Three days have passed since we returned to the Kingdom of Shumuria.

　The first day was a day of rest and relaxation to take away the fatigue of the trip.

　The second day was the annual cleaning of our house.

　Today, the third day, we were going to ask Benas Armor Shop to repair the "Fairy Iron Armor".

(That's why we went to the Teteto Confederacy to get the "fairy iron" material.

　By the way, there is no call from the royal family yet.

　It's a little unsettling that we haven't decided on a future course of action, but well, until then, I'll take it easy.

(Yeah, I'm getting a little more brazen too, aren't I?)

　So I'm about to go out now, but unfortunately Solstice, who is an indoor person, is going to do some research at home today.

　So I was planning to go out with Illtimina.

Wow, I don't think I should come with you.

　What an unexpected statement.

　I'm stunned, and she says to me, "Ki, you're meeting up with Kilt today, right?

You're meeting up with Kirt today, aren't you?　Then there's no need for me to go....
..........

　Well, that's not to say that I don't have it.

(But I would have thought the usual Illtimina-san would have said she'd definitely go with me...)

　Why?

　I can't help but stare back at her white beauty.

''..........''

　shoo!

　I was distracted.

　GANG!

'What?　Oh, um.... did I do something to make Illtimina-san hate me?

　I ask her, almost crying.

　She giggled when she saw the look on my face.

'No way!'

　Squatting down, he grabbed both my shoulders and buzzed and shook his head as he met me at eye level.

'There's no way in heaven and earth could be turned upside down that I hate Marl!

　He says so strongly.

(Then why?)

　She notices my gaze, but her expression is clouded.

'It's just that... well, I don't think Marle would want me to accompany her...'

　Huh...?

What the hell?　That's not true!
'But ... before you left Tetet, Arvinka told you. You mustn't bind Mahr too much.
..........
But with Merle, I'm not sure I can contain myself.

　She gives me a tearful smile.

'Because I seem to be a ... possessive woman.

　I didn't know I was that kind of woman until I met Marle - she added that, too.

(Mr. Illtimina....)

　Unbeknownst to me, she seems to have been bothered for me.

　Geez.

　I grip Illtimina's hand tightly.

"Ma'am?

　I looked straight at the astonished Illtimina and said.

'You can tie me up.'
What?
'I'm willing to be bound, if that's what Miss Illtimina wants. As long as it makes Miss Illtimina feel safe, I'll be fine!

　I nodded so loudly.

'Marl....'

　Ms. Illtimina looks dumbfounded.

(Because that's how much I want to live with Ms. Illtimina.)

　Her expression immediately crumbled into a sobbing laugh as her thoughts were conveyed, and her white hands held me from both sides of my head.

''Hmm........''

　Their lips are lapped.

　And then a tight hug.

'Oh, Merle, Merle you are so........'
Mr. Illtimina....
I don't know.　I said those words irresponsibly. I won't be able to stop these thoughts, you know?　
Yeah, sure.

　My little arms hugged her head back with a swoosh.

Because I'm Mr. Illtimina's Merle now.

　I stared at him from close range and smiled at him.

　Ms. Illtimina was really happy, and she rained kisses all over my face several times after that.

　It tickled a bit, but I was happy.

　But if I was doing that, I would be much later than I was supposed to be leaving....


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


Too late!

　I was thunderstruck by Mr. Kilt in front of the fountain in King's Square, where we had met up.

　Yes, I'm 40 minutes late.

I'm sorry.

　As expected of me, I apologize honestly.

　Next to me as I bow my head, Illtimina-san, who is holding my hand, apologizes with me.

I'm sorry, Kilt. I had a lot of things going on on my way out, so it took me a while.
..........
..........

　He's apologizing, but for some reason his face is loose.

　Mr. Kilt looks at me.

　I fake a vague smile.

''Huh.... Oh well.''

　Perhaps sensing something, Kirt let out a deep sigh and didn't pursue the matter further.

　Then the three of us started walking towards the Benas Armor Shop.

　As usual, the streets of King's Landing are packed with people.

　As we walk through such a crowd, Kirt-san speaks to us.

'Didn't Sol come?'
Yeah. He wants to do some research at home today.

　The divine characters and divine arts taught by Recto Alice.

　The two new magics taught by Mr. Colontude.

　He wants to deepen his understanding of them.

(Really, I respect him.)

　That girl is truly a genius born of hard work.

