Did they say three years?
Three years spent solely processing mana stones, shutting myself off from the world.
During those three years, Tay hasn’t changed at all, but has transformed quite a bit.
Her speech and personality remain just as they were three years ago.
It just feels like her body has changed.
Now, Tay is no longer the small, insecure artisan I first met.
She is the undisputed best artisan, acknowledged by everyone.
Creating the highest quality and largest mana stones.
She is already an artisan far surpassing the original work.
“Impressive.”
“······.”
For three years, aside from one day each year, she’s devoted herself solely to her work.
Thanks to that, the completion of the mana stone was perfectly timed.
If it had been delayed by just one day or even two, it would have been a failure.
“It’s not impressive······. I was just, scared to go outside······. I was afraid of living in a world without you, Investor······.”
“You’re avoiding reality, huh?”
“······.”
Tay nods silently in my embrace.
But I don’t think that way.
The light of my ultimate technique seeps into Tay.
The feelings of the past that I feel from Tay are not anxiety or suspicion but firm belief and trust.
“Tay, I believed in you. Because I believed, I protected the corpse of the transcendent being first so that the mana stone wouldn’t get crushed in the collapsing dungeon. I thought you would notice that. What about you?”
“I was spellbound······ and brought it over······ and started processing it······.”
“Right. We call that trust. Good job, Tay. Thank you. Because you believed in me, we were able to save the world.”
Sniff sniff “······.”
I hugged Tay tighter.
I’m proud and impressed.
I feel sorry that I made you struggle for three years just by believing in me, but I won’t say that out loud.
Instead, I express my gratitude.
For the infinite trust you’ve shown me.
“By the way, this mana stone······.”
“Yes. It’s astonishing, right?”
“It’s much larger than I thought······.”
I turned my eyes to the mana stone and let out a chuckle.
What on earth is that?
Can something like that even be called a mana stone?
When I split dimensions to escape from the dungeon, the magic flowing from Luna’s transcendent being hadn’t fully formed into a complete mana stone yet.
So, I only knew it was somewhat large, but I never imagined it would be so big that it would be hard to carry!
“Then, how much would the processing fee be?”
“Well, shall we start negotiating?”
“What do you want?”
“Um······.”
Tay squirming in my arms, swallowing her saliva.
She seems tense or perhaps trying to find her words, then looks up at me.
Her eyes sparkle.
At that moment, I realized.
I’ve seen that look many times before.
Those eyes have been repeated about twelve times, all looking like this.
“I-I’ve spent my whole life just touching mana stones, not even meeting any men, let alone people, you know? I only know you. I’ve never thought of anyone else as a potential partner. So, please take responsibility for me, Investor.”
Ah.
That’s the correct answer.
After receiving countless confessions, I think I can now tell exactly when the timing is right.
“I think the processing fee can be enough for marriage.”
“Tay······.”
“Yes, I’m listening, Investor.”
“I’m really happy to hear your feelings. But I already have someone I’m engaged to.”
“I know. But isn’t there more than just that one?”
“W-what? How do you know that?”
“I know everything. You have the eyes of a playboy.”
“······.”
How rude.
It’s not cheating; I’ve just done pure love several times.
But somehow, the timeline got distorted and now looks like I’m cheating.
I believe that, at least.
“Dwarves don’t allow polygamy. But humans do, right? So, legally, there shouldn’t be an issue. The only problem is your intention······.”
“It’s not something I can decide on my own. I have to ask my other wives too······.”
“Is that really true? When you took on additional wives, did you ask each of them like this?”
“······.”
“That’s your decision for sure. I won’t burden you too much. Just because you refuse doesn’t mean I’ll threaten to kill myself. As you know, I have a strong mentality. I’ll just live alone, touching mana stones until I die.”
“······.”
You say you won’t threaten?
Isn’t this a threat?
“But I also don’t want you to take it lightly. You might still see me as that little girl, but······ This is not impulsive or childish at all.”
“······.”
I’ve lost the initiative.
What I was going to say is sealed; I was going to say that this might be a misunderstanding, or that she’s still young.
