Chapter 7. Favor and Calculation (5)
Chapter 7. Favor and Calculation (5)
"You were doing fine, so why?"
"No, I mean, I told you to stop bringing that up."
For some reason, Ria kept teasing me about the dance, so I snapped at her like that.
Actually, the biggest reason I snapped was that every time the subject came up, I kept remembering that embarrassing situation from a little while ago.
It wasn't that I was ashamed of being led by Ria.
When it came to pride, the fact was that I knew nothing about dancing while Ria at least knew something about it. There's nothing strange about someone who doesn't know being taught by someone who does.
Besides, strictly speaking, I was the one who first suggested dancing. Ria made the proposal first, and it was heading in the direction of Ria being the one to ask me to dance, but in the end, I was the one who directly asked her to do it.
So there was no reason for me to get annoyed in this situation. That was the rational judgment.
But my feelings—
The moment I got back to the room, I dove onto the bed.
I heard the sound of Ria climbing onto the bed next to mine.
There wasn't enough space for us to sit facing each other on the beds and talk like we did back in the dormitory. The beds were practically touching.
Which meant that, even in this awkward state, we had no choice but to be close to each other.
"......Or did you not like dancing?"
Ria asked me that.
"......."
Her voice wasn't much different from usual. It wasn't like she was disappointed or deflated or anything.
But I knew the Lee Chae-eun from the original work. Even when she seemed that frank, she was also a character who was quite skilled at hiding her own feelings.
I looked toward Lee Chae-eun while still lying face-down on the bed.
Lee Chae-eun was sitting on the bed, looking at me.
"......No, it's not that."
The real reason I was embarrassed was that being held by Ria hadn't felt bad.
She smelled nice, and she was soft. And of all things, Ria had a good figure. Her chest was touching right below my face, and there was no way I could not be conscious of it.
No, come to think of it, was there really a reason we had to be pressed that close together? Is that just how social dancing is? I wasn't sure. I got the feeling that maybe in this world, that was how it worked. Since there was supposed to be that kind of atmosphere between Ria and Lee Si-yoon while they danced, it made sense if it did.
"It's just, it was embarrassing. I don't really enjoy putting myself out in front of other people."
"Ahh."
At my answer, Ria let out a small laugh, as if she understood.
"You don't need to worry about that either. The kind of dancing you do at places like that doesn't need to be all that good. If people started nitpicking that, there'd be plenty of people feeling awkward. A lot of people go the whole year without dancing and only end up doing it at those events because they have no choice."
Ah, that's definitely true.
.......
No, more importantly, did that mean dancing like that was just a normal thing on this Earth too? Was I going to have to dance in front of people multiple times from now on?
Ah, right, the scene of Lee Chae-eun dancing with Lee Si-yoon didn't just happen once. I remembered seeing the other heroines fighting over wanting to dance with Lee Si-yoon a few times too.
"Ugh."
I shuddered and buried my face in the bed again.
"Saintess Candidate, I really shouldn't have done it."
"Are you in a position where you could have just not done it?"
When she put it that way, I didn't have much to say.
As I lay sprawled on the bed like a dried fish, Ria gently stroked my hair.
"Well, don't worry. I'll help you. Dancing is the kind of thing where you only have to do it once before you don't have to worry about what other people think."
Was it like when you get dragged to a karaoke room? The kind of thing where once you half-heartedly sing one song, nobody forces you to do it again.
Dance practice, huh. And on top of that, dancing with Ria at every banquet—
.......
It was a strange thing to say, but I didn't dislike it.
How could I possibly dislike it? Thinking about Ria's appearance. Damn it.
And besides, she usually treats me kind of roughly, so why is she so gentle when she strokes my hair?
More than that, isn't her attitude way softer than usual?
Is it just my imagination?
*
There's a saying: if you can't avoid it, enjoy it.
From the moment it was decided that I would be coming to the Gnome country, I had been putting together a plan in my head.
I'm not stupid enough to think every plan will work out perfectly.
But usually, if you make a plan, you can at least accomplish a few things within it, can't you?
In every novel I've read so far, the "Transmigrators" somehow get their hands on the fortuitous encounters or artifacts they saw in the story beforehand.
I intended to do the same. Otherwise, being born into this other world would have no meaning at all.
The day after the banquet ended, a little late in the morning, we headed to a building to hold a meeting with the Gnome officials.
Most of Gnome social life takes place underground. That doesn't mean Gnomes hate sunlight, but most of them prefer the cool underground to the hot sun.
