The flames danced ceaselessly in the hearth, driving off every trace of the biting cold.
Outside the window, fat goose-feather snow drifted down, slowly painting the world pure white, while inside the room the fire kept it as warm as spring.
A single step apart, the worlds inside and outside the workshop could not have been more different.
In the sitting room beside the workshop.
A few rough-hewn, plainly made wooden cups in dwarven style sat on the table, curls of warm steam rising from them.
Laurier picked up her cup, blew on it carefully, and took a small sip. The scalding, spicy liquid slid down her throat, and her little face instantly scrunched up.
"Ngh... wh-what is this? It's so spicy!"
Tsubaki sat sprawled across the table from her, sword-and-all, and burst out laughing at that.
"Never had it before, huh? It's a kind of alcoholic drink dwarves love. Mm... don't worry, it's only about three percent. Even you elves can drink it just fine!"
As she spoke, she took a hearty swig of the "mystery drink," looking utterly unbothered.
"Tea and coffee are too bitter, plain water's boring, and I don't like adding sugar. So I just drink this stuff instead. It was a gift one of the other dwarven smiths in the Familia brought back from home, and as captain I couldn't very well throw their goodwill back in their face, so I reluctantly took it off their hands."
"When you head out, I'll send a few barrels along with you. There's no way I'm finishing it all on my own anyway."
Everyone: "..."
The smile on Leon's face went slightly stiff. He never would have guessed... that Tsubaki actually pulled a move like "drinking booze instead of water." Talk about turning the natural order on its head.
"Ahem, just a little is fine. Laurier and Aura are still kids, so I'll be the one drinking this stuff!"
Drink it straight? Not a chance.
But this stuff seemed like it would make a great base. Maybe if he tried mixing it into various flavored fruit wines, it'd be a hit with the girls?
Mm... when he had time, he'd go ask Lady Demeter and Persephone for pointers. They seemed quite skilled at brewing fruit wine.
"Sure, I'll bring some along when we go."
...
The furnace in the workshop burned without rest, a wave of heat washing over them. The group's slightly chilled bodies warmed up quickly, sweat even beading on their foreheads.
Tsubaki shrugged off her heavy coat, revealing the signature Japanese-style work clothes underneath, her single eye glinting with anticipation as she held out a hand toward Leon.
"Hand it over."
Leon raised an eyebrow.
"You don't want to rest a bit longer? Didn't you just get back from dealing with that Rivira crowd over at Babel? Those guys are a real pain to handle."
"Them?"
Tsubaki curled her lip in disdain.
"You think dealing with them takes any of my energy? Bunch of weaklings, that's all."
As she said it, she patted the sword resting beside her, and her meaning could not have been clearer.
Leon and the others exchanged a glance and instantly understood.
"If words won't get them to budge on the price, then physical persuasion will. Those people get very obedient." "Hand it over."
Leon shrugged.
"Alright, since you insist."
With that, he shot Kureha a look. The Sword Saint and the two little elves promptly hauled out the several bulging large supporter backpacks slung behind them and dropped them on the table with a heavy thud.
Tsubaki waved away the dust that puffed up from the table and grinned.
"Heh, no light load, that. And this much, too... tsk tsk tsk. It's only been a year, and that little Lv.1 adventurer from back then has really made something of himself."
Leon waved a hand modestly.
"Come on, stop flattering me. You know how it is. Whatever strength I've got today, it's all just because my peers make me look good by comparison."
Tsubaki shot him a glance, then swept her eyes over the ladies at his side, gave a snort of a laugh, and briskly tore open a backpack, dumping out the materials and drop items inside with a clatter before starting to sort through them.
But the appraisal had barely begun when, in no time at all, one item gave her a start.
"Holy Orario!"
"This is... a white crystal that comes from some kind of tree dragon on Lv.4 of the Great Tree Labyrinth? You... you've already started exploring that far? That's way too fast a pace, isn't it?"
Holding the brick-sized crystal, clear as glass with white magic faintly flowing within it, Tsubaki stared at Leon in astonishment.
Leon smiled faintly, the picture of modesty.
"It's nothing, nothing. We've only just scratched the surface, really. Can't compare to those First-Class Adventurers." What he said wasn't wrong, exactly. It was the tone that somehow sounded off.
She gave Leon a strange sidelong look.
"Reaching the Great Tree Labyrinth in under a year... even though I already knew your growth rate was a little abnormal, kid..."
At that, she suddenly noticed Jeanne, Rose, Kureha, and the two little elves beside him, and understanding crossed her eyes.
Right. If it were only Leon on his own, that kind of exploration pace really would be unthinkable.
But with a strong party fighting in coordination, it made sense.
"Tsk tsk tsk, the Great Tree Labyrinth, huh. Back in my day, by the time I'd explored down to this floor I'd already been an adventurer for five, six years."
Tsubaki couldn't help but sigh.
Leon only smiled faintly and said nothing more.
"Let me see, this is a Great Tree Labyrinth material, so's this, and this one too..."
"Heh, Adamantite Ore and Mithril Ore? No smith ever complains about having too much of this stuff. You lot have got some luck."
Tsubaki pulled on her specialized protective gloves and, muttering to herself, briskly appraised the assorted materials piled across the table, sorting them by use. Before long, the spoils were neatly organized.
But when she noticed, in the last bag of materials, those blue shells, crystal powder, sharp fish fins, and that "Amphisbaena's dragon liver" pulsing bright and dark like a breathing light, like a crystal of blood, her head snapped up, and the look she turned on Leon and the others was now full of shock.
She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth, her scalp prickling, disbelief written all over her face.
"Blue Crab Shell? Crystal powder... and this... Amphisbaena's dragon liver?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Don't tell me you not only went into the Water City, but killed the twin-headed dragon too?"
Leon laughed "modestly" and spread his hands.
"Honestly, it was an accident. We only meant to rescue someone. Who knew that Amphisbaena not only wouldn't allow it, but actually had the nerve to fight back. In the end we had no choice but to put it down."
When he finished, a touch of "regret" passed over his face at just the right moment, as though mourning an old friend.
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