Chapter 61
The moment that felt like eternity flowed by just like that.
Adrian’s charming smile vanished from his face in an instant.
“Hmm, Miss Elaine… you’re very honest. I like that.”
He said this in an embarrassed tone.
Honest, he says.
There’s no one more dishonest than me.
I know your future.
That’s why I want to save you at all costs.
Yet I can’t tell you any of that—
none of my “honest” thoughts ever reach you.
But he says he likes me because I’m honest.
For some reason, my chest felt tight. I turned my gaze downward and just stared at the ground as I walked.
Then, as if trying to change the mood, I suddenly thought of something and pulled an item from my inventory.
“Come to think of it, I have something to give you!”
“What’s this?”
When I suddenly held out something tied with a blue ribbon, Adrian tilted his head curiously and looked at it.
“It’s a handkerchief. You lent me one before, remember? I made this as thanks.”
The one soaked with my tears and snot had already been washed and ironed and returned.
This one was separate.
Adrian silently untied the ribbon.
He held the handkerchief up to the lamplight.
On the pure white fabric, a cluster of tiny blue flowers appeared—embroidered stitch by stitch.
“Did you… embroider this yourself?”
“Ah, yes! They’re forget-me-nots… is it not to your taste?”
I thought the color would suit his sky-blue eyes, so I worked hard on it.
But since I did it on my own without asking what he liked, I worried he might not like it after all.
“…Ah, no. It’s beautiful. I was just wondering when you found time to do this, since you’re always so busy.”
“Well… I did it bit by bit before bed? It didn’t take that long.”
Embroidery also helped raise my sewing proficiency, so it wasn’t a waste of time.
Since I was doing it anyway, I figured I might as well make something for Adrian.
“A hand-embroidered handkerchief… maybe that’s a bit old-fashioned?”
By modern standards, yes, it was.
But this was another world—a place where analog charm still lived on!
So I thought it’d make a pretty good gift.
“Thank… you.”
Adrian tucked the handkerchief carefully into his coat with an awkward expression.
He looked as calm as ever, but the slight twitch at the corner of his lips gave him away—he liked it.
“Yes! Gift success!”
My steps felt light as I headed back to the dormitory.
That night, I arrived at the dorm a bit late and went straight to the dining hall.
“So hungry, so hungry!”
Woodworking was surprisingly demanding—both physically and mentally.
Maybe that’s why I was starving.
I thought no one would be there at this hour, but the twins and Darren were still eating.
“Miss Elaine! You’re eating late today! Ah, and Sir Adrian too.”
Leo, the golden retriever in human form, wagged his invisible tail when he saw me, then quickly bowed when he noticed Adrian.
“You guys are eating late too, huh?”
I sat down next to them and asked. Leo smiled sheepishly.
“Ah, training ran late today.”
Beside him, Darren sat slumped over, barely moving his spoon.
“…What’s wrong with you?”
He was always so full of energy—why did he look like a wilted vegetable now?
“Don’t even ask. We didn’t have any wooden practice dummies, so I said, ‘Then how are we supposed to train?’ and my master said, ‘Then we’ll train your body instead,’ and handed me a sword and shield…”
Apparently, Craig had beaten him senseless all day.
“It was… truly horrific… a violation of human rights…”
Darren wiped away nonexistent tears as he spoke.
He even used words that seemed far too advanced for him—which only proved how much he’d suffered.
And from the looks of it, I wasn’t the only one thinking that.
Rena was staring at him with an expression that said, “He knows that word?”
I almost laughed, but I held it in and spoke.
“Well… just hang in there one more day. I’m almost done making a new practice dummy.”
The parts were all finished; I just had to let the varnish dry and assemble it.
At that, Darren’s eyes widened.
“You made it yourself? Is there anything you can’t do? You fight well, you cook well—and now you’re a carpenter too?”
“Exactly. And she was even embroidering flowers last night,” Rena added.
And just like that, my many “side jobs” were publicly exposed.
