Chapter 81

Rustling.

A girl sitting at the desk busily waved her pen in her hand.

As the girl’s hand moved, black ink rushed wildly beyond the neat square boxes.

The girl paused for a moment to glance at the letters that had escaped the boxes, unsatisfied.

However, her hand, which started moving again, showed no signs of being particularly more careful, and the letters born from her hand, like its siblings before, escaped the constraining square framework and ventured into the vast world.

Shin Da-eun gently stroked the girl’s pink hair while conversing with Celine.

“…So that happened.”

“I didn’t know so much happened while I was gone. If I had known it would be so hard, I would have gone with you….”

“Oh, no. Thanks to Kana, I didn’t suffer at all. Of course, when I was carried on Kana’s back and thought I was going to Lady Edel, it felt a bit different, though.”

“Hehe. Hearing you say that makes me want to experience it too.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t say such things even as a joke!”

Celine replied with more teasing, causing Da-eun to flinch and try to stop her.

That’s… that’s not something a person should do.

When she was first carried on Kana’s back, Da-eun imagined a romantic scene from a movie where the male and female leads held hands and walked through the sky, but she painfully realized that reality is different from movies.

‘Reality….’

As Da-eun pondered alone, she chewed over those two characters in her mind.

If the viewers had heard her thoughts, they would surely have teased her for being addicted to the game.

However, unless she spoke up, the viewers wouldn’t be able to know what she was thinking.

‘Well, even if they did hear….’

“It doesn’t really matter.”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, it was just a soliloquy.”

Da-eun dismissed Celine’s question as something not worth much concern.

After all, even if she told the truth, Celine wouldn’t understand it due to the filtering.

No, she wouldn’t even hear it at all.

‘….’

Shaking her head, Da-eun tried to shake off her bitter feelings.

“Anyway, it seems like we’ll have to stay in Baltora for about another week.”

A week. The time it takes Brondin to craft magical tools.

Not just any magical tools, but ones made using Dragon Orbs, and the time to create them through custom orders was quite short.

Although Ashié had worries after hearing Brondin’s words, the dwarf merely laughed heartily, his beard waving.

‘What’s the big deal? A few sleepless nights should do the trick.’

No matter how much they heard, it only raised concerns, yet no one dared to refute his words.

Who would dare contradict a dwarf, a race renowned for their expertise in crafting?

If there was a problem, it was that Max, who had made an alliance with Brondin, had vanished, leaving no one to inscribe the magic.

‘…Am I supposed to do it?’

‘You don’t want to?’

‘No! I will do it! Please let me do it!’

That issue was resolved by forming a new alliance with the wizard who had helped find Max.

In addition, there were conditions, such as showing the ring Kana wore during the working period, but that was not particularly difficult, so it was gladly accepted.

“Then it seems the two of you have successfully achieved your purpose for coming to Baltora.”

“Hmm… I suppose so? The process was a bit sticky, though.”

“Don’t worry too much. Even Lady Edel, who values mercy as a virtue, doesn’t forgive those kinds of people.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. Still, it’s nice to see you think that way, Joanie.”

“Oh my, why are you making me embarrassed?”

At Celine’s sudden compliment, Da-eun’s face flushed, and she fanned herself.

It wasn’t to the extent that she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole, but she felt embarrassed and found it hard to meet Celine’s eyes. As she looked around, she finally noticed the paper Kana was scribbling on.

And the traces of ink dancing on the paper, closer to drawings than letters.

“Kana! You need to write in the box; how can you let it spill out like this!”

“…It’s annoying.”

“If you write carelessly because it’s annoying, your handwriting won’t look pretty!”

“What does it matter if I’m not showing it to anyone?”

“…But if you write properly, you can concentrate better, and it’s easier to read….”

“Hmph.”

Despite having thought up a good reason, Kana remained indifferent.

With Kana’s stubbornness, Da-eun eventually pulled out her trump card.

“If you write all crooked like this, it’ll look like a child wrote it. Right, Celine?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. Joanie is right.”

“…You’re such a fool.”

Celine nodded in response to Da-eun, not fully understanding what she was saying.

Kana, watching this pitiful scene, sighed and resumed her writing, which had been momentarily interrupted.

The black ink decorating the white paper was now neatly confined within the square framework, unlike before.

***

A week later.

As the day broke, we packed our things and left the church, heading towards Brondin’s workshop.

“Wow…!”

As Da-eun’s mouth dropped open, cheers erupted.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

“Of course!”

How could she not like something after seeing this!

Seeing Da-eun’s blissful smile made the fatigue that had filled Brondin’s face lighten a little.

I took a look at the ring-shaped magical tool Brondin had given Da-eun.

To be honest, lacking an eye for aesthetics, I thought, ‘It’s pretty, but is it really that pretty to react like this?’

‘As long as the receiver is happy, that’s what matters.’

I nodded my head as I watched her bouncing with joy.

It wasn’t like I was the one receiving it.

