125 — Clock (1)

Nothing much has changed.

Except that I’ve decided to be a bit more honest with my feelings.

Of course, that alone won’t bring about any major changes.

We will slowly, slowly, advance our relationship as it is.

One of the most significant changes among the minor ones is that Rurin’s bucket list has changed from hugs to kisses.

Of course, I don’t plan to do it as often as I did with hugs.

Such acts should happen when emotions are at their peak, in accordance with the mood, not just randomly kissing all the time.

That’s about the extent of Rurin’s change.

As for my changes, I no longer think about hiding my feelings of liking her.

Rurin is sleeping on top of me right now. The bed is at the bottom, then me, and then Rurin on top.

It’s a ridiculous three-layer structure.

Of course, I like our dragon with her terrible habit of sprawling and rolling over my body.

She usually sleeps quietly, but when she’s tired, her sleeping habits become quite bizarre.

At such times, to get out of bed, I have to move Rurin to the side. She would then roll around and wriggle into the blanket by herself, making me wonder if she’s really sleeping.

It’s been a month since the coming-of-age ceremony.

Our daily life hasn’t changed much.

Although we are still only at the kissing stage, I believe our hearts are a little more deeply connected now.

The only thing left is the matter of Rurin’s mother.

Avenge her, clear her name, and make Rurin stand proudly among the dragons without any dishonor.

That is the biggest task left for us.

Of course, that’s not a simple task. We have to move very cautiously. Since we can’t see the enemy’s true nature, it will take considerable effort to draw it out.

Before starting that mental battle, I plan to resolve the tasks we’ve already started.

Right now, I’m busy with Count Greek to introduce the concept of a clock to this world.

At first, I didn’t think of the clock for Dedran City. But now, it feels like it serves dual purposes.

The scientific level of this world is far behind the modern world, but honestly, it’s not that inconvenient.

What science used to solve in the modern world is solved here with magic and Rurin. In fact, life with magic is even better than science.

If I want a hot spring in front of my house, I can make one, and I can stop time to prevent food from spoiling, which is a much superior preservation method than a refrigerator.

Also, watching Rurin is more enjoyable than watching TV.

So modern civilization holds no meaning to me.

But there’s one inconvenience, and that’s the concept of time.

There are no clocks in this world.

It doesn’t matter when I’m doing something alone. I can keep time myself. But I can’t help but wish for more precise times for the restaurant’s opening and closing, and also for more accurate times in the market.

I have a clock, so I go to the shop on time, but other merchants open their stores at such varied times.

Every day, there are significant discrepancies.

This phenomenon worsens, especially when the weather is cloudy, making it hard to tell if it’s morning or afternoon.

Hence, a clock.

And if I’m going to introduce it, I thought I might as well use it to increase my assets.

Moreover, if we build a clock factory in Dedran City, it will create jobs due to the factory’s labor demand, solving the City’s unemployment problem.

The plan is to use the embezzled money recovered from Dedran City and Rieden’s assets as capital to start this project properly.

But introducing something too advanced, like a quartz or wristwatch, would be challenging.

A clock that can be implemented to some extent here.

What I chose was a pendulum clock that works on the principle of winding.

A large body and large gears.

Unlike the small, artistic components of a wristwatch, the large parts can be made if a skilled dwarf takes the lead, giving me confidence.

If we start making and selling pendulum clocks nationwide, it will be quite profitable.

Knowing the concept of time will change the world so much that it will be divided into a world without it and a world with it.

Of course, clocks will become essential items, and the royalties they bring will be enormous.

Of course, counterfeits may appear, and without the concept of patents, it will be impossible to prevent that.

However, it will take people of this world a considerable amount of time to understand the principles of the clock through self-study.

By the time the clocks are sold, we will have secured significant assets, and Dedran City will be known as the town of clocks.

That will enable further development.

The people of Dedran City will live better lives, and I will make money.

It’s a win-win situation.

If we increase our assets, as Rurin always insists, we can gild the lair everywhere.

So, I first summoned a pendulum clock and showed it to Count Greek, and he almost fainted in astonishment.

A pendulum clock is a tall wooden box with a pendulum mechanism inside. Compared to a wristwatch, its gear structure is relatively simple.

This world also has 24-hour days.

The annual cycle is the same.

