Chapter 51: Seeing you off on the beach

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It took two days, but early that morning as I was shaving I received the eagerly awaited notification.

Chime ♪

The repair of Sword of Exocias is completed. Please specify the location to appear.

It was finally done…

I almost made it appear right away, but I wanted to show it to Gram, so I put it on hold for a bit and hurried to get myself cleaned up. Since she was the type of person who stuck to a proper schedule, she should be awake by now. [1]

Or so she should be, but we’d been staying up late these last few days, ever since we started doing the tango in the sheets… Like last night, too, she wouldn’t let me sleep until early in the morning. Again.

But that morning, I got a reply as soon as I knocked on her room door.

“It’s Shirou. I’ve finished repairing the thing that you asked for, so I’m here to deliver it.”

As I entered her room, I quickly noticed that most of her belongings had been packed and neatly organized. It reminded me that she and the survey team would be leaving soon, which made me really sad.

“Morning, Shirou. So, where’s the sword?”

“I’ll make it appear now. On top of the table should be fine, right?”

The table looked quite empty. Just few days ago there had been a drafting ruler, an ink jar, a stack of blank papers, an envelope, a leather-bound diary, and many other similar things on top of it, there was only few papers and a pen on top of it now…

Just as those many things had gone from the table, the day after tomorrow Gram would be gone from this island.

While feeling my chest tightened by the bitter emotion, I made the sword of Exocius appear.

The weapon appeared with a dazzling light. It was a brilliant silver color, adorned in gold with a flowing pattern. Above all, you could feel incredible amounts of magical power radiating from the sword.

“It’s amazing…”

Seeing how much Gram admired the sword make me overwhelmed with happiness, thinking how glad I am that I was able to repair the sword for her.

“Shirou, is it really alright for me to have this sword?”

“But of course. Like I’ve told you, it would be useless for me to keep it.”

That’s right. It would take an absurd amount of magic power just to properly wield the sword. Furthermore, I can only use creation magic; I don’t know how to draw out the performance of magical weapons.

“I will report the discovery of the sword to the empire…”

“You may do whatever you wish with it, Gram-sama.”

It’s not like Gram would just keep the sword to herself anyway, she’s just too upright and honest.

“I see… Thank you… Shirou.”

Gram then hugged me tightly. Oh my, aren’t you getting quite bold now? I’m glad she’s become more confident.

“Shirou…” Gram squeezed my hands.  “Shirou, come with me to Lulu Sanjion. I promise I will take care of everything you need there.”

Gram was trying to bring back a topic that we have been discussing several times over the past few days.

“Gram-sama, haven’t we talked about it many times already? What will happen if the commander of the team breaks the military rule herself? I don’t want to be a stowaway. I also don’t want to be a concubine; I can’t imagine of being happy while walking on the happiness of whoever will be your legal husband.“

Gram is an aristocrat. There’s no way she could legally tie the knot with someone like me, who has a dubious background and no social standing.

“Gram-sama, I hope you can love the lucky person who will become your husband.”

“But there could never be another man like you…”

…

Time passes. It will flow and keep moving on. For better or worse, everything that we have experienced will eventually fade, leaving only beautiful echoes of the time that we’ve had, and the feelings we’ve shared.

We will look back fondly to those beautiful moments; each and every one of those will become a comfort in our life.

…

Gram was crying in earnest, tears flowing from her eyes.

“Then… I will stay here instead!”

This time it was my turn to hug Gram, like a parent consoling a child who was making a mistake.

“If you do that, you will be punished for dereliction of duty.”

“……”

“The days I’ve spent with you are an irreplaceable treasure for me. Happy memories are, more than anything else, the most important thing that us human can have, and meeting you is one of the happiest memories that I have.”

Gram remained still in my arms for a while, before finally, she slowly pulled her body away from me. “Sorry, I’ve shown you something unsightly.”

“Why don’t we have breakfast? I’m making Gram-sama’s favorite hot sandwich for this morning.”

Gram smiled a little as I said that.

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Since I’ve been repairing the Sword of Exocius, my MP is almost empty, it will take around 20 hours to fully replenish it.

Since this is Gram and I’s goodbye, I feel like there’s a gaping hole in my heart now, so I put on the sunglasses that I’ve made and cast a fishing line on the beach. I don’t actually have any intention to catch anything; I just wanted to sit on the rocky shore and watch the sea go by, while the Cimas are watching me with their round eyes.

 White foamy waves, emerald-green seas, and blue skies; the world feels melancholy, quiet, and yet beautiful.

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And then, in the blink of an eye, the day of departure finally arrived.

I said goodbye to all of the officers, one by one, on the pier. There were some who were overwhelmed with emotion and hugged me, but for today I didn’t mind and hugged them back.

I also gave Lane a hug.

“Okami, thank you for taking good care of us.”

“It was my pleasure. Please take care of yourself, Lane-san.”

After I finished my goodbye with Lane, I turned to face Gram for the last time. Even though we already had our farewell last night, the thought that this would be the last time I was going to see her made me overwhelmed with an indescribable feeling.

“Gram-sama…”

“Shirou… let’s meet again someday!” Gram said with a forced cheerfulness.

I felt that she, who had managed to say that in cheerful tone, had become a little stronger and more mature than before.

“Yes, Gram-sama!” I said letting out my own smile.

Here, look, I was able to respond with a smile too, Gram-sama.

I waved my hand at the boat as it moved further away. Gram had a smile on her lips, but I know that she must have pushed herself to do it.

I set my magic to create new sunglasses, since I had given the one I had before to Gram. I quickly gave them to her since her eyes were red and swollen, and she couldn’t let her subordinates see her like that. I wouldn’t allow it.

 “Goodbye, Gram-sama”

The moment I put it into words, tears filled my eyes. But that’s alright, there’s only me and the golem here, so there’s no need to hide my tears.

Sitting on the white sandy beach and watching the boat go away, I cried to my heart’s content.

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Once the guests were gone, I suddenly had nothing to do.

I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I’m sure that the liaison would contact me by wyvern again. Gram once said that either Commander Milan, Leanne, or Louise would come, since they’re already familiar with the area around here.

I’ve become like an empty shell ever since Gram left, but I was finally able to build Cima No. 4 as planned. Thanks to that my Golem Production level has increased, and I have the option to create new golem.

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Item Production：Silicon Golem ・ Snake type (Lv 1)

Category：Golem production（Lv.6）

MP Consumption　292

Explanation: Snake-shaped golem. It is useful for exterminating pests such as rats that destroy fields. Since it can fit in tight spaces, it is also good at stealing items in secret.

Production time：52 hours

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So, there are golems made from silicon material too, huh.

We are making good progress in expanding our farm, but we are now having trouble with rats. [2] I’ve been mobilizing Goku and Wonder to kick them around, but it wasn’t very effective. However, if I can create even just five of these snake-type golems, I’m sure I could solve the problem with the rats.

And so, I name the snake golem Nyoro. [3]

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1 As in going to bed early and wake up early. Remember boys; early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

2 I’m thinking that the unlocking of the new golem type is based on whatever he needs at the time. I mean, 1st golem for protection and safety, 2nd golem for creating tools and renovate the cave, 3rd golem for hunting, and now when he needs pest exterminator, he got a snake golem.

3 Just like Poppo is onomatopoeia for how a bird sound, Nyoro basically means slither. Hmmm…. Should I change Nyoro to Slither and Poppo to Raven… Naah…