Chapter 6
1.
Early in the morning.
I practiced Light Magic again, feeling like I was scratching a lottery ticket.
“Moon… Moon… Please let me use magic….”
Ah, unfortunately, it seemed I had no talent for magic.
After roughly an hour, I went outside.
The sun had risen before I knew it.
I had left the leather soaking in water overnight, but….
Perhaps I should say I hadn't had high hopes.
The leather I had tanned was spotted-cow hide,
and it was much tougher than it looked.
So I hadn't expected it to work overnight, but.
“Huh?”
Splash.
The hide I took out of the water had a smooth surface, but its grain remained.
It had almost no grease or smell, either.
It felt like it would become soft and fluffy as soon as it dried a little.
It was even supple.
This, this was the fairy race's philosophy at work.
I immediately hung the hides outside.
The sun was blazing, so they seemed like they would dry quickly.
“Is it okay to dry them outside?”
[It's actually recommended.]
Good.
Then what should I do with the time I had left?
Yesterday, just in case, I hadn't put all the leather in the water.
I didn't know what would happen if I soaked it all, so I couldn't put everything in.
In the end, there was one hide I'd only pounded like crazy.
I would make a pair of gloves with this first.
The soft, fluffy leather would be ready soon anyway.
It would serve as a sort of practice piece—a test subject.
“All right… shall we begin?”
I spread out the partially tanned hide.
It was a pitiful mess, though.
The parts where the grease had not been removed were shiny, while the scraped parts were thin.
Well, it was only for practice.
I had never intended to make perfect gloves out of this.
I was learning the feel of working with my hands.
[Leatherworking]
The core of dwarven leatherworking was cutting and sewing.
“Want to see it?”
I brought up the manual.
And then.
I concentrated.
How much time had passed?
- Prick.
“Ow.”
A bead of blood formed on my finger.
I must have accidentally stuck myself with the needle. I had to watch out for tetanus… but, well, it would be unfortunate if I caught it.
I raised my head and looked outside.
“……?”
The sun was already high overhead?
The only way to tell the time in this world was by the sun's position.
[3:00 p.m.]
“What are you talking about? How do you know?”
[I checked the time using the Inner Tower Community's built-in clock?]
If you knew that, you should have told me sooner.
“……Anyway, how long did I work?”
I had pretty good concentration.
I tended to win through sheer stubbornness about staying put.
[Eight hours.]
[Good work.]
What do you mean, good work….
“Whew, I almost missed dinner.”
And in my hands.
There lay a pair of gloves that were just about finished.
“……Then, shall we go?”
My opinion was simple.
What I could see looked more like a leather pouch than a glove.
You can't expect to be full after your first bite.
“Throw it away, throw it away. No, wait. Give it to Eric. Give it to Eric.”
I had worked hard, but the leather had been strange in several ways, so it hadn't gone well.
Let's give the attempt itself some meaning.
It looked like it would fit Eric's chubby hands well.
Still, I had to finish it properly.
The final step in making the gloves was to stand beneath the sun and let them absorb its light for thirty minutes.
Apparently, that was to imbue them with the sun's energy.
It made sense, considering they were called Sun Dwarves.
I took the gloves outside.
Under the blazing sunlight, I held the gloves open.
Thirty minutes.
I only had to stand there, so it was the easiest step.
As I stood there blankly.
- Sizzle….
“Huh?”
A black pattern began to appear on the bottom of the leather pouch—or rather, the glove.
A sun-shaped design slowly became embossed in the leather.
[Only elite blacksmiths, the descendants of fire, can inscribe this mark.]
Yuna continued explaining.
[When you're an apprentice, the sun mark appears, and as your skill improves, the number of marks you can inscribe increases?]
[It seems you can customize them a little, too. Make them pretty.]
“…Really?”
That wasn't important right now.
I waited for the next window.
[Would you like to register it?]
“Huh?”
A window appeared before my eyes.
Blinking, I pressed Register.
─────────────────
[Apprentice Blacksmith's Greasy Gloves][☆☆☆☆☆]
[Compatibility][—/10]
─────────────────
【You can't expect to be full after your first bite.】
『Throw it away, throw it away. No, wait. Give it to Eric. Give it to Eric.』
- Civilian L -
─────────────────
The Compatibility value was blank because there was no wearer.
On top of that, the words I had said while making them had been engraved on the gloves exactly as spoken.
Civilian L. That had to be me, right?
