"I'm not sure you'll like it."
Whether I liked it or not wasn't the issue.
She was giving me a hammer, so I should accept it gratefully, but...
If there was a real problem, it was that this hammer was for combat.
"I'm not sure I should accept something like this..."
"I got it in a hurry."
That seemed to be the case.
It really did look good, though.
I don't really want to fight.
No, is my will not of much interest? Could she be trying to raise me as a combat mercenary...?
It looked quite heavy.
Dolores was showing it to me as if holding a light stick.
Then.
A window activated.
-----------------------------
[Enchantment List]
[Weight Reduction][LV.4]
[Lightning Imbuement][LV.3]
-----------------------------
Whoa?
What is this.
Suddenly, the equipment's enchantment list appeared.
It was an interface I'd never seen before.
Had equipment never had something like that until now?
The moment I wondered in my head what level these magics were at.
[Level 1 is a 30 percent reduction, Level 2 is a 60 percent reduction, Level 3 is a 90 percent reduction. Level 4 is a 99 percent reduction.]
[It doesn't seem easy.]
"For now, I hurriedly reduced the weight a lot. Would you like to try lifting it?"
It seemed she really intended to give it to me. It seemed she hurriedly did it in case I couldn't lift it.
It was touching.
I carefully accepted the hammer.
Unlike its appearance, which looked incredibly heavy.
Thud.
The hammer lifted lightly in my hand.
Yet the feel in the hand was still alive.
"...It's good."
"......"
It's good, it's good. I'm really so grateful, but.
"Are you really giving this to me?"
Dolores didn't answer my question right away.
"There are many things I can't understand, but... I tend to focus on what I can see."
She pointed to the gloves on her hands.
"In that sense, this is."
Dolores bent down and met my eyes.
"It's repayment for the gloves."
"...Thank you."
Dolores smiles brightly.
The background is visible behind her. Sunset light slants in through the window.
At her surreal appearance, my eyes grow a little dizzy.
Warm Gloves. The result of the verification seemed to have been good.
No particular words came to mind.
I had forgotten when I last received a reward for working hard.
The same went for this kind of favor. A cup of strawberry latte my advisor bought me near the end of my doctoral program.
That's where my memory cuts off.
It's strange.
It settles in a corner of my chest.
And if there's another commonality here, it's that the favor that arrived doesn't suit me.
At the time, I had a strawberry allergy.
This hammer is for combat.
I should say it.
First, how should I say it? She bought it for no reason, so I can't say 'I don't like this.'
I present a reasonable reason and explain the impossible part.
I decided to use the most beautiful questioning method that existed in the world I lived in.
"Lady Dolores, however, if it's not too much, might I dare ask whether I may tell you that I have a concern about whether it would be all right to ask whether I may inquire whether I may request permission to tell you that I have a question about the hammer you bought me..."
While my question continued, a smile gradually spread across Dolores's lips.
"Pffft, Lionel."
She smiles brightly.
It's a truly delighted laugh.
Apparently my nested interrogatives were quite fresh to her.
"You can speak comfortably. Don't be nervous, all right?"
"...Yes."
I took one deep breath.
[Want help?]
Yeah, please.
I closed my eyes and opened my mouth.
"Actually, this is, you see."
I looked down at the hammer once again.
'Because it says "for combat"' is impossible. Because it wouldn't convince her.
"This hammer's handle length is right. Short-handled forging hammers are originally about this length."
Up to here is safe.
"But the head, I mean, both sides of the hammer head look the same, don't they? Usually a blacksmith's hammer has one side flat and the other narrow or round. The flattening face and the finishing face are different."
"......"
"But this one has both sides flat... and it's a bit narrow. It's shaped so the impact concentrates on one point."
[So it's a hammer that can't be finely controlled with the wrist- (pause one beat! With a sad expression~) it seems like a combat hammer.]
"...It seems like a combat hammer."
Thanks to the excellent script Yuna prepared, I could speak without stopping.
Dolores listened quietly to my words, then slowly nodded.