　Kirt-san nodded her head in agreement, "I see.

　I asked her the same thing.

'How has Renu-san been doing since then?

　twitch

　My sister, holding my hand, reacted a bit.

　But there was no rush.

'I gave her a break on the first day, but on the second day, I was allowed to listen to what Renu knew in more detail, along with the experts from Mumpa and the guild.

　Kirt told me so.

　Specifically, he was allowed to squeeze out as much information as possible from Renu-san's memories, including the location of the more accurate location of the 'Children of Darkness' and their base, the number of members of the 'Tattooed Ones', their physiognomy, their names, their identities when they were human, and the plans that had been carried out up to the present, or plans in progress.　　

(.........it's a lot of work.)

　Just remembering it would take a toll on Renu's mind.

　Still, I suppose it's a necessary thing to do.

'I'm having a thorough physical examination at Colon's today.

　That's why this morning Mr. Kilt had driven Renu to the adventurer's gilt, "The Singing Ears of the Meadow," with Mr. Colonchude.

(I see.)

　Mr. Colontude has been very busy lately, checking out Po-chan, the divine dragon, and Renu, who has returned to human form from a demon, and so on.

''Will Marle be able to show up at Renu's place later to do it too?
Yeah, okay.

　I nodded at Kilt-san's words.

　It's not like I can do anything, but if she can see a familiar face, that might make her feel a little more at ease, too.

　Cukh.

　His right hand was gripped tightly.

'I'll be with you then, won't I?

　Illtimina-san smiled at me.

　I nodded 'yes' and for some reason Kilt-san had a 'oh dear' look on her face. Huh?

　And, as Mr. Quilt suddenly reminded me.

Speaking of which, do you have any more fairy metal for me to work with?

　He confirmed.

'Yeah, I'm fine,'

　I lightly tap the backpack on my back with the palm of my little hand.

'I put it in here, all right.
Okay.
And I don't know if you're going to like it, but I also wanted to thank you, Mr. Benas.
"Thank you?

　Mr. Kilt looks at Kyoton.

　I hadn't told Illtimina, and she has the same look on her face.

　I put my index finger to my lips.

Don't tell anyone until Mr. Benas sees it.

　I laughed.

　So we walked through the streets of the royal city, and eventually we arrived at the Benas Armor Shop.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


Hey, there you are, Merle.
Hello.

　An old dwarven man with a cloudy white right eye greeted us as we entered a hidden gem of a shop in a back alley.

　There were no other customers in the small shop lined with protective gear.

''Did you get the fairy iron safely?''
Yes.

　I laughed and placed my backpack on the counter and opened the lid.

　The backpack was filled with blue, translucent components.

　Mr. Benas took one of them and looked at it sullenly, holding it up to the sunlight through the window.

'Huh. Is this made by Totta?

(What...?

How can you tell who made it just by looking at it?
Of course.

　To our surprise, Benas-san nodded flatly.　

''Who do you think it was that taught him the art of blacksmithing?　It's me here.

　Heh, is that how it works?

You're a great craftsman.

　'Well,' said Mr. Kilt to Mr. Benas, as he remembered.

'I was surprised to hear that. The woman you introduced to me, Irvinka, was your daughter.
Yeah.

　He laughed like a child with a successful prank.

'I'm the only daughter he had with his wife who died too soon. She had a family with Totta, the most promising of the young blacksmiths. Now that Totta has come into his own, I'm free to leave them in charge of the shop and I'm old enough to have come to Shumria to test my skills.　
That's right.

　Mr. Quilt nodded.

　Mr. Benas looked up at the store's ceiling with a bit of a nostalgic look in his eyes.

Before we left the Tet, there were little guys there, but I guess they're all grown up.

　I wonder if the little guys are the grandchildren of Mr. Benas?

It looks like he's working as an apprentice blacksmith in Mr. Arvinka's shop now.

　I told him.

　Mr. Benas looked a little surprised, and then muttered, "Well..." as he bit down.

　Mr. Kilt laughed.

'As expected of Benas's grandson. Blood is uncontested.'
Ha, maybe.

　At those words, Benas-san, too, broke into a somewhat happy face.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　bang

　Benas-san received the parts of fairy iron to be used as materials, and he immediately assembled them into armor.

''Totta, you've raised your arm.

　Muttering sullenly, I fit my child's body shape and repeat the fine tuning process over and over again.

　After about half an hour, the work is done.