“I like you, Investor. At first, I thought it was admiration, but with time, it became certain. I don’t admire you. I don’t want to look up to you. I want to be by your side, holding hands and looking into your eyes together.”
“······N-no, you little, troublesome girl.”
Bam bam!
Ignoring the sound of things crashing nearby, I stared into Tay’s eyes.
Holding hands, just like she wanted.
Am I still seeing Tay as a child?
That’s partially true.
Even now, when I look at Tay, I think of the little girl who first met me.
Tay hasn’t changed one bit since then.
Although her wealth has increased, her status has risen, and she has grown in size.
Her sincerity towards mana stone crafting, keeping her word, and cherishing her companions have not changed at all.
I can feel Tay’s sincerity.
Her trust flows into the light of my ultimate technique.
I gently stroked her head and said.
“Tay, as you said, I still see you like a child. I’ve never thought of you in a romantic way.”
“Yes······. Then, it’s really······.”
“So, marriage feels too early. We should start from the previous stage and take our time.”
“······!”
I haven’t even attempted to see Tay as a romantic partner.
So skipping all those stages is out of the question.
We should start from the stage of getting to know each other step by step, from the very beginning.
Of course, with wives already engaged, dating feels a little guilty, but······.
Tay still doesn’t know me well.
And I can’t say I fully know Tay either.
Maybe I’ll end up giving up under the pressure of my wives.
I might never look at Tay in a romantic way, at all.
But if.
If after truly getting to know each other, Tay’s feelings remain the same and mine resonate with hers······.
Then there’s nothing I could do about it.
Hehehe… “Okay… it’s nice and fresh.”
With a satisfied smile, Tay hugged my neck and rubbed her cheek against my beard.
How did this happen······?
Now I have a 19-year-old girlfriend, all while having four wives.
“So? Did you really go all the way to Basel just to woo a freshly adult dwarf? What do you plan to do with that mana stone you brought back from Basel?”
“It’s significantly high purity······ in terms of array structure, it alone can withstand high-tier magic······. Um, umm. To create a mana stone like this······ I could date Yoo Jin······.”
We’re clearly talking about work.
Yet, I keep feeling an unknown sense of pressure.
Jill and Yulia are glancing at me with sulky faces, inspecting the mana stone.
Seeing how there are only three days left until the big event, they seem to be suppressing their complaints as much as possible.
But Yerina can’t hold back, puffing up like a furious cat, and asks.
“Did you? Or didn’t you?”
“······Cough cough!”
Jill spits out her tea in surprise.
Certainly.
It’s only natural to be curious.
I locked eyes with Yerina, who was grabbing my collar and growling.
“I didn’t do it. Who starts a relationship like that? I’m more conservative than I look.”
“Phew······. That’s a relief. Okay then, let’s start the conference.”
“Is that it?”
“Why? Do you want more pressure? You wouldn’t, right? It’s obvious that pouring more pressure would be pointless and meaningless. You’re definitely a playboy, but you’re not trash. That dwarf is trying to take responsibility for what he’s done, not just trying to win over a pretty girl.”
“······.”
Jill and Yulia suddenly bow their heads and go serious.
It seems they genuinely thought I wooed Tay solely because she’s young and pretty.
“As long as he’s loyal to us, he’s not just looking for a new woman, right? Then it’s fine. We all know Yoo Jin doesn’t treat women lightly.”
“Uh, yeah! That’s right. Yes. That’s it.”
“Y-yes, I was thinking the same······.”
Jill and Yulia nod vigorously.
Really······?
It seems they still can’t catch up with Yerina’s cool personality.
“In fact, I don’t even think this is the end. There’s certainly more, right? You always seem to have your tail wagging wherever you go. There might be at least one more.”
“Eh······.”
“Before you know it, it will be a case of not three wives, but four!”
Yerina’s sharp glare fades into a smirk.
That smile pierces my heart, freezing me.
Has this girl now reached a level where a mere smile can chill someone to the bones?
“One thing I’m really curious about is whether among the candidates, my precious little sister, Alicia, is among them—”
“Alright. We don’t have much time left. No time for chit-chat. With the grave responsibility of stopping the destruction of the current world, we need to hurry and set up a plan.”
Now that I think about it, this isn’t the time for this either.
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