Guru proudly spoke up as she picked up the duck-shaped grabber.
“Dis one got pwecious stones fwom da dungeon, so Gwuu picked ‘em aww out and made it~”
“You made it with core material? Seriously, that’s incredible.”
“And dis one get smawwer when you stick it! Da big band gets biggew, da wittwe band gets smaww....”
With every item she showed off, Kazuki touched them, checked the info, and let out impressed sounds.
Though they looked like children’s toys, once examined closely, every one of them was undeniably the kind of item that couldn’t exist unless crafted by someone above L-Rank.
For most crafting-type Awakened, their strength lay in how freely they could manipulate the unknown materials retrieved from dungeons.
It was all about drawing out the potential of the material and processing it into a form that was uniquely their own.
In other words, it meant combining things that already existed.
But....
Kazuki fiddled with the teddy bear suit again.
'Did she pull this from some fictional material in a movie or something...?'
The result itself—voice modulation—wasn’t all that rare, so others might’ve just thought it was a fun gimmick.
But in reality, this was practically the same as imagining a material that doesn’t exist and then making it real.
Guru could create any material. There were no restrictions on what abilities she could imbue.
Suddenly, Kazuki thought someone might describe her ability like this—
'Creation.'
Without realizing it, Kazuki let out a faint sound of awe.
She was beyond standard.
Even Kazuki, the only other S-Rank crafter aside from Guru, could only describe her power that way.
Jurim might not fully grasp just how insane that ability was, being Ijo’s little brother and all, but for Kazuki, another crafter, it was a wall of talent that could never be surpassed.
With a wide grin, Kazuki ruffled Guru’s hair wildly «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» with his huge hands.
“Gwuu-channn, yoouuu awe weawwy, weawwy amazing! Do ya even need a Sabbuu?”
A one-of-a-kind talent.
Still a cute little chick for now, but with just a bit of help, she might blossom instantly.
She could probably even make that weird potato-thing-whatever too.
“It’s thick with mana here, so maybe you’ll feel things even more.”
When Guru tilted her head with a visible question mark over it, Kazuki suddenly asked:
“Discippwe, do ya kno what’s most impowtant fow skill mastewy?”
“Uum, wevew-up!”
“Right. And epiphany.”
With a sly grin, Kazuki poked Guru’s forehead with his thick finger.
[Activating skill: 'Sense Expansion.']
Swaaahhhh—
A sudden breeze swept through the area.
The scent of the brush drifted in thickly, and she could acutely feel it brushing past her skin and seeping into every part of her body.
This wasn’t her usual sensory range. All five senses had sharpened to a whole new level.
It was like Kazuki’s own senses had been transferred to her.
“Cwose yo eyes and feew.”
When she shut her eyes, her hearing became even sharper.
She could hear the tiny footsteps of a rabbit darting away somewhere, the sound of clouds gliding past, and even the sprouting of a bud overhead.
“You can’t just see with your eyes. You gotta feew wayyy mowe.”
And then—
Dding!
[Proficiency increased by 10.]
Flash! Guru’s eyes flew open.
That was the biggest single jump in proficiency she’d ever seen.
'So coooww!'
As Guru’s eyes went round in amazement, Kazuki gave a satisfied grin.
He placed her on his knee and handed her a pinecone.
“Touch aww kinds of tings and feew dem. Feewin’ da twue nature of stuff thwough yo senses is supa impowtant fow pwoficiency.”
Senses? As she listened to his husky voice, Guru counted off the senses one by one.
See, heaw, touch, smeww... and.
She scrunched her shoulders and gave a slight shiver.
“...Wickin’ too?”
“Well, that’s fine, but Gwuu-channn don’t gotta wick it.”
When Guru let out a relieved giggle, Kazuki stroked her forehead.
“Awight, twainin’ is ovah! Wet’s pway!”
“Uum? We awweady been pwayin’ da whowe time.”
“Nope. Yoo weawned a wot, y’know~”
Sure, she had learned a lot... and her proficiency went up too!
“Gwuu wanna become da wowwd’s bestest huntew fastah.”
“Why?”
“Gonna do lotsa hewpy hewpy stuff. Awso, Gwuu got a goaw!”
“Oh yeah? What is it?”
Uum... Guru hesitated.
Goal number one was “Amakusa Bikye! Move!!”
And goal number two—
“To yank da mousey man’s mustache!”
“Mousey man?”
“Yupyup! He da boss of Sabbu’s countwy.”
“Oh, the Prime Minister...! Yeah, he does wook wike a mouse!”
Nod nod!
“Ahahahahaha! Dat’s some biiig goaws ya got~”
Kazuki laughed until tears welled in the corners of his eyes, then wiped them away and said:
“Gwuu-channn... yoo’ww aweady mo awezome dan Sabbuu. Yoo just don’t kno da way yet. But yoo can totawwy yank mousey man’s mustache if ya wanna.”
“Wewwy?”
“Yep. So what Sabbuu wanna teww yoo is...”
Kazuki hesitated, then spoke.
“Use powew fow good tings. Mowe den yankin’ mustaches. Sabbuu’s Papa got wotsa powew too. But he a bad guy.”
“Papa?”
“Means Daddy.”
“Gasp! Sabbuu hates yo dadda?”
“Hmmm... dunno yet.”
Kazuki flashed a smile, showing his sharp canines.
“Why?”
“’Cause I’m not suwe.”
“Why not?”
“’Cause...”
He smiled faintly as he remembered.
“Sabbuu didn’t even kno who his Mama or Dadda was when he was wittwe. Lived wif his cousins.”
“Neeng.”
“But Auntie an’ Uncwe hated Sabbuu wike, weawwy bad. Hit me evewyday, neva fed me...”
“NEEENG?!”
Guru bolted upright in shock, and Kazuki let out a snicker.
“Was a weawwy wong time ago. Doesn’t huwt at aww now. Daddychann came and saved Sabbuu right aftah.”
“Daddychann came to get Sabbuu?”
“Yeah.”
“Den did ya wive happy evah aftah wif Daddychann?”
“Nope.”
Kazuki recalled that day.
In a living room soaked with blood, Reiji had bent over and whispered gently.
[“Good kids shouwdn’t wook, Kazuki-chann.”]
Later, the police told him the bodies of his aunt and uncle were torn apart like they’d been mauled by animals.
“Went to an orphanage after that.”
A strange feeling of being protected... but also resentment at being abandoned.
His relationship with his father had always been ambiguous.
Reiji sent money regularly. No calls. No letters. Just money.
Was it love? Or obligation?
Kazuki didn’t spend time pondering such questions until years later.
He simply lived, doing what he wanted, a little more comfortably than other kids his age.
“In Sabbuu’s heawt, dere’s a wot of feewings bout Papa. But I haven’t decided what to do wif ‘em yet.”
His smile, somehow sad despite its brightness, left Guru silent for a long time.
The sun was starting to set.
As Kazuki sat in the clearing watching Guru, his body suddenly flinched and his shoulders twitched.
“Discippwe-channn, time to go back.”
Guru had been busy playing around, touching everything, fascinated by the new senses Kazuki had shared with her.
At his call, she toddled over on her short legs.
“Yupyup!”
“Yo tummy not gwowwing? Wet’s go eat! Tempwe food supposed to be yummeh, wight?”
“Teempwe foood?”

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