"But more importantly—did you really make this to give to our captain?"

At Basto’s question, Berugon awkwardly looked away.

"Well... not exactly just for that. Your captain saved me in the subspace and freed me from Krazar’s influence..."

As much as he disliked admitting it, Tie’s comfort—when she had patted the back of his hand in the subspace—had been surprisingly effective.

He awkwardly shifted the bag he had brought with him.

"Actually, that’s not all. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I made a few more things..."

At that moment, Tie noticed something inside the half-open bag and her eyes flew wide.

She immediately ran over and shouted:

"Master, you stole batteries from the subspace!"

Startled, Berugon hurriedly hid the bag behind his back.

"S-stole?! I was just... just collecting research materials necessary for developing new equipment...!"

But Tie had already shoved her face into the bag.

"One, two, three, four! You stole four batteries! And hairpins, and a teddy bear!"

"I did not!"

Tie narrowed her eyes and stared at him.

"Stealing toys from a kindergarten..."

That was truly a terrible crime with extremely aggravating circumstances.

Meanwhile, a wounded Berugon looked around at the team members.

"I just wanted to make something for you!"

With that, he opened the bag as if to say look for yourselves and pulled something out.

It was a small teddy bear.

"When we were leaving the subspace, you kept looking at it! So I thought it would be nice to turn it into an orb."

The team’s eyes bulged.

Tie, on the other hand, merely tilted her head in confusion.

"What’s an orb?"

"You’re a mage and you don’t know what an orb is? It’s a magical tool where mages store their magical power or spells!"

As Tie’s mouth fell slightly open, Enzo quietly whispered beside her:

"They’re usually made in the shape of a sphere."

Hearing that, something vaguely stirred in Tie’s memory.

She recalled the mages from Scream of Silvar she had seen the previous day.

Each of them had clusters of round spheres hanging from their belts or shoulders.

At the time, Basto had simply said they were "tools mages use."

'Then why doesn’t Tie have one...'

She had secretly felt disappointed about that not long ago.

"I embedded a specially combined magic stone inside this bear. Since you walk around in the form of a child, visually this will look better than a regular orb..."

Berugon cleared his throat.

"And usually mages don’t carry just one orb. So just in case, I made two more."

When two more teddy bears emerged from the bag, Tie’s eyes grew even wider.

Among the many toys from the kindergarten, Berugon had truly chosen worthy ones.

Though slightly worn from children’s hands, they were from the Teby Bear series.

An expensive brand said to be hand-stitched by German artisans.

'And all three are a full set!'

A white bear, a brown bear, and finally, a pink panda.

"But honestly, I’m starting not to like this."

Suddenly, Berugon sharply pulled the bag back right in front of Tie’s nose.

"Hearing you say I ‘stole’ toys from a subspace with a monster..."

Tie blinked wide-eyed in confusion and stared at him.

"I thought you’d like it. Idiot. I’ll burn them all in the furnace."

Berugon demonstratively slung the bag over his shoulder.

It wasn’t for nothing that he was known as a blacksmith with a bad temper—his expression had turned completely stern.

"W-wait!"

In the end, Tie blocked his path.

"I take it back! I take back saying ‘stole’!"

Berugon tilted his head.

Tie hurriedly continued:

"Tie heard the world changed, and grown-ups also play with toys a lot!"

"..."

"If you look on Newtube, there are uncles building huge Lego sets!"

From decoration crafts to beadwork and slime.

If anything, adults played with toys more seriously than children.

"And grown-ups collect Puppetmon stickers better too! Because they have more money. Tie only has seven..."

So if you thought about it, there was nothing wrong, right?

With Berugon bringing teddy bears out of the subspace.

"Mm-hm, so grown-ups can play with toys too, yeah."

Tie smiled innocently.

Then she quietly ran up and slipped the bag off Berugon’s arm.

"And if a grown-up gives a gift, you have to say thank you and take it."

She hurriedly stuffed the bears and hairpins into her cloak pockets until they puffed out like a hamster’s cheeks stuffed with seeds.

But Tie paid no attention and bowed deeply.

"Thaaank you, Tie will use them for good purposes."

Only after she grabbed the ring-shaped device as well did Tie let out a relieved breath.

'They almost threw Tie’s bears away...!'

She hadn’t realized it at first, but if Berugon made something for her, she absolutely had to take it.

'Master is a very famous blacksmith!'

He had seemed different in the subspace, but in reality, Berugon was an outstanding weapons master.

There were countless people who wanted to buy the weapons he created.

'Even that person, Elastin, wanted to buy a weapon from him at the meeting.'

In truth it had been Elanes, but of course Tie couldn’t remember the name correctly.

In any case, Tie had obtained what others dreamed of, completely for free.

Not just one thing—but four at once!

"Tie has orbs now too..."

Moved, she gently patted the bear peeking out of her pocket.

At that moment, Bale asked Berugon:

"And this hairpin—what does it do? Also from the subspace?"

Berugon nodded.

"Yes. Nothing special, just a sort of armor. I simply replaced the metal part with a special magical alloy."

Hearing that, Tie immediately took the hairpin from her pocket and fastened it at the top of her head.

It felt as though strength instantly flowed through her body.

Berugon clicked his tongue and looked at her.

"...Anyway, be sure to try that ring amulet on your permanent summon. If it breaks, bring it to me immediately."

Tie grinned brightly and nodded vigorously.

"Yeees!"

"Then... about payment."

Basto cautiously interjected.

Berugon waved ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) his hand, indicating it wasn’t necessary.

"Forget it. Thanks to the King of the Dead, the Krazar core that had been a thorn in my side disappeared, and the weapon district that nearly collapsed because I wasn’t in my right mind seems to have recovered..."

He glanced at Astie, who was hugging her bear and giggling.

"Besides, isn’t it good to gain another promising partner?"

The team exchanged awkward glances.

At that moment, Tie, who had barely been listening to the conversation, raised her hand.

"Can Tie go to her room first?"

Bale blinked in surprise.

"What for?"

"To show off this."

"To whom?"

"Kkamani and Pup... no, Kkamani!"

"Fine, go."

Tie nodded and ran to her room.

The team watched her go with smiles.

Once she left, a brief silence fell among those remaining.

And then—

"By the way, isn’t there something you want to tell me?"

At Berugon’s voice, the members of Agavert turned their heads.

Looking at them, he calmly added:

"The King of the Dead—that’s not a disguise, is it?"