The Magic-Item Engineer Hulemy
“I took a quick look through this reference. Is it true you can communicate your intent by saying ‘Welcome’ and ‘Too bad’?”
“Welcome.”
“I see. I’ve never heard of anyone creating a magic item with a human level of intelligence. But did you know that it’s not actually rare to find weapons and armor that can understand human language and speak?”
“Too bad.”
I guess when she explains things, she gives off a more intellectual vibe, and her tone softens a bit.
“They come up in the historical record a lot. They were once called the Wise Weapons. But only the weapon’s owner or specific people could hear its voice, and others would think they were crazy people who talked to themselves. Nobody knows who made the Wise Weapons, and it’s one of the reasons the whole story isn’t very reliable.”
I’ve come across weapons described like that in video games and novels before. Does this mean the same sorts of weapons and armor exist in this world?
“I’m a magic-item engineer, too, though not much of one. I’ve done a bunch of experiments to see if I can get a magic item to have intelligence, but…I came to the conclusion that it’s impossible with our current level of technology. So then I changed how I thought about it. What if a human soul could inhabit one, rather than an artificial life-form somebody created?”
What? She came to that conclusion by herself? Doesn’t this mean she’ll realize I’m self-aware? Hopeful of the possibility, I focus on the conversation.
“Sealing souls is something people have been doing with magic and Blessings for a long time. The basic ones involve bringing a dead person’s soul into a body temporarily, or using heretical magic to control dead corpses using someone’s soul temporarily. Hmm, oh, sorry, I need some water…”
She’s trying to pour water from a cheap-looking, rusted jug into a cup. You don’t have to do that—I’ll treat you. What should I choose? Maybe the warm milk tea, the same color as her hair. We’re underground, so it’s a little chilly. Something warm would be good.
“Hmm? What was that? Oh, is this one of your products? Can I have it?”
“Welcome.”
“Oh, all right. Thanks… Mmm, aaahhh! That sweetness hits the spot. I was getting burned-out. And it’s the perfect warmth, too. You’re pretty good, you know that?”
Wow, when her expression softens, she gives off a whole different impression. She smiles like a pure, innocent girl.
“Thanks—that’s a relief. Anyway, it says here your name is Boxxo. Is that correct?”
“Welcome.”
“All right then, Boxxo. Would you happen to be a magic item with a human soul inside it?”
I never thought I’d see the day when someone asked me that. I thought I was lucky enough just to have Lammis, someone I could communicate with even though I can barely talk. Now someone has even figured out what I actually am.
“Welcome,” I answer, at a louder volume to make my feelings clear.
“I knew it! I guess my powers of insight work after all! I see, I see. Pleased to meet you, Boxxo.”
“Thank you.”
I’m so happy. It must be a trick of fate that Lammis’s friend was the one to realize this. But everyone she’s close with is generally a good person. I thought it was a coincidence, but if that’s the power of her charm at work, maybe this meeting was inevitable.
“I’m going to suggest several things based on the information in these documents, so if I’m wrong about something, speak up. The magic item Boxxo has a master.”
“Too bad.” Vending machines don’t have owners. God might qualify, but that’s a stretch.
“Oh, you don’t? Then do you remember when you were a human?”
“Welcome.”
“Really? Huh. I see. This is my biggest question. Nobody refills your items, but you never run out. I’m thinking you’re pulling from extra-dimensional storage using spatial magic or some kind of special ability. Well?”
In a way, she’s right, but she’s not completely correct. I don’t understand how I work at all myself.
“Welcome Too bad.”
“That’s not completely wrong, then. Does that mean it has to do with your product prices? Without a master, a magic item would have no means of using the money it collects. If your only purpose is to sell goods, you would be able to lower the prices more. But they’re set a little high, in my opinion. In other words, money serves an important purpose for Boxxo.”
“Welcome Welcome.”
Hulemy is amazing. Lammis makes accurate guesses with her good heart and intuition, but Hulemy is coming to the right answers from limited information.
“Right on the money, huh? I don’t know how, but…you use the money you gain to buy items. Well?”
“Welcome.”
“Does that mean you need a lot of money to buy the items?”
“Too bad.”
I can buy the items for a tenth of what I sell them for, but I need points for other features and Blessings and to keep myself alive.
“No? Then you wouldn’t have a reason to get so much money from making things expensive… Are there other ways you can use money?”
“Welcome.”
