“Hey, Sif! Did you get everything I told you to buy?”
As I pulled the cloth off the cart to check the contents, it looked like she had done a decent job.
Various metals and oils, along with monster skins and bones galore. She’d gathered a diverse assortment of materials. It seemed they had to test various materials for research.
“Of course! I got everything at a bargain, and we even have some change left over!”
Sif handed me a noticeably lighter pouch of money. When I opened it, I found more gold coins than I’d expected. Looks like she really did score some good deals.
“Good job. I’ll toss in just a little bonus.”
“Really? Yay! With this bonus, I should take my little siblings out for juice!”
“You’re really good to your siblings.”
“Isn’t it natural as their sister? They’re my siblings, after all.”
Sif smiled as she said this. In the original story, she took great care of her siblings, and it seemed like things hadn’t changed here. In fact, her special quests revolved around her siblings.
“Make sure to buy them something tasty.”
I dropped another gold coin into Sif’s hand. Watching her face light up with joy was amusing, so I chuckled and secured the money pouch at my waist.
“Truly our… I mean our employer! Generous as always!”
“Better work even harder from now on if you know that.”
“Leave it to me! I’ll bring things back quickly and accurately!”
“Then it’s getting late, so head inside.”
“Hey, I’ll help you carry this to the workshop!”
Sif quickly started unloading items from the cart, moving them to the workshop. With my help, the materials piled up in no time.
“If you need anything, just call!”
The black-tailed cat beastkin vanished into the darkness of the secret passage in no time. Quite a feline exit.
“…Guess I’ll just touch a few things and then head to bed.”
I had work to do tomorrow too.
——————
“Karina! Over here! We topped the charts!”
At Millia’s shout, Karina and I froze and turned to check the rankings on the theology department’s bulletin board.
1st place. Karina Kalon.
She was in 1st place! After being so anxious during exam week, the pink-haired saint let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the good results.
“Hehe, I studied hard even before enrollment…”
“I’ll study hard and get 1st place too!”
It seemed Millia was inspired by seeing Karina at the top. I turned to Millia, who was igniting her passion for studying.
“Don’t focus too much on studying. Didn’t you say your goal was to make 100 friends?”
“Oh! Right?! Yes, yes! I’ll work hard to make friends too!”
“Geez, 100 friends…”
“How about you try expanding your friend circle?”
“I, I’m fine as is… I think it’s… okay…”
Is it still a tall order for Elisa to make more friends? I gave her a few encouraging pats on the back while she fiddled with her hands and gazed at the floor, prompting us to pick up the pace toward the classroom where our first lecture of the day was about to begin.
I had to hustle since we were on a wheelchair and time was tight.
“But Johan, what were you making in the workshop yesterday? I heard noises even in the dawn!”
“Did you stay up until dawn working?”
“Oh, I just got a bit carried away and lost track of time.”
Once I started tinkering, ideas kept flowing, making it hard to stop. Still, I didn’t feel fatigued enough to affect my work, even if I did feel a bit sluggish.
“U-uh, should I, um, massage your shoulders…?”
“I’ll massage them too!”
“I appreciate it, but it’s okay.”
A knight getting shoulder massages from students? I dread to think of the rumors that would spark. Of course, no one would dare say anything outright, but I still felt a bit wary.
I wasn’t keen on creating needless gossip.
“Johan, if you feel too tired, I can cast healing magic.”
“Receiving fatigue recovery and healing magic from a saint? Now that’s luxury!”
“Hehe, if the knight isn’t in good condition, it could cause issues for my safety too.”
“That’s a good point.”
“Could you show me your hands for a moment?”
“Do you really need to hold my hand for the healing magic?” I quietly offered my hand at Karina’s request. She took it with both hands and started poking around silently.
…Why isn’t she casting magic? This is a bit embarrassing. I instinctively checked our surroundings, grateful it was a sparsely populated area where nobody was watching.
“Y-your muscles feel really tense…”
“Really? I had no idea.”
