Chapter 58 The Blacksmith Gets Cornered
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Calm yourself, Tatara! It’s nothing but Dahlia’s joke! Her cheers didn’t even reach us!” Yohira’s voice rang across the room, half-laughing, half-panicked.
”Oh my, Yohira-sama—weren’t you the one eager to eavesdrop on our dear master and Lady Ethelena’s tender exchange?” Dahlia’s tone danced with teasing mischief.
”Quit spouting such realistic lies!”
Outside of me—literally outside of my collapsing will—Yohira and Dahlia were having the time of their lives. Rope on beam, ready to end it all, and these two were gossiping. Noisy. Too noisy. Just let me fade quietly.
”Please… be quiet… degozaru…”
”What the hell are you saying all of a sudden?” Tatia’s voice cracked through the tension.
Maybe this is just the sad fate of a character too loved to be allowed death by his own author.
Yeah… thanks to that foolish fox, my mind started to steady. I tucked the rope back into my inventory and turned to Tatia, who had been supporting me—quite literally—so I wouldn’t hang myself.
”Tatia, I’ve calmed down a bit. I’m all right now.”
”…Truly, Tatara-dono? You won’t attempt to throw the rope around your neck the moment I let go?”
”How little faith do you have in me? I’m really not that untrustworthy.”
Tatia’s expression wavered before she reluctantly released her hold, slow and cautious, like I might shatter again. I stepped down from the chair and bowed my head.
”Sorry. I… lost it for a while there.”
”That sounds more like a mortal wound than a mood swing,” she replied flatly.
”Please, don’t stab me when I’m already bleeding.”
”Master,” Dahlia said, her mechanical eyes faintly glowing, “you told me to find happiness—yet you choose suicide instead? How am I supposed to obey that command?”
”You’re the one who told me to choose, remember?”
”Would you rather play younger sister-in-law with a natural busty girl than a cool, doll-like beauty such as myself?”
”Are you trying to kill me?”
Couples spice things up with roleplay to fight boredom, sure, but that’s not your situation, Dahlia! And we’re not actually siblings, just registered that way!
”So because the registry says younger sister-in-law, but in practice I’m your servant—perhaps, master and sex slave—that role is impossible?”
”I already have Ethelena for that kind of thing! Please, stop waiting for miracles that’ll never happen.”
Ethelena… I said earlier that I’d be fine, but honestly, my heart’s breaking. I’m not built to love multiple people. I really can’t do this.
”Speaking of Ethelena, where is she?” I asked.
”The moment you tried to hang yourself, she fainted,” Yohira replied.
I turned toward the sofa. There she was, Ethelena, lying unconscious, twitching faintly. Damn it. That one’s on me.
”By the way, master,” Dahlia turned to Yohira, “why does this insolent fox call you ‘master’?”
”That’s my question-degozaru. Why does this cutesy doll girl get to call master the same?”
The air turned sharp as the two glared daggers at each other.
”I was saved by him,” Dahlia declared softly. “My broken soul core was replaced with an ‘egg’ he crafted. My life belongs to him.”
”Mine as well-degozaru. I collapsed in town from hunger, and he gave me food-degozaru. My bond is more fate-like-degozaru!”
”Ahn?”
”Ooh?”
”Stop threatening each other.”
On one hand, a doll given new life by my invention. On the other, a fox spirit saved from starvation. What a bizarre rivalry lineup.
”I even had him choose my clothes,” Dahlia added smugly. “He complimented me, too.”
”Master treated me to food-degozaru! Said I should know I’m beautiful-degozaru!”
”Both of you, cease your noise,” Yohira cut in. “Tatara flirts as naturally as breathing. It’s nothing new.”
”Yohira, please stop pretending to defend me when you’re just adding fuel.”
Even Yohira treats me like that… guess I’m doomed.
”…Hey, Tatia,” I asked quietly, “is it really flirting if I just compliment someone’s looks?”
She looked thoughtful. “In your case, Tatara-dono, your compliments are so straightforward and sincere that they come off as romantic.”
”So I’m screwed no matter what I say…”
When I buried my face in my hands, Tatia seemed to get an idea.
”Then tell me, Tatara-dono—how do I appear to you?”
”Tatia, you’re beautiful,” I answered honestly. “Your face is calm and noble, like a knight who embodies grace and strength. But when you smile, it softens everything—you become approachable, radiant. If you appeared before people in despair, they’d find hope just from your smile and the strength of your back.”
