"So, you found the contract crystal that proves my mother really sold out our country..."

Nera doesn't sound too happy about it. Well, even if she already knew about this, seeing the proof of her mother's wrongdoings must still feel bad.

"So, now that you can clear your name... I guess you will be going back home, right?"

Hearing me say that makes her expression change into a sly smile.

"Uh? What is that sad face for? Are you worried that I'm going to leave you?"

"Yeah, it's natural to want to go home now that you can, no?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I can just yet. It might be better to give the crystal to some people I trust and wait for them to sort out this mess first. And even if I could, I don't think I should."

"Eh? Why not?"

"Because I think that I might be more useful here... There's such a powerful country being founded and you are going to be our neighbors. It's in our best interest for your country to be functional, instability makes it more likely that your subjects might cause trouble. And it would also be nice for you to be indebted to the Agua kingdom. So I think that doing what I can to help is a better use of my time than going back home and doing nothing all day."

"I see."

"And more importantly, you are my friend. So I want to do anything I can to help you."

Uh?! So she's letting go of the chance to go back home for my sake? Because we are friends?

"N-Nera!"

As tears fill my eyes I'm overcome by my emotions and jump to hug her.

"Mfh! I can't breafe!"

Ah, I got a bit careless, most of her head seems to have disappeared into my chest.

"Sorry, are you alright?"

"Ah... Ah... I'm fine... Anyway, there's one thing I don't understand."

"What is it?"

"You said that you were looking for me yesterday because you wanted to show this to me. So why didn't you do it until today?"

"Oh... Well, we ran into that guy, and after that, I got distracted with trying to figure out how to move this thing."

I gesture to the robot I got yesterday, the one I've been studying all night.

"And how did that go? Did you do it?"

"Fufufu, that technology is not to be underestimated, but you shouldn't underestimate me either!"

That Gerard guy seemed to think that I would have a tough time figuring out how to control it, but I figured it out in one night.

After altering the magic circuit hidden inside the neck of that machine, it now reacts to my mana. I make it wave its arms to demonstrate.

"Oh, you really did it."

"Yes, but unfortunately, that thing is controlled by fire magic. Since my fire magic rank is 1 I cannot control it very well. And even if I can control it, I still don't understand how it works, I could not make another one."

"But can you use it to fight?"

"Eh... Kinda. I used the imps to test it, but that hardly counts as a 'fight'."

"The imps? You mean the ones you summon?"

"Yes, let's go outside and I'll show you."

After summoning various imps all around the courtyard, I'm ready for the demonstration.

I ordered them to attack the machine when it gets close to make it look similar to a real fight, but as expected, they cannot do any damage.

"It seems pretty durable, no?"

"Uh, no. These guys would not be able to do any damage even to a small child."

Let's start fighting back. To begin, I use some fire mana to send the signal to throw a simple punch that instantly makes an imp explode into a cloud of black smoke. Next, it shoots a fire beam, my lack of fire magic prowess means that it's not very strong, but it's still enough for an imp. After that, I have the robot repeatedly punch more imps as they jump at it.

"You said that you can't control it well, but that was faster and more precise than an average golem."

"It should be capable of a lot more than that, it also has some weapons that I have not figured out yet."

"Oh... Uh? Luna, look over there."

Nera points to a strange-looking imp that just entered the courtyard. No wait, that's not an imp, it's a small child, an elf child with black hair... That's right, this is Mona, the girl that was left here by her parents.

What is she doing here? She's staring at the robot with sparkling eyes.

"Hello?"

As soon as she hears me call out to her she runs away. An older elf boy comes running and she hides behind him.

"I'm very sorry! I was supposed to watch over Mona but she went off running when she saw that... metal man that was punching those black monsters. I will accept any punishment!"

"I'm not going to punish you for something like this."

"Ah, I guess it couldn't be so easy..."

Nera walks up to the little girl. She gets on her knees to get close to her height and gives her a gentle smile.

"Do you like the robot?"

"Pawnch!"

Mona punches the air, trying to copy what the robot was doing earlier.

"You like how it punches? It's cool, right? Do you want to see it do it more?"

"Yes!"

"Well, then you need to ask Luna, she's the only one that can make it move."

"Uh..."

After taking another quick look, she gets one more step away from me.

"She's scawy."

"Well, if she wants me to, I can make it-"

Nera makes a gesture that I believe means that she wants me to stop.

"She's very nice you know, if a cute girl like you asks her, she will make the robot punch more for sure."

She seems to be deep in thought for a few seconds. Then, she starts walking slowly and gets closer to me, but still not too close, and lifts one arm to point at the robot with her finger.

"Pawnch!"

I repeat the same performance from before, summoning a bunch of imps and making the robot pawnch... I mean punch them really fast.

Mona has a bright smile as she watches it and even makes a few small jumps out of excitement. She's too cute for me to hold back, I want to hug her and pinch her cheeks, but that would make her hate me even more...

"So, do you still think that I'm scary?"

The little girl looks up at me for a moment with a thoughtful expression and then points her finger at me.

"You're scawy!"

Uh, children can be really blunt.

I have an idea, I'm not sure if she would like this but I think I'll give it a try.

"Hey, do you want to punch some imps too? You can be just like the robot!"

"Pawnch like the obot? Yes!"

I make a couple of imps jump around menacingly, but this brave girl hits them without any hesitation, her form is surprisingly good for a child this young, but she forgot to close her fist.

Even the strength of a little girl is enough to turn the imps into smoke in one hit. I'm only making them move around her, but I get the feeling that they would lose just as easily even if I told them to attack seriously.

Anyway, now that there are no imps left it's my turn.

"Not bad, but can you also defeat the dark queen?"

I get in front of her, looking ready to attack.

"Ah!"

As Mona lets out her battle cry I receive a light tap on my left leg. By using a mana push, I send myself flying several meters into the air before hitting the ground.

"Ouch, you're stronger than I thought! Are you actually a hero?"

"Hahaha."

She's laughing and jumping in place after sending me flying. It looks like she forgot that she was afraid of me and is just having a good time.

This is great, I had never been able to play with children before, they always start crying as soon as I get close. Nera sure is smart, using her love of the robot to blackmail her was a great idea!

Mona comes running at me again, but this time I'm ready for her. I grab her and lift her up.

"Aha! I got you!"

Ah, holding a child feels even better than I thought, it's as if all the stress I've been accumulating recently is suddenly being healed. But I did this without thinking, I hope that I didn't scare her.

"Hahaha."

She's laughing, so I guess it's fine. I put her back on the floor and give her a head pat.

Nera then comes closer with the other elf behind her.

"See? I told you that she was nice."

"Un."

Mona nods to her, I really managed to win her over!

"We can play again some other day if you want. Since we are both dark elves, we should get along."

"Yes!"

And with that, I'm left alone with Nera again.

"Luna! What was that smile you made when you were holding her?!"

"Eh? Did I smile? Uh, I hope I didn't scare her..."

"Nonono! That was a very nice smile! You actually looked like a nice person for a moment!"

"Really?!"

Is that true? Did I really manage to make a good smile without noticing? Could I finally be getting close to not being a scary person?

"Quick! Do it again! Before your face forgets how to do it!"

"Uh, sure, I'll try..."

I do my best to make a nice and gentle smile. And Nera takes a step back while barely managing to hold back a scream.

"N-no... That's... Not it..."

"Oh..."

It looks like I still have a long way to go...

forli

Right now I'm way busier than at any other time of the year... I wrote this short chapter that's all I can o at the moment.

I would like to say that after I'm done with the stuff I'm doing right now I'll write more, but it feels like I keep telling myself that and then something else pops up that stops me from writing.