When I returned to the bear house after negotiating with Sanya-san, I hugged Kumayuru and Kumakyu, who had turned into cubs, to heal the mental damage from yesterday.
Not bad for people who like insects. If you want to hug it, it's definitely the fluffy fur.
"Wow, it's soothing~" (Yuna)
"Kuu~n"
"Fluffy" (Yuna)
"Kuu~n"
"Uh, soft." (Yuna)
"Kuu~n"
"Wow, happiness." (Yuna)
"Kuu~n"
While hugging Kumayuru and Kumakyu, I thought about Fina.
When I came back from the adventurer's guild, Fina asked me to bring Wolf out because she wanted to practice dismantling.
I didn't think Fina needs practice dismantling Wolf now, but she seemed to be getting restless as the event approached.
I didn't think that was the case until yesterday, or maybe she was hiding it?
When I brought Wolf out, Fina started dismantling it.
Tirumina wanted to feed Fina something delicious, so she went shopping for dinner with Shuri.
When I thought about Fina, I was a little worried.
Fina, are you okay?
"...Yuna-onee-chan?" (Fina)
As I was hugging Kumakyu and Kumakyu while thinking about Fina, I suddenly heard someone called out to me.
"Whoa, Fina, were you there?" (Yuna)
Fina was standing in front of the door.
"Maybe you were watching?" (Yuna)
"Yes, Kumayuru and Kumakyu are cute." (Fina)
Saying that, Fina approached Kumayuru and Kumakyu and patted him on the head.
"Have you calmed down a little?" (Yuna)
"Yeah, it's fine when I'm disassembling it, but once I'm done, I start thinking about whether this is the right thing to do." (Fina)
"It's not a good idea to push yourself too hard. Besides, Gentz-san taught you this, so just do it as usual and you'll be fine." (Yuna)
"……Yeah" (Fina)
I nodded, but it didn't seem to be okay.
She needed a break from this.
Tirumina-san and Shuri had gone out. In that case, it's my role.
But what should I do?
"...That's right. Shall we go see Ghazal-san and Rikka-san now?" (Yuna)
I would give it some thought and make a suggestion.
Maybe it would be a change of pace for Fina, and it would be nice to go see her for the first time in a while.
Fina was a little worried and said she would clean up the dismantling and prepared to leave.
That's why I came to the shop of Ghazal-san, who made my mithril knife.
The last time I came was for Fina's birthday present.
"Yuna-chan, Fina-chan. Please have some tea." (Rikka)
"Thank you. Rikka-san." (Yuna)
Rikka-san put tea in front of us.
Looking at her face, she looked happy.
Ghazal-san must be making a sword, and I could hear the sound of iron being struck from inside.
"Rikka-san, how is your life in the capital?" (Yuna)
"There is Ghazal and there are good people around me, so it’s okay." (Rikka)
Rikka-san smiled with a big smile.
From the expression on her face, it didn't seem like she was forcing herself to say it.
"But I'm a little worried because Ghazal is being bullied because of my arrival." (Rikka)
"Ghazal-san being bullied?" (Yuna)
"Hehe" (Rikka)
Even though she said that Ghazal-san was being bullied, Rikka-san was smiling happily.
Rikka-san and Ghazal-san weren't married yet, but it seemed that people around her see her as Ghazal-san's wife. So, she seemed to be envied by her fellow blacksmiths around her, who were neither married nor have a girlfriend.
According to the story, it was difficult to find a partner for blacksmiths because they were dirty, noisy, and hot.
If they got married, she would help out at the store. Craftsmen were said to be shunned because they worked in sweat, the iron was noisy, and it's hot because they used fire.
Furthermore, because of his job, he didn't have many encounters with women, so it seemed that he was even more disconnected from women.
That's a difficult problem.
That's why it seemed that Ghazal, who had never seen a woman before, was being bullied with jealousy by the appearance of Rikka.
