Episode 6. Dwarves and the Workshop
Asha and I wandered every corner of the workshop, and it wasn't until the sky had grown fully dark that we finally made our way back to the inn. Our other companions, of course, were still lost in their workshop trance and hadn't returned yet. I told Asha to rest for a bit, then sat down at the desk and pulled out some paper and a pen.
First things first, I needed to write a letter to send back to the Empire. Even if I wrote and dispatched it right away, we'd come so far already that it would take at least a month to arrive.
With that in mind, I started jotting down only the essential points in concise notes.
Idrin, it's been a while.
It's Ain.
I should have written sooner, but things have been busy, so it got delayed a bit.
To quickly cover the important parts: thanks to everyone's help, Asha and I have reunited and are traveling together again.
We're currently at the Creasio Workshop, but there's a problem.
At the Versio Ruins we visited before, the priests and holy knights from the Brahm Holy Kingdom discovered that Asha is a gray user.
Of course, we escaped without any real harm, but I suspect they'll form a pursuit team or extermination squad.
We'll handle any pursuers who catch up to us, so if holy knights show up in the Empire, please look after my parents and Uncle Rendo.
Those holy knights and priests are obsessed with grays—they might grab anyone even slightly connected and execute them for "conspiracy."
I beg you.
And tell Mom and Dad not to worry too much—above all, take care of themselves.
For now, the letter would go only to Idrin. She's smart enough to handle everything perfectly from this alone. She'd use all that experience breaking laws without hesitation back when she was the imperial library director to protect Uncle Rendo and my parents.
I finished the simple letter, slipped it into an envelope, and sealed it. That's when a voice suddenly echoed softly in my head.
'Ain, Ain.'
Asha's voice buzzed through my mind. She was resting in the living room beyond the door right now, so this was the effect of the magic engraving on the matching pair of earrings she'd picked out with sparkling eyes.
'Ain, can you hear me?'
"Near-Range Telepathy"
⟨ Earring Enchantment ⟩
Short-range mental communication. At the jewelry shop, Asha had ultimately chosen a pair of earrings for us to wear together, and following the artisan's recommendation, we'd gone to a magic engraving workshop to have them inscribed. It was salesmanship under the guise of helping traveling companions, but accessories like these were the most common tools for magic engravings here anyway.
We looked over every possible enchantment available and settled on a telepathy effect within a 10-meter radius for the pair.
'Ain? Ain, can you hear me? That's weird... They said it works through walls.'
We hadn't picked the earrings for this purpose from the start, but for matching accessories, it was the most practical magic to engrave. If you wanted to communicate, you just lightly touched the earring and thought your message. It could be pretty useful in situations where speaking out loud wasn't feasible.
Of course, it was filthily expensive. My coin pouch had slimmed down considerably after the earrings and the engraving.
As I was thinking that, the door creaked open with a squeak.
Asha poked her head in and spoke up.
"Ain, did you not hear my voice? I think it's defective."
She said that and tapped the earring again. She must have thought it was broken since I hadn't responded.
"I heard it."
"Hmm... still nothing... yes...?"
"Crystal clear."
I should have apologized right away instead of spouting nonsense like I'd heard it but just didn't reply.
"...Then why didn't you answer, Ain?"
"S-sorry... I was lost in thought..."
Only after noticing Asha's expression turn icy did I start stammering apologies like Aberly.
"If you do it again, I might get a little upset, Ain."
"...I'll be careful."
"Yes, you need to. I'm a gray, after all."
With those final words, Asha stuck out her tongue playfully and closed the door. The tongue was like a joke, but that gaze sweeping over me to the end was anything but playful.
"..."
She definitely hadn't been like this as a kid. Those three years apart had changed her a lot. She used to just beam at me innocently, but now she showed all kinds of emotions.
And every time she did, it was fucking terrifying. Was that the look of a beast eyeing its prey?
Anyway.
After mailing the letter to the Imperial Citizens' Library and returning to the inn to rest with Asha, our companions started trickling back.
Horn burst through the inn door and immediately boasted with satisfaction.
"Damn, kid, I found a good carriage and billiard table."
"Pick something cheaper."
"I haven't even told you the price yet, you crazy bastard."
Put simply, buying those earrings for Asha had burned through a ton of cash, so it already felt burdensome without even asking.
"So, how much...?"
"Don't freak out. Thanks to this dwarf body of mine, I gave the workshop artisan a few pointers and knocked off over twenty percent!"
"So how much is it?"
"Carriage is 40,000 tera, billiard table 3,000 tera."
This madman...
If just Horn's stuff came to 43,000 tera, our coin pouch would be empty once we covered everyone else's picks too.
"Isn't that too expensive...?"
"Come see tomorrow—you'll be satisfied."
"It's not about satisfaction, it's the price."
The earrings and engraving had come to a pretty steep 15,000 tera in total, but 40,000 just for the carriage? Sure, buying directly at the workshop was a steal. Those earrings and the carriage would cost double back in the Empire, per Horn.
The problem was we didn't have enough to buy them without a care.
"It's foldable, doesn't take up space."
"Yeah, but that's not the point..."
"They threw in cues and balls for free. The owner's a good guy."
"...So."
"The carriage has those soft mattresses the kids wanted standard. Saved money!"
Fuck, this crazy dwarf geezer won't listen. He was so thrilled he ignored me and kept rambling. And then the two kids peeked out from behind him.
"We picked cookies instead of mattresses! 500 tera a box, so just buy four boxes!"
"Mm... sure."
2,000 tera on cookies felt absurd, but compared to Horn's whims, it seemed reasonable.
Ah. Now even I couldn't tell anymore. Why the hell did the workshop have a cookie artisan anyway?
Next to return were Eileen, strutting in front, and Aberly trailing behind, standing awkwardly with a sheepish grin.
"Ta-da! The beautiful noble lady Eileen makes her entrance!!"
"Exit again."
I wished she'd just leave without a word.
"So mean!! I picked out stuff already! Essential item to protect me and the kids—a wooden staff with 20 memorized barrier spells for a mid-tier mage, only 7,000 tera! Cheap!"
"Fucking expensive!"
We had a powerhouse mage like Asha in the party, and this crazy noble lady wanted to drop 7,000 tera on twenty barriers. Not even a jeweled staff—a wooden one. Shit, once the magic's used up, it's just a stick.
"Why!! Emergencies could happen!"
"Not wrong, so we'll check it tomorrow and decide. Everyone come with me tomorrow—we gotta see everything."
We'd probably need to go together in the morning and inspect their picks. They'd gone off alone and come back with nonsense.
Anyway.
Aberly spoke up last.
"Haha... I p-picked some too."
"You... yeah... what'd you get?"
I was worried what this unpredictable guy had chosen.
"Extra r-reagent vials and a new h-heating device I needed. Total 3,000 tera."
"You pass. Good job."
"Haha..."
This unpredictable nut had made the most sensible choice. Even a broken clock's right twice a day—or in this case, Aberly suddenly looked pretty good.
Kissable little shit.