Sinner System

"By the way, it looks like you’ve grown a lot more used to your prosthetic legs now, you look way more comfortable than you did before," Remarked Cleo, as she glanced at Jaden.

"Yeah, it did take a while to get fully accustomed to them, but I’ve finally got the hang of it. I did struggle at first, and then I tried wrapping my whips around them to better stabilize my balance. I was basically using my whips as training wheels. But I don’t need to do that anymore," He replied with a smile.

"Hey, that’s great, man," I chimed in.

"Thanks! Well, the maintenance is a bit of a pain, I’m supposed to get them checked once a month. Last time was about a week ago. Apparently, as I grow more accustomed to them, they need to be periodically recalibrated or something like that. But even after that’s no longer necessary, I’ll still need to get regular maintenance done. Otherwise, they could malfunction or break down if they’re left unmaintained for a prolonged period of time," Jaden sighed wistfully.

"Yeah, that does sound like a hassle. Glad I don’t have to do that, since my prosthetic is Magical instead of technological. It’s fused to the stump of my arm, I can detach it if I want, but I have no reason to do that. And, of course, no need for maintenance, I just clean it with the rest of my body when I shower or take a bath," Grinned Ciel, as she held up her arm.

"Lucky, wish my Personalis Arma would’ve transformed into prosthetic legs," Lamented Jaden with a wry smile.

Actually, I’ve been wondering about that, why exactly didn’t it change form? Maybe it’s a question of necessity?

Like, since he can use his telekinesis to move his body even without legs, the weapon didn’t transform because it technically wasn’t necessary for battle?

Hm, but then, Ciel’s Personalis Arma could’ve just switched to her left hand instead of changing form. Then again, she’s right-handed, so having to switch to her non-dominant hand would definitely put her at a comparative disadvantage.

Ai, got any insight?

<It’s hard to say>

<I’ve analyzed each of the Personalis Arma, the five that each of you wield, as well as the other five you’ve got stored in Treasury>

<But they’re extremely difficult to assess, they possess a tremendous amount of Mana that’s densely packed inside them, and that Mana is incredibly intricate and complex>

<That said, I have discerned one detail>

<While all ten possess the same amount of Mana, there is a slight difference>

<The Mana in these weapons pulsate in small, barely-noticeable frequencies>

<And each frequency is unique>

<Granted, the difference is extremely slight, but there’s no doubt about it, each of the ten Personalis Arma have their own unique frequency pulsations>

Huh, I see. Maybe those unique pulsations affect the adaptability and flexibility of the weapons.

Hm, think I’ll mention this to the others later. It won’t really make a difference, and besides, we’re supposed to be having fun right now, so I should avoid saying anything that might put a damper on things.

"Glad to see you guys are enjoying the food, by the way," I remarked with a smile.

"Oh, yeah, everything you guys made is absolutely delicious," Nodded Jaden, as he munched on one of the snacks.

We’d made quite a spread for the occasion. Fried chicken burgers, with freshly baked buns that we’d toasted, a layer of garlic butter, caremalized onions, a spicy, creamy sauce, and for the patties, we used chicken thighs that we’d marinated in an herb-rich marinade, then breaded, deep-fried and dipped in a hot honey sauce.

We also made cross-hatch fries, by putting mashed potatoes mixed with herbs and spices in a mold, froze them to solidify, and then fried. After that, we loaded the fries with cheese, crushed bacon and chopped up chunks of the same fried chicken we used for the burgers.

We cooked up a pile of steak strips with a garlic butter sauce to dip it in, we decided to keep it nice and simple since we didn’t want to end up ruining the meat by experimenting too much with it.

And finally, I made some Sri Lankan-style rolls. I used a spicy, stir-fried minced mutton for the filling, rolled up in a thin pancake, which I then coated in bread crumbs and deep-fried. It’s a snack my mother used to make in my past life.

Moving onto drinks, we made a couple of large pitchers of refreshing fruit juice, a mix of apple, kiwi and passionfruit, with sparkling water, mint leaves and crushed ice. Should make for a nice mixer to go with the vodka Jaden brought.

Last but not least, dessert.

Aria baked a red velvet cake with three layers, with white chocolate cream in between the layers and a sweetened dark chocolate icing around it, with a rich strawberry puree on top.

And I made a custard pudding mixed with a ton of various fruit chunks, including grape, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, mango and peach, topped off with whipped cream.

We’d just started eating a few minutes ago, and also poured ourselves some of the alcohol. Aria and I poured the booze and juice in separate glasses for ourselves, while the others mixed them.

To me, alcohol tastes bad no matter what, so mixing it would just ruin the juice for me. Aria’s got the same taste when it comes to booze, so if we’re drinking, we just have it straight instead of mixing it with something else, since it tastes bad either way.

Instead, we take a sip of the alcohol and then wash it down with the juice afterwards.

"Feel like I could eat this forever. But it feels like my stomach will soon disagree with that notion, so...," Trailed off Ciel, before picking up a joint and adding, "Let’s get stoned! Getting the munchies should help me keep eating beyond my limit!"