Chapter 20
1.
This is more than just dopamine.
This is what dopamine feels like.
A sort of escape act, with my remaining five years of freedom to choose my bedtime on the line.
If I get caught, I’m grounded.
- Creak.
Before I knew it, I had carefully grabbed the repaired doorknob and closed the door.
The result—success.
The only person I encountered while passing through was a servant mowing the lawn.
They were so focused on their work that they didn’t even look my way.
“……”
I looked around inside the workshop.
Actually, I had never even lit the forge, and the pouch of enchantment powder I had used yesterday was still sitting on the workbench.
Two hammers lay beside it.
The thing was, I had come to the workshop, but.
That was only because I had rushed over in a moment of passion.
I looked down at my right hand.
“…Oof.”
With it swollen this badly.
It was true that doing anything would be difficult.
Maybe because it was a child’s body, but it was definitely vulnerable to stimulation.
I had to consider it a weak little body.
Still, there was no need to worry. I had plenty to do.
It was just difficult to bring the hammer down.
It looked sufficient to operate our thirty-thousand-gold forge.
I had already learned the usual method of using a forge from the manuals.
I had already studied plenty of the theory. That was the point.
In that case….
All right, then. What exactly is metallurgy?
Metallurgy is one massive act of perversion.
To put it simply.
You break ore, melt it, extract the metal, mix the metals to create an alloy, make ingots, heat and melt them according to the situation and their intended use, hammer the heated ingots and forge them into shape, quench them to cool them, and finish.
It looks fairly easy when written out.
In practice, it didn’t seem like a particularly difficult process.
You just had to make one mistake and end up with your hands roasted like Frankfurter sausages.
One thing I had realized here was.
What was the part where Sun Dwarves differed qualitatively from everyone else in metallurgy?
“This is fine dining.”
I had three blacksmith manuals in total.
The Forest Fairies, the Frostbite Tribe, and the Sun Dwarves.
The first seemed to specialize in craftsmanship.
The middle one was specialized in mining itself.
But the Sun Dwarves’ tenacity and obsession at every single stage were no joke.
Those minute differences came together to create value.
Like fine dining.
Let’s take an example.
Why don’t we start with the ore?
Normally, you needed a forge with a considerably powerful flame to melt ordinary ore.
The best option was a blast furnace.
But this forge seemed to be modeled after something resembling a blast furnace.
I didn’t know that. I originally thought this could do everything.
This forge could smelt ore and melt ingots, but….
Apparently, you did need a blast furnace as the stages advanced.
That was why I was going to have to ask Maman to buy me a blast furnace later.
But I felt a little self-conscious, so I was considering selling the gloves and using that money to buy one.
I reached into the basket of ore Doloris had prepared and tried to take one out.
But then.
“…Huh?”
There weren’t any ore in the basket.
There were already-made ingots.
In other words, ones that had skipped an entire series of processes.
“Hmm….”
I don’t like this.
Sun Dwarf-level attention to detail started with melting ore and making ingots.
Using fine dining as an example, it was like suddenly taking out frozen dumplings.
No matter how well you grilled them or how good the sauce was, they were still frozen dumplings.
Just as I had done various things with leather, dwarves started from that point.
Because ingots were items with enormous differences in quality.
It wasn’t simply a matter of melting metal and letting it harden.
Their grade depended on what was mixed in, how evenly it was mixed, and how many impurities there were.
And you had to make different ingots for each piece of equipment.
Just as I was feeling disappointed in various ways.
Something appeared before my eyes.
─────────────────
[Iron Ingot] [General-Purpose]
─────────────────
[Composition]
[Iron] [96.30%]
[Carbon] [2.85%]
[Sulfur] [0.42%]
[Phosphorus] [0.28%]
[Stone Powder] [0.15%]
─────────────────
[Quality]
[Homogeneity] [C]
[Density] [C]
─────────────────
[Assessment]
Mass-produced ingot made through a standardized process.
A typical low-cost ingot with only its iron content increased. Unsuitable for forming.
─────────────────
Apparently, ingots also had their condition displayed, just like equipment.
