Chapter 12
1.
On the way to Ariel Plaza by carriage.
Doloris's definition of “it won't take long” was.
A story optimized for this world to an almost absurd degree.
I had prepared myself for about an hour, only to suffer through three and a half hours of carriage sickness.
I feel like I'm going to die. This is too much.
“Hey, are you all right?”
“No.”
Doloris asked because my expression looked absolutely terrible.
“Heehee, you can't ride in a carriage.”
She grinned, showing her small, pointed teeth as though she'd discovered my weakness.
This little brat… But she was right about my weakness, so I had nothing to say.
I don't want to ride in a carriage ever again.
Should I make some kind of transportation method or something?
Just as I was lost in thought about whether the Descendant of Fire manual contained instructions for making a car.
- Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the carriage window.
Had we reached the city entrance already? A soldier in armor was visible through the window.
His armor bore the emblem of a golden lion. It looked like an inspection.
A truly textbook scene from a fantasy world.
Now that this was happening, my heart was pounding again.
“Identification….”
The soldier began to continue, then stopped.
It seemed his eyes had met Doloris's inside the carriage.
“Your Grace.”
“Hello.”
Doloris gave him a light smile.
The soldier straightened his posture, then saluted politely.
“You have been verified. I grant you passage.”
The soldier placed a fist against his chest and saluted.
“Glory to the Empire.”
Doloris accepted it with a slight bow of her head.
“Glory.”
That procedure was incredibly fast.
Even the angle of his salute was perfectly precise. Doloris really did seem to be famous.
If people didn't know the face of the ruler of Floor 5 and a high-ranker, that would probably be stranger.
It struck me anew how significant it was that Doloris had taken me in and was raising me.
It could also mean that I was worth that much, though.
The carriage traveled a little farther before stopping at the entrance to a broad plaza.
“Let's get out here.”
Doloris got out first.
Ruby followed, and I stepped out last.
“……”
What was this?
The ground beneath my feet was stone—paving slabs.
The floor was neatly laid in alternating white and gray. Since I'd been standing on an unpaved road until just now—no, until three and a half hours ago—the difference felt enormous.
And when I raised my head.
“Wow.”
There were people in every direction.
People in armor, and robed mages.
Merchant wagons piled high with luggage, voices calling out to customers, and the smell of meat grilling.
It all entered my eyes and rushed into my nose at once.
[Ariel Plaza. Resident population: 200,000; 300,000 including transients?]
[Oppa, close your mouth. You look like a country bumpkin.]
Oh. Right.
This is practically Shibuya.
Ruby didn't seem particularly impressed. She calmly walked along, clutching the folds of Doloris's skirt.
She must come here often.
I'm genuinely amazed, though.
There are only a few places like this in the world I used to live in. No, actually, there weren't any.
If there are 300,000 people… it must be enormous, too.
Doloris turned to look at me as she walked.
“We're going to Arms Street. Follow me.”
I nodded and followed the two of them.
Just then.
“Ruby.”
Doloris stopped walking and looked down at Ruby with a smile.
“Would you like to hold hands?”
Ruby's eyes widened.
“…Okay.”
Her small hand rose and took Doloris's hand.
After Ruby grasped it, her eyes slowly grew wider, and then.
“It's warm….”
“Yes, it's warm, isn't it?”
Doloris gently enclosed Ruby's hand in hers.
Then she looked back at me.
“I couldn't hold her hand before.”
“……”
“My hands were so cold that Ruby would be startled, you see.”
Nine-Yin Blocked Meridians.
Doloris's hands had been cold enough to freeze frost.
Even with gloves on, they must have been just as cold.
“But they're fine now.”
Come to think of it, I don't think I'd ever seen Ruby hold Doloris's hand while they walked.
She always held on to her skirt.
Doloris slightly raised her gloved hand.
“Thanks to you.”
“……For what?”
Ruby tightly gripped Doloris's hand with both of hers, as though afraid of losing it.
Just then.
- Swish.
Doloris's other hand waved toward me.
“……….”
- Swish.
Once more.
“…Me?”
“You might get lost in a crowd.”
“……”
“Your hand.”
Resistance was meaningless. Not in front of Doloris.
I carefully took her hand.
It was a small hand, but it felt large, perhaps because my own hand was even smaller.
And it was warm.
Though I couldn't touch her bare skin through the glove, I could definitely feel it.
This is kind of satisfying, huh.
I almost kneaded it instinctively, but held myself back.
Ruby on her left, me on her right.
The three of us walked through the crowd.
“……”
I was beginning to feel people's eyes on us.
At first, I thought I was imagining it. With so many people around, it was only natural for our eyes to meet.
But no. They were definitely looking in our direction.
More precisely, at Doloris.
A passing merchant turned his head, and two men standing in front of a street stall whispered to each other.
A robed woman recognized Doloris, then nudged her companion with her elbow.
“…Isn't that the Duchess?”
“Huh? It really is.”
Come to think of it, it probably wasn't common for a noble—and a duchess at that—to walk openly through the streets alone.
At least, judging by my limited knowledge of web novels.
Nobles either didn't even get out of their carriages or brought along a huge entourage of guards. It was usually one or the other.
But this woman had no guards…
Ah, wait. She doesn't need guards.
I don't know how strong she is, but she is a high-ranker, after all.
“Ruby, do you want to try that?”
“Yes.”
The person in question didn't seem to care in the slightest.
Either way.
Doloris bought Ruby and me chicken skewers.
Red sauce got on the corners of Ruby's mouth.
Then, when we turned down an alley.
- Clang. Clang. Clang.
We heard the regular sound of metal being struck.
From several places, each with its own different rhythm.
“Arms Street.”
Doloris said it in a low voice.
This seemed to be a street for blacksmiths.
But what I found strange was.
