Turns Out He's a Crafting Genius (3)

When I stepped inside, there were two doors. Was the left one my room? I had barely glanced that way before Sophia sprang up and blocked me.

"You can't go in here!"

"Is this your room, Sophia?"

"That's right! So no!"

"Now that you're barring the way, I kind of want to look. How about a housewarming?"

"I said no!"

Firm. Like she'd just eaten a whole damn pumpkin of resolve.

"Then the one next door is mine? Can I go in?"

"Yes! I decorated it myself! You can look forward to it!"

She sounded like a little kid fishing for praise. Even if she'd decked it out like a filthy studio apartment, I'd have to compliment her. Fake awe would probably be required too.

I loaded up a reaction, opened the door—and found a room about the size of a studio. There was a bed. Just a bed.

"...Nice."

Ah. I was so disappointed I couldn't even fire off the reaction I'd prepared. How was I supposed to gush over a room like this? Anyone who liked it would have to be insane.

There wasn't a shred of sincerity in my voice. I was going full soulless.

"Sorry. I didn't have enough divinity, so all I could get was the bed. But look at the room next door!"

"There's another room?"

There was. Judging by her reaction, that one was the main event. Time to see how well she'd decked it out.

I opened the door and found a room at least three times larger than the main one. Introductory crafting kits of every kind were neatly arranged inside.

"This is our Yohan's workshop! Can you feel the special energy?"

"Energy?"

Had a goddess just gotten hit with a "Do you know the Way?" pitch? Ah—a message appeared.

"Well?"

"It's good. Genuinely."

Extremely slim chance or not, better than nothing. Anyone who'd played Korean gacha games knew how insane a skill like this was. How many people lost their minds over a one-percent pull rate?

I used to drop thirty thousand won a month on mobile games. I capped it there because I knew that if I slipped even a little, I'd burn through tens of thousands more.

"Really? You like it?"

Was my reaction too weak? Over-the-top enthusiasm really was better at conveying sincerity.

"Sophia!!!!! What on earth is this!!!!!! A workshop this amazing!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!"

"You like it that much?"

Sophia went shy, tapping the floor with her toes. Yeah—this was the right answer. From now on, whenever Sophia did something for me, I'd react just like this.

"I do!!!!!!!!"

"Yohan, your voice is so loud. Do you have any idea how expensive this effect is? I scraped together every last bit of my emergency fund to get it! I'm broke now!"

"That's a problem, isn't it? What are you going to do from here?"

"I still get divinity harvested regularly from Earth. And I've got you, Yohan! Whether you win battles or sell crafted items, we can earn divinity either way!"

So in the end, I was the one who'd have to run myself ragged. She'd given me a workshop this good, though—I ought to work hard.

Honestly, ever since I'd made that ring earlier, my hands had been itching. I wouldn't be satisfied until I'd used every single starter kit.

"I'd love to keep talking, but I'm so tired today. Haaah..."

Sophia yawned. Normally, opening your mouth that wide made a person look ugly—but Sophia was still pretty. A woman without a single flaw. Suddenly I was curious.

"Do goddesses go to the bathroom?"

"Wh-what?!"

"I thought goddesses only lived on dew and—"

"Yohan, you're mean! I'm going to bed!"

It wasn't even an unreasonable question. Why was she getting so worked up? Sophia huffed and stormed out. Left alone, my crafting urge surged.

"Alright. Let's do this."

First up—a sword.

Sophia returned to the room that had once been comfortable and was now as cramped as a goshiwon cubicle, and seethed.

"Seriously! What kind of things does Yohan say to a girl!"

It had been the same when they first met. He'd blurted out "sex" out of nowhere! He'd even tried to use a wish to sleep with her!

She'd sent him into battle and he'd gone and impregnated Dohoyo's minion. Sophia simply could not comprehend the mental world he lived in.

But he fought well.

As a newbie goddess from outer space, Sophia had nothing to do except observe Earth or hang around on the gods' community boards. She'd even watched a video on the Gods' Amusement best-posts list titled "Why You Should Never Raise a Human."

The human in that video had been truly pathetic. After one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit, he'd crumple in pain; once he learned he would revive even if he died, he stopped even trying to fight properly.

But Yohan had beaten an elf. And not some random scrub—a prestigious-family elf who used skills, spirit arts, and swordsmanship!

He was kind of cool back then.

The Impregnating skill going off had shattered the mood, though. Lying on the only piece of furniture in the tiny room—the bed—Sophia fiddled with her ring.

Fiddle... fiddle...

He made an item, too.

No matter how talented someone was, she hadn't expected him to craft an item from the very start. And the item description had been lovely.

A ring a minion made for his master.

Descriptions like that only appeared when real sincerity was involved. Meaning Yohan genuinely cared about Sophia.

