“It’s over.”
“It’s over, isn’t it?”
“It is over, indeed.”
If you heard only these words, you might think that our work had ended in failure.
Furthermore, it’s understandable to think so, considering how completely drained Valse-san, Keiri, and I were, as if our souls had left our bodies, as we spoke.
However, our exhaustion wasn’t due to the failure of our work and resulting apathy.
“That mountain of documents is completely gone. I didn’t realize this place was this spacious.”
“Yes, I didn’t realize my desk was this big either.”
“Ah, it’s wonderful to be able to place a teacup on my desk again after so long.”
It had been a week since we’d had the idea of asking the High-ranking Spirit, Valse-san, to help with our work in desperation.
Although we were overwhelmed by Valse-san’s sheer competence, who was far too accustomed to such situations, we reformulated the plan from scratch.
Intense work after intense work.
Even though we had psyched ourselves up and rethought everything from the beginning, we still couldn’t believe that we had managed to shorten the schedule to less than half of the original plan, or even less than a third.
“Hmm! It’s actually quite fun when you do it after a long time!”
The spirit who accomplished this schedule reduction was floating next to me, happily and rapidly reviewing the completed documents with a smile.
These are top-secret documents detailing the entire content of my dungeon, but since there isn’t a single part untouched by Valse-san, it’s not like anything is revealed now.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a day where I’ve felt more strongly that humans are such insignificant beings.”
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
When Valse-san, armed with knowledge and experience so overwhelming it bordered on a bug rather than a cheat, easily brushed aside our concerns about the grueling work, such words naturally spilled out.
Leaning back in my chair, I glanced at the clock. It was almost time to clock out.
“Wow, we can go home at the regular closing time.”
“I’m going to drink as much as I want today and sleep in my own bed.”
“I think I’ll buy a souvenir for my wife on my way home.”
The work had already been allocated, and there was nothing left for us to do here.
After all, the dungeon’s blueprint had just been completed, and all that remained was to have it confirmed before presenting it to the president for approval.
We had also completed other necessary procedures, such as the order estimates for materials required for the dungeon, personnel composition, and so on, which could be done at this stage.
While I felt a sense of accomplishment, I also felt a sense of guilt, as if I had cheated. But then I rationalized that it was over, so it was fine.
“You two can head home for today. I’ll stay behind to give the documents one last review before I leave.”
“I will do that. Even though we finished the work ahead of schedule, I’m exhausted from the process.”
“My old bones can’t take much more.”
When I told them to go home, even they couldn’t argue that they could still work, and they began to pack up honestly.
I smiled wryly as I watched them leave, and only Valse-san and I remained.
“Don’t you need to go home, Contractor-san? The magic power to manifest me isn’t free, you know.”
“Are you telling me to just do the work and then say goodbye? What kind of black company is this?”
The reason I stayed behind was not only to do the final confirmation of the documents as I told the others, but also because I wanted to thank Valse-san for going along with my bizarre idea when I was cornered.
“I’ve been indebted to you, both when fighting Instructor Fushio and this time. I want to do something to thank you.”
“Oh, that’s a good way of thinking. Such conscientiousness is necessary for us Spirits to remain in contract with you for a long time.”
Valse-san, though a little tired, smiled and nodded with a smile that showed no hint of fatigue when I said I wanted to express my gratitude.
“Still, I don’t know what kind of things Spirits like, so what would you like?”
“How direct. What would you do if I said I wanted your soul?”
“Then you’d have to ask me to take it with me after I die. Becoming an Undead like Instructor Fushio wouldn’t be so bad, but I wouldn’t have any regrets if that were the condition.”
However, Valse-san’s and my contract was simply to borrow Valse-san’s power by providing the magic power for manifestation. Technically, there was no problem with not bringing up the topic of wanting to express my gratitude.
It was simply a matter of my own feelings. As Valse-san said, it was about observing the etiquette of close relationships.
I don’t have a clue what a Spirit would like, but Valse-san jokingly said she wanted my soul.
Although I thought that was unlikely, I stated the condition under which I would give her my soul.
“It was a joke. If I took your soul, it would affect the cycle of reincarnation.”
“Are you waiting for a retort by not denying that you *could* receive my soul?”
“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
“That’s terrifying.”
Valse-san clarified that it was a joke. However, she left behind the chilling parting gift that she could indeed receive my soul, and I smiled wryly, thinking that perhaps it was all for the best.
“Well, setting that aside. Is there truly nothing you want? It may sound strange asking you, who possesses power far greater than mine.”
“Let me see. Since you’ve so kindly offered, it would be a waste to refuse, so perhaps I’ll make one request.”
“Within my capabilities, anything.”
I was slightly curious to hear what Valse-san, who was called a High-ranking Spirit, would ask for.
“I want to eat this.”
She produced a magazine from who knows where and opened it to a page, showing it to me. A large red circle was drawn on the page, making it clear what she wanted.
“A Yokan from a long-established Kyoto store…? Valse-san, how did you get this magazine? I don’t recall showing you this kind of magazine.”