Rikka-san was cute, and I thought she's even more so.
"Is Rikka-san okay?" (Yuna)
"Me? I'm the daughter of a blacksmith. I've been growing up in that environment since I was born, so I don't mind. My father smelled like sweat, but I told my mother that he worked hard for us. I grew up being told that it was proof that my father and Ghazal were working. I think that's true too, and the sound of hammering iron was like a lullaby as I slept, so I was fine, and I watched my father and Ghazal work in the workshop. And I used to strike iron for little things." (Rikka)
Rikka-san was a girl born to become the wife of a blacksmith. After all, as with any profession, was it difficult to get married if you didn't understand the other person's profession?
It's difficult for me, who had no feminine feelings at all.
"Now that I think about it, Yuna-chan and Fina-chan don't live in the royal capital. When I tried to go see Yuna-chan, I was surprised when Ghazal told me that you didn't live in the royal capital." (Rikka)
Came to think of it, I didn't say that.
Since I was going back to the capital normally, Rikka-san was asked to come with me. After that, we used the bear's teleportation gate to return to the royal capital, and with his feet, we came to Ghazal-san, and after confirming that the two of them were okay, we returned to Crimonia.
"I didn't have the time to say it. I'm sorry." (Yuna)
"But I thought it was strange because I must have heard that you came from the town where Gordo is." (Rikka)
"I bought some land and built a house because people come to my house in the capital from time to time." (Yuna)
"I'm surprised that you bought the land even though you only come here once in a while, and I was also surprised at the bear's house. But I'm glad that you come to see me like this. Fina-chan, thank you too." (Rikka)
"..." (Fina)
"Fina-chan, what's wrong? You've been silent since a while ago." (Rikka)
"I-I'm sorry." (Fina)
It seemed like her heart was not here.
I let out a sigh.
"Fina will be participating in the dismantling event that will be held at the adventurer's guild next time, but I'm a little worried." (Yuna)
"Oh, huh? Fina-chan, you're going to participate?" (Rikka)
"Well, I decided to participate, but I started to worry more and more about whether it would be okay for me to do it, and whether I would disappoint Sanya-san’s expectations." (Fina)
"If Fina dismantles it as usual, it'll be fine." (Yuna)
"And I never thought we would do it in such a large place." (Fina)
"But, Fina-chan, you were able to dismantle it." (Rikka)
"Fina's dismantling is good." (Yuna)
"I still have a long way to go. Besides, I only dismantle Wolf." (Fina)
"Since Fina is only participating under the age of 19, I don’t think the other participants have ever dismantled any rare monsters. I don’t think such monsters will be at the event in the first place." (Yuna)
"If I knew more, I could tell you what kind of monsters appeared. The history of the royal capital is short, and I only recently learned of such an event. Ah, how about I ask Ghazal?" (Rikka)
Fina stopped Rikka-san from looking towards the workshop.
"Rikka-san, thank you for your concern. I'm fine." (Fina)
Then, I listened to Rikka-san's story in the royal capital, and Fina was also listening to Rikka-san's story happily.
"Ghazals are lazy, so he can’t do without me." (Rikka)
"He seems sturdy though." (Yuna)
"For work, yes. But for my personal life, that's not the case at all. I'm really glad I came here." (Rikka)
Could it be that Ghazal-san is being laid on his butt?
"Rikka, don't talk to the girls like that." (Ghazal)
Ghazal-san came from the back with a sullen expression on his face.
"Ghazal-san, hello. Sorry to bother you." (Yuna)
"Hello" (Fina)
"What happened today? Was it knife maintenance?" (Ghazal)
"No. I came to the capital to show my face. Also, I thought it would be a change of pace for Fina." (Yuna)
"A change of pace, Miss?" (Ghazal)
I told that Fina would be participating in the dismantling event sponsored by the Adventurer's Guild.
