"Hmm...? You're finally awake. Good morning, Ayase-kun."

"Nn... Good morning, Shamash-san."

"You slept really well."

"Well... yesterday was exhausting. In a lot of ways."

In the end, I had taken an extra room after the events of last night.

Partly out of consideration for Ion-san, a literal princess, but also because it was the first night; I figured the women might want to talk amongst themselves without men around.

As for me?

Naturally, I slept alone. Yes.

Shamash-san, as part of her first task as a slave, only came here to wake me up, as decided by rock-paper-scissors. Yes.

It was a night where I couldn't sleep well, thinking about everyone's warmth and softness. Yes.

Regarding yesterday:

After I hugged Shamash-san tightly, she let out a "fwaaah~" and within seconds white smoke was pouring out of her head as she went completely limp and passed out. Needless to say, the room instantly turned into chaos for a moment.

When I held her, her body felt so incredibly hot that I worried she had a fever. Turns out, she was just so overwhelmed by the new experience that she got a bit light-headed. She woke up properly a bit later, which was a relief.

After that, I gave in to Diana's noisy demands for "Another round! Another round!" and hugged her again. Then, with the Priestess as a witness, we finalized the Spirit Contract for Shamash-san to become my slave, and immediately afterward I fled the room.

If I had stayed there any longer, the "Beast Slayer" would have class-changed into a literal "Beast," and my "Demon Sword" might have... well, let's just say things were getting dangerously steamy.

Anyway, today is the day we head back to Erishe. I got dressed, settled the bill at the inn, and stepped outside.

Marco was waiting in front of the inn, just like yesterday morning. His sister was with him too. I'd left her at the blacksmith's shop yesterday.

Even though it happened during a drinking session, I had healed her leg mostly on impulse and momentum. That said, I'm not so much of a softie that I do everything for free. I had intended to ask a small favor of them depending on her attitude, so it was convenient that they came to see me. It was a bit of "forced kindness" on my part, so I wasn't going to ask for anything too crazy.

"Yo. You were drinking pretty hard yesterday—how's the hangover?"

"O-Onii-san..."

Whoa, hey, don't look at me with such starry eyes...

"I heard from my sister this morning... Um... I..."

"Don't look so terrified. I'm not going to make any weird demands."

"R-Really? But I haven't done anything for you... In fact, I tricked you and sold you those stones. And yet, you saved my sister from monsters... and even healed her leg..."

"The ones who saved her from the monsters were those girls over there. Thank them. As for the rest... well, let's just say you got lucky."

Exactly. It was nothing but good luck. A whim of the Great Spirit, you could say.

"Besides, I heard enough words of gratitude from you yesterday to last a lifetime."

Drunken Marco was relentlessly repetitive. You could say I was being harassed by a drunkard.

"That said... I do have something I want to ask of you. Since you feel so indebted regarding your sister."

I pulled a bag of the ore the locals call "Shiro" (White) from my bag. It was the stuff I'd bought from Marco for a single silver coin the day before yesterday. He'd told me it was discarded as junk mineral, but according to my Appraisal, it was actually quite rare.

It had shown up as part of the Resia Metal group. With an A-Rank rarity, there's no doubt it's valuable.

"From now on, I want you to collect as much of this as you can. I'll come by to pick it up periodically. Or, if you're up for it, you could deliver it to Erishe."

"Eh? But that's just..."

"Everyone just throws it away, right? Because they have no use for it. Well, I'll buy it from you. All you have to do is gather as much as possible. Though, I can't pay a fortune for it."

Since this ore is found while panning for gold in the river, Marco will have to negotiate with the old gold-panners to let him have what they usually toss. It might require some communication skills, but since it was originally trash, he should be able to manage. If nothing else, he could offer to help them sort their gold in exchange for the "leftover" stones. Panning is tedious work, so they'd likely appreciate the help.

So yeah, buying it at about one silver coin per bag should be a fair deal for both sides.

