1.
I’m pretty well trained when it comes to beauty traps.
To the point where it hurts my mouth just to list them myself.
Dolores, Yeomhwa, Isabella, Seren, Camilla, Gaia... Even among just the women I knew, there were plenty beautiful enough to make anyone else feel second-rate.
So I’m not all that susceptible to a beautiful woman’s seduction... No, I am susceptible, but I can shut my eyes tight and endure it.
But six-star materials were seriously disconcerting.
Imagine a bear trap with a top-of-the-line, next-generation graphics card sitting inside it.
You know your hand will be fucked if you reach in.
And yet...
Couldn’t I snatch it out if I was quick enough?
I could do it. If it were me.
"Haa..."
I crouched down before the ore and quietly stared at it.
What kind of sound do you make when I strike you with a hammer?
Where feels good, little buddy?
[Big bro!!!!]
"I know."
The moment I touched it, there was an obvious chance I’d be dragged off to some damn workshop and renamed Chunsik.
Shouldn’t I resist?
Let’s resist.
I squeezed my eyes shut and rose to my feet.
Both hands, clenched with all my strength, trembled—but I took a firm step forward anyway.
Just as I made up my mind—
Tap, tap, tap.
"Uh, uh, uhh...!"
All at once, dazzling materials began falling from the air.
If materials were raining from the sky??? This might actually be a disaster movie.
I felt like my life would truly be over if I looked any longer, so I shut my eyes and bolted forward.
"I’m not buying!!!"
How long did I run like that?
Ding!
─────────────────
[Achievement] [Walking Past Empty-Handed] [★★★★★]
─────────────────
『Let only those who have passed by riches and treasures cast a stone at him.』
─────────────────
[Reward]
[Good Day’s Dew]
─────────────────
"...Ha."
I did it.
It hadn’t been easy, but I’d somehow pulled it off.
I had no idea what Good Day’s Dew was, but they’d better have given me something seriously good.
I’d even managed to clear what felt like the highest difficulty.
Even if someone beat me to death, they’d have a hard time finding a trial more difficult than this.
And so, step by step, I went farther ahead.
『...Would you like to rest a little before you go?』
"...I’ll decline."
There was even a god who tried to embrace me completely naked.
I nearly lost my mind, but barely held out thanks to Yuna.
"No, Lady Gaia...?"
"Hello, baby?"
"Hm...?"
She called me something different.
There was even a Gaia impersonator who seemed like she hadn’t quite synchronized properly.
Lady Gaia called me little baby, or just baby.
If she’d called me baby, I might have gone running right over.
Anyway, I got past all of them. Maybe they were lower-ranking gods, because it was a shame there were no achievements for overcoming their temptations.
After I walked for a while longer...
Whoooosh...
I stopped at the sensation brushing over my ankle.
"...?"
A white cloud curled around my ankle in soft billows.
When I looked up, I saw a vast open sky... and clouds rolling beneath my feet.
This time... I think I made it to the right place?
Ding!
[You have successfully entered the [Celestial Sea of Clouds].]
"Ha... Nice."
What a rough journey, just to come pick out a cloud.
Whoosh, whoooosh...
Clouds of every size and shape drifted past me as they pleased.
Some as small as fists floated around in soft little clumps, while others as large as a ducal estate moved slowly in the distance.
Holding the insignia, I walked a little farther forward.
Then one cloud caught my eye.
"..."
My heart pounded.
The insignia trembled too.
"It’s you."
It was white. Truly, purely white.
The surroundings were basically all white clouds too, but the fact that that particular cloud stood out so clearly made me think it was my destiny... No, Ruby’s destined cloud.
It was even the right size. Of course, the insignia could adjust its size, but it felt good when it was just the right size from the start.
I imagined Ruby sitting on top of it.
She would dangle her legs, look down at the scenery... and if she spotted somewhere she wanted to go, point at it with her finger like a princess.
Then, if she got sleepy, she could lie down on the soft cloud beneath the warm sunlight and fall asleep.
The cloud would float her straight to wherever she pointed all on its own.
"...Cute."
It was already cute just imagining it.
As I approached, the cloud slowly drifted closer to me as well.
Its edges puffed up softly.
"You."
I raised the insignia.
Tap.
"Become our princess’s cloud."
The moment I touched the edge of the cloud with the insignia—
Fwaaaash...!
Light poured from the spirit stones embedded in the insignia.
The cloud before me slowly began to be sucked into it.
Ding!
[Cloud Catcher] has activated.
[The name of the designated bonded recipient will be inscribed upon the selected cloud.]
Then something appeared before my eyes.
─────────────────
[Bonded Recipient ─ Ruby]
─────────────────
[Nameless Cloud] [★★★★★]
─────────────────
『A cloud that traveled one hundred and eight thousand li with a single somersault.』
『After losing its master and its name, it wandered the skies waiting for a new master.』
─────────────────
"...Holy shit."
