After sending Amilia to the royal capital via teleportation, I enjoyed a farewell banquet, in name, at least, with the members of the Artisan’s Guild.
「Holy Knight-sama! Please take me with you!!」
「Eh? No way.」
Lopple-san pressed closer, her eyes gleaming intensely.
「Why not!? Then, Holy Knight-sama, please, your seed!!」
「Ah, come on! I said no! Even if you go to the future, you won’t have any connections or anything there!」
「That’s where Holy Knight-sama would…」
「I refuse.」
「Whhhhy noooot!! Am I not good enough for you!!」
「I don’t want to be liked for such a calculated, money-driven reason! Besides, you wouldn’t be able to return ever again, you know? You wouldn’t be able to see your parents. This isn’t just some trip…」
「Ugh… Th-that is…」
「Aw, c’mon. Holy Knight-sama, take ‘er with ya.」
「Eh? Guild Master?」
Grants-san suddenly stepped in to support her, leaving Lopple-san dumbfounded.
「This one originally lived in the royal capital over there. Escaped for dear life durin’ the first uprising.」
「Is that so…」
「She’s got no parents either. Honestly, stayin’ here, her talent’ll just get buried… And hey, Lopple, show ‘im the usual.」
「Ehh～ That’s kinda a pain, you know～ (Mutter mutter…)」
Grumbling, she sat down at a simple workstation and, with a small hammer, deftly crafted a piece of gold jewelry.
「Whoa, that’s amazing.」
「Yeah, she’s real good at metal carving. Worked at a workshop for a while, but after the old master there passed, it was all guys who only saw her looks.」
「Well, she is cute, I’ll give you that.」
「See, remember that Zook guy who picked a fight with ya a while back? It was fulla guys like that, and she was havin’ trouble. Had no choice but to put her at the guild reception.」
「That must have been hard…」
「Okay, all done～ Guild Master, you really work people hard, you know…」
In just about five minutes, a beautifully crafted butterfly hair ornament lay finished in Lopple’s hands.
「Incredible…」
「You… your skills have improved again…」
「Ehehe～ Seeing things from Holy Knight-sama’s world got my creative juices flowing…」
Her bashful demeanor was charming. She wasn’t my type, but we seemed to get along well…
「Well, if it doesn’t work out, you could just introduce her to someone else (mutter)」
「Hm? Did you say something?」
「Nah. Just thought, if you’re okay with it, maybe she could work in my world.」
Hearing that, Lopple’s eyes sparkled.
「Really!? Yes!! I’m gonna be rich～!!」
「No, you only get paid if you work properly, you know?」
「Ehh～」
「Well, I’ll arrange a workplace for you and introduce you to some artisans in my world.」
「Muu… Please make the salary generous.」
「I got it. Well, before I can return to my world, there are just so many things I have to resolve first.」
Lopple, no longer listening to me, went off with a drink in hand to pester her colleagues…
「For now, if you take her, you might wanna wrap her up in a mat or somethin’.」
「Eeh…」
「Hahaha, if she gets noisy, that should quiet her down!」
Grants-san laughed heartily, his eyes glistening, and took a sip of his drink.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
「How is it, Hikari? Getting the hang of it?」
「Yes, I don’t think there will be any problems with this.」
She answered while swinging the staff Yuffie had modified.
「Good. Then all that’s left is everyone else’s preparations.」
「That’s right. What about Haruka-chan and Touka-chan?」
I asked about the two, whom I hadn’t seen for over a week now.
「Haruka and Touka took Yuki and Mary to a dungeon yesterday.」
「Huh? Yesterday?」
「Yes. The flow of time is different. It was yesterday. You’ve been over there too much, Hikari, your sense of time is all messed up.」
「Oh dear, now that you mention it, that’s true… My mistake, my mistake.」
「By the way, where is Yuuki*?」
TN: Might be a typo. I think it’s Yuwa since the spelling is different from the beastkin Yuki and MC Yuuki.
「Ah, she was practicing with a sword or something.」
「A sword? A magic sword?」
「Yes, yes. She said she needs to make a sword using steel infused with Yuuki’s magic power.」
「That sword… I want it…」
Yuffie fidgeted, her eyes shining. Well, it is a handmade present from Yuuki for Amilia-chan, after all…
「Hmm… But it’s a present for Amilia-chan, you know…」
When I said that, Yuffie looked a little disappointed.
「I see… Then I’ll have him make me one next time.」
「That sounds good. I’ll have him make one for me too.」
「Un, that’s best. He should make one for each of us.」
「Ahaha… Yuuki’s going to have his hands full…」
As I said that laughing, Yuffie spoke up as if remembering something.
「Un, come to think of it, Aerith said she’s coming to pick us up.」
Yuffie said, pulling out a tattered piece of paper that might have once been a letter.
「I wonder if her work is finished?」
「Probably. I can’t read it well because the letters are faded and missing.」
I stared closely at the overly degraded former letter, now nearly half illegible.
「Hmm… We still can’t get the teleportation quite right, can we～?」
「Un, needs improvement.」
「Yeah… Well, shall we go after having some tea?」
「I’ll have some too.」
「Alright, alright. The usual Mary blend okay?」
「Please.」
Hearing her reply, I left Yuffie’s experimental workshop, built on the outskirts.
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