Feeling embarrassed, I scratched the back of my head.
“You embroider, Miss Elaine? That’s amazing! Um, c-could I see it when it’s done?”
Leo’s eyes sparkled as he asked—his face even slightly flushed.
‘Wait, is embroidery his hobby too?’
Unfortunately, that was impossible. I’d already finished it and given it away.
“…I don’t have it anymore.”
“Huh?”
“It’s already out of my hands. Gone.”
That was all I could say.
Adrian turned his head away, pretending to look indifferent.
Apparently, admitting it was with him would be too embarrassing.
“I-I see… that’s too bad.”
Leo glanced around awkwardly, then lowered his head, looking dejected.
I felt oddly guilty for some reason.
“…I guess I should make one for Leo too when I have time.”
And maybe for the others as well.
Even if Adrian was my favorite, playing favorites too openly among comrades wasn’t good.
Little things like that might seem trivial, but they could cause resentment and distance over time.
Especially since Leo, Rena, and Darren were my precious party members in the dungeon, I wanted to keep our bond strong.
With that decision in mind, I finished my dinner.
The next day.
While the varnish was still drying, I visited Faber’s Magic Workshop.
Before the next region opened, I had to prepare a lot—but the most urgent issue was my excessive mana consumption every time I entered the dungeon.
I already knew the solution thanks to my talk with Johanna, so it was time to act.
“Hmm, a magical effect that reduces mana consumption, you say? Accessories with that kind of enchantment usually require high-grade gems… Are you sure about this?”
Faber, the owner of the workshop, spoke in a troubled tone.
His face was always pale, but today he looked even more gaunt.
It was clear that what I was asking for wasn’t easy.
If only I could pick exactly the enchantment I wanted…
But unfortunately, the Edaphosia game’s enchant system was brutally random.
Still, the fact that some items had higher probabilities than others was a small mercy.
“Well, I do have this gemstone…”
I opened my inventory and carefully took out a large piece of obsidian I’d kept safely stored.
It was big—large enough to have been embedded in the body of that monstrous bear.
“Wow, where did you even get such a huge piece of obsidian? Incredible. Even in the Fragor volcanic region, you’d never find one this size.”
Faber’s eyes went wide as he exclaimed.
Feeling proud, I rubbed my nose and gave a smug smile.
“Ah, I didn’t mine it myself—it was attached to a monster’s body, actually. Heh.”
My mouth twitched with pride.
I used to wonder why my dad always looked so smug in fishing photos—
but now, in another world, I finally understood that feeling.
“I see. If it came from a monster, that explains the size. But unfortunately, obsidian doesn’t take well to mana-related enchantments. A shame, really.”
At his words, I deflated a little and put the obsidian back into my inventory.
So not all gemstones were acceptable. How unfair.
“For mana-related effects… let’s see!”
Faber looked at me with sympathy, then went into the back room and brought out a thick book—a mineral compendium, it seemed.
I looked at it with barely restrained desire.
“Wow, I’d love to have that book.”
Sadly, there were no bookstores on Mid-Isle, so it was hard to buy books here.
At least Adrian’s library had a vast collection, so I could always borrow one when needed.
“Now, if you look here… gems that take mana-related enchantments well include sapphire, of course. Also lapis lazuli, and aquamarine.”
He flipped through the pages, showing me various minerals.
The illustrations were incredibly detailed, even though they weren’t printed like modern ones.
It was almost unbelievable that the drawings were done by hand—the shimmer of the gems was captured perfectly.
“Ah, and even if it’s not usually blue, some stones come in blue varieties. For example, the topaz mined in the southern Silvagrove mines sometimes has a blue tint—that would work too.”
“…Like blue diamonds?”
“Ah, those are the best of the best, naturally. Nothing beats that—but, well, they’re very expensive.”
“So, basically—blue MP stones for blue MP problems. Makes sense.”
The more I talked with Faber, the clearer it became:
this world’s logic was surprisingly straightforward.
