Chapter 65 - The Gate and the Book
Note: Hi, everyone. Neither of us actually celebrate Christmas, but anyway, here's an extra chapter as a present. Happy Holidays. Enjoy your day.
It wasn’t long after that Volf and Dahlia returned to the tower.
"Dahlia, would you officially sell me this bracelet?"
The still-excited young man suddenly reminded her of the dog she had once owned in her previous life.
It seemed like a strange coincidence that this moment mirrored the day she first played frisbee with the dog—she could only attribute it to her imagination.
"Then, as thanks for becoming a guarantor for my company, would this bracelet be acceptable? Of course, I’ll also make time for the magic sword."
"If you do that, wouldn’t it be more of a loss for you?"
"I understand... then, let’s meet halfway. How about giving me two potions for it?"
"Thank you. I’ll buy them next time I come around."
Volf smiled with narrowed eyes, tracing the bracelet with his fingers.
The beautiful silver bracelet, which sometimes shimmered gold depending on the angle, suited him remarkably well.
"However, it’s a bit difficult to make an identical one. The remaining shard is larger than the one I enchanted into this bracelet, so my magical power isn’t enough. Also, I don’t know where to obtain more sköll material..."
"It’s an incredible bracelet, but there might not be many people in the Chivalric Order who can use it. The lack of external magic is rare even within the squad.”
Indeed, it was like the bracelet was designed specifically for Volf.
With the blood-bond, it could no longer be used by anyone other than him. Even if someone else accidentally imbued magic into it, there was no risk of it causing him to be sent flying.
In that sense, it had become a safe bracelet.
"It could be useful during monster hunts. I can only jump upwards for now, but if I get used to it, I might be able to change directions."
"Um, wouldn’t that be dangerous instead?"
"No, I think it would actually be good for escaping. Plus, it seems like I could coordinate with a teammate who can use wind magic in the squad."
"Wait, could a knight who uses wind magic actually fly?"
"Not quite that far, but if it’s just hopping, I think it’s close to what I did earlier."
The members of the Monster Subjugation Force could easily star in a Hollywood film from Dahlia’s past life without CGI.
Though, if she said that, it might blur the line between mages and monsters.
"I’d love to brag about this, but should I keep it hidden for now?"
"If possible, please do. It would be difficult to replicate it. If you could find a trustworthy mage or magical toolmaker with strong magic, I think I can just pass them enchantment details and you can have them make it."
"A mage with strong magic..."
Volf thought of his older brother, Guido, who he had met the previous day.
Guido was a water mage with magic comparable to their father’s and held a senior position in the Mage Division.
"It’s not impossible, but it might take some time to talk to him..."
Volf wasn’t quite ready to ask his brother for help yet.
If the opportunity arose, he might consult Guido, but it was still something he hesitated over.
"Oh, speaking of strong magic, I just remembered. For the artificial magic sword, we might be able to use a unicorn horn. It could potentially cut magic instead of the black slime.”
"Did you try that?"
"I did try it when making this unicorn pendant, but I couldn’t enchant magic into it. My magic might not have been enough, or maybe the horn has the property of 'cutting magic.' So, I was thinking of disassembling a dagger again and trying to enchant it with unicorn materials."
Volf’s eyes sparkled with interest, but then he lowered his gaze.
"Unicorn horns… aren’t they pretty rare?"
"Yes, probably. I’ve heard that even their fur is scarce in the Adventurer Guild."
"It’d be great if we could lure one in and hunt it down."
"No, I think that’s a bit impossible for both you and me, Volf."
"...I guess you’re right."
Volf's job was to slay monsters. If anything, he seemed more likely to scare them off.
For Dahlia, the probability of being defeated by monsters was far higher than defeating them.
After seeing the young man deep in thought about how to acquire one, Dahlia decided to change the subject.
"I’m glad I enchanted the sköll fang into the bracelet. If it had been a dagger, I might have just ended up stabbed onto the wall.”
"...I’m really glad the dagger didn’t end up in you."
In trying to change the subject, she had only stirred up trouble.
The golden eyes regained a slightly intimidating gleam.
"Whenever you experiment with new items for enchantment, I’d prefer to be there or for you to have an assistant. Since you live alone, it would be serious if you got injured or collapsed."
"I’ll be careful... Oh, now that I think about it, only one of my friends can open the gate right now."
Dahlia stared at the control panel, deep in thought.
Her father had passed away, and Tobias had been removed from the register.
Now, if anything happened to her, the only person who could open the tower’s gate was Irma.
"If something happens to me, it would be bad if no one can open the gate... I’ll ask a few people to get magically registered. Just in case."
Her father had suddenly passed away at the Merchant Guild, after all. She couldn’t deny the possibility of something similar happening to her.
"If you don’t mind, could I also get registered? I’d really prefer to avoid a situation like today, but if something were to happen to you and you can’t come out, I could at least call from in front of the door, not just the gate."
"Thank you for your concern. In case something happens, I’d appreciate it as well."
