We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
It wasn’t a failure.
“Now, first, chop it into pieces for me.”
I swung my sword as instructed by Airi-san.
“That’s right. You’re doing well. I can’t believe it’s your first time. Next, shall we cut it into slightly more manageable sizes? Good, keep it up. Don’t be afraid of failure.”
Airi-san wrapped her arms around me from behind and gently guided me, holding my hands as she taught me. I felt Airi-san’s seductive breath near my ear and let out a yelp.
“Elnea, concentrate.”
“That’s right, Elnea-kun. If you fail and we run out of materials, you’ll have to go collect them by yourself.”
“Elnea-sama, I will accompany you then!”
“Laira, don’t say such things.”
“Laira, keep such schemes to yourself.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Laira-san, I’m watching you closely, you know?”
“You know, Priscilla is going to make necklaces for Mei and Fiorina and Rim.”
“Yes, yes, let’s make matching ones.”
“Nyanko will help too, nyanko.”
We were working busily.
Currently, we are in the process of cutting the collected dragon materials into manageable sizes. It seems it was a magnificent Earth Dragon, as its skull, claws, and bones were quite large. First, using my White Sword, I’ll cut them apart, removing any unusable parts and dividing them into pieces that are easy to process.
For cutting the dragon materials, we could use not only my White Sword but also Ruiseine’s naginata and Yufilia and Nina’s Ryūhōken. The Ryūhōken were originally Airi-san’s weapons, so their sharpness was, of course, impeccable. Ruiseine’s naginata has also been enhanced with Spirit Tree leaves. Therefore, Ruiseine, Yufilia, and Nina were cutting dragon fangs and claws next to me.
What about Mistral and Laira? Unfortunately, these two are of the “bludgeoning” type. They might be good at crushing or grinding, but they can’t cut. They are currently watching the young girl group while waiting for the next task.
“From every part, there’s a divine aura, as if it’s not a corpse.”
“Indeed. I performed an exorcism, you know. Be grateful. I don’t do such favors often.”
The parts obtained from the Earth Dragon were all thick and finely textured materials. Mistral and the others gathered the manageable-sized pieces we had divided, regardless of which part they came from. Once everything was cut, the real work began. Putting away the weapons we had used like knives, we picked up the daggers and carving tools that Airi-san had lent us.
“First, let’s shape them. We’ll gradually round them by shaving off the corners.”
“Airi-san, how do we adjust the size?”
“Oh, why do you need to adjust them? Isn’t it charming if they are different sizes, or if they look clumsy at first because you’re not used to it? The irregularity is the charm of handmade items.”
“We don’t have to be perfect since we’re not artisans, right?”
“That’s right. What’s important is to put your heart into it carefully.”
“Understood, Teacher!”
Airi-sensei showed us how to do it and gave us careful guidance. We don’t have time to make all the favors at the Dragon Altar, so after making the first few, we’ll continue working after we return. However, the time spent with Airi-san was very enjoyable.
“You know, Priscilla wants to give this to Mei.”
“Priscilla-chan, is that okay?”
“Yes. It’s the first thing Older Brother carved!”
“…R-right. It’s a little embarrassing.”
What Priscilla-chan was holding was my failed attempt. Due to the difficulty of the fine work with the dagger, the dragon horn, which was supposed to be a sphere, ended up as a distorted shape like a pebble. I had initially abandoned it, saying there would be failures at first, but it seemed to have caught Priscilla-chan’s eye.
“But, if you’re going to give it away, why not make a prettier one?”
I had other failures too. Unfortunately.
However, for some reason, Priscilla-chan liked my first failed attempt and didn’t seem inclined to change it.
“That’s true. If it’s just that, it’ll be like Elnea-kun’s embarrassing past.”
“Airi-san, what are you saying…”
“Now, now, calm down. That’s why I’m suggesting this, aren’t I?”
As Airi-san said this, she took something out of the treasure hall. Colorful ores of green, red, and blue.
“It’s an offering, you know.”
“No, no, that won’t do!”
“Oh, but it’s fine. Leaving it stored in the treasure hall would be a waste of treasure.”
“Um, Priscilla likes the green one.”
“Then, let’s combine that with Elnea-kun’s failed attempt and make a beautiful necklace.”
“Please don’t call it a ‘failed attempt’ so directly!”
Among the many ores, Priscilla-chan chose what seemed to be jade. I’m not familiar with ores and gems, but Yufilia and Nina, who saw the colorful ores that Airi-san brought out, frowned. Perhaps some expensive items were included?
In any case, I carved the jade chosen by Priscilla-chan under Airi-san’s guidance.
And then, the mass-produced pebbles…
Am I this clumsy? When I think about it, I’ve never done fine handiwork before. I felt discouraged by my own inadequacy. However, Priscilla-chan was happy for some reason.
“You know, put this here. Next to it, put this.”
She was happily discussing the placement of the pebbles I had carved with Nimia.
“Then, let’s make holes.”
“I’ll help.”
“A little diversion.”
“I’ll help too. Let me borrow it.”
“I’ll help too. Leave it to me.”
