SHC37_Chapter 37: The Spirit of a Craftsperson (?)

Chapter 37: The Spirit of a Craftsperson (?)

 

Apparently, children in this world can split the ground open with a wooden sword.

… Yeah, no. There’s no way that’s normal.

I really wanted to shout, “That’s impossible!” but even Genzo-san, who saw it happen with his own eyes, and Utsunomiya-san, who casually explained it afterward, didn’t seem particularly surprised. In fact, their reactions were more like, “Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

Excuse me?? I can’t do that! Is that really just me being weak?

…Seriously?

Well, I suppose it makes sense. This is a world where magic is real and gods walk among us. Of course the power level would be ridiculous.

At this point, I think I should probably give up on teaching Regulus-kun swordsmanship myself and leave everything to Genzo-san.

As for me, I’ll focus on mastering the vegetable garden with Genzo-san and work hard on growing the most delicious napa cabbage possible.

By winter, I want us to be able to eat proper hot pot—maybe with chicken and cabbage or a pork belly and napa cabbage stew.

After lunch, between Regulus-kun’s nap and afternoon snack, it has become my little personal crafting time.

For some reason, he always naps in my bed lately. While he’s dozing off beside me, I’ve taken to folding pieces of fine silk into triangles and gluing them onto little disks to try making hairpins.

Tsumami zaiku—a traditional Japanese folded fabric crafts—has two main petal types: round petals and pointed petals. You fold the fabric into triangles and glue it down, and then depending on how you shape it—either spreading the fabric or not—it becomes a round or pointed petal.

For the base, you can cover a fabric button with cloth, then attach the petals, and add some kind of center decoration to cover the middle. And that’s it—it’s done.

I made two this time.

A red plum blossom hairpin for me, and a white one for Regulus-kun, whose bangs have been growing longer lately.

Thanks to my [Blue Hands] and [Transcendent Craftsmanship] skills, I’m apparently working a lot faster now. I managed to finish both pins before Regulus-kun woke up.

Then, morning arrived—the day Her Highness was scheduled to return.

Feeling cheerful, I sang as usual while holding Regulus-kun’s hand, and we made our way to the inner garden. There, brilliant peonies swayed gently in the sweet morning breeze.

“Good morning,” we both greeted together.

As if responding, the largest flower swayed deeply and shimmered in the light.

“Mm, it has been a while. You’re well, I trust?”

“Yes, thanks to your blessings.”

“Ray… I’m good too!”

Wearing a divine dress that could’ve easily been called “karaginu” in my past life, Her Highness held a fan covered in fine silk and stood gracefully before us, fragrant with floral perfume. Regulus and I knelt together.

Just then, the white plum blossom hairpin I’d made for him bobbed up and down atop his head.

“Hoh… Looks like this chick’s head has something rather amusing going on.”

“Nii-ni made it for me~!”

Regulus suddenly dropped his polite speech, and I flinched. But Her Highness didn’t seem to mind at all. Instead, she held out her hand.

“Let me see it.”

Regulus obediently removed the hairpin but frowned with eyebrows bent into an exaggerated sad shape.

“That’s Ray’s…”

“I know. I only want to see it.”

“Okay… I mean… yes.”

He corrected himself so adorably that I couldn’t help but smile.

But that soft moment was short-lived. Her Highness’s eyes sparkled sharply.

Oh no. I knew that look.

Sure enough, she held out her hand toward me, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I don’t intend to take it from the chick. Instead… here.”

“Here… what?”

“I’ll accept one, so go on—hand it over.”

The tone left no room for argument.

But I shook my head with solemn refusal.

Because that one was just a prototype. I couldn’t possibly hand over something that careless.

Her Highness’s elegant brows twitched slightly.

“…You would deny me, even though I said I’d accept it?”

The garden seemed to darken, and Regulus-kun clung to the hem of my shirt.

But even so—I had my pride as a craftsperson. I couldn’t back down.