Apparently, the maker's words were engraved on the equipment.
Was this what they called flavor text…? I think so.
Was there no privacy? Could something like that really be carved into the item?
I couldn't say anything anymore.
“Whatever.”
They were only practice gloves, anyway.
What mattered was what value they would show for Doloris.
“I'll register them.”
I registered the gloves before my eyes.
And pictured Doloris in my mind.
Her status window appeared, and the glove slot opened.
Doloris's gloves were still glowing white.
[Would you like to replace them?]
Yes.
Doloris's equipment changed to my leather gloves, and….
[Apprentice Blacksmith's Greasy Gloves][☆☆☆☆☆]
[Compatibility][2/10]
[The sun engraving slightly suppresses yin energy. However, the grease is unsuitable for the wearer's level.]
For starters.
Several things had changed.
First, the Compatibility had exceeded 2 for the first time.
The description itself was fairly positive, and considering that the grease was unavoidable since the hide hadn't even been properly tanned…?
I could feel it.
Quickly.
I hurried toward the leather I had hung out to dry.
However.
“…Huh?”
Someone had already gotten there first.
It was the child Doloris kept with her.
Ruby.
“Oh, hello.”
I greeted her and naturally headed toward the leather, but.
“…Hey.”
Our cute but idiotic little brat blocked my way.
Fortunately, I had successfully debuted as a blacksmith.
I was in a good mood, so I had the patience to deal with her.
“Why?”
“Is this yours?”
Ruby pointed at the leather I had hung up.
“Something like that.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
She gave me a wary look—the same look she'd had when she confiscated my candy.
I thought about it.
Would she report this to Doloris?
Whether she reported it or not, was there any reason to hide it?
Could Doloris have sent her?
Those thoughts flashed through my mind, but.
Doloris had told me not to lie, after all.
“The Duke looked cold.”
“…?”
“I thought I'd make her some gloves.”
“Ha!”
Ruby laughed as if she found it ridiculous, then began firing off words.
“Master wears an incredibly, incredibly good pair of gloves, okay? She'd never, ever wear something like the gloves you made, okay?”
“Yeah, I see.”
Judging by her reaction, she seemed to have come independently of Doloris.
I went past Ruby and headed toward the leather.
“Grr….”
When I ignored her, she puffed out her cheeks.
It was the reaction I had expected.
It would be nice if she went and told Doloris outright.
If Doloris knew in advance that I was doing something other than magic, explaining it later would be easier.
But apparently, her pride was stronger than I thought. Instead of going to Doloris, she followed me without saying a word.
Hmm, this was troublesome. I had no interest in looking after a child.
I stopped in front of my room.
I had no intention of showing her the crafting process, so I turned around.
“Want me to tell you a secret?”
“……What?”
“I'm actually a Sun Dwarf.”
Somehow.
A descendant of fire, at that.
And then.
- Bang.
I shut the door.
- Grr? Grrr!!
I could hear Ruby getting angry outside, but.
‘It'd be nice if she went and told her. If not, whatever.’
I returned to my workbench.
And then.
I spread out the leather that had dried soft and fluffy.
It was completely different from the practice piece.
The grain was even and consistent, and it wasn't stiff when I bent it.
Now I simply had to repeat what I had done.
Tracing, cutting, and sewing.
Even the feel of the knife cutting through it was different.
- Creaaak….
- Squeak.
The thread passed through the hole.
“…Ow.”
I pricked my finger once.
Once was fine. I'd pricked it three times earlier.
This was growth, too.
Several hours later.
I stitched the final seam and lifted the gloves.
They were different from the potato pouch I'd made earlier. At least, they looked like gloves.
Only the final step remained.
I took the gloves outside. The sun was setting. I was cutting it close.
Before the sun went down.
I held the gloves open beneath the sunlight.
And then.
- Szzzt….
The engraving began to appear.
I had barely made it in time.
Perhaps because I had made a test piece, the second attempt was definitely easier.
Watching the gloves take shape, I felt proud….
Wait a moment.
I had to say something, didn't I?
If the maker's words were engraved like before, I should make them nice and clean this time.
This was my first proper piece of equipment, after all.
I had made it with care, thinking of Doloris.
Well, not exactly with care. I had made it because my position was in danger.
Anyway.
I cleared my throat and straightened my posture.
“Ahem, ahem. Ahem. Exceptionally fine leather gloves. Excellent insulation.”
Perfect. I could feel the dignity of a master artisan.