I think it would be fastest to show her for real. I’ll use the most understandable method—a form change, into that candy mode.
“Whoa, what?! A light… Hey, wait, you completely changed.”
After changing into my candy-roll-vending mode, Hulemy presses herself against me to look. If I had a sense of touch, this would make me feel weird.
“This clear part looks like glass, but it’s not. How interesting. Is it set up so you put coins into here, and you can get the contents out? By showing the products themselves, it increases people’s buying impulses… That’s great!”
Her comment is accurate. She has a completely different eye from the other people in this world.
“Oops, sorry. I got so excited I became sidetracked. Anyway, Boxxo can use the money it saves to change its form like this… No, to change the very way it functions.”
“Welcome.”
She got the right answer, so I drop a roll of candy. You can eat that later.
“Oh, thanks. I’ll take it.”
Once she takes the candy, I go back to my usual vending machine form. I don’t dislike my candy mode, but it makes me a little restless.
“As for what else I’d like to know… Right. Aside from changing your body and changing your items, is there anything else you can do?”
“Welcome.”
I do have Force Field, after all. I think it’s okay to tell a friend of Lammis’s about it.
“Oh, so you still have a secret? Are you able to show it to me?”
“Welcome.”
“Sounds like fun. Please show me.”
I don’t mind, but you’re a little too close. If I use Force Field now, it’ll blow her away. What should I do to get her to move back? Please move back, please move back! For now, I try willing her to.
“Hmm? You won’t show me? Oh, sorry, is it dangerous? Let me back up a bit… How is this?”
“Welcome.”
This wasn’t my thoughts reaching her—Hulemy just took a good guess.
She’s far enough away now, so I should be fine. There’s a small desk nearby, but nothing is on it, so I guess there’s no harm blowing it away.
Well then, I’ll activate Force Field.
A blue light appears around me. Translucent blue walls materialize three feet away from me, boxing me in.
“Whoa, what is this? It looked like it pushed that table out, sending it flying. Is this like a barrier? Is it all right for me to touch this?”
“Welcome.”
It’s basically a super-hard wall, so touching it is no problem.
Without fear, she pokes the wall with a finger before pressing her palm to it to see what it feels like. She pours water into her cup, then flicks drops of it with her finger, watching with intent interest as it bounces off the Force Field.
“It feels like I’m touching a sturdy wall. And it seems to be pretty rock solid, too.”
Watching her cling to the wall like this makes me feel a bit mischievous. Let’s scare her a little.
I permit Hulemy’s entrance into the Force Field.
“I have to test to see how much of an impact it can withst— Huh? Eek!”
She was pushing against the Force Field with both hands, so her hands fly through the Force Field and touch me. Her excess of momentum causes her to run into me to stop herself.
If I were physically human, this would be lucky for me. But seeing a woman leap into a vending machine’s breast… From an objective point of view, she’d just be a crazy person…
“Wh-what happened? My body entered the blue walls. You didn’t undo it—you allowed me to come in. A strong wall, and you can choose who can go in and out. I’ve heard of this somewhere before… Oh, where was it, I think in the empire… Oh, right! Force Field—it’s Force Field! I remember a rare ability like this being one of the Blessings!”
“Welcome.”
Hulemy has a surprising amount of knowledge. I completely understand why Lammis wanted me to meet her.
“Boxxo, that’s amazing. You can handle all shapes and sizes of products, and you can change your body and functionality. Plus, you can even use a Blessing. You’re beyond the scope of a magic item.”
I’m happy for the praise, but this isn’t my ability or anything. I just happened to receive an excellent vending machine body. Your knowledge is what we should really be proud of, because it’s something you achieved on your own.
I answer all sorts of questions, and we continue into the night until she’s satisfied.
Overcome with intellectual curiosity, the happy Hulemy is holding a health drink. She was so excited she looked like she was going to pass out, so I added an item to combat that.
It’s a fairly pricey item, too, so it produces an immediate effect. As soon as she drank it, she got really energetic. The expensive ones are the real deal. Their nutritional value has helped me many times when I was sick.
Still, it looks like she’s reaching her limit, and she decides to go to sleep. She lies on her back on a long table a short distance away and covers herself with a rag before falling asleep within moments. How bold.
Leaving herself in such a defenseless state is dangerous in a roughhouse criminal organization. I don’t know if I find it exciting or what, but I’ll have to take the watch tonight.
