Chapter 68: 67. Underwear
1.
There is an item in this world called a communication crystal.
It is an object that displays the other person’s face and surroundings on the surface of the crystal.
Compared to the technology from my previous life, it is basically like an internet video call.
The problem, however, is that it definitely is not a telephone.
Two crystals are bound together as a pair, and each can only connect to its matched counterpart.
In other words, it is not a matter of dialing a number to call whoever you want.
You could think of each crystal as already being assigned to the person you can speak with.
So normally, the Imperial Family would distribute one to each household.
If you wanted to contact a ducal house, you had to use the crystal paired with that house.
After the Tower appeared, though... most communication was handled through the Tower’s messenger instead.
Only formal methods like letters survived.
For all practical purposes, communication crystals had become obsolete.
But...
"The princess used one because she has never climbed the Tower, right?"
[Yeah. That’s right.]
Having received Dolores’s summons, I was currently on my way to her office.
Well, Justina had probably contacted Dolores first.
But naturally, the matter was for me, so it seemed I would have to speak with her directly.
I was ready for it.
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
She immediately told me to enter.
Creeeak.
When I opened the door, a crystal placed atop the desk in the middle of the office was glowing.
Bzzzt, bzzzt.
The picture quality really was awful.
Still, from up close, I could at least make out her face and expression.
Justina was seated on the crystal’s screen.
"Ah! Master Craftsman Lionel!"
Master Craftsman.
It was a title that felt good to hear no matter how many times I heard it.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
I gave a simple reply and moved forward.
But there was nowhere to sit.
I walked around the desk toward Dolores, but then...
Tap, tap.
She lightly patted her thigh.
Still seated behind the desk, she spread her arms.
"Come here."
She mouthed the words, and when I approached...
As if she had been waiting for me, Dolores grabbed me around the waist and pulled me onto her lap.
The crystal probably showed Justina and Dolores sitting side by side.
"Your Highness, Lionel is still too short for his face to be captured by the crystal, so... I believe I have no choice but to hold him. I hope you will graciously excuse the discourtesy?"
"...Yes."
And so, held in her embrace, I ended up speaking with Justina.
"Ahem, Master Craftsman Lionel! It’s just that... there has been a change in the earrings...!"
"Yes, I had anticipated that. But there is no need for concern..."
I placed both hands together on the desk and rested my chin on them, putting on a serious air.
Though the fact that the chair I was sitting in was Dolores somewhat undermined the effect.
"To get straight to the point, nothing has gone wrong. If anything, their performance should have improved from before."
"I see..."
The crackling image of Justina repeatedly nodded from the other side of the screen.
"Yes, so please wear them without any concern. They suit you very well."
"...Yes! I will!"
She smiled brightly, her lips moving as though she were debating whether or not to say something.
"And... I heard you became a Skilled Blacksmith after being a Formal Blacksmith... Congratulations."
"...?"
How did she know?
"Ah, the Origin Script."
It must have changed there too.
It seemed she had urgently summoned an appraiser to examine the earrings as well.
"Thank you."
"Yes..."
The business was over.
Yet Justina did not end the call.
Rub, rub.
Feeling Dolores stroke my thigh, I wondered...
Did she have something else to say?
As the maker, I continued with the formal follow-up inspection.
"Have you experienced any other discomfort while wearing the earrings?"
"None at all! My brother and I are both always grateful to you..."
"Then I’m glad to hear it. If anything unusual happens later, please contact me anytime."
"Yes, I certainly will."
"..."
And yet the call still did not end.
Hmm... That must mean she had something she wanted to say.
Rub, rub, rub.
Just as the frequency of Dolores’s caresses over my thigh increased...
Justina moved her lips several times.
Then...
"Um...!"
"Yes?"
"At the beginning of next year, the Imperial Palace will be holding a grand New Year’s banquet."
A grand New Year’s banquet.
I felt like I had heard about it before.
It was a social event attended by the Imperial Family, as well as most of the Empire’s high-ranking nobles.
"Will Master Craftsman Lionel be attending as well, by any chance?"
"I’m not sure."
I hesitated to answer.
Honestly, I did not want to go at all.
Just thinking about it was exhausting.
But I did belong to a ducal house in my own way... and Dolores and Ruby would probably attend.
Dolores would know better about this sort of thing.
I lowered my hand beneath the desk and, on the thigh beneath me...
Slide, stroke.
I traced a question mark with my index finger.
"Am I going?"
Understanding what I meant, Dolores immediately drew something on her thigh with her index finger.
Stroke, stroke.
Two intersecting straight lines.
An X. In other words, no.
"I think only Ruby will be attending."
Pat, pat.
As if to say I had done well, Dolores stroked my thigh.
Her arm tightened ever so slightly around me.
On the other hand...
"Ah..."
Justina’s expression visibly fell.