Was that only natural because I was a blacksmith?
Actually, rather than marveling at this new ability.
“Ah, this is annoying.”
- Tap, tap, tap.
I tapped the ground with one foot, my face filled with discontent.
Could this trash really be called an ingot?
For the past week, I had done nothing but look at the Sun Dwarves’ perverse ingots and process manuals every day.
In other words, I had spent an absurd amount of time doing metallurgy in my imagination.
I had never even considered using a pathetic ingot like this.
Me? Use an ingot this pathetic? Why?
I’m a Sun Dwarf.
The strength suddenly drained from my arm.
The carbon ratio was too high, so it would crack if handled incorrectly.
And because impurities had entered while increasing the iron content, its density was poor as well.
Sigh….
Steam was rising from my forehead, but I would rather duplicate a hundred +20 work gloves than use this garbage.
Seriously.
For now, I decided to deny reality.
“You’re not an ingot anymore. You’re a mineral.”
I would approach the ingot as though it were a mineral.
Actually, from its perspective, being reborn would probably be better too.
Let’s begin metallurgy image training, evolved one step beyond notebook metallurgy.
I tried imagining lighting the forge.
I tossed the charcoal beside me inside.
Now, I use kindling to light the charcoal.
Of course, I wasn’t actually planning to light it right now.
“Ah~ Should I light it~?”
[Roaring flames~]
Yuna took the place of the forge.
Good.
Let’s assume the charcoal had caught fire.
Once the inside had heated up a little.
Right now.
- Slide….
I slowly pushed the mineral—the ingot—inside.
I gently placed the ore on top of the charcoal. Normally, you would break and crush the ore before putting it in.
But I’d skip that process for now. I was learning how to operate the forge.
Let’s assume the charcoal had caught fire.
The ore was placed on top.
From this point on, what I had to do was raise the heat like crazy.
Ordinary charcoal fire only consumed the oxygen in the air. That made it difficult to grow hotter beyond a certain point.
So, then.
At that exact moment, I pushed air into the charcoal fire so that the charcoal would consume more oxygen.
So that it would burn more fiercely.
That was bellows work.
In the Sun Dwarf manual, this was a remarkably convenient process that could be handled by pressing a single button.
This part was free effort.
“Hehe.”
But.
Where was the button?
“……”
Just as I was looking around and searching.
There was a suspicious-looking metal pedal below.
It looked like the accelerator pedal of a car.
“……”
No way.
Could it be?
Unable to resist my curiosity, I lightly pressed it with my foot.
- Squeeeeeeeak….
Holy shit, this is fucking hard.
It was so heavy that I had to put my entire body weight into pressing it.
A thirteen-year-old baby couldn’t handle it.
I put more strength into it and stomped down hard.
Then.
- Whoooooosh…!
Powder clinging to the surface of the charcoal flew away.
Fuck.
[Whoosh!]
Whoosh?
Then that meant the fire had caught.
Was this really bellows work?
“Haaaaaah!”
I stepped on the pedal once more.
- Whoooooosh!
[Fwooooooosh~~!]
Ah….
The bellows work in my memories had been.
You pressed the W button, and a sheep-like character breathed a cone-shaped flame from its mouth.
Then you brought down the hammer with a clang!
“Haaah….”
This is exhausting.
I only stepped on it about three times, but all my strength was gone.
- Squeeeeeeeak….
[Fwoosh]
- Squeeeeeeeak….
[Oppa, you stepped on it too much, so the fire is escaping outside]
“Thanks….”
[That’s awesome]
I almost wished it would all just burn up.
After struggling with the bellows a few more times.
The strength left my body.
“Wow… is this really how you do it?”
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and half-sat on a chair.
There was one thing I had overlooked.
Sun Dwarf technology was cutting-edge within their worldview.
And the forges used by humans in the Outer Tower and such were incredibly outdated.
Should I at least apply some grease?
It didn’t seem like something that could be solved with that.
“……”
A sudden, ominous thought occurred to me.
I’m not going to have to build a dwarf-grade forge, am I?
Please.
