To test the effect of 『Varnish Coating』, I was holed up in my room working on woodworking.
…Well, to be fair, even without 『Varnish Coating』 I’d probably still spend every day drowning in woodworking anyway.
That said, it’s not as bad as during the Infinite Reversi Hell arc. I also practice with the bow and train with the sword. Every day I swing my wooden sword diligently. Diligently with my wooden sword… wooden sword?
「Huh? I feel like I gave this wooden sword a name」
What was it again? I remember it was something grand-sounding, but… I forgot.
「Well, whatever. From today I’ll call it 『Laevateinn』」
Maybe I just gave it another over-the-top name, but fine, from now on that’s its name. …Wait, could it be that a real Laevateinn actually exists in this world?
「Anyway, I’ll set aside the Laeva-sword and focus on this… Hmm, looks like it’s done」
After carefully sanding it down, I finally completed the twentieth entry in the “Woodwork” series: the 『Frisbee』.
「And now, 『Varnish Coating』」
I cast 『Varnish Coating』 on the freshly finished frisbee. This time I went with a matte finish.
Since learning 『Varnish Coating』, I’ve been applying varnish to all sorts of things, experimenting with many types. Soft varnish, hard varnish, lightly changing colors. And the best part is, I can freely select from these different kinds myself.
For this frisbee, I hardened it to increase durability, gave the surface a soft finish, and colored the entire thing matte black, all in an instant. 『Varnish Coating』 is amazing.
「I’ll play with Jered-kun next time」
I think it turned out pretty well. Jered-kun will probably like it too.
But when will I get to play with Jered-kun again? The last time we practiced archery together was… two months ago, I think? Hopefully it won’t be another two years before the next time….
「…Wait, what? No no no, we just played together three days ago」
That’s right, three days ago Jered-kun and I played sepak takraw with a bamboo ball. Using our Elven eyesight, we played super close range sepak takraw. The bamboo ball broke.
Strange… why did I think I hadn’t seen him since archery practice?
「…Come to think of it, when we did archery practice, I started thinking about bowling. Bowling, huh… well, I’ve got time right now…」
I already finished giving away the promised Ralina Doll and Laudette Doll, so I’m a bit free at the moment.
The Ralina Doll was relatively easy to make. Of course, I didn’t cut corners even if she’s been my childhood friend since we were little. I think I managed to faithfully recreate cute Ralina-chan.
…Though I can only pray that someday I don’t end up being able to reproduce only the Noh mask version.
The Laudette Doll gave me a hard time. No matter what I did, all the versions I made ended up looking like she was sleeping. Because of that, she rejected me twice. On the third attempt, with the “Eyes Closed, Offering Prayers Laudette Doll”, I finally managed to pass her inspection.
…Though the real name is “Weird Sleeping Pose Laudette Doll.”
Anyway, that means I’ve got some free time.
Bowling, huh… it does feel like the perfect project for 『Varnish Coating』 in the Woodwork series, but,
「Honestly, that sounds rough… ridiculously rough」
The ball, the pins, the lane, every part of it sounds like a pain. Especially the lane. 『Varnish Coating』 consumes magic power. With only 3 points in 『Magic』, just coating a single lane would eat up an entire day.
Not to mention the ball wouldn’t return on its own… ah, maybe I could build some kind of slide contraption? I’d need an attendant to reset the pins, then they’d place the ball on the slide to roll it back down,
「No no, forget it… way too elaborate」
Well, maybe someday. Maybe someday I’ll make it.
If I did, I wonder if bowling would become a craze in this world? I’ve heard that in Japan, bowling once caused a huge boom in the past…
「Alec? Got a minute?」
「Hmm?」
While I was still thinking about bowling, like, “what was that chuuni-looking thing you wear on your hand?”, I heard Father’s voice from outside my room. I stood up and opened the door.
「What is it?」
「Yeah, right now, hm? Ah…」
「Father?」
He staggered into my room and picked up one of the old Mother Dolls. The one with the small chest.
「For some reason, looking at this version of Miriam puts me at ease…」
「I see…」
「Ah, sorry. Alec, you have a visitor」
「A visitor?」
◇
「So, sales are going well?」
「Yes, thanks to you, business is quite good」
The visitor was Ralina papa. Apparently, Reversi was selling very well. …Although saying “quite good” can sound vague, in this case, it really was selling like crazy.
「Still…」
「Yes?」
It had been a while since I last saw Ralina papa. He still gave off that “capable businessman” aura, but he also looked a bit worn out.
「You look rather exhausted」
「Ah… how embarrassing. It’s just that things have been extremely busy lately…」
Looks like he too is suffering from the curse of Reversi. In its own way, this is also the Infinite Reversi Hell.
「I haven’t even had the chance to pay my respects, my apologies」
「Not at all. I don’t mind. Thank you for going out of your way」
「Now that sales have settled into a steady rhythm, I think I’ll finally have some time to rest…」
Ralina papa gave a weary smile. Even his smile looked drained of energy…
For an elf, he really seemed like someone living in a rush. I guess in the cutthroat world of business, that was unavoidable.
「Still, the sales have far exceeded my expectations. I thought I had set the projections quite high」
「I see…」
So before bowling even had a chance, Reversi had already exploded into a worldwide boom.
…Which makes me wonder when I’ll ever be able to debut shogi. Well, it’s fine. I’m an elf, after all. I can wait a hundred years. Surely by then, the craze will have died down. …Right?
「Our craftsmen are working day and night without rest, but production still can’t keep up」
So the entire workshop had fallen into the same Infinite Reversi Hell. I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for them…
「And so, regarding the other woodworking pieces you created, Alexis-san… 」
「Alexis…? Ah, no, please continue」
That was my real name. Ralina papa was the only one who ever reminded me of it…
「At present, we don’t have the resources to handle anything else but… If possible, we’d like you to entrust all non-Reversi works to us as well…」
「Of course, I don’t mind. If it’s you, Ralina papa, I can rest easy. I’ll wait as long as it takes」
「Thank you. Then I look forward to our continued partnership」
「As do I」
We shook hands firmly.
Reversi was selling well, and after that, my other works would surely find success too.
Incidentally, the royalties from Reversi had already been paid to my family….Yet our lifestyle hadn’t changed at all.
In a way, I thought that was a very good thing. At least my parents weren’t the kind of people to be swayed by money. Even when the income from my other works came in, I was sure nothing would change.
As for me, I had no idea how much money was actually coming in. I hadn’t asked, because frankly, it was scary. I guess this was what they called passive income? It’s a word I admired, but I felt it was still too early for me.
As long as I had enough to visit the church every other week, that was all I needed.
「And also, sales of the Alec Brush have begun this week」
……Huh?
What’s that supposed to mean?
Next chapter: Alec Brush
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