"What is this?" Leonard took the pendant and examined it carefully.
"Itâs a storage space," Suzy explained simply.
"...What?" He blinked, clearly not processing it. "What did you just say?"
"I saidâitâs a storage space," she repeated with a small smile.
This time, she noticed itâhis hand, holding the pendant, began to tremble.
"S-storage space?!" Leonard sucked in a sharp breath, his gaze snapping back to the crystal.
"Youâre telling me... this thing Iâm holdingâis a magical space?!"
"Yep. Something like that." Suzy nodded, still sporting a completely calm expression.
By now, Leonard already had a basic understanding of what that meant.
Ever since he learned about Suzyâs ability, heâd gone down a rabbit hole of post-apocalyptic novels, learning all about storage spaces and their uses.
Heâd envied it more than onceâquietly, under his blankets, of course.
And now, Suzy had just handed one to him.
It felt unreal. He didnât know what to make of it.
"Th-this..." He swallowed hard. "Suzy... where did this even come from?"
"Donât worry about that," she waved it off. "Try it first!"
She was honestly a little excited tooâmostly to see his reaction.
"...Alright." Leonard nodded, but his hand was still shaking uncontrollably.
He was more excited than when closing multi-million deals.
A storage space. An actual storage space.
Something straight out of fantasyâand now it was his.
For a moment, he even wondered if Suzy was teasing him. But knowing her, she wouldnât joke about something like this.
"Uncle?" Suzy prompted. "Are you still with me?"
He snapped out of it and looked at her. "How... how do I use it?"
"Iâm not totally sure either," she admitted with a shrug. "But try thisâhold the pendant in one hand, and touch something with the other."
She pushed the plate of fruit toward him. "Then think about âstoring itâ in your mind. See if it works."
Leonard followed her instructions.
Left hand gripping the pendant.
Right hand touching the plate.
Store.
In the next instant, the plate of fruit vanished before their eyes.
Suzyâs eyes lit up.
It worked!
And Leonard was completely frozen.
Stunned, even.
He had seen Suzy use her space countless times beforeâwatched objects appear and disappear like magic.
But experiencing it himself? That was something else entirely.
It was unbelievable.
"Uncle... are you okay?" Suzy asked.
Leonard blinked slowly, the shock on his face melting into pure exhilaration.
"Suzy! Itâit really disappeared!!" he said, his voice shaking. "Itâs freaking amazing!"
She laughed. "Yep. I saw. It worked."
"This is incredible..." He looked down at his hands, still in disbelief. "I can actually feel it... like thereâs a space inside my mind now..."
He paused, struggling to describe it.
There werenât words for something like thisâonly the overwhelming sense that his entire world had just changed.
It was surreal.
Not only thatâLeonard could actually
feel
it.
He could sense the plate inside the space. Its exact position. The remaining capacity. The boundaries.
Everything was crystal clear.
"Uncle, try a few more times," Suzy suggested. "It gets better with practice."
Like a child who had just discovered a brand-new toy, Leonard eagerly began experimenting.
"Alright, let me try."
The moment he said it, the dining table in front of them vanished.
Gone.
Suzy had been leaning on itâshe nearly pitched forward.
"Whoaâ!"
She caught herself just in time, steadying her balance, though her heart skipped a beat.
"Uncle... that was a bit much," she said, forcing a smile as she took a breath.
Leonard gave an awkward laugh. "Sorry... I got carried away."
She waved it off. "Itâs fine. Now try taking it out. Just think about releasing it from the space."
Leonard nodded.
"Release!"
He actually said it out loud.
The next second, the table reappeared. Right where it had been.
Leonardâs eyes lit up. "Suzy! Lookâitâs back!!"
At this point, he looked exactly like someone who had just discovered a hidden feature in a toy.
Suzy couldnât help but laugh. "Not bad, Uncle. Youâve already got the hang of it."
"Good stuff." He gave a thumbs-up.
"Alright, I think thatâs enough. You might get carried away once more if you continue. Letâs eat first," she said. "The foodâs getting cold."
"Right."
He agreedâbut his expression clearly showed his mind was elsewhere.
"After we eat," Suzy added, "Iâll prepare some supplies for you to carry."
Now that he had a portable space, it only made sense.
Weapons. Medicine. Food. Clothes for all seasons.
If anything happened and they got separated, heâd still be able to take care of himself.
She was already mentally listing what to give himâuseful, but not excessive.
After all, his space was only a hundred square meters.
It was nothing compared to hers.
They both ate absentmindedly, finishing the meal quickly.
Afterward, Leonard shooed her into the living room and stayed behind to clean up.
Ten minutes later, he stepped outâand froze.
"Suzy... what is all this?"
The living room... Was already packed.
It was completely filled with supplies she had pulled from her space.
Two large universal medical kits.
Five different bladesâlong knives, short knives, daggers.
A whole crate of still-warm boxed meals, the aroma filling the air.
And then... He blinked.
Wait.
...What?
Right there, on the coffee table, lay two machine guns, two pistols, and piles of ammunition, neatly arranged.
The scene reminded him of the old-school gangster movies.
Leonard stared, genuinely questioning his own sanity.
Where the hell did she even get these?!
"Ah, Uncleâyouâre here." Suzy snapped out of her thoughts and waved him over.
Leonard looked from the mountain of supplies... back to her, still not able to process everything that was happening.
His lips twitched slightly.
"Suzy... this is...?"
"Come take a look," she said with a strangely calm smile. "This is the gear I prepared for you. Iâd like you to have this just in case. Better prepared than sorry."
"...Gear?"
He stared at her, bewildered.
For a second, he almost thought that she was kicking him out of the safehouse. After all, why would she get him so many guns?!