Here. Take these.
─────────────────
[Apprentice Blacksmith's Insulated Gloves][★☆☆☆☆]
[Unique Equipment]
[Compatibility][—/40]
─────────────────
『I made them with care, thinking of Doloris….』
- Apprentice Blacksmith L -
─────────────────
What the hell was this?
No, what the actual hell.
“Can you see all of this text?”
[It seems only a high-ranking appraiser can see it.]
[They said they'll print it out on an appraisal sheet.]
“Ha….”
I put a hand to my forehead.
Well, whatever….
Performance was what mattered.
As long as the performance was good.
The interesting thing was that earlier I had been Civilian L, but now I was Apprentice Blacksmith L.
I suppose that meant I had grown.
It was even Unique Equipment, the only one of its kind in the world.
I took a deep breath.
My heart began to pound.
This had to work.
I pictured Doloris in my mind.
Her status window appeared. The glove slot.
The five-star white glove was still glowing white.
[Would you like to replace it?]
“Yes.”
Doloris's equipment changed to my leather gloves again, and….
[Apprentice Blacksmith's Insulated Gloves][★☆☆☆☆]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility][33/40]
[The warming effect of the sun engraving suppresses the wearer's yin-energy amplification.]
[Symptoms of blocked meridians alleviated; opening of seven of the nine channels in progress.]
“……”
33.
I stared at the number.
One star. A one-star pair of insulated gloves had utterly crushed the Compatibility of the five-star white gloves.
That wasn't all.
The channels were opening. Not closing—opening.
The white gloves froze her and suppressed the progression while also progressing the closure, but this was the exact opposite.
Honestly, Doloris would know better than I did what was good.
“I did it.”
At least by my standards, it was a tremendous success.
Before I knew it, the day of the decisive battle was tomorrow.
“Ah….”
For the first time in a while, I felt like I could sleep soundly.
2.
Late afternoon.
The night before the promised day.
“Yes, and?”
“…For now, there were no signs of magic use.”
“Really?”
Doloris sipped her tea as she listened to the instructor's report.
She hadn't ordered him to do so, but the instructor had taken to reporting on the child first.
In the end, the report said that magic training was… questionable.
He had spent the week kneading leather and making strange gloves.
When Doloris said nothing, the instructor lowered his head and slowly left.
Elysia von Doloris.
She set down her teacup and thought.
“He seemed quick-witted.”
Had he simply been playing?
She hadn't expected him to be this surprising.
“I had my hopes up.”
She wasn't disappointed.
Disappointment was an emotion that followed expectations in the first place.
He seemed to have good eyes, but… there was no point if he neglected magic.
Unless he was a genius who didn't need practice.
She brushed back the hair fallen across sleeping Ruby's forehead and smiled faintly.
“I thought she might make a friend.”
What a shame.
2.
I couldn't sleep, either.
I even scratched the last lottery ticket of the morning.
“Moon….”
Of course, magic failed again today.
But my heart felt light.
Because I had a pair of gloves that looked fairly luxurious in my hands.
The strange thing about spotted-cow hide was that it turned black once tanning was complete.
The gloves I made were black, with gray sun engravings, and had a subtly handsome appearance.
Honestly, the leather was doing most of the work.
“Whew….”
Please, somehow, make this work.
It was the final supper. I was eating lunch.
“Thanks, Lionel.”
“…For what?”
“Good luck today.”
“…Thanks.”
Eric wore the gloves I'd given him and grinned.
Give them to Eric, give them to Eric—that was right. I really had decided to give them to him.
Apparently, he had been tending the ranch at night lately, and they kept his hands warm.
He seemed to have given up on magic and taken an interest in farm work instead.
They suited him surprisingly well. Potato gloves on chubby hands. A perfect match.
In the end, I left the dining hall without knowing whether the food had gone into my mouth or my nose.
“He says you should come after lunch.”
“Yes.”
The instructor was waiting. After hesitating for a moment, he asked.
“Did you… succeed at magic?”
Sorry, Instructor. It seemed there was no such thing as magic in this world.
“No.”
“……”
The instructor's expression hardened.
He had given me a week, and now I was saying my magic had failed.
“Do as you please.”
He left like that. The word disappointment might as well have been written across his back.
It was bitter, but results spoke louder than a hundred words.
I gripped the gloves in my arms.
- Knock knock.
I lightly knocked on the cabin door.
- Come in~
I slowly opened the door and went inside.
