Chapter 13: 12. New Family Member
1.
On the way to Ariel Plaza by carriage.
Dolores’s idea of “it won’t take long”
was truly calibrated a little too perfectly to this world.
I had braced myself for about an hour, but instead I had to suffer from carriage sickness for three and a half hours.
I feel like I’m dying. This is awful.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"No."
Ruby asked because I looked terrible.
"Hehe, you can’t ride in carriages."
She grinned, showing her small pointed teeth as though she had discovered my weakness.
This little brat... But it really was a weakness, so I had nothing to say.
I never want to ride in a carriage again.
Do I need to make some kind of vehicle?
Just as I was lost in thought over whether the Heirs of Fire manual contained instructions for building an automobile—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the carriage window.
We must have arrived at the city entrance before I knew it, because an armored soldier stood beyond the window.
His armor bore the crest of a golden lion. It seemed to be an inspection.
A truly classic fantasy-world sight.
Seeing this out of nowhere gets my heart racing again.
"Identification..."
The soldier trailed off and stopped.
It appeared his gaze had met Dolores’s through the window.
"Your Grace."
"Hello."
Dolores gave him a faint smile.
The soldier adjusted his posture for a moment, then gave a respectful salute.
"Your identity has been confirmed. You may pass."
The soldier placed a fist against his chest and saluted.
"Glory to the Empire."
Dolores returned it with a slight bow of her head.
"Glory."
That process was incredibly quick.
Even the angle of his salute was razor-sharp. Dolores definitely seemed to be famous.
Then again, she was the ruler of the fifth floor and a high ranker. It would be stranger if people didn’t recognize her face.
Once again, I realized just how significant it was for Dolores to take me in and raise me.
Though maybe that just meant I was worth that much.
The carriage traveled a little farther before stopping at the entrance to a broad plaza.
"Let’s get off here."
Dolores got down first.
Ruby followed, and I stepped down last.
"..."
What?
There was stone beneath my feet. Flagstones.
A neat pavement of alternating white and gray stones. The contrast felt stark after standing on an unpaved road until just now—no, until three and a half hours ago.
Then I raised my head.
"Wow."
People everywhere.
People clad in armor, mages draped in robes.
Merchants’ carts piled high with cargo, hawkers calling out, and the smell of grilling meat.
It all flooded into my eyes and nose at once.
[Ariel Plaza. Two hundred thousand permanent residents, three hundred thousand including transients?]
[Keep your mouth shut, you look like a country bumpkin.]
Ah, yes.
It was practically on the level of Shibuya.
Ruby seemed unmoved as she calmly walked along, clutching Dolores’s skirt.
She must come here often.
I was genuinely amazed, though.
There weren’t many places like this even in the world where I lived. No, there simply weren’t any.
Three hundred thousand people... It must be unbelievably huge, too.
As she walked, Dolores looked back at me.
"We’re going to Equipment Street. Follow me."
I nodded and followed the two of them.
Then—
"Ruby."
Dolores stopped walking and smiled down at Ruby.
"Would you like to hold hands?"
Ruby’s eyes widened.
"...Okay."
A little hand rose and took Dolores’s hand.
After taking it, Ruby’s eyes slowly widened even further.
"It’s warm..."
"Mm, it’s warm, isn’t it?"
Dolores 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 they startled Ruby, too."
Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
Dolores’s hands had been cold enough for frost to form.
Even with gloves on, they must have been just as cold.
"But now, it’s fine."
Come to think of it, I didn’t think I had ever seen Ruby hold Dolores’s hand when they walked together.
She had always held onto her skirt.
Dolores lightly raised her gloved hand.
"Thanks to you."
"...It was nothing."
As if afraid she might lose it, Ruby tightly gripped Dolores’s hand with both of hers.
Then—
Sway.
Dolores’s other hand swayed toward me.
"..."
Sway.
Once more.
"...Me?"
"There are so many people around. You might get lost."
"..."
"Your hand."
Resistance was meaningless before Dolores.
I carefully took her hand.
It was a small hand, but perhaps because mine was even smaller, it felt large.
And it was warm.
I couldn’t feel her bare skin through her gloves, but still.
I feel pretty proud, huh.
For a moment, I nearly started fidgeting with her hand, but held myself back.
Ruby in her left hand, and me in her right.
The three of us walked through the crowd.
"..."
I was starting to feel people staring.
At first, I thought I might be imagining it. There were so many people; of course our eyes might meet.
But no. They were definitely looking our way.
More specifically, at Dolores.
A passing merchant turned his head, while two men standing before a street stall whispered to each other.
A robed woman recognized Dolores and nudged her companion with an elbow.
"...Isn’t that the duchess?"
"Huh? It really is."
Come to think of it, it probably wasn’t common for an aristocrat—and a duchess at that—to walk openly through the streets without an escort.
At least, not according to my limited web-novel knowledge.
Nobles were the sort who either never got out of their carriages or traveled with a massive guard detail. One or the other.
This woman had no escort...
Ah, wait. She didn’t need one.
I didn’t know exactly how strong she was, but she was a high ranker.
"Ruby, do you want to try that?"
"Yeah."
The person herself didn’t seem to care at all.
Either way.
Dolores bought Ruby and me grilled chicken skewers.
Red sauce got smeared around Ruby’s mouth.
And when we turned down an alley—
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The steady sound of metal being hammered rang out.
From all over, each with its own rhythm.
"Equipment Street."
Dolores spoke quietly.
This appeared to be the blacksmiths’ street.
But something struck me as odd.
‘Hadn’t most blacksmiths disappeared?’
[Humans are different.]