Perhaps as a break from work, everyone helped us make holes for threading in the dragon horns and jade I had carved. We used a very thin, needle-like instrument. Tap, tap, we poked with it to make thin holes. I thought it would be tedious work, but surprisingly, holes were easily made, and we were astonished.
According to Airi-san’s explanation, they were Sea Dragon fangs. It seems that sea-dwelling dragons have tens or even hundreds of thousands of these growing in their mouths. Since they are dragon fangs, it’s no wonder they can easily pierce a mineral like jade. The dragon horns, which would be the main part of the necklace, also allowed holes to be made smoothly.
“This is very convenient. If there are tens of thousands of them, they seem easy to obtain.”
“Oh, it’s not that easy. When Sea Dragons die, they sink to the bottom of the sea, so you either have to go to the seabed to get them, or search for ones that have been luckily washed ashore on the beach.”
“I see. So, they’re hard to find.”
“That’s right. I only have about a dozen in stock, so please handle them with care.”
“I’ll be careful not to break them.”
Knowing they were valuable items made me suddenly nervous. I had to be careful not to apply any strange force and break them. However, my worries were unnecessary. After all, they are dragon fangs. No matter how thin they are, they won’t break from the amount of force a human can apply.
With that, once all the holes for threading were made, we finally moved on to the connecting process. The thread, of course, was Senju no Kumo no Ito. It was Priscilla-chan’s wish. Ares-chan provided a suitable length of thread, and we threaded the dragon horns and jade.
“Oh, it’s surprisingly nice, isn’t it?”
“Uwah, it really is!”
“The unevenness gives it a charming touch.”
“I like it.”
We were surprised by the finished necklaces. Although each individual material was clumsy and truly resembled pebbles, when strung together, they became surprisingly attractive necklaces. Mistral and Ruiseine, who preferred a rustic style, greatly praised the finished necklaces. Yufilia, Nina, and Laira were also captivated by the unique charm, different from beautiful ornaments.
“Now, Elnea-kun, you be the one to imbue the necklace with your prayers at the end.”
“Priscilla will do it too!”
“Let’s do it, let’s do it.”
“Nyanko will help too, nyanko.”
At Airi-san’s request, we decided to imbue the necklaces with our power.
“Nimia, please go easy on her. Priscilla-chan is small, you know.”
“Got it, nyanko.”
If we’re going to imbue it, we should apply equal force. Nimia would use Dragon Energy. Priscilla-chan would use Spirit Power. Ares-chan would use the power of the Spirit Tree. And I would use Dragon Energy as well. I’m overlapping with Nimia, but that can’t be helped. Nimia and I have different natures, so we’ll have to compromise on that. What’s important is that we all put our feelings into it.
“Um, Older Brother?”
“I’m going all out, nyanko.”
“Weak, weak.”
“W-what did you say!?”
However, I didn’t have time to worry about Priscilla-chan! Nimia, although small, is an Ancient Dragon Species. Ares-chan, despite her young girl appearance, is a Spirit Tree Spirit at heart. And I should have considered this: Priscilla-chan, the youngest among us, is a child prodigy who commands three adult spirits at her age. The weakest one among us was, surprisingly, me! I told Nimia to adjust her strength to Priscilla-chan’s level, but I couldn’t afford to do that. I desperately unleashed my Dragon Energy, adapting to the young girls.
The completed necklaces turned out to be very special. The jade didn’t absorb much of our power. Jade is not originally a high-quality mineral that can have power imbued into it, and we only poured energy into it for a short time. Instead, the dragon horns surprisingly absorbed quite a bit of power. It seems my Dragon Energy served as a good base.
“Oh, you’re skilled. Elnea-kun, do you often imbue things with power? Your way of applying force is quite practiced.”
“It’s just your imagination, Airi-san. I’m simply accustomed to handling Dragon Energy.”
“Hmm, I’ll take your word for it.”
The pebble-like spheres, made from carved dragon horns, were infused with my Dragon Energy, which Airi-san praised, and then layered with the powers of Nimia, Priscilla-chan, and Ares-chan, blending together skillfully.
“Alright, it’s done!”
“Yay! Priscilla wants to deliver this.”
“Eh, now?”
Priscilla-chan acts on impulse. It’s a wonderful initiative, but we, who are being dragged along, are in trouble. We still have favors to make, you know? We helped make Mei’s necklace as a break, but we’re still busy, right?
“Elnea, have a good trip.”
“Elnea-kun, it’s fine to go, but don’t stay too long.”
“Elnea-sama, I…”
“Come on, Laira, it’s our turn.”
“Come on, Laira, now it’s this one.”
“Ahhh…”
“Older Brother, let’s go quickly?”
“Nyanko will take you, nyanko.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
When I think about it, I knew this would happen from the moment Priscilla-chan said she wanted to make a necklace for Mei.
“Well then, I’m off.”
“I’m expecting souvenirs.”
“Airi-san, please don’t say the same thing as Priscilla-chan!”
I also had to deliver invitation cards to everyone in the Beast Race, and so I headed towards the Northern Land.
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