"I see..."
"Yes."
It did not seem as though there was anything more to discuss.
I figured it was about time to wrap up the conversation.
"If you experience any issues while wearing them, please contact me at any time."
"...Yes, thank you for making time despite being busy. And congratulations once again on becoming a Skilled Blacksmith."
Justina nodded with a smile.
"Not at all, Your Highness. I should be the one thanking you."
"Yes. Then, I hope to see you again..."
Bzzzt.
With Justina’s words, the crystal’s light dimmed.
Soon, the image vanished completely.
"...I think it got disconnected?"
These crystals really were terrible.
"Yes, I suppose it did."
Then...
"But Lionel?"
"Yes?"
"What did she mean when she said you had become a Skilled Blacksmith?"
Come to think of it, I had not actually explained it to Dolores.
"After I finished the hammer last night, it seems I became a Skilled Blacksmith."
"Oh my."
She looked surprised.
"Congratulations, Lionel."
"It’s nothing much."
I shrugged as though it were no big deal.
"It’s me, after all."
Of course, I had to look cool in front of a woman.
Not that I was saying Dolores was my woman, but still.
A small laugh sounded above my head.
"Hehe."
Pat, pat.
Dolores’s hand stroked my hair.
"Of course. Because you’re our Lionel."
That’s right.
She really knew how to recognize people.
I stayed in her arms like that for several minutes.
The communication with the princess ended, and another day began.
Today was the day to take care of all the tasks I had neglected while making the hammer and traveling back and forth through the Tower.
One of them was the promise I had made to a certain brat.
"What do you think?"
Creeeak...
First, I made a Smith machine for Ruby.
It was not especially difficult. After dealing with things like thermal shock spalling, what was a machine like this...?
It could be used for bench presses, squats, and all sorts of other exercises.
Since this was a world without even the concept of dumbbells and weight plates...
I ended up making all of it based on Yuna’s blueprints.
"...It’s fixed in place."
Ruby muttered unhappily while gripping the bar.
"Want me to scold you?"
Where did she get off already asking for free weights?
Ruby was still young, so this was the right choice.
"...How do you use it?"
Up until now, Ruby had only done simple exercises I taught her.
Push-ups, planks, sit-ups, and so on.
"...I’ll demonstrate."
Hah, so I had to demonstrate this too.
"...Phew."
I removed as many weight plates as I could. If I took them all off, it would hurt my pride too much.
I had taken the plates off, but the bar itself was not going to lift itself. This would not be easy.
I did not know if I could manage it right now, but...
"Hngh...!"
I lay on the bench I had installed and pushed with all my might...
"Nnghhh."
Whoa, what the hell was this?
This is way too hard!!
My arms trembled violently, but the bar did not budge.
I should have taken off just one more plate!!!!
Then...
Thump.
Creeeak...
It’s going up!
"Hyaaaah!"
I pushed with every last ounce of strength and racked the bar above me.
"Huff... huff... S-so, what do you think...? That’s how you..."
But then...
When I turned around...
"..."
Ruby was holding the bar aloft with one hand.
In other words, the one who had lifted the bar just now was not me. It was her, lifting it from behind.
Creak. Whirr.
Creak. Whirr.
With one hand, she moved the bar up and down several times.
Even after doing that repeatedly, her expression did not change in the slightest.
Then...
"..."
She stared down at me lying on the bench.
Snort.
Hey, hey!!!
What the hell is with that smile?!
"...I think I get it now."
Ruby nodded as though she had understood something.
My pride took a hit for a moment, but...
"There’s nothing I can do about a body like hers."
We were born different, so what could I do?
I simply stepped aside, pretending nothing was wrong.
"Here."
Pat, pat.
I dusted off the spot with my hand, then offered it to Ruby.
"Now do it."
Just as a touch of bitterness was beginning to rise in me...
Squeeze...
Ruby gently pulled me into a hug.
"...?"
Out of nowhere?
She was not this sort of kid at all.
Once she realized I was weak, I thought she might even put me in a leg lock.
I thought she would hold me accountable for all the times I had tormented her.
But contrary to my expectations, Ruby...
"...Th-thank you... Thank you."
"...Uh, sure."
Her sudden gratitude, and a hug so unlike a brat like her, left me simply standing there stiffly after pulling away.
Then Ruby saw my expression...
And made a deeply dissatisfied face.
"...When my teacher hugs you, you get all gooey."
"Ah, sorry."
There was nothing I could do about that.
You’re a little kid.
"...Tch."
In the end, Ruby could not say anything more and lay down on the bench.
"Work hard."
Pat, pat.
After patting her shoulder a few times, I left.
Creeeak...
"Hoo..."
Creeeak...
"Hoo..."
Listening to the steady sounds from behind me...
I headed for the workshop.
It was finally time to deal with the work I had put off.
There was quite a bit of it.
