episode_0159

Nicks eventually knelt Aspi before her.

So… you’re saying that while I was rolling around with Aspi, I was so strongly assimilated into her body that I reached climax, right?

The culprit who left first was actually Nicks.

In the end, I, too, caught the wrong person.

I sufficiently apologized for having scolded her too harshly, even if it was for educational purposes.

“No, it was a good experience for me too.”

“Really?”

“Yes…♡”

Aspi stroked her lower abdomen and smiled happily.

It was an experience that could have been somewhat hurtful, but in the end, Aspi had the most satisfying night.

Lulu was struggling because her changed body condition made it difficult for her to keep up with my pace.

Yuri was so playful that she got thoroughly pounded by my cock and fell into a deep sleep.

Nicks and Tier weren’t really touched much by me, so compared to the other two, their libido might have even built up more.

Aspi was the one who found the middle ground.

She didn’t sleep around too much, but she didn’t avoid sex altogether.

She was the first one to wake up the next day and had a refreshing morning with me.

We momentarily forgot our purpose while going through some hardship(?), but the reason we visited Liberty Port was for our summer vacation.

In short, we came here to rest.

We had a great time, then suddenly got swallowed by a huge whale, explored its belly, and cleaned up all its neighborhood friends at once.

Once, I was so drunk that I lost my memory, and another time, I had sex with everyone while completely sober.

I barely had any time to relax and unwind.

The only moments that were remotely normal were the shopping with Aspi and that evening’s dinner.

“Slurp-”

Clang-

I put the teacup back on the table and steeled my resolve.

From now on, no matter what, I’m going to do absolutely nothing and just play.

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“Nicks, over here!”

“Uh- uh, just a moment…!”

“Look here, I finally found the research materials I was looking for—”

Not the common magic academy theories of the Central Continent, but special papers that had poured in from all over the world.

At the bookstore at the end of the harbor, paper and writing were piled up like a sea.

Lulu and Nicks were like fish.

Like fish in water, the two swam among the countless materials, freely enjoying the vast sea of knowledge.

Even though they often exchanged conversations that I couldn’t understand, their excitement as researchers led them to smile brightly, something I’d never seen before.

“See, this is the I was talking about yesterday. I was always frustrated that the circuit concentration was blocked in the spell linkage… but here, they’re approaching it in a completely different way-?!”

“Uh, uh-huh…”

“There was no problem with the spell itself. The important thing is how much you can boost the mana factor compatibility of the two magicians linking up—”

Well, it seems like they solved a problem that had been bothering them.

I roughly tossed the two into a corner of the bookstore and waited in the lobby, reading a dessert cafe magazine.

Rustle-

Oh, this uses some unusual spices…

“What are you looking at, Nicks…? When someone is talking—”

“Uh-huh…”

“Wh- what is it… Let me see too—”

Wow, they have coffee in this world?

Apparently, it’s made from special beans grown on the southern islands. I definitely need to find it and supply it to the kingdom…

“Hi- hiik…!! Wh- what is this… Nicks…?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much… It’s a study on the sexual life of a species that modifies itself in a peculiar way—”

“No dirty stuff—!!”

Ah, this is something Yuri made for me last time.

It was a traditional dishfrom the Yamato Islands… its unique sweetness was exquisite. I want to try it again soon.

After quickly reading through two or three magazines.

Lulu and Nicks were sitting side by side in front of the bookshelf, reading a book together.

“Have you seen enough?”

“Uh-huh, no… Just a little more…”

“Okay. Come back slowly when you’re done.”

If I’m here, I’ll just get in the way and hinder their free exploration.

I quietly left the bookstore after buying a few booklets containing unusual recipes and tucking them under my arm.

I don’t know what kind of books they were so diligently reading, but it was truly heartwarming to see the two of them building knowledge together.

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“How’s it going?”

“Ah, King- no… My Lord.”

Next, we visited a workshop run by a blacksmith who came over from overseas.

Unexpectedly, Aspi had a keen eye for the quality of cold weapons, and on her days off, she would come out to the city and browse swords and such.

The workshop wasn’t crowded and was rather ordinary.

I heard it was a well-known master’s shop, but the outdoor display where the goods were hung was no different from an ordinary weapons shop.

“What were you looking at?”

“Um… I wanted to get a sword. The one I was using broke at the academy last time…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no! There’s no need for you to apologize—”

I couldn’t say it wasn’t my fault at all.

After all, she lost it while jumping into danger to help me.

Aspi said it was okay, but she seemed a little downcast, suggesting she had more attachment to the sword than I thought.

“Was it something you’d used for a long time?”

“…Yes. Since I was little. It felt like a gift, something Master gave me the day I first got recognized.”

“I see.”

Even from my glance, Aspi’s sword wasn’t a particularly special one.

The material was ordinary, and it didn’t look like it was made by an excellent craftsman. It was just standard issue.

However, the value of an object isn’t determined by such a simple price tag.

Someone pours their heart into it, someone pours memories into it…

It represents that individual ‘meaning’ made into something irreplaceable with money.

So for Aspi, the sword she had carried for half her life wasn’t just a simple supply item, but something with the value of a soulmate.

