Volume 2 - CH 15

In the guest room of the Redgarde house, which has become completely dedicated to my use, I was painting shields.

“How’s this one?” (Tougo)

“It’s not bad, but make it a little longer.” (Laocles)

“I understand.” (Tougo)

Listening to Laocles’ opinion, I continued to draw the shield.

I brought in plenty of reference materials, and I thought to myself that it was a luxury to be able to spend all day in the room drawing.

It also feels very luxurious that Laocles gives me his opinion. I have never had someone correct my drawings like this before.

…No, this is not a correction of the picture, but of the shield. Yes.

“Hey, Tougo, Laocles. It’s time to take a break.” (Fay)

Then Fay came in.

“It’s already been half a day.” (Fay)

“It’s only been half a day.” (Tougo)

I wish you would start worrying about being cooped up for three days or so… I’m too sad to tell Fay that, so I won’t say anything else.

“Half a day, three hours, whatever. Take a break, take a break!” (Fay)

Fay had brought snacks and tea. Yeah, I’m getting hungry looking at the food.

The sandwich with moist chicken, tomato, lettuce, and cheese tasted, how should I say it, like an aristocrat’s rice. It was totally different from the cheese and ham sandwich on bread in the forest. I like them both.

“So, is the shield ready?” (Fay)

“Soon, just a little longer.” (Tougo)

I improved the handle and the curvature. So far, five prototypes have been made. However, nothing convincing has been achieved yet.

“I like the design, so now I’m just trying to make it fit Laocles’ tastes.” (Tougo)

“I see.” (Fay)

I see. I’ve decided on the design. I’m going to make a matching design with the Laocles sword… or rather, a complementary design.

The sword of Laocles is a magnificent thing. It is shaped like a cross, like you often see in fantasy worlds. The color is a deep silver. I guess you could call it a dull color… It’s a nice and unadorned color.

The blade length is about 80cm. The blade has been cared for since I saw it at the pawn shop, so it is polished and shines brightly. The handle is a little longer than the standard, so I think it is designed to be used with both hands. It is a cool iron gray color, even duller than the blade.

There is a beautiful gold-colored stone inlaid between the blade and the handle and where the guard meets. The color of the stone shines brightly and is very nice.

The color is kind of like Laocles. It fits perfectly.

When I asked him about it, he told me that his colleague at the time had chosen the color of the stone for him. I want to shake hands with that colleague.

Because of this… I decided to make the shield in the same color and inlay the same color gemstone.

The edge of the shield would be framed with an iron gray metal decoration similar to that of the sword’s tsuba. Then, after asking Laocles, I found a position where it would not get in the way, and I inlaid a stone there in the color of the morning sun in winter, similar to his eyes.

The surface of the shield will be polished like the blade of a sword…

…yeah.

“A little drab.” (Tougo)

It’s a little too simple, that’s what I feel.

The shield of the Redgarde was the most important design reference.

The shield of the House of Redgarde is rather flashy and cool. The rim is finished in gold, and the center of the shield is crimson. The center of the shield is a deep red with the crest of the Redgarde family in gold. Very cool.

…Since it is this shield which is a minor modification of the Redgarde family shield, regardless of its shape, looks a little sad because of the absence of the crest.

Well, it doesn’t have my crest like the Redgarde family’s, and I can’t help it, so I’ll leave it as it is.

As Laocles told me to do, I changed the shape of the shield and then I will draw it stroke by stroke, earnestly and with all my might. May it be as sturdy as possible. I hope this shield will protect Laocles.

Especially for the gemstone part, I used the tip of the brush and painstakingly painted. I hope the gemstone will turn out to be something nice.

After an hour of rest.

Finally, I materialized the shield.

“……so?” (Tougo)

I asked, watching Laocles equip the shield on his left hand.

Laocles held up and around the shield attached to his arm, like he is thinking something… Then raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

“This is good.” (Laocles)

…Hooray!

“That’s good!” (Tougo)

Finally, I have a shield that Laocles likes! This makes me so happy!

I wonder why, but I’m so happy. Could this be the first time that someone is pleased with something that I drew and materialized? (I materialize a spring and the bird loved it, and the horses seem to like the roof keeping the rain off, but that’s beside the point.)

“Heh. It’s beautiful. Let me see it for a moment.” (Fay)

Fay goes to take a peek at Laocles’ shield. The shield is so polished that it reflects Fay’s face. Fay was reserved and did not touch the shield… but stared at it with eyes full of curiosity and interest…

…and said,

“Is this iron?” (Fay)

“Huh? I don’t know.” (Tougo)

The only thing I thought about was the coloring, because I just matched it to the sword. I wanted it to be as durable as possible, but I had no idea what it was made of.