”…I see now, Tatara-dono. Everything is your fault.”
”What!? How!?”
She turned her face away, cheeks faintly pink. So I’m the villain now, apparently. Even though she asked!
”Can’t a man compliment someone without being condemned?”
”Such words should be reserved for Ethelena-dono alone.”
”That’s the hardest one to compliment! She’s like the definition of beauty itself—how do you even start describing that? It’s like someone poured the concept of beauty into a human mold and made her.”
”Tatara-dono,” Tatia said carefully, “Ethelena-dono is stirring. You might want to see what you’ve done.”
I looked toward the sofa. Ethelena was burying her red ears into a pillow, face hidden. Guess I got her too.
Right… I’ve said ‘I love you’ plenty of times, but maybe I never just… complimented her before.
”I never really told Ethelena how beautiful she is,” I admitted. “That was wrong of me.”
”A wise choice, actually,” Tatia sighed. “If you had, she might have melted from joy and been useless for hours.”
”Was that really necessary?”
”Ethelena alternates between genius and complete mess whenever you’re involved,” Yohira added dryly.
”Oh, welcome back, Box-Pushing Demon.”
”Indeed,” Yohira said, brushing her robe. “Ichika and Dahlia won’t stop their rivalry, so I fled. By the way, why don’t you ever blush when complimenting someone? Most people would feel at least some embarrassment.”
”…Is it strange to just say the truth plainly?”
”Perhaps you left something very important behind in your mother’s womb.”
”Did you really have to go that far?”
Honestly, being treated like some sort of lunatic stings a little.
”Well, I guess the last time I actually complimented you on your looks was the first day we met.”
”…Why do you even remember that?”
”Why wouldn’t I remember something about my companions? Those are precious memories.”
”…It’s because you’re like that that I suffer so much,” Yohira muttered, a trace of sulk on her face. Maybe I should delay telling her what Ethelena said.
”For now, Dahlia can wait… Tatia’s about to run out of time.”
At my words, Tatia glanced at the clock and grimaced.
”…After graduation, I’d like to move my base here, if possible.”
”There’s a spare room. You’re welcome to it—but you’ll have to pay rent.”
”Would a special discount require… marriage to you?”
”If it actually came to that, I’d let you stay for free.”
Yohira blinked, clearly startled. She probably thought it was a joke, but I meant it. After what Ethelena told me, I know I need to change—bit by bit, step by step.
”T-Tatara-dono, that last part…?”
”C’mon, it’s almost curfew. Go on, get going while you still can.”
”W-wait! Don’t push me!”
I guided her to the entrance, gently pressing her shoulder until she moved. Then I leaned close and whispered,
”Ethelena told me something, but that’s for when we have more time. Sorry, but you should head back now.”
”…You’ll tell me for certain?”
”Yeah. I promise. You’re my companion—it’s something you deserve to hear.”
”…All right. I’ll be ready.”
And with that, Tatia left. Maybe I’d been a bit forceful, but breaking curfew could cause problems for her back at the knight school—rumors, doubts, gossip. We’d worked hard to bring her closer to normal human ways of thinking; I couldn’t let that elitist ideology take her back again.
Still, the best solution would be removing her from that school entirely. Maybe she could guard the teleportation gate directly linked to the Torakuma estate. That would suit her better.
”…Tatara, about earlier—tell me.”
The voice came from behind me. Yohira stood there, alone now.
”Yeah. I need to tell you this, at least.”
I drew a deep breath. It was simple—just relaying what Ethelena had said.
”Ethelena told me to accept others besides her.”
”…You actually agreed to that!?”
”Only under certain conditions.”
Yohira stepped forward, grabbing my collar. Of course she would. After all, she’d chosen to stay by Ethelena’s side, supporting us both. Hearing this must have felt like betrayal.
”Don’t joke with me! Did you just agree because she said so!?”
”Of course not! I told her no, over and over again. But Ethelena said it herself—she doesn’t think I can carry everything alone.”
”Then why accept it!?”
”I didn’t accept it!” I snapped. “I told her that if she ever cheated with another man, I’d rather die. That I can’t love anyone else. But she insisted… she told me to accept you and Tatia.”
Yohira’s expression faltered. She bit her lower lip, hard enough for blood to bead.
”So this is pity, then? You’re offering me sympathy!?”