As I always say, you can't lie in front of her.
She must have finished analyzing this too just now. It must have sounded true.
"...You really know a lot, Lionel."
"My dream was to be a blacksmith."
This isn't a lie either; it's just a dream I decided on a week ago.
It's funny, though.
"Sorry, I didn't know much about hammers. I thought short would be fine. Hmm... what should we do..."
Just then, when Dolores was worrying with a hand on her chin.
Bonk.
Ruby lightly bumped her head against Dolores's skirt.
Cute.
She's asking for some attention too.
Dolores looked down at her with a smile.
"All right, it's late tonight... let's go out tomorrow."
"!"
Ruby's movement stopped.
"Ruby, you like Ariel Plaza, don't you?"
"Yeah... I like it..."
"Good."
Dolores soothed Ruby with practiced skill, then looked at me.
"Let's go buy a new hammer too. Choose comfortably."
"Is it really all right..."
"It is."
Good heavens.
She's generously donating 1 billion to me?
Wait, then what happens to the hammer I already bought?
When my gaze went to Tojar's Hammer and I didn't know what to do, Dolores lifted the hammer and looked at it.
"Anyway, what should we do with this one?"
"Um, how much was it..."
"200,000 gold. It wasn't expensive."
2 billion?
2 billion??
My hands tremble. Probably no refunds.
Dolores brought a 2 billion hammer as if buying bread and said it wasn't expensive.
"The material looks decent, though."
"......"
"Want to melt it down and use it as material?"
"Pardon...?"
It seemed good because of Lightning Ore or whatever.
She's telling me to melt 2 billion.
"Melt it down and use it as material."
Rustle.
Dolores stroked my head.
Without realizing it, I leaned my head into it.
"A greeting?"
"Thank you..."
Dolores was, after all.
Apparently enormously rich.
***
Dolores prepared a delicious meal for me as thanks for looking after Ruby.
I thought we'd go to a restaurant, but she suddenly took something out of thin air.
Whirr.
A crack formed in the air, and a steaming sandwich and.
A bottle of orange juice that looked cold settled onto her hand.
"......?"
Where did that just come from?
"It's a Subspace."
As if noticing my curiosity about where it came from, Dolores answered with a smile.
"If you someday climb the Tower, you'll naturally come to know."
No, I don't want to climb the Tower.
I didn't answer.
The sandwich was surprisingly plain ham and vegetables. The bread was soft as if freshly baked.
After finishing the meal, the sun had already completely set.
Outside the window, stars had been appearing one by one for quite a while.
It was time for bed.
Now, I should slowly get going.
I used up too much energy today.
"I'll be going to bed now..."
"Where are you going?"
"Huh? To my room..."
"Sleep here."
Dolores pointed to a door inside the cabin.
It was a bit big; it felt like a villa, with about three rooms.
She seemed to be pointing to a spare room.
Resistance is meaningless.
"Then I'll just go wash up!"
I quickly left the cabin and headed to the shower room.
I was afraid she might tell me to wash here. That was a little burdensome.
After a quick rinse, I knocked on the cabin door.
Knock, knock.
-Come in.
When I entered, Dolores was sitting at the table.
Perhaps getting ready for bed, she wore sleepwear, and starlight flowed in through the window and settled on her shoulders.
The tips of her silver hair shone blue.
Just sitting there, she's a picture.
Since I had nothing to say, I asked where the little kid who had disappeared had gone.
"Where's Ruby?"
"She went to sleep. She's always been a kid who sleeps a lot."
"Ah."
"Mages train even while sleeping. The more she sleeps, the better."
Good heavens, is there such a convenient and efficient profession?
Good information. I want to become a Mage too.
"Yes, then good night..."
"Sit for a moment."
"Okay."
Escape attempt, failed.
I swallowed a sigh inwardly and sat across from her at the table.
Dolores watched me quietly with her hands clasped.
Starlight illuminated only half her face, and the other half was lit by the lamp.
"Lionel."
"Yes."
"We're returning to the territory tomorrow."