Fay was unmoved by my answer, saying “I see.” to Laocles in a deadpan tone, and then tapping the edge of the shield lightly.

“…uuugh.” (Fay)

Fay groans… and tilted hishead.

“Is this Magic Ore?” (Fay)

…What is this Magic Ore?

“Are you sure? Magic ore is a mineral with a lot of magical power. Sometimes we use minerals that already have magical power, and sometimes we add more magical power while processing it.” (Laocles)

I don’t understand. I don’t know anything.

“… Ah, well, you don’t understand, do you?” (Fay)

“Yes.” (Tougo)

As expected of Fay. He knows me well. …or is it easy for me to read?

“…I’m going to say it in a way that’s easy for Tougo to understand… That is, this thing is very hard.”

It’s very hard. I see. That’s good to know. That means that Laocles will be well-protected.

“Because it’s so hard, it’s really hard to process.” (Fay)

Well, I guess that’s true. But if I just draw it, you don’t have to go through the trouble of processing it.

“So, the ‘Magic Ore Shield’ has excellent performance… but Magic Ore itself is precious, and there are not many craftsmen who can process it, so, well… it’s very precious.” (Fay)

“Huh? So, you can make a material called Magic Ore because you can add magic while processing it, right?” (Tougo)

I just thought it was technically possible.

The fact that there are so few glass windows in this world indicates that it is difficult to manufacture glass. In other words, I don’t think the technology to melt and mold such things is very developed… In other words, I wonder if it would be possible to make artificial gems.

Yes. That’s why I was convinced about the “Magic Stone”.

Gemstones that have a lot of magic power and stuff can’t be “man-made”. That’s why the magic stone, which can only be obtained naturally, is very expensive. That’s what I thought.

On the other hand, it seems that they have metallurgy, and above all, they seem to be doing blacksmithing, so I thought that they must have a certain amount of skill in iron and steel processing.

“Idiot. Very few people can imbue magic into something like iron, you know?” (Fay)

“…Um, Fay, maybe someone can put magic into jewels? There may be people who can put magic into gemstones and turn them into magic stones?” (Tougo)

“Oh? I’ve never heard such a thing…” (Fay)

…Really.

My predictions about gems were right, partly, but about magic ores… It seems that this world was much harder than expected.

“By the way, isn’t this something that shield-users and collectors would desperately want… I don’t really understand…” (Laocles)

…I see. Well… Well, nevermind.

“If you lose it, I’ll materialize one again, and if you break it, I’ll materialize it again.” (Tougo)

At any rate, no matter how valuable this shield is, I can always materialize it, so, I hope Laocles will use it as much as he wants.

“I don’t see it as something that can be broken. First of all, who would be stupid enough to lose it? It’s a shield that costs more than me.” (Laocles)

“That’s unbelievable.” (Tougo)

It doesn’t make sense that someone like the statue-like Laocles would cost less than a shield. I don’t believe it!

…Well, that’s fine.

I’ve learned that I’ve made a moderately good shield, and if it protects Laocles, that’s good enough for me.

in addition…

“……hmm.” (Laocles)

Laocles has been equipping himself with a sword and a shield for a while now, trying to maneuver the shield around and swinging the sword around. And while he was doing that, the corners of his mouth were slightly, but definitely, up.

Apparently, Laocles liked the shield.

…As for me, that makes me the happiest.

The day was spent at the Redgarde house while we talked.

And after discussing my lodging with Fay, Fay’s brother and father, and Laocles, it was decided that Laocles would sleep in the same room as me.

Very reassuring.

“…you don’t mind sleeping in the same room with a stranger?” (Laocles)

“Laocles is not a stranger.” (Tougo)

Laocles is in the process of moving the beds around so that his bed is by the window and mine is on the inside corner. “If there’s going to be an attack, it’s going to be from the window rather than from the hallway,” he says, then adding

“I’ve killed people.” (Laocles)

“Yeah. I heard.” (Tougo)

As I listened to Laocles’ words… I found him looking a little lost.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to…” (Tougo)

“No.” (Laocles)

Before I could finish, Laocles had finished moving the bed and was sitting down by the window.

“Let’s talk. Let’s talk about my background. I’m sure you don’t feel comfortable sharing a room with someone whose background you don’t know.” (Laocles)

“Not that I’m particularly uncomfortable with that.” (Tougo)

But I’d be happy to hear him talk.

…I also sit on my bed facing Laocles and wait for him to start his tlae.

Laocles’ eyes wandered a bit around his lap as if searching for words… and then he began to speak.

“I was once a knight who served a noble.” (Laocles)