239. Innocence (2)
Was it three years?
The time I spent building a wall from the world, working only on magic stones.
During those three years, Tay has definitely not changed, but he has changed a lot.
His speech and personality are the same as they were three years ago.
It feels like only his body has changed.
Tay is no longer the small, insecure craftsman he was when I first met him.
A true, self-proclaimed master craftsman.
Creating the highest quality and largest magic stones.
He was already a craftsman who had far surpassed the original work.
“That’s great.”
“······.”
For three years, he had been working hard every day except for one day a year.
Thanks to this, the completion of the magic stone was perfectly timed.
If it had been extended by just one or two days, it would have been a failure.
“It’s not a big deal······. I was just scared to go outside······. I was afraid of living in a world without investors······.”
“You avoided reality?”
“······.”
Tay nodded silently in my arms.
But I don’t think so.
The light of my extreme intention permeates Tay.
The past intention I feel from such Tay is not anxiety or doubt, but firm faith and trust.
“Tay. I trusted you. Because I trusted you, I protected the body of the transcendent first so that the magic stone would not be crushed in the collapsing dungeon. I believed you would see it and realize it. What were you like?”
“As if possessed······ I brought it······ and started working on it······.”
“Yes. We call it trust. Thank you, Tay. Thank you. Thanks to your trust, we were able to save the world.”
“Whew······.”
I hugged Tay tighter.
He is brave and proud.
I’m sorry for making him suffer for three years, trusting only me, but I don’t say it out loud.
Instead, I express my gratitude.
For the infinite trust you have given me.
“By the way, this magic stone······.”
“Yes. Isn’t it amazing?”
“It’s much bigger than I thought······.”
I turned my eyes to the magic stone and laughed out loud.
What the hell is that?
Can you call that a magic stone?
Until I escaped from the dungeon by splitting the dimension, the magic power flowing from Luna’s transcendent body had not yet formed a complete magic stone.
So I only knew that it was a little big, but I didn’t know how big it was······.
I never imagined it would be so big that it would be difficult to carry.
“How much is the processing fee?”
“Well. Shall we start negotiating?”
“What do you want?”
“I······.”
Tay wriggles in my arms and swallows his saliva.
He seems nervous or choosing his words, and then looks up at me.
His eyes are twinkling.
At that moment, I thought, “Oh, no.”
It was an eye I had seen many times somewhere.
All the eyes I had seen about 12 times were like this.
“I’ve been touching only magic stones all my life, so I’ve never met a man or a person. I only know you. I’ve never thought of anyone other than you as a person. So, please take responsibility for me, investor.”
Ah.
It was the correct answer.
After receiving dozens of confessions, I think I know the timing.
“I think the processing fee will be enough for marriage.”
“Tay······.”
“Yes. I’m listening, investor.”
“I’m so glad to hear your heart. But I already have a fiancé.”
“I know. There’s more than one, right?”
“What, what? How did you-“
“I know everything. You have the eyes of a womanizer.”
“······.”
Excuse me.
It’s not that I’m a womanizer, it’s just that I’ve been in love many times.
But somehow the timeline got twisted and it looks like a womanizer.
······I believe so, I do.
“Dwarves do not allow polygamy. But humans do, right? Then there will be no more problems legally. If there is a problem, it is only the investor’s intention······.”
“It’s not something I can decide alone. I have to ask my other wives······.”
“Really? When you added other wives, did you ask each and every one of them like this?”
“······.””It’s up to you to decide, investor. I won’t burden you too much. I won’t threaten to kill myself if you don’t accept. As you know, I’m mentally strong. I’ll just live alone, touching only magic stones until I die.”
“······.”
You’re not threatening?
Isn’t this a threat?
“But I don’t like it when you take it too lightly. You may still see me as a child in your eyes······. This is not something that came out of an impulsive and childish mind.”
“······.”
I lost the player.
I was about to say that this is probably your delusion, that you’re still young.
“I like you, investor. At first, I thought it was admiration, but it became clear over time. I don’t admire you. I don’t want to look up to you. I want to be with you, holding your hand and looking into your eyes.”
