Here's a question for the ages: Has anyone ever seen swords making sparks during battle? I don't mean the occasional blink-and-you-miss-it sparks; I've seen my fair share of those while sparring with the Fauns, and I even got scolded by Brang for damaging the weapons. No, I mean the ones that make it look like the blades are made of especially volatile Christmas sparklers. I know it's a trope, and it's definitely effective when it comes to getting the message of 'oh, wow, that was one powerful strike' across, but I couldn't help but feel that when it happened every time two pieces of sharpened metal touched, it was kind of missing the point.

"Sakurabana Ranbu!"

If there was one thing that was even sillier than that, it had to be wooden training swords doing the same. As if to demonstrate my point, Mountain Girl lunged forth and her weapon clashed with my sister's extended blade, resulting in a shower of sparks. To be fair, they were enchanted training equipment, but it was still excessive.

But putting the eye-sore side effects aside for a moment, let's focus on what's happening. Penny seemingly blocked the attack, but her eyes opened wide as her opponent let go of her weapon and it bounced off, flying high into the air. Before she could recover her balance, Rinne took two steps back (while also turning three hundred and sixty degrees for some unfathomable reason), and just as she stopped and lowered her stance, her sword perfectly landed in her extended hands. At once, she lunged forward, and while Penny tried to parry, her stab broke through her defenses and landed on her abdomen, sending her tumbling and onto her back.

There was a long moment of silence hanging over the training ground, but then the younger girl sat up and exclaimed, "What the heck was that?"

"Are you all right, Penelope-san?" the huntress asked and offered a hand to the downed girl, and she took it without any hesitation.

"It stung a little, but I'm fine," she answered once she was back on her feet, and dusted her clothes where she was hit. "Brother wasn't kidding. These defensive wards are amazing."

While on the surface she was wearing her school uniform, it was actually ver.0.6 of the Knights' future Uniformer. Since they still couldn't decide on the final design of their on-duty uniform, I copied the outfit over from the gang's Magiformers and focused on implementing more practical functions, such as more stable connectors, or the wards. I still had a long way to go before I could port the armors' physical boosts over, but with this version, I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"You're also amazing!" My sister's sudden outburst made Rinne blink in surprise, but she continued unabated. "You can move like that just with internal enhancements! And what was the move at the end? It was so cool!"

"Does Penelope-san really think so?" the huntress muttered and scratched her cheek. She obviously wasn't expecting getting praised like that. "It was one of the twenty-seven secret techniques of the Kage clan."

"Secret?" Penny repeated after her, suddenly apprehensive. "Does that mean you can't teach it to me?"

"Rinne… wouldn't recommend learning it."

"Why?"

Before answering, Rinne gestured for her to follow, and they walked over to the edge of the training field, where a friendly Faun was waiting for them with clean towels and glasses of water on a tray.

"Good fight," Karukk told them with an encouraging grin, and while Penny was still a little uneasy around the Fauns, Mountain Girl was already fully acclimated to them, and took one of the glasses with an appreciative nod. She took a sip, cleared her throat, and faced the guy with a determined expression.

"[Giving you thanks.]"

Hearing the odd growls coming from her throat made Karukk's eyes widen in surprise, but then his lips parted into a huge, toothy smile.

"Welcome. Your speech. Better."

"You can speak their language?" Penny blurted out in a mixture of shock and admiration.

"Rinne is still learning," she modestly admitted. "For now, Rinne can only say a few simple words."

"Impressive. Still," Karukk commented on the side. In the meantime, Penny also took her drink, and just as he put his tray down, he froze up and his ears spun around. "Wish to stay, but Rabom calling. Must go."

"Take care."

He nodded, and left without any further words. Once the two were left alone again, Penny breathed in deeply and asked, "So? Why don't you recommend learning your techniques? Is it because of some kind of incompatibility issue? Like, do I have the wrong constitution?"

"Nothing of the like," Mountain Girl told her, but didn't elaborate.

"In that case, what's the problem?"

My sister didn't seem to notice how hard her sparring partner was trying to avoid the topic, and so Rinne had no choice but to tell her, "It's because they're not very effective."

"What? That move you just did was so cool, and you have twenty-six more of them! Who said they weren't effective?"

"Leonard-dono."

My name had an effect close to a bucket of cold water on Penny, and she stammered, "W-wait! Brother said that?"

"Yes. Rinne has sparred several times with Leonard-dono, and was told that the secret Kage techniques are full of openings and are impractical."

"That's… certainly something brother would say. But still, you shouldn't just accept everything he tells you! To brother, anything other than turtling down while waiting for the opponent to make a mistake is ineffective!"

"True. Leonard-dono's swordsmanship is very defensive. Rinne can't remember ever landing a clean strike on him."

"Precisely! It's just how he fights. It doesn't mean your way is inferior, it's just a bad match-up against his!"

"Does Penelope-san really think so?"