'Well, that's about it,'

　As he said it, Benas-san wiped the sweat from his forehead.

　Although the work time was short, he seemed to work with a great deal of concentration.

(Wow, it's easy to move!)

　Even twisting my body lightly from side to side, I could feel the difference.

　I couldn't feel the resistance of the armor moving parts that I had before, to say the least.

''Benas-san, that's amazing!
Right?

　He responded to my admiring gaze with a clumsy wink.

　Mr. Kilt nodded with a satisfied 'mmm'.

　And the other sister.

Well Merle looks good in anything you wear.

　He looked at me with a woozy expression on his face for some reason as he put his white hand to his cheek.

　I felt better in my new armor.

Thank you, Mr. Benas. Here you are, then.
Oh.

　Ta-da! Ta-da!

　He drops two silver coins in his hand.

　Two 1,000 Lido coins cost about 200,000 yen in Japanese yen. I brought my own materials, so I could get away with this much.

Every time.

　To Mr. Benas, who received it with a smile.

Yeah. And, in addition to that, there's this.
What?

　rustling sound

　I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out a sheet of paper from inside.

"If you'd like,

　Benas-san scowled.

　The two sisters behind me also peered at me curiously.

　They received it with a curious look on their faces, and Mr. Benas

"....!　Hey, this guy...!

　As soon as I saw the paper, I was immensely disappointed.

　-- it was a single watercolor painting.

　There were four figures depicted.

　One adult dwarf, one man and one woman, and two child dwarves.

　They are all laughing together.

　Yes, it's a picture of Mr. Arvinka and his family.　

"Huh?
This one looks a lot like it.　

　Kilt-san and Illtimina-san also looked surprised.

　I said timidly.

'I drew them at home after I got back from the Teteto Confederacy. If you'd like, you can take it.
..........

　Mr. Benas said nothing.

　He remained silent and stared at the watercolor, gently stroking its surface with his knotted artisan fingers.

''Well the little guys have gotten so big.
..........
Haha, she's starting to look like my dead wife. That Totta guy grew a beard one time before...

　Such was the case, and there was a thin tear in his only remaining left eye.

　For a while, he stared at his family, from whom he had been separated for years.

　During that time, the three of us didn't say anything.

''Heh........I can't be brittle to tears as I get older.

　thumping

　He sniffed and roughly wiped the tears from his left eye.

　Then he looks straight at me with those eyes.

It's a great idea. I'll take care of this one.
Yes.

　I nodded.

　Mr. Benas-san put the painting away carefully in the wooden box and muttered happily, "Well, we've got a tough customer," he said.

　Looking at the scene.

　Pow, pow, pow, pow.

　Kilt-san's hand was placed on my shoulder and Illtimina-san's hand patted me on the head as if she was praising me.

　And so, having obtained our new 'Fairy Iron Armor', we left the Benas Armor Shop.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　It was the day after I visited the Benas Armor Shop.

''Sister Irna, Marle, the call has finally come~''

　I was in my room, picturing things in the Tet Tetet Confederacy, when I heard such a call from Soltis in my ears.

(!)

　tottering

　As I hurried down the stairs, I saw two Shumurian knights standing in the doorway.

　In Solstice's small hand, there's an envelope with a sealed wax of the Shumurian royal family's coat of arms.　

　Before me, Illtimina-san had already come to the door, and after receiving the envelope from her sister, she cut the seal with a paper knife.

　Her crimson eyes check the letter inside.

　She immediately put the letter away in the envelope.

''I understand. I'll go get ready immediately. Please wait a moment.''

　The knights nodded at Iltimina-san's words.

　Then Iltimina-san looked back at us and smiled as if to reassure us.

''Well. Now let's get ready to go out.
Yes.
Yeah.

　I nodded and Solstice replied in a cumbersome voice.

　Eventually, after about 15 minutes of getting ready, we got into the carriage that was parked in the street outside the front door.

(.........I wonder what we will be told now?)

　I look out the window and think vaguely.

　And.

'It's okay. No matter what happens, I'll always be there for Merle.

　Ms. Illtimina smiles gently and takes my hand in hers.

　I am surprised.

　Solstice cowers her small shoulders, still looking at her sister as usual.

''Yeah.''

　I smiled.

　Illtimina-san's smile deepens too.

　The carriage with us in it was driving through the royal capital, Mulia, to meet the people of the Shumurian royal family.