“Your Highness, I would be honored to give you something I made… but this piece was just a trial. I made it with a casual attitude—like, ‘eh, it’s okay if the glue spills a little.’ I couldn’t in good conscience offer such a thing.”

“Hmm…”

“If Your Highness truly desires one, I would be happy to create something worthy. I’ll think of a design that suits you, choose the finest materials, and pour every bit of skill I have into it. That’s why I must ask you not to accept a prototype. Giving you something half-baked would be an embarrassment—not just to me personally, but to me as a creator.”

I said it plainly. Her Highness gave a firm nod.

With that, the gloomy clouds faded from the garden, and clear blue skies returned.

Her Highness was never unreasonable.

“Now that you mention it… yes, you’re right. Forgive me. One who bears [Blue Hands] and [Transcendent Craftsmanship] would indeed have pride in their work. To present something shoddy would bring shame to your title. And if the recipient is a divine being such as myself, it’s only natural that you’d want to offer your best.”

“There’s no need to ask for forgiveness. I already know that Your Highness would never make an unreasonable demand.”

“Very well then. I hereby declare: I desire one of these tsumami zaiku you speak of.”

With that, she removed a long, thin cloth draped over her shoulders like a stole and placed it gently on her silk-covered fan.

Even from a distance, the fabric’s luster and color gradient—from white to blush pink to full pink and back again—told me this wasn’t any ordinary weave.

“This cloth was made by a lower-ranked weaving god for me. However, it’s fallen out of fashion in the heavens. I’ve held on to it because I liked it, but now I don’t know what to do with it. So I give it to you—use it to create tsumami zaiku that will suit me.”

“Wait—are you really sure it’s okay to cut something so beautiful!?”

“I don’t mind. As much as I like it, I must remain sensitive to changing trends. I am, after all, a flower even among the heavens.”

The delicate fabric fluttered from her fan into my hands on the breeze.

This just got serious.

Not that I ever planned to cut corners, but now I really had to give it my all.

“Feel free to use the leftover fabric for whatever you wish. You have my blessing to handle something touched by a god’s hands.”

“T-thank you very much…”

That’s… a really intense permission to receive.

But her mention of permission reminded me of something.

“Your Highness… there’s something I would like to request permission for…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

It was about the song transcription. Victor had asked me to write down a song from another world in musical notation.

I explained that he’d offered to teach the song and wanted to do this as a form of gratitude.

Her Highness’s elegant eyes softened with delight.

“I see. That too aligns with my desires. Very well. And I shall grant that elf a separate reward of my own.”

“Thank you. I humbly express my gratitude on his behalf.”

“Indeed. Work hard together with that Victor—for my sake.”

Her laugh was like the sound of bells, so beautiful it gave me chills. Just lifting her sleeve to her lips filled the garden with the scent of flowers.

I was still dazed by the fragrance when she suddenly opened her eyes wide, the smile vanishing from her face.

Her expression turned serious.

My breath caught in my throat.

“…Ah, I almost forgot. We must talk about your illness.”

“Y-yes.”

It must be what Lord Igor mentioned—“Soul Separation Syndrome.”

Her Highness must’ve sensed what I was thinking, because she gave a slow, solemn nod.

“So you’ve met Igor. I’ve heard he explained the basics…”

“He said my soul tends to detach from my body, and that it’s a spiritual rather than a physical illness, so it’s outside of his domain…”

“Exactly. Which is why I sought out someone more knowledgeable about souls.”

She paused meaningfully.

Even Regulus-kun, sensing something serious, let go of my shirt hem—only to grip it again, tighter this time.

“ Would you like the bad news first, or the good?”

“…Can I choose ‘good news only’?”

Her Highness blinked, clearly taken aback by my immediate reply.

 

Eun: 10th extra chapter for today. This was around 4 pages. 12 more chapters and we'll catch up to ep 9 of the anime >u<

Regulus is super adorbs~ Ageha as well, I really love the sibling affection they both have. It's gonna be funny though if Regulus become a bigger BRO-CON. 

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