Chapter 7. Favor and Calculation (5)

“You did well, so why?”

“No, I told you to stop talking about that.”

Ria kept teasing me about dancing, so I shot back.

The biggest reason I shot back was that every time that topic came up, I was reminded of that embarrassing situation from a little while ago.

It’s not that I’m embarrassed because Ria led me.

If we’re talking about pride, I know nothing about dancing, and Ria knows about dancing. It’s not strange for someone who doesn’t know to be taught by someone who does.

Besides, if you think about it, I was the one who first suggested dancing. Although Ria made the initial suggestion and the dance invitation was directed towards Ria, in the end, it was me who directly asked her to do it.

Therefore, there’s no reason for me to be upset in this situation. That was the rational judgment.

But my feelings-

As soon as I returned to the room, I dove onto the bed.

I heard the sound of Ria getting onto the bed next to mine.

There wasn’t enough space for us to sit facing each other and talk like we did in the dormitory. The beds were almost touching.

So, even though it was embarrassing, we had to be in close proximity.

“…Or did you not like dancing?”

Ria asked me that.

“…?”

Her voice wasn’t much different from usual. It didn’t sound disappointed or drained.

However, I know the Lee Chae-eun from the original work. Even though she appeared so honest, she was quite skilled at hiding her emotions.

I looked at Chae-eun while lying face down on the bed.

Chae-eun was sitting on the bed, looking at me.

“…No, it’s not that.”

The real reason I’m embarrassed is that I didn’t feel bad when Ria held me.

She smelled nice and was soft. And coincidentally, Ria had a good figure. With Ria’s chest touching right below my face, I couldn’t help but be aware of it.

No, thinking about it again, was there a reason to be so close? Is that how social dancing is? I don’t know. I felt like it might be that way in this world. It’s only natural that there should be a certain atmosphere between Ria and Lee Si-yoon when they dance.

“It’s just… embarrassing. I don’t really enjoy being in front of people.”

“Ah.”

At my answer, Ria chuckled as if she understood.

“Don’t worry about that either. You don’t need to be a great dancer for dances in places like that. If you start worrying about that, there will be many people who will feel embarrassed. Many people only dance out of necessity in such places after not dancing for the entire year.”

Ah, that’s certainly true.

…

No, more importantly, does that mean dancing like that is normal on this Earth too? Do I have to dance in front of people many more times from now on?

Ah, right, it wasn’t just once that Lee Chae-eun danced with Lee Si-yoon. I remember seeing the other heroines fighting to dance with Lee Si-yoon several times.

“Ugh.”

I shivered and buried my face in the bed again.

“Saint Candidate, I really shouldn’t have done it.”

“Is your position one where you can refuse if you don’t want to?”

If she puts it that way, I have nothing to say.

As I lay on the bed like a dried fish, Ria gently stroked my hair.

“Well, don’t worry. I’ll help you. Once you dance once, you won’t have to worry about what others think.”

Is it similar to being dragged to a karaoke bar? After singing one song perfunctorily, no one forces you to sing again.

Dance practice. And dancing with Ria at every banquet-

…

It’s a bit of a strange thing to say, but I didn’t dislike it.

How could I dislike it? Considering Ria’s appearance. Damn it.

Besides, why is she so gentle when stroking my hair, when she’s usually so rough?

More importantly, isn’t her attitude much softer than usual?

Is it just my imagination?

*

There’s a saying: if you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.

From the moment it was decided that I would come to the gnome country, I had a plan in mind.

I’m not so foolish as to think that all my plans will go perfectly.

However, if you make a plan, you can usually accomplish a few things within it, can’t you?

In all the novels I’ve read, ‘transmigrators’ always obtain fortuitous encounters or artifacts they saw beforehand within the medium.

I intended to do the same. Otherwise, there would be no meaning in being born in another world like this.

The morning after the banquet, a little later, we headed to a building to have a meeting with the gnome officials.

Most of gnome social life takes place underground. It’s not that gnomes dislike sunlight, but most prefer the cool earth below rather than the hot sun.

I heard that the surface of the place where gnomes live is a hot desert, and where dwarves live is an extreme region with heavy snowfall all year round.

