Now, I’ve decided to make an accessory for Aina too.
And since I’m doing it, I want it to suit her image.
The cost? I’ll make Sorte cover it all.
What, you thought it’d be free? The world isn’t that generous.
「My lord, um… sorry to bother you while you’re tired」
「It’s fine. Can’t always rely on just Sorte. By the way, with that armor of yours, can you even wear a brooch?」
「It’s not impossible, but the armor would cover it. If you’re going to go through the trouble of making one, could you place it somewhere else?」
Let’s see… rings, bracelets, or necklaces could work.
Earrings might not be bad either.
But with that collar of servitude already around her neck, anything above the shoulders might be overkill.
That narrows it down to a ring or a bracelet—and since I haven’t made one before, let’s go with a bracelet.
I’m picturing something like a slightly oversized bangle.
To match Aina’s image, red is the color to incorporate.
So red glass, maybe?
But I used magic stone for Sorte—wouldn’t be fair if Aina’s was just glass.
Hmm… I want to make the magic stone red somehow.
Is there a way to blend the best of both materials?
Maybe if I synthesize them, it’ll work out?
No use just thinking—gotta try.
So, alchemy—commence!
Ta-dah! Complete.
『Red Glass Stuck in a Magic Stone』
…That’s not complete. That’s a fail!
I fused them, but only to the point of bonding—not a true merge.
Hmmm…
Let’s try changing the image this time.
First, I imagined both materials melting into a liquid.
Then I mentally mixed them together, shaping it as I visualized the synthesis.
Earlier, I focused too much on changing the magic stone’s color.
Now, I followed the steps—synthesis, then reconstruction—more deliberately.
『Red Sky Magic Stone』
Boom!
Success! A bright red magic stone, shaped into a perfect sphere.
This is huge—I can totally use this technique again.
If I can adjust both the color and shape to fit my designs, it massively expands what I can create.
So I restructured the red stone into a slightly enlarged half-dome shape.
Next up: hand molding.
I activated my hand molding skill.
Using a carving knife, I carefully cut the red magic stone.
It’s about the size of a thumbnail, and I aimed to create as many facets as possible.
Picture a brilliant-cut diamond, but only the top crown portion.
I don’t know the proper method, so it’s my own rough version.
I tried to keep it symmetrical, both vertically and horizontally—it was tough.
But after taking my time and working carefully, I finally managed to shape it properly.
In the end, I ended up with four sparkling red pseudo-gems.
「Haa… fuu…」
At some point, I must have been holding my breath—now my breathing is ragged, and a soft exhale slips out.
「Lord, are you alright?」
Oh, right. Aina’s still here.
I’d been so focused on the work, I forgot.
「Ah—yeah. Somehow, I made it through.」
「Still, this is impressive. This is a magic stone, isn’t it? It looks just like a real gem.」
「Hearing that makes all the effort worth it.」
Looks like she’s pleased with it.
But this isn’t the end—now comes the real deal: crafting the bracelet base.
Using silver, I performed a reconstruction to thin and flatten it, shaping it into a band about two fingers wide. Then, I carefully bent it into a curved form that would fit around the wrist.
I left a small gap between the ends so it would be easy to wear, and adjusted it to stay snug and secure.
Next, I took a flat blade and shaved down the inner surface of the bracelet, leaving only the edges intact.
I had to be extra careful—thin enough to set the stones, but not so thin that it broke through.
Into that foundation, I embedded the four red magic stones I had crafted earlier.
Encasing each one with a silver frame, I fixed them securely to the base.
Then, I infused the stones with magic power.
They were small, so I could only pour about ten units into each—but with four stones, it should be enough.
Technically, I could stop here…
But there was still space left, so I decided to decorate the rest with arabesque patterns in silver.
The motif? Plants and red fruit, naturally.
This time, instead of symmetry, I went with an asymmetrical design.
I worked on it freely, going by feel—and somehow, it came out better than I expected.