“I can feel a lot of calluses on your palm. And so many scars…”
“Just part of surviving in the wild.”
Is this the first time I’ve shown someone my palm? Looking at Karina’s veil, it felt like the inside was tinged red. Probably just my imagination, though.
“Karina, the lecture is about to start.”
“Ah, yes! O Kalon…”
At the touch of our hands, warm light began to flow from her. It was a scene that brought peace to my heart, and I felt the fatigue start to fade as I closed my eyes.
“How do you feel?”
“Impressive. The fatigue’s all gone.”
“Hehe. If you need help, just ask anytime.”
“Wah, wow…”
What’s wrong with her? I glanced at Elisa, who had turned red and frozen. Thankfully, she eventually snapped out of it, shaking her head furiously.
“Let’s hurry inside. Class is about to start…”
“Got it.”
——————–
“…My cheeks are burning.”
“I-I feel that too…”
“Surprisingly, so do I.”
With the midterms over, we faced our first class. We could feel stares so intense they felt like they could burn us. While no one dared say it, we all knew who the source of those glances was.
Bella.
Her eyes were like daggers.
At this rate, she’ll probably cause an incident soon.
Should I deal with it secretly when I get the chance?
Nah. That would be going too far. It’s better to take appropriate measures instead. As I considered my options, I glared at Bella with the fiercest gaze I could muster.
Ugh, this is cringe-worthy. Staring into her icy eyes was sending chills down my spine. They say a woman scorned can cause frost even in the summer; if she could shoot magic with those glares, I’d be hit with first-grade spells by now.
…I really need to figure out a way to deal with her.
[Contractor, why not just squish her brain? No need to overthink it!]
What a chilling suggestion. But then again, I’m not used to messing with human brains. If I messed up, I might end up making her a vegetable. Should I practice on monsters in a dungeon first?
No, that’s too simplistic. The simpler the plan, the bigger the chances it’ll backfire. The easy route often comes with major drawbacks. It’s better to take a slightly complicated but safer approach.
Either care for her well enough so she doesn’t become hostile or take her out completely when she’s embraced the darkness, or simply keep her leashed like a good pet.
…But right now, Bella isn’t that important, so let’s ignore her.
“Hey, uncle, how’s the development of the new project going?”
I turned my gaze to Viola. When she caught my staring, she blushed, scratching her cheek with her silver finger.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?”
“I guess I’m just still getting used to this.”
With a deadly glare on my left and a soft gaze on my right, it felt odd. I quickly changed the subject.
“The development is almost complete. After months of tinkering with these prosthetics, it’s going smoothly.”
Once they’re properly finished, I’ll be able to enhance my somewhat ambiguous combat abilities. If all goes well, I planned to pass them on to Renny and Lewis too.
The most effective way to test them would be to hand them to knights fighting on the front lines.
“Already? That’s super fast… Well, considering I barely saw you moving your hands when you made my prosthetic, I guess it makes sense. I wish I could move my hands like that too. Then I could work super quickly.”
“Speed isn’t always a good thing.”
Thinking about how many times I’ve broken and messed up things just to get here, going too fast could be a recipe for disaster before mastering the skill.
My dexterity was ranked A.
At least it meant you need to be at my level to pull off what I can.
I don’t know what the ranking criteria are, but if A is considered high, given that my personal max rank is S, there’s hardly anyone, except maybe a dwarf, who could outdo me in craftsmanship.
“Speed isn’t what matters. What truly counts is the quality of the item you create.”
“But your stuff is both fast and good quality!”
“…If you keep at it, you’ll get there someday. Someday.”
“If that were true, we’d all be legendary inventors!”
“…You’re not wrong.”
“Ahem, first class since the exams…”
Has class already begun? I immediately straightened my posture.
Now was the time to get serious about work.
“The main professor feels a great joy over this exam result…”
The sleepy voice of the old professor began to fill the classroom.
And thus, the real work began.
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