It was from a past feature, and it seemed to be a popular item from a traditional Japanese confectionery store that had been in business for over a century, requiring advance reservation to purchase their Yokan.
That in itself was fine, but then I realized something. The question of how Valse-san, who was not usually manifested, possessed such a magazine.
The Earth lacks magic power, making it impossible for Valse-san, a Spirit, to go outside. So, it’s impossible she bought it. As for money, she could have taken it from my wallet, but… If she cannot go outside, she cannot obtain things.
“Ah, this magazine belongs to the Dark Elf who was sitting there. She lent it to me when I asked.”
“Muil-san’s possession? That makes sense.”
And its source was Muil-san’s personal belonging. Knowing her slightly old-fashioned taste for Japanese sweets and tea, I didn’t think it belonged to Keiri.
“However, even after seeing this, he was agonizing over not being able to buy it.”
“Well, it’s quite a distance from Tokyo to Kyoto.”
It seemed Muil-san had also been reading this magazine during his break. There were several checkmarks next to the items he desired.
However, most of the shops listed in this magazine only sold their products locally. While there was a way to go outside the company, the timing was bad for personal use.
Ever since the Seraph attack, even when going out, vigilance was required. In the current situation, it was not possible to go out carelessly with magic power.
Therefore, obtaining the items listed in this magazine was practically impossible.
“Well, it’s not like it’s impossible.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, my relative, my mother’s sister Kirie-san, lives in Kyoto, so I think she can send it if I ask.
If I said it was for cultural exchange, I felt like she might send not only the items listed in the magazine but also other high-end traditional Japanese sweets.
“Is this okay? Honestly, I don’t think it matches the reward for the labor.”
When you think about it normally, the reward for assisting with a job on the scale of a national project is just one confectionery, albeit from a high-end traditional store.
When I asked if it was okay with just that, Valse-san explained, “Oh, Contractor-san, it might be a cheap purchase for you, but for us Spirits, opportunities to eat sweets from an Otherworld are rare. Children who work in this building and have contracts with them seem to eat them sometimes, but normally, sweets from a world beyond a wall separating worlds require an immense amount of effort to obtain.”
Valse-san said it was a difference in values and taught me the value of the confectionery in the magazine. Since Suella and Keiri sometimes gave sweets to Spirits casually, I mistakenly thought it was common. But hearing it from Valse-san, I had to agree.
Sweets from beyond the world. If there were no way to cross worlds like a dungeon, it would be unobtainable. Given the shipping costs, I could accept being told that it would result in an exorbitant amount for a single item of confection.
“Eating these in front of other Spirits while bragging about it. There’s nothing more fun than that.”
“So that’s the real reason?”
“Oh, I’m looking forward to the taste too. You’re the first person I’ve contracted with, so of course I’ve never tasted food from an Otherworld before.”
For Valse-san, the enjoyment of showing off to other Spirits was added, but I agreed, thinking I could just prepare some for the other Spirits too. I then gently pointed to a spot in the magazine.
“Is there anything else? Honestly, I feel like just one Yokan doesn’t quite match up.”
Fortunately, my wallet had some leeway. If I were told to prepare meat that would satisfy that snake, I would be in trouble. I had no idea how many heads of cattle it would take for a snake of that size. But with Valse-san, buying Yokan by the dozen would be no problem. I secretly planned to ask Kirie-san to cover it as expenses if necessary.
“Since you can stop time and preserve it with Valse-san’s power, right? Why don’t we buy a lot this time?”
“That’s a good point. Then I’ll gratefully accept your offer.”
For now, I would reward this contributor. Humming a tune, Valse-san began flipping through the magazine. I knew that even if she deliberated seriously, she could finish deliberating in an instant with her powers, but pointing that out would be lacking in sentiment, so I used the time to review the completed dungeon blueprint.
With Valse-san’s deliberations as background music, humming about whether this or that was better, I looked at the documents in my hand. The detailed spell formulas used for various purposes. The overall blueprint was too large to fit on the computer data, so the documents in my hand merely served as a table of contents. Nevertheless, the sheer volume of information written was astonishing, making it hard to believe it was completed by just three people and one Spirit. I couldn’t help but be impressed by the result.
With this level of confidence, I hoped for a corresponding outcome. And I knew that once this was submitted, the construction of the dungeon would finally begin. What kind of structure would be built, and what kind of results could it produce? This document was, in a sense, a die. I held that die and was about to roll it. Once rolled, only God knows what the outcome would be. In any other circumstance, I would be anxious and nervous, but I found myself looking forward to this situation. It wasn’t the intuition of a gambler, but I felt that what was about to happen would not result in a bad outcome. Of course, it was just a hunch. The future, encompassing both good and bad, is unknown.
However, if I had to say something.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
I confided inwardly.
Today’s word: Accept good things as they come.
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Currently, I am serializing another work: Pandora Pandemic Panic. The Pandora’s Box has been opened again, but we are fighting back with various things in our secret base! Please check that out as well!
