“Hmm? What did you say?”
However, at this moment, Red was busy tidying up the kitchen, not noticing what Litt had just said.
Seeing this, Litt simply stuck out her tongue a little playfully and said, “It’s nothing, nothing at all. But Red, you’re opening for business today, right? Do you need me to prepare anything?”
When it came to running a shop, Litt honestly had no experience.
In her previous life, she was just an ordinary worker, never opened a store herself, and in this life, she only wanted to take it easy even more.
Starting a business was not something she was interested in at all.
Especially since this world had swords and magic—why bother hustling for money when she could simply enjoy her precious new life?
Yet, faced with Litt’s question, Red thought for a while and replied, “About that… Actually, this is my first time as well. But Litt, you don’t really need to do much, just help me by standing at the front desk.”
Red saw Litt more as the shop’s poster girl.
After all, it was undeniable—she really was very cute, and just her presence at the entrance would make a big difference.
“Is that really okay…?”
“I never planned to turn this into a bustling shop,” Red said, reassuring her.
“So Litt, you don’t need to feel any pressure. For me, this is just a way to pass the time.”
Recently, Red had calculated the money he earned together with Otto.
While it wasn’t enough for a lifetime of leisure, it was more than sufficient for him and Litt to live comfortably for now.
Halfway through his thoughts, Red shook his head repeatedly, tossing such ideas aside.
No matter how much Litt tried to get closer to him… the gap between them was still too wide.
Red sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
Litt noticed Red suddenly looking so downcast and asked with concern, “You don’t look so well.”
Red forced himself to perk up and gave Litt a warm smile.
“It’s nothing, just remembered some things from before.”
“Things from before…”
Litt paused, then asked, “Is it about Liz?”
Red opened his mouth, then let out a sigh.
“I always feel like you can read my mind, Litt…”
“No such thing,” Litt said, smiling gently.
“It’s just that your expressions are really easy to read, Red.”
Litt sat up straight, her face still carrying that gentle, spring-like smile.
“But… until you can walk out from the shadows of your past, Red, I’ll be here with you.”
Red wanted to say, “For someone like me, is it really worth it?”
But seeing Litt’s expression, he could only swallow the words.
Perhaps he was still trapped in those old shadows.
“But, Red, you’ve already changed a lot. There’s no need to rush—just take it step by step. The Lord once said, time heals all wounds, whether of the body or the heart.”
“Is… that so?”
Red pointed to himself.
To be honest, he didn’t feel any of the changes Litt spoke about.
If he had to say, maybe his resistance to white stockings had gone up a bit, thanks to Letia’s influence?
Red’s mind was suddenly invaded by the memory of Letia shoving her “private collection” of photos at him—that striking high-kick pose, those long legs wrapped in pure white stockings, and… that faintly visible… panty.
Ugh…
Red quickly chased away that untimely mental image.
His resistance… should have gone up, right?
As if to verify this idea, his eyes couldn’t help but dart for a second to Litt’s white-stockinged feet, peeking out from beneath her nun’s robe as she sat.
His heart… was calm.
Hmm, it really had improved a little.
“I’m full!”
After eating and drinking her fill, Litt pressed her hands together in prayer—a post-meal ritual of the White Church.
After a bit of tidying up, the two went downstairs together.
Red’s small workshop was right next to Litt’s residence—just a few steps away, as convenient as one’s own backyard.
“Oh~ This looks really nice.”
Pushing open the brand-new shop door, the scent of fresh wood and metal greeted them.
Litt stepped into the freshly refurbished shop, eyes sparkling with admiration.
She looked around at the carefully arranged wall displays, where several weapons with restrained gleams and streamlined, lightweight armor hung in order.
“These weapons and armor look really good! Red, I didn’t think that as the Great Magician of Creation, you’d be so skilled at forging too!”
“Rather than forging… it’s more like creating.”
Red gathered mana in his hand, and soon, a brand new, extremely sharp longsword appeared in his grasp.
“Just like this. Gather mana in your hand, and you can create whatever weapon you want.”
Litt froze in place.
Wait, do Great Magicians of Creation really have such powers?
She wasn’t deeply familiar with the profession, but she knew the essence of a Great Magician of Creation was to engrave magic arrays onto objects, turning them into animated mechanical constructs.
But what Red had just done… was more like conjuring a sword out of thin air.
This power was definitely beyond the scope of a Great Magician of Creation.
