I Want Them

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It was a game I picked up during my teenage years.

I was good at every game I played, and naturally, this one should have been no different.

"Wow, dude. It's actually harder to fail this badly. That's a talent in itself."

But the results said otherwise.

A 'GOOD' rating meant my timing was off by about half a beat from the perfect mark.

It was the kind of performance that would be difficult to replicate even if someone ordered you to hit only those notes.

Back then, I achieved that feat through sheer, unadulterated anti-talent.

"This guy is absolute trash at—"

"What did you just say, you punk?"

In that moment, something snapped inside me.

I couldn't accept that a game would hand me such a garbage report card.

The insult to my talent stung, but what angered me even more was that it made no sense. There was no way I could be bad at such a crude game.

I've always had a tendency to hyper-focus on the strangest things.

The moment I locked onto something, I shut myself away from the world until I conquered it.

There was even a time I went almost a week without eating, completely consumed by a single task.

In short, once I got hooked, it was do-or-die.

And that hook happened to be rhythm games.

The problem was, the deeper I dug, the more addictive it became.

I started in middle school, carried it through high school, my undergraduate years, my master's, and all the way into my doctoral program.

Whenever writing my thesis got frustrating, I played.

That was how I spent most of my life.

Writing papers in the lab, playing rhythm games. Eating, playing, telling myself "just one more round ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before bed," and suddenly it was four in the morning.

After graduating, while I was knocking on the doors of the job market, Yuna and I once came to a conclusion.

"Then I'd rather die."

In the end, negotiations broke down catastrophically.

It was the first war between Yuna and me.

Yuna blocked all games on my devices; I restricted her access rights to the absolute minimum. Yuna blocked my monitor with a hologram; I covered her holographic projection with a towel.

After a week-long war, I finally succeeded in quitting.

Well, if quitting games was all it took to get a job, I wouldn't have ended up calling her Yuna in the first place.

It wasn't because of rhythm games. The world simply had no need for humans anymore.

In the end, nothing changed.

And just as I buried my face in my hands in that empty lab...

...I was brought to this world. And now.

Yuna shrieked, suffering from instant PTSD.

Yeah, that was a rough time for both of us.

"...You trust me, right?"

Don't worry, Yuna.

I was just caught off guard earlier.

If I do it again, I've got this.

No, that's not strong enough. To put it more accurately...

...I don't have the confidence to fail.

Even without the music playing, just looking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the visual cues was more than enough.

I immediately picked up the hammer to try again, but...

"...Tsk, what a shame."

First of all, there were too many constraints.

This hammer wasn't mine, and neither was the powder.

It even looked valuable enough for Henrik to keep locked in a safe.

I had managed to scrape together the leftover residue to pull it off, but I wasn't shameless enough to take out more of his stash without permission.

It was then.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Master Lionel."

"..."

Henrik emerged from the back room, studied my face, and let his lips curl into a smile.

"...Haha, did you find a good hammer?"

"Huh? No, not really."

"You have such a bright smile on your face."

"..."

"I just assumed you did."

Did I? Without realizing it?

I didn't bother holding back the grin that slipped onto my face.

"I guess I did."

I simply smiled wider.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Two choices lay before me.

A two-star refining hammer.

By my standards, it was the best hammer I had handled today.

According to Henrik, it was the most suitable hammer for beginners.

The weight distribution was even, the two faces of the head were asymmetrical, and the handle length was just right.

It was the textbook definition of a forging hammer, exactly as I had described to Doloris yesterday.

Furthermore, it was an Earthborn Hammer, crafted entirely from natural earth materials without any alloys.

I could even expect some synergy with my Sun Dwarf traits.

It was solid. Safe. And safe wasn't a bad thing.

However, the second option made me hesitate.

During a brief break, I had done some research on enchanting.

Naturally, the source was the inner Tower's community forums, where the keyword "enchant" was the most popular topic.

Well, there were all kinds of posts.

But the conclusion was simple: enchanting was in extremely high demand.

Furthermore, I realized that virtually no one performed enchantments outside of a place called the Dwarf Company.

A few posts claimed other places existed, but for some reason, those accounts were all banned for "illegal promotion" or something similar.

Banned.

Probably because they were scams.

But if the Dwarf Company was the only official place for enchantments, and that was common knowledge in this world...

...wouldn't it cause a massive stir if I started doing it?

Henrik had said as much, too—that it was nearly impossible for humans.

Which only made me look forward to it more.

As I sat there pondering, resting my chin in both hands with a serious expression that didn't fit a thirteen-year-old kid...

...I felt Henrik stealing glances at me.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but I pretended not to notice.

Henrik was a nice guy, but... he was a bit of a chatterbox.

It wasn't a bad trait, but right now, I needed time to think.

And then.

Tinkle.

Doloris returned.

"Lionel?"

The moment she stepped inside, Doloris called my name in her gentle voice.

For some reason, she seemed to be in a better mood than usual.

"Yes, Master."

I hopped down from the tall stool and ran over to her.

