We proceeded to have lunch and trained again in the afternoon: it was a rather active day.
Because the previous day was so busy, I decided to take a rest the next day.
Everyone had free time in the morning, then we gathered at noon to have lunch together.
I used the opportunity to talk to everyone about the trip to the elf village.
âAbout the scheduled visit to the elf village, Ephyr has recovered completely, and Lyla and the others have taught her the basics of self-defense. Iâm thinking we could leave as early as tomorrow. Itâs going to be me, Finne, Iris, Ephyr, Asha, Suzuno, Tendo, Mogami, Asakura, and Shinonome. Tendoâs group still needs training, so I plan to take care of that as we goâŠdoes anyone have any questions?â
âItâs not a problem to train as we go, or rather, Iâm thankful for that, but weâre leaving tomorrow. Isnât it pretty sudden?â
Tendo asked the question, and I nodded in response.
âWell, I did plan to leave in a few days. We wonât need a lot of time to prepare, but more than anything else, Ephyr probably wants to see the state of the village as soon as possible, I thought.â
I turned towards Ephyr, who thanked me and bowed.
âDonât mention it. Iâm interested in it tooâŠso anyway, Iâll go report about it to Dillan later. Thereâs only one thing that bothers me.â
âWhatâs that?â
âWell, about taking care of the residence.â
I answered Finneâs question, then looked at the servants. The reason why I bought Ephyr in the first place was that the residence was too large for Asha, Lyla, Mia, and Sebas to take care of on their own. If I took Asha and Ephyr with me, the problem would return, worse than before.
I was considering such things when Sebas bowed his head to me.
âI believe we three will be able to maintain the residence without trouble, milord. Please do not concern yourself with that.â
âThat is correct, please leave it to us.â
âThere is nothing to worry about, milord!â
Lyla and Mia seemed to agree with Sebas.
âIf you say that, Sebas, then I believe you. Iâll inform Dillan about it just in case, so if you need any manpower just let the royal palace know.â
âVery well, milord. I am deeply thankful for your kindness.â
Sebas used to be Dillanâs butler, which probably made it easier for them to communicateâŠitâs highly likely he applied to my job offer because Dillan asked him to, after all.
Well, if anything happens I can just teleport back, anyway.
â wait.
I just noticed something very importantâŠ
âIs anything wrong?â
Finne noticed my expression and asked about it.
âI was just thinking about how we could communicateâŠâ
Even if âanything happenedâ, I could not do anything if I didnât know about it.
âCanât we just use letters? There are magic tools for communication, at least in the royal palace.â
Iris proposed a solution, but letters would be too slowâŠwaitâŠ
âIris, what did you just say?â
âEh? I said that we could use letters.â
âNo, after that.â
âAbout the communication magic tools? I know that theyâre used to communicate with other countries, but thereâs only one per country and only kings can use it.â
So thatâs how they held the meeting about my promotionâŠbut that wasnât relevant right now.
If such magic tools existed in this world, I could probably create them too, thanks to the skill âMagic Engineeringâ.
I immediately tried activating the skill.
Just like that, the ingredients needed to craft the communication magic tools appeared in my head.
Good, looks like I can make it with what I have in my dimensional storage.
âThereâs only one per country, huhâŠI guess we should make ours, then.â
âThatâs easy to say, butâŠcan you do that?â
âWait and see.â
I clapped my hands and started talking again.
ââŠhere we are, ladies and gentlemen! Todayâs magic engineering lesson consists of the creation of communication magic tools!â
ââŠwho are you talking to?â
I put up a bit of a show, talking to an imaginary audience, and Iris looked at me with suspicion. Finne, Ephyr, and the other denizens of this world seemed confused as well.
Tendo and the others laughed, at least.
âOur first ingredient is this Magic Mineral.â
I then took out the mineral from my dimensional storage. It was the same item I had used to craft my Black Katana.
âHeavens, I have never seen a mineral infused with so much magic powerâŠâ
That figures, Sebas. I didnât dig this from a mine, but made it myself, after all.
The next item I extracted from my dimensional storage was Mithril.
âWe shall now add a small dose of MithrilâŠâ
âM-mithrilâŠ? Such quantity could be worth more than one million GouldâŠI wonder when and where he dug it outâŠâ
Finne, Iâve been doing that quite a bit when we camped outside, actually.
âA gemstone decoration would fit quite nicely as well.â
âIs that a Skyhigh? Even nobles would have a hard time getting their hands on oneâŠâ
So whispered Asha, while looking at the gem in my hands.
Oh, I didnât know that. A bunch of them popped up while I dug for minerals, so I think I still have a decent amountâŠ
ââŠand voila! All our ingredients are at the ready! Add a touch of Molding and presto, Mithril becomes a fanciful necklace. Make sure you create the spaces to fit the mineral and gemstone.â
As I spoke, a deep red thunderbolt changed the shape of the Mithril.