I muttered hollowly as I read the text.
It had waited for a new master after losing its old master and its name?
It was pretty pitiful and cute, but...
There had to be someone out there grand enough to ride a cloud.
But if it traveled one hundred and eight thousand li in a single somersault... wasn’t that basically a dead giveaway?
Going by the context, it was obvious that this was the cloud once ridden by a very famous monkey I knew.
The being known as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, or the Victorious Fighting Buddha.
The one who had even visited the Origin Script.
"Ruby hit the jackpot."
I had indeed been modeling it after that celebrity... but it seemed I had accidentally inherited the cloud he used to ride as well.
All that was left was to give it a name.
Shhhhk...
In the end, every last bit of the remaining cloud was drawn into the insignia.
As I inspected the insignia from every angle, it felt as though it was much more densely filled with clouds than before.
It was even slowly expanding its territory toward the wind spirit stone... This was definitely a cloud with pedigree.
"So, do you like your new home?"
When I tapped the rim with my fingertip, the cloud inside bulged out before retreating again.
Pop.
Cute.
"Nngh..."
I stretched my body long.
All right then... My business was finished, so it was time to get out of here as quickly as possible, wasn’t it?
If I ran into another six-star material here, I thought I’d immediately give in.
I clenched the insignia tightly in my hand.
"I’m going back."
No sooner had I spoken than the cloud beneath my feet vanished, and with the sensation of abruptly falling...
I closed my eyes, then opened them.
"..."
The familiar scent of the workshop, along with the less familiar bitter scent of coffee.
I had successfully returned safely to my workshop.
Swoosh.
The insignia was safely clutched in my hand.
A soft, fluffy sensation tickled my palm.
Ha...
"Yuna, you worked hard..."
I flopped backward.
[No... You worked harder, big bro....]
[I seriously see you in a whole new light, big bro. You’re a person with incredible patience.]
That was a truly legendary drain on my mental strength.
"Of course... You’re the best little sister too..."
A lot had happened between Yuna and me during that short—or perhaps not so short—time.
If either Yuna or I had slipped up even once, I’d probably have been giggling in the arms of that suspicious female god impersonating Lady Gaia.
Or maybe I’d have been playing hand-clapping games with Micael... No, sex, sex, sex.
Anyway, we praised each other and showered each other with affection to soothe our startled hearts.
And ultimately, I had carried out my mission perfectly, so there was only one thing left.
"...Ruby."
It was still dawn, since the sun had not yet risen outside.
With the corners of my mouth lifting, I was about to run to Ruby, who I assumed would be sleeping like a log.
But then—
Ding!
[Your safe return to the mortal realm has been confirmed.]
[Congratulations! The rewards for achievements attained in the celestial realm will now be distributed in a lump sum.]
"...Congratulations?"
So returning safely to the mortal realm was something worth congratulating me over.
That meant you guys knew too...?
"Tch."
I really never wanted to go to the celestial realm again.
Then something slowly and lightly descended before my eyes.
There was a single white feather and a small glass vial.
I quickly reached out and caught them.
─────────────────
[Seraphim’s Feather] [★★★★★]
─────────────────
『Even after falling from its wing, it has forgotten how to fall.』
─────────────────
This one was, naturally, a feather.
─────────────────
[Good Day’s Dew] [★★★★★]
─────────────────
『May your day be as clear as this.』
─────────────────
This one was a single droplet of water of truly unknown nature inside the vial.
"...Wow."
It was the first time I’d received five-star items and had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to use them.
I could probably find some use for a feather... but the dew was complete nonsense.
And it was only one drop.
If this was how it was going to be, I should’ve just grabbed that fucking six-star material and died in an explosion!!!!!
I was grateful, but it was also kind of maddening.
I preferred crafting on the level of creating something out of nothing, but this was taking it way too far.
I first placed the little things in the safe reserved for valuable items in the materials warehouse, then dashed out of the workshop.
"Ruby!!!!"
I headed straight for the estate.
2.
Delivering equipment was always exciting.
Especially when it was for someone I treasured more dearly, and when it was equipment I had made with great care.
This time, both applied—and after making the equipment, I’d even gone to the celestial realm and suffered through all that...
Gulp.
I couldn’t help looking forward to her evaluation even more, and feeling nervous about it.
The reception room, where only Ruby and I were present.
I had immediately run to Dolores’s office, gathered a simple appraisal certificate along with papers handwritten with the equipment’s abilities, and headed to the reception room.
Ruby, whom I had expected to be sleeping like a log, had been working out since early dawn. I ambushed her there and told her the equipment was complete.
The total crafting time had been three and a half weeks, with about a week left before Ruby’s school term began.
