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n✾

nStaring at the small jewel in my hand, and checking it carefully

nIf my hand moved a bit even a little it would be over.

n“I can’t let my four-day efforts go to waste.”

nI held the jewel more carefully than ever.

nSoon, the small tip of the knife like a needle which contained mana touched the surface of the jewel.

n‘Diamonds are hard, so I have to do this more delicately.’

nI moved my hand without blinking. I felt a slight scratch on the jewel, and quickly pulled the tip of the knife away, squeezing my trembling hand.

nThen, a faint light flashed from the jewel, and then disappeared in an instant.

n“…!”

nI jumped up from my seat, a scream almost leaked out of my lips.

nIn the meantime, I didn’t forget to pull myself away so as not to shake what was placed on the workbench.

n“Whoo! The fourth is also a success!”

nIt was only after I fell far from the workbench that I could stamp my feet to express this joy.

nFinally, I succeeded in the fourth sequence of creating my artifact that could distinguish a dark wizard.

n“Now, I just need to add one last thing.”

nOf course, there’s still the long-awaited last step left, but I’d do that tomorrow.

n“Today’s the end. Ugh, I can’t do this anymore.”

nIt’s best to do each step a day without being greedy and rush things. It takes at least two hours to engrave magic.

nI paused for a moment as I massage my stiff shoulder and walked to the sofa.

n“But I’m sure I’ve done it properly, well?”

nI thought I succeeded, but thinking about it the next day, I felt nervous thinking I might have failed by a slight difference.

n“Sigh… Let’s check one more time and rest.”

nI’m sure if I sit down now, I wouldn’t want to get up again.

nAs I approached the workbench again, I squinted and looked at every corner of the jewel, and carefully let out a weak mana.

nThen the faint light like before flashed and disappeared.

nIt was based on the fact that the magic was engraved properly.

n“Hah… This is really hard!”

nIt was only then that I could lay on the sofa wholeheartedly.

nIn addition to a little exaggeration, the sofa that was wide enough to be used as a bed supported my body stably.

nMy eyes, which had been looking at a small jewel for hours, complained of fatigue.

nI waved my hand and pulled the curtains from the lab window.

nThen the bright morning sun shone in.

n“…It’s already morning.”

nIt was dark and gloomy until I started working on it.

nRecalling the fact that I promised not to stay up all night with Aaron yesterday, I quietly closed the curtain again.

nIt’s because my conscience was lightly stabbed.

n‘…It’s not that I haven’t slept at all, it’s just that I slept in the morning.’

nAfter trying so hard to rationalize it, I decided to close my heavy eyelids for a while.

n“I’ll wake up later and go to the top…”

nThinking about today’s schedule, I fell into slumber.

n✿

nHaa~ A yawn burst out naturally at the touch of my head gently touching my head.

nWhile rubbing my eyes, I met Mary looking through the mirror.

n“Lady, you went to work again early in the morning.”

nMy body trembled noticeably at her words, with her eyes squinting at me.

n‘After work, come into the room and sleep there.’

nIt was bothersome to come to the room, so the price for sleeping in the lab was Mary’s nagging and disapproving eyes.

n“…I couldn’t sleep.”

nI smiled awkwardly and muttered as if I were protesting.

n“Even if you can’t sleep, it’s the same. You stayed in the lab until last night.”

nOf course, my excuse wouldn’t work for Mary, who’s looking in the mirror grumpily.

n‘…If Mary looked like that, I couldn’t ignore her stares anymore.’

nTruly, it was impossible for me to not be conscious of her gaze.

n“I slept a little longer, though…”

n“Lady, if you sleep during the day, you can only sleep lightly. I’m sure you woke up quickly.”

nI added it timidly, but I kept quiet at Mary’s logical words.

n‘Are you a ghost? How did you know?’

nOddly enough, I slept at most an hour or two when the sun was up. But I only slept for 30 minutes today.

n“I really had a good night’s sleep today, hmm? Mary.”

n“…Really?”

n“Yes, it’s true.”

nAt Mary’s suspicious gaze, I acted as innocently as possible and nodded.

n“Lady, it’s because you’re really workaholic.”

n“That’s not for me, but for my father and my brother.”

nThere was a crackling sound, but I swallowed it hard. If I said that now, I would almost certainly have been nagged for ten minutes.

nFortunately, Mary sighed without saying a word and finished fixing my hair.

nIn the mirror, I could see the hair tied up and twisted as I asked.

n“Okay, it’s done.”

n“Thank you for today, Mary.”

n“No… By the way, where are you going today?”

n“Umm. I have some things to buy, so I’m going to the plaza.” I calmly answered Mary’s question.

n‘Well I’m going to the top, so it’s not really a lie.’

nIn response to my reply, Mary, who brought my coat, opened her mouth with her worried face.

n“Isn’t it better to call the merchant here at home? Even though it’s March, it’s still chilly.”

n“Hey, it’s okay. I like to go out. The wind is not that cold, so don’t worry.”

nAt that, I shook my head.

nIf I call the person I’m going to meet over to my house, I’d be in trouble.

nWhat if anyone notices that Yurgen has a connection with me?

