Chapter 74: 73. A New Spring
1.
“......”
“......”
On the way to the dressing room, even though it was only five in the afternoon, my heart was pounding like a child who had woken at dawn just before heading to an amusement park.
I wanted to wake my parents right now and beg them to take me on the roller coaster, but...
Fortunately—or unfortunately—Dolores was now my parents and my roller coaster all in one.
“...First of all, you worked very hard, Lionel.”
She said that while carrying me in her arms up to the second floor, but by my standards, it had hardly been hard work.
Save Dolores was my number-one priority as a blacksmith, after all.
Now that the underwear was done, it was about time to start making proper equipment—for both Ruby and Dolores.
Click.
But if I had one very serious concern right now...
─────────────────
[Spring Breeze Carrying Fire] [★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility] [- /100]
─────────────────
[An underwear set crafted from the spirit silk of a high-ranking wind spirit.]
[The Heirs of Fire engraving absorbs sunlight and continuously supplies the wearer with pure yang energy.]
[It contains a will so great that even gods would covet it.]
[The wearer gains a certain amount of divinity.]
─────────────────
【For the sake of one single wearer, the craftsman poured everything he possessed into this work.】
【The moment materials and technique, will and obsession meshed perfectly together. For this one occasion alone, the creator surpassed his limits.】
─────────────────
『Wind... goes well with fire. Your will is so sacred, it is hard to believe it belongs to such a lowly creature.』
『So offer those clothes to me even now... and I shall forgive you everything. If you wish, I may even hold you in my arms.』
- Ignia, Goddess of Fire -
『How absurd. Do not covet what you should not. It belongs to my daughter.』
- Gaia, Goddess of Earth -
『Ah... its rank has risen... too, too high....』
- Queen of the Distant Wind Spirits -
─────────────────
[Spring Breeze Carrying Fire].
I had missed something amid all the gods’ noisy chatter above...
As it turned out, the [Origin Script] had not ended there.
Below it was this.
─────────────────
『Is it really sexy? Then it passes.』
- Skilled Blacksmith L -
─────────────────
Fuck.
What the hell am I supposed to do?!
The truly fortunate thing was that this was her underwear, so she would not take it to an appraiser or anything.
Honestly, who would get their underwear appraised...?
The [Origin Script] on this underwear was going to remain sealed away forever.
Anyway, lost in those thoughts, I had somehow reached the door.
Creak....
Dolores waved a hand through the air while holding me, and the door opened slightly.
Still hugging me tightly, she slowly stepped inside.
“......”
Two weeks ago, I had come here at night, so I had not been able to take in the entire layout at a glance.
But now, while it was still relatively light out, I could see everything.
The room’s layout had changed since then. There was a comfortable-looking sofa by the entrance.
Across from it, by the window in front of me, a white curtain had been drawn.
But white curtains had one problem.
When sunlight streamed in through the window... objects behind them showed through.
Sure enough, I could even make out the shadow of a folding bed that had not been there before.
Not every detail, only a faint silhouette...
“The room looks a little different....”
“Yes, I have been preparing.”
She certainly had prepared, but I doubted even Dolores had expected the fitting to happen during the day, with the light coming in.
The curtain could not serve as a curtain at all in daylight.
Rustle.
Dolores set me down on the sofa.
I carefully handed her the underwear I had been holding against my chest.
“...Here.”
A faint white light from the spirit silk shimmered around it... Honestly, I had made it myself, but anyone could tell at a glance that it was on another level.
The corners of Dolores’s lips twitched uncontrollably upward...
“...I-I am sorry.”
Swish.
Unable to stop her smile from spreading, she covered her mouth with her hand.
There was nothing to apologize for. I was happy if she liked it.
“I shall try it on....”
“Yes.”
Swoosh....
Taking the underwear in hand, Dolores went behind the curtain.
And my immediate impression was...
‘I can see everything.’
Forget just a silhouette. I could see every contour.
I simply clenched my mouth shut and sat quietly on the sofa, watching.