”You think I wanted this!? You confessed to me with everything you had, and I turned you down because of Ethelena! And now I’m supposed to just change my mind? You think I could forgive myself for that!?”
Her face flushed with anger, eyes brimming with tears. My own voice rose in response, emotion bursting loose.
I realized then—the time she’d called me obsessive wasn’t mockery. It was kindness. The way she hugged me that last time was her way of saying goodbye.
And now, here we were, reopening old wounds.
”I still love you,” she cried. “But I already gave up! I gave up, so why—why do I still feel hope again!?”
Yohira clung to my chest, trembling. This time, I didn’t push her away. I held her.
”…When we first met,” I said quietly, “you told me, ‘If Ethelena ever breaks your heart, I’ll be there to comfort you.’”
”…That’s one of your precious memories too?”
”Yeah. Because it was the first confession anyone ever gave me.”
Ethelena once told me while drunk that her dream was to be my bride—but she wasn’t in her right mind then. Yohira’s confession was the first real one I ever received. There’s no way I could forget that.
”Honestly… it made me happy. Knowing someone could love a mess like me. If Ethelena had rejected me then, I probably would’ve leaned on you.”
”…Liar,” she whispered. “You’d have stayed quiet about it, pretending everything was fine. You’d keep smiling… until I snapped and pushed you down myself.”
What kind of logic was that?
But she looked up, eyes firm.
”Watching you and Ethelena, I finally understood. When you care that deeply about someone, you respect their choice more than your own happiness. Even if it hurts you, you’d rather see them happy. That’s your view of love—just like when you said it after defeating that High Ogre.”
”…You remembered that?”
”Of course. It was something my beloved said.”
That goofy answer made me laugh despite myself.
”It’s funny, Yohira. You’re describing yourself now.”
”So then,” she asked softly, “what’s the condition for accepting me?”
”My heart belongs to Ethelena first. That won’t change. So I can only accept someone who can live with that truth.”
”…That’s painful,” she murmured, eyes downcast.
I felt guilt twist inside me. This was rejection disguised as honesty—but she didn’t flinch.
”Still,” she said with a faint smile, “it’s enough for me.”
Her usual regal tone returned.
”I still adore what you and Ethelena have. If I can just spend time with you once in a while… that’s all I need.”
She smiled, serene and strong.
”…You’re incredible, Yohira.”
”Forgive my selfishness, but may I ask for one thing?”
”Of course.”
”I want a kiss. It’s an oath in this country, isn’t it?”
”…All right.”
The hesitation was brief. Then, I leaned forward—answering her request with resolve.
I gently cupped her cheek and leaned in. Yohira squeezed her eyes shut, whether from nerves or fear I couldn’t tell—but the expression was so endearing it made me smile. Our lips touched softly, no more than a brush. Five seconds, maybe, then we parted. She opened her eyes, looked down, and shyly traced her fingers across her lips.
”…Strange,” she murmured. “It was just a touch, but my heart feels light. My face is hot… I could cry.”
Her usual poise had slipped; she sounded like her true self, unguarded. It was adorable.
”If you’re going to cry, I’ll lend you my chest.”
”…Then, just for a bit.”
A small weight pressed against me. Yohira’s hair floated lightly in the air as I held her close. Her body was cooler than Ethelena’s—I hadn’t noticed that before. I held her tighter, warming her quietly. Her body was stiff, trembling faintly. The dampness spreading across my chest? I ignored it. I’d hold her until she could smile again.
”—Embrace her, degozaru! Make it count, fool!”
”You again, foolish fox!?”
Before I could turn, a voice thundered through the room. I looked to see the foolish fox being silenced with an iron claw grip by Tengu-san, who held her fast, one hand clamped over his snout.
Seeing that, Yohira burst into laughter. Just like that, the tension broke, the air filled with life again. Feeling her relax, I squeezed her once more and brushed her hair gently before stepping back. When I glanced over my shoulder, she was touching the spot I’d just caressed, face crimson.
”…You really did accept Torakuma, didn’t you, Tatara?”
Ethelena was waiting for us in the living room, her smile telling me she’d already pieced everything together. I would never beat her in intuition.
”I’m sorry, Ethelena,” Yohira said, bowing slightly. “It seems I’ve stepped between you and him.”