I really felt like I was becoming part of Doloris's family, right down to running over the moment I was called.

Behind Doloris, Ruby was clutching a thick book to her chest.

Her eyes were sparkling too.

Doloris lightly held up a rather luxurious set of clothes in front of me.

"This will look good on you."

"...Thank you."

"Yes, good. Lionel? That is how you do it."

*Stroke, stroke.*

Satisfied with my response, Doloris stroked my hair.

"There ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is no need to decline. Just saying thank you is enough."

"Yes..."

I feel like a pampered pet.

Doloris stored the clothes in her sub-space pocket and walked toward the counter.

Then, suddenly...

*Whoosh.*

...she scooped me up with one arm.

"So, have you chosen a hammer?"

"Uh, bub-bub..."

Despite being thirty years old mentally, I couldn't help but panic at the sudden physical contact.

Doloris gently set the flustered me down on top of the counter.

In an instant, I was at eye level with her.

"Are these the two?"

"Ah, no. I was trying to decide between them."

"Decide?"

Doloris glanced down.

"Henrik, how much are they?"

"Ten thousand gold in total."

"Mmh, I see."

She locked eyes with me, now at the same height.

Then, she gently brushed my bangs aside.

"Do you want both of them?"

"Ah, well... that is..."

Honestly, I did. Both of them.

But asking for something worth ten thousand gold felt a bit much. Regardless of how wealthy she was, I couldn't just shamelessly demand it.

"...It seems you still do not realize the weight of what you have done for me," Doloris murmured softly as she looked at me.

Only then did I look past Doloris's face...

...and notice the scene outside the shop.

There was a carriage piled high with mountains of books.

The single book Ruby was holding wasn't the only one.

It looked like she had bought every single one of those books today.

*Slide.*

Doloris took my hands and placed them on top of the two hammers.

"Now, Lionel. Repeat after me."

"..."

"I. Want. Them."

"I... I want them..."

"Good boy."

Doloris smiled with satisfaction and nodded to Henrik.

"We will take both."

"Understood."

Henrik bowed.

"What does each hammer do?"

"This one is for forging. And this one is... well, for enchanting..."

"Enchanting."

Doloris narrowed her eyes.

"You will do it yourself, Lionel?"

"Yes."

A hint of bewilderment crept into Doloris's voice.

Crafting equipment made sense since I was a Fire Descendant, but suddenly claiming I could enchant was bound to catch her off guard.

"...I feel like I can do it."

I was confident.

Doloris stared at me.

When she stared like this, she was usually discerning the truth of my words.

After a brief silence, she smiled warmly and nodded.

"Very well."

Doloris didn't ask any further questions.

It meant she believed me.

"Then you will need the powder as well."

Since it was a well-known concept, she seemed to be familiar with Enchant Powder.

It was then.

"...I will throw in the powder for free."

Henrik pulled a cloth pouch from beneath the counter and offered it to me.

It was indeed the same pouch he had taken out of the safe earlier.

Doloris tilted her head.

"If someone who can actually use it takes it... there is nothing more I could ask for."

Henrik gave a wry smile.

"Think of it as a package deal."

"Very well."

Doloris chuckled softly and paid the bill.

Just as I was about to pick up the two hammers with both hands, wondering if I should carry them...

"Wait just a moment~"

Mia stepped out from the back.

She took the Earthborn Hammer and the Basic Enchant Hammer, placing them on the counter.

Then, she pulled a small brush from her apron pocket and began to paint something on the ends of the handles.

In that moment...

...I saw a faint glow emanating from her lower abdomen.

Which meant this was magic. She was using mana.

*Stroke, stroke.*

With each stroke of the brush, gray lines were etched onto the hammers.

Soon...

"They aren't very heavy to begin with, so Level 2 should be more than enough."

*So the one who applied the enchantments was Mia.*

*They really are a talented couple.*

She handed the hammers to me. I lifted them lightly.

"...Wow."

The weight had changed, fitting perfectly in my hands.

Both of them.

"Are you returning to your estate, Duchess?"

"Yes. Would you care to return to the estate with us, Mia?"

"Thank you for the offer, but... hohoho."

While the payment was being processed, I walked over to Ruby with the two hammers in hand.

*Heh, time to flex.*

There was a certain thrill that a mere book could never match.

I approached Ruby, waving the hammers in front of her.

*Wave, wave.*

As I kept hovering in front of her, Ruby's brow furrowed slightly.

"...What?"

"Cool, right?"

*Wave, wave.*

Just then...

"...Yeah."

"Huh...?"

Ruby nodded.

*Wait, what?*

*This wasn't the reaction I expected.*

As I stared at her in confusion...

"What."

Ruby suddenly pretended to read her book and turned her head away.

The tips of her ears were slightly red.

I stepped closer to her.

"...What? What is it?"

"Wipe your mouth."

"...Eeeek!"

There was still chicken skewer sauce smeared around Ruby's mouth.

*Tsk, what a messy eater.*