When I opened my eyes, a now-familiar ceiling came into view.
And a familiar face as well.
"Good morning."
"Lionel, too."
Dolores was looking down at me with a gentle smile.
"When you wake up, come out slowly."
She stroked my forehead once and then slowly walked out.
I watched Dolores's back and prepared to get up.
So many things happened yesterday.
So many that it's hard to put into words.
I received an order from the Imperial Princess for a new accessory.
I obtained a Three Lion's Medal made of platinum from the Emperor.
And I told Richard, and got all the minerals I wanted.
As expected of the Empire, there's no mineral that doesn't exist.
They brought out everything I asked for, so I just took them all.
Because I was up until dawn yesterday with Yuna, scanning the list and bringing in minerals.
I should have slept all day, but.
"A thunderous awakening."
Usually, when there's something exciting, you wake up quickly.
I jumped out of bed.
And immediately headed to the kitchen, grabbed a Ciabatta Bread, put it in my mouth, and chewed vigorously.
The Doloris Ducal Family is famous for its bread.
On the way to the Workshop across the garden.
"...Huh?"
I rubbed my eyes again.
If you follow the garden to the opposite side of the main gate, my Workshop appears.
It's not big, just moderate.
But on the side of the garden, something large was being built with a clatter.
"...What's that?"
I don't know what it's for, but it's quite big.
Well, that's not important.
I tilted my head and headed to the Workshop.
Creak.
And as soon as I opened the Workshop door, a satisfied smile escaped.
The minerals I received from the Imperial Palace yesterday were neatly stacked along the wall.
I was going to throw them roughly and go to sleep, but they were neatly organized, as if a snail bride had come.
The most important thing is to be grateful when someone does something for you while you're asleep.
"Thank you."
I bowed my head, smiled, and headed to the table in the center of the Workshop.
An accessory placed there, the Sun-Rising Pendant.
By the way, I left the moonlight Essence at the mansion because it seemed to keep listening to me. It's a bit uncomfortable. That thing.
From now on, I...must craft an accessory that will separate the two.
"Yuna."
[Yeah]
"Shall we discuss something?"
As a result of my research.
This world originally had folk beliefs.
Like how my world had various myths and religions, this world seemed to be the same.
Even before the Tower appeared.
Since there were Saintesses who drew power from divine energy, it was probably known that something existed.
But then the Tower appeared.
When people actually went inside.
"They really exist?"
The names they had prayed to and believed in for hundreds of years actually existed.
Usually, faith is faith because you can't confirm it, but this world confirmed it through the Tower.
It's natural that faith would rise.
That's the background of the gods in this world.
Let's set that aside.
I looked down at the Sun-Rising Pendant on the table.
The important thing was something else.
First, my hypothesis.
Who is the mother goddess of Solau and Selaea?
Even just looking at Greek and Roman mythology, all gods have genealogies.
Who gave birth to whom, who fought whom, who devoured whom.
Who had an affair with whom.
I'm confident this side is no different.
"Who is the mother goddess of Selaea and Solau?"
[One moment]
I waited for Yuna's crawling and picked up the Sun-Rising Pendant.
Even though it's a bit far from the mansion, it's still linked.
Nothing else, I just wanted to see the level of an accessory that contains divine energy.
To be honest.
I have very high standards.
Maybe because I've only seen the excellent craftsmanship of the Child of the Forest and the excellent smelting results of the Descendant of Fire.
Now I almost feel nauseous just looking at flawed craftsmanship.
In that sense, the Sun-Rising Pendant I saw...
"Looks doable?"
Actually, it looked doable.
It was so plain that I wondered if the craftsmanship was the problem. It's not very difficult.
Of course, it's not like the 4th workshop is shit, so there's nothing greatly flawed.
But it's not like it's something I can't aim for.
[Crawling Complete]
"Yeah."
I put down the pendant and focused on Yuna's words.
[Selaea is the goddess of the moon, Solau is the god who governs the sun]
[The mother of those two gods is Gaia, goddess of the earth, and the father is Kaelu, god of the sky.]
"Gaia...?"
That name is quite familiar.
Well, the idea of a sky father and earth mother appears similarly in any world.
[Gaia is also called the goddess of harmony and abundance, it seems]
Hey, this is it.
Please stop the fight between the two siblings.
Though it seems like one is unilaterally bullying the other.
Alright then.
The problem is now the method.
I opened the Descendant of Fire's manual for the first time in a while.
Since making the stockings, I hadn't had a reason to open it.
Honestly, I had already read it over 10 times, so all the information was in my head, and it's the Apprentice Blacksmith's Manual.
I'm a formal blacksmith.
How dare...
Still, since I'm still a total beginner at metallurgy, which involves melting iron before making accessories, I opened it to review.
