Chapter 28

The production of my equipment began in earnest.

First of all, I had my entire body measured.

Height, three sizes, shoulder width, arm length, the thickness of my thighs and calves—they measured every single nook and cranny of my body.

Beyond that, they checked everything from the span of my palms to my foot size—things even I didn’t know about myself. I was truly surprised they went that far.

Well, it just showed how serious the two of them were, so I didn’t mind.

Additionally, I had been searching all over the place to secure a flame, but I couldn’t find anything suitable, and nearly two months had already passed.

“Is even this no good?”

I wondered how many hundreds of times I’d said that now. The work to create a dagger from Grandfather’s fangs wasn’t progressing at all.

We started with the temperature control of the fire, then tried the flames themselves—systematically experimenting with the fires of spirits and monsters—but we couldn’t even make a dent in the material.

“Are there any other flames we haven’t tried yet?”

“No, we’ve tried the local blacksmith spirits and fire spirits, but there wasn’t even a slight change…”

“…We could go on a long journey to bring back a different flame, but honestly, if that failed too, my mental state would probably crumble.”

“Brother, Sir Ryu. Let us take a short break.”

Dolf brought us some tea. Apparently, this workshop was a place where even the maids weren’t allowed to enter, so it was always Dolf who brought the refreshments.

“Thanks, Dolf. Dowal, let’s take a break as well.”

“But…”

“No ‘buts.’ You can rest while we review our progress.”

I forced Dowal to come along.

In a room slightly removed from the workshop, we took a breather over tea and sweets.

“Is everything okay on your end, Dolf? You’re managing the nation’s affairs while making the clothes, right?”

“I am at least making gradual progress, so I am faring better. The problem is my brother.”

He looked anxious as he watched Dowal, who hadn’t even touched his tea or sweets and was holding his head in distress.

Man, I never thought we’d struggle this much. Just how sturdy was Grandfather’s fang…?

“Ryu, are you okay?”

Ah, my healing has arrived!

“Come here, My Lady, and heal me~”

“Honestly, that little one is here too, you know.”

After she spoke, the eagle¹ perched itself on my shoulder.

“Then both of you heal me~”

I sought comfort by hugging the two of them with all my might.

“Hahaha, Ryu, you really do love those two, don’t you?”

Don’t laugh with such a dry tone.

“Sigh… what kind of flame would work…?”

“Dowal, just rest already. You’re making me feel depressed too.”

“My apologies. But you understand that we cannot move forward until this problem is solved.”

“Should we just resort to grinding and shaving it down relentlessly at this point?”

“If we did that, it would take years…”

It really felt like a dead end.

…Even so, speaking of flames, there was one flame that I had a feeling might work.

…I figured I’d give it a shot, double or nothing. I couldn’t let Dowal wear himself out any further.

“Dowal, Dolf, why don’t we go outside together?”

“Hmm? For a change of pace? Then you can go alone.”

“I’m going to meet someone with a flame that I think is the only one that might work.”

“What!? If there was someone like that, you should have introduced them first!!”

“They’re still inexperienced. So, to be blunt, it’s a gamble. If you’re okay with that, follow me.”

Personally, I had a feeling it would succeed.

“Who is this person?”

“This little one.”

In response to Dowal’s question, I held up the eagle that was on my lap to show him.

“That eagle?”

“Yeah. While I was cooped up in the workshop, it was acting as My Lady’s sparring partner. You understand what that means, right?”

“Are you saying that eagle is a species on par with a Fenrir!?”

Dolf was shocked. Well, that was a normal reaction.

“Probably. If that’s the case, it might be able to deform Grandfather’s fang at least a little. How about it, Dowal? Doesn’t that give you a bit of hope?”

“…Tell me the reason why you didn’t mention this until now.”

“Simply because this little one isn’t my Familiar, and I thought that hearing there was a big shot on the level of a Fenrir might bring it harm. I also wanted it to decide for itself whether or not it wanted to become a Familiar.”

I hoped he’d understand my reasoning at least a little.

Dowal let out a sigh and spoke.

“I see. You didn’t want to recklessly use a wild being that isn’t a Familiar.”

“Sir Ryu, you are quite kind.”

“If you understand, then I’ll have it cooperate. Is that okay?”

When I asked the eagle on my lap, it let out a “Pyui!” in response.