“······No, this. This is absurd, you brat.”
Bang, bang.
Ignoring the sound of something falling next to me, I met Tay’s eyes.
Holding hands, as she wished.
Do I see Tay as a child?
To some extent, it’s true.
When I see Tay, I still think of the little girl I met for the first time.
Tay hasn’t changed a bit since then.
Even though she has a lot of wealth, a high position, and a bigger body.
She hasn’t changed a bit in terms of being sincere about magic stone carving, keeping her faith, and cherishing her colleagues.
I can feel Tay’s sincerity.
Tay’s sense of trust flows in along the light of the extreme.
I stroked Tay’s cute head and said.
“Tay. As you said, I still see you as a child. I’ve never thought of you as a potential partner.”
“Yes······. Then, after all······.”
“So marriage is too early. Shouldn’t we take the steps before that?”
“······!”
I haven’t even tried to see Tay as a potential partner yet.
So it’s not right to skip all the steps.
Shouldn’t we start from the beginning, from the stage of getting to know each other?
Of course, it feels a little guilty to be in a relationship when I already have engaged wives······.
Tay doesn’t know me well yet.
I can’t say that I know Tay completely either.
Maybe I’ll give up because I can’t overcome the prejudice of my wives.
I may never be able to look at Tay as a potential partner.
But if.
If, after getting to know each other deeply, Tay’s heart is still the same and my heart moves······.
I think I can’t help it then.
“Hoohohoho······. Okay······. It’s kind of refreshing.”
Tay, who smiled with satisfaction, hugged my neck and rubbed her cheek on my beard.
Somehow······.
I ended up with a 19-year-old girlfriend when I already had four wives.
“So? You didn’t go all the way to Basel to pick up a dwarf who just became an adult. What are you going to do with the magic stone you brought from Basel?”
“I, it’s very pure······ and the arrangement structure allows it to withstand high-level magic on its own······. U, uhh. I have to make a magic stone like this······ to be able to date Eugene······.”
We’re clearly talking about work.
But I keep feeling an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Jill and Julia peek at me with sharp faces, examining the magic stone.
It seems that they are suppressing their dissatisfaction as much as possible because the auction is less than three days away.
However, Yerina couldn’t hold back and said, puffing out her tail.
“So did you? Or did you not?”
“······Cough!”
Jill, who was drinking tea, sprayed it out in surprise.
Definitely.
It’s understandable to be curious.
I met Yerina’s eyes, who was growling and twisting my collar.
“I didn’t. Who starts doing that from the beginning of a relationship? I’m more conservative than you think.”
“Hmph······. That’s a relief. Okay. Let’s start the meeting now.”
“Is that it?”
“Why? Do you want me to dig deeper? No. I know it’s useless and meaningless even if I do. You’re definitely a womanizer, but you’re not trash. That dwarf is also trying to take responsibility for what she’s done so far, right? It’s not just because she’s young and pretty.”
“······.”
Jill and Julia suddenly bowed their heads and looked sullen.
It seems that they really thought I was hitting on Tay just because she was young and pretty.”You’re loyal to us, so you wouldn’t meet a new woman, right? That’s good. We all know that Yujin doesn’t treat women lightly.”
“Uh, yes! That’s right. Yes.”
“Of, of course······ I······ I thought so······.”
Nodding their heads vigorously, Jill and Julia agreed.
Really······?
It seems like the two of them still can’t keep up with Yurina’s cool personality.
“Actually, I don’t think this is the end. There’s more, isn’t there? You wag your tail everywhere you go. Is there another one?”
“What······.”
“At this rate, it won’t be three wives and four concubines, but four wives and three concubines.”
Yurina’s sharp eyes narrowed and she smiled slightly.
That smile pierced my heart and seemed to freeze it.
This guy, has he now reached the point where he can make people shudder with just a smile?
“One thing I’m really curious about is, is my precious little sister, Alicia, among the candidates-“
“Okay. There’s not much time left. We don’t have time for small talk. We need to hurry up and formulate a plan with a heavy sense of responsibility to prevent the destruction of the present world.”
Now that I think about it, this wasn’t the time for this.