The fragrant scent of tea greeted me.
Doloris smiled brightly as she welcomed me.
“You're here. The air is nice, thanks to you… I've had a good week of healing.”
“I hope today's result will help you heal as well.”
“Hmm?”
When I spoke with unusual seriousness, Doloris's eyes opened slightly wider.
Then she tilted her head and smiled.
“But according to Ruby.”
Doloris slowly swirled her teacup.
“You didn't practice magic. You only made gloves?”
She came straight to the point.
Based on my thirty years of experience.
The smile she was wearing now was quite close to a cynical one.
The meaning was obvious.
‘I told you that you had a talent for magic, and you spent the whole week making gloves?’
Ruby stood beside her with her arms crossed, staring at me with a triumphant expression.
“You told me to show you something interesting.”
I opened my mouth.
“Even if it isn't magic, there may be a way to surprise you.”
Then I took the gloves from my arms.
Black leather, engraved with a gray sun.
My gloves.
Over the past week.
I hadn't only made gloves.
I had also investigated Doloris whenever I had the opportunity.
And I learned one thing. Nowhere.
Not on the wiki, not on the community.
There was no record anywhere that Doloris suffered from Nine-Yin Blocked Meridians.
That meant no one knew. In that case, beating around the bush would be pointless. I had to present evidence.
“I wanted to make equipment that would alleviate your Nine-Yin Blocked Meridians, Your Grace.”
“……!”
Her eyes widened. The air in the room froze.
Ruby tilted her head, her eyes sinking slightly.
I slowly continued, but.
“It may be slow, but perhaps, little by little….”
“Having a mouth doesn't mean you may say everything that comes to mind.”
Doloris slowly rose to her feet.
“There are things that must not be spoken of.”
- Slither.
A familiar sound came from behind her.
The scorpion tail.
“Where did you hear that?”
When I turned my head, Ruby had fallen asleep with her head buried in the bed.
Did she put her to sleep? Magic was frightening.
Was this a dangerous situation?
Perhaps it would have been, if I were merely all mouth and no action.
“My eyes are rather good.”
“……”
The scorpion tail approaching me stopped.
As I thought, Doloris….
seemed able to distinguish lies from the truth.
When we'd first met, her command not to lie hadn't been a mere admonishment.
If I was telling only the truth, and she knew that.
“You may kill me, but.”
It wasn't that I wanted her to, but I raised the gloves.
“I worked rather hard on them.”
And then.
- Swish.
I turned the gloves over to show their undersides.
When I moved my raised hand away.
The design I had been covering was revealed.
A gray sun engraving.
Doloris's eyes. For the first time, they wavered.
There was one more thing I had learned during my investigation.
‘Equipment of a descendant of fire among the Sun Dwarves.’
It was a world-famous legend, so there was no one who didn't know of it.
And no one who didn't want it.
Yet almost no one remained who could make it.
“Would you try them on?”
That engraving was carved onto gloves made by an orphanage brat.
“……What is this?”
Doloris's gaze rose from the engraving to my eyes.
The scorpion tail slowly lowered and crossed itself.
I smiled without saying a word.
“……”
She silently accepted the gloves.
And then.
“For the record, they're genuine.”
Though I was only an apprentice blacksmith.
I added with a smile.
Doloris stared at me for a moment.
- Rustle.
Keeping her gaze fixed on me, she removed Gorgone's White Glove.
I naturally lowered my head and accepted it.
That was the level of the Sun Dwarves.
Even equipment offered by some little brat was worth trying at least once.
Her hand was white.
So white that it was almost pale.
Doloris picked up my gloves.
And… slowly put them on.
The reaction was immediate.
“……!”
Doloris's eyes widened.
The moment the black leather touched her hand, the gray sun engraving glimmered.
And then.
- Slither….
Water trickled out from between the gloves.
Only a few drops.
As if ice had melted and water were flowing out.
Doloris looked down at her hand.
“……”
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
I might not have known.
But she knew. No, she must have felt it.
[Apprentice Blacksmith's Insulated Gloves][★☆☆☆☆]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility][33/40]
[The warming effect of the sun engraving suppresses the wearer's yin-energy amplification.]
[Symptoms of blocked meridians alleviated; opening of seven of the nine channels in progress.]
That sensation would be stronger than a hundred lines of text.
“…It's warm.”
Doloris spoke. Her voice was small.
With her head bowed.
“It's warm.”
She said it once more.