The New Gate (LN)

“Good morning, time to get up . ”

A clear, gentle voice caressed Shin’s ears . Usually, he would wake up promptly with just this sound, but today Shin was heavily afflicted with sleep . Recently, he often ended up falling asleep again after waking up the first time .

“Just five more…no, 10 more minutes…”

“I’ll prepare breakfast and come again in 15 minutes . But if you won’t wake up then, you’re skipping it . ”

The words he received in reply seemed kind, but they actually contained a very firm warning, which Shin clearly noticed . Before, he had overslept for five minutes and really gone without breakfast .

The reason behind his need to rest was simple: every night he would sneak out of the hotel and work hard in the smithy . He kept it a secret from Schnee because he wanted to surprise her with something after he learned the new technique .

“Morning…”

Shin was suppressing a yawn as he sat down at the table . Thanks to his high stats, even with a severe lack of sleep, the only disadvantage was a slight drowsiness in the morning .

After the meal, Shin was sipping tea on the sofa, thinking of a training menu for Lecus and the others, when Schnee came up from behind and put her hands on his shoulders .

“Shin, there is something you have to tell me, yes?”

“Hm? Not really…”

“Shin?”

Schnee’s tone changed . Shin reacted instinctively and tried to stand up, but Schnee was faster . Her grip on his shoulders became stronger and kept him from standing up, moving to hold his neck .

“Aah…er, you see…”

His back to the sofa, Shin couldn’t escape if Schnee held him from behind . Because of the sofa’s size, in that position Shin’s head would inevitably rest against Schnee’s bosom .

From a third party’s perspective, it looked like Schnee was holding Shin’s head . She was just wearing a thin shirt, so Shin’s head was enveloped in the soft sensation of Schnee’s mounds . He even ended up thinking that it wasn’t so bad a situation to be in .

“No secrets, we’ve talked about this before, right?”

“…okay, okay, you win . ”

Shin couldn’t make any objections to that .

Because of her skills and main job, Schnee was very sensitive to the presence of others . She had probably noticed Shin’s nightly outings very soon .

“You probably know already, but every night I go to the smithy to practice a new technique . I saw Vulcan use it the other time, and realized that I can still improve . ”

After repeated trial and error, Shin’s technique was still an imitation, but it had started to take shape . His Blacksmithing skill was helping his attempts . If not, it would be impossible to imitate techniques so easily .

“Shin, I won’t tell you not to push yourself too hard . I know that when you do, it’s always for someone else’s sake . This time too, it’s for me…no, for us, right?”

If Shin’s blacksmithing skills improved, he could reinforce their weapons and armor further . In this world there existed monsters that not even Shin and Schnee could match, so Shin did not want to miss any opportunity to reinforce their gear .

He wanted to do so as soon as possible, to lessen any risks as much as he could . Ever since Shin arrived in this world, Schnee’s equipment was much stronger than it had been in-game .

“I am happy that you are thinking about us . But in that case, let me assist you too . Maybe I can’t do anything, but I don’t want you to bear the burden alone . ”

Schnee’s embrace grew stronger . He couldn’t see her expression, but her voice was enough to understand how she felt .

“…I’m sorry for making you worry . Actually, I was thinking that it would be a lot better if you could help me . But, you know…”

Shin didn’t want to stubbornly hide the truth, but there was a reason why he preferred to .

“Is there a reason why you can’t tell me?”

“Well, yeah . Honestly speaking, I wanted to keep it a surprise, a present . ”

“A present… . ? Wah!”

The topic shifted from reinforcing gear in an unexpected direction, so Schnee was confused . Shin felt her grip loosen and he drew her closer to him, without letting her finish .

With a perfectly useless show of skills, Shin made her spin in midair and sat her on his lap . It looked just like Schnee had jumped over the sofa to sit on top of him .

“Er, what…?”

Schnee could have fought back if she wanted, but since her ‘opponent’ was Shin, she leaned on him . She was still confused, but she buried her face in his chest .

“I mean that, what I’m trying to create is not equipment, but something else . ”

“Something else?”

“Yes . After defeating the evil deity, well, I confessed, right? You said okay, right? So we’re like, husband and wife now . ”

“Yes, of course . ”

Shin was rather embarrassed to say the words “husband and wife”, but Schnee replied with a smile beaming with happiness . He coughed a little, then started talking again while looking straight into her eyes .

“So…you know? It’s not like I want to prove it, but…I’m thinking of making wedding rings . Since I’m at it, I wanted to properly learn this new technique first . After I craft the rings, I want to enhance them with as many buffs as possible .

“Wedding…rings…!? ……!? Let’s make them!! We must!!!”

Schnee didn’t seem to understand right away, but as soon as she did, she grabbed Shin’s lapel and stared at him, her eyes sparkling .

“Y-yeah, sure . So please give me a hand . ”

“Of course!! Leave it to me!!”

Schnee never looked so eager . Thanks to her assistance, Shin’s understanding of Vulcan’s technique progressed rapidly too . Because of this, it couldn’t be helped that Shin started wondering if Schnee was blessed with a natural talent for blacksmithing too .