”It’s fine. I gave permission. But just remember—*I’m the bride!*”
”In this town, I’ll yield to you,” Yohira replied, narrowing her eyes. “But if I take Tatara to Hizuru and hold a ceremony there, I’ll be his wife as well!”
…Oh no. They’re clashing again.
What happened to that condition you swore to keep, Yohira?
”Well, Tatara’s designing my dress, so I already have the advantage!”
”Then I’ll have him craft my *white wedding kimono* for the ceremony in Hizuru—and a *formal kimono with hakama* while he’s at it!”
”He’s even helping me name our future child!”
”Then I’ll name one too!”
”…Master, why are they competing like this?” Dahlia asked dryly.
”How should I know? I’m hopeless at this kind of thing.”
”That’s surprising,” she replied flatly. “You court women with surgical precision and yet claim ignorance?”
”Something doesn’t add up-degozaru!” chimed the foolish fox.
”Got a problem with that, say it to my face.”
While Ethelena and Yohira continued their verbal sparring, Dahlia and the fox decided to team up just to mock me. I squared my shoulders—two-on-one or not, I wasn’t backing down.
”My breasts were raised under Tatara’s care, after all!” Dahlia announced with a rare hint of pride.
”Th-that’s… unfair,” Yohira sputtered. “Mine… won’t grow…”
”Don’t drag me into this!”
”Master,” Dahlia said, perfectly serious, “my slender figure is a rare and valuable trait.”
”Sorry, but your body doesn’t spark any *sexual arousal* in me.”
”Master, that was unnecessarily cruel-degozaru…”
Even the foolish fox pitied her. Dahlia froze completely, mechanical stillness returning to her face.
”There must still be hope for my growth!” Yohira wailed.
”Sorry,” Ethelena said, biting back laughter. “I checked with my succubus senses—Torakuma’s future growth is… nonexistent.”
”No! Then how can I ever satisfy the *Boob Saint* Tatara!?”
Yohira dropped to her knees, despairing.
It’s fine, really. You’d do just fine even like that.
”Anyway,” I said, clearing my throat, “let me explain about Dahlia.”
Everyone turned to me. Dahlia stood beside me, expression unreadable but somehow smug—she really was easy to read despite her blank face.
”Yohira, how much did you manage to learn from your investigation?”
Yohira straightened her posture, meeting my eyes. “She was attacked just before arriving in the Whirlwind. Her life core was stolen in the process. The teleportation here was coincidence. You saved her life.”
That matched what I’d told her before. Good.
”For the record,” I continued, “the City Mayor came to the hospital and agreed to act as Dahlia’s guardian when she applied for permanent residency. The fastest way was to establish a local connection, so I filed her under the Julon family registry as my younger sister-in-law. She now bears my surname.”
”…Why did you want permanent residency so badly?” Ethelena asked.
”It was part of the condition for my survival,” Dahlia replied.
”…What?”
”Too vague,” I interjected. “Explain properly.”
”Yes, my Master.”
She shot a glance at Ethelena. There was definite sharpness there. Maybe my fiancée’s title rubbed her the wrong way. I’d have to watch that.
”My continued existence depends on the *Alchemist’s Egg* held by Master,” Dahlia began. “He agreed to transfer it to me only under one condition: that I ‘become happy.’ As I lack understanding of ‘happiness,’ I must remain with him until I discover it. Therefore, I chose to live alongside Tatara Julon.”
”I see,” Yohira said, nodding slowly. “Hence the permanent residency and the Julon family name. Logical enough.”
”…So Dahlia was saved by you too,” Ethelena said softly.
”Ethelena-sama,” Dahlia asked, “were you also saved by Master?”
”Yes. I was.”
”…Then it can’t be helped.”
”Yeah,” Ethelena smiled, “it really can’t.”
Hearing that, Dahlia seemed to relax, as though something inside her finally clicked. A faint sympathy flickered between them.
”…If you were the first saved, then it’s only right,” Dahlia said calmly. “Ethelena-sama, I hereby acknowledge you as Master’s official partner. I shall address you as *Okusama* from this day forward.”
”Eh—um… okay,” Ethelena stammered, half flustered, half amused.
With Ethelena’s approval, we headed to the workshop. Dahlia’s eyes gleamed the instant she saw the equipment lined along the walls.
”Master, these devices—models I’ve never seen before!”
”Of course not. They’re all custom-built by me, for me. You won’t find them anywhere else.”
”This sight alone could fuel me for five meals!”