“Thank you, Kana…! I’ll use it well!”

“…Why are you telling me that?”

“Well, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten it! You paid for it too… I could have paid, you know. Should I give it to you now?”

“Forget it.”

I was taking her to the perilous Laxia because of my stubbornness, so I felt I should do this much.

But knowing Da-eun’s personality, she probably would have followed even if I hadn’t insisted.

“Your hands were shaking while saying that, so how can I take the money?”

“What? I-I was shaking? That can’t be…! Of course, it’s true that I’m a little short on money…!”

“Just kidding.”

Da-eun flinched and looked down at her hands, pouting her lips.

Our relationship had grown much closer than when we first met on the mountain.

As I stretched out my arms toward her, the bracelet hanging from her wrist jingled.

“This is a thank you for the bracelet. …I just realized I hadn’t given you anything in return.”

“…I didn’t give you something so great that you need to thank me. It’s just a bracelet from a street vendor.”

“No, it’s not.”

I denied her words, a faint smile appearing on my lips.

“It was special to me.”

The value of an item isn’t solely determined by its price.

As Da-eun quietly listened to me, an indescribable light welled up in her eyes.

In that moment, a sense of unease crept down my spine.

If this pattern continues…

“Kana…!”

“Ugh.”

Once again, embraced in Da-eun’s arms, I resigned myself and accepted the hug.

…As expected, it turned out this way.

I’m now used to this kind of development.

But—

“It’s suffocating…”

I won’t say not to hug me, but can’t you do it a little softer?

However, Da-eun’s arms around me didn’t loosen; instead, she hugged me even tighter.

As I surrendered and nestled in her embrace, I could hear a murmuring voice from above.

“…I’ll truly cherish it.”

“…Do as you wish.”

…This ticklish atmosphere is not to my taste.

I cautiously raised my arm, which had been hanging limply, and gently patted Da-eun’s back.

I did it carefully, making sure not to accidentally break or burst anything.

As if that was a signal, her arms slowly loosened.

Since her voice was moist, I wondered if she was crying, but when I looked up at her face after being released from the hug, there were no traces of tears.

Her nose was red, and her eyes were filled with moisture, as if she were about to cry at any moment.

“Ahem!”

When I turned around at the sound of a cough, Brondin was looking awkwardly at us.

“You two are such good sisters. It’s really nice to see.”

Well, is it okay to explain things now?

As Da-eun stepped back from me, she smiled, looking a bit embarrassed.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“I completely understand your feelings. However, I haven’t slept in days and feel like I’m about to collapse. Honestly, a magician should be the one explaining this, but… I passed out as soon as I finished my work, so what can I do?”

Brondin rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

With each passing day, his eyes became redder, to the point where they looked like rabbit eyes. Sёarᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Having visited him daily, I could feel his changes acutely.

His gaze landed on the ring I was wearing.

“Honestly, I must admit I feel a bit regretful. If my skills were better, I could have made it even better.”

When I asked Brondin for the magical tool, I didn’t specify what form I wanted it to take.

Thus, the magical tool made for Da-eun took the form of a ring solely because Brondin decided on it.

If he hadn’t been inspired by seeing the blessing of Grasid I possessed, it might have turned out differently.

“Even thinking about it again, I don’t understand. What kind of artisan made something like that….”

His voice seemed to be tinged with jealousy and awe as I shrugged my shoulders.

I never told him that it was an item made by a dragon, not a craftsman.

It wasn’t that I thought he wouldn’t believe me.

Rather, I knew he would believe what I said.

There was no way I would tell someone who boasted about buying a Dragon Orb while drunk.

Brondin seemed to be half complaining, but he didn’t look like he was expecting a response from me.

Instead of asking more questions, he changed the subject to the ring.

He talked about why he designed it this way, its durability, and what kind of magic was embedded in it.

He excitedly chattered away, even including some self-praise, until he yawned loudly, stretching his mouth wide.

This was around the time the conversation veered back to his childhood.

After wiping away the tears that had collected at the corners of his eyes, he rubbed his bloodshot eyes again.

“I really need to go to sleep now. There’s still so much more to say.”

“Thank you so much for making such a wonderful item! You’ve worked hard, so please get some good rest!”

“Yeah, Master. You might collapse otherwise.”

Ashié, who had become a formal disciple of Brondin through our last adventure, teamed up with Da-eun to push Brondin’s back.

“If it’s fatigue, I can restore you—”

“—Shh.”

If I let Celine’s words go unchecked, something undesirable would happen.

I instinctively felt this and covered Celine’s mouth.

“Ugh?”

“Ahaha! It’s nothing.”

Brondin, who had been resisting, ultimately could not withstand the two’s strength and disappeared into his bedroom.

Only then did we all let out a sigh of relief.

“He looked really tired….”

Except for one person.

Celine stared at the bedroom door, unable to let go of her lingering feelings, while we all looked at her in disbelief.