Page 148

(Aurevia Bratio Ilf / Barella)

-Zone 1, Underground 11th floor, a room built with stone slabs-

I sat behind Walson, watching him busy at work.

With two people missing, it became somewhat quiet... It's funny, during the first six years at the academy, I was used to being alone. Although I don't feel lonely now, it's just a bit uncomfortable with two fewer people around.

Melon and Grace went to the Palm Jungle, and I was left here, keeping Walson company... It's probably the best choice since I can't travel as fast as Grace and the others.

Ah! Don't get me wrong, I don't feel any discontent... In fact, I'm happy to be alone with Walson.

"Hey, Walson," I said to Walson, who was assembling something.

Even though we are technically being confined, he can calmly make things to pass the time. He's so composed even in this kind of situation huh?

That's... so cool! Ah, stop it, don't act like a fan girl.

"Yeah?" Walson looked up at me while working on his creation.

"What are you going to do about the matter with Derisha?" Even though I enjoy being alone with him, I can't show it on the surface.

...But... Derisha really took a step forward, huh... Before, she used to silently stare at Walson with ambiguous feelings in her eyes. I thought it might be just my imagination, but I didn't expect her to act this forward...

Ah—I wonder when I can truly let Walson know my feelings... But saying outright "I like you" is a bit...

"That matter is also giving me a headache... To give me something with such significance, she should have clarified its purpose first, sheesh, the misunderstanding she left behind is quite a hassle." Walson lowered his head, turning the wrench in his hand, working on a mechanism I couldn't understand.

"..."

Walson, I think... that girl must have given it to you while knowing what it meant... I can't help but sympathize with Derisha; it's quite unlucky of her to fall in love with a guy this clueless...

I'm the same, though...

"For now, we can only wait for them to contact Derisha or the royal family. If they don't acknowledge that Derisha is the one who gave it to you, it will be troublesome," I said.

That step is really the worst-case scenario. If those soldiers don't contact Derisha but instead reach out to the royal family, and if they see Walson as a thief stealing from the royal treasury, he'll undoubtedly be detained or even sentenced.

...If that happens, we'll have no choice but to use force to break free. But that would make us fugitives, right? If that were to happen, the days ahead won't be as peaceful as before.

Well, as long as I'm with Walson, I'm fine with anything though.

"How will you escape? Your weapons were all taken away, right?" Walson glanced at me.

Everyone who comes to this level has to hand over their weapons to them. Well, I don't really mind.

"I can just summon those equipment over," I shrugged.

With the skill [Elvenisation], which increases the synchronization rate between me and my equipment, and after a unique repetition of [Elvenisation], I gained the skill [Equipment Calling], which allows me to summon the equipment at will. Confiscating them is just a meaningless act.

"[Leg of Chicken, come forth]." As I said that, I summoned a chicken leg into my hand. This chicken leg was a memento from a previous experiment. Since it has sentimental value, I didn't destroy it and kept it in my weapon bag.

"...That's right. Oh, by the way, this is for you," Walson fell silent for a few seconds, put away the item at hand, and then took out a strange stick-like object.

"What is this?" I walked up to Walson.

"This is a folding fan. I thought you could use it when you say things like 'I'm a noble lady' and laugh or something."

Walson opened and waved the object called "folding fan," displaying its elegant arc in front of me.

Speaking of which... What was I doing yesterday when I entered the city...!!! Seeing Walson being looked down upon, I couldn't help myself...

"Hehehe." Walson raised an eyebrow, lifted the folding fan to cover half of his face, and let out a strange smirk that looked like he was asking for trouble.

"Why are you smiling weirdly like that?"

"Don't you always smile like this?" Walson waved the folding fan back to its original form and placed it in my hand.

"What!? No I'm not!"

Well, leaving aside this strange action, the fan's surface has the symbol of my previously designed [Dog House]... The design is simple, plain yet elegant, and I quite like it.

I cherished it and kept it in my [Waist Pouch]. Soon, Walson called me again.

"Wait, come here now, let me measure your size." Walson pulled out a blue tape measure.

Hearing that, I obediently went closer.

"Measure my size? Do you need it to make equipment?" I accidentally got excited. Not because of the equipment, but because if we're measuring size, then, that means... we'll have very close contact, right?

We didn't measure my size when making my weapon before... What a pity...

"Ah, right, the things we are making this time are different from before. The parts are quite delicate, so I need to measure your shoulder width, arm length, and... bust size..." Walson seemed to realize the implications of measuring sizes, and his cheeks turned red.

He's embarrassed, right? So cute... Ah, stop it, no fangirling allowed.

...Ah—In the end, Walson asked me to measure the bust size myself, well, that's okay too.

"Hey, how does it look?" I bent down to try to see Walson's expression clearly.

"How does what look?" Walson frowned, copying down measurements in his notebook, and his cheeks still had a tinge of red.

"My bust size, what do you think?" I know you often secretly glance at it, Walson.

"Ah!" Hearing that, Walson seemed caught off guard.

"Hehehehe..." I casually waved the folding fan that Walson had just given me, imitating his earlier actions and laughed.

"I'm telling you, you are a girl, stop teasing me all the time! What if I lose control of myself and launch myself to you?!"

"Do you have the guts for that?" I raised an eyebrow, using reverse psychology.

Just as we were playing around, there was a knock on the door. A fully armored soldier walked in and interrupted us with a serious tone.

The atmosphere was ruined...

"Walson! Our commander wants to see you, come with me!" The tone made me clench my fists, they all had assumed that Walson is a criminal.

But being in their base, there was no way for us to refuse.

Walson shrugged, glanced at me, and walked towards the door. Naturally, I wanted to follow, but I was stopped by another guard who appeared afterward.

"Miss Ovilia , we have another commander who wants to see you. Please come with me."