Chapter 12 - The Crafting Expert
Several days had passed since I began learning spirit magic from Alfred-sensei. By now, I had become quite proficient in using the light spell.
Right now, light was flickering repeatedly on my palm.
“Rapid-fire light spell!”
“Stop that, Ridil-kun. It's bad for your eyes. Still, being able to make the light flicker like that… You’re quite skilled.”
“Really? I’m sure Alfred-sensei will be able to do this in no time.”
“Hmm, even if that’s true, I don’t see much of a use for it.”
Alfred-sensei gave a wry smile. He probably never expected to encounter a child who would play around with magic.
But, I mean, it's just too fun not to play around. Honestly, I’d argue—what’s the point of magic if you can’t have a little fun with it? It’s so entertaining.
“I can also change the color of the light. Look.”
“Red, blue, yellow… Ridil-kun, you’re really quite talented. Though whether it’s useful or not is a different question.”
That doesn’t really matter. I’m just experimenting because using spirit magic is fun.
Even so, I’ve only been using the spirit magic that Alfred-sensei has taught me.
It seems like, with enough imagination, I could use all kinds of magic. But it was a promise with my teacher—I wouldn’t use spirit magic without his permission.
Apparently, Alfred-sensei sees it as dangerous that I could use the light spell after just one try. I wish I could use more spirit magic, though.
“Alfred-sensei, I’d like to try using something other than the light spell soon!”
“Let’s see… Something safe, and something Ridil-kun can play with…"
Alfred-sensei placed his hand on his chin and started thinking seriously. I don’t think it’s something to worry about that much. I mean, I have common sense, you know? I’m not going to recklessly play with fire or anything.
Though, fireworks with fire magic could be fun. If we set off fireworks, the people in the town of Northwest would enjoy it too.
Speaking of which, we’ve been trying to build some cultural facilities in Northwest, but we don’t have enough manpower.
The people in town go straight to the fields and straight back again. Even if we want to build something new in the town, we don’t have any skilled carpenters. Apparently, if we want to construct buildings, we need to go to the neighboring town.
The neighboring town is about half a day’s walk away. I heard it’s one of the towns under the Count’s domain. From what I’ve gathered, most of the merchants visiting Northwest come from there. Though, I’ve only seen a handful of merchants here so far.
And apparently, they don’t come every day. Life on the frontier can be tough. I wish we could at least have daily visits.
But there’s no special product that Northwest can offer yet. The World Tree hasn’t grown much at all. I wonder when it will finally bear fruit.
“Ridil-oji! Y-you have a visitor!”
“Huh? For me?”
I can’t think of anyone who would come all the way out here to visit me. Though, there is one person who might… but I didn’t think they’d have the time to come all the way to such a remote place.
“In any case, please come quickly!”
“Got it. Alfred-sensei, I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll come with you. After all, I’m also your bodyguard.”
With Feroll and the others, the four of us headed to the mansion’s entrance. There, stood a short man.
Whoa. He’s not much taller than I am. But his body, it’s built like a log—thick and stocky. And he’s covered in hair. Could it be…
“Oh, so you’re Ridil, huh? My name’s Dennis. Dennis Morozov. As you can see, I’m a dwarf. Nice to meet you!”
“I’m Ridil. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Um, were you called here by the World Tree?”
“Huh? Haven’t you heard? I’ve been summoned here to be your bodyguard, kid.”
Wait, I have more than one bodyguard? It seems the World Tree is overly protective of me. I couldn’t help but exchange glances with Alfred-sensei.
“Of course, I’ve heard. This is Alfred-sensei, my spirit magic teacher and also one of my bodyguards.”
“Alfred Inhas. As Ridil-kun’s fellow bodyguard, I look forward to working with you.”
“Ugh, an elf, huh? Well, whatever. Nice to meet you.”
Dennis looked displeased for just a moment but quickly returned to his usual expression. Elves don’t seem to have anything against dwarves, but maybe it’s different from the dwarves’ perspective.
“Dennis-san, do you dislike elves?”
“It’s not that I hate them, it’s just… aren’t they always nagging? Telling us to keep things clean and tidy?”
“Well, you should keep things clean. Being unsanitary can lead to sickness, you know.”
“No worries. Dwarves don’t get sick!”
Dennis gave a wide grin. Is that like saying fools don’t catch colds? Or is his body really as sturdy as it looks? I’ll need to study not only elven biology but dwarven biology as well.
“Alfred-sensei told me that dwarves are great craftsmen. Dennis, can you make all sorts of things too?”
“Of course! I’m a crafting expert, you know. I’m famous even among dwarves. Didn’t you know that?”
“I didn’t. Well then, I’ll call you ‘Dennis-oyakata’ from now on.”
“Oyakata, huh? I like the sound of that, kid. You’ve got good taste.”
Dennis-oyakata flashed a bright grin. He’s a tough one to dislike. If the World Tree called him as my bodyguard, he must be quite skilled in combat. And on top of that, he’s also a master craftsman.
He’s exactly the kind of person I’ve been wishing for. With him, we might be able to develop the town of Northwest.
Maybe the World Tree foresaw this and called Dennis-oyakata here to help us out.
I hope the dwarf will learn to clean himself
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