1.
Yeomhwa had recently been enjoying a comfortable stay at the Dolores estate under the pretense of recuperating.
The air was nice, there was plenty to eat, and Lionel and Ruby were adorable.
Of course, the lady of the house could be scary at times...
For Yeomhwa, waiting until her equipment was completed was practically a vacation in itself.
Whenever she rested her chin on the window sill and looked out toward the garden, she itched to visit the workshop at least once. But Dolores had strictly forbidden it, and it was only right to respect Lionel’s work, so she patiently held herself back.
...And today was an outing, for the first time in a while.
Yeomhwa was planning to visit the Tower today.
It was about time she showed her face at the Tower again.
She did not know about anything else, but continuing to stay away without even contacting the goddess she served did weigh on her mind a little, you know?
Yeomhwa changed into clothes suitable for going out and set foot in the Tower.
She headed straight for the temple.
To begin with, Lionel had confiscated her Magic Grimoire, so she could not fight anyway.
"Hehe."
She had no idea just how good the equipment he was making for her would be, but she was full of anticipation.
There were many worship halls within the temple, but among them was a room only Yeomhwa could enter.
The instant she stepped inside, the torches lining the walls lit up in succession.
Fwoosh!
She sure came quickly.
Had she missed her, perhaps?
『You’re here?』
A familiar voice echoed through her head.
"Yes, Ignia’s darling Yeomhwa is here~"
『How is your body?』
"It’s much better now."
『Not “much better.” I asked you for details. Are you still in pain?』
"It doesn’t hurt now. I’m recuperating."
Yeomhwa chuckled softly and sat before the altar.
Though Ignia was the goddess she served, Yeomhwa still spoke her mind.
Ignia was renowned as a goddess with an absolutely terrible attitude toward anyone who was not one of her own.
But once she accepted someone as one of hers—once she considered them to be within her boundaries—she might grumble, but she took exceptionally good care of them.
Fwoooosh...!
The flames rose higher, as if to say enough with the pleasantries.
『...Still, you did well. It’s been a while since I could hold my head high in front of Gaia.』
"...Pardon?"
Gaia...?
Why bring up the Goddess of Earth all of a sudden...?
When Yeomhwa tilted her head in confusion, Ignia shook the flames as though exasperated.
『You know, don’t you? That child attached to you.』
"I have absolutely no idea."
『The one who said he’d make your equipment.』
"...Lionel?"
There was only one person who had said he would make her equipment.
『It seems he has just completed it... an elegant and beautiful rose that carries so much respect it makes me jealous.』
Yeomhwa’s eyes went round at the goddess’s words.
『I especially like the number thirty-six petals. Six is the number that symbolizes the sun... and thirty-six, six squared, is the number that completes the sun’s magic square.』
『Using each of those thirty-six petals as a chamber to contain the sun? I cannot even begin to imagine how deeply he studied and how hard he worked to understand you. It is an astonishing design.』
Wait, wait!!!!
No spoilers!!!!
『If he were to offer me a divine artifact with that same grotesque degree of care and devotion, what kind of—』
"Thank you!!"
Spring!
Yeomhwa abruptly sprang to her feet.
『W-wait, I’m not finished yet.』
"I’ll hear the rest when I get back!"
『You must, absolutely make sure you catch—!』
Leaving Ignia’s voice behind, Yeomhwa shot out of the worship hall like a bullet.
"Hurry!!"
Ten minutes after returning to the Tower... Yeomhwa was back at the Dolores estate.
2.
Before going to see Yeomhwa, I went to Dolores’s office to use the appraisal device, but the news waiting for me was...
"She went out...?"
What was this anticlimactic development?
Yeomhwa had gone back to the Tower.
Well... Yeomhwa was probably more disappointed than I was.
"I’ll use the appraisal device for a moment, Dolores."
Keeping a perfectly straight face, I headed toward the appraisal device.
"..."
...Actually, I was disappointed too.
The best part of making equipment was seeing the person receiving it happy.
When would she come back?
Bzzzz...
While I was thinking that, the appraisal report had already printed out.
─────────────────
[Fiancée: Rose Bloom Finale][★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment]
─────────────────
『You are free to hide. If you can avoid it, that is.』
- ??? -
『Equipment that contains fire, equipment for my daughter... I understand your intentions perfectly.』
『Gaia, you do know what a rose symbolizes, don’t you?』
- Goddess of Fire, Ignia -
『....................』
- Goddess of Earth, Gaia -
─────────────────
『Oh, my love~ A flower for you~』
- Skilled Blacksmith L -
─────────────────
...Ah, seriously, this was a headache too.
For the record, that damned Origin Script... was a lyric from a song from the world I used to live in, which came to mind when I saw the flower.
I thought I had only been humming it, but that damned thing had latched onto it and inscribed it.
I was speechless.
I should explain myself... right?
Besides, for some reason, the Goddess of Fire was taking shots at Gaia.
At Gaia, of all people...?
What did roses even symbolize?
[Well, it’s red... and it’s a single rose, right?]
Right?
[A red rose symbolizes passionate love.]
[And a single rose means... “I love only you.”]