One silver coin is worth roughly 10,000 to 30,000 yen. For Marco and his sister, that's enough to survive on for about half a month. Of course, he can still continue panning for gold himself. If he handles this well and proves trustworthy, I could give him more work, or even open a branch of my shop in Lucraella and hire his sister as a clerk.

In any case, it's fate.

"Anyway, give it a shot. If you really feel like you owe me."

"I-Is that really all you want?"

"That's it... Oh, and if you still have stock at home, go grab it and I'll buy it now. We're leaving soon, so hurry back if you can."

"I'll get it right away! Thank you, Onii-san!"

"Then, I'll wait at the blacksmith's from yesterday. Don't be late."

Marco and his sister ran off energetically. To think she couldn't even walk yesterday, and now she's sprinting. It's a miracle that modern medicine could never achieve. I wondered for a moment what would happen if I went back to modern Japan and made this public.

All that was left was to drop by the Master Smith's place to say goodbye and head home, but—

"Goshujin-sama. Priestess and I will drop by the guild for a moment."

"Did you have some business there?"

"Just a little something to discuss with the elf there."

"Oh..."

Diana and Priestess-chan left with terrifying smiles on their faces.

Poor guy... He read and ignored the rescue message, so now he's getting roasted. I've caught a glimpse into the dark side of a Spirit-based communication society...

"Shamash-san and Ion-san, what will you do? Are you two heading back now?"

Shamash-san and Ion-san were both wearing hoods so they wouldn't stand out.

Shamash-san because she's a demon, and Ion-san because—even though her Prison Crest was gone—she was still royalty. With Diana hooded up as well, we looked like a very suspicious group. We resembled a secret occult society.

"Heading back? To where?"

Shamash-san tilted her head slightly as she asked.

"To your house."

"House? What house?"

"The one in the mine shaft, of course."

Shamash-san closed in on me, her eyes actually welling up with tears.

"What... are you saying...? W-We're going to live together, aren't we...? Was that a lie? We even made a contract...?"

"No, no, no, no! I did say that, but you can't expect us to move literally the next day! You've got some preparations to do, like packing your things, right?!"

"We have nothing. We'll go straight to your mansion together. Both Ion and I."

"Seriously? I mean, if you insist, that's fine, but..."

Was moving really that simple? I guess since they were basically living in a hideout, it didn't matter. Still, they must have some luggage, maybe furniture... well, I suppose that could wait.

"U-Um..." Ion-san timidly raised her hand. "I... would like to go back and retrieve a few things I forgot..."

"Right?! See?!"

The former princess, Ion-san, was the one with normal common sense!

* * *

And so, it was decided that Shamash-san and Ion-san would head back to their home to retrieve their belongings. I decided to kill some time at the Oyakata's shop until they returned.

I thought about the house they lived in, built inside the mine shaft—that strangely shaped house Shamash-san had designed. It wasn't a bad place, but living in that dim, chilly air must have been taxing. I hoped their new life would bring them some peace of mind.

"Ohh! You finally made it! I was worried you'd left without stopping by."

Oyakata was waiting in front of his shop.

"Is something wrong?"

"This is sudden, I know, but I've got a favor to ask."

I wondered what it was. Maybe he wanted to buy more of the Yasuki steel I gave him yesterday? He'd been pretty fired up about it... Or maybe it was the booze?

Either way, it wouldn't be a bad business deal. I was ready to consider it.

"Let's hear it."

"Make me your exclusive blacksmith, would ya, Danna?"

Exclusive blacksmith!? That's an unexpected proposal.

"Um... May I ask why?"

"I thought about it all night. If you're gonna run a Knight Order, you're gonna need a mountain of equipment, right? With how well you lot fight, your unit is bound to get big. Better to make your own gear in-house than to keep placing small orders all over the place."

"Well, I mean, that's a generous offer, but..."