『Exquisite Red Magic-Silver Bangle – Slight Crit Rate Up, Slight Strength Up』
Only two abilities, and both are small boosts.
Still, considering I used magic stone, I’m surprised it didn’t gain a magic power increase.
It could be random chance.
Or maybe tinting the stone changed the effect.
Possibly the materials used in combination also influence the result.
Interestingly, the brooch with silver wings—crafted with nearly identical materials—granted agility instead.
Maybe the creator’s image plays a part too.
In my mind, wings = agility, red = strength.
The strength of the effect might depend more on technique and intent than just materials.
Finally, I engraved a small maker’s mark on the inside.
「Is it… done?」
「Yeah. It’s finished. Haaah…」
Truly, I’m spent.
My body is exhausted, my MP nearly gone.
I could drink a mana potion, but I won’t be moving again today anyway—it’d be a waste.
「It’s beautiful! Are you sure I can really have this?」
「No problem. Sorte’s covering the cost, after all.」
Aina gave a wry smile, but gently picked up the bangle.
I thought she was going to put it on her wrist—but to my surprise, she started putting it around her neck.
「Wait, hold on—」
「It fits perfectly! You made this thinking about my slave collar, didn’t you?」
The bangle snapped snugly around her neck, as if that had been its rightful place all along.
I mean, I did make it as a bracelet… Is it really supposed to fit on the neck like that?
「Sigh… Turn around. I’ll adjust the size.」
「Like this? Fufu, being fitted with a collar like this… really makes me feel like a servant to her master.」
Why is she in such a good mood…?
I took off the collar and adjusted the ends.
To prevent it from scratching her during wear or removal, I rounded off the tips into smooth spheres and loosened the curve so it wouldn’t fit too tightly.
But left as is, it could slip off too easily—so I added a small chain to the outside, both for adjustment and to keep it from falling off.
「Mm.」
When I moved to face her, Aina stood with her neckline exposed, eyes closed, cheeks tinged red, waiting quietly.
It was a bit of a heart-thumping sight…
But in reality, I was doing something incredibly questionable—putting a collar on a woman.
The rounded ends brushed against her neck slightly, but compared to before, it now slipped on smoothly.
「Is it too tight?」
「No, it’s fine. No problem at all.」
She really had a slender neck.
I hadn’t even done proper measurements—it fit just by chance.
I’ll need to find a way to make resizing easier in the future.
I shifted the bangle to sit over her original slave collar and fixed the chain to prevent it from slipping.
Then, with a spin, Aina turned to face me.
「Well? Do you think it suits me?」
「It looks amazing. Honestly, it suits you so well.」
「R-Really? Thank you so much!」
She beamed, delighted.
Gently tracing her fingers over it, she smiled again, as if savoring the feel of it.
The glowing red magic stones shimmered against her deep crimson hair, the contrast making both stand out vividly.
When she wore just the slave collar, your eyes were inevitably drawn to it—but this, this caught your attention in a completely different way.
Reinrich says there’s no such thing as an accessory that suits only one person—but I can’t imagine anyone else wearing this.
That’s how perfectly it matched her.
Then—knock knock, a knock sounded at the door.
「I’m back…」
A faint knock, followed by the sound of the door creaking open—Sorte and Reinrich stepped in, looking a little worn out.
「Welcome back. How much was it?」
「Well, about that…」
「I asked the honest, true price.」
「Yeah, I know you did.」
Something was off. Sorte didn’t look her usual energetic self.
「Ah, so Aina’s is finished too. It looks great! Really suits you!」
「You think so? Hearing that’s a little embarrassing, honestly.」
「Yeah, but… um…」
Sorte’s expression kept shifting—clearly, she was struggling to say something.
「Heh, you really did a good job with this one.」
「But you’ve only been doing alchemy for less than a month, right? Total beginner work…」
「Doesn’t matter who made it—good work speaks for itself.」
「So, how much do you think it would sell for?」
「Hmm… for both, I’d say about two million Nohls.」
Two million!?!