âWe shall now process the mineral. It is all quite simple, you merely need to engrave a magic formula with the Molding skillâŠâ
âS-simple, he saysâŠyou need to have materials with enough capacity to withstand the necessary magic power, and itâs difficult to have enough skill to create the magic formula and magic power to actually transfer itâŠthatâs why there are only one of those magic tools per countryâŠâ
Iris was dumbfounded. So that was the reason behind their scarcity.
âLastly, we will place the gemstone in the necklace, and our communication magic tool is complete! It was almost too easy, wasnât it?â
Despite my words, all the spectators shook their heads in response.
~
I then repeated the same steps and created another communicator, which I gave to Sebas.
âOkay then Sebas, Iâll entrust this with you. Make sure you or another servant always keeps it with them.â
âVery well, milordâŠthough I must admit it makes me quite tense to carry something so precious.â
Sebas laughed wryly.
Well, there was only one of those magic tools in a whole country, so I could understand how he feltâŠmost people wouldnât even be able to see one in their lifetimes, let alone carry it. I should check how you use them, now that I think about it.
I looked at the magic tool in my hands and used God Eye to analyze it.
NAME: Guardian Stone of Magic Communication
RARITY: Phantasm
NOTES: Communication magic tool made by Haruto.
Infusing it with magic power makes it possible to communicate over a long distance, through the magic power in the air.
Er, Phantasm grade? For real?
The result was pretty unexpected, so I looked at everyone elseâs reactions.
Tendoâs group probably used Appraisal too, as their faces were rather tense.
No wonder, I was pretty shocked myself.
I kept that for myself, however, and explained how to use it instead.
âLooks like itâs easy to use. Infuse it with magic power and talk: your voice will then be delivered to the other person. It lights up when someone is talking, so you just need to pour magic power then and youâll hear their voice. It can be used anywhere, as long as there is magic power in the airâŠitâs Phantasm grade, by the way.â
I mumbled the last bit of information, but Sebas, Lyla, and Mia picked it up and reacted with surprise.
âPhantasm!? Itâs really so high!?â
âLooks like it. Donât lose it, okay?â
I meant it as a joke, but Lyla and Mia nodded fervently â though they looked a little pale â and Sebas earnestly bowed, while calmly saying âCertainly, milordâ.
~
â â time to go visit Dillan, then.â
After a thorough explanation of the communicators, we decided to go to the royal palace to see Dillan.
âYes, letâs go. We should also buy clothes and foodstuffs too.â
I nodded to Finneâs proposal.
âYeah, letâs make sure we have plenty of anything necessary for the journey.â
We thus headed towards the royal palace, leaving Sebas, Lyla, and Mia to take care of the residence.
We were shown to the guest room as soon as we arrived: soon enough, Dillan and Amalia joined us. The king looked quite exhausted, however.
âIâm sorry for making you wait, everyone. I finished my duties for the day just nowâŠâ
âHehe, you heard that Haruto and Iris were coming and hurried up, didnât you darling?â
âY-you didnât need to say that!â
Dillan blushed because of Amaliaâs comment. As lovey-dovey as usual, these two.
âYou donât have to apologize, we came without notice, after allâŠwe wanted to inform you that we will leave tomorrow.â
Dillan seemed perplexed by my words.
âYou will leave? Oh, to go to the elf village you talked about last time?â
âYes, we plan to depart from the capital tomorrow.â
âYou did say you would leave in a few days, but itâs really suddenâŠoh? I believe I have never seen this young ladyâŠâ
Dillan noticed Ephyrâs presence and looked at her intently.
âSheâs Ephyr, the elf princess I told you about.â
âP-pleased to meet you, sire.â
âThe pleasure is mine, oâ elf princess.â
âNice to meet you, Ephyr dear.â
Ephyr, Dillan, and Amalia exchanged greetings, the royal couple smiling warmly.
Dillan then turned towards me.
âWith your strength, I am sure everything will be fine, but please take good care of Iris.â
âYes, leave it to me. I will crush anyone that even tries to lay a finger on Iris. No matter what country theyâre from.â
Dillan and Amalia reacted with a slightly stiff smile, then looked at Iris.
âBe careful dear. If anything happens, rely on Haruto.â
âI know! Thereâs no place safer in this world than being with Haruto, anyway!â
Dillan nodded, then Amalia gently admonished her daughter.
âEven if thatâs true, you must protect yourself on your own. Haruto, please train Iris a bit too, okay?â
âVery well, letâs seeâŠIâll make sure she can easily defeat a dragon or two, at least.â
âI-Isnât that a bit too muchâŠ?â
Dillan, Amalia, and Iris replied to my plan in perfect unison.
~
After leaving the castle, we headed for the cityâs main avenue, to buy food, clothes, and other necessities for the journey.
Even in this world, ladies tended to take a lot of time to do their shopping. It took at least three times the time we spent buying foodâŠ
Towards the end, Tendo, Mogami, and I were pretty exhausted.
The shopping eventually ended, and we returned to the residence with a massive amount of bags.
