Volume 7 Chapter 15 The Resonance Ring and the Platinum Tears
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Having finished my inspection of the training grounds, I made my way to the blacksmith’s workshop in the southern part of the village.
The smell that hit my nose was thick and heavy—the smell of burnt oil and hot iron. When I pushed open the heavy wooden door of the workshop, a wave of heat rushed out to greet me.
”Oh, Teacher. You’ve arrived.” Melis said, offering a lazy, melting smile as she looked up from her workbench.
Her blonde ponytail swayed, and under her thick leather apron… at the edge of her low-cut shirt, her soft chest moved with every breath. The casual way she wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand held a slow, tempting charm that seemed out of place for a craftsman’s wife.
”Come now, have a seat right there. I’ll brew you the best tea.”
At the back of the workshop, Kulum stood by the red-hot furnace.
Clang. Clang.
The heavy, steady beat of hammers shook the floorboards, setting a steady rhythm for the room. Beside him, Doln worked the bellows, his heavy breaths timed to his father’s hammer blows. Grimm was in the corner, silently polishing something wrapped in a rag.
”No, I’m good for today. I just came to pick up the rings I asked for.” I said.
Even at my words, Kulum did not look away from the iron. His cold, craftsman’s eyes were focused, listening to the voice of the metal as it turned a dark red. Only Grimm tilted his head slightly, whispering, “Oh, King,” before returning his eyes to the shine in his hands.
”Oh, is that so… perfect timing. I only just finished the final polish.” Melis said.
Melis took two cloth-wrapped bundles from her workbench drawer. With careful fingers, she unwrapped the first one.
”This is the first one~desuwa.” Melis added with a bubbly flair.1
On the brown work-cloth lay a ring that was neither silver nor gold, but glowed with a strange, moon-like light, as if moonlight had been melted into metal.
”Since you said it was ‘like a part of the body,’ Teacher, I made it into two vines weaving together and wearing away at each other. So that they may never be separated, until death parts them.”
Melis offered the ring.
”And you also said, ‘let there be light for forty years of loneliness.’ So, into every single leaf, I carved tiny points of light, as if they were falling from the branches of the World Tree (a great tree that holds up the sky). That sunlight filtering through the trees… like hope.”
I looked down at the ring. Clang, a sharper, higher hammer strike rang out behind me, like a bell celebrating the ring’s completion. The weaving vines, the layered leaves—the points of light in those tiny grooves caught the workshop’s firelight and flickered.
”Yes. It’s perfect.”
Melis returned the ring to the cloth with a look of satisfaction, though she seemed reluctant to let it go, then reached for the second bundle.
”This one is for the other person.”
On the ring, five thin petals opened softly. Slightly off-center, a single tiny pearl clung to the surface like a trembling drop of dew.
”You said she was a warm woman, not one for flashy things, but one you love more every time you look at her… that is what you said, isn’t it, Teacher?”
When I took the ring from Melis, her damp, soft fingertips gently touched my palm, invitingly.
”Sakura, was it? The flowers that bloom in your homeland, beautiful even as they fall. I dared to add a reddish color to the gold, adjusting it to a shade that would blend into the skin. This pearl is… the light for the place you must return to~desuwa.”
When I held the cold metal up to the light, the glow passed through the cutwork petals, casting pale pink shadows onto the worn wood of the workbench. It would look perfect on Nier’s white fingers.
”Still, Teacher, this material…”
The womanly warmth faded from Melis’s eyes, replaced by the sharp curiosity of a master craftswoman.
”You said it was armor worn by a commander of the Inquisition. I have lived for one hundred and twenty-seven years. I thought, with my dwarf blood inherited from my father, I understood every property of metal. But this… it doesn’t leave a single scratch even when hit, the files just slide off, and it heartlessly pushes away any mana poured into it.”
”Yeah. Half-baked mana wouldn’t even be able to touch it.”
Melis picked up the ring on the workbench and gently touched its surface.
”By common sense, this metal is impossible to shape. We stoked our furnace to its highest limit, and finally… only just, it changed shape a little. If it had been a larger piece, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything with it.”