[They never completely disappeared. It’s just that... after the Tower appeared, the gap became so vast that they were left behind.]
[There are plenty of humans who make a living at it, but the best you can expect is equipment for ordinary soldiers.]
So that was about the level of it.
The sound of hammers was rather nice. Maybe I really was cut out to be a blacksmith.
Thinking that this was what I would be doing from now on, a smile slipped out without my realizing it.
That’s right. People should use their bodies. What kind of white-collar job is that?
I’ll be roasting my body in scorching lava, while you people...
As I stood there blankly for a moment,
Dolores smiled and stroked my hair.
"I should have brought you here sooner."
"...Pardon?"
"Your expression has visibly improved."
Ha ha.
As if that could be true.
She had clearly mistaken my dry laugh for something else.
We walked farther along Equipment Street.
Among the stores lining both sides, one in particular stood out.
A building with a glowing sign. It was quite large.
Not figuratively. It was actually glowing.
A gilded border, with blue light surrounding the letters.
It looked to be nearly four stories tall.
‘Aegir.’
Remarkably enough,
I could read the letters on the sign, though I had no idea what they meant.
[It means noble flame.]
[I think it’s an ancient language.]
It was pretty cool, at least.
I didn’t know whether the Middle Ages had plate-glass windows, but through the great panes of glass, I could see the interior.
Every piece of equipment on display gleamed.
There were quite a few customers, too.
Naturally, I thought we were going in there. It suited Dolores.
But she passed right by without even glancing at it.
"...?"
We passed Aegir, turned down another alley, and arrived across from it.
Right where the street narrowed and the light from the signs disappeared.
Dolores stopped in front of a shop.
"Here we are."
It was shabby.
The sign was nothing more than letters carved into a wooden board.
The equipment visible through the window was worn-down, and its exterior was so inferior to the previous shop that comparison itself would have been insulting.
Wow, this makes me even more interested.
You know how it is. Fortuitous encounters found in run-down places.
I like that sort of thing.
Could Dolores have been aiming for that? As expected, her instincts were incredible...
"Lionel?"
"Yes."
"Not that one."
"...Huh?"
Dolores tilted her head slightly and pointed across from the shop.
"Over there."
Across the street was a shop that looked relatively decent.
It had a proper sign, and the sound of hammers came from inside. It was a decent size, too.
Ordinary.
"..."
There would be no fortuitous encounter.
We went straight inside.
Jingle.
The bell on the door rang.
"Welco—"
The man behind the counter looked up and stopped speaking.
A middle-aged man with a very striking mustache. His apron was stained with soot.
"...Your Grace!"
"It’s been a while, Henrik."
Dolores greeted him naturally.
The man called Henrik hesitated for a moment, then bowed respectfully.
"There are so many other places, yet you always..."
"I’m comfortable here."
In the meantime, a woman came out from the back.
A middle-aged woman about Henrik’s age. She held something wrapped in cloth.
"Your Grace..."
She bowed as well.
"Oh my, Miss Ruby is here too?"
Her face brightened the moment she saw Ruby.
When the little girl bowed her head, the woman took a piece of candy from beneath the counter and placed it in Ruby’s hand.
"Thank you..."
"Oh, don’t mention it."
They really did come here often.
I could tell from how naturally Ruby accepted the candy.
Then the woman’s gaze shifted to me.
"Oh my, and who is this little gentleman?"
"A new family member. He’ll be living with us from now on."
Dolores answered calmly, but—
A new family member.
The words sounded so nice. I was moved.
"I’m Lionel."
The woman looked me up and down, and her eyes widened.
"My goodness, he’s handsome."
Another piece of candy appeared from beneath the counter.
"I’m fine, thank you."
I needed to keep managing my blood sugar in advance.
In the end, the rejected candy was sucked right into Ruby’s pocket.
"Has everything been all right?"
"Thanks to the fine goods you always supply us with..."
Supply.
It seemed Dolores had pulled some strings in their supply chain.
Was she procuring equipment from the Tower? From the fifth floor or something?
I didn’t know exactly.
Dolores gave a small laugh and stroked Ruby’s and my hair.
"That hammer I bought last time. I need one better than that. Do you have one?"
Henrik’s eyes widened slightly.
So she had bought it here after all.
I had wondered why a shop of this size possessed something as vicious as that hammer. But if she was involved in the distribution, then it made sense.
"Better than that?"
"Mm."
Dolores pointed at me.
"This child will be using it."
"So that’s why you put such a powerful weight-reduction enchantment on it..."
The man called Henrik rested a hand on his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
I thought it would be best for me to speak up here.
It wasn’t for combat. It was for forging.
"I need a forging hammer."
"Mm, that’s right. A forging hammer."
Dolores stroked my hair.
"Ah... so it’s for forging."
Henrik let out a faint laugh as though deflated.
I understood what the laugh meant.
"Yes, we have all kinds of forging hammers. However..."
Henrik suddenly came around the counter and walked to the back.
There had been an iron door that caught my eye earlier. When he flung it wide open—
A little dust rose.
Inside, a great many hammers hung on display.
The walls were filled with them, all different sizes and shapes.
"Hardly anyone looks for forging hammers, so as you can see, we have plenty in stock, but..."
Henrik scratched his head.
"They aren’t very organized. It will take some time to sort through them and check their condition."
Then he looked down at me for a moment before adding,
"And this is merely a word of advice from someone with limited knowledge, but..."
"Mm."
"It would be best for him to hold the forging hammer himself."
Upon hearing that, Dolores smiled softly.
"Would you give us some time?"
Henrik’s eyes gleamed brightly.
He looked at me.
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