Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Repair Request (2)
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"Uwheung~ Today~ is the day Ken stays over~"
Heaven knows what had her in such high spirits, but Rafne was humming cheerfully as she prepared dinner.
Thank goodness she didn't seem to have any major objections to me crashing here.
Her usual over-the-top skinship without a hint of reservations... and all that.
Maybe she doesn't see me as a man at all...?
'Well, yeah. To her, a fat pig like me probably just feels like a pet.'
It stung a little that my favorite character didn't see me as a guy, but whatever. No use dwelling on it.
What mattered right now was repairing the Thunder Spear Aspetra.
'Alright, first things first...'
The shattered Thunder Spear Aspetra lay before me.
Before grinding my Repair proficiency, there was something I needed to check first.
The materials required for the repair.
I immediately pulled up my skill status window.
⚔ SKILLS ⚔ 🛠 Item Creation (Unique Skill) 📊 Proficiency ✋ Manual Dexterity: LV 3 ⚔ Armament Creation: LV 3 🧪 Potion Creation: LV 1 🔮 Magic Artifact Creation: LV 2 🔧 Repair: LV 1 🔍 Material Identification: LV 1 Thankfully, I'd acquired the Repair skill not long ago.
And among them, the one I needed right now was Material Identification.
I picked up the Thunder Spear in front of me.
'Let's see... Material Identification.'
With a thought, mana flowed from my fingertips into the broken spear.
The mana coursed through every corner of the spear before returning to my hand.
Soon, the materials used in this spear began floating into my mind.
'...No wonder it's an S-rank item. Even the materials are on another level.'
I swallowed hard as I checked the list of materials popping up.
This event item was an S-rank legendary weapon that you'd never even see used in the game.
The materials that went into it weren't something you could just buy on the open market.
But luckily, Annet had taken care of that part.
She was footing the bill for all the repair materials.
'Dragon bone... Orichalcum... Can she even get her hands on that stuff right away?'
They were materials that became easier to obtain in the late game.
But even then, they were from the demon continent of Karav.
It'd cost a fortune to source them in the Lillias Kingdom.
'Eh, she's from a rich family. Not my problem.'
Opportunities like this to handle top-tier materials didn't come often.
Might as well jot down a bit more than the exact amount needed.
I wrote out the repair materials list on a sheet of paper and pulled a small flute from my subspace pouch.
This was the summon flute Annet had given me for calling her familiar.
To avoid unnecessary suspicion until the spear repair was done, we'd communicate via familiar for deliveries and updates.
Piii━
A sound like a reed pipe echoed out, and soon a mana-formed bird familiar appeared before me.
"Thanks for your help."
"Caw."
The familiar took the letter in its beak and flew off into the sky.
As it shrank into the distance, it turned invisible and vanished.
'Now, until the materials arrive, time to get this done.'
Annet had given me two days, so the materials should come quick.
Which meant my task for the remaining time was set.
Grind that Repair skill proficiency!
Luckily, I had a stockpile of weapons from when I'd made Siegfried's Black Blade—perfect for smashing and repairing.
A moment of silence for these sacrificial test pieces.
I hefted the hammer and brought it down boldly on a weapon.
Clang!
Clang!
The clash of metal rang out as the weapons soon ended up with chipped blades, broken handles, and all around wrecked.
"...Ken, you still not done?"
Smash and repair, rinse and repeat.
I ate the dinner Rafne prepared, then got right back to it.
My Repair skill had hit level 2 now.
I wasn't aiming for 4 through grinding alone, but level 3 would be nice.
"Yeah, I've got a bit more to do. You go to bed first, Rafne. You can use Silence magic, right?"
The repair noises would make it hard to sleep, so I asked her to block sound with a barrier just for tonight.
But Rafne shook her head and came over to me.
"N-no, it's fine. I'll wait till you're done, Ken!"
"Eh? You don't have to. Aren't you tired? Go ahead and sleep!"
"It's okay. I wanna help too. Anything I can do?"
With that, she plopped down beside me.
'Gotta wrap this up quick.'
She probably didn't mean to burden me, but I felt bad keeping her up.
"Phew, alright. Could you change the water in that tub first?"
"Sure! Just tell me what to do!"
Rafne replied energetically and grabbed the tub to head off.
Seeing that, I steeled myself and resumed hammering.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Item Creation proficiency has reached its maximum. Related skill level has increased. ⚔ REPAIR LV 3 ⚔ '...It's... done.'
I stared blankly at the status window, holding a dagger—god knows how many repairs this one had been through—my eyes heavy with exhaustion.
It was already dark outside, and night had fallen late.
"Rafne, go sleep in bed."
Rafne, who'd promised to stick by my side and help, had ended up dozing off with her head on my lap midway through.
Well, she'd helped hard till then, so good girl.
Didn't expect her to sleep through all the hammering noise, though.
"Rafne... Rafne, wake up. It's done."
