80. The Saint and the Shoveling Knight (1)
80. The Saint and the Shoveling Knight (1)
"...Am I still half asleep?"
"Then go back inside and sleep. I've got more work to do, so—"
"What the hell did you pull off in a single night?"
Reni's gaze was nailed to the structure I'd built with my own hands—though I'd borrowed some help from the Skill—and it wouldn't budge. Was it that shocking? All I'd done was put together a decent workspace. My superior, with her attractive brown skin, stared at me in utter disbelief.
"I did report it. That I was going to build a workshop."
"No, I know that... but you built this in a day?"
"Of course."
Reni opened the door to my new workshop and entered. I'd deliberately made it spacious. It had to be at least thirty pyeong, at a guess. With almost no architectural knowledge, I could only estimate.
Even when building structures, I merely drew a rough rectangle, created each piece one at a time with Craft, and assembled them. I only needed to sketch the design in my head. It was hardly the first building I had made.
"Whoa, it's spacious... and you made this in a day? You've got everything you need in here."
"It's simple if you have the materials."
"And where exactly did you scrounge up the materials?"
"I've got a way."
There was the collaboration of a certain Thief Cat involved, which I couldn't exactly mention. I expanded a tunnel I'd dug before to make a passage, and Sif hauled a cart through underneath, handing off materials that way. That was how we moved materials all night. Sif's complaints about having to do hard labor in the middle of the night were quelled with three gold coins.
She even grabbed my hand and asked whether there was more work, the very image of an exemplary employee. The next time I needed materials, I would work her like a dog again.
Money really was the best.
"Yohan, what's this?"
At Reni's question, I returned to reality and looked at the object she was pointing at.
A wheel. But it looked different from the typical wooden wheels used around here.
An iron wheel instead of a wooden one, padded with rubber. I'd tried to reproduce a modern tire, but Craft couldn't make it. I probably lacked the ability to process rubber into the shape I wanted. If I could not make something myself, the Skill couldn't reproduce it.
It truly was a useless Skill worthy of this fucking trash game.
"It's a wheel."
"You're making a wheel out of iron? Why?"
"Because I need it to make a chair for Karina."
"I can't even begin to imagine what you're making..."
How was I supposed to explain a wheelchair? After organizing my thoughts, I described it to Reni as best I could. She listened with her head tilted, then nodded as soon as I summarized it: “A chair that moves so we can take Karina around more easily.”
"If that's what it's for. Do you need anything else? Not that it looks like you need anything..."
There was no need for a complicated explanation. A Karina devotee would accept anything as long as I said it was for Karina.
"I don't need anything. I already have the materials. But there'll be some trial and error, so bring Millia over. I need someone to test it."
"I'll call her after she eats. No, wait. You eat first too, then do it."
"...Got it."
It wasn't such urgent work that I needed to skip a meal. I closed up the workshop with Reni and headed for Dawn Hall.
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"Oh my, really?"
"It's true. How he managed to erect a building in a single day..."
Karina, seated across from me, widened her eyes at Reni’s words and looked at me. Her expression of pure admiration was so beautiful that I found myself staring at her face.
I had no idea how long I had been staring when a heavy weight suddenly settled on me.
"Yohan! Good morning!"
"You're heavy, so get off."
"You're so mean!"
Pale, slender arms wrapped around my neck. Naturally, it was Millia. She bounced around with the frantic energy of a seven-year-old so often that seeing her remain quiet would have felt stranger.
"Millia, did you sleep well?"
"Yeah! Karina, did you sleep well too?"
"I slept very well."
Her sickly complexion made the claim less than convincing. Millia scampered over like a puppy and clung to Karina, her red hair mercilessly assaulting Karina’s enormous chest. Karina smiled gracefully and stroked her head. I was enjoying the sight when a piercing glare forced me to lower my eyes.
"Don't stare so blatantly."
"...I was only looking at Millia."
"For that, your gaze was a little lecherous, don't you think? Hm?"
Reni’s hand on my shoulder hurt. Any more force and it felt as though my shoulder blade would shatter. I struggled to remain calm as I answered her accusation.
"Do I look like the kind of person who'd do that?"
"...It doesn't seem like it. But it also kind of does."
Why was she confused? I had thrown out the question without thinking, so why was she seriously considering it? Did she think I was some kind of eunuch?
...My sex drive might have been oddly low, but not low enough to deserve that label.
"Anyway, you're an Escort Knight, so I expect you to act like an Escort Knight."
"Got it. Now take your hand off my shoulder."
I barely survived that. I rotated my freed shoulder a few times to test it, then called to Millia, who was chattering away in Karina's arms.
"Millia. It's mealtime, so sit down."
"Got it!"
Millia returned and sat beside me. I'd expected her to sit with Karina. Humming, she swung her legs energetically in anticipation of breakfast.
"You seem to be in a good mood."
"It's our first breakfast together since coming to Dawn Hall!"
...That was true.
Karina had spent three more days in the Curse Removal Department’s sickroom after awakening. Once her condition improved, she moved to Dawn Hall. That was only natural. Guarding her was easier here, where Reni and I lived, than in a Curse Removal Department building occupied only by a gloomy student and an old professor.