But she didn’t recall ever seeing Red use this ability when they were with Dawnblade.
Litt took a deep breath, her expression turning serious as she looked at Red.
“Red… When did you learn this kind of magic?”
Seeing Litt’s suddenly solemn expression, Red scratched his head, puzzled.
“Back with Dawnblade, I handled most of the logistics. Liz and Bethany often needed me to maintain their weapons and armor. But no matter how much you maintain them, weapons and armor wear out and need replacing. Over time, I learned some more convenient magic like this. Why do you ask?”
Hearing this, Litt didn’t reply immediately.
She understood now why she hadn’t known about Red’s ability.
In Dawnblade, the weapon in her hand—this Holy Cross—never needed Red’s maintenance.
As a cleric, she didn’t require inconvenient armor either, and her relationship with Red wasn’t as close then as it was now.
So it was natural she didn’t know.
Now that she understood, Litt realized one thing.
Liz… maybe she wasn’t just mistaken.
She was really afraid—afraid that Red would surpass her.
The one who always followed behind her might end up overtaking her.
In other circumstances, perhaps that would be something to celebrate for Red.
But Liz was a noble.
And most nobles couldn’t accept their subordinates surpassing them.
Liz was probably the same.
After sorting out her tangled thoughts, Litt looked at Red again and said seriously, “Red… Besides the people from Dawnblade, does anyone else know you have this ability?”
“That?”
Red looked at the sword in his hand, thought for a moment, and said, “Actually, apart from Liz, no one else knows about this. But Liz herself doesn’t seem to care about it much.”
“That’s good, then.”
Litt took a deep breath and calmed herself.
“You must keep this secret in your heart. Never tell anyone, not even Bishop Otto.”
Though Red didn’t understand why Litt, usually so gentle, would be this serious, he could tell it was out of concern for him, so he nodded.
Litt continued, “Just say these are goods you got from Otto. Leave the rest to me.”
“…Alright.”
Red was stunned for a moment.
For some reason, seeing this assertive side of Litt, he vaguely felt a shadow of Letia in her.
But he quickly shook his head.
What am I thinking…
Don’t forget, even if Litt looks all cute and sweet, she’s still someone of high status at heart.
Isn’t it normal for her to be like this?
Litt quickly came back to herself and stopped herself from saying more.
Damn…
She was so shocked she almost forgot her own character.
Litt shouldn’t act like some guiding mentor.
“Alright!”
She patted her own cheeks lightly.
“So, Red, what do you need me to do?”
“Nothing really, just help me collect money at the front desk.”
Honestly, having someone who was likely the Holy Maiden of the White Church working as a cashier made Red feel oddly guilty.
But Litt smiled as if it was nothing.
“Okay, then I’ll listen to you, Red, and handle the front desk.”
At exactly nine in the morning, the wooden sign for “Red’s Workshop” was finally hung up.
Underneath it, however, someone had added the small letters “Litt.”
Thus, the wooden sign now read “Red Litt Workshop.”
The name looked a bit odd, as if it had no particular meaning.
Though it was the opening day, there was no grand ribbon cutting, no noisy band—just Red pushing open the door himself and flipping the sign to “Open for Business.”
At the beginning, business was quiet.
Neighbors and passersby poked their heads in curiously, seeming puzzled about this new weapon shop, but none seemed inclined to come in.
To be honest, the shop’s location wasn’t great—rather out of the way.
So Red had already prepared himself for having few customers.
As he said before, the shop was just a way to enjoy life and pass the time.
Making money wasn’t important.
He wasn’t like Letia, who seemed obsessed with money, doing everything for profit—even working herself to the bone for it.…
Damn, crazy lottery.
Time ticked by.
Who knew how long had passed?
Litt sat behind the counter, bored out of her mind, drumming her fingers aimlessly on the desk and gazing into space at the door.
“Even though I was prepared for this, now that I really have no customers, I have to say… Starting a business really is tough. I wonder if we’ll even get a single customer today?”
Just as Litt was so bored she was about to melt into a slime on the counter, someone pushed open the door and walked in.
Litt quickly straightened up and put on her warmest smile.
“Welcome! May I help you wi—”
But the rest of her polite greeting got stuck in her throat.
Standing at the entrance was someone she never expected.
Liz.
“This shop looks a bit shabby, doesn’t it?”
Liz glanced coldly around the shop.
“Litt, considering your status… you shouldn’t be wasting your time in a place like this, should you?”
OOH, drama.