The second day of the month of the wind. While there was less than a week to go until Lilia's birthday, we gathered all the materials we wanted.
　I was told that the Demon Crystal didn't need to be of a very high purity, so I bought a blue-colored one to match the color of the Midnight Crystal.

　Then, after all the materials were ready, I came to Alice's general store, which was the place to work.

'Welcome, Kite!'
....

　I saw the stuffed cat that greeted me as soon as I opened the door of the grocery store and almost by conditional reflex, I closed the door.
　Yeah.........It's been a long time since I've seen that stuffed animal.

''Why are you closing it?
No, I mean, it's been a long time since I've seen that stuffed animal.
Oh, well, I'm an "alter ego" - I'm dressed as a store owner.
Well I want to get into the whole thing about that costume being dressed as the owner of the store, but first, are you referring to the alter ego you heard about before?
'That's right - the main body, Alice, is over here!
Whoa!

　When I heard the word "altered body", I asked, and immediately afterwards I heard a voice from behind me, and an Alice wearing an opera mask appeared.
　I was seriously surprised........I had heard about it beforehand, but to see two Alice's really there like this, what an impressive sight.

'Me in a costume!　Alice, take care of the store!
'The real me!　Alice is guarding you!
''When you put them together, they're the perfect little Alice!　Well, we don't have any customers, though~
I just realized that two more idiots will only make me a bigger idiot...
"...Kite, can you at least say that out loud?











　After poking around in a certain stable Alice, I was led to the back of the counter..........................workshop, which is normally inaccessible.
　

''Oh........''
How's that?　This is my pride and joy in my workshop!
'Wow, that's great but obviously the size of the room doesn't match the look of the room, does it?
I'm expanding it with spatial magic~
Okay.

　The workshop that Alice led me to is fully equipped with a kiln like those found in a blacksmith's shop, tools for making cloth, a stand for detailed work, a magnifying lens, and so on...I believe there is nothing that cannot be made here.

Then, let's get started........let's start with the wood.
Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you.

　As for the task of turning the branches of the World Tree into wood, it's difficult for me as an amateur, so Alice is going to do it for me.
　I know that Alice is great, but I can't imagine that she can easily process a branch that she spent a day cutting off with 10 Orihalcon saws.

　Somewhat confused, I took out a branch of the World Tree from the magic box. Eeeeee!
　Wait, what the hell was that?　Just when you think Alice has wielded a knife, a large branch appears in front of you in a fine piece of wood...and it's as slippery as if it had been polished with a file.

"Here, it's done... I've made some cuts to match the design, so all you have to do is put them together and you're good to go!
"...Oh, thank you...

　I mutter to myself as I am overwhelmed by Alice's skill, which can even be described as extreme-technique, and she moves towards the workbench without seeming to be particularly bothered by it.
　She then takes out some lenses and sets them up, adjusting them so that she can do the detailed work, and then turns around.

'Now, let's have Kite-san work on the jewel that will take the longest time... I'll do the drafting, so Kite-san, please take it... and use this knife to sharpen it.
Okay, okay.

　With that said, Alice handed me a long and thin knife, a little thinner than an engraving knife, and it seems to be the one she prepared for me to work on the surface of the gemstone to create a pattern.
　It seems to be made of pieces of Mr. Magnawell's tusk, and it seems to be able to process even hard gems with ease.
　I already have the feeling that this knife is much more expensive than this one, but... Well, setting that aside, I began to work on the task that could be called the most important one, in a sense.











　This is also more difficult than I expected.......The size of the midnight crystal is only a few centimeters in radius at best, and if I want to draw a complex pattern on it, it won't go as far as I want it to, even though Alice has drafted a draft for me and I can only trace it.
　I'd have to scrape and check, then scrape and check again... If I failed, I'd have Alice scrape the surface and start again from scratch.

　The same goes for concentrating and moving your hands, but the fatigue of staring at them through the lens is also quite high.

''Kite, Kite-san~''
"...what?　What?
It's 8:00 p.m. Shouldn't you be home?
What?　It's that time already!

　
　Moreover, I failed three times during the process and had to start over from scratch, so I'm not even halfway through the process.

''As for me, it's totally OK to stay overnight, and it's perfectly fine, but.......Duke Lilia will be worried, so shouldn't we go home?　We can do the rest of the story again tomorrow.
Yes. Well thank you Alice. Well then, I'll come back tomorrow.
Yes, sir.

　I decided to follow Alice's advice and cut off the work here, and after thanking her again, I activated the transference magic tool and returned to the mansion.
　Well, I've finished the work at the grocery store here, but I haven't finished today's work yet, but....










"...well, since this is the 'do, the technique is...
''Ah, Kite. That's where the speed of the song changes, so I'm going to have to get the adjustment technique first...
Well, uh, the quickest way to...

　Using the magic formula chart that Kuro made for me as a reference, I wrote the formula on the magic crystal one by one.
　It's true that the formula for making a music box is very simple as Kuro said, and even I can write it well.......but since it's a note by note writing, I have to write each note in turn.

　I've never done this before, but it's probably similar to knitting in terms of feeling.
　It's like piling up a number of techniques and finally putting them together, and although it's a simple task, it's very time-consuming.


'Kite?　Are you okay?
Ummmmm ... a bit of a quandary, I guess my eyes are getting tired...
'Don't push yourself. I can make it at my current pace, so let's just call it a day.

　Hearing Kuro's worried, gentle voice, I nodded once and decided to interrupt my work.
　I nodded once and decided to stop working. We chatted with Kuro while I picked up a baby sponge cake, and after confirming that I was lying on the bed, he kissed me lightly on the cheek and left.

　I close my eyes...and after about half an hour, I open my eyes and sit up, aware of the happy feeling left on my cheek that loosens my face.
　I then held my hand over the simple lighting magic tool on the table to turn on the light and began writing the magic formula on the magic crystal again.

　
　However, that's only for the amount I'm going to present to Lilia-san........
　In fact, I was going to make a music box with a different song and design for the five people who helped me with this case: Kuro, Isis-san, Zeke-san, Alice, and Lilliwood-san........
　Incidentally, the only person who knew about this was Alice, who discussed the song and design with them.......

　Of course, this one isn't a birthday present, so I don't have a time limit... but I think if I put it off, it will just drag on anyway. That's why I've decided to work on it at the same time.
　However, being a human being, there are only so many hours in a day for me... especially if I don't get any sleep, it will have a huge impact on the work itself.

　However, I now had a solution for that.
　While working, I took out the 'Fruit of the World Tree' from the magic box and covered it up.
　This was given to me in large quantities by Liliwood-san because they have a surplus due to restricted distribution, and when he gave it to me, I wondered what I should do with it, and until now I haven't been able to use it because it's too good to waste.

　However, the current situation where I don't have enough time to sleep and wake up and work normally.......I can't say it's a waste, so I decided to use it gratefully.
　Almost as soon as I finished eating the fruit of the World Tree, my body was filled with vitality and my heavy body became as light as a feather.
　

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

　However, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to disappear until I feel sleepy. My body is fine, but I'm sleepy... It's a strange sensation, but it's more strange if the fatigue just disappears all at once, so my body's reaction is, in a sense, normal.
　Anyway, from here on out, it's a battle against sleepiness...a battle of willpower.
　I can't run out of energy ... but I'm sleepy ... but I have no choice but to do my best.

　Dear Mom and Dad - I've been indebted to so many people since I came to this world, and my gratitude for them gets bigger and bigger with each day I spend. This is a good opportunity for me, so I'll do my best here - I hope I can thank everyone for their support, even if only a little.