From what I'd heard, the surface above where the Gnomes live is a hot desert, and where the Dwarves live is an extreme region where snow pours down all year round.
In the meeting that ran from around ten in the morning to eleven-thirty, and then from one-thirty in the afternoon to around four, there was almost no need for me to step forward.
Obviously, it made more sense for government officials to talk among themselves than for a nun who knew nothing. The Gnome representatives, the people from our government, and the Church people all exchanged various conversations.
How much they could buy the mined Mana Stones for.
Whether Mana Stone Processing engineers could be sent to our world.
Whether our technology could be provided.
And then—
"Please discuss matters regarding Sacred Objects with the Church representatives."
Seeing the gazes directed at me, I answered like that.
"Making them isn't a big problem, but we still need to coordinate to some extent, so I'd prefer it if we didn't trade too many."
That was the extent of my opinion.
Even for me, making Sacred Objects takes effort. After making a Sacred Object strong enough to completely extinguish the Mana of a single finely crafted Mana Stone, I'd be sprawled out on a bed for the next few hours.
The Gnomes were very interested in those "Sacred Objects."
......This was probably something the government officials knew as well, but the Gnomes were in a territorial dispute with the Dwarves.
To the north of the vast desert where the Gnomes live is Dwarven territory. It might seem strange that there's a polar region directly north of a desert, but this world is a place where the common sense of the world we live in doesn't apply in the first place.
Besides, the place where the Dwarves lived was a very high alpine region, so the temperature itself was bound to be different.
And the relatively temperate zone where the Dwarven territory and Gnome territory met was exactly the Disputed Territory.
The Gnomes had mastered small, detailed Mana Stone Processing, but they were somewhat lacking in the technology needed to build massive equipment like the Dwarves.
Dwarven "equipment" has many substitutes on Earth. But conversely, in this world, there is almost nothing that can replace it.
No matter how much anti-tank weaponry the infantry has, if the enemy brings a tank unit and helicopters, the story changes.
"......."
I silently listened to the conversation while sipping tea.
It looked like the government was taking one side, but actually, from the government's perspective, the Dwarves' abilities weren't all that useful.
......And besides, I had already conveyed my opinion to the Church in advance.
Never hand over enough for the Gnomes to definitively win the war. I told them that if they needed an excuse, they could just use me as one.
Anyway, once word got out that we had handed over a certain amount of Sacred Objects, the Dwarves would contact us too. Then we could proceed with that matter separately at that time.
Above all— before the war even broke out, something else was going to happen first.
*
As soon as the meeting ended, I headed to the workshop where Clanet, whom I'd met yesterday, was. After we danced, we'd chatted about various things and I'd gotten her contact information.
About twenty minutes of walking, following the guide assigned by the Gnome Government.
"Oh......."
"She's practically a noble."
Ria and I looked up at the house with a bit of admiration.
The places we had visited so far were basically all large enough for humans to enter, but in truth, the other Gnome residences didn't have much consideration for humans. Most had small doors or ceilings that were too low.
But the building in front of us was a mansion that was huge even by human standards.
Well, what I felt when we went inside was that each individual room wasn't all that spacious. Still, I decided to be grateful that we could walk around normally.
"Saintess Candidate."
"Please just call me Anna. That's more comfortable for me too."
The Clanet I met today was wearing leather work clothes, unlike yesterday. Her hair was also tied back.
If anything, she looked better this way—personally, I thought this look was a bit prettier. Now that I thought about it, her makeup yesterday had been a bit much.
After exchanging light greetings, we got straight to the point.
"So, may I ask why you've come to visit me today, Anna?"
I sat in a chair that was big enough for me to sit in but still slightly small and subtly uncomfortable, and while trying to keep my expression relaxed, I opened my mouth.
"I'd like to commission a carving of a Sacred Object."
"A Sacred Object...... a carving?"
"Yes. I know that Gnomes have an understanding of Holy Power. And you also have a method passed down for making Mana Stones that can be used multiple times, right?"
"Yes, of course....... But are you really sure it's all right?"
Clanet looked at me with a cautious expression.
No problem.
I had already finished discussing this with both the government and the Church.
What had been discussed in today's meeting was strictly about "transactions between nations." Buying and selling things. The "Disposable Sacred Objects" I had roughly made were just included among them.
But what the government wanted was to be able to reuse those Mana Stones that had lost their Mana.
And further, to research how they were made.
So me requesting the creation of such an item through a personal transaction was something both the government and the Church very much wanted.
And besides, I thought it looked useful too.
Since I didn't know what would happen from here on.