"......Mnya."
No signs of stirring at all.
'No helping it, then.'
Call it payback for letting me stay the night. Princess carry delivery service to bed, special tonight.
I carefully scooped her up so she wouldn't wake.
Rafne nestled her head against my chest in a full princess carry.
'She really wouldn't notice if I carried her off like this.'
She slept soundly without waking, looking more at peace than usual somehow.
The Rafne I usually saw always seemed tense or anxious about something.
But now, her face was utterly serene, free of any worry.
"......Ken, hehe."
'What kinda dream is she having?'
Whatever it was, if it helped her relax, it had to be a good one.
I carried her to the bed and gently laid her down.
Placed her lightly, head on the fluffy pillow, and carefully withdrew my hands.
Then pulled the blanket up to her chest.
'Guess I'll crash too.'
Obviously, no sharing the bed or anything.
No matter how defenselessly my top favorite girl character was sleeping.
A true fan gamer doesn't lay a hand on her in a moment like this.
'...Tomorrow, check the materials when they arrive.'
I spread a blanket on the floor a short distance from Rafne's bed and lay down.
As a Korean, beds are nice, but there's something about lying on the floor that just calms the soul.
With that, I planned tomorrow's schedule as I powered down my weary body.
"...Ken... Mm, Kenn."
...Or tried to sleep.
"......No... No, Ken... Kenn."
'...Mm? What's going on?'
In that hazy half-asleep state, I heard my name being called.
If this were my solo dorm room, it'd be straight-up horror movie vibes.
But here, only one person would call my name so desperately.
"......Rafne?"
I sat up and looked at the bed.
"Kenn... No... ...Sorry... Hic, don't go."
"R-Rafne? You okay?"
I bolted up at the sound of her whimpering voice and hurried to the bed.
Rafne lay there, eyes brimming with tears, caught in sleep paralysis.
And then...
"Ke-KenNNNNN!!"
"Whoa!!"
Her tear-filled eyes snapped open as she cried my name and shot upright in panic.
My startled yelp echoed through the room right after.
"......Uh, Ken... This is..."
Realizing she'd woken from the dream, Rafne clutched her pounding chest and stared at me.
Our eyes met.
"...Uu, hic."
Then she burst into tears again.
"...Waaah, Kennn...!"
"R-Rafne? You alright? What happened?"
Tears streaming down her face, Rafne—still shaken from the nightmare—crawled to me and hugged my waist tight.
"Kenn, d-don't go... Sorry, hic, I did wrong... U, uu, hic."
'Must've scared her bad.'
Even after realizing it was a dream, she couldn't stop crying.
She buried her face in my chest and kept sobbing.
'I can kinda guess what it was about...'
"Hic, it... it was... Ken said he hated me, didn't wanna see someone like me anymore... Hic, and then he left the room..."
Exactly as I'd figured.
I stroked her head to calm her endless tears.
She burrowed even deeper into my arms.
"It was just a nightmare, Rafne. Only a dream, so don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."
"Sniff, I-I know... But it was still scary..."
Watching her cling to me, I wondered if she had these dreams often.
What would she have done if she'd woken from this nightmare alone?
'Must've been terrifying.'
Waking from a nightmare to utter solitude.
The thought of Rafne enduring that night after night made my chest ache.
I gently pried her calming form from my chest and laid her head back on the pillow.
"Hic, uu."
Even as she lay down, the tears kept coming.
She's gonna have a headache if she cries this much.
I pulled the blanket back up over her.
"Hey, Ken..."
Then Rafne grabbed my sleeve.
"Y-yeah?"
Her red, teary eyes looked up at me cautiously.
Like a chick searching for its mother.
"I'm scared... C-can we sleep together...?"
Whoa, what's that now?
"R-Rafne. As much as... I'm still a guy...!"
"B-but...! If I fall asleep like this, I'll have the same dream again! If you're next to me... I think I could sleep peacefully. Hic."
Her words brought back the image of her sleeping so soundly earlier, without a trace of anxiety.
Maybe because she'd fallen asleep beside me?
Did she spend every night tense and on edge until sleep finally took her?
The thought made my heart hurt.
No, but still. I'm a guy.
I won't cross the line a gentleman has to hold!
"Hehe... Thanks, Ken."
"Mm, just this once."
She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me like a body pillow, closing her eyes with calm breaths.
"...Smelling Ken's scent... makes my heart feel at ease."
"...Mm."
Good that it calms her.
But maybe don't whisper it right in my ear.
Your soft breath is tickling sensitive spots.
"Mnya, Kenn..."
Head pillowed on my chest, arm over my shoulder, Rafne soon fell into steady breathing as she slept.
'......This is tricky.'
But I, feeling all sorts of soft things pressing against me, couldn't drift off easily.
Her warm body heat, her scent teasing my nose.
Looks like tonight's gonna be a long one...