After I finished everything I had to do in Laxter, I was preparing to leave for my next mission to defeat the "Eight Demon Generals".
　In particular, I went to greet each of the people who had helped me so much and talked with them carefully.

'You are leaving? We will miss you, Lord Magnus.

　The one who told me this was Narsai, the proud scholar of Rakstad.

''If that's the case, Lord Magnus, I'd like to present you with a parting gift.
I'd appreciate it if you could just tell me.
Well, well, well, don't be so watery.

　Narsai said that and had the housekeeper bring a piece of carpet to me.
You will be able to find a lot of people who will be able to help you.
　It is a hovering carpet that I borrowed when I went to the Mountain of Death.

This is for you, Master Magnus. It's a bit rough, but please don't let it get to you. Ha-ha-ha!
No thank you, but this is a family heirloom, isn't it?
I don't mind. But compared to Lord Magnus's chivalrous spirit in taking on the steep path of defeating the Demon King, this is hardly a donation.
Hmm....

　I put my hand to my chin and thought about it for a moment.
　Narsai is humble, but his chivalry is also great, and I took that sentiment on board.
　I just wished I could return the favor in some way--

Rest assured, I am a snob. I hope that you will do me the favor of listening to one thing that I am not.
Oh, dear. Let's see.
If you'd like to call this rug the Narsai, that would be fine.

　Narsai winked mischievously.

'So one day, when you defeat the Demon King and become a modern-day myth, my name will be etched in history as your vehicle. This is truly the height of vanity, but to me it is the ultimate reward.
You have very good taste, Master Narsai.

　I can't help but chuckle.
　But that request was granted!
　I decided to take it gratefully. Yes, the "Narsai".

　　　　◇◆◇◇◇◇◇◇

The first thing I did when I visited Bazelfr's workshop was to apologize.

I'm sorry. "I'm sorry about the gladius you made for me--
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't tell anyone.

　Bazelph interrupted my dialogue with a muffled look on his face.

''Why did you destroy Gladius?'' "Why didn't you take better care of it? --I won't say a word. I wouldn't either.

　Even though he had this kind of expression on his face, it wasn't that Bazelph was angry.
　Rather the opposite.
　This eccentric dwarf doesn't want me to see his face, and he's even more puffed up," Bazelfr said.
　Bazelfr said.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. It is, in fact, your shield that will break! Just as the Great Shield of War served as a catalyst. That's the beauty of the tool. Isn't that right?

　I shook my head slowly at Bazelph, who raised one eyebrow and asked me, "If Gladius feels remorse, or if I am angry, you will die before he does.

If Gladius feels remorse, or if I'm angry, you'll die before I leave that thing behind, that's the one. So don't worry about it. I'm just grateful to you for using me until I go out of business.

　Bazelph laughed loudly.
　He rarely smiles in front of people, but for some reason he often smiles in front of me.

"Well, Master Magnus, you are a truly great wizard. You are truly a great wizard. You are a truly great wizard, and I wonder if Gradius has done his job properly?
If it weren't for Gladius, I would have had to take at least another year's detour to take on Delvembro.
Yeah, yeah.

　Bazelluff nodded again and again, still in a bad mood.

"Then I want to be of service to you. I'll be your shield until the day it shatters.

　With that, Bazelph tapped the golem that was standing at his side.
　He commissioned it before I attended the dinner party, spent two weeks since then, and just completed it today, a new construction.

　This time it's almost human-shaped, but has a round shape all around.
　However, it is almost three meters tall and the whole thing is thick and powerful.
　The most distinctive feature of this creature is its pair of arms. They are unbalancedly large compared to its torso and legs, and their fists and other arms are completely reminiscent of a deadly weapon or blunt instrument.

　This is a battle golem forged with the Soul of the Two Fists, a composite item dropped from Delvenbro's body.
It's the same kind of thing that was used for the catalyst, a large amount of high-purity mithril ore that was dropped when the mithril golem was defeated in a hidden passage in the castle.

　Name--Gradius Mk-II (Mark Two).

　When I thanked Bazelfr for his help, I left the workshop with my new partner--Gradius Mk-II in tow, and left the workshop in high spirits.

　　　　◇◆◇◆◇

　The downtown area in the southern district of the royal capital.
　I came to the central fountain by myself.
　It was still dark, just as the dawn was about to break.
　I sat on the edge of the fountain and did nothing but stare in a daze.
　I would have waited for hours, but...
　Before long, I heard the sound of footsteps.