"Ghazal, do you know anything?" (Rikka)
"I've been to see it several times, but it's mostly experienced people who go. There are cases where rare monsters appear. As the bear girl said, I've never heard of any unusual monsters appearing for under the age of 19." (Ghazal)
"See, I told you so. So, it's okay." (Yuna)
"Yeah" (Fina)
"I'm sorry I can't be of any help." (Ghazal)
"Uh, thank you." (Fina)
"Well, there's nothing I can do about the event, but would you mind letting me take care of the dismantling tools? That's about all I can do for you, Miss." (Ghazal)
"That's such a nuisance..." (Fina)
"It would be more of a problem if something happened to the dismantling tools while they were participating and they were unable to demonstrate their abilities." (Ghazal)
Certainly, it couldn't be helped with monsters that have never been dismantled. However, even though it's a monster that can be dismantled, the biggest regret was that she couldn't because of the dismantling tools.
"Fina-chan, it's okay. Ghazal said he wants to play, so don't worry about it." ()
"But..." (Fina)
"Then you just have to pay and ask for a job." ()
If that's the case, there's no problem between us.
When I tried to take out the money, Fina stopped me and tried to take out the wallet herself, but then Ghazal-san stopped Fina.
"Yuna-onee-chan. In that case, I'll do it myself." (Fina)
"I don't need money. The ladies are taking care of me. And if I need money, I've already received it from the bear lady." (Ghazal)
"Ah, you mean the iron golem." (Rikka)
While I was wondering what he meant, Rikka-san said as if she remembered something.
"That's enough money. Even if I take care of the girls' weapons and tools hundreds of times, you'll still get change." (Ghazal)
"Fina, you’ve said this much, so I thought I’d ask you a favor." (Yuna)
It's also rude to keep refusing.
Above all, she disrespects Ghazal-san's feelings.
"...Then please." (Fina)
Fina was a little worried and took out the dismantling tools from the item bag.
There were three knives, two were a mithril knife and an iron knife made by Gordo-san, a blacksmith in Crimonia and a fellow student of Ghazal-san. The other knife was a knife I sometimes see.
"There are three knives, are these the dismantling tools?" (Ghazal)
In addition to the knife, there is a set of tools wrapped in leather. I didn't know much about it, but it seemed to be used when dismantling small parts or special parts.
Ghazal held a knife.
"The mithril knife and iron knife that Gordo made?" (Ghazal)
"You can tell just by looking at it." (Yuna)
We showed him the mithril knife last time we were here, but not the iron knife.
"We showed each other what we made. But this is different." (Ghazal)
Ghazal-san took the remaining knife in his hand.
"That's the knife your father used when he was an adventurer." (Ghazal)
Father? It looks like it's not Gentz-san, but his late father.
"Those dismantling tools were also the same ones that your father used when he was an adventurer." (Ghazal)
Ghazal looked at the set of dismantling tools.
"This is…" (Ghazal)
"What's wrong?" (Yuna)
"It's nothing. It's well-maintained and beautiful. The blacksmith who made it will be happy, too." (Ghazal)
After finishing the dismantling work, Fina always carefully took care of the tools.
Then, Ghazal-san adjusted Fina's dismantling tools, polished them, and took care of them.
"Thank you very much" (Fina)
"If I do what I can now, no one will complain. Of course, it may be difficult to demonstrate my ability as usual. Even I can't make the same good swords every time. But... Don't deny what you've done up until now. That would be denying the person who taught you how to dismantle." (Ghazal)
Ghazal-san told Fina as he told it to himself.
"It's no good if you deny it..." (Ghazal)
Fina thought about Ghazal-san's words.
"I'm sorry I'm not good at explaining." (Ghazal)
"No, thank you. I'll do my best to do what I can now." (Fina)
As if Ghazal-san's words had reached her, the worried expression disappeared from Fina's face.
I was glad we came.
Author's Note
Sorry I made you wait. The event will start next time.
Fina's activity? I hope you will read it to find out.