”…You’re kind of a pervert, you know that?”
Perhaps that’s just how the Automaton Maiden race expresses excitement.
”Anyway, we’ll start with the Arcane Armor.”
”I hardly need such things, Master. They’re bulky and inefficient.”
”Just take a look first.”
I pulled the Black Iron Armor from my inventory and set it before her. Her mechanical pupils narrowed sharply.
”Unknown armor composition detected. Cross-referencing data… one partial match.”
”Yeah. It’s Demonsteel. I made it as a kid—a failed creation, but twice as strong as iron.”
”…Master, why are you still a student again?”
”For the sake of earning a graduation certificate.”
I left it at that. No need to mention that my ‘crafting instincts’ came from another life.
”…I assumed this was fabric, but it’s also metal? Another unregistered material.”
”That’s a Shape Memory Alloy I designed when I was younger, combined with an Artificial Muscle prototype.”
”Truly, Master, you should be working in a research institute developing new technologies, not wasting time as a student.”
”My field’s mostly Crafting and Alchemy. Research is just a hobby. I’m not clever enough for pure academia.”
”…You say that, after building these?”
”They were all failures, really. It’s luck that the tech could be repurposed. Only this armor came close to what I intended.”
As I spoke, I opened the armor, revealing the spell array within. Dahlia’s eyes widened as she recognized the pattern.
”It circulates the wearer’s mana to operate the armor!? Master, you made this!?”
”This one I did design successfully. Since it doesn’t need a Soul Core, I was able to lower the technical barrier—makes producing simpler Arcane Armors possible.”
”Why does this city let you remain a mere student…?”
”Such harsh wording.”
The City Mayor once joked, ‘Just say the word and I’ll graduate you myself.’
”Well, my plan is to use this armor as the base to craft one specifically for you.”
”I appreciate that, but an Arcane Armor without artillery hardly qualifies as one.”
”The light models depend on the wearer’s mana, Dahlia. Add cannons, and you’d shrivel like a dried leaf.”
Thanks to the Egg system, though, crafting has become easier. It’s far simpler to mass-produce than those that need a Soul Core.
I opened my Magical Word Processor and projected the development schematics.
It displayed a model equipped with artillery integration, Flight Spell Formula adapted from Tatia’s data, Floating Stone propulsion, Fluid Mana Stone Jet Engine, and a Mana Barrier Aerodynamic Control System. My high-end prototype design.
”Project name: Gladiolus. My target—an Assault Arcane Armor. There’s also a downgraded variant called Sarsium.”
”…”
”…Dahlia?”
She was trembling, shoulders shaking, head bowed. Uh oh.
”This is incredible, Master!!”
She shot up and shouted with enough force to make my ears ring.
”To create such an Arcane Armor! Ah, why—why must there be no prototype here now!? Assault Arcane Armor—such a thing has never existed! To fly under your own power instead of riding beasts! The concept alone is divine! Mana Barrier Aerodynamic Control, coupled with Angel-race Flight Formula and Floating Stone levitation—so much engineering to conquer the sky! Such obsession! Such genius!”
”Dahlia, please calm down—you’re scaring me!”
Just like with Auto Eizul, she completely lost herself in excitement over magical tech.
”The issue,” I interjected, “is material shortage. Full specs require too many rare metals. Artificial Orichalcum has poor mana conductivity, and Mithril demand is high.”
My estimates put it around twenty kilograms of Mithril to maximize internal mana transmission efficiency, plus another ten kilograms of Orichalcum for mental synchronization. Even without a Soul Core, that’s a mountain of rare resources.
”And the projectile systems?” Dahlia pressed eagerly.
”I… well, this is the concept design.”
Nervously, I pulled up another schematic. The projectiles carried Fluid Mana Stones within. A direct hit would cause severe burn and mana combustion. Another type carried Torimochi adhesive for non-lethal capture.
”Amazing! Truly amazing! This is Master! Demonic Power!!“
”I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me a demon.”
People had called me a natural disaster before—but demon? That’s a first.
Still, we’d already spent the whole afternoon on just the Arcane Armor. Dinner should be ready soon, but we hadn’t even touched on Close Combat Magic Weapons like the Chainsaw or Mana Sword that were meant to replace Auto Eizul.
Maybe… that could wait for tomorrow.
Notes:
• Dahlia – The automaton.
• Yohira – Torakuma’s first name.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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