Having a master smith on board would definitely speed things up, but I wasn't sure I could pay him what he was worth. After all, the Knight Order was still just a hobby for me.

"Relax, I ain't askin' for a salary. It's more like a hobby for my retirement. Besides, I can earn my own keep. Building a workshop ain't a problem, and if we're in Erishe, I can get my hands on Fire Seeds. The only issue is the iron, but..."

Oyakata kept shooting glances my way.

Ah, I see. Because I brought in that Yasuki steel. He figured if he could get his hands on that kind of iron, he'd be able to forge some top-tier equipment. But that stuff is expensive—if I tried to make everything out of Yasuki steel, I'd go bankrupt... Well, maybe not bankrupt, but it definitely wouldn't be cheap.

"I can manage the iron. But I can't provide the same quality I brought yesterday every time. If it's more standard iron, then sure."

I didn't know how much experience Oyakata had with recycling iron, but if it was just about high-quality base metal, I could bring in as much as I wanted.

Actually, if he's becoming part of the inner circle, I could just tell him the secret and give him all sorts of Japanese materials to play with. He might research them and forge something incredible.

As for the materials themselves, I could manage. Buying them is expensive, but picking them up or getting them as scrap is practically free. This is where modern Japan is strong.

Iron... right. I could get leaf springs from trucks and buses for dirt cheap from the scrapyard owner I met through my knife-making hobby. That's excellent steel.

If my mirror were bigger, I'd bring an entire car over. Well, iron is heavy, so transporting it would be a pain, but that's just part of the struggle.

"Then it's settled!"

"Yes, you're more than welcome! I look forward to working with you... But even if you're 'exclusive,' how are we going to do this? Are you going to set up a shop in Erishe?"

"That's the plan. Whereabouts do you live, Danna?"

"A bit away from the city. A mansion in the forest."

"I see. Well, in any case, I'll build a workshop somewhere with good access to your place."

Building a workshop...

The scale of things was growing fast, but it was exciting.

A dream workshop. For a knife hobbyist, having one—even indirectly—was a dream come true!

Plus, I have the [Blacksmith] Vocation. If Oyakata teaches me, I might eventually be able to forge a short sword myself.

Wait... if I think about it, there are countless books on sword-making in Japan, and you can see the whole process on video sites. Does that mean I could make a genuine Japanese katana here? With a master smith's dwarven techniques, there's no way we couldn't.

Holy crap. I could become a swordsmith. The possibilities are endless!

Selling katanas in Japan is legally difficult, but it would be great for trade here. Beautiful swords would surely be popular in this world too. Between building Shamash-san's house and this, I'm going to be busy!

* * *

We ironed out the details while waiting for Shamash-san and Ion-san to return.

Essentially, Oyakata would come to Erishe alone at first, but a few apprentices would help until things got on track. He was even considering taking on new apprentices in Erishe. The dwarves would all chip in to build the workshop together.

Lucraella to Erishe is only a few hours by carriage, so the distance isn't a huge deal. Maybe I'll have them build Shamash-san's house while they're at it.

He already has his smithing tools, and he'll handle the maintenance for his existing clients in Erishe. I believe Shello-san's greatsword was his work, too. Shello-san will probably be thrilled. As for the Knight Order equipment I ordered, the Master Smith said he'd make it almost for free.

"Don't worry about that, young man. You're a merchant, aren't you, Danna? Just use me to make a profit. That's what being 'exclusive' means."

So, basically, the blacksmith shop would be a new department of my business? Oyakata said he'd earn his own operating costs, but I couldn't let it run at a loss. I'd have to find a way to make it profitable while also making gear for the Knight Order.

I don't know much about the business side of smithing, but Oyakata is the best in the region. It'll work out. The key will be the advertising.

"Etowa."

"Yes, Boss."

"You heard that. Since Oyakata is joining our circle, you'll be managing the finances for the blacksmith shop too. Can you do it?"