Seriously?
[Or something like, “Why did you only appear now?”]
A laugh slipped out.
It was not really like that, though.
Well, Yeomhwa was an adult. She would probably find it cute.
I was smiling as I held the appraisal report and headed over to Dolores when...
"...?"
The back of my head had felt prickly, and sure enough, Dolores was staring right at me.
"...That’s a pretty flower, Lionel?"
"Ah, would you like to take a look?"
It was nice to get another ranker’s opinion on it.
I casually showed her the appraisal report.
"..."
Dolores took the report and slowly read it.
Flinch.
Flinch.
Flinch, flinch.
What was that?
She flinched every time she read a line.
Once at the name [Fiancée], once at Gaia, and once at the Origin Script.
"Ah, that part about ‘my love’... it’s just song lyrics. I hummed it, and somehow it got inscribed."
I should clear up anything Dolores might misunderstand right away.
I did not know about anyone else, but I did not want to give her room to misunderstand.
When I explained, Dolores’s tense shoulders lowered a little.
"...I see."
"Of course."
For some time, Dolores alternated between glancing at the appraisal report and the rose...
Then she handed the paper back to me.
"You made it so beautifully... so well..."
Fidget...
Dolores looked at the rose with an oddly wistful expression.
"Lionel, do you happen to know what red roses symbolize?"
"...Yes, I do, but it honestly wasn’t reflected in this."
"...I see."
I wanted to say I did not know, but lying before Dolores was useless anyway.
"..."
[You’re so mean, big brother.]
...Y-yeah.
I had not done anything wrong exactly, but I felt like I had done something awful.
"Dolores, I’ll make you an incredibly good piece of equip—"
Squeeze...
Dolores suddenly hugged me.
"Thank you, Lionel... for making such wonderful equipment for my companion."
"...It’s nothing."
She truly was... kindhearted Dolores.
That was when it happened.
Liooooneeeel!
"You startled me."
Someone’s thunderous voice suddenly came from beyond the hallway.
What? I thought she went to the Tower.
"...Let’s go."
Dolores rose from her seat with an extremely grave expression.
"You’re coming too, Dolores?"
"Yes... I don’t know what Yeomhwa might do."
I had no idea what that meant, but I gathered the rose and appraisal report and went outside.
The moment I opened the door, a red-haired woman, breathing heavily, came into view.
"Hah... hah... Lionel...!"
"Don’t breathe like that..."
Dolores looked at the panting Yeomhwa with contempt.
"Shall we go to the garden?"
"...Let’s."
She needed to try the equipment out too... The three of us headed to a bench in the garden.
After waiting for Yeomhwa to calm down a little, I carefully held out the rose I had wrapped up.
"This is the equipment I told you about."
When I unwrapped it and offered her the rose... Yeomhwa’s hand reached toward it...
Then stopped.
"..."
What was this reaction? Did she not like it?
"...Th-this..."
Yeomhwa stared intently at the red bud...
Then asked,
"Y-you’re really... giving this to me...?"
"Who else would I give it to?"
"C-can I... touch it...?"
"...? Of course you can?"
Stroke.
Huh?
Yeomhwa suddenly touched my cheek.
Wasn’t she talking about the flower?
Not long after, her hand moved to the flower as well.
As delicately as though she were handling a baby... incredibly delicately, she accepted the rose.
She softly brushed the bud with her fingers and stared at it closely too.
She even brought her nose close, but... it probably did not have a scent.
"It smells so lovely..."
...There was no way it could.
"...It’s so beautiful..."
At last, a smile spread across Yeomhwa’s lips.
She always looked like someone who smiled often, but seeing a smile so free of mischief gave me a strange new feeling.
"It’s really so beautiful. It’s... the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. How did you know I liked roses?"
"I did a little research."
"I’m touched..."
"Shall I explain what the rose does too?"
"Wait a moment..."
Squeeze...
Yeomhwa pulled the rose into her embrace.
"Let me look at it a little longer..."
Ah.
She was someone who expressed her emotions openly, so her reaction was great.
This was why I made things.
It would probably be fun to see her be amazed by its performance too.
Yeomhwa gazed at the rose for a long while.
Then she suddenly shifted her eyes around.
"...Thank you, Lionel!"
"Oof."
She impulsively threw her arms around me.
At the same time, I heard Dolores dragging her chair beside us...
Thankfully, Yeomhwa immediately pulled away, so nothing happened.
Her face flushed red, Yeomhwa stared at me and asked,
"Lionel... could you... tell me what it does too?"
"Here’s the appraisal report."
I belatedly held out the report.
"It should have a set effect with the Magic Grimoire you used before."
The detailed operational mechanics that were not written in the appraisal report needed to be explained separately.
It would have been awkward to tell her directly, so based on Yuna’s summary, I had written instructions beneath the appraisal report.
─────────────────
[1. Whenever the Magic Grimoire creates one magic bullet, an identical bullet is copied into each of the rose’s thirty-six chambers and loaded simultaneously.]
[2. While the rose retains fire energy, loading and firing do not consume the wearer’s mana.]