Swoosh.
What I originally read was the Apprentice Blacksmith's Manual.
I've survived with just this one until now.
But.
As I scrolled down the document list, I found something I hadn't seen before below.
[🔑][Formal Blacksmith's Manual]
"What?!"
I jumped up from my chair and opened my eyes wide.
There was something like this?
Wait a moment.
Maybe this time it's also a phishing attempt from the Abyss or something.
I may fall for it three times, but not four.
But this time, something is different.
Unlike last time when it was locked with a padlock, it's open with a key shape from the start?
"Yuna, did you tamper with the lock separately?"
[No, not me?]
[And the document is linked from the Apprentice Blacksmith's document]
Then the source is certain, right?
"Hehehe."
I rubbed my hands together wildly and licked my lips.
I had been thirsty for exploration of new knowledge anyway.
I immediately opened the manual.
The words written on the first page caught my eye.
-----------------------------
[Remember, descendant. Keep in mind, descendant. Have pride.
Before your forge, even gods will line up.]
-----------------------------
"......"
My eyes widen from the first line.
It starts by pounding on your heart.
The Descendant of Fire, a blacksmith even gods seek.
Swoosh.
Then the table of contents unfolded.
-----------------------------
[Prologue. To the one who continues the fire]
[Chapter 1. True Name—How to name iron]
-----------------------------
Just as titles that made my heart pound continued like that.
-----------------------------
[Chapter 5. Divine Tool, Divine Seat—How to enshrine the energy of a god]
-----------------------------
Found it.
Fuck, this really exists.
"Yuna, I'll go read."
[Yeah, take your time.]
With a send-off as if I were going on a trip, I opened Chapter 5.
The Apprentice Blacksmith's Manual always used a teaching tone with me.
For example.
[Keep in mind. Without effort, there is no result. It means don't act like you've achieved something just because you passed a mere trial.]
[Don't be conceited about your talent, always polish yourself, and spend more time in the forge than in bed...]
The apprentice manual was full of words that awakened vigilance and whipped me on every page.
It felt like I was being beaten every day even without any particular thought.
Well, actually, I agreed with it, so I roughly took it to heart every time I saw it.
However.
When I moved on to the formal manual.
-----------------------------
[Before crafting a Divine Tool, there is one thing you must keep in mind]
[You who have overcome trials and walls over a long time can do anything. Your body is the dwarves' treasure—hope—and future, so please take care of your body's stability.]
[Even if a god sends an oracle to your doorstep, what use is it if your body doesn't move? Prioritize your physical well-being above all else.]
-----------------------------
Huh.
Our professor's tone has become quite sweet.
[If someone rushes you, hand them iron and tell them to forge it themselves. Most will quiet down on the spot. It will be the same for gods.]
Before even starting the content, it's worrying about my safety.
Wait a moment.
Could it be that I've become a skilled worker now?
Apprentices can be replaced, but experienced workers cannot.
That was the same in my world where AI was rampant.
You replace the ones you can replace, and you bring in the ones you can't get.
That's the way of the world.
So from the Sun Dwarves' perspective, I am a skilled worker who must be careful with his body.
A professional life that seemed like a dream.
Since I had never received such treatment even once in my past life.
I smiled and read each of those passages one by one.
Rattle, clack.
Rattle, clack.
Having received as much pampering as I could from the bearded Descendant of Fire dwarf professor.
I put down the text, and finally the main topic began.
First, it was written that Divine Tools—that is, accessories or equipment imbued with a god's energy—must not be crafted carelessly.
[For a god to dwell within, you must communicate with the target.]
In other words.
For beings like gods, rather than telling them to make it roughly and bring it.
It meant you had to investigate their demands and intentions to some extent and provide custom crafting.
[So, descendant, before forging, there is something you must craft first.]
[It is a bell.]
A bell?
There was a picture hanging next to the text.
It's a real bell, the kind that rings when you strike it.
[This is a communication device between the Descendant of Fire and the gods.]
[It is a one-way communication device that informs them that you will accept requests.]
Ah.
So it's like a mailbox.
When I make a bell and ring it, the gods understand.
That the fire has been lit in the Descendant of Fire's forge.
Then the gods each send requests for what they want, and the Descendant of Fire chooses one and accepts it.
It wasn't a metaphor, gods really are customers.
They put in an order form and wait their turn.
But there is one thing that bothers me.
"This is outside the Tower."
The space where gods exist is inside the Tower.
I'm not sure if the sound will reach if I ring the bell here.
'No harm in trying.'
I thought it would require quite a lot of research and investigation to make a divine accessory in the first place.
But the manual paved the road this much for me.
Clack.
There's no reason not to do it, right?
I'll do it then.
I pulled up the corners of my mouth and gripped the tongs in my hand.