Elves (4)
Fanfare!
can now craft the D-Grade Creaking Bow!
I gave a grateful tap to the mini Kenelm who was blowing a fanfare and cheering me on. Most of the credit for this belonged to her. First-class contributor, really.
It wouldn't be an overstatement to say we'd unlocked the bow thanks to the hint Kenelm had given me. Honestly, I'd been half-expecting we wouldn't manage it today at all — so this was a pleasant miscalculation.
Alancia the elf went straight into the bow workshop and began crafting. For some reason, the dwarves and other elves who'd been hanging around all piled in after her, looking for all the world like neighborhood kids chasing an ice cream truck.
"Everyone, please get out!"
A furious Alancia hissed them all away like a cat spitting at strangers.
Once she'd driven everyone else out and gone into the bow workshop, how long did it take before she emerged again?
Fanfare!
"Oh."
Auto-crafting had succeeded, too.
"Kya— kyaaaaaah!!"
Having successfully made the bow, Alancia flung the workshop door open, burst outside, and started bouncing up and down with the weapon in her hands. Elves swarmed in, hoisting her up and laughing and shouting.
"Long live the Great Patriarch! Long live the Sixth God!!"
"It's a bow! A bow!"
"Long live the Sixth God!! Long live the Great Patriarch!!"
It was pure festival atmosphere. Maybe Iver just wanted in on whatever looked fun — without the faintest idea what was going on, the little dragon launched herself at Alancia in a burst of excitement.
"Ppi-ii!!"
"Eek!"
Alancia and Iver tangled midair, tumbled once, and went rolling across the grass. The moment Alancia was freed from the elves' celebratory hoist, the dwarves came pouring in.
"Hahaha! Nothing beats the thrill of that first offering! No, sir, nothing at all!"
"Congratulations, miss! On a happy day like this, we can't skip the drinks! Come on, let's go!"
"D-drinks? What are those? Something you eat...?"
"By the Sixth God! Miss, you don't mean to say you don't know what alcohol is?"
Alancia and Workers One, Two, and Three bantered for a moment, then set off in a group with the other dwarves. The elves who'd been briefly left out scrambled to stick close to their heels.
I followed to see where they were headed, and sure enough — they were filing into the tavern. Even for dwarves, wasn't this a bit much fondness for drink?
Draining beer by the barrel while simultaneously blacksmithing and mining was only possible because they were dwarves.
"Take it easy, all right... take it easy..."
Still, this was a welcome dinner with the new arrivals — and the tavern looked awfully shabby for that. A rookie's first company dinner was supposed to be flashy, big, and expensive.
I scraped together every last scrap of leftover gold and upgraded the tavern.
Upgrade "Dwarf's Small Tavern"?
Y / N
I selected Yes, and my gold hit absolute rock bottom. I was a true penniless beggar-god now.
Hammers appeared at once and started banging away around the tavern. Above it floated the time remaining until completion — roughly nine hours. An ordinary person would have sat there like a fool waiting out those nine hours.
But I immediately used my life's greatest package deal: the Instant Building Completion Ticket.
Fanfare!
"Dwarf's Small Tavern" has been upgraded to "Dwarf's Warm and Noisy Tavern"!
Workers' efficiency has increased a little further!
The tavern was reborn larger and more splendid. Long windows stretched left and right, tables filled the space, and the now three-story building even had a small stage inside.
Elves and dwarves alike cheered at the sight of it all. Watching them get so happy over something so small left me feeling oddly proud.
Throwing the occasional event like this isn't half bad.
They poured into the tavern and were soon laughing, eating, drinking, and having an absolute blast. Their ways of celebrating were all different — a dwarf up on the stage putting on an incredible dance, an elf inhaling meat and side dishes without pause, another elf already drunk and clinging to a dwarf to pick a fight.
When they'd first met, I'd worried that dwarves and elves might end up at each other's throats. Seeing them get along so well was a relief.
"Ugh..."
I closed the game and stretched, working the stiffness out of my muscles.
Time to go to work so I could afford more cash shop purchases.
Gulp— gulp— gulp—
Alancia's throat worked without hesitation. A truly magnificent swallow!
Even the dwarves, who prided themselves on losing to no one when it came to drink, found themselves clapping at the sheer gusto of it.
"Kyahh—"
Having drained a dwarf-sized beer stein in one go, Alancia let out a sigh of pure refreshment. The banquet's atmosphere was steadily climbing toward its peak.
Tap-tap-tap! Tap!
"Whew! That's incredible!"
Up on the stage, a dwarf was putting on a spectacular dance — a high-difficulty sequence of alternating leg extensions while holding a horse stance, flowing without a single break.
"Chew, chew... So good, so good... Hnngh— the meat is too delicious!!"
"Hahaha! That's right, miss, eat up! You've got to eat plenty if you're going to work hard!"
There was an elf repeating how good it was while vacuuming up meat without pause. The grass crumbs stuck to the corners of her mouth were a little distracting, but the pure happiness with which she was enjoying her meal made you smile in spite of yourself.
This is... truly wonderful.
The alcohol she'd never tasted in her life, the perfectly browned grilled meat, the crispy fried snacks — everything was utterly perfect.
"Ahaha! Miss, is this really your first time drinking? At this rate, I'd believe you if you said you were a long-eared dwarf!"
"I truly am drinking for the first time."
"Then that makes you even more dwarf-like! Hahaha! Have another, miss! Today is a banquet day the Great One himself has sanctioned, is it not?"