Worried she might smell sweaty, Ruby hurried off to wash up and came back.
"Ruby."
For Ruby... I carefully opened the wrapped box.
Click...
When the lid opened, the insignia sitting atop a red velvet cushion came into view.
Upon its blue Azure Cloudstone base... the portions carefully carved from sunlight spirit stone gleamed in the sunlight.
"It’s yours."
The hundred-percent truth, without a single lie.
Ruby looked down into the box without answering.
Then her eyes widened slightly... and she leaned closer to the box.
─────────────────
[Equal to Heaven] [★★★★✦]
─────────────────
『Is there any reason to look up merely because the heavens are high?』
『You are the heavens.』
─────────────────
The cool phrase and title written on the appraisal certificate.
Even if you didn’t know anything else, things like that made the equipment feel undeniably authentic.
And in consideration of a pubescent girl’s sensibilities as much as possible.
I hoped she would appreciate that Kim Yujin had summoned what little aesthetic sense he had left.
"...Ah."
At first, Ruby probably hadn’t understood how important the equipment she received was.
After all, the first blacksmith she had met and received equipment from... was me, Lionel. How could she have noticed anything else?
But after spending a semester seeing the quality of equipment worn by other students, she must have felt something.
Even if she hadn’t said it, there must have been something more she needed in terms of equipment.
She hadn’t specifically asked, supposedly because she was worried school life might become too easy, but...
Knowing how busy I was, it was obvious Ruby hadn’t asked me separately because of her personality.
So.
"So you won’t feel inferior anywhere you go."
Our princess.
"..."
Ruby lowered the hand she had extended toward the insignia.
Her hands hung limply at her sides, then clenched tightly... and her arms trembled.
"Ruby?"
Without answering, she ducked her head.
Her lips, visible through the hair that had fallen over her face, were pressed tightly together.
I waited a moment, then nudged the insignia a little closer to Ruby.
"Take it. It’s an insignia."
"...Okay."
Ruby nodded... and finally reached for it.
Tap.
When her fingertips touched the insignia, the cloud within it puffed up slightly for a moment.
Ruby carefully took out the insignia, pinned it near her chest, and fussed with its placement.
"You can wear it on your belt or on your chest. Really, where you put it is up to you, Ruby..."
Just as I was in the middle of explaining how to wear it—
"Lionel, do I... look good in it?"
After proudly fastening the insignia over the left side of her chest, Ruby thrust her upper body toward me.
"Of course you do."
There was no way it wouldn’t suit her.
It was custom equipment, after all.
Equipment made for no one else in the world but Ruby.
"Is it pretty?"
"Yeah."
That was obviously a yes too.
At Ruby’s cute question... I smiled and answered.
Our princess looked down at the insignia again, touched it for a while, then slowly looked up at me.
"Just a moment..."
"Huh?"
Swoosh.
Suddenly, her slender fingers grabbed my collar.
Wondering what was happening, I leaned toward her at the faint tug.
"Lionel is... always cool."
Ruby murmured quietly, but did not let go of my collar.
Her eyes, which had been staring straight into mine, grew flushed with warmth...
"...Like an adult."
Kiss.
Her small, cute lips touched my chin.
"..."
Huh.
[Oh my god.]
Scurry!
Ruby quickly pulled away.
The hand that had released my collar hesitated in the air for a moment before vanishing behind her back in an instant.
"When Lionel makes equipment, the aunties give you lots of kisses, so..."
"..."
"Everyone... does it... right...?"
Wait, how did she know?
It was a trade secret... but it was true, so I had nothing to say in rebuttal.
Ruby awkwardly scratched her cheek with her remaining hand.
Her eyes kept darting to the side... and her ears had turned bright red.
So red that it felt like she might keep reddening until she burst if I left her alone.
Then—
Billow, billow...
Perhaps because she couldn’t take it anymore, a small cloud flowed out of the insignia and floated before Ruby’s face.
The cloud puffed softly for a moment, then lightly covered Ruby’s cute lips.
Whether she was embarrassed, the cloud had tactfully figured it out on its own, or it had acted of its own will, I didn’t know—but Ruby’s cherry-like lips, which had stolen a kiss from my chin, fled into the cloud.
She’d already figured out how to use it. Good job, Ruby.
"..."
Ruby even slightly hid the hand that had been scratching her cheek behind her back.
With only her lips hidden by the cloud and her hands clasped behind her, she furtively watched my reaction.
Whenever our eyes met, she hurriedly lowered her gaze... but before long, she would look back at me again.
When I opened my mouth as though I were about to say something, her shoulders flinched slightly.
She was awfully cute as a little sister.
But...
"..."
Hm... I knew it, right?
[Yeah....]
Our pubescent girl Ruby... likes Lionel.
In other words...
She likes me.
This time, even I had no choice but to notice.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register