"Yes! So don't put yourself down! I mean, I couldn't land a single hit on him since our Arbitration either… and now that I think about it, neither could Duncan. Or uncle Roland…"

"Leonard-dono's swordsmanship is truly profound. It possesses a perfect balance of yin and yang."

"I… don't know what that means, but my brother sure is strong! I used to be able to run circles around him, but now it feels like he's always a step ahead and knows where I would attack from before I even start moving."

"That's how Rinne feels too!" Mountain Girl agreed with a vehemence that said she couldn't believe she found someone on the same opinion as her. "Rinne have even seen Leonard-dono parry Angeline-san's arrows."

"He can do that! That's cool too! There's no way I could do that, even if I tried!"

"Then maybe Penelope-san should learn from Leonard-dono instead?"

My sister seriously considered the proposition, but shook her head.

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"No way. I think he can do it because he became the King. I think it's some kind of precognition or something, so I don't think I could learn how to do it. More importantly, the way he fights is just so boring! I would much rather learn some cool moves from you."

"If Penelope-san insists, Rinne will think about it," Mountain Girl finally relented, but before my sister could capitalize on getting her foot in through the door, they were interrupted by a new voice.

"Ki-hi-hi! There you are!"

The two turned to the newly arrived Labcoat Guy. He was wearing his white coat over one of his usual flannel shirts, and looked unusually presentable. I couldn't say for sure if it was because of a better sleep cycle, the proper diet, or just getting some help in the workshop, but his complexion was noticeably better than before, and the black circles under his eyes more or less disappeared. I'd go as far as to say that, so long as one squinted hard enough, he was becoming borderline handsome.

"Were you looking for me?" Penny asked, and the head of my personal mad science department nodded at once.

"Yes. You just finished sparring, right?" She nodded, prompting Fred to rub his hands together. "Marvelous! Would you mind if I took a look at the diagnostics data of your device?"

Penny glanced at her wrist, and was about to hand her Uniformer prototype over, but Fred hastily stepped closer to stop her.

"Wait, don't take it off! It will reset the logs!"

"Then what?"

"Just come with me. We can take a look at it in the workshop."

My sister was a little apprehensive at first, but at last, she drank her water and turned to Mountain Girl.

"Can you teach me your moves next time?"

"… Rinne will try," she relented, and Penny flashed her a grin.

"Thanks! See you later!"

She gestured for Fred to lead the way, and the two walked away, leaving Rinne alone in the training grounds. She didn't seem to mind though, as she proceeded to first diligently fold up the towels, then she picked up the tray with the empty glasses and returned it to the lounge area. At last, she headed for the armory, with the two wooden swords in hand and a pensive expression on her face.

"Woman of the mountain?"

Rinne blinked in surprise and turned to the source of the voice, finding Brang sitting at a workbench with a rotating vice on it, right next to the weapon racks. He had his leather apron and magnified headset on, and he held a small hammer and chisel that looked comically tiny between his large fingers. By the looks of it, he was in the middle of hand-engraving a small metal plate.

"My apologies, Brang-san. I didn't mean to disrupt your work."

She gave a deep bow, and after some consideration, the elderly Faun put his tools aside and told her, "Almost done. Apology, unnecessary." Rinne nodded and put the training weapons away, but before she could leave, Brang spoke up again. "Distracted? Bothering you. What is it?"

The huntress stopped in her tracks, but only hesitated for a moment before she faced him and said, "Senior, I would like to request your wisdom."

"Ceremony, no need. We are peers," the old Faun told her and pointed at a nearby chair, but Rinne shook her head.

"No. Rinne and Brang-sama may both be chief retainers, but Brang-sama is still Rinne's senior."

"True. Still, sit." He gestured again, and this time Mountain Girl finally sat down. "Good. Now tell, why long face."

She spent quite a while collecting her thoughts and ultimately answered, "Rinne's worried for the organization of Leonard-dono's forces. Your… men of the underworld, my clan, Penelope-san's companions, and the wisemen. We are all working together, but our goals are different, and we do not share a foundation or vision."

"True. Linked by Blackcloak, but not one," Brang granted her, and Rinne's face lit up.

"Yes, that's what Rinne is trying to say! We are all tied together by Leonard-dono, but he's too busy to pay attention to such things. Rinne believes that, as chief retainers, it is our duty to support his ambitions."

"Sensible," Brang murmured as he stroked his beard. "Ideas?"

"That's why I'm asking for Senior's help. Rinne is only good at fighting, unlike Leonard-dono." Brang's ears swiveled curiously, and upon noticing this, Mountain Girl hastily added, "Rinne means Rinne isn't a great leader. Rinne can still hardly believe how we are all working together, but Rinne believes we mustn't be comp… compla… lazy. We must not rely on Leonard-dono's charisma alone."

I had to wonder just what kind of 'charisma' she was talking about. As far as I'm concerned, the inhabitants of the secret base became so colorful due to circumstances completely out of my control. Brang and co. were here for Snowy, and they were only following me by proxy. Rinne and her Kage clan were here due to magic-sword-related shenanigans, and the same could be said about the Knights, so neither of them had anything to do with charisma or any leadership qualities. As for the Research Society, it all started with taking Fred into custody, and the rest are people I'm literally employing.

