General Nathan looked at the boy with the same deadpan look that Del reserved for Hubert.
''Reimbursement'?" he asked in a dry tone. "What does this look like to you, a pawn shop?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose again, and let out a sigh.
It seemed like this boy was simply the victim of a cruel prank by the other students, though Nathan questioned who would be bold enough to try this kind of stunt on a Level 4.
"And who exactly told you to 'bring this to the higher-ups for a reimbursement'?" he asked.
While Nathan didn't really care to get involved in the going on between the students, unless General Duke was involved, and Nathan could use it to annoy him, but this particular prank was interfering with his workload.
Once he found out which smart aleck was behind this, he would certainly be "having a word with him".
The boy gulped.
"It…it was…him," The boy said, his eyes darting back and forth, as if he was spilling some kind of great secret. "The…boy with the Creation Ability."
As if a flip had been switched, Nathan snapped to attention.
He only knew one student who fit that description.
Hikiko Tsukuru.
Nathan turned his attention to the metal golf ball in the boy's hands, and gave it a more scrutinizing gaze than he had a minute ago.
Seeing that the ball was made of a quite familiar-looking black metal, his eyes widened and his heart jumped.
It couldn't be…
Nathan waved the boy over.
"Bring it here," he replied.
The boy, his heart racing, slowly made his way further into the office.
Once he reached Nathan's desk, he placed the golf ball in Nathan's outstretched, open hand.
As he did, Nathan's hand jerked downwards.
'Jesus!' Nathan thought.
He hadn't expected a ball of this small of size to have this much heft to it.
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
'This must be more of that 'high-density Glathrium alloy of his,' Nathan thought.
He reached into one of his drawers, and pulled a small, flat digital scale.
Unlike General Duke, Nathan hadn't handled Glathrium on enough of a regular basis to be able to discern its weight by mere feel.
He placed the golf ball on the digital scale.
Soon, the machine began to beep, and numbers began to appear.
When the number finally stopped climbing, "1.58" was visible on the screen.
'1.58 kilos, huh?' Nathan thought.
He turned his attention back to the boy.
"Hold out your wristwatch, student," he ordered.
The boy nodded, and held his wristwatch out in front of him.
General Nathan did the same, holding it out towards the boy until there was only a small gap between the two wristwatches.
The boy watched as the General began typing something on his wristwatch.
An electronic "beep" was then heard from the boy's wristwatch.
He looked down at it, and his eyes became as wide as saucers.
His modest 80 Credits had increased to a staggering 1,660 Credits.
The boy just stared at his wristwatch for a moment, his mind unable to process what he was seeing.
It seemed that the boy had not misspoken when he said that the higher-ups would give him 'thousands' of Credits.
The boy gulped, swallowing his salvia.
"Thank…Thank you, sir!" he replied, bowing his head in a sudden, movement, before bolting out of the room.
General Nathan watched the retreating boy with tired eyes.
He let out a sigh.
Looking over, Nathan glanced down at the metal golf ball still on his electronic scale.
He picked it up, and began rubbing it back and forth in his hand.
A small smile appeared on General Nathan's face, and he let out a chuckle as he thought about just how pissed the other bases would be if they knew that Military Base 2 had a student who could just mass-produce Glathrium as easy as breathing.
It was then that General Nathan's door was frantically thrown open, a panicked-looking soldier appearing on the other end.
"G-General Nathan!" the man replied. "The Head General has returned from his trip to Military Base 1! He's requesting the presence of all the higher-ups for a report of what has happened since he left!"
General Nathan fought the urge to slap his own face.
'Oh, come on!' he thought. 'We haven't even done anything!'
He felt a surge of deep annoyance fill him, as he knew the whole reason that the Head-General was treating them like a bunch of children was mostly due to General Duke's recent actions.
He let out a deep sigh, and got out of his seat.
Nathan walked past the military soldier, and made his way down the hall as he began the long trek to the Head-General's office.