After hearing her story, I felt a bitter aftertaste.

Trying to do something for her, as I usually did, I instinctively reached into my subspace warehouse and rummaged around.

Clang-

Something caught the tip of my finger in the far corner.

“Hmm…”

Magic stones I had received as gifts after finishing Lulu’s request.

Due to their high mana conductivity, their color and effects vary depending on the type of mana absorbed while becoming ore.

It happened that the one I picked up imbued with a fresh, light green wind attribute.

I immediately rang the bell to call the blacksmith inside the workshop.

Ting- ting-

“My, My Lord… what are you going to do—”

“Just watch.”

Before long, a door opened—a size clearly too small for an ordinary person to walk through.

With a creak of the oil-laden old hinges, a dwarf waddled out from the inside, where iron dust was flying.

“Hello?”

“Ahem, yes. What is it?”

He was a petite dwarf, only reaching up to my waist, with a fiercely intimidating face that belied his size.

His thick braided beard was covered in iron dust.

Except for his height, he looked quite fierce; a scary old man.

He scanned me from head to toe with an intense look, then scoffed and stood with a sideways glance.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t handle toys that girls play with.”

“Oh, how coincidental. I happen to like unusual toys.”

“Tsk…”

He seemed intent on trying to put me down, but I didn’t yield resulting in a sharp look from the dwarf.

A pretty girl having a staring contest in a hard-worker’s shop; his pride as a craftsman was probably hurt.

Unfortunately, however.

I’m not just pretty.

“Th- that’s…!!”

His eyes widened as he seemingly noticed the magic stone in my hand.

It wasn’t the superconducting stone I gave to Professor Priest before, yet it was quite high-quality, as Lulu said.

“Having something like this you’d not be able to attract the attention of the world’s best craftsman. However… I think you’ve already caught on.”

“…Tsk. You’re not just any ordinary girl.”

He still clicked his tongue and had a displeased expression but stood straight.

It meant he had judged us as ‘customers,’ at least.

Looking at my stone and Aspi alternately, he quietly opened his mouth.

“The user…is the young lady next to you. A knight?”

“Yes- yes—?! Ye- ye- yes, th- tha- that’s right…”

Thump- thump-

The dwarf took a few steps forward and carefully observed Aspi’s outer appearance.

“Oh ho… It seems you’ve trained your lower body very well. You use a sword, I presume.”

“How did you…”

“I’ve seen swordsmen for more than a day or two; I can’t call myself a craftsman if I can’t tell that much.”

The more I see it, the more trust I have.

He had a grumpy character, exhibiting impolite behavior, but that conversely meant that his skill is outstanding.

Aren’t geniuses all twisted in the heart usually?

“I believe you have a general idea of the order.”

“Yes. A standard-size one-handed sword, the material being the wind-attribute magic stone. Is there anything else you want?”

The dwarf snatched the stone from my hand, and once again, his eyes widened.

The comment seems to imply for me to just order accordingly.

“Do you happen to have any hollow magic stones with higher conductivity?”

“That’s… well… there are plenty. But why?”

“There’s something I want to show you…”

“Tch—”

Spit-

He spat on the ground as if annoyed that he had asked the question.

Revoking my earlier statement.

If he wasn’t a master craftsman, I’d have slapped him… seriously.

However, I felt like I would lose if I solved matters through force.

So I came up with a way to properly subdue the craftsman’s spirit and establish a hierarchy.

“Would you mind coming inside for a moment?”

“How troublesome…”

I invited the dwarf to the Room of Truth.

Aspi looked concerned as we walked into the workshop, but I gently waved my hand and replied,

“It won’t take long, just wait a bit.”

Thump- thump-

Stepping on the heaps of iron filings, we opened the creaking door and entered the workshop.

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A short while later.

Creak—

After some ‘work,’ I quickly escaped the musty place and breathed in the fresh air.

“My, My Lord…? Wh- what’s wrong with that person…?”

Aspi pointed at the dwarf with wide eyes, looking startled as if she’d seen something unspeakable.

“Hu, huhuhu… I’ve never seen such a color…”

“Stop saying things others don’t like to hear, old man.”

“Yes, a- yes—!! Of course, it should be that way.”

About a minute passed?

In that short time, I had won over the master dwarf craftsman.

“What you saw inside is a secret. Okay?”

“Of course—!! Huhu. Huhuhu… secret friend…”

Aspi’s expression gradually distorted.

She had no idea what kind of deal I had made, and her mind was filled with unknown fear.

“Use this magic stone as the base, but create a core from a hollow magic stone in the center.”

“And… are you putting that in there…?!?”

“That’s right.”

“Kuhhu… This time, I might just create an artifact…”

The dwarf immediately began tempering in his mind, walking into the workshop with a strange laugh.

“Give me three days—! I will create the best work of my life…!!”

“Okay. Work hard, old man.”

“Yes- yes-!!”

Clang-

The workshop door closed, and Aspi asked me with her eyes.

How in the world did I convince that grumpy dwarf blacksmith?

It’s nothing special.

“I just showed him something.”