Chapter 66 – While I Was Away (8)

“Iron Dog is the essence of ‘magic engineering’ that Goliath of the Counterintelligence Battalion succeeded in restoring based on the information obtained from the Great Library of Uzet. As befits the Empire’s technological capabilities, it is an all-purpose artifact that can be used in most operations, including hunting, tracking, assassination, and base defense, but it is difficult to manage.”

Darling whined and carried the large silver pole he had taken out of the carriage. Producing pure iron ingots with a purity of 99.9% or higher is a difficult task that requires removal of impurities through magic during the casting process.
It was a precious item that could only be obtained at the blacksmith shop where the largest conversation furnace in Parenzia was located.

“The biggest problem is that if you don’t feed them regularly, their loyalty will drop. “In particular, if you feed them pure iron, which they love, when management is neglected, they will quickly change hands, causing quite a bit of trouble for Goliath.”
“Now, wait a minute!”

Erzébet interrupted Darling’s words and looked dumbfounded at her two iron dogs, who were wagging their tails at her.

“That’s an item from the 12th League? Why is it in the canteen?”
“How would you know the process yourself? “I just investigated and watched closely when a new member came into the cafeteria.”

Darling broke through the road guarded by iron dogs and came to the front of the store. The door was closed with iron plates, but even here she found her back door without difficulty.

“According to the Kingdom’s building codes, there must be at least one passageway to serve as a fire escape in case of an emergency. Even if that wasn’t the case, Lewis’ personality would have definitely dug a hole for him to escape.”
“Still… “The door is locked.”
“You mean this?”

Darling pushed the large flower pot next to the back door with both hands and reached for the key underneath it. She was already fully aware of Lewis’s old-fashioned way of thinking.
Just before opening the door with her key, Darling turned to Ergé Bet and said:

“You can go now.”
“Yes?”
“He is very sensitive to signs. He’s probably feeling all this action up there. Don’t lose your temper and go back. “I will take care of it.”
“But… “Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

I knew very well that Lewis had a fiery personality. However, the matriarch of Lu Hillen laughed humorously and shook her head.

“Lewis has always been a coward and has not been able to touch me, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Still…”
“Do you think standing there will help at all? Now, go quickly. “And that strange bird too!”

Darling, who half-pushed Erzébet out of the canteen premises, took out a large bundle from her carriage before opening the door.
It was a bundle containing everything she could to make Lewis feel better.

Squeak.

She opened the door and entered the first floor of the store, then took the stairs straight to the second floor where Lewis was.

“Store owner. “I’m going in.”

As I opened the door with the key I had copied in advance, her scarlet hair caught the glow of the late evening glow.

***

Nova says that most of the basic human desires have their roots connected to one stem.
In my case, as I suffered from the madness of war for a long time, there were small cracks in the partitions where they were distributed.
Emotions were the same.

Everyone gets angry sometimes. However, it is not possible to immediately extinguish the thousand dollars boiling in your heart in all situations.

There must have been circumstances. Liv and Adela wouldn’t have been fighting over the dinner menu.
But whatever the reason, the concession stand was very precious to me. It’s natural to feel angry when something breaks.

Even though I understood the whole situation and kept repeating it to myself, the deep sadness in my heart continued to tie me to this sofa.

If you lose your temper just a little bit, a really big disaster could occur.
I thought the best thing to do for now was to suppress my anger until I calmed down and could laugh without thinking that it was all in the past.

— We’re almost there, Eris. It’s all over now. Don’t worry. Terra and Nova will soon join Hubblet.
— Even if we fail… The Demon World will not be rebuilt for at least a hundred years.

The silence of being alone. Within that, wandering thoughts were always a shovel digging up the landfill of memories.
Since the end of the adventure, my mind has been a rotten soil where nothing can grow even if I sow seeds. However, as a child who grew up chopping demon heads instead of using smartphones and computers, there was not much I could do in this situation.
Just playing with dirt, digging through memories with small hands and an old shovel. As I searched through my mind, occasionally a black, smelly memory would pop up instead of an earthworm.

— Isn’t it difficult? Hmm… I do not know. I don’t really know much about that. Now I’ve even forgotten my original name.
– Huh? Come on, don’t cry suddenly! What’s the matter? Oh, right. Let’s talk after killing the guy beyond that door. You said you wanted to go on a trip, right?

When I looked up, there was a clock hanging on the wall. Oh, that thing didn’t fall.
Thank god. No, are you glad? Actually, it might not matter. Because it doesn’t function as a tool to indicate time anyway.

