[INDEF. HIATUS] Regrets and Wishes: One More Chance

Chapter 9 - The Blacksmith

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第9章　鍛冶職人

(Rimuru's Perspective)

I can feel a gentle warmth surrounding me, a refreshing breeze blowing through my body. When I open my eyes, lies a world so bright and colourful in front of me. I tilt my body and then turn my head around to see what is going.

The sun has risen, revealing itself to the world on the eastern horizon, shining with a dazzling beam on the cloudless morning sky. The shadow of the tree where I've been leaning protects me from being directly hit by the sunbeam.

Rather than "me", it is "us". At my side is a beautiful girl. I know that her face is exactly the same as mine, and yet for some reason, I always think that she is more beautiful than me. Her head is resting on my shoulder. She's still closing her eyes with a peaceful face.

"Ciel-san..." I whisper while carefully shaking her body as not to surprise her (or so I was worried about).

She gradually opens her eyes and raises her head. She rubs her eyes then looks at me.

"Good morning, Ciel-san," I greet her, smiling.

"Oh, Master." Her face still looks sleepy. "Good morning."

"Let's get ready to Dwargon." I stand up, offering my hand to her.

She stares at my hand for a moment, then at my face, then back at my hand. "Yes, Master," she finally says, taking my hand then standing up.

Two sounds of yawn are heard. The sources are Ranga and Fuuga who just woke up. "Oh, my masters." Ranga gets up and stretches his body. "Is it time?"

"Are we going now?" asks Fuuga.

"Ah, yes," I answer. "But I'm sorry. For now, please you stay inside our shadow, okay?"

Fuuga seems disappointed and worried, so does Ranga.

"Are you sure, my lord?" Fuuga states his concern.

"What if some foolish creatures try to mess with my lord and my lady?" adds Ranga.

"It is fine, Fuuga, Ranga." This time, it is Ciel-san who answers their concern. "We alone are enough. Do you forget how strong your masters are?"

"Moreover," I add, "we don't want to draw too much attention by bringing rare monsters."

"I-if you say so, then as you wish." Fuuga reluctantly jumps into Ciel-san's shadow, then Ranga jumps into mine.

I look down at the foot of Canaats from this clifftop and focus my [Universal Perception].

Hm, hmm....

It looks like people lining up in the entryway there aren't too many in number—below thirty people. Well, the sun has just risen, after all. If we don't want to wait for too long, we gotta get going now before more and more people gather.

"The queue line hasn't been too crowded, it seems," I remark. "We should be able to enter easily without too much problem. Let's go."

"Yes, Master."

I hold Ciel-san's hand. Together, we immerse ourselves to the shadow of this tree that has been sheltering us, finding for a way out somewhere. We pop ourselves out of the shadow behind a tree standing on the last line of woods before the grasslands.

We are not officially registered as adventurers, so I doubt I will be allowed to carry a sword. Thus, I store my sword inside [Imaginary Space]. We walk into the line and wait within the queue until it is our turn to enter. We have to line up one by one, sadly, so we cannot stand side-by-side. I am the one in front, Ciel-san is behind me.