Letting out a sigh of real admiration, Melis wrapped the two rings in the cloth and gently placed them into my hand.
”…To think you cut them down so small and clean. That black magic of yours… it truly has no end.”
As if handing over the rings, her soft fingertips gently touched my palm again. She looked up at me with eyes that remembered the sweet secret of that day—a look hidden from her husbands.
”You helped me out, Melis. I’ll make it up to you next time, properly.”
”Teacher. It’s a promise, okay? …Fufu.”
Mixing a wet, seductive charm that only we understood into the calm voice she used with her husband, she gave me a bright, lovely smile.
Just before leaving the workshop, I looked back one last time. Kulum kept his eyes on the iron, not lifting his head. Every time Doln pulled the bellows, the furnace breathed, and heavy gusts of air came between the hammer strikes. Only Grimm waved a small hand from the workbench.
As the heavy door closed behind me, the heat and the clanging of hammers were muffled on the other side of the thick wood. The heat of the furnace that had been on my chest began to fade in the clear, outside air.
Sylvia was standing under the eaves.
Her platinum hair caught the sunlight filtering through the trees, and her shape was outlined with tiny points of light.
”Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we walk?” Sylvia asked politely.
”No… I was just listening to the sound of the hammers for a while.”
We began to walk side by side. The hammer strikes that had been ringing behind us were swallowed into the deep quiet of the forest after only a few steps. In their place, the feel of damp moss and the roots twisting across the ground came through the soles of my boots.
Going northwest from the workshop, once we left the small path, the ground changed. The beaten earth disappeared, replaced by a thick layer of moss between the roots. My boots sank softly, leaving a warm resistance when I lifted them. There was no road. We just climbed a gentle slope, weaving through the gaps in the roots.
To my left, I saw a stone wall half-covered by moss. The roof had long since fallen in, and a young tree taller than me was growing from between the stones that once made up the wall.
…The forest was quietly taking back the place the Elves had left. Such a natural scene lay before us, without a word.
As we went further, the roots grew thicker. Where they had only poked through the surface near the Square, here they rose to my waist, splitting the ground like huge walls. I had to either step over them or go around.
”Your hand, please. Ryuichi-sama.” Sylvia offered.
Sylvia, having stepped over a root first, reached her hand out toward me.
Even while thinking inside that it was unnecessary, I took her hand. Her palm was neither too cold nor too hot, keeping the same temperature as the forest’s breath.
The sunlight filtered through the trees, wetting the green of the moss faintly, yet brightly. Finally, we reached a spot where a giant root rose up from the earth, forming a small hill.
”This is it. We’re climbing.”
I placed my hand on the smooth, candy-colored surface. The wood, polished over endless time, was now as hard as stone.
There were several dents where my fingers could find a hold. My footing was set from climbing it so many times. I placed my toes and pulled my body up.
The moment I finished the climb, my view opened up completely.
Below, candy-colored roofs were lined up, and the deep green wrapped around them as if caring for them. A thin line of smoke rising from the kitchen was washed in a pillar of light coming through the gaps in the trees, shining white.
”…I didn’t know a place like this existed.” Sylvia whispered.
Her pale green eyes followed the scene far below with affection.
I sat down on the root. The surface held a faint warmth that had taken in the afternoon light.
”From here, you can see half the village. Not bad, right?”
Sylvia sat down next to me, leaning in. The orange light filtering through the trees dyed her platinum hair into a pale, golden color.
Words were unnecessary. Somewhere far away, an unnamed bird chirped, and the wind passed by.
I took the cloth-wrapped bundle from my pocket.
Two vines weaving together, leaves lined up, holding tiny points of light. The unbreakable metal, neither silver nor gold, shone with a cold green under the afternoon sun.
Beside me, Sylvia’s breathing stopped.
”Sylvia. Show me your left hand.”
Still confused, she lifted her white, slender fingers from her lap. The hand that should have held a sword and drawn a bow. But those fingertips were surprisingly delicate and smooth.
