With [Life Spring Lv.1] as his foundation, Jhin quickly grasped the practical use of life-force. Guided by his imagination, a short blade took shape — jade-green as its base, traced with threads of vivid crimson.
Even just held in his hand, the staggering amount of life-force it radiated was enough to make Kokkoro do a double-take. Her pale-pink eyes went wide with shock. "M-Master, is this...?"
"That's right. This is the healing magic I invented myself, with your guidance. I'm calling it [Blade of Resurrection]!"
The healing effect of [Blade of Resurrection] was still an unknown — but a spell of this ancient caliber, condensed from pure life-force, couldn't quite raise the dead or rebuild flesh from bare bone. Still, curing Pecorine's currently busted hands? That, Jhin was ninety-nine percent sure he could manage.
He gripped the short blade and gave it a little wave at Pecorine, who was staring at it like a startled rabbit. "Relax — this is a new healing spell I came up with. One quick stab, and you'll be right as rain."
"A healing spell... that you activate by stabbing someone with a dagger. I have to say, that's quite..." Pecorine searched for the right word. "...original."
"Don't sweat the details."
"Wait!" Pecorine called out as Jhin moved closer. "Actually — let's forget about this injury. Please don't heal it with magic."
"Why?"
Pecorine met his puzzled gaze and answered calmly. "Ever since we started adventuring together, I think my attitude toward battle has gotten a little... too casual. I keep telling myself that as long as my friends are with me, everything will work out. So I want to use this pain as a reminder to myself."
"Fair enough." Jhin shrugged and let the healing magic dissolve from his hand. "Get some rest, then. I'm heading back out to work on more magic research with Megumin and the others."
"...You're still going to keep researching?"
"Can't exactly let you get hurt again next time we run into a boss monster, can I? I'm the only guy in this party — I'd rather not be totally useless."
Pecorine watched him walk out of the bedroom, then looked back at Kokkoro with a quiet smile. "Jhin really is kind, isn't he."
"Mm. Master cares deeply about everyone in Gourmet Edifice."
Jhin didn't really understand Pecorine's choice to keep her wound and use the pain as a lesson — but he respected it. Everyone had their own way of thinking. What looked senseless or even outright stupid from the outside could be someone else's deeply held conviction.
Like Saitama-sensei — no ambition for fame or glory, became a hero purely for the fun of it, possessed power that made a mockery of everything in existence, and yet still lived in his tiny apartment counting every coin.
"Whoa whoa whoa — you just walked into Pecorine's room for a bit. What on earth did you do in there? You're a completely different person!" Megumin's jaw practically hit the floor. Jhin had changed somehow — there was an aura radiating off him now, something that made anyone nearby feel inexplicably refreshed just by being close.
"Hm?" Jhin lifted his hands and looked them over. "Am I really that different?"
"Completely! It's like watching a snot-bubble slug evolve into a forest treant — that's how unbelievable this is!"
"...Are you complimenting me or insulting me?"
"Ha, how could I possibly be insulting you? You're always accusing me of having a persecution complex, but look at yourself right now."
Megumin was draped across the living room sofa with an air of perfect ease, idly snacking from the table while she studied Jhin — but beneath the coffee table, hidden inside her slippers, her toes were curling in a white-knuckled clench of panic.
Jhin let her performative calm slide and turned his thoughts inward. If he could level up this skill further, maybe he really would become a walking wellspring — the kind that passively restored his allies' health every second just by being nearby.
I gained this skill by absorbing enough life-force from the world around me. Does leveling it up mean I have to keep absorbing more?
The full, satiated feeling in his body quietly answered that question for him: no, that theory was wrong.
No clear leads for now. He shelved the thought and walked calmly over to sit beside Megumin — who immediately shot up like a startled cat and pressed herself against the far edge of the sofa. "W-What are you doing?!"
"Eating snacks. Are these chips reserved exclusively for you or something?"
"...Oh. Right. Yeah, okay."
Wait. Something's wrong. Very wrong. Jhin wasn't making a fuss about her teasing from before. There had to be a trap somewhere.
Megumin's usual dynamic with Jhin was a cycle of mutual insults that escalated from verbal sparring into physical warfare. When Kokkoro was around, the childish arsenal — cheek-pinching, nose-poking, armpit-tickling — would be promptly intercepted, and she'd talk them both down like a kindergarten teacher soothing toddlers.
When Pecorine was around instead, she'd just grin from the sidelines and gush about how their bond kept growing stronger, then try to join in — only for Megumin to inevitably crash and burn the moment those bouncy, pudding-soft assets of Pecorine's entered the fray, sapping her fighting spirit clean away. That was precisely why Megumin referred to them, behind Pecorine's back, as the "Great Puddings."
And Kyaru? The moment those two started bickering, Kyaru would drop a flat "Children." and walk out. Zero interest in getting involved.
So Jhin's complete indifference right now was deeply unsettling. Megumin couldn't shake the suspicion that he was luring her into some elaborate scheme.
But watching him genuinely just... sit there quietly eating chips and thinking, Megumin began to wonder if maybe she was the one with the problem — that her guard was cranked so high she'd started seeing conspiracies everywhere.
I can't actually let myself develop a persecution complex.
With that thought, she gradually scooted back to her original spot and started competing with him for snacks.
The first delicious, crispy potato chip had barely touched her tongue when the corner of her eye caught it — a slow, satisfied smile creeping up the corner of Jhin's mouth. The smile of someone whose plan had just come together perfectly.
Megumin's blood ran cold. She forgot she wasn't wearing slippers and made a break for it.
But she had walked too deep into the trap. There was no escape left.
With the speed of a thunderclap, Jhin pinned her to the sofa and let out a triumphant villain's cackle. "Keheheh — you think you can out-act me? You're ten Oscars short of even trying!"
"Wh-What are you going to do?!"
"What am I going to do? Heh heh~" Jhin wiggled his fingers and zeroed in on Megumin's sides. "I need you to assist my training!"
"If you want to use my Void weapon, you still have to pay up, you know?"
"Have you read the room?" Jhin swatted away her outstretched money-grubbing hand. "You're completely at my mercy right now. You think you're in any position to negotiate?"
"Fine, then I won't."
Megumin pouted and, the moment Jhin's attention slipped, threw her weight sideways — trying to use the momentum to roll free. But his left hand was welded to her shoulder like it had been bolted there. Not a millimeter of give. The maneuver only succeeded in flipping her fully underneath him.
Staring up at Jhin's face looming over her, Megumin jammed both feet against his chest as a last resort, desperately bracing to keep him from crashing down on top of her.
The two of them froze there, locked in a triangle-shaped standoff, staring at each other.
____
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