Actually, that was my field.
Mechanical engineering….
Sweating profusely, I pushed all my hair back.
I thought I more or less understood how to use the forge.
Everything I was doing was for Doloris anyway.
Of all her equipment that I had observed so far, the only thing I knew was Gorgon’s White Gauntlet.
It seemed like I should start replacing the rest of her equipment soon.
But judging by the situation, metallurgy would need a little more time.
The gloves were done.
“What’s left is clothing….”
Shoes, pants, tops, and so on.
Or maybe….
One thing came to mind.
‘Underwear.’
I closed my eyes.
Actually, it was the most intuitive choice.
It stayed against the body for the longest time.
It was put on first.
And it didn’t seem too difficult to make.
This was seriously fucking absurd.
“I can’t just strip her outright….”
Based on what I had confirmed so far.
It seemed that detailed information only appeared when I directly saw her equipment with my own eyes.
As if to prove it, every slot in her equipment window except the glove slot was blacked out.
Right. Let’s put underwear aside for now.
Let’s consider that one a pass and look for the next target.
I kept turning things over in my head.
Shoes. Maybe shoes really were the best option….
“What do you want to strip off?”
“The feet, for starters….”
Huh.
My body froze in place.
Yuna, was that you?
Let’s refrain from jokes like that between family.
[…….]
Don’t do this.
Then who had I been talking to?
When I stood there frozen like a mouse in front of a cat, unable to do anything.
“The feet?”
Once again.
A voice came from behind me.
“……”
I slowly turned my head.
There, leaning her upper body against the inner windowsill of the workshop.
Doloris was looking at me, her body resting against the wide-open window.
Her smile was still gentle.
How long had she been there?
When I was complaining about the ingot?
Since I started cursing and stepping on the pedal?
No, what did any of that matter?
I had just said I was going to strip something.
I didn’t know about anything else, but thankfully, I hadn’t mentioned the subject.
“Lionel~”
Doloris smoothly swung herself over the windowsill.
She slowly approached me.
“What exactly were you planning to strip?”
She gently lifted me into her arms and dabbed my forehead with a handkerchief.
Since I had risen about 1.5 meters into the air, escape was no longer an option.
“The feet, I was going to strip the feet….”
“Whose feet?”
“……”
All right.
There were two possibilities.
I could lie, get caught by her ability, and be forced to spit out the truth.
Or I could simply confess the truth.
Since the latter was inevitable anyway, the former would only be a process of taking needless damage.
“L-L-Lady Doloris….”
In the end, I told her the truth.
Doloris kept smiling as she wiped the sweat from my forehead.
What was going to happen now?
Just as I was nervously waiting.
She simply gazed calmly at my face, then.
- Smooch.
She kissed my forehead.
“Lionel, how can you work this hard….”
And embraced me.
I stared at her in confusion.
Then I nestled into her arms.
2.
Doloris quietly followed behind Lionel.
When Lionel slipped out of the estate and crossed the garden.
When he carefully opened the workshop door and went inside.
Doloris followed exactly ten steps behind him without making a sound.
- Pat, pat.
The way his back looked around, checking his surroundings before scampering inside, was so adorable that she nearly forgot why she had come to catch him.
Once the workshop door closed.
Doloris completely erased her presence and circled around to the back.
- Sliiip….
There was an open window at the back of the workshop.
She completely suppressed her presence and rested her upper body on the windowsill.
She had a clear view inside.
“……”
With his back turned, Lionel picked up an ingot from the basket.
“…Hmm.”
He let out a sigh, apparently dissatisfied with something.
He seemed to be muttering, too.
‘Adorable.’
Doloris began taking mental notes.
‘He doesn’t like the ingots. I should replace them.’
Just then.
Lionel suddenly pointed at the ingot with one finger.
“You’re not an ingot anymore. You’re a mineral.”
“……?”
He shouted it in a rather sharp tone.
Then he suddenly began humming again, tossed a few pieces of charcoal into the forge, and.
“Ah~ Should I light it~?”
He picked up the ingot and placed it in the forge.