When I took that hand and placed it on my palm, I could feel her fingertips trembling.
I knew that the Elves didn’t have the custom of wedding rings. Without saying a word, I slid the ring onto her ring finger.
”…”
Sylvia gasped softly.
The color of the ring began to change. The cold green color began to fade away, and a warm peach color came out from within. Her body temperature and the mana I had put into it mixed, slowly dyeing the surface.
”…Beautiful.”
Whispering in a rough voice, she pulled her left hand, now wearing the ring, toward her chest.
The points of light in the vine leaves blinked strongly in answer.
”Well, you know. I’ve put my mana into this. If you go through Mimi, my voice will reach your head directly, even if we’re far apart.”
Sylvia stared quietly at me as I spoke, using the practicality to cover my embarrassment.
”You go out to buy supplies in the human town from time to time, after all. It’s a useful tool so that my voice can reach you wherever you are.”
Something was moving deep in those pale green eyes.
It was the same look I had seen every day. It wasn’t anger, or laughter, or tears. Her eyes now were different from all of those.
”…My spirit has found your spirit.” Sylvia spoke with a dignified, ancient weight.
Suddenly, the old words were spoken from her lips.
”Just as these roots draw up water, I shall be by your side.”
A ringing that was clear, terribly quiet, but never wavering.
”Just as these leaves breathe in the light, you shall be within me.”
The moment the final line melted into the air, a single drop of dew spilled from her pale green eyes, unable to hold back, and traced a quiet path down her white cheek.
”…What was that just now?”
”Fufu. It’s nothing.”
She didn’t try to wipe away the flowing tears, and smiled as if a flower were blooming.
She kept holding her left hand, which she pressed against her chest, as if it were the most precious thing in the world, forever and ever.
＊
As we came down from the lookout and headed toward the river, the smell of the forest became wet.
The smell of dry rock and leftover sunlight fell behind me, replaced by the damp smell of moss and wet earth rising from the ground. The closer we moved toward the south, the more the sound of splashing water grew.
Sylvia, half a step behind me, still kept her left hand pressed against her chest, her right fingers occasionally touching the ring. As if checking to make sure it was still there.
Before long, a dry sound—snap, snap—joined the murmurs of the stream. Women’s voices filled the gaps between. The quiet of the woods was broken by the sounds of people living.
Stepping through the trees, the stream shone.
The clear water, taken from the glass-like water channel I’d made, created a shallow flow that caught the afternoon light. It was so clear you could see the stones at the bottom, and a few small fish the size of a palm swam through the shadows.
Odette stood in the middle of the river with her sleeves rolled up. Up to her ankles in water, she hit fabric against a rock. Her mouth, much like her hands, was moving just as busy.
”……And then, at dinner last night, Hugh-bart was saying the repairs on the pillar still aren’t done. For someone so skilled, he’s awfully slow at work,” Odette remarked with a lively, upper-class flair.
A little further away, Priscilla was silently wringing out cloth. Whether she was listening to Odette or not, only her hands were calm, leaving neither a fold nor a drop of water behind.
Upstream, the sound of splashing water jumped high into the air.
Rene was in the shallows, while Mimi sat on the bank, only her feet in the water. Rene’s oversized shirt soaked up the water and clung to her thin body, her innocent laughter scattering the light on the surface.
Suddenly, Mimi’s ears twitched.
Her hands, playing in the water, stopped, and her long white ears turned toward us through the trees.
She was quick to notice. She had probably been listening for my footsteps since the moment I left the workshop.
Mimi stood up from the riverbank. The instant her ruby eyes met mine, a white shadow jumped forward.
Fast. A rabbit’s leg strength, covering the distance in a heartbeat. Her wet shirt billowed with the wind, clinging to her skin, and every time her thigh muscles moved, the smell of grass filled the air.
Thud, an impact hit my waist.
”Master…! Mimi has been waiting for so long…” Mimi cried out with super-cute, bubbly energy.
