The next morning came quickly.
The scent of lantern wax and roasted roots still lingered faintly from the previous night's feast. While the villagers began cleaning the square and murmuring stories of miracles, Riku sat cross-legged in his inn room, a cup of warm tea in one hand and his system interface glowing faintly before him.
A familiar ding echoed softly in his ears.
[Goodwill Points Earned: +40]
- Repelled an external threat without violence
- Increased faith in Divine Protection narrative
- Reinforced village morale and unity
[Total Goodwill: 56]
[Bonus Unlock Available: Tier 3 Utility Reward]
New Unlock Available: "Coolbox MK-I" Blueprint
Magical ice-generation chamber powered by wind or manual crank rotation. Insulated interior. Can preserve perishable items and freeze liquids over time.
Use: Store ice, prepare chilled drinks, frozen fruits, and simple ice cream with additional ingredients.
Riku raised a brow, smiling faintly.
"A fridge. Well... close enough."
The schematic unfurled in his mind — a chest-like structure crafted from thick treated wood, lined with mana-insulated clay tiles and wrapped in thin copper veins. A small crank on the side turned a set of frost-runes pressed into an internal plate, slowly siphoning ambient mana into cold storage.
Simple. Elegant. Buildable.
[Materials Required: Reinforced wood (x10), Copper wire (x4), Basic enchantment stone (x2), Clay tile sheet (x6)]
"Grond can help with the casing," Riku muttered to himself, tracing the diagram with one finger. "The enchantment stone will need some refining, but I could barter that from Rennan later. Maybe even modify a second one into a mobile cooler…"
His mind was already turning — honey for natural sweetness, sugar to refine, vanilla herbs, fruit compotes, carbonated potions for a cola base…
He was just imagining the smile on Lila's face when she tasted ice cream for the first time when—
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed on the wooden hallway floor — followed by a sudden knock and a creak of hinges. Lila stood in the doorway, her face caught somewhere between confusion and frustration..
She definitely wasn't smiling.
"What did you do?" she asked flatly.
Riku blinked. "You'll have to narrow that down."
She stepped into the room, arms folded.
"You gave me a flute that made bandits scream and flee like toddlers hearing thunder. You called me chosen. They bowed. And now... they're building me a shrine out of rice husks."
"Technically," Riku said, "they're just honoring your spiritual resonance."
"Riku."
He sighed, placing the schematic aside. "Alright. Sit."
She didn't move.
Riku took another sip of tea, motioning to the other chair. "I'm serious. You deserve to know."
After a moment, Lila moved — not because she trusted the words, but because she wanted to.
"I never lied to you," Riku said, gently sitting down near her. "But I haven't told the whole truth, either."
He looked at her, and his voice softened.
"Not really. I am a traveler, and I was sent here by someone important. A wandering monk. He gave me a gift — not power, but guidance. He told me that Elowen was a land of potential, and if I wanted peace… this was where I'd have to build it."
Lila leaned forward slightly. "So… the water, the healing stones, the bread... it's all because of that monk?"
"In part," Riku said. "He left behind tools which were enchanted with various blessings. Things that work best when used for good. I've just been... making use of them, one kind act at a time."
She looked down, fingers tightening around the rim of her skirt.
"So I wasn't really chosen by the divine."
Riku tilted his head.
"Lila," he said gently, "you stood in front of your brother when blades were pointed at him. You went into the fields with your sleeves rolled and worked beside me every day. You played a melody, not knowing what it would do — because you trusted someone who told you to."
He smiled.
"If that's not being chosen, I don't know what is."
Lila flushed slightly but didn't look away.
"I'm not good at lying," she said. "But I'll keep your secret."
"That's all I ask," Riku replied.
She glanced at the open schematic on the table. "What's that?"
"A step toward something colder. Something sweeter."
Lila blinked. "Colder?"
Riku leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head.
"You've had matcha and mochi. In the coming week, if things go well… you'll taste something far better."
Her eyes widened.
"You're serious?"
"I'm always serious when it comes to you."
Lila blushed, not used to such sweet talk from another boy her age. She pushed Riku away and stood up with a huff.
"Hmph. Fine. But you have to make a plan to explain my status to the villagers. I do not want to be some divine daughter with a temple."
"Sure, I will speak with the village chief. Don't worry."
-------------------------
Later, Riku told a similar story to Barou, convincing him to convince the villagers to stop building the temple in Lila's name. The villagers started to insist that they should build a shrine for the nameless monk, to which Riku had no opinion. It was better to have the villagers believe in an unknown power than risk his peaceful life going for a toss.
The next morning, Riku went to visit Gnord the blacksmith.
"Morning," Riku said, dropping the cloth onto the forge bench.
"Morning?" Gnord grunted, not looking up. "