[3. So long as it is supplied with sunlight or ambient fire energy, the chambers reload infinitely.]
─────────────────
Yeomhwa’s eyes gradually widened as she read the appraisal report.
This was it. She was about to be blown away by its overwhelming performance—
"...Fiancée? My love...?"
"...Ah, that isn’t what it means."
I hurriedly cleared up the misunderstanding.
No, read the instructions. Don’t read that.
But contrary to my hopes, Yeomhwa’s cheeks turned even redder than before.
Fan, fan.
Perhaps she was feeling hot, because she even fanned herself with her palm to cool her cheeks.
At last, Yeomhwa’s eyes moved down to the instructions.
"...Reloading?"
She froze in place.
"Thirty-six at once... without consuming mana?"
"I don’t think you’ll have much need to use mana anymore."
Other than making guns, maybe?
Yeomhwa looked up at the appraisal report, then back at the rose, going back and forth between them.
In the end, her eyes landed on me.
"L-Lionel. W-wait a moment."
"Yes."
"There’s something I’ve always dreamed of doing..."
And what was that?
"F-firing dozens of bullets at once... at the same time..."
Yeomhwa spoke faster and faster.
"But there’s a limit to bullets... and a limit to my mana... and I’d immediately collapse from exhaustion, so even with an Ether Circle, it’s impossible..."
"...Yes."
"I-I have a skill I only developed in theory. It’s based on an impossible premise..."
A skill based on an impossible premise?
So, it was theoretically possible. I had no idea why she had developed it, but from the looks of it, she probably would have tried it the instant she saw even the slightest chance.
She was the type to overdo things, after all.
Yeomhwa looked down at the rose...
Then raised her head as if she had made up her mind.
"I want to test it."
After rambling incoherently, Yeomhwa stood, tucking the Magic Grimoire under her arm and carefully cradling the rose in her hands.
"D-Dolores? I’ll do it in the air..."
"...I’ll just put up a barrier."
"Yes! Thank you!"
At Dolores’s gesture, a gray veil spread around us.
"Do it in the air."
"Okay!"
Yeomhwa spread her legs and turned her body halfway.
...She took a stance like a gunslinger from the Wild West.
And then...
The moment Yeomhwa lifted the rose in her palm toward the air—
Shrrrnk...!
The tightly closed petals unfurled from the inside out.
The blooming rose floated from Yeomhwa’s hand and drifted behind her.
As expected, she instinctively knew how to use it.
And then... when Yeomhwa gestured—
Hummmm... Click.
A red shotgun appeared in midair.
"Come here, Lionel."
Dolores took my hand and moved me behind her.
"Hoo..."
Yeomhwa let out a long breath as she gazed at the shotgun floating in the air...
Then raised her finger.
"Full barrage."
And then—
KABOOOOOM!!!!
This was insane.
Something fired from the shotgun with a tremendous roar.
The fired red bullet split into two, then four, then eight, multiplying as it flew through the air and slammed into the barrier.
BOOM!!!
"Hoo... Try controlling your strength..."
As the barrier rippled, Dolores exhaled softly.
At the same time, the blooming rose closed up.
"Did she fire all thirty-six shots at once...?"
I muttered quietly.
That was literally a full barrage, wasn’t it?
Just from the rose closing, I could tell that she had consumed every bullet at once.
She was free to use the equipment however she wanted, but...
This is crazy. That isn’t what I made it for.
Fortunately, it did not use mana, so it would not strain her.
The problem was... not long after that...
Shrrrraaa...
The lingering intense heat within the barrier was drawn back into the rose.
Bloom!
The rose fully bloomed again.
Reload complete.
Not even five seconds had passed since it fired.
"..."
The corners of Yeomhwa’s lips slowly rose.
Whip!
Then she suddenly turned and looked at me.
"...?"
As we faced each other in silence—
"Lionel!"
Whoosh!
Yeomhwa rushed straight at me...
"Thank you so much!"
"No, wait a moment..."
Kiss!
Before I had a chance to stop her, Yeomhwa’s lips touched my cheek and pulled away.
"I really... achieved my dream... It was the level I always dreamed of reaching..."
Kiss...
They touched me again.
Then she pulled away again...
"Lionel, thank you so—"
The moist, hot, pleasant lips of Yeomhwa, who had attacked my cheek twice already, were about to touch my cheek for a third time when—
Grab.
Dolores, who had approached at some point, snatched Yeomhwa away.
"Twice is enough, isn’t it?"
"...I-is it?"
"...Move away before I report you to the Imperial Family for sexual harassment."
"..."
Yeomhwa’s body was slowly pulled away from mine.
Even then, she covered her mouth with one hand so Dolores could not see...
And silently moved her lips at an angle only I could see.
"...?"
What was that?
[Let’s do it in secret next time?]
Along with Yuna’s interpretation.
Wink.
Yeomhwa winked at me and added something with her lips.
At the shape her mouth made next.
...What’s a fie?
Hmm...
[fiancé....]
[Yeah, I really should report her to the Imperial Palace.]
That was Yuna’s reaction.
And Yeomhwa, holding the rose against her chest... was dragged away with a blissful smile.
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