Chapter 97: 96. Dollit Pass Is Over.
1.
If earth loses to flame, it would probably become molten magma.
If flame loses to earth, I think it would probably become ash buried beneath the ground.
Is it just me, or does this strangely feel like a proxy war between Ignia and Gaia?
For now, I just wished both of them would restrain themselves in my workshop.
Scrape... scrape...
First, I was cutting a gemstone less expensive than the Dreadflame Crystal.
Gem cutting was not originally the Sun Dwarves’ domain, and besides, I was not rich enough to immediately ruin such a fine gemstone.
I chipped away pieces and smoothed the edges.
The insignia’s backing plate was roughly the size of a palm—not my palm, but an adult man’s.
I needed to shape it so it could sit atop that.
The basic shape I had in mind was a sun.
I could not think of a shape better suited to the Fire Crystal, which held fire and sunlight so intensely within it.
But simply cutting it round would make it look like a button. The key, then, was to carve eight pointed rays spreading out from the edges.
Scrape... scrape...
It was time to return to being a Child of the Forest.
If there was a central principle to their craft, it was this:
‘The World Tree sees even what cannot be seen.’
In other words, even the parts that would never be exposed were watched by the World Tree, so I was not to skimp on the details.
The same had been true for The Cradle of Earth. Naturally, I had to work the face of the gem that would be visible, but I also had to carve texture into the reverse side.
Making a line or two on the back completely changed the light the gemstone caught.
“...I did well back then.”
Why did this feel so unfamiliar now?
I carved texture into the spare gem, cut it down, and turned it over.
I had done well. It was a neat circle.
The eight rays came out nicely, too. It was tremendous progress compared to the first practice piece sitting beside it... yet, for some reason, I could not bring myself to pick up the Dreadflame Crystal.
This should be enough.
...This was precisely the feeling I needed to be most wary of.
I leaned back in my chair, holding the gemstone up beneath the light.
Let’s imagine this pinned to Mama’s clothes.
The white dress she usually wore, her snow-white skin... and this resting upon her.
I pictured Dolores bowing her head to look down at the insignia.
...It did not suit her very well.
And this new insignia was not meant only for Dolores, either.
“Wait a second...”
An insignia was classified as a weapon, but considering its size and appearance, it was undeniably closer to an accessory.
To make something like this properly, I needed to know the person who would wear it.
What had I done when I made The Cradle of Earth?
Thinking of Imperial Princess Justina, imagining what would suit her...
“Pictures.”
I had searched for pictures online, had I not?
And I had spent an entire day looking at nothing but pictures of Justina.
I did not need pictures of Dolores. She was already in my head. What I needed now was...
“A picture of Gaia.”
Ah, now I finally get it, fuck.
The source of my creativity.
The reason for my wandering thoughts, my lack of motivation, and this vague something-or-other was that I had not properly looked at the person who would wear it.
“First, I need to replenish my Dolores energy.”
I headed for the wardrobe.
“...Huh?”
What was this? There was only one left?
Even excluding the ones I had gifted to Milien and the Queen of the Distant Wind Spirits, there should have been two remaining.
“Did she take one?”
Tilting my head, I took the underwear Dolores no longer wore, which I had hidden in the drawer beneath the wardrobe, and draped it over my shoulders.
I would make do with this for my Dolores image training.
...The scent had faded a little.
It was a shame, but it could not be helped.
Smacking my lips, I stared into empty space before asking Yuna,
“Yuna, you don’t have a picture of Gaia, do you?”
[A god... Even when I crawled the web, nothing came up.]
If there was not a single picture of Gaia to be found anywhere...
Then there was only one way.
I would get on my knees and ask her for one directly.
With a reverent heart, I hung the soft, lightweight thing that resembled a headset around my neck and opened the communication window.
...Well, it did look rather similar.
“Gaia, are you there?”
『Child. You have come again.』
Even through text, I could somehow feel how pleased she was.
“There is something I would like to ask you.”
『Yes. Tell me anything.』
This was a pain to explain, but I should just do it.
I was human, anyway... From Gaia’s perspective, I probably looked like an ant with peculiar tastes.
“When I decide to make something for someone, I tend to keep thinking about that person.”
『You think of the child who will receive it. How kind and admirable.』
“Yes. What their face looks like, what clothes they wear, what their neckline is like, what their body proportions are like, what colors suit them and how they harmonize.”
『Uh... yes, I see...』
“But I am currently thinking about an insignia for you, Gaia. There is one very large obstacle.”
I tried closing my eyes.
“I cannot remember what your face looks like.”
This was extremely troublesome.
“So, Gaia...”
『Yes...?』
“This may be an irreverent request... but could you perhaps send me just one picture...?”
I made my voice sound as pitiful as possible.
I stared at the attachment icon displayed on one side of the communication window.
You could attach pictures, after all.
『...Of course, but...』
『......... Child, I am currently... um...』
“Yes?”
『Is it very urgent, child...?』
“...A little.”
『All right. Wait just a little.』
“Thank you!!!!!”
Not long afterward, the communication window flashed.
[An attachment has arrived.]
That was fast.
I opened the picture without thinking much of it.
“.........”
A clear pond with flowers floating across its surface.
Gaia sat in the middle, wrapped in a white robe.
Her wet hair was swept to one side, and she was looking this way.