I’d expected maybe 200–300k per piece, tops 500k. But that much!?
「They’re both handcrafted one-of-a-kind items, right? Not mass-produced goods. If I had to name a price, that’s what I’d say. Whether they actually sell is another matter—but if it were me, I could sell them.」
「Is mass production even possible?」
「Simple shapes, sure. Once you hit Alchemy Level 8, you’ll unlock Forgery (Multi-Copy). With the right materials, duplication becomes easy. Level 7 gets you Hand Shaping, perfect for building a stockpile of originals.」
「Huh. So what’s the downside of Multi-Copy?」
「Only that the stats drop. If the base item’s abilities are weak, the copy might end up purely cosmetic.」
「I see… Still sounds efficient, though.」
Level 8, huh. I’d just barely leveled up recently, so it’s still a ways off.
But if I just keep at it, I’ll get there eventually.
「So, um… this is kind of hard to ask, but…」
Sorte’s voice grew small.
Without a word, I held out my palm.
With a guilty look, she handed me the brooch.
Taking it in hand, I pulled out a small awl I’d made apart from my carving knife and inscribed my signature mark on the back.
Then handed it back to her.
「Just this once.」
At that, Sorte nodded so hard it looked like her neck might snap off, then hugged the brooch tight to her chest.
Sigh… What am I even doing when money is tight…
But no—I couldn’t really say no, could I?
She wanted something I made. She was that happy to have it.
Even putting it lightly, that meant the world to me.
Motivation really is important.
Seeing a smile like that? It makes two million Nohls feel like pocket change.
…My sense of money might be breaking.
「What’s this? Nothing for me? A ring would suit you Riito, don’t you think?」
Hey, old lady. Do I look like I’m in any condition for that?! I’m barely standing here!
「Don’t push it… I’m running on fumes over here.」
「Oh, you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine. Since my apprentice’s working so hard, I’ll part with some of my special elixir as a going-away gift.」
With that, Reinrich pulled a bottle out from her sleeve.
Even just looking at it, I could see it was radiating a clearly toxic aura.
「Just a teaspoon at a time, alright? If you die, well, that’s your fault. Hi hi hi.」
That laugh! It’s the exact laugh of an evil witch straight out of a fairy tale!
Beautiful Reinrich, what the hell are you trying to make me drink!?
「You’ll be half-conscious for a bit, but that’s fine. As long as your body moves, there’s no problem. Hi hi hi.」
「I’m not drinking it! No way in hell am I drinking that!!」
I leapt back in panic, instinctively trying to get as far away as possible.
「Riito, hold him down with the other two.」
「Yes, Reinrich-sama.」
「Wha—wait, huh!?」
「No, but—」
「Unless you two wanna be the ones drinking it instead?」
In the blink of an eye, they had me pinned from both sides—and even someone behind me got in on it.
Riito, when the hell did you even get in here!?
「You traitors! Sorte, after all that gratitude earlier, you’re seriously selling me out?! Not even a shred of loyalty!?」
「It can’t be helped! I mean, she’s seriously scary!」
「Tch! Useless mutt! And even you, Aina-san…」
「Forgive me, lord. You won’t die….probably.」
「Riito-san!!」
「Ahaha~ Just give up, okay?」
I’m completely surrounded—there’s not a single ally left!
If Wendy were here, she’d protect me for sure!
Wendy, I summon thee! C’mon, plot armor! Come ooooooon!!
「Here you go—say ahh~」
Reinrich’s “ahh~” doesn’t make me happy at all.
Compared to Wendy’s “ahh~”, this one is—aaaabbbghhhhhh!!
The moment I swallowed it, a shock ripped through my whole body like lightning piercing my brain.
My vision started flickering wildly, the world blinking like faulty lights.
「Now then—do your best!」
The last thing I heard was Reinrich’s absolutely heartless encouragement.
Damn it, one day I swear…
And then, my consciousness slipped away.
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