'Why are you here at this hour, Mr Magnus?

　It was Aria who approached me in a dumbfounded voice.
　We were meeting here for a date.
　We promised to meet for lunch.
　Nevertheless, I was already here at this time, waiting, and I answered Aria.

'I just remembered the day we had our first date. You told me Aria had been waiting for you all morning, didn't you?
It's not even this early in the morning.
But you're here today. You're not even this early in the morning.
'Uh-huh, actually, I had a feeling that Mr. Magnus would be waiting for me.
...a woman's intuition is a terrible thing.
It's not. That's not a woman's intuition.
Then what?
That's what we call "giving your heart to the world.

　Aria smiled mischievously and quickly fell in love with him.
　But this straightforward nature of hers is inexplicably comfortable for an overthinking man like me. It's the kind of thing that resonates when struck. Of course, I'm the one who gets hit by the blow.

What do you think, Mr. Magnus?　Wasn't it boring waiting?
'A little bit, to be honest. But I thought this wasn't such a bad time. Even if it was to avenge the Demon King, I realized that I was living too fast. Sometimes you just need to be a bit of a blur.
'Uh-huh, I understand. I was the same way on our first date.

　Aria sits down next to me for a bit.
　We sit side by side on the edge of the fountain, chatting.
　None of the shops are open at this time of day anyway.

'I'm dizzyingly busy with my day-to-day work, too. I'm the daughter of Marum, and if I don't serve more than others, I'll be pointed at behind my back. That's why I was so eager to extend the time I could spend with Mr. Magnus, so I waited here all morning. I was moved by the luxury of spending time with him in a way that would have been impossible to do these days. The time I spent just hanging out?
I know. That's what I was thinking earlier.
Uh-huh. Well, here's the thing. Do you think my house lives in opulence every day?

　The daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Laxter gave another teasing look at the problem.

'I don't think,'

　I replied immediately.
　Aria has good style, and it shows where it should be showing, but she's thin all over.
　There's no way she could maintain this kind of style if she ate a big meal every day.

My father is frankly greedy, but he's not stupid. He has some pretty good things to say.
How. Such as?
It's a luxury that's only good for once in a while. If you did it every day, it would just be an ordinary day. You wouldn't appreciate it anymore. Then tomorrow you'll be more extravagant, and the day after that even more extravagant, and you'll be endlessly seeking stimulation.
That's the word.
Right?　But I'm not a cheapskate by any means, okay?　And that's a good thing. For example, on my birthday, he said, 'Are you a princess? They let me be as lavish as I am.
I've had some time to think about it.

　A little. Aria also refuses to be the first to say "frankly, I'm greedy".
　And I have to think about what Aria said.
　The point is that we're talking about the importance of balance.
　It occurs to me why she just brought up the subject.

　I stand up from the edge of the fountain and walk around to the front of Aria and bend down to meet her eyes.
　And I promise.

There's nothing left to do in Rakstad to defeat the Demon King. I'm heading out to Alabarna tomorrow. But you know Aria, don't you?　I have a Town Gate. I'll be back periodically. I'll come back periodically to see you.

　Aria ate it up as if she'd been waiting for those words.

Can we expect to see one a month?
I can't do that.
''Ugh.... It can't be helped, can it? Magnus-san has a lot of work to do in order to defeat the Demon King, right? I don't want to be a burden to you either........
'Don't get me wrong. Don't get down.
What?

　I nibbled Aria's hands in mine as she swooned and said, "I can't stand the idea of seeing you only once a month.

'I can't stand the idea of seeing you only once a month. I'll come back to see you once every ten days, or once a week if I can.

　Aria, who heard it, gave a full, dainty smile, like a bud fraying.

''Moo~~~. I love you, Magnus-san!
You're welcome. You're welcome, too.
Let's go have fun today, huh?
'Oh, it's an 'occasional luxury'. We can and should forget about the day-to-day stuff. However--
No?
The only thing I can think of that's not open at this hour is...
It's only at this time of day that we can do some things, right?

　Then Aria smiles again, a mischievous smile.
　Then--
　At this time of day, not even early in the morning.
　In front of a fountain in the downtown area, where there was no traffic at all.
　She put her lips on mine, generously.