of one mage, then they can perform such tricks. Of course, I'll have to work on this some more, but I believe you'll be able to use more complex magic through them."
I handed a piece to Seleria, Ragni, and Leira, leaving two halves for Katrina.
"Charge them with your magic and carry them all day. They need to get used to you as their owners. Then I'll craft something suitable from them."
Soon, everyone dispersed. Algo and I arranged for training sessions with the boys to do this in our free time. Surprisingly, Seleria offered to train the girls in close combat, who would play her and other sorceresses. Of course, Rizel took the "necromancer" training upon herself. Nothing seemed to foreshadow trouble until one incident.