From then on, Professor Lennon would visit three times a week to check her condition instead.
"I'm delighted to be able to share a meal like this as well."
"I could always just eat later, though..."
Reni scratched her cheek and trailed off as if she wasn't comfortable with this situation.
That was understandable. Escort Knights normally ate during their off-duty hours. If Karina hadn't insisted, Reni would have been standing behind her and scanning the surroundings.
"Please don't worry too much. Dawn Hall is protected by powerful magic, after all."
Karina soothed Reni in a sweet voice. Unable to ignore her, Reni reluctantly agreed and sat down—naturally, beside Karina.
"Looks like it's coming any second!"
No sooner had the gluttonous Millia finished speaking than the door opened and maids and butlers began rolling in serving carts.
...It was breakfast. Why was it so extravagant?
Had they gone all out because this was Karina’s first meal here?
Dish after dish appeared on the table until it was difficult to tell whether this was breakfast or an evening banquet. Anticipation filled Millia’s face. For someone with her appetite, the situation must have been delightful.
"It looks delicious!"
"Fufu. The staff prepared quite a splendid spread this early in the morning."
I was going to stuff myself first thing in the morning.
Though I would burn through it as soon as I started working...
After several minutes of table setting, the elderly gentleman serving as the butler of Dawn Hall looked at Karina with deeply moved eyes and said,
"For the Saintess, we have prepared a meal that is easy to eat."
"Thank you very much. I have never seen... this much food before."
Our meals were usually much simpler.
As expected, having the Saintess here made the table far more abundant.
"Then shall we begin our meal?"
"Millia. Don't shake your head so much."
We picked up our forks and knives simultaneously.
------------------
"Whoa! You made this in a single day?"
Millia opened the workshop door and went inside before I could even bring it up. True to her childlike personality, her curiosity had exploded.
She would not touch the wrong thing and hurt herself, would she?
I promptly followed Millia inside.
Millia was snooping around here and there, checking out the workshop tools. After a good while of looking around, she approached me, pointed at something on the workbench, and asked,
"Yohan, what's that?"
"It's a wheel."
Millia cocked her head at my answer. The object on the workbench seemed puzzling to her.
"Aren't wheels made of wood?"
"Usually, yes. That's a special wheel."
"Special?"
"Because it's a wheel for Karina."
"Make one for me too!"
What was she talking about now? Millia whined as though asking why I would not make one for her, so I flicked her forehead and chided her.
"This is an item for people who have difficulty getting around. You can run about just fine."
"Tch. Then make me something else!"
"Fine. Once I finish the chair for Karina, I'll make you something too."
"Wow! Thanks!"
Smooch.
I turned toward the soft touch on my cheek. Millia had popped off her head, lifted it to kiss me, and now wore a mischievous smile as she stuck out her tiny tongue.
"Can I watch?"
"I don't mind. Just don't get too close. You could get hurt."
I stood at the workbench and began working.
Millia pulled over an oak barrel that was near the workbench, sat down, and stared intently at me as I worked. It was a little awkward, having her keep staring like that.
...Sigh. I should get back to work.
Just as I had before Reni arrived, I kept mass-producing and breaking wheels. I'd no idea how to build a wheelchair, so I could only work through trial and error using the vague shapes that surfaced in my memory.
Around the time I broke the seventeenth wheel...
I picked up the best-looking wheel I'd made and examined it from every angle. Good shape. It seemed sturdy. The rubber covering was a reasonable thickness too, so it looked usable.
I needed two, so the other one...
"Craft."
Two wheels of the same shape.
"Is it done?"
"Probably."
"It looks strange..."
I set the two wheels and a piece of high-grade lumber on the workbench.
What did a wheelchair look like, again?
I thought of the wheelchairs that important people always seemed to sit in whenever something happened. Handles behind the headrest... a metal frame... Were there any other distinctive features?
Following the fragments of memory that surfaced, I made a plain chair with armrests and two handles. Once I attached the wheels and tested it...
No, wait, I'd need caster wheels too, wouldn't I?
It required more parts than I'd expected.
By the time I finished a reasonably convincing wheelchair, it was almost lunchtime.
"Millia."
"..."
"Millia?"
"Ah, I wasn't sleeping! Really!"
"Start by wiping the drool from your mouth."
"Slurp..."
Her face red, Millia wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth with the handkerchief I handed her. Then, when our eyes met, she gave a bashful grin, as if trying to smooth over her embarrassment with a smile.
"Let's step outside for a bit. I need to run a test."
To test the first prototype of my wheelchair for important people, I carried it outside the workshop and placed it in the middle of the open lot.
"Millia. Get on the wheelchair."
"Really?"
Her build was not much different from Karina’s, so it should have been fine.
As expected, Millia fit into the wheelchair without difficulty. Because it was only a prototype, I had improvised the soft padding meant to protect the patient's buttocks and back by layering several sheets of leather. Millia did not complain, so it didn't appear uncomfortable.
"From now on, I'm going to push you around Dawn Hall once. Tell me if your butt or back starts hurting."
"Yeah!"
And so our tour of Dawn Hall began.