"Agreed. Blackcloak is remarkable leader," Brang noted, apparently completely missing all the factors I just outlined. "He is one man. Can't be everywhere. Unity, would help."

"Exactly. Rinne just doesn't know how to go about achieving it."

The two remained silent for a while, right until the elderly Faun stopped stroking his beard and declared, "For unity, first, understanding. Talk, train, live. All together. Share knowledge and arts. Learn about each other. Camaraderie builds, unity follows."

"Is senior suggesting we should exchange techniques?"

"Aye. We all teach, we all learn."

"Rinne understands. Should we arrange drills?"

"Aye. I ask Blackcloak for support. Involve everyone."

"What else can we—?"

"Rinne-san!"

The two of them twitched in unison and glanced at the newcomer. Ichiko, dressed in her usual shrine maiden garb, pitter-pattered into the armory area, her eyes darting left and right like she was looking for something.

"Little one. Welcome."

"Ah, Brang-san is here too! Listen, have you seen Pudding-kun?"

"Who?"

"I was playing hide-and-go-seek with Pudding-kun, but I can't find him at all!" the little miko answered without realizing she didn't answer Rinne's question at all.

"Have not seen anyone," Brang told her, and Ichiko's shoulders slumped.

"Aw. I knew this would happen!" She sighed, but then quickly bounced back and asked, "What were you talking about?"

Rinne and Brang shared a glance, and in the end, the huntress told her, "We are discussing how to strengthen the bonds between Leonard-dono's subordinates."

"Ah, that sounds interesting! Can I join?"

There was another shared glance, and since Mountain Girl didn't object, Brang gestured towards a nearby stool.

"Sure. Sit, little one."

He didn't need to say twice, and Ichiko skipped over and asked, "So, have you already planned a feast?"

"A feast," the Faun repeated after her, and she nodded while still pulling the stool closer to the two.

"Yes. Having a big feast together is the best way for everyone to come together and have fun. And don't forget to have sake! It's great for getting people to open up. Oh, oh! You also should have some games!"

Apparently, the foxy miko took it for granted that there would be a party, and she would've probably continued to try and sell her idea, if not for the stool letting out a stifled "Nyu!" noise the moment she sat down on it. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Ichiko's butt landed on a pink sphere, resulting in a much louder "Nyu-nyu-nyuuu!"

"Ah! Pudding-kun! I found you!" she exclaimed as she jumped back to her feet and scooped up the tiny shoggoth into her arms.

"Ichiko-san! Did the wiseman's creature just use transformation jutsu!?"

"Pudding-san said it was unfair if only I could do it," the girl protested, and the rotund creature in her arms tried to back her up as much as it could by waving its stubby tentacles around.

"Blackcloak won't be happy," said Brang with a shake of his head, and that was an understatement if I've ever heard one.

So we not only had tiny shoggoths with lockpicking skills running around the place, now they could even disguise themselves are household objects! Note to self: give the little miko the mother of all forehead flicks the next time I'm at the base. In fact, if I wasn't preoccupied, I would've already picked a red dot and Phased over to do just that, and…

…

Hold on. Something's off.

I ignored the girl still making her excuses, and focused on the pink creature. It was a little hard to tell at first, because they were so close to each other, but there was definitely an extra dot there. That was more than intriguing, so I switched my point of view over to the kennels where they were kept, and now I was staring at about twenty identical meatballs piled up on top of each other like a pyramid. I had no idea what they were doing, but it was beside the point anyway. Here's the thing: each one of them had a red dot of their own… yet at the same time, it felt like they were one big dot, and my Far Sight perspective could just kind of slide between the individual ones.

Was that because they were a hive-mind? So, did I tag their collective soul or what have you, or was each one tagged separately when I helped collect them the last time? It was a question worth investigating, but it paled in comparison to the fact that I could mark them one way or another in the first place. So far, I could only tag people, or sufficiently human-like entities like Ichiko. It didn't work on animals, Chimeras, or even a sentient weapon like Cal, yet I could somehow do it to this conglomeration of tiny, overly affectionate shoggoths. It was a strange and unforeseen development… but not necessarily an unwelcome one.

Let's think of this logically: as of now, we had a hive-mind of semi-disposable creatures that could follow orders, move independently, serve as anchor points for both Far Sight and Phasing, and now they could even use ninja techniques to blend into the environment. I'd be lying if I said the sudden onrush of possibilities didn't make me feel a little giddy as I returned to the trio, still conspiring on organizing a team-building exercise. By this point the conversation entirely switched over to holding a party, though none of them even considered the question of who would be footing the bills for something like that.

Oh, who was I kidding? Of course it will be me. Normally that would've made me annoyed, but this time I was in too good of a mood to really mind. And why wouldn't I be? If my hunch was correct, the little shoggoths might go from a minor annoyance to something extremely useful. Who knows? At this rate, I might not even flick Ichiko's forehead… too hard.