About ten days had passed since Nifty opened its doors, and by all accounts, business was booming. It had even been featured in a magazine special already.
My name was nowhere to be found in the article, which meant Alice had likely pulled some strings behind the scenes. While I was happy to see the shop getting recognition, it would have been awkward for me to be introduced as the owner when I hadn't really done anything, so her intervention was a huge help.
I also received a thank-you letter and a beautiful handkerchief from Elis-san, who had visited the shop with me. The handkerchief featured elegant, intricate embroidery of the Nifty logo. Her letter modestly claimed it was the "work of an amateur," but the quality was so high it could easily have been sold in a store. Her skill with a needle was clearly exceptional.
More than that, though, receiving something handcrafted with such sincerity felt much better than being given a generic luxury item. I definitely wanted to find a way to thank her again.
"So... what are you three up to?"
"Master, good morning! We're getting everything ready to start glassblowing with Illness-san and Canalis-san."
"Good morning, Nebula. Oh, right—the glassware project you mentioned before."
I found Nebula, Illness-san, and Canalis-san gathered in the backyard. When I asked about their progress, Nebula greeted me with a bright smile. I remembered her mentioning she wanted to try her hand at glass, and it looked like she was moving forward with the idea.
I exchanged brief greetings with the other two before looking around. I didn't see anything resembling a kiln.
"Wait, there isn't a kiln out here. Is Canalis-san going to build one now?"
"Something like that," she replied. "Kilns can release some nasty fumes, and they take up quite a bit of space if you're trying to do it right. We were just discussing building one in a subspace instead. I figured it would be easier to just consolidate everything—the pottery kilns and the rest of the equipment—into a single subspace workshop. After all, I'm a God convenient for remodeling, one per household!"
"Consolidating all the facilities would be quite helpful," Illness added. "In that case, we might as well make it a bit larger and move the tea plants and cacao there too."
With Canalis-san being able to do practically anything, the scope of Nebula and Illness's creative hobbies was expanding by leaps and bounds. It was great to see.
At this rate, they'd soon have a massive workshop in a subspace where they could manufacture almost anything. That sounded like it could be a lot of fun.
"Hmm. I think it would be easiest to just make a doorway that only specific people can use. There's no need to build a fake structure for cover in Kaito-sama's backyard..."
"If that is the case... wouldn't the spot where the current kiln is be the best location?"
"I agree. That shouldn't get in anyone's way."
The three of them seemed to be having a wonderful time, and watching them was genuinely heartwarming. I was sure they'd produce something beautiful once they started on the glass, and combining glasswork with Nebula's woodcraft sounded like it had a lot of potential.
Given who was involved, I had no doubt the results would be spectacular. I didn't plan on selling the glassware, but I was curious about the process, so I made a mental note to ask if I could watch when they started.
Come to think of it, Cien-san mentioned during the Founding Anniversary Festival that she collected glass products. If Nebula and the others were okay with it, it might be a nice idea to give Cien-san a gift once they finished some pieces.
After leaving the garden and heading back to my room, I pulled a wooden box containing a tabletop clock out of my Magic Box. Aside from the one I'd given to Elis-san and the one I was using myself, this was the last one left. What should I do with it?
I wanted to give it to someone before I forgot about it, but no one in particular came to mind as a woodcraft enthusiast... except maybe Lilia-san? It would look perfect on her office desk.
Yeah, let's go with that. I’d give it to Lilia-san.
Serious-senpai: By gifting him something handmade instead of a generic luxury item, Elis showed she really understands how Kaito works. It’s no wonder he’s taken a liking to her. That aside... just when she thought she’d dodged a stomach-aching bullet, the Strongest Stomach Pain Warrior is about to get hit by a time-lagged attack...