"Huh?! What did you say?!"

"I told you to take off your clothes."

At my words, the hero was half startled in fright.

Hmm. Is this something to be so surprised about? When he was little, he didn't even want to take baths, so I had to forcibly undress him and throw him into the warm bathtub.

"Well, that is, you see..."

"You're making such a fuss over just taking off some clothes. Geez!"

I quickly grabbed the hero's top and tore it off with all my strength.

Even though the top was made of rather tough fabric, it was shredded like paper before my power.

The hero ended up helplessly exposing his back to me.

Hmm. Now that I say it out loud, it sounds a bit strange. I'll restore it later, so don't worry!

"W-Why are you doing this?!"

"It's nothing. It'll be over soon!"

"Noooooo!!!"

Such meaningless resistance from the hero was quickly suppressed.

"If you hadn't struggled, we could have finished sooner. What's the big deal ? Have you forgotten I used to bathe you when you were little?"

"But...it's embarrassing..."

Anyway, I had the hero, sit down. Then I carefully placed my hand on his back.

"Hiiick!"

"Quiet. If you can't even endure this much, how will you protect others?"

"Ugh!"

Well, it's none of my business.

I placed my hand on the hero's back and slowly spun out a thread of mana, gently pushing it into the hero's body bit by bit.

"Hngh!"

The unfamiliar sensation of something else entering his body made the hero flinch in surprise.

What a baby. Acting all tough.

I moved the mana I had inserted into the hero's body around, stimulating the dormant mana within him. The hero's mana then began to move, following my mana's lead.

Good. It's going smoothly. The hardest part is carefully spinning out the barest minimum of mana so it doesn't cause any abnormalities when entering the hero's body!

Well, if I hadn't been so careful, an excessive amount of mana could have made the hero's body explode. It's best to adjust it meticulously.

Anyway, the process involved the mana from my right arm passing through the hero's body, then returning to my left arm, repeating this cycle.

By having the external mana enter and exit, it cultivated an of mana.

"How does it feel?"

"It feels kind of tingly, like something's going in and out."

"Right. That's the feeling. That sensation is mana itself. Keep focusing on it."

"That's not easy..."

I ignored the hero's strained voice.

The mana that had seeped in circulated through the hero's body before exiting again. Through this process, the dormant mana within him was stimulated.

The hero's mana began to stir slowly. Good. There's a reaction.

Prompted by my mana, the hero's mana started moving, becoming more and more active.

This should be enough. I slowly withdrew the mana I had pushed into the hero's body and took my hand off his back.

The hero let out a faint sigh, seemingly missing the strange sensation caused by my mana.

"Huhhhh..."

"Now, can you feel the mana resting within you?"

"Yes. I can sense the mana stirring inside me."

"Try to move that mana with your will. If you do, you'll be able to unleash the full power of the hero's sword."

"Okay...I'll give it a try..."

And so, mana control training was added to the hero's regimen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What is mana?

The driving force to use magic. 

A mystical power pervading all creation.

A blessing bestowed upon this world by the divine.

The realization of a will to bring about change.

The blood coursing through the veins of existence itself.

The possibility to accomplish anything.

It is said that the first beings to wield mana were the dragons.

The distant ancient era. The age before humans existed. The age of dragons.

It is said that the dragons, who were the masters of this land at that time, handled mana as easily as their own limbs and primarily used primitive magic by force of will alone.

Unlike humans and other subraces who have to recite incantations and draw magic circles to use a single spell, the dragons simply used magic as they desired.

Imagine being able to shoot fireballs with a casual snap of the fingers, or soar into the sky by merely kicking off the ground.

However, there has never existed a human in history capable of such feats. No human has ever possessed that high an affinity for mana.

There remains only a fragmentary legend about the very first nameless hero who performed acts similar to that primitive magic... But a human could never possess something like a dragon's heart.

It was probably just an exaggeration stemming from the hero's great exploits.

- A lecture from an intermediate class at the Kingdom's Magic Academy

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

The hero quickly began adapting to mana.

He seemed to be getting used to physical enhancement with mana, and could even fire simple mana blasts... though they weren't very effective since the mana was absorbed by the abilities of the hero's sword. 

Still, he had become so accustomed to manipulating mana that he could now levitate for short periods.

It seems he's ready to use the abilities of the hero's sword.

"Now let's try using the abilities possessed by the hero's sword."

"It took a long time." 

"A long time? It's only been about a year..."

"A year is a long time."

Ah, that's right. A year is indeed a considerable amount of time for a human. 

From my perspective it was just the blink of an eye, but I suppose not.

"Alright, take the hero's sword in hand and channel your mana into it."

I had already input the pattern of the hero's mana into Chloive Solais, so channeling his mana should complete the owner recognition process.

"I channeled it in."

"Good. Now shout 'Henshin' which means 'Transform'!"

Originally it would transform just from the mana pattern, but I thought that was a bit too boring!

So I made it transform all at once by just saying 'Henshin' thanks to that.

A transformation chant would be fine too, but there's nothing wrong with keeping it simple either!

"Huh? Oh, um... Henshin!!"

As the hero spoke, the hero's sword began glowing and transforming. 

Clang! Clang!!

The armor pieces making up the sword blade detached and transferred onto the hero's body one by one - his arms, torso, and legs were all equipped with the armor that was the sword blade.

Hmm... if I had increased the amount a bit, I could have recreated the transformations from tokusatsu shows...? 

No, no, if I considered having the armor pieces stored in another space and summoned out... wouldn't that allow recreating those transformations?

As I had these pointless thoughts, the hero's transformation completed.

"This is... what is..."

"Another ability of the hero's sword - the Agathlam Silver Armor."

The hero began examining the armor now attached to his body from all angles. 

The armor fit his body as if custom-made for him, without the slightest bit of awkwardness, the size perfectly adjusted.

Well of course, I used magic! It automatically synchronizes with and reshapes itself to the wearer's body!

"This is... amazing...."

"Yeah, amazing. Who made it, after all?"

I put effort into making this, so of course it's amazing!

"That armor has the power to block any blade. The parts of your body protected by that armor will never be injured. As long as you watch out for openings, it will make you invincible."

To be honest, at the current civilization level, not even a scratch could be made on this armor. The fangs and claws of monsters wouldn't pierce it either.

Unless dwarven refining techniques advance far beyond this point, it will likely remain the strongest armor for quite some time. 

The hero plays an important role in protecting this world, so equipment to protect his body is equally important.

"And this sword..."

"Has the same shape as the wooden sword I gave you before?"

A sword the size of a one-handed blade - the same as the wooden sword he was given. Another form of Chloive Solais after shedding its armor.

"When you first gave me just the wooden sword, I wondered why you were also giving me this... So this was the reason."

"Yes. There is a reason for everything I do."

The hero examined the one-handed sword from various angles. Although its shape was thin and slender, its sharpness was no less than that of a greatsword.

"You can either sweep everything away with a greatsword, or protect your body with armor and a one-handed sword while fighting. Choose as you wish and fight accordingly."

"Nice. Then... how do I take this off?"

The hero looked around the armor. But he was slightly flustered as there was not even a slight seam visible on the seamless armor.

Well, it's different from ordinary armor, after all.

"Say 'Henshin Kaijo' which means 'Transformation Dismissed'."

"Henshin Kaijo!"

Then the armor automatically detached and attached itself to the sword, transforming it back into a greatsword.

The hero seemed slightly pleased at the appearance of the transformed sword. 

Well, I would have been pleased too if I had such a sword in my hands!

I gave a small smile at the pleased expression on the hero's face.