I thought I understood why she had put a sofa here now.
Behind the curtain, Dolores raised the underwear I had made to eye level and stared at it for a long while.
Squeeze....
Then she hugged it and trembled slightly.
...I was grateful she liked it.
Shortly afterward, Dolores turned around and began undressing.
Rustle.
The clothes covering her shoulders slid down.
Sliiide....
The clothes around her waist also slipped to the floor, layer by layer.
Before long, Dolores had turned her back toward me.
It was probably not intentional, but she stepped closer to the curtain and brought both arms behind her back.
Click.
With the sound of the clasp coming undone, her bra dropped to the floor.
“......”
Ah, no. This was not okay.
Her outline had become far more detailed, so I had no choice but to unfocus my eyes.
Then the loops connecting the garter belt came undone, and her bottoms slid down as well.
“......”
She was going to put them on now, right?
As if my thoughts had reached her, Dolores bent down and picked up the clothes I had made.
The bottoms first.
Then the band that would fasten around her waist.
And finally, the top.
Rustle.
Sitting on the folding bed, Dolores pulled [Frostless Spring] up beneath the underwear I had made...
Click, click, click, click.
The moment the last hook fastened behind her back—
Fwoooosh....
The sunlight pouring through the window suddenly intensified.
Even with the curtain there, I covered my eyes.
“......”
Whoooom....
A warm breeze swirled through the room, and Dolores let out a soft gasp from behind the curtain.
“...Ah.”
I wanted to pull the curtain aside at once to see what had happened, but I held myself back.
I had not even checked the compatibility yet, so I did not know whether it suited her or not.
Please, hurry up...
“Lionel....”
“Yes.”
I answered immediately at the slight excitement in Dolores’s voice.
“Will you... come over here?”
“......”
When I stood and approached, Dolores’s snow-white hand poked through a gap in the curtain.
Wondering what she wanted, I reached for her hand.
Whoosh!
“Ugh?!”
Pulled by an irresistible force, I was sucked straight inside.
Thud.
“...Shh.”
What greeted my eyes was Dolores, sitting on the bed and looking at me while wearing the things I had made with my own hands.
A gentle radiance flowed from her body...
“...If you make too much noise, Ruby may become jealous.”
─────────────────
[Spring Breeze Carrying Fire] [★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility] [100 /100]
─────────────────
[Having achieved 100 Compatibility, all effects of the equipment manifest at their maximum.]
[The Skilled Blacksmith’s Sun Engraving continuously supplies yang energy, eliminating the amplification of yin energy.]
[When worn over a prolonged period, it may permanently open the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.]
[The worsening of the Severed Meridian Condition has stopped.]
[By wearing equipment infused with the power of the sun over a prolonged period, the Severed Meridian Condition can be completely cured once sufficient energy has accumulated.]
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“......”
Messages floated before my eyes.
Among them, one line stood out more than any other.
[The worsening of the Severed Meridian Condition has stopped.]
Before I could even gather my wits—
[★★★★☆] [You have reached the pinnacle of compatibility with 4-star equipment.]
[Target: Elysia von Dolores]
[Title acquired ─ ‘The One Who Brought a New Spring’]
And then...
[Elysia von Dolores]
[Remaining Lifespan] [7Y : 11M : 11D : 19H : 48M]
It was the lifespan I had extended last time—and a number even lower than it had been then.
[Remaining Lifespan] [7Y : 11M : 11D......]
[Recalculating......]
[Factors ─ The worsening of the Severed Meridian Condition has stopped; the possibility of permanent treatment has been unlocked.]
[A confirmed cause of death has been halted.]
[The existing lifespan timer is being suspended.]
[※ Warning ※]
[If the equipment is removed or a continuous supply of equipment is not maintained, the Severed Meridian Condition will worsen and the cause of death will recur.]
Along with news too incredible to believe...
Finally—
[Remaining Lifespan] [Undetermined]
Dolores’s death timer.
The ticking time bomb that had pursued her from the moment she was born until the day she died had stopped.