“...Were you bathing...?”
It did not take me long to realize she was washing herself.
Crash!
I nearly rolled out of my chair.
『I was washing... I am sorry, child. You said it was urgent, so I tried taking one like this first...』
『Can you see my face clearly?』
“Yes. I can see it very, very clearly...”
『You do not feel anything strange... or anything like that...?』
Too clearly...
Something strange... I straightened my back rigidly and stared at the picture.
I-I could not get the words out properly.
She felt different from when I saw her in the tower... It made me think there was a reason Sun Dwarves were so captivated by gods.
Gaia’s face, which had been hazy in my mind, came back into focus.
『Would this perhaps be difficult to use? If so, I can go out and take another...』
“No, this is more than enough!!”
I shook my head.
『Hehe, I am glad it helps... If you need anything else while making it, tell me anytime, all right...?』
“...Thank you.”
『...Have a pleasant time.』
This time, Gaia ended the communication first.
The problem... had been solved.
It had been solved, but...
I stared at the picture for several minutes before picking up my chisel and hammer again.
[If you had looked for one more minute, I was going to warn you that you were being seduced.]
“Yeah, I think so too.”
I would admit it.
If Kim Yujin had not been tempered by beauties like Dolores and Yeomhwa on a daily basis, I probably would have gone trotting after her already.
Fortunately, I had received plenty of preventive shots, so I came to my senses...
Now, I would cut the gemstone.
With the picture displayed to one side, I pictured her face.
“You’re dead.”
I mean you, Fire Crystal.
I took out the Dreadflame Crystal.
This was the moment. I had to go while inspiration had struck.
Scrape...
I followed where my hands led and where my heart went.
I carved a little, looked at the picture... then lowered my head to look at the underwear once more.
Earlier, I had not even had a sense of what needed fixing, but now I kept wanting to alter things.
It was a good sign, a good sign, but...
This was going to take a long time from here on out.
They say everyone has their own source of inspiration, but I guess I am just a womanizer.
When I picture the face of the person I am making something for, inspiration comes to me.
Though it probably would not come if it were a man. Unless it was Eric, perhaps.
If there was one thing I had been mistaken about...
“I was trying to make a sun.”
Lionel, you are far too pretentious.
A Sun Dwarf, therefore a sun? That was incredibly clichéd.
Rather than thinking in such a rigid way, I needed to think with my nose buried in Dolores or Gaia’s bosom.
Crack...
Using a chisel and Dawn Bringer, I first split the large Dreadflame Crystal evenly.
Scrape... scrape...
The large piece would become the main body, and the smaller pieces... would have their uses.
I shaved away at the sides to create a gentle curve... then lifted the tip slightly.
“.........”
What I had in mind now were the flowers floating beside Gaia.
[They’re water lilies.]
So the flower was called a water lily. A water lily...
As it happened, training was what I did every day.
Scrape...
Carving a flower from a large lump was no easy task.
It would actually be easier to carve petals from separate gemstones and attach them.
But if I carved it from one piece, I had to hollow out everything except the portions that would become petals within the lump.
The instant I ruined even one petal by mistake, spring would never come to that part. It would never bloom again.
I secured the Dreadflame Crystal firmly on the table and turned the clamp slightly.
First, I had to leave the center plump and lower the overall height.
The outer edges needed to spread wide, gradually rising as they moved inward.
Scrape...
Then, starting from the center, I slowly raised my chisel...
First, one look at Gaia’s face.
Then one look at the flower.
Chip...
Scrape...
I only needed to remember one thing: the inside closed in, while the outside opened out.
As I poked, split, and refined the gemstone, the flames trapped within the Dreadflame Crystal swayed.
It almost felt as though they were telling me to hurry up and finish.
Sorry, but...
“...My eyes feel like they’re going to pop out.”
According to Yuna’s hologram, the projected number of petals on the Dreadflame Crystal water lily was sixty-four.
In other words, I had to carve every single one into the gem.
If I had settled for a sun, I would have been done with eight, but I was making trouble for myself in my own way.
Scrape...
Scrape...
Now that I was carving this flower, I realized the longest it had ever taken me to make a single accessory was two months.
That had been The Cradle of Earth. It had taken so long because it was my first insignia.
“Hm.”
I was certain.
This time, I would break that record.
“...For now, let’s take a break.”
It would be a problem if my eyes were already glazing over before a long battle.
I set down my chisel and rose from my seat. Maybe I would get some air for a moment...
Then I opened the workshop door.
Tap.
A paper bag hung from the doorknob.
I took the bag and looked inside.
“......!”
A familiar, longed-for scent.
Inside was the set of underwear that had been missing from the wardrobe earlier... neatly folded.
Along with a small note.
[I happened to borrow it and wear it for a little while, Lionel. It was very comfortable.]
Ah, so Dolores really had taken it.
I read the reason for the borrowing and slipped my hand into the bag.
“.........”
Warm.
She had clearly been wearing it just moments ago...
Tap.
I closed the workshop door right then and there.
“Refill.”
I, Lionel, hereby declare:
As of this moment, my desire to work has been refilled, and I require no further rest.
No longer did I have to use it sparingly, hands trembling over the fear that its scent would disappear.
Rustle.
I immediately switched what was around my neck for the newly arrived one.
Dollit Pass was over.
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