“……”
So he was practicing something.
What Doloris realized at that moment was something else entirely.
Lionel.
He was carefully performing every process using only the hand opposite the one she had applied medicine to.
- I mustn’t use this hand.
Because she had told him not to, he truly wasn’t touching anything with his injured hand.
But even though she had told him not to.
Perhaps he couldn’t feel at ease; despite his body hurting, he had come all the way out here to work this hard.
Something warm welled up in Doloris’s heart.
‘Why is he working so hard….’
He could just rest.
Then.
Lionel stepped on the pedal.
- Squeeeeeeeak!
“Hnnngh!”
- Squeeeeeeeak!
“Gaaaaah!”
With his tiny feet, he pressed down as hard as he could on a pedal that looked far too difficult for him.
He was practicing how to operate the forge.
She wanted to go over right away and press the pedal for him.
But judging by Lionel’s personality so far, he seemed to prefer doing things on his own.
After stepping on it several times in succession.
“Wow… is this really how you do it?”
Apparently exhausted, Lionel slumped onto the chair and wiped away his sweat.
‘Poor thing.’
He was pitiful.
The sight of him panting and wiping his forehead was pitiful.
Watching his small shoulders rise and fall made something well up inside Doloris’s heart.
Just then.
“What’s left is clothing….”
Lionel muttered something.
“I can’t just strip her outright….”
Strip her? Strip….
Clothing?
Doloris’s eyes widened.
Could it be that everything Lionel was doing right now was….
She hurriedly asked.
“What do you want to strip off?”
“The feet, for starters….”
At the voice that came from somewhere, the child’s body froze.
She hadn’t meant to startle him, so she quickly entered the workshop.
“Lionel~”
She called his name in a gentle voice.
“What exactly were you planning to strip?”
She immediately lifted Lionel up and.
Wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“The feet, I was going to strip the feet….”
“Whose feet?”
“……”
Lionel squeezed his eyes shut and thought about it, then.
Slowly opened his mouth.
“L-L-Lady Doloris….”
“……”
- Thump, thump.
The truth of what her ears were telling her was.
It was the truth.
Lionel had dragged his aching body all the way to the workshop.
And what he was doing without using that injured body was making equipment for Doloris.
How could someone even think of doing this?
- Smooch.
Doloris kissed Lionel on the forehead.
“Lionel, how can you work this hard….”
She buried her face in his shoulder and stroked his back.
She wanted to say more, but no words came out.
Something had caught in her throat.
She had never imagined that even if she received someone’s blind affection.
That person would be a thirteen-year-old child.
She stroked Lionel’s head repeatedly.
“Thank you….”
There was nothing she could say except thank you.
“Haha….”
Reading the mood, Lionel fidgeted in her arms.
Then.
“Um… Lady Doloris.”
“Yes?”
She lowered Lionel slightly in her arms and met his eyes.
“Um, by any chance… do you have any ore?”
“I do. I’ll make absolutely sure to prepare some for you.”
Lionel’s body flinched, and his expression brightened slightly.
‘This child is happy about things like this.’
Doloris took in that expression and smiled gently.
“Do you happen to have any lubricant?”
“I do. I’ll make absolutely sure to apply some.”
“Hehe.”
He likes that too.
Doloris let out a small laugh.
What a child, reacting to such trivial things.
She was already turning over in her head what she should prepare for him next.
Then Lionel carefully added one more thing.
“Um, it’s daytime now, so… what you said earlier, that was okay, right?”
What she had said earlier.
Ah.
“……”
Doloris looked at Lionel for a moment.
Then she smiled gently.
“No.”
Whether it was night or day.
He had been caught, so there was nothing she could do.
“A promise is a promise.”
Especially after seeing him like this just now.
Doloris couldn’t let Lionel out of her sight anymore. Even more than before.
“Yes…?”
Lionel’s face stiffened.
Doloris stroked his head once more.
“From today onward, let’s stay together.”
“……”
That afternoon.
The bed in Lionel’s room had disappeared somewhere.
---
The bed in Lionel’s room had disappeared somewhere—or other.