She moved toward the black control panel on the far wall of the workshop, which was about thirty centimeters square. At a glance, it just looked like a simple black stone tablet.
"It doesn’t seem like the type where you magically register directly onto the gate."
"That’s right, you register it through this control panel."
She flowed magic from her fingertips, activating the control panel. The black surface faded to a light gray.
"Could you place your hand in the center?"
"I can’t release magic, so will it be okay?"
"It should be fine. Even a friend with almost no magic was able to register."
When Volf placed his left palm on the control panel, the surface flashed white twice.
Dahlia checked the handprint that appeared, then wrote Volf’s name on the lower right corner of the panel with magic at her fingertip.
"That’s it. Let’s try going to the gate now."
The two of them stepped out onto the road in front of the tower, where the copper-colored gate slowly closed.
As Dahlia watched, The young man touched the gate, and it opened smoothly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"This is kind of fun. Do you mind if I open and close it again?"
"Of course, go ahead. My friend opened and closed it about thirty times the day she first registered."
The fact that the gate opened just from a touch seemed to be oddly entertaining.
Volf, with a look on his face similar to Irma’s, was experimenting with the gate, opening and closing it.
"Before meeting you, I had imagined this was a tower where a wizard lived, but it really does feel like a magical tower."
"If only the stairs could automatically go up and down."
Every day, climbing and descending the stairs was a basic part of work and daily chores.
Towers, after all, were places that required quite a bit of physical stamina to live in.
"I feel bad asking this, but... if you call out from outside the door and still can’t reach me, or if something seems seriously wrong, please call the guards."
"I really hope that never happens."
"I’ll be careful for safety’s sake. But, you know, things can happen unexpectedly."
"Unexpected things, huh... Yeah, there are definitely things you can’t predict."
As Volf spoke, he finally picked up the black leather bag that had been left on the floor.
Though it was a bit past tea time, they went up to the second floor to drink iced tea and finally took a break.
"Going to buy the glasses for eastern liquor will have to wait until things settle down a bit."
"Yeah. Tomorrow, I have paperwork to do at the guild, and then I’m meeting with Ivano-san to discuss future plans..."
"I think I have joint training for the squad tomorrow. I hope there’s no sudden expedition. By the way, I recommended Ivano, but I hope it was good for you, Dahlia."
"I’m really grateful, truly. But I feel so bad that he’ll have to leave the guild."
"It’s his own wish, so it’s fine. I think he’d rather do business on his own than be a guild employee."
Volf had actually spoken to the man. The man had referred to Dahlia as "the goddess cloaked in gold," but Volf didn’t want to tell her that.
"Oh, here’s my mother’s conversation book and some notes. Feel free to read them if you like."
"Thank you, I’ll borrow it."
Volf took a bundle of notes tucked into the book out of his black leather bag.
The book itself wasn’t particularly large, but with the notes, it was a bit thicker.
"My mother’s handwriting can be a bit odd, so if any of the notes are hard to read, let me know. The part about the gloves I mentioned, and some good examples to avoid, are here."
"There’s a lot here..."
Dahlia opened to the page marked with a bookmark and let out a sigh-like sound.
The two-page spread was filled to the brim. How many were there, exactly?
"'Please take off your gloves for me.' 'Please leave your coat with me.' ... 'I’m too tired from dancing to move.' 'Shall we watch the stars from the western window together?' ... 'Would you like some brandy before bed?' ... I can’t make sense of any of this..."
Please take off your gloves for me.
Was she throwing down the gauntlet to duel? That was the only thing that came to mind.
Please leave your coat with me.
Why would anyone need to hand over their coat? The only thing that crossed her mind was dry cleaning.
I’m too tired from dancing to move.
At this point, she couldn't help but think, just go home already.
Shall we watch the stars from the western window together?
The only image that came to mind was watching stars, but why west?
Would you like some brandy before bed?
A nightcap of brandy. It made sense when she thought about it, but there was no way she'd come up with that on the spot.
As she pondered these things, she realized it had gotten strangely quiet.
Across from her, the young man had clasped his hands, placed them over his eyes, and rested both elbows on the table, not moving.
"Volf, is something wrong?"
"...I’m sorry, but if you could refrain from reading aloud, I’d appreciate it."
"My sincerest apologies..."
She had read it aloud without thinking, but to Volf, it must have been so improper that he couldn’t even look her in the eye.
She wanted nothing more than to escape the situation.
Desperately searching for something to say to recover the situation, she was saved by the sound of the gate bell ringing.
"It seems like we have a guest, so I’ll go take care of it!"
As Dahlia rushed out of the room, the young man, with his eyes still closed, slowly lowered his head.
The words she had read aloud earlier.
He had, of course, received similar, if not more direct, invitations countless times before.
But he had never been so at a loss for how to respond, never had trouble even forming an expression before.
No, she had just read aloud without thinking, and it wasn’t that he was seeing her in that way. He was certain of that.
In place of Dahlia, it was Volf’s turn to slump over the table, taking her place.
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