The ring even had Yohan's initials engraved on it. She slipped it off, gazed at the initials carved on the inside, put it back on, and went back to fiddling with it.

For a long, long time.

At that same moment, Yohan—who had bunched up straw into a nest—was stroking an egg.

"There, there. This is your home. Grow up big and strong, okay?"

"Out of nowhere?"

So earlier she hadn't been angry because she hated it—she'd been embarrassed. Tomorrow I'd have to ask her again whether she went to the bathroom.

The Iron Man talent was truly incredible. I'd stayed up all night crafting gear and wasn't tired at all. If anything, I was overflowing with energy like a student hitting lunchtime.

Thanks to that, I'd made more equipment than expected. Whether it was the Handicraft talent or just me being good with my hands, I'd finished six whole items.

All of them were Common grade, but for someone who had owned absolutely nothing, they were rain in a drought.

I was especially glad I'd turned a weapon and armor into proper items. Early twenty-first-century fighting games had been full of bare-knuckle and barefoot characters, but once VR games took over, a whole range of fighting titles with fantasy, wuxia, and other concepts had come out.

I'd ranked in most of them. The one where the hit-feel was so good I'd sat at number one had mixed every worldsetting imaginable.

I'd mastered every character, but I was especially good with the ones that used the most common weapon—the longsword.

If I'd had a steel sword when I battled Evrande, I wouldn't have had to manage distance and drag her into grappling. I'd have crushed her head-on with swordsmanship.

The sword's effect was enhanced cutting power. The armor boosted defense. The ring did exactly what the name said. The hammer came with a crafting-skill assist effect.

And then there was the rocking chair I'd made to sit in while resting. This thing was a masterpiece. Because I'd built it to fit my body perfectly, it was several times more comfortable than the hundred-thousand-won gaming chair I'd used back on Earth.

No special effects attached—and yet somehow, if you just let your body sink into the sway, sleep came rolling in so gently...

Could've told me when the work was done. Why the delayed notification just to wake me up? Staying up all night had worn my mind a little, but my body wasn't tired at all—so the sleep was completely gone.

I'd thought the Iron Man ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trait was all upside, but this was the problem. I couldn't sleep. It felt like a side-effect-free energy drink was flowing through my veins.

Knock knock knock.

"Yohan? Are you up?"

Why was Sophia knocking?

"I'm awake!"

"Want breakfast?"

"Obviously!"

Talk of food made me hungry. Figuring I might as well show off, I grabbed the sword and armor and headed out.

"You're—what is that!"

Sophia hopped in place the moment she saw the items.

"Items. I worked hard on them."

"Oh my god. Oh my god! You already had this ring, and in that short time you made two more items?"

"Two? There's more. Come in."

I took her to the workshop and showed off the rest. Sophia fussed over the items like a little kid visiting a cousin's house, completely giddy.

"Wooow. Is this real? Did you really make all of these, Yohan?"

"Of course."

I'd already learned Sophia's happy-behavior pattern. I spread my arms and waited. Come on!

Whump.

"Yohan's the best!"

Morning boobs—peak content. I quietly tried to pull her in tighter and savor it, but Sophia shifted her hips back.

"Um, Yohan... something hard is poking me..."

"Ah. Morning wood."

"Morning... what?"

"Totally natural. Just wait a bit and it'll go down."

So just let me enjoy the boobs a little longer. My wish went unanswered—Sophia pulled away.

"Let's eat! I ordered something delicious!"

"Not Sophia's special home cooking, then."

I'd honestly been looking forward to it.

"Umm. I'm not good at cooking..."

"Then next time I'll cook for you."

"Really? Are you good at cooking, Yohan?"

"Don't underestimate a guy who lives alone."

Not to brag, but I could make something tasty with just eggs and soy sauce. With Handicraft on top, it'd turn out fine.

I'd expected her to be thrilled, but Sophia hemmed and hawed.

"Umm. Your cooking would be nice too, but let's just order for a while."

"I thought you said you were broke."

"I have money to feed you! I'll introduce you to the food of the gods!"

Oh. That was actually tempting. I hadn't even been waiting long before a white loaf of bread and a purple drink appeared.

"This is ambrosia bread, and this is wine!"

"Did you order these from the Hermes Mall too?"

"No. I ordered from the Demeter app."

"Another figure from Greco-Roman mythology. You must really like that myth."

"Y-yeah... I do..."

If she liked it, she liked it—why the cold sweat? The type who got embarrassed when her fandom got exposed, maybe.

Anyway, breakfast was good.

"What now? Should I go back to making items?"

"No. Today we're doing a real battle!"

A real battle, huh.

"The opposing minion will be a woman, right?"

"Yohan, you! You can't do that!"

What did I even do wrong? This was so unfair. Seriously.