I confirmed earlier that the time spent in the modern world and the time here completely align.

The issue is finding a skilled craftsman who understands the concept of time and can create this. There’s no one better than a dwarf for this task.

I planned to leave the crucial design and work to the dwarves and provide jobs for Dedran City’s unemployed with the remaining tasks.

So, the first task was to find a reliable dwarf.

“Rurin. It’s already 1 o’clock. Get up.”

The routine of waking Rurin doesn’t change. This will probably never change. I imagine waking Rurin and Rurin Junior simultaneously if we have a child.

That’s a bit of a dizzying thought.

“1 o’clock? Ugh, no. I’ll get up at 2 today.”

I taught Rurin how to read the clock. So, instead of saying ‘the sun is high’, she started mentioning specific times, but she responded by saying she’d sleep an extra hour and turned over.

Of course, I can’t allow that.

“Ugh.”

When I pulled the blanket off, she curled up more and let out a nasal sound, this charming dragon.

“You seem awake already, so stop being stubborn.”

“I’m not awake!”

Rurin curled up more and buried her head under the pillow. When I pulled the pillow away, she made a face of reluctant acceptance, lay flat, and then stretched her arms toward me.

“Then give me a kiss!”

She’s incorrigible. Eyes closed, lips pouting.

Truly incorrigible.

Absolutely incorrigible.

But just like with hugs, I don’t plan to overuse kisses. That’s too much of a routine.

Don’t you think a life of daily excitement is good? For Rurin too.

So instead of her lips, I kissed her soft cheek and turned around.

This counts as a kiss too.

“This isn’t it!”

She then sprang up, touching her cheek, and raised her eyebrows, expressing the difference from the kiss she wanted.

“This is a kiss too. You don’t like it? Isn’t that too much?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. But not that…”

“Shut up, it’s about the mood. Just pouting doesn’t make it happen.”

“I don’t care about the mood! I want to kiss even in the bathroom!”

That’s funny.

At least hold back on that.

I firmly pressed her temples with heartfelt affection and then turned my back.

But soon, I felt a heavy weight on my back. Rurin had jumped and clung onto my back.

I walked out of the room in that state.

And went down to the first floor.

The turtle shell clinging to my back showed no intention of letting go.

When we reached our destination, Rurin, who had treated me like a pony, smoothly got off and started yawning as if nothing had happened.

Her oversized pajamas with a teddy bear pattern drooped down.

The pajamas were so large that Rurin’s hands were inside the sleeves, making her look wrapped up in them.

We arrived at the sauna room.

When Rurin wakes up, we always go to the sauna first to wake her up. It’s not a severe sauna but a simple one with steam to activate her drowsy brain and aid blood circulation, followed by a shower.

The sauna room was introduced recently. Having just a bathhouse felt lacking, so I added a sauna.

However, it’s a bit different from modern saunas.

The origin of saunas is Finland. The word “sauna” itself is Finnish.

A sauna traditionally refers to a Finnish-style bathhouse. Though called a bathhouse, it’s not the common bath but the sauna we think of.

But unlike the common ones in Korea, I made a traditional Finnish dry sauna.

Using hot steam to warm the body, aid blood circulation, and improve the skin, this Finnish style was more convenient to make here.

It involves making a stove in the middle, heating stones, and generating steam by pouring water on them.

Of course, that task is done by hired lower-level monsters.

They’re the so-called subordinates of the Luruns.

Managing the lair became challenging with just the Luruns, so I hired monsters they could command to manage the lair.

The wood inside the sauna is top-grade, almost as valuable as gold, and the water used to create steam is glacial water from the highest peak on the continent. We brought everything beneficial for the body.

And we have the essential item for Finnish saunas, birch branches.

Birch branches soften and emit a fragrance as the leaves melt. It’s said to be very beneficial when used to stimulate the body.

When we invited Sereina and Elena, there was a battle with the birch branches.

Rurin started hitting Sereina with the birch, saying it was good for the body. Do you think Sereina just stood there?

“How’s that! It makes your skin better!”

“Oh, is that so? Then you should try it too.”

“Why are you hitting my head!”

Something like that?

But the funny thing was what Elena said while watching that intense death match.

“Um, can you hit me too?”

I guess she thought it would make her skin better the more she got hit.

Anyway, I entered the sauna with Rurin still in her pajamas.