"Leave it to me!"

"Good."

I'll worry about the rest once the workshop is actually built. It might finally be time to scale up my own business as well. I've made more acquaintances in Erishe, and with Priestess-chan's backing, I should be able to get away with selling items of slightly suspicious origin.

Up until now, I've kept things low-key to avoid standing out, but if I'm serious about earning, I have a lot more I can do. Though, selling high-end goods too suddenly is dangerous, so... gradually.

Around the time we finished talking, Marco arrived, out of breath and drenched in sweat. He pulled a bag of that ore from his pouch.

"This is all I have, Onii-san... for now... You can buy the next batch, so you can have this for free."

"Are you sure? This is quite a lot. About four bags worth."

"It's not enough to cover the spirit stone you used for my sister's leg, but this is the only thing I have to give..."

"I see. Well, I'll take it then."

It was surprisingly heavy—the density felt similar to gold. I have no idea what it's for, but I'm sure it'll be useful someday. Selling a mysterious ore in Japan would be too risky, but maybe I can ask about it online.

A little later, Diana and Priestess-chan returned.

"How was it? Why didn't they come to help?"

"Let me explain," Priestess-chan said. "Apparently, the priest here rarely deals with monsters and got cold feet when the large-scale outbreak happened. He evacuated under the guise of 'guarding' a city official."

"It's despicable nodesu. If I had my full power, I'd make them regret it," Diana added.

Figures. I thought it might be something like that.

It's over now, so it doesn't really matter.

"I will report this to the Mayor," Priestess-chan continued. "Even elven priests face consequences for this."

"Is that how it works?"

Well, elves have great power, high salaries, and social status, so I guess they're expected to work accordingly.

Finally, Shamash-san and Ion-san returned with their bags stuffed full.

I told them they didn't have to come to Erishe right this second and could wait until things settled down, but they insisted on leaving immediately. I suppose since the slave contract with Shamash-san was done and Ion-san's Prison Crest was gone, it made sense to move fast.

For now, we can all just live together at the mansion.

"Please forgive any inconvenience we may cause, and thank you in advance."

Ion-san bowed deeply.

Ion-san's beauty, shining under the sunlight, had a certain divinity to it that was different from anyone else's. She had a holy attribute—pure like water. Yeah, this is "princess power." The real thing is just different.

As I was thinking that, Diana glared at me with half-closed eyes. It's a problem that she can read my mind.

You don't have to glare like that, okay...? I wasn't comparing her to you... You're plenty transcendent yourself, Diana...

"Likewise. Though life may be inconvenient, you'll be expected to work, princess or not. We only have one maid, and there's a lot to do."

"That's exactly what I hope for. I am just Ion. Please use me as you wish."

"Then no special treatment."

"Understood."

I feel bad for Aurica, but I should probably keep Ion-san's identity a secret from her. She'd probably be terrified to work alongside royalty.

"I look forward to working with you too, Shamash-san."

"Yes! Feel free to order me around, Ayase-kun. After all, I am now your slave in both name and deed!"

"O-Okay..."

Shamash-san had maintained the same high tension since last night.

Actually, ever since I hugged her, the way she looks at me feels... different. Is it just my imagination...?

"Oh, right. I wanted Shamash-san to teach me magic. I have the Mage Vocation, after all."

"Oh! I'll teach you everything, step-by-step! Even Ion, who has no Vocation, managed to learn a bit. You'll be a Great Archmage in no time, Ayase-kun!"

"An 'Archmage' might be an exaggeration, but it would be handy to be able to use a little."

An Archmage, huh... It doesn't feel real at all, but it's one more thing to look forward to. Things I want to do. Things I have to do.

There are so many that I'm on the verge of burning out, but I'll clear them one by one. I'm not without my worries, but I'm full of dreams.

And so, we left Lucraella.

It was supposed to be a two-night, three-day trip, but it turned into a whirlwind three days.