There was almost no need for me to speak up during the meeting, which lasted from around 10 AM to 11:30 AM, and then from 1:30 PM to around 4 PM.

It’s only natural for government officials to talk to each other rather than a nun who knows nothing. The gnome representatives, our government officials, and the church people had various conversations.

At what price we could buy mined magic stones.

Whether they could send magic stone processing technicians to our world.

Whether we could provide our technology.

And-

“Please discuss matters related to holy artifacts with the church representatives.”

Seeing the gazes directed at me, I replied.

“Creating them is not a big problem, but I hope we don’t trade too much, as we need to coordinate schedules.”

That was my opinion.

Even I exert effort when creating holy artifacts. After creating a holy artifact capable of completely nullifying the magic of a single intricate magic stone, I would just lie on the bed for several hours afterward.

The gnomes were very interested in those ‘holy artifacts.’

…This is probably something the government officials know too, but gnomes are in a territorial dispute with dwarves.

North of the vast desert where the gnomes live is dwarf territory. It might seem strange that there’s an arctic region directly north of the desert, but this world is inherently a place where the common sense of our world doesn’t apply.

Moreover, the place where dwarves live is a very high mountainous region, so the temperature itself had to be different.

And the border area where the dwarves’ territory and the gnomes’ territory meet, a relatively temperate zone, was the disputed region.

Gnomes are skilled in small and intricate magic stone processing, but their technological capabilities for creating large equipment like dwarves are somewhat lacking.

Dwarven ‘equipment’ has many substitutes on Earth. But conversely, in this world, there are almost no substitutes for it.

Even if there are anti-tank weapons handled by infantry, the story changes if the opponent brings tank units and helicopters.

“…?”

I listened to the conversation silently and drank tea.

Although it seems the government is taking one side, in reality, the dwarves’ capabilities are not that useful from the government’s perspective.

…Moreover, I had already conveyed my opinion to the church in advance.

I told them not to provide enough to ensure the gnomes win the war. If they needed an excuse, I told them they could use mine.

After all, when they hear that we’ve handed over some holy artifacts, the dwarves will also contact us. Then, we can proceed with things separately.

Most importantly- a different incident occurs before the war even breaks out.

*

As soon as the meeting ended, I headed to the workshop where I met Clanet yesterday. Even after we danced, we chatted and exchanged contact information.

Walking for about 20 minutes, following the guide assigned by the gnome government.

“Oh…”

“You’re practically nobility.”

Ria and I looked up at the house with a little admiration.

The places we had visited so far were basically only large enough for humans to enter, but in reality, other residences of gnomes have little consideration for humans. Doors are often small, or ceilings are too low.

However, the building in front of us was a mansion so large that it was huge even by human standards.

Well, when I went inside, I felt that each room wasn’t that spacious, but I decided to be grateful that we could move around without issue.

“Saint Candidate.”

“Just call me Anna. It’s more comfortable for me too.”

Today, Clanet was wearing leather work clothes, unlike yesterday. Her hair was also tied back.

In fact, it made her look better, and personally, I found this appearance a bit prettier. Thinking about it again, yesterday’s makeup might have been a bit too much.

After exchanging brief greetings, we got straight to the point.

“So, may I ask why Saint Candidate Anna visited me today?”

Sitting on a chair that, while usable, was slightly small and thus subtly uncomfortable, I tried to maintain a relaxed expression and opened my mouth immediately.

“I want to carve a holy artifact.”

“A holy artifact… carving?”

“Yes. I know that gnomes have an understanding of holy power. And, the method of creating magic stones that can be used multiple times has been passed down, right?”

“Yes, of course… but, is it really okay?”

Clanet looked at me with a cautious expression.

No problem.

This has already been discussed with the government and the church.

The content of the meeting today was strictly about ‘inter-state trade.’ It was about buying and selling things. I just happened to include ‘disposable holy artifacts’ that I roughly created.

However, what the government wants is to be able to reuse the magic stones that have lost their magic.

Furthermore, they want to research how they are made.

Therefore, my request to create such an item through private transaction was something that both the government and the church greatly desired.

Moreover, it seemed useful to me as well.

After all, I don’t know what might happen in the future.