âWhat do we even do with all this stuffâŠ?â
We gathered the bags in the entrance hall and Tendo commented about the size of the pile.
âRightâŠwe can use my dimensional storage for the luggage, but the horse carriage is the real problem.â
Finne seemed to realize the issue as well.
âOh, thatâs true, we wonât fit in the carriage we used last timeâŠshould we buy another one?â
Our expedition party to the elf village was composed of me, Finne, iris, Asha, Ephyr, Suzuno, Tendo, Mogami, Asakura, and Shinonome â 10 people in total.
âItâs a pain to use two-horse carriages, thoughâŠI guess Iâll use my powers.â
âWhat powers, Haruto?â
Tendo looked at me, puzzled.
âYouâll see. Come with me, everybody.â
I then headed towards the residenceâs rear garden.
When we arrived, I took my carriage out of the dimensional storage and opened the doors.
âAs you can see, there is no way for 10 people to fit insideâŠbut now, Harutoâs carpentering class will begin!!â
My sudden declaration was met with general stupor.
âWeâre going to make a door today! To do that, we will need materials you can find in any householdâŠwood and iron! Let us begin by cutting the wood.â
I took out wood from my dimensional storage, flung it in the air, and sliced it with my trusted katana.
âJust like that.â
âJust like what!?â
ââŠnext, the iron.â
âDonât ignore me, man!!â
Tendo was apparently saying something, but I ignored him and moved on.
âWe will use Molding to shape the iron in screws, nails, and knobs. Whatâs left is just putting it all together.â
I then started combining the door parts. The result was going to be a bit drab, so I also added some decorations.
Soon enough, the thin wooden door was complete.
âVoila! How marvelous, that unassuming wood and iron turned into a quite fine door specimen! I encourage you to make your own, dear viewers! Tune in again for Harutoâs next carpentry lesson!â
Not that I had any plans to hold it, though.
Suzuno, who had stayed quiet the whole time, finally opened her mouth.
âIt was all over so fast, Iâm not sure I know what happenedâŠâ
âOh no Suzuno, now you can easily do it by yourself.â
âNo way!!â
Yeah, I actually agreed with her.
âThe door is ready, so we should go ahead and attach it to the carriage.â
I then climbed on the carriage and attached the door to the nearest wall.
It was still a door-shaped decoration at the moment, so I infused it with a large quantity of magic power.
I continued my activating Time-Space magic and connected the door to the subspace I had created when I went with Finne to defeat the mutant wyvern.
I opened the door to check, and indeed it did not show the carriage cabin wall anymore, but a misty black void.
âW-whatâs that?â
Judging from her tone, Iris seemed a bit frightened, but Finne eased her fears.
âItâs the portal to the subspaceâŠam I right, Sir Haruto?â
âVery right, Finne.â
I nodded, then Tendo asked the next question.
âSubspace? Whatâs that?â
âA kind of parallel world I made. I created it some time before, now I just connected this door to it. I was thinking that those who donât fit inside the carriage can stay in here while we travel.â
I considered creating a new subspace but then decided to save time and magic power by using the existing one.
âIâll take a look inside, please wait.â
I then went through the door.
I found the same space as last time, with the house too, exactly as I left it.
âItâs a bit small for 10 people, though. Letâs add a few roomsâŠâ
So I mumbled to myself, then expanded the rooms.
I increased the size of the dining room, added tables and chairs, created new bedroomsâŠ
I was already used to the work from last time, so it was all over in a matter of minutes.
I returned through the door and found everyone looking at me with anticipation.
On behalf of the group, Finne spoke up.
âHow was it inside?â
âItâs even more comfortable than before, youâll see.â
âYuki, come on, show us!â
âYeah, I want to see too!â
âMe too.â
Mogami, Asakura, and Shinonome seemed especially excited, butâŠ
âNo can do.â
âCome ooonâŠ.â
Everyone groaned with disappointment at my refusal.
âThey say to keep fun for last, right? Letâs rest today, so weâll be ready for the journey.â
The group nodded, begrudgingly.
Oh yeah, I should feed Maguro before I go back inside the residence.
I created a door into the subspace in the garden and called inside.
âMaguro, are you there? Chow time!â
My faithful partner responded to my call and his head poked out of the portal.
âGood boy, good boyâŠweâll be counting on you from tomorrow.â
âWhiiine!â
I had the feeling Maguroâs whine expressed a confident âleave it all to me!â
I rubbed Maguroâs mane as he happily munched on his carrots, then Suzuno timidly asked me a question.
âEr, Haruto? Is MaguroâŠâ
âHm? Yeah, itâs this guyâs name.â
I replied flatly, then heard the Hero group start whispering among themselves. I heard you say that my naming skills suck, Mogami!
Iris, Asha, and Ephyr seemed perplexed by the reaction of Tendoâs group. On the other hand, Finne knew that âMaguroâ was the name of a fish, so she smiled wryly.
â theyâre a ragtag group, but I am looking forward to the journey, honestly.
So I thought as I indulged in playing with Maguro a while longer.