nIt’s like advertising that I’m related to the top of Lagras.

n‘Absolutely not, I can’t allow that.’

nI shook my head to shake off the terrible hypothesis.

nBesides, there’s a way that other people could never find out, so what am I going to risk it for?

n“Then, Mary, I’ll be back! If my father or brother finds me, tell them that I went to the square because I have something to buy.”

nAt my cheerful good-bye, Mary sighed and soon handed over my outerwear lightly.

n“But you can’t come home too late. It’s dangerous outside.”

nI smiled and nodded at Mary’s warm worries.

n“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

nIn fact, I wouldn’t be in danger unless I was at the level of my father or brother, but I didn’t add that of course.

n“Mary already knows but brother will be worried.”

nI waved at Mary and popped my finger.

nIn an instant, a white light burst out, covering my body, and Mary’s appearance turned blurry.

nIt was a familiar feeling…

nOnce I closed my eyes and opened them, a place with a completely different atmosphere from my room appeared.

n“It’s always the same here.”

nA clean room that doesn’t seem to tolerate even a grain of dust.

nOn the desk right in front of the window was a mountain of papers piled up.

nAnd between them, I saw a man with blue hair.

n“Yurgen, you still have mysophobia.”

nSneakily approaching him, I suddenly interrupted the blue-haired man who was processing the documents.

nHe slowly raised his head after hearing my voice.

nEven when he saw me appearing from the air, Yurgen did not show any signs of surprise. But I’m not the one to give in to him.

n“Ta-da! Surprise!”

nWhen I shouted in a bright voice, Yurgen’s forehead frowned.

n“…When you want to come, you should at least have told me first so I knew you were coming…And I don’t have mysophobia, I just like to organize.”

nThere was a deep sigh in his voice that followed.

nIgnoring Yurgen’s reaction, I sat on the soft sofa and shrugged.

n“I sent you a letter saying I’d visit.”

n“When?”

n“I just sent it to you before teleporting, so I think it’ll arrive soon.”

nAt the casual reply, Yurgen’s forehead wrinkled again.

nOh, my… Where did the old Yurgen who told me to come whenever I felt comfortable?

n‘The Young Yurgen was cute.’

nWith that thought in mind, I simply stared at him.

n“Stop frowning. I don’t know if you’ll get wrinkles later. Well, of course, Yurgen would still be handsome even if he had some wrinkles.”

n“…I don’t think I’m old enough to hear about wrinkles yet.”

nAt my playful words, he sighed and stood up. Yurgen approached the door past the sofa and gently opened the door, and instructed the staff outside to set up a refreshment table.

n“If you put the cart in front, I’ll take it.”

n“Okay, Yurgen. Do you need anything else?”

n“Oh, and tell them not to come in until I called.”

nYurgen thoroughly blocked the possibility of other people coming in.

nAfter all, everyone who works right in front of the upper room would be reliable people anyway.

nI was blown away by his thoroughness, which was surprising for years.

n“Well, I can understand Yurgen’s distrust of human beings.”

nI knew the reason why he had changed to such a person, so it wasn’t that strange.

n“So what brought you here?”

nYurgen, sitting opposite me, rubbed his eyes and asked me.

n“I came here for something.”

nMy response to that question was blunt.

n‘Well before he looked nervous, but he’s cute back then, when he was young.’

nI opened my mouth staring at Yurgen with a face full of dissatisfaction no matter who saw it.

n“Do you know how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other? It’s been like three months.”

n“Didn’t we keep exchanging letters? I remember that we often communicated with the crystal ball.”

nAt my blunt words, Yurgen replied in a soft voice.

n…Mary was the same, and so was Yurgen. There are so many people around me who have come to scold me.

n“In the past, you told me to come whenever I wanted to. People can’t say two things with one mouth.”

nYurgen, who looked at me as if there was no point in my remarks, finally burst out into laughter.

n“It’s strange that the Lord of the upper world said that.”

nI stared at Yurgen with my brows furrowed at his words.

n“Don’t call me the Lord of the upper world. You used to call me by my name, but why do you call me like that these days?”

nYurgen was one of the people I was most comfortable with. He was also the person I had the least to hide.

nI love my family, but there was a lot I couldn’t tell them.

nBut these days, he keeps acting awkward. It’s disappointing.

nAt my awkward question, Yurgen finally sighed and spit out my name.

n“…Erita.”

nThen I smiled with a satisfied face.

n“Yeah, that’s much better. The top owner feels a lot of pressure. And I don’t like it because it looks like we’re far apart.”

n“I’m sorry. You’re the only person who doesn’t like to be called the Lord of the upper world.”

nHe laughed in vain and leaned back on the sofa as if he had decided to stop talking useless words.

nYurgen’s face, which stretched out to relax posture, loosened a little more leisurely than before.

nWhen his stiff expression eased, his bare face was revealed full of tiredness.

n“Anyway, you seem like a Yurgen without tricks.”

nLooking through his face, I asked in a dissatisfied voice.

n“How long did you sleep this time?”

n“…A day.”

nI snorted at Yurgen’s answer.

n“You’re lying. I saw a pile of coffee cups piled up on the desk. I guess it’s been at least 3 days.”

n