CH 110

「Ash, did you get thinner? 」

「Mm. I also stopped the chest binding. 」

Tea time with Ash at my house.

Butler was the one who brewed the tea, but he went to Dinosso right after serving it. Ash opened the box of eclairs that we brought back again, and the two of us ate them in the end.

「Then won’t they know that you’re a girl? 」

Her shirt seems a bit loose, and her waist has gotten thinner to the point that suspicious eyes can tell that she’s a woman. And her chest —

「Shiva and Tina are here, after all. This pastry is super delicious. 」

She still has that scary expression on her face, but I’m already used to reading her mood to the point that I can see flowers blooming in her background.

So, what about Shiva and Tina? Even if female adventurers were not non-existent thanks to the abilities bestowed by spirits, there are still only a handful of them, and most of those minority are part of the comrades I can trust.

「Are you gonna work with Dinosso and the others? 」

「No, I’m thinking it’s better if there are more women. 」

「I see, so that’s why it’s for Shiva and Tina, huh. 」

「Besides, ever since I’m released from Az, it’s getting harder to bind my chest. 」

「Bring your clothes later. I’ll fix them for you. 」

Ash seemed very happy, probably because she liked the eclair more than I expected. Just when I added more eclairs for Dinosso, somebody knocked on the door.

「It’s open. 」

I called out to the kitchen. They probably already know it’s open, it’s my house, after all.

「Come in. 」

「Alright, I’m prepared. Show it. 」

He sat heavily on the chair, with his legs open and his fists on his knees — the very picture of firmness.

「Here. 」

He told me to ‘show it’, so I thought of teasing him by taking my shirt off, but Ash is here, so I restrained myself and obediently took my sword out.

「No, wait a sec. 」

「Hm? 」

「Where the heck did you pull that out? 」

「From 【Storage】. 」

「… 」

Dinosso looked like he’s about to pop a vein.

「… 」

Butler stood frozen beside the table, a smile still plastered on his face.

「…」

Ash was nibbling the eclair.

I took a leaf out of Ash’s book and came out clean that I have the same ability as En. I’m not sure whether they’ll reveal En’s ability, but I was thinking it would be a comfort to them knowing that there was someone who has the same skill as him.

「Haaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh… You, keep that a secret. 」

Dinosso let out all the breath he had been holding in a sigh.

「Yes yes. 」

「So nonchalant! Noth? 」

「I think it is fine, since he has been hiding it until now. Instead, the bag that he made stood out, so he made great use of the guild here. 」

Yep, he’s right, I did hide it properly.

「So, is this the sword in question? 」

He took out the sword from the scabbard.

「Whoa… 」

「… Please do not melt it down. 」

Not sure if it reacted to Dinosso’s fire dragon, but flames ran down the sword blade.

「Mm, it’s beautiful. 」

「If you like it, then wanna have it? 」

Ash praised it, so I asked her.

「Ah, no, I don’t have any fire spirits beside me unfortunately, so I won’t be able to use it. 」

Az, the spirit sticking to Ash, is the spirit of Wind and Verdure.

「What about you, Dinosso? 」

「Hey, you, stop easily giving away a sword that can’t be used in front of others. How much is this? 」

「Er…? 」

Aren’t arrowheads made of iron more expensive than hiring mercenaries? Ah, but I made the steel from the pig iron used to make cheap farming tools, so I guess it isn’t much?

Pig iron is hard but brittle, so I mixed the magic ore to make it more tenacious. I made the steel in a crucible with flux made from pine resin, so just how much is this steel worth?

「No, wait a sec. Noth, can I ask, what is it made of? 」

「I was thinking that it resembles the blades forged by a certain tribe from the northern island. I heard that they apparently cut off any contact with the humans in this continent. 」

「I did my best to forge a clang sword~. 」

The spirits helped me out a bit during the process, so it turned out to be quite a terrible thing.

「I guess it can’t be helped that it turned into a spirit sword. Well, you decided that it can’t be shown in public so it’s good, but that was close. 」

「Mm. 」

I did try to hide it, you know.

「Still, it’s totally out of the question, I tell you! It’s out! Even if it’s not a spirit sword, it’s out! 」

「Jean-sama, please lower your standards for ignoring things. 」

Dinosso kept on yelling ‘out’, while Butler looked worried.

「I don’t want a blade that can easily break. 」

In addition to this, I also made a knife currently in the kitchen next door. I didn’t ask the help of spirits when making that, so it’s just a normal steel knife.

「Noth? 」

「— He’s beyond my purview. 」

「Don’t really care about battles, but life’s comfort is non-negotiable. 」

Yup. I hope this world will steadily become more comfortable to live in, instead.

「Jean-sama is far more cultured than us. 」

「Jean’s ‘normal’ is already absurd by our standards. 」

Ash suddenly spoke out after keeping quiet all this time.

And, silence descended.

「Jean, are you home? 」

— Broken by Dean’s carefree voice.

「Come in, it’s open. 」

「Whoa! Hello, Valmour. 」

「Hey. 」

Dinosso replied curtly while still clutching his head.

「Did something happen? 」

「We’re trying to figure out what’s negotiable and not. 」

Dean lowered his voice, so I answered his question.

「Not sure what’s happening, but I guess you shouldn’t probe into it too much. Just take it easy, okay? — Oh, smells heavenly! Can I have one? 」

It was probably on purpose, but Dean replied very cheerfully, to the point that it seemed exaggerated, as he looked at the eclairs on the table while grinning ear to ear.

「Help yourself. I made a lot. 」

「Yeah, thanks. Here, a friend gave me these asparagus. 」

The basket was filled with asparagus, half of them were the normal, thick ones, while the other half were white and thick.

It seems they weren’t picked from the forest, but cultivated. So they have white asparagus here, huh. I could only imagine them canned in thick sauce, but these seemed quite delicious.

Dean handed the basket to me, and reached out to the eclairs with his freed hand. He took a huge bite. It’s the first time he saw an eclair, and yet he wasn’t even wary of it.

「You can probably buy a private house with that snack. 」

「Choke, cough! 」

Butler chose the perfect timing to drop a bomb, and Dean choked on the eclair.

「Noth? 」

「Vanilla beans, cacao, just how much of those are in there? And this sweet fruit pretending to be a strawberry is unimaginable. 」

Pretend… Hey, that’s a real strawberry! Doesn’t it look quite similar to the ones you have here, at the very least!?