Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 79

“Shuu-san!”

Three days after returning from the Demio Mine.

While having breakfast at the Cat’s Tail Pavilion as usual, a voice called out to me.

Surprised, I glanced towards the entrance and saw Rosca, panting.

Today is the deadline set by Drogan.

And the fact that she came here means…

“Rosca-san, did you finish decorating?”

“It’s done! I’m about to show it to the boss, but I wanted Shuu-san, who helped me, to see it too…”

She must have pulled an all-nighter. There were dark circles under Rosca’s eyes, and her tied-up twin tails were quite messy.

She probably wants to show it to the boss as soon as possible, get the verdict, and then go to sleep.

Despite her state, I was truly happy that she came all the way to tell me.

“Thank you. Of course, I’ll come see it!”

Trying to hold back tears of emotion, I stopped myself from stuffing the remaining bread and soup into my mouth.

Rosca’s vacant gaze was fixed on the bread and soup.

“Rosca-san, you haven’t had breakfast, have you? If you’d like, please eat.”

“N-no, I’m fine. More importantly, I need to hurry to the workshop—”

Rosca, who had regained her composure, hurriedly tried to cover up, but her words were drowned out by the rumbling of her stomach.

“I understand you’re in a hurry, but you won’t make it to the workshop like this. Please eat a little.”

“I’m sorry. Then, I’ll gladly accept.”

Blushing shyly, Rosca sat down and took a bite of the bread.

Eating seemed to stimulate her appetite. After one bite, she quickly became engrossed, taking the second and third bites along with gulps of soup.

Despite her initial hesitation, Rosca couldn’t resist the allure of food after a long time.

It’s a humorous sight, but, I won’t laugh at a warrior who’s pulled an all-nighter.

“Thank you. With this, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Shall we head to the workshop then?”

With Rosca’s complexion slightly improved, we left the dining hall and made our way to Drogan’s workshop.

A short walk through the artisan street brings us to our destination.

“Boss, we’re back.”

“Excuse the intrusion.”

“…Ah.”

Entering the shop with Rosca, Drogan was inspecting tools on the table.

Casually wiping a hammer, it gleamed brightly, probably from constant polishing. And there was a restless air about him.

“Boss.”

“What is it?”

“I finished the prototype decoration. Could you take a look?”

“Alright. Show me.”

As if he had been waiting for those words, Drogan promptly put away his tools.

As Rosca headed downstairs, Drogan and I followed behind.

Descending the stairs and entering the forge, the prototype was hung on the wall.

However, it was covered with a cloth, so we couldn’t see what decorations had been made.

The last thing I had seen was a dark blue sword made from hardened magic stone.

There would likely be additions such as the gold from Golden Maimai shell, the silver shells of Silver Maimai, and materials like Dvorak’s crystals and aquamarines.

Of course, it’s unclear if all these materials were used, but there should be some kind of material incorporated.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how the sword under this cloth turned out.

But at the same time, I felt nervous. Even though I didn’t make it myself, I helped gather the materials, so I felt like I was being judged too.

As I looked at Rosca, feeling my heart pounding, I noticed her expression seemed tense as well.

If this isn’t approved here, she might not be able to decorate Drogan’s weapons.

At a moment like this, which could be considered a turning point in life, it was impossible not to feel nervous.

“What’s wrong? Are you so embarrassed to show it?”

“No, not at all! Then, let me show you!”

Perhaps spurred on by Drogan’s words, Rosca took a deep breath and boldly removed the cloth.

There was a magnificent sword made of hardened magic stone. However, unlike when I last saw it, there were wavy patterns of light blue on the blade, and the hilt and handle were adorned with silver that exuded elegance.

It wasn’t overly decorated.

The decorations were dappled lightly as if a faint snow had fallen on a mountain.

The balance was truly exquisite, and the decorations look elegant without being too loud.

It didn’t detract from the functional beauty of Drogan’s weapons. No, it was precisely because Rosca understood that beauty that she could create such decorations.

“I’m not very knowledgeable about weapons or decorations, but I think it’s beautifully refined, complementing Drogan-san’s sophistication.”

“Thank you.”

“What materials did you use for the decoration?”

“I melted and mixed Dvorak’s crystals and aquamarines to draw the pattern, and decorated it with Silver Maimai shells.”

“I see.”

I never imagined the pattern would be drawn using such a method.

“In fact, I was inspired by Shuu-san, who uses ice magic, for this decoration.”

“Eh, really?”

Surprised by Rosca’s unexpected words, I looked at the decorations on the sword again.

“…Could it be that the flow of the pattern represents freezing?”

“You got it!”

Oh, I never thought my magic would be the basis. It’s both gratifying and embarrassing.

But besides gathering materials, it seemed like I had been useful to Rosca in other ways, which made me happy.

After Rosca smiled happily, she turned to Drogan.

The important thing wasn’t my opinion, but Drogan’s evaluation.

Drogan, who had been gazing at the decorated prototype with a perplexed expression, seemed to be staring blankly instead.

“…Boss?”

When Rosca spoke up, Drogan snapped back to attention.

“W-what?”

“Well, what about the evaluation?”

As Rosca asked hesitantly, Drogan crossed his arms.

“…Well, isn’t it fine?”

At Drogan’s vague words, Rosca was taken aback.

“Why are you saying that like it’s a question?! Don’t you have more specific feedback or something!?”

“I don’t know anything about visual beauty or decorations!”

Drogan answered somewhat pompously to Rosca’s criticism.

“Even if you don’t know, you either like it or you don’t, right? You’re the one who made it, Drogan-san.”

“If I had to say one of those… I’d say I like it.”

“We did it!”

Rosca exclaimed in joy at Drogan’s begrudging words.

“So, does that mean I can do the decorations for the competition piece?”

“No, there’s no need for that. We’ll submit this as it is for the competition.”

“Eh, wait! What does that mean!?”

Rosca was shocked by Drogan’s words.

It was news to me as well, but considering how Drogan emphasized it as a prototype, I had thought it might end up this way if he liked it.

“It means just that. We’ll submit this as the piece.”

“But you said it’s a prototype!?”

“There’s no rule saying you can’t submit a prototype! What? Are you saying you made something you’re not confident enough to enter into the competition?”

“It’s not like that!”

“Then there’s no problem.”

Drogan decided calmly to submit the prototype to the competition.

Rosca showed signs of confusion at the sudden turn of events, but ultimately smiled with satisfaction, seemingly happy that her decorated piece could be entered into the competition.

“That’s great, Rosca-san.”

“Yes, this is all thanks to you, Shuu-san! Now we just have to wait for the results of the competition!”