Chapter 110: Comfort is Non-Negotiable
“Hey, Ash, have you lost weight?”
“Yeah. Stopping the binding helped.”
I was having tea with Ash at my house.
The tea was served by the butler, who immediately went to fetch Dinoss next door. Ash opened the box of éclairs he brought and ended up sharing them with me.
“Can’t you tell when a woman is around?”
His shirt looked a bit baggy. If I squinted, I could almost see that his waist had slimmed down enough to give away his gender. As for his chest—
“With Shiva and Tina around, this treat is incredibly delicious.”
He had a scary look on his face, but I was getting used to reading expressions well enough to imagine flowers floating in the background.
What did it mean to have Shiva and Tina around? Thanks to the abilities granted by the Spirits, there were not many female adventurers, but I usually worked with trustworthy companions.
“Are you going to work with Dinoss and the others?”
“No, I think it’s better to have more women around.”
“I see, so it’s for Shiva and Tina.”
“Plus, with Az being freed, it became difficult to keep the binding on.”
“Bring me some clothes later. I’ll need to adjust the size.”
Ash seemed to really enjoy the éclairs. Just as I added some for Dinoss to the table, there was a knock at the door.
“It’s open!”
I shouted toward the kitchen. They should know it’s open, but it’s my house after all.
“Welcome!”
“Alright, I’m ready. Show me.”
Dinoss’s first words were strange.
He plopped down in a chair, spreading his legs and resting his hands on his knees, striking a solid pose.
“This.”
I thought about jokingly taking off my jacket when he asked to see, but with Ash here, I held back. Instead, I pulled out the sword I had made.
“Wait.”
“Huh?”
“Where did you pull that from?”
“[Storage].”
“……”
Dinoss was holding back something.
“……”
The butler stood frozen with a smile beside the table.
“……”
Ash was munching on an éclair.
Taking a cue from Ash, I decided to come out about having the same ability as En. I wasn’t sure if I should reveal En’s ability, but knowing there was someone else with the same power felt reassuring.
“Ahhhhh… You should keep that hidden.”
Dinoss exhaled the breath he had been holding.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Lightweight! Note?”
“I thought it was fine since you had been hiding it until now. The bag you made instead stands out, but you’re using it well with the Guild.”
That’s right, I had been hiding it properly.
“So, this is the sword in question?”
He said, drawing the sword from its scabbard.
“Wow…”
“Please refrain from melting it down.”
As if reacting to Dinoss’s flame dragon, flames danced along the blade.
“Hmm, beautiful.”
“If you like it, should I give it to you?”
I asked Ash, who had complimented it.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a fire Spirit by my side, so I can’t handle it.”
Az, who was with Ash, was a Spirit of wind and greenery.
“What about Dinoss?”
“Don’t casually offer a sword that can’t be used in public to someone else. How much is this worth?”
“Uh…?”
Isn’t the iron arrowhead more expensive than a mercenary’s fee? But since I made it from steel rather than cheap iron tools, maybe it’s not that much?
While pig iron is hard, it’s also brittle, which is why they mix in magic iron for flexibility. I melted the iron and used pine resin as flux in the crucible to create this steel, but what would its price be?
“Wait. Note, can I ask what this is made of?”
“It resembles blades made by a race living on a northern island that has cut off contact with the mainland.”
“I forged it with great effort.”
The Spirits helped a bit during the process, resulting in something extraordinary.
“It’s only natural it became a Spirit Sword. I judged it can’t be used in public, so it’s safe.”
“Yeah.”
I had tried to hide it after all.
“But it’s still a no-go! Even if it’s not a Spirit Sword, it’s still a no-go! NO-GO!!!!”
“Lord Jean, please lower your threshold for ignoring him a bit.”
Dinoss kept shouting “no-go,” while the butler looked troubled.
“I don’t want a blade that breaks easily.”
By the way, I also made a kitchen knife, which is currently in the kitchen next door. I refrained from having the Spirits help with that, so it’s just a regular steel knife.
“Note?”
“—That’s outside the scope.”
“Regardless of combat, I won’t compromise on comfort in life.”
Yeah. In fact, I hope this world becomes more comfortable as time goes on.
“It seems Lord Jean’s cultural level is higher than ours.”
“Jean’s normal is our extraordinary.”
Ash, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.
And then, silence fell.
“Jean, are you there?”
Then came Dean’s carefree voice.
“Please, it’s open.”
As I replied, the door opened, and Dean walked in, carrying the same basket as the other day.
“Whoa! Balmoa. H-Hello.”
“Ah.”
Dinoss replied shortly while still holding his head.
“Did something happen?”
“We’re just probing each other’s non-negotiable points.”
I answered Dean, who had lowered his voice to ask.
“I don’t know what that is, but don’t dig too deep. Let’s keep it casual, alright? —Oh, that smells good! Can I have some?”
He said, a bit exaggeratedly bright, smiling at the éclairs on the table.
“Go ahead. I made plenty.”
“Thanks! This asparagus was given to me by an acquaintance.”
He said, handing over the basket, which contained thick green asparagus and white asparagus in equal parts.
It seemed they weren’t foraged from the forest but rather cultivated. White asparagus exists, huh? I only had a canned, mushy image of it, but these looked fresh and delicious.
Dean handed me the basket and picked up an éclair with his free hand, opening his mouth wide. It was probably his first time seeing an éclair, yet he showed no caution.
“With that treat, you could probably buy a house.”
“Bluh!”
Dean choked on the éclair at the butler’s perfectly timed comment.
“Note?”
“Vanilla beans, cacao—just those alone are worth a fortune. And the sweet fruit called strawberry is outside the scope.”
“Called… strawberry? It’s a strawberry! It at least resembles the strawberries from my world!”