— Didn’t you say Seongguk’s cubs chase you around all the time? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure no one finds it. So that you can go anywhere on the continent as you like.

Then I. Am I performing my remaining role properly?

— I will make that my pledge and belief.

Perhaps. Isn’t it something that has become unnecessary like that watch?

While I was being swept away by waves of various memories, as if I was wandering in a dream, I heard someone’s footsteps. When my vision returned, blurry as if I had been drunk, the beautiful sunset outside was pouring into the room.

“Ah, are you awake? Excuse me for a moment. The hole was plugged as a temporary measure. “You’ve been doing everything by hand until now, even though it’s so simple that it only takes one magic trick.”

Darling, looking quite out of breath, probably because the stairs were high, pushed all the miscellaneous items in the room into a corner.
Then, he took out some fairly familiar items from the bundle he had brought and placed them one by one around the sofa where I was leaning.

“Huh? Where did all these come from? Don’t ask. However, store owner, you have a rather poor memory. “When things disappear from the house one by one, wouldn’t you at least change the front door key?”

I didn’t really understand what was being said. Clothes I once bought at the market are hanging on the back of the sofa.
The objects that Adela and Liv broke were also filled with similar friends. Magic is amazing.

“These things are precious to me, but there comes a time when all things find their rightful place. Now, move aside just a little bit.”

Darling pushed me away and sat next to me. He then took one of his arms and placed it on top of his head, and kept making strange demands to me, who was tired.

“Yes, she continues the story she told me when she was young. “I don’t know which local play you saw, but I was quite interested in the content despite your poor description skills.”

Because I was young. When I was young, I loved movies. I connected the DVD I had at home to the TV and watched movies with my parents until I fell asleep.
No, in fact, I may not have liked it that much because it was quite cruel for a child to see. However, there was no doubt that it was the most memorable and impressive cultural relic of Earth so far.

“Tsk, tsk, you’ve gone astray for believing that humanity can reach that star. Well, I really like the fact that you’re missing a screw, so I’ll just live with it. “It won’t be fixed right away.”

As I gradually came to my senses while talking, I smelled the scent of sunlight from Darling’s sunset-colored hair in my arms.
Perhaps because she felt the strength in my hand, she raised her head and looked this way.

Your eyes are pretty. It looks like amber containing mosquito corpses found in the era when dinosaurs lived.

“I get sick every time I hear you say things like that. “Sometimes it’s fun, but can’t you just tell a woman she’s pretty?”
“… “Viscount?”
“It seems you have come to your senses, canteen owner.”
“Why are you here, or how are you here?”
“Does it matter now? “Look at you.”

Me? Other than a little smell from not being able to wash it, it was just like usual. As I tried to stretch and get up, Darling suddenly climbed onto her lap and took something out of her arms.

“It’s not okay yet, so stay still.”
“Where are you going to use those scissors?”
“I’m doing it to trim your fucking hair. Didn’t you tell me that before? “She said she felt great every time the hairdresser cut her hair.”
“No, that’s, um…”

It’s not wrong, but how does Darling know that?
Moreover, the beauty salon does not offer services like this where you hold her head in front and rub her breasts. The body is small, but the chest is not that small either.

Still, maybe it was because it wasn’t completely effective.
Every time the crunching sound of scissors passed by my ears, the anger burning in my chest disappeared like a piece of Dalgona melting in my mouth.
Her scent filled her lungs every time she breathed in, giving her tired body a sweet sleep.
In my pleasantly clouded consciousness, I was immersed in Darling’s voice.
Come to think of it, she wasn’t sleeping all this time.

“Store owner, you probably think you’ve changed a lot. But the person who looks at you thinks the same thing.”

Crunchy. Crunchy.

“Do you remember how sensitive and devastated she was when you came to Parencia? I thought she had buried an invoice somewhere. “The first day I saw it, I was so excited and scared that I couldn’t sleep at night.”

Crunchy.

“I still feel like I’m discharged like this sometimes, but I’m personally relieved because it’s improved so much. This is just a guess… “I may have been influenced positively by the young wizards attending the academy.”

Square.

“But I haven’t given up yet, so be careful. If you come to Ruhilen Mansion, you will be able to rest much more comfortably than in a place like this. Well, I guess I’ll go back satisfied since I’ve included your cute dogs this time.”

Side.

“You too, take a nap. “It’ll be quite busy when you wake up.”