There’s something wrong with Lucia’s new master. Unfortunately, Lucia’s too blind to see it.

“Woah! Check out this room!” Lucia skipped into the center of the room, which was actually a leaf, and looked around. From inside my weapon body, I took a look around the room as well and almost regretted it. Metallic ingots and shiny coins filled the room to the brim. The light coming off of them was piercing, and I had to avert my gaze downwards to avoid being blinded. How ridiculous. An immortal weapon spirit such as myself being blinded by light. The materials must’ve been high-quality, filled with spiritual energy to irritate my eyes.

Lucia took a few steps forward, moving so fast it seemed like she disappeared and reappeared. She grabbed a shiny golden ingot and lifted it into the air above her head. The light coming from the more translucent part of the leaf’s wall struck the ingot, causing a rainbow sheen to appear on its surface. “With these materials and my knowledge of blacksmithing,” Lucia said and gulped. “I can totally make a new hammer!”

I’m not sure why she gulped down her saliva. If anything, I should be the one doing that. If these materials were forged into swords, wouldn’t I become invincible after consuming them? However, I wouldn’t want to eat any sword Lucia makes. She honestly thinks she’s an expert blacksmith just because she Soul Scoured one before. Rather than letting her waste these precious materials, it’d be better to convince her to hire a blacksmith to make swords for me to eat. Actually, wouldn’t the ruler have blacksmiths working for her? She already kidnapped dozens of scholars, and I highly doubt these ingots were sourced by squirrels. Knowing the nature of squirrels, these precious materials probably once belonged to the treasuries of different sects or empires. If the ruler stole these materials, she should’ve also kidnapped someone capable of using them.

Lucia hugged the golden ingot close to her chest before looking around, her shoulders hunched. After making sure the room was clear, the ingot disappeared into her interspatial ring. I’m not sure why she’s stealing it when she could ask her master if she could have it. After saving Lucia from those supervisors, her master’s personality completely changed into a doting one. It’s such a clear-cut attempt at manipulating Lucia’s feelings, but the sad part is I can’t even call it an attempt because it worked. It doesn’t sit right with me, and I’m not just saying this because there’s a chance the ruler might be a better teacher than me. She’s just simply not a good person.

“Lucia.”

“Huh!?” Lucia stiffened, her back straightening as her arms froze near her chest with her elbows bent. After a second, she exhaled and smacked my weapon body. “Don’t suddenly call out my name like that when I’m obviously trying to be sneaky! You scared me.”

“Do you really think your master won’t know you stole her gold? She Soul Scours you regularly.” I’m pretty sure every time the ruler touches Lucia’s head a Soul Scour occurs.

“She doesn’t Soul Scour me regularly!” Lucia placed one hand on her hip and used her other hand to hold up my weapon body in front of herself to talk at me. “She Soul Scoured me once. …Maybe twice. Or three times? I’m not sure, but it doesn’t happen that often! Her head pats are head pats, nothing more. She knows they’re good encouragement.”

“Do you really believe that? Have you forgotten how she ordered those supervisors to ruthlessly beat you? I haven’t.”

Lucia snorted. “Those squirrels misinterpreted the ruler’s orders. You know how squirrels are. Besides, if I was really being beaten that badly, how come you didn’t help me, huh?”

Because I wouldn’t have lasted more than a second if I had to confront one of those supervisors. Of course, I can’t tell Lucia that. She’d blame me and claim I didn’t care about her because I didn’t throw my life away in an attempt to help her when the smartest move for me to make was wait for a better opportunity. “Technically, I did come out to help you. I even asked for a sword.”

“But you ran away the next second! You might as well have not shown up at all,” Lucia said, her nose wrinkling.

“What about those Anguish Wood Ears?”

Lucia tilted her head to the side. “What in the world does Anguish Wood Ears have to do with anything we’re talking about? I might only be a little less smart than Ilya, but I’m sure even she can’t follow your train of thought.”

“Anyone can easily tell the ruler isn’t a good person since she’s growing Anguish Wood Ears. You heard what the spider said: those mushrooms only grow near unimaginable suffering and anguish.”

“And the spider produces that suffering and anguish, and he gets paid fairly,” Lucia said, nodding her head. “If that spider wasn’t being paid fairly, do you think it’d stick around? It wouldn’t even if the ruler threatened to squish it. I’m sure the suffering and anguish required would make someone want to die, so, clearly, the spider’s being compensated for its suffering.”

It’s impressive that Lucia’s able to gather her thoughts and express them in the form of an argument. The ambient spiritual energy is doing wonders for her mind. Unfortunately, she’s still not bright enough to connect dots without explicitly being told. “The suffering and anguish don’t come from the spider. They come from the people trapped in its silken cocoons.”

“That’s nonsense,” Lucia said and rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen Mirta’s garden before. She grows mushrooms too, and the bags she grows the mushrooms from aren’t filled with bodies.” Lucia’s brow furrowed. “Actually, I’m not sure what they’re filled with, but I know they’re not filled with people.”

“Maybe regular mushroom bags aren’t filled with people, but the same can’t be said for Anguish Wood Ear bags.”

Lucia snorted and sheathed me, putting me back along her waist. “I think you’re just jealous of the ruler because she’s a better teacher than you.”

Impossible. I’m not jealous. There’s no way I’d be jealous. If Lucia doesn’t want to face the light, then I won’t force her to. When she realizes she’s wrong, I’ll be there to tell her that I told her so.