Sedus Fallac burst into hearty laughter and drained his cup in great gulps.
Ever since witnessing the miracle of a building rising before their eyes, the dwarves had been declaring, "This is proof the Great One has permitted a banquet—" and drinking like horses with the reins cut free.
The result of which was...
"That doesn't make any sense! Hammering's supposed to go — whoosh-bang! Whooosh-bang! Whooosh-BAAANG! Like that!"
"Y-you! You don't know a damn thing! Who hammers like that?! The proper way is bang-bang! Whooosh-BAAANG! Don't you even know that's the best?"
Red-nosed dwarves were noisily arguing in a language only they seemed to understand. Some kind of blacksmiths' jargon ordinary people couldn't follow?
"Hoo— why is it so hot..."
Having drunk too heavily from the start, Alancia felt a flush of heat rise to her face and stepped outside the tavern for some air.
Whoosh—
"Ah..."
A breeze blew in, cooling the heat of excitement. The gentle drop in her body temperature tickled pleasantly through her.
Alancia closed her eyes and walked slowly. Only the sound of her wooden clogs followed quietly behind her.
Clack, clack, clack—
After walking for some time, the Golden Tree came into view.
The Golden Tree swayed its tender branches in greeting. Leaves stirred by the wind whispered to her — why had she come here instead of enjoying herself while everyone else was laughing and talking?
With her head a little hazy from the alcohol, she wondered why she'd come... then Alancia simply grinned.
"I just... wanted to see you."
It had crossed her mind, and so she'd simply wanted to look.
"I'll sit here."
Without waiting for the Golden Tree's reply, Alancia plopped down nearby. The Golden Tree didn't bother answering either. Sometimes there were things you knew without speaking.
A comfortable silence stretched between them. A stillness like a calm pond. Only the occasional breeze passed between the two of them.
Enjoying the quiet, Alancia looked up at the Golden Tree.
"Golden Tree, have you grown accustomed to that body?"
Sway—
The Golden Tree shook its tender new leaves, waving them left and right with all its might like a banner of spirit energy, as if showing off its strength.
It was small, but being young, it seemed full of vigor. At the sight of something she'd never seen when it was an ancient tree, Alancia let out a soft laugh.
"...We've been having so much fun among ourselves that I keep thinking about that child."
The youngest, who had voluntarily stayed behind on the surface — Estel.
Alancia couldn't stop fretting over her. Unlike the others, Estel was sharp and clear-headed, good at judging situations, and that had only made Alancia fonder of her.
She'd suffered plenty because of her useless older brothers and sisters, too.
"Haa— I wonder if she's doing all right..."
The things Estel had held onto until the very end were fragments of a broken bow, a piece of the Golden Tree, and a cracked bracelet. How did she plan to get by on the surface with nothing but scraps like that?
Sway— sway—
The Golden Tree whispered not to worry. Wasn't she the child who had left the forest of her own will and wandered the world? Wherever she was, she could look after herself.
"...I suppose so."
Even so, the unease wouldn't leave her, and Alancia let out a long sigh.
Was she going hungry somewhere? Was someone beating her...?
Alancia gazed up at the sun and moon high in the sky, unable to hide her worry.
Puh-hiiing...
The Unicorn lay sprawled on the ground, making dying noises. He was putting on the act of a sick horse about to expire at any moment — yet oddly enough, his appearance remained immaculate.
His mane still gleamed with its usual luster, his horn rose proudly, and his snowfield-white body didn't have a single speck of dirt on it. No matter how you looked at him, he was not a creature that should be making death rattles.
In the first place, the Unicorn was a divine beast who had endured divine punishment from the gods multiple times. There were few beings capable of wounding him.
Plip—
A clear droplet rolled from the Unicorn's large eye.
He was wailing not from any pain of the flesh, but from the agony of the heart. His tender, pure heart had been shredded to pieces and left rolling in the mud.
So what had done this to him? What terrible, fearsome, wicked being had torn the Unicorn's soul to shreds and scattered it?
Prrk... puh-hiiing— maiden... O maiden...
It was the kind of last gasp a young soldier might make. A weak voice, like a dying young animal calling for its mother one final time.
But Estel, the cruel hunter who had reduced the Unicorn to this state, had not a shred of sympathy.
"Ugh..."
Estel shoved the head of the horse collapsed before her with the tip of her foot. The way you'd treat filthy refuse!
Having pushed him far enough that he wouldn't touch her body, Estel twisted her face into a deep scowl.
"What is this, some horny pervert? Ugh, disgusting..."
Keugh—!
His beloved maiden's heartfelt words of contempt!
They became a sharp spear that butchered the Unicorn's tender heart!
"Hey."
...M-maiden?
At Estel's call, the Unicorn lifted his head. Was she taking pity on his wretched self and trying to comfort him? A glimmer of hope entered the Unicorn's eyes.
But his counterpart was the forest's merciless hunter. Estel whispered in a voice gone completely flat.
"If you call me 'maiden' or anything like that one more time, I'll cut it clean off. Got it?"
Estel's dagger flashed its cold blue edge, and the Unicorn nodded, trembling violently.
He swore he had never been this terrified in all his time on the surface.
Whoa...
The paladin who'd been sitting in on Estel's interview crossed his legs without thinking, protecting his groin. Even so, he filed away a valuable piece of information in his head.
So that's how you handle a unicorn!
It was the moment the Pantheon's problem child, the Unicorn, finally got a leash.