Chương 60: Chapter 55: Did you do your hair today?

[Fire Affinity Training Progress] [Current Progress: 9. 43% → 10. 22%] He'd jumped nearly a whole number. Absurd, but not absurd enough. Even extrapolating this absurd rate of improvement around the clock for fourteen consecutive days left him well short of twenty percent. [Fire Affinity Training Analysis] [Training Efficiency: Below Average] Cause: → Fire Resonance Exposure: 77% → Intensity: 46% → Duration: 58% → Environmental Saturation: 30% → Artifact Assistance: 0% That couldn't be right.

Liene was practically draped in enchanted gear. That necklace had to have counted, unless the Eidralith only counted artifacts he was using. Whatever her necklace contributed had probably been rolled onto Intensity. Either way, if there were artifacts capable of boosting his fire training, then there was still plenty of room for improvement. Still… maybe he could reach thirteen or even fourteen.

Coupled with his steadily increasing resonance, maybe that would be enough to produce a spell that was minimally functional— Someone's fingers brushed absentmindedly through his hair. Fabrisse nearly vaulted out of the chair.

"Ah!" He turned around and it was just Liene, holding a plate of pie on her other hand. She said, "I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" She always did. Long ago, he would have complained at length. He might even have cited the Synod's personal conduct guidelines on unsolicited physical contact. Somewhere along the way, though, he had stopped minding.

"You brought pie?" he asked instead. Liene beamed.

"Merryberry!" They ate in companiable silence for a while. The crust was thicker than usual, and the butter slightly too salty, just as it always was in the Upper Sanctum kitchens. They cooked too much of everything for any one pie to receive special attention. Still, it was a perfectly competent pie. Halfway through her second bite, Liene glanced at him.

"Did you do your hair today?" Fabrisse instinctively reached for it.

"Evidently not."

"I can tell." He lowered his hand.

"Is it bad?"

"No." She shook her head.

"It's actually really nice." He looked at her skeptically.

"I'm serious." She pointed her fork at him.

"You've got naturally curly hair. Most people have to spend ages trying to make it look like that."

"I generally spend ages trying to make it not look like that."

"Which is your mistake." Before he could ask what she meant, she was already standing behind him.

"Keep eating."

"Liene."

"You're impossible to work with if you keep moving." He considered objecting. Instead, he took another bite of merryberry pie. Liene worked through his curls one lock at a time, pausing every few seconds to undo whatever decision his hair had made before she arrived. Apparently, today he was the craft project. He spent several minutes eating in silence while Liene did whatever she pleased. [Understanding of Calm: 56% → 62% to 13%] Huh? Should it have gone up that quickly?

He remembered gaining 1 EMO somewhat recently, but surely that wasn't the catalyst. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Then he remembered what he'd just gotten: Emotional Link Unlocked: Liene Lugano (Rank III) Upon further inspection, this was the boost given to him: Accelerates Understanding of Joy and Calm by 20% while accompanied by Liene Lugano. Now that was unfair. Veliane's numbers were also 20% at only Rank I.

And why did Liene influence calm? He would've expected Lorvan to monopolize that category. Liene's voice resounded behind him.

"Fabri… why don't you even fold down your robe collar?"

"I…" He paused.

"I forgot."

"Mm. I don't think it's ever crossed your mind in the first place." Her fingers caught the edge of his collar and folded it neatly into place. She smoothed the fabric, humming to herself.

"There." She gave his collar a pat. [Calm—Progress: 13. 62% → 13. 63%] Liene had always done whatever she pleased. But today it benefitted him, so he decided to question it no longer. Speaking of benefits… Fabrisse reached into his satchel and fished out the Riverglass Quartz, his reward from the classification quest in the Geology Wing. He turned it over between his fingers. Right. This thing gives me +1 RES whenever I hold or wear it.

Keeping it in my Inventory wastes one slot, and I don't even benefit from the effect. Maybe I could ask Liene—"Whatcha holding?" He looked up. Liene had leaned over his shoulder again. He held up the quartz.

"Oh!" Her eyes gleamed.

"That's a good-looking piece. I've got a few similar ones Celline gave me. Let me find them." Before he could answer, she was already rummaging through her satchel.

".. Somewhere… Ah!" She triumphantly produced three more clear crystals and set them beside his. Oh. They were not similar, though. One was actually a Riverglass Quartz, but the other two were a Veil Quartz and a Prism Quartz. At a glance, all three could pass for clear quartz. Veil Quartz had cloudy ribbons beneath the surface, while the tiny fractures in Prism Quartz broke the light into subtle rainbows. Only Riverglass possessed the rounded clarity he was looking for. But they'd still help, regardless.

Fabrisse picked up the Riverglass Quartz.

"Liene… could I ask you to make something?"

"Of course!" She smiled.

"What is it?" He held up the crystal.

"Could you string this into a necklace? Maybe the other as well."

"A necklace? You want all of them?

"If you can spare."

"Certainly." Then she tilted her head.

"Though I didn't know you were into accessories now."

"I need a socially acceptable way to carry rocks." Liene broke into a grin.

"Oh! Fabri's gaining fashion awareness! I'll help you out."

"I don't think that's what—" She had already gathered the four crystals and reached for a spool of Argent Thread. Fabrisse shrugged. There was no stopping her anyway. A few minutes later, she set the finished necklace onto the table. The process had been remarkably simple. Liene used Binding Thaumaturgy to work the Argent Thread around each crystal, forming small loops that held them in place without drilling into the quartz. She joined the loops with one last length of thread, completing the silver necklace.

"There!" Liene beamed, nudging it toward him.

"All done." Fabrisse picked it up. It was surprisingly elegant for something whose primary purpose was, in essence, carrying rocks. Riverglass and Prism are both clear-quartz variants. Veil Quartz belongs to the milky family despite its surprising transparency. This thing should give me 3 RES and 1 FOR. He slipped the necklace over his head. [Riverglass Resonance Necklace (Common) Equipped] [Inventory Slots Taken: 2] RES: 7 → 9 FOR: 5 → 6 That's great. Usually it would've taken up four slots instead of two—Wait.

Only +2 RES? That can't be right. [System Note] Current Artifice Quality: Apprentice Maximum Stable Quartz Effects: 3 Additional embedded quartz effects are suppressed until supported by higher-quality craftsmanship. Ah. Liene was still learning. She'd successfully bound all four crystals together, but only three resonance channels remained stable. He found himself wondering just how many effects a true master artificer could stabilize in a single piece of jewelry. Liene watched him expectantly.

"Well? Do you like it?" Oh. Right. Tommaso had mentioned this before. Liene got surprisingly attached to the things she made. Failing to show appreciation apparently made her sad. He adjusted the necklace.

"Yes. Thank you." Liene's smile widened.

"Then you can keep it! I can always sweet-talk Celline out of a few more quartz pieces."

"…Okay." She stepped forward before he could say anything else.

"Oh! Your hair's done, by the way." Her fingers made one final adjustment to another curl before she folded his collar flat again for good measure.

"There. Do you need a mirror?" Before he could answer, Liene had already produced a small hand mirror from one of her various compartments and held it up in front of him. Fabrisse stared at his reflection. He looked… different. The curls were more defined than he'd ever seen them, framing his face instead of collapsing into their usual unruly compromise. Somehow they had more volume without looking messy. Is this what people call stylish?

"Well?" Liene asked.

"It certainly looks intentional." Liene laughed.

"That's the point! I bet you'll pull a few eyes your way now." That sounded inconvenient. And he also doubted it. Deciding not to voice that particular concern, he simply nodded.