Things I had not been able to touch because I had gone to the Tower.
Cleaning the workshop, sorting the mana stones, and so on.
And since I had made the hammer yesterday, I had not done any cleanup afterward at all.
Creeeak.
When I opened the workshop door, the somewhat messy sight before me came into view.
"...Right."
I decided to clean.
Cleaning the workshop took several hours.
As was always the case with cleaning, it had the advantage of calming and clearing one’s thoughts.
With that in mind, I sorted through the things I needed to do going forward, one by one.
First.
What did it mean that my equipment had grown?
That was what I was most curious about.
"Could it be that I actually have tremendous potential?"
The moment I became a Skilled Blacksmith, the equipment I had made before seemed to rise in rank alongside me, as though it had been waiting.
So the reasonable suspicion now was that my equipment had possessed even greater potential from the start.
It just could not reveal all of it because I was young and my rank had been insufficient.
As though proving that, appraisers had repeatedly said that my equipment was beyond star-grade.
Of course...
I could not conclude that every piece of equipment would grow together with me.
"For now, that’s something I have no way of confirming."
I just needed to work as hard as I could.
Whichever way it turned out, I had no choice but to work harder.
Whether there were hidden stars within them, or my equipment simply possessed a higher rank than other equipment.
Once I finished cleaning up...
The hammer resting neatly atop the anvil caught my eye.
Dawn Bringer.
What kind of equipment would I make first with this guy?
"...Right."
If I was going to make equipment for someone...
Then naturally, it had to be for that person.
Late that night, I left the workshop and headed straight for Dolores’s office.
Creeeak... creak.
Hnnng...
As I walked down the hallway, I heard the sound of metal moving from the reception room.
Ruby, don’t tell me you exercised all day?
Clicking my tongue, I peeked through the crack in the reception room door.
The weight plates loaded on it...
One, two, three...
This is insane.
"I raised a monster."
Thinking that as I walked, I soon arrived in front of the office.
Knock, knock.
"Lionel?"
"Yes."
What was really strange was that she could recognize me just from the sound of my footsteps outside her office.
Creeeak...
I carefully opened the office door.
Dolores was seated at her desk, reviewing documents.
"Hello."
"Yes, come in."
She looked up from the papers and looked at me.
"You finished early today. What brings you here at this hour?"
Her gaze soon moved to my left hand, to the hammer I held.
More precisely, to Dawn Bringer in my hand.
"There’s something I wanted to tell you."
I pulled over the chair across from the desk and sat down in it.
Dolores quietly watched me.
"Hehe, what is it, Lionel?"
With a small smile, she closed the documents.
"...I’m thinking of making a new piece of equipment with this hammer now."
"I see... I’ll always be cheering you on."
"I want to make equipment for you, Dolores."
"..."
Dolores blinked for a moment.
As I was now, as long as it was not equipment containing magic—a field I still knew nothing about...
I felt as though I could make anything.
So this time, I did not want to decide on my own.
The opinion of the person who would actually wear it was what mattered most.
So...
Tell me yourself, Dolores.
"...So what I mean is..."
"...Yes."
"What kind of equipment do you need most right now...?"
I asked cautiously.
I did not know.
Why was my heart pounding?
If she simply asked me to make something, I could make it. That was all.
But perhaps there was an answer I was hoping for.
Dolores did not answer immediately.
Looking back and forth between me and the hammer, she pondered for a moment.
"A pair of pauldrons would be nice."
"Pauldrons."
Not difficult.
That would not be difficult.
"..."
Dolores quietly studied my expression.
"I might need a pair of shoes too."
"Shoes."
Right, I had made oversocks too...
I should make shoes as well.
A subtle smile formed on Dolores’s lips.
"But..."
"..."
"Hehe."
She lightly covered her lips with her fingertips.
Under the soft lamp light...
Dolores’s cheeks seemed to be flushed.
"Still..."
She lowered her gaze slightly.
"If I had to choose just one thing I need most right now..."
"..."
Squeeze...
Without realizing it, I tightened my grip on the hammer.
Looking straight at me, Dolores said...
"Underwear."
"..."
"It’s a little embarrassing... but underwear, I think."
In the end, she said it.
I knew. So did I.
This was the answer I had been waiting for.
The corners of her eyes curved gently.
"Lionel."
"Yes."
"Then... may I ask you again this time?"
"Of course."
My answer came very quickly this time too.
"The most beautiful in the world."
I still did not know exactly what form would be the most beautiful.
I did not know much about it.
But simply... something that would suit her better than anything else.
"I’ll make it for you."
I added confidently.
"Pfft."
Her face reddened as she broke into a bright smile.
"...I’ll look forward to it, okay?"
And so...
The first piece of equipment I would make with Dawn Bringer was decided.
Naturally, utterly naturally...
It was her underwear.
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