「So that’s why I’m planning to start practicing with a sword」
Finally back from her little trip, Ralina-chan and I continued our conversation.
「But onii-chan, you don’t have the 『Sword』 skill, right?」
「Yeah」
「Can you still use a sword without it?」
「Hmm, well, not right away. But if I take my time and keep practicing steadily, I think I’ll get there」
Mother once said it took anywhere from five to ten years to learn a new spell.
Learning the 『Sword』 skill might take just as long. Sure, that was a long time, but even if it took me ten years, I’d only be seventeen. For elves, who lived long lives, that wasn’t much at all.
「So then, you won’t make it in time for the 『First Hunt』?」
「That’s right. I mean, honestly, trying to use a sword for the very first time on the First Hunt would be terrifying」
When elves turned ten, they went on their first hunt. It was called, quite literally, the 『First Hunt』.
It wasn’t some stiff ritual or brutal trial. More like… a laid-back event, kind of like the Shichi-Go-San festival back in Japan.
「That’s why I was making a wooden sword」
「Oh, the 『Woodworking』 series… number eighteen, right?」
「Yeah」
「Eighteen already, huh. You’ve made that many? I wonder if there are some I haven’t seen」
Ralina-chan looked around my room curiously. …My heart skipped a beat. I didn’t have anything weird lying around, did I?
「Onii-chan, what’s this?」
「That’s number fifteen, the bamboo basket」
「Bamboo basket?」
「Yeah, just a simple basket made of bamboo」
Since bamboo could be bought as lumber, I’d tried making some bamboo products too. The basket was one of them.
When I first started making it, I had no idea how to weave it after cutting the bamboo. While I was stuck, Father had kindly shown me how. Apparently, bamboo baskets existed in this world too.
And so, 『Woodworking』 series number fifteen, the 『Bamboo Basket』, was born.
I wondered if I should even count this as part of the 『Woodworking』 series.
But in the end, it was still something I had made. Besides, I was the only one calling it a “series” in the first place. There weren’t any strict selection standards, nor was it some prestigious title. So I went ahead and named it number fifteen.
「Bamboo, huh. We made a lot of things with it, didn’t we?」
「Yeah, like stilts and the bamboo-copter」
「Ah, nostalgic. Playing stilts with you, onii-chan… it’s a precious memory now」
「R-right…」
Ralina-chan hugged the bamboo basket tightly to her chest, looking dreamy again.
A memory, huh? If I remembered right, we had only played with those bamboo stilts about two weeks ago…
By the way, the stilts were number sixteen. As for the bamboo-copter, I had already made a wooden version back at number ten, but since I later got real bamboo, I upgraded it into the 『True Bamboo-copter』.
「Hey, onii-chan」
「What is it?」
Still holding the basket, Ralina-chan pointed toward the army of Mother dolls.
「Those are Mother dolls. They’ve piled up so much, it’s honestly a bit of a problem」
At present, there were eleven of them in my room. Enough to form a soccer team.
「That’s not what I mean. In that group, there’s one doll that isn’t Miriam-san, right? That one… that’s the church’s Laudette-san, isn’t it?」
「Ah, well… yeah. I think I made that one a while back…」
「Why did you make a doll of Laudette-san? You told me there was nothing between you two, didn’t you? Did you lie? Did you lie to me, onii-chan? Tell me!」
「C-calm down, Ralina-chan. Y-you’re going to break the bamboo basket…」
—This is terrifying!?
Her relentless questioning almost had me on the verge of tears.
And there it was again. Ralina-chan’s Noh mask face. Her expression hadn’t changed, yet her arms were tightening around the basket, threatening to crush it with sheer force.
「Um… Laudette-san said she wanted a doll of herself too. It’s not like I was super eager to make it, you know? But she’s helped me out, so…」
「Helped you…?」
「A-and besides, remember how I said I didn’t have much money? I thought maybe the doll could count as payment instead. I only wanted to check my status, that’s all. That’s really all there is to it」
「…………」
I had been careless, leaving the Laudette doll out in the open.
No, careless wasn’t even the right word. It wasn’t like I had ever thought of the Laudette doll as something dangerous to show. I never imagined it was a ticking time bomb…
「S-sorry, Ralina-chan? For now, how about you put the bamboo basket down?」
「Onii-chan, is there something you did that you need to apologize to me for?」
「N-no! But I feel like I ended up hurting you somehow… Also, the basket is starting to creak a little, isn’t it?」
「Maybe I should talk to Laudette-san myself…? There really isn’t anything between you two, right?」
「O-of course there isn’t! Hey, the basket, it’s…」
「Basket, basket, basket!! Onii-chan, are you saying the basket is more important than me!?」
「Awawawa, n-no, that’s not what I meant!?」
The emotions Ralina-chan had been barely suppressing finally burst out, and all of it because of the basket.
Not that I could blame her entirely… it ‘was’ a basket I had made together with Father, and it held some fond memories for me. But still, wait, this is seriously going to break!
「B-both of you are important! Ralina-chan and the basket, both!!」
「…The basket too…」
I pleaded with all my heart, but the expression on her face was… complicated. Like the fight had drained out of her, but she wasn’t exactly convinced either. Was that… success? I wasn’t so sure.
――After that, I spent nearly an hour soothing Ralina-chan before she finally returned to her usual mood.
「Make a doll of me too, okay?」
And just like that, it seemed I had been forgiven.
Still, I felt like I had glimpsed something dark inside her today. When I carve Ralina’s doll, I’ll make sure to put my utmost care into it.
Speaking of which, she really had recognized the Laudette doll for who it was supposed to be. Since it was my first time carving someone other than Mother, it had taken me quite a while. Maybe the fact that she noticed meant the quality really was that good. That much, at least, made me a little happy.
…Though in this case, I might have been better off if she ‘hadn’t’ noticed.
next chapter: Tsundere Childhood Friend
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