***
Back in the Assembly Hall, Tsukuru, Layla, and Galina all looked down at the table in front of them.
Placed on the table directly in front of Tsukuru, there were two objects.
The first looked like an ornate, six-pointed, light-blue snowflake. It had a turquoise-colored, diamond-shaped gem in the center, as well as a turquoise-colored, water droplet-shaped gem at five out of the six tips of the snowflake, with the only side lacking one being the very top.
Instead, the top side of the snowflake had a light-blue clasp attached to it, with a long, light-blue chain looped inside it, allowing the snowflake to be worn around one's neck.
The second object was a long, light-blue, metal rectangle looking virtually identical to Yukina's tessen fans when they were closed, and being kept on her person in the sides of her obi.
"What…what are they?" Layla asked.
As Tsukuru looked down at the items in front of him, his System's "Scan" Skill automatically activated, causing the System's HUD to appear in his vision.
As he looked at both of the items, one-by-one, his System's "vector" appeared over the center of them, with a line extending outwards towards the left, before taking a sharp turn upwards and leading to a square that showed an up-close image of the item.
Underneath, information was displayed.
[Intermediate-Tier Ice Amulet
Beast Accessory
An Intermediate-Tier Beast Accessory blessed by a Yuki-Onna.
Passive Skill: Cold Aura
While in areas of extreme heat, up to 135°F, the amulet will envelop the wearer in a protective aura of cool air, making them feel as if the temperature around them is only 72°F, preventing the wearer from overheating and getting heatstroke. It does not prevent the wearer from developing a sunburn.
Passive Skill: Cold Resistance
While in areas of extreme cold, down to -60°F, the amulet will envelop the user in a protective aura, making them feel as if the temperature around them is 72°F, preventing the wearer from getting cold or developing Hypothermia.]
[Intermediate-Tier Frost Fan
Beast Weapon
An Intermediate-Tier Beast Weapon wielded by a Yuki-Onna. Can both be used as a melee weapon, as well as a ranged projectile.
+5 Strength
+7 Agility
Active Skill: Frigid Touch
On physical contact with the leaf of the fan, thick ice will begin to cover the target, spreading out to a 1-foot radius around the point of contact.]
"They're Beast Gear," Tsukuru replied, causing Layla to turn her gaze from the two objects to him. "Just like how I received that sword that Erin is using and the gauntlets that we're all wearing when I created Artoria, I got these two pieces of Beast Gear when I created Yukina."
Tsukuru picked up the amulet, and held it up in front of his face, dangling it down from his closed fist by its chain.
"This appears to be something called a 'Beast Accessory'," he replied. "Hmm…that's interesting."
Layla leaned in, taking a closer look at the amulet.
To her, it just looked like a piece of jewelry, although she could feel Beast Energy coming off of it.
"What is?" Layla asked.
"It doesn't seem to grant the wearer any Stat Boosts," he replied. "Instead, it just has a set of Passive Skills."
Layla glanced back at him.
"Wait, a 'set' of Skills?" she asked. "As in, there's multiple of them?"
Tsukuru flashed her an amused smirk.
"Yeah, but there's only two of them," he replied. "Plus, they're not really anything battle-orientated. They're more like 'quality-of-life improvements'."
Layla raised an eyebrow.
"'Quality-of-life improvement'?" she asked.
Tsukuru nodded.
"Essentially, this thing is a glorified body temperature regulator," he explained. "They envelop your body in a special aura that makes you feel like your standing in the perfect, ideal temperature. One Skill activates when your in extreme heat, while the other activates while you're in extreme cold."
Tsukuru heard Reiju's voice pipe up in his head.
"Well, that's awfully convenient," she replied. "Especially if that 'voice' you heard the other night was true, and that your group is going to be going to a desert planet."
Tsukuru narrowed his eyes as he heard his mother's words.
It was true.
Despite Tsukuru deciding to make an Ice Elemental Summon solely on a whim, this 'Beast Amulet' appeared to be custom-made for their upcoming trip to Caladi.