Her wet body pressed hard against my waist. Her white ears twitched as they bumped against my stomach, and her small hands gripped the hem of my shirt, refusing to let go.
”Hey, hey. You’re soaking wet,” I said in a standard, neutral tone.
”I was… playing in the river… with Rene-chan…” Mimi giggled.
As she rubbed her head against me, Mimi’s body went soft, as if taking in my warmth.
”Papa! Wait for me, Mimi-chan!” Rene chirped, her speech simple and innocent.
Next, Rene slammed into my stomach at full speed. Mimi at my waist, Rene at my belly. Two little animals completely blocked my lower body.
”Hehe. Gotcha, Papa,” Rene laughed.
Hidden behind her water-matted chestnut hair, amber eyes looked up at me. Her bare feet kicked up mud, and her shirt still stuck to her skin.
”You’re soaked too. Both of you, dripping wet,” I noted.
”But there were fish! Mimi-chan slipped, and Rene went splash right along with her!” Rene exclaimed.
”It, it’s because Rene-chan pulled me…” Mimi pouted.
Sylvia stood watching the scene as if holding it close, her left hand with the ring still held to her chest.
”You two are hopeless. I’ll dry you off. ‘Dry’” I commanded, my voice flat and procedural.
A faint vortex of air wrapped around them both.
The water turned to mist; Rene’s hair fluffed up, and the texture of Mimi’s fur returned to its soft state.
”Wow! Amazing! It’s all fluffy! I love your magic, Papa!” Rene cheered.
”Fluffy…” Mimi murmured happily.
The moment I tried to pull my hand away, Mimi pushed her head up, guiding my palm to the base of her ears.
”…Master. …My ears, please…?” Mimi whispered in a sugary, sweet tone.
She looked up at me through her lashes. Her ruby eyes held a heat that had not yet faded.
Her long ears tilted toward my fingertips. The insides of her ears were a bright red, and thick veins pulsed under the thin skin.
”I see. I couldn’t take care of you during the meeting this morning, could I,” I said.
As I whispered softly, Mimi’s ears stood straight up.
I put a thick amount of Mana into my fingertips, pouring it into the skin at the base of her ears as if stroking them.
”Ah…! It’s coming… Master’s…!” Mimi cried.
Focus vanished from Mimi’s eyes. Hot saliva spilled from the corner of her half-open mouth, trailing down her chin. From the hem of her oversized shirt, clear liquid traced a quiet path down the inside of her white thigh.2
”Hya…! Ah, my head, it’s melting… Ah, I’m… I’m coming! I’m cominggg…!” Mimi gasped.
A short spasm. Her body jerked, and the next moment, all strength left her, leaving her leaning heavily against my waist.
I stroked her head. Mimi’s eyes rolled back slightly, and she squinted in bliss. Her breath ragged, her legs completely gave out, and only the strength of her grip—clinging to me—became strangely strong.
Rene peered in, tilting her head curiously.
”Mimi-chan, did you go?” Rene asked innocently.
Rene looked on with pure, worried eyes, gently patting Mimi’s head as she shivered in the afterglow of her climax.
”…Yeah… it felt… so good…” Mimi whimpered.
”I’m jealous, Mimi-chan…” Rene sighed.
As a small hand stroked the white, fluffy hair, Mimi’s ears flopped down, limp and powerless. She smiled happily, drool still on her lip.
”Papa, you’re only doing it for Mimi-chan! Do something for Rene too!” Rene complained with a pout.
”I promised I’d tell you that ‘adult story’ you were looking forward to tonight, didn’t I?” I reminded her.
”Ugh, I want it now!” Rene insisted.
I stroked Rene’s head as she puffed out her cheeks. Each time I combed through her chestnut hair, her eyes narrowed in comfort.
From the river, Odette’s lively voice came flying over.
The sound of hitting cloth never stopped. Snap, snap, the water droplets jumped, and with every splash, the sunlight broke and scattered.
”Oh my, oh my, Spirit King-sama! Are you out on patrol? You’re so busy again today~ desuwa!” Odette called out, her voice dripping with upper-class flair.