It had not merely been extended by a few years. The death timer itself...
Had stopped.
Swoosh....
In that overwhelming moment, the system slowly faded away.
And beyond it, Dolores came back into view.
“......”
At some point, Dolores had let down her long hair. She was looking at me with her lips pressed tightly together.
Moisture shimmered in the corners of her eyes.
This was not a change in my body, but in Dolores’s.
She would know better than anyone. It was the illness that had tormented her body for decades.
“...Dolores.”
Still sitting on the floor, I gave a small smile and spoke.
“Congratulations.”
“......”
At those words, it seemed the dam holding back Dolores’s tears finally burst.
Trickle....
Tears streamed down her face, and then—
“That is a relief. You will get to see Ruby married, at least—”
I did not want a sad mood.
It was such a happy day... I tried to stop her tears at once with a joke, but—
Hug!
I was pulled into a tight embrace.
Dolores was only half-dressed, wearing nothing but underwear, but that was the last thing on my mind right then.
“Thank... thank you, Lionel....”
The arms holding me grew tighter and tighter.
“How could you possibly... This is a curse my family has been unable to stop for hundreds of years....”
Dolores’s voice shook terribly.
“And yet, Lionel... Lionel saved me....”
“...It is me, after all.”
I answered calmly and patted her back.
“You are not completely cured yet.”
“Yes... I know that....”
Of course, what she could physically feel would be different.
“You need to keep wearing this from now on. And I have to keep making new equipment for you, too.”
From what I could see, the hard counter to the Severed Meridian Condition seemed to be yang energy.
...Not that kind of yang energy, but something of a higher order, like the solar yang energy engraved through the Heirs of Fire mark.
“...Anything Lionel makes for me, I will always wear gratefully.”
“That sounds good.”
“I truly do not know how I can ever thank you....”
“Hmm....”
Still held in her arms, I raised the corners of my mouth.
There was something I really wanted her to do once Dolores got better.
There were a great many books in one corner of this mansion’s library.
Among them, an especially large number were about climbing the Tower.
Some had been written by Dolores herself, while others had been written more recently by other rankers.
Whenever I read those books, I always came away with the same thought: Dolores still wanted to climb the Tower.
“Then climb the Tower again.”
“......”
I wanted her to aim upward once more and run toward it someday.
I had mentioned it once before, but she had seemed deeply doubtful.
From what I had heard, the Severed Meridian Condition seemed to worsen the more she pushed her body.
Climbing while she was not completely healed must have been a burden.
But now?
There was no risk anymore.
That time bomb chasing her from behind was gone.
“I think that would be enough for m—ugh.”
Kiss....
I had not even finished speaking.
A soft touch landed on my cheek.
Still holding me, Dolores had kissed my cheek.
That was the second cheek kiss already. This was insane.
“...Would that alone not be insufficient?”
Smiling through the tears streaming down her face, Dolores whispered.
“I will climb again. This time... all the way to the end.”
That was wonderful to hear.
If you were born, you ought to dream of conquering the Tower at least once. Yes, yes.
“And five years from now... when Lionel and Ruby come up... I will be waiting above.”
“......”
It really, truly was moving, but...
I did not want to climb the Tower....
But I could not ruin the emotional atmosphere.
“Yes... well....”
The moment I answered—
Kiss....
This time, Dolores pressed a long kiss to my forehead.
“I will see you in five years, Lionel.”
As she said that—
Tap, tap.
She lightly tapped my lips with her finger.
And so, my first and greatest goal—Save Dolores—came to a satisfying close, for now.
Now, should I finally make some real equipment?
Over the next five years, I would remake equipment for both Ruby and Dolores—gear whose compatibility suited each of them perfectly.
The real rankers had better brace themselves. I was planning to enchant all of it, too.
...Of course, I did not have the slightest intention of climbing the Tower, but just in case, I would make some for myself too.
Thinking those happy thoughts, I remained quietly in Dolores’s embrace.
“...Mm.”
Her embrace... seemed a little warmer than before.
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