‘Hadn't most of the blacksmiths disappeared?’
[Humans are different.]
[They were always around. It's just that… after the Tower appeared, the gap became so enormous that they were left behind.]
[There are plenty of humans who make it their livelihood, but the best you can expect is equipment on the level of ordinary soldiers' gear?]
So that was about the level of it.
The sound of the hammers was pretty nice. Maybe blacksmithing really suits me.
Thinking that this was what I'd be doing from now on, I found myself smiling.
Yeah, a person should use their body. What kind of white-collar job is that?
I'll be forging my body in hot lava, so you guys can….
As I stood there blankly for a moment.
Doloris smiled sweetly and stroked my head.
“I should have brought you here sooner.”
“…Pardon?”
“Your expression has visibly brightened.”
Heh.
As if that could be true.
She had clearly mistaken my hollow laugh for something else.
We walked farther into Arms Street.
Among the shops lining both sides of the street, one place stood out in particular.
A building with a glowing sign. It was quite large.
This isn't a metaphor. It was literally glowing.
The letters were surrounded by blue light within a gold-leaf border.
It looked to be about four stories tall.
‘Egir.’
Amazingly.
I could read the letters on the sign, but I didn't know what they meant.
[It means “noble flame.”]
[I think it's an ancient language.]
It did look pretty cool.
I didn't know whether full-length glass windows existed in the medieval era, but through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see inside.
Every piece of equipment on display was shining.
There were quite a few customers, too.
Naturally, I assumed we were headed there. It suited Doloris.
But she passed by without even looking at it.
“……?”
We passed Egir, turned down another alley, and reached the opposite side.
The street grew narrower, and the light from the signs disappeared. That was where.
Doloris stopped in front of a shop.
“Here we are.”
It was shabby.
The sign was nothing more than letters carved into a wooden plank.
Through the window, I could see shabby equipment. Compared to the shop we'd just passed, the exterior wasn't even in the same league.
Wow, this is actually more my style.
You know how it is. A fortuitous encounter in a shabby place.
I like that kind of thing.
Could Doloris have planned this? As expected, her instincts were incredible….
“Lionel?”
“Yes.”
“That's not it.”
“…Huh?”
Doloris tilted her head slightly and pointed across the street.
“Over there.”
Across the street stood a relatively well-maintained shop.
It had a proper sign, and the sound of hammers came from inside. It was a decent size, too.
Pretty ordinary.
“……”
There was no fortuitous encounter.
We went straight inside.
Ding.
The bell attached to the door rang, and.
“Welco—”
The man who raised his head behind the counter stopped speaking.
He was a middle-aged man with a particularly impressive mustache. His apron was stained with soot.
“…Your Grace!”
“It's been a while, Henrik.”
Doloris greeted him naturally.
The man called Henrik hesitated for a moment, then bowed at the waist respectfully.
“There are so many other places, yet you always come here….”
“Because it's comfortable.”
In the meantime, a woman came out from the back.
She was a middle-aged woman around Henrik's age, holding something wrapped in cloth.
“Your Grace….”
She bowed her head as well.
“Oh my, Lady Ruby came too?”
Her face brightened the moment she saw Ruby.
When the little girl gave a small bow, the woman took a piece of candy from beneath the counter and placed it in Ruby's hand.
“Thank youuu….”
“No need to thank me.”
So this was a place they came to often.
I could tell from how naturally Ruby accepted the candy.
Then the woman's gaze turned to me.
“Oh my, and who is this little gentleman?”
“A new member of the family. He'll be living with us from now on.”
Doloris answered calmly, but.
A new member of the family.
I was deeply moved by how wonderful it sounded.
“I'm Lionel.”
The woman looked me up and down, then her eyes grew round.
“Goodness, what a handsome boy.”
Another piece of candy emerged from beneath the table.
“I'm fine, thank you.”
I need to manage my blood sugar in advance, after all.
The rejected candy was ultimately sucked into Ruby's pocket.
“Has anything happened?”
“Thanks to you always supplying us with… such excellent goods….”
Supplying goods.
It seemed Doloris was pulling some strings in the distribution process for their goods.
Was she drawing equipment out of the Tower? Something from Floor 5, perhaps.
I didn't know the details.
Doloris chuckled and stroked Ruby's and my heads.
“The hammer I bought last time. I need something better than that. Do you have anything?”
Henrik's eyes widened slightly.
So this really was where she'd bought it.
Come to think of it, it was strange that a shop this size had possessed something as monstrous as that hammer. But if she was involved in its distribution, it made sense.
“Better than that?”
“Yes.”
Doloris pointed at me.
“This boy will be using it.”
“So that's why you had the weight-reduction magic….”
The man called Henrik rested a hand on his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
It seemed best for me to speak up here.
To clarify that I needed a forging hammer, not a combat one.
“I need a forging hammer.”
“Yes, that's right. A forging hammer.”
Doloris stroked my head.
“Ah… So it was a forging hammer.”
Henrik let out a small, helpless laugh.
I understood what the laughter meant.
“Yes, we have several kinds of forging hammers. However….”
Henrik suddenly walked around the counter toward the back.
There had been a metal door that caught my eye earlier. When he flung it open.
A little dust rose into the air, and.
Inside, countless hammers hung from the walls.
They filled the walls, each one different in size and shape.
“Forging hammers aren't very popular, as you can see. We have plenty in stock, but….”
Henrik scratched his head.
“They're not exactly organized. It may take some time to sort them and check their condition.”
Then he looked down at me for a moment and added.
“And this is merely an aside based on my limited knowledge, but.”
“Yes.”
“It would be best for you to hold the forging hammers yourself.”
Doloris smiled faintly when she heard that.
“Could you give us some time?”
Henrik looked at me with fiercely shining eyes.
He gazed at me.