”Yeah. I’ve just finished a round of the village,” I replied.
”With Sylvia-sama, too… oh my…!” Odette chirped.
Odette’s voice went up an octave.
Her eyes were drawn, fixed on Sylvia’s left hand. The cloth she failed to hit dripped water, and several small ripples spread across the surface of the river.
”Sylvia-sama, that ring… it’s lovely~ desuwa! Could it be… from Spirit King-sama?” Odette gushed.
”…Yes,” Sylvia said, her voice refined and elegant, like British nobility.
Sylvia put her ring-wearing left hand in front of her chest and gently curled her fingers as if to hold it. The shine of the ring touched the sunlight filtering through the trees and blinked faintly.
”My, my, my! As expected, Spirit King-sama is so romantic~ desuwa! Hey, Priscilla, did you hear!?” Odette laughed.
”…It suits you very well, Sylvia-sama,” Priscilla replied with the formal, respectful tone of a Victorian servant.
Priscilla stopped her hands and bowed quietly, but with deep respect.
Odette shrugged her shoulders and laughed exaggeratedly.
”Priscilla, you should react a little more! It’s not every day something this wonderful happens!” Odette insisted.
Rene hopped over to Sylvia, staring at the ring with her amber eyes sparkling.
”Did Papa make that? Awesome! Make one for me too!” Rene cheered.
”Rene. It’s too early for you. …First, you need to stop wetting the bed,” I said.
”Ugh…” Rene groaned.
Rene pursed her lips tightly and let out a dissatisfied sigh, hmph. Beside her, Mimi was still clinging to my waist, face half-lost in a dream, looking up at Sylvia’s ring blankly. Her long ears hung limp, still in the afterglow of pleasure.
I suddenly looked toward the south.
Beyond the riverside, the rocky area of the bathhouse was visible through the gaps in the trees. The smell of wet stone mixed with the wind, and the memory of the hot water brushed my skin from a distance.
”It’s about time for the bath. You all coming with me?” I asked.
”Yay! A bath with Papa!” Rene shouted.
”Oh, is it that time already! We’ll be right behind you!” Odette agreed.
Odette said that as she began hitting the cloth again. The sound, snap, snap, returned to its original rhythm, and life continued as if nothing had happened.
Priscilla nodded silently and carefully refolded the wet cloth.
We started walking south along the river.
Rene running ahead. Mimi gripping my hem and refusing to let go.
And Sylvia, half a step behind, smiling quietly with her ring-wearing left hand pressed to her chest.
The afternoon light began to slant, and the reflection on the river stretched out, long and slow.
We continued our walk, each of us holding our own warmth, heading for the place where the steam rose.
—
Summary:
The protagonist visits a blacksmith workshop to retrieve two special rings, observing the intense craftsmanship and sharing a flirtatious moment with Melis. After departing the stifling heat of the workshop, he meets Sylvia and they climb a giant root to overlook the village. There, he gifts her one of the rings, triggering a profound spiritual connection and an emotional reaction from her.
Nier walks through the forest to a riverbank where the women of his household are performing chores and playing. He is greeted by the energetic Mimi and Rene, who are soothed through his magic. As they prepare for a communal bath, Nier reflects on his relationships with his companions.
—
Trivia:
Melis has been alive for 127 years.
The rings were crafted from the armor of an inquisitor commander, a material so dense it is nearly impossible to work with.
The ring gifted to Sylvia contains mana that allows the protagonist to communicate with her directly through Mimi.
The elves in this setting traditionally do not have a custom of wedding rings.
Sylvia’s emotional response included ancient, formal language, suggesting a deep-seated connection or tradition.
The protagonist, Nier, created a glass-like aqueduct that diverts water for the village.
Sylvia has a ring from Nier which she holds with significant sentimental value.
Mimi has heightened senses and is sensitive to magical stimulation at the base of her ears.