Oh.
Territory? Since Dolores is a Duchess, it's probably a duchy.
She must have a home too.
"That's good news."
I said it without much thought.
Once Dolores leaves, the Warm Gloves request is over, and I return to the orphanage.
Return to daily life.
"You're coming too."
Huh?
"What?"
"Lionel, you're coming with us too."
Dolores said it once more with a calm face.
I hadn't misheard.
"The orphanage..."
"If I take you with me, would there be a problem?"
"No. It's not that."
"I'll build you a workshop in the territory."
A workshop?
Wait, really?
The typical workshop I know means one equipped with a furnace and a comfortable environment for a blacksmith's life.
"There... work hard and improve your skills."
"......"
"I can provide everything you want."
The answer didn't come right away.
It wasn't because I disliked it. There was no reason at all to refuse.
Telling me to improve my skills meant she believed my skills would rise further.
It meant she saw my potential.
For a moment, the past came to mind.
Over the past five years, how many people had said that to me?
"...Thank you."
My voice cracked slightly.
A man is loyal to the one who recognizes his worth.
Yes, this life, I've decided it's you, Dolores...
[Cringe.]
Okay.
I shook my head slightly to clear it, then asked why she was being so kind to me.
"What should I do after improving my skills?"
I had a rough idea of what it might be.
"I don't know how you knew, but."
Dolores paused for a moment.
"Lionel, you were certain that I suffer from a condition called Nine Yin Severed Meridians."
"Yes."
"Make equipment that can cure it, or... delay it further."
Dolores gave a slightly cynical smile.
"It might seem ridiculous to ask a child this. But I'm serious."
She looks at me.
"I won't spare any support."
From Dolores's perspective, she was clinging to a 13-year-old brat and begging to be saved.
A Duchess. The Ruler of the 5th Floor. A High Ranker.
The very fact that such a person was asking a little orphanage kid for help.
She must have tried so many things, and I was the only possible method left.
"I'll do whatever I can."
I said that, but.
My mindset was just that I'd do it no matter what.
"...Yeah, thank you."
Rustle.
Dolores stroked my head.
This time I didn't lean my head in. Yet her hand didn't withdraw.
She smiled brightly and slowly rose from her seat.
"Come now, let's go to bed. Tomorrow will be busy."
"Okay."
Dolores opened the door to the inner room.
"......"
Ruby was sleeping inside the room.
Curled up like a shrimp in the middle of a large bed, with the blanket half kicked off.
Where's my room?
But then, something entered my sight.
Beside Ruby, a blue pillow was placed neatly.
Wasn't I supposed to sleep in a spare room?
And the problem was that on Ruby's left, a white pillow was placed.
So next to Dolores, next to Ruby, and next to that is me.
"...Me too?"
"Of course."
Dolores answered calmly.
"Babies are scared to sleep alone at night, aren't they?"
I'm thirty, though.
Of course, I couldn't say that.
Dolores confirmed that my body had entered the room.
Click.
She locked the door.
"......"
"......"
In front, Ruby tossed and turned, talking in her sleep.
So I really do have to lie down.
I laid my head on the blue pillow and looked at the ceiling.
Starlight quietly flowed in through the window...
Smack.
"......"
Dolores lightly kissed Ruby's forehead as she slept.
It was natural, as if she did it all the time.
Oh right, she did it to her forehead earlier during the day too.
Wait, no, right?
It can't be... this is also overthinking...
Then.
Smack.
"Sleep well, Lionel."
I had my eyes closed, but something touched my forehead.
Soft, warm, brief.
"......"
The timing to answer had already passed.
There was a sign of the blanket being pulled slightly, and the other side of the bed sank.
With Ruby between us, Dolores lay down.
Soon only the sound of three people's breathing remained.
Precisely, two people's worth. Because I couldn't close my eyes.
Pinch.
What the.
Someone suddenly pinched my thigh with their fingers.
'...Ruby was awake too.'
Precisely, it was one person's worth.
My forehead stayed warm for quite a while.