Odette and Priscilla serve as local caretakers who live in a community centered around the river and communal facilities.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Melis – This voluptuous, 160cm elf-dwarf blacksmith and guard is 127 years old, sporting a high blonde ponytail, low-cut tunic, and grease-stained apron. Aristocratic yet teasing and seductive, she is married to Kulum but infatuated with Ryuichi. His essence altered her eyes into thermal sensors, letting this tracking specialist detect enemy heat and magic across zero-visibility battlefields.
• Kulum – A deeply focused dwarf blacksmith who works in the village workshop and serves as one of Melis’s husbands. Often oblivious to his surroundings due to his intense dedication to his craft, he works alongside his wife and is tasked with adjusting prototypes based on the King’s blueprints.
• Grimm – Grimm is the Mansion’s master, protagonist, and a powerful, multilingual sorcerer wielding divine magic in the Forest of Magic. Addressed as King by a village workshop item-polisher, he influences a nearby, bustling, namesake walled city marked by a vibrant marketplace, legalized slave trade, and severe lack of sanitation.
• Doln – A young boy who assists with the bellows at the village blacksmith workshop and is the son of Kulum.
• King – A powerful, authoritative male lead who possesses immense physical strength and magic. He commands absolute loyalty and submission from the inhabitants of the Silver Moon Village.
• Nier – A 27-year-old Japanese head maid in Grimm, this voluptuous former merchant’s wife with long black hair is bound to her master Ryuichi by a magical imprint, making her submissively obsessed. Traumatized by losing her daughter, she mothers Helga and protects younger slaves. She also serves a pragmatic, authoritative Spirit King who oversees a beast-kin household, and has distinct white fingers.
• Sylvia – A platinum-haired, jade-eyed Elven commander and advisor with a gentle smile and disciplined posture. Ryuichi’s devoted partner and liaison, she shares an intimate, spiritual bond with him. Carrying the Spirit King’s ring, she is an observant protector who deploys white heat rays, holds a sisterly bond with Lara, and fondly remembers her past village while quietly watching over her comrades.
• Ryuichi – A towering, muscular 40-year-old Spirit King with Japanese past-life memories, short dark hair, black eyes, and a beard. He leads a diverse group and rules an elf village using powerful black, glass, gravity, and barrier magic. Composed yet occasionally teasing, this commanding mentor protects his beloved Sylvia while pragmatically valuing companions Anna and Erika.
• Ryu – A man with Interdimensional Magic who leads a growing household. He acts as a provider and protector for his slaves, while maintaining a pragmatic and blunt personality.
• Mimi – A petite, agile white Rabbit-kin tracker from the Hundred-Beast Federation with ruby eyes. Clad in an oversized shirt, her battered body is stained with fluid and blood. She acts as a mana-voice intermediary, tracking heartbeats despite fearing violence. Intensely emotional and reactive to magic, this submissive girl is deeply attached to her master, clutching his clothes.
• Odette – A woman with an active, lively personality who spends her time washing clothes in the river. She is prone to gossip, enjoys romantic developments, and maintains a highly expressive and spirited demeanor.
• Hugh – A young vanguard warrior who shifted from a dual-wielding blade specialist in precision tendon and core strikes to a two-handed sword user. Operating on Farrell’s command, they execute consecutive decapitations on immobilized targets.
• Priscilla – A woman who works silently and meticulously by the river. She is composed, disciplined, and expresses deep respect toward others, particularly those of higher status.
• Rene – A pure-hearted, fragile Elf archer and energetic child of the household harem. Identifiable by her messy chestnut hair, amber eyes, and a morning bedhead, she is a timid yet lively girl who loves splashing in water. She clings to the protagonist for safety and seeks their attention as a parent figure. While fear triggers raw Mana bursts, intimate rituals designate her as a blissful healing item.
• Man – A roughneck wearing a hat who participated in a group assault. He suffers the loss of his right arm and later his left arm during an experiment by the protagonist before being stored.
• Spirit King – The protagonist and absolute ruler is a male who serves as the sole, detached source of mana for an Elf village ritual. Possessing limitless stamina and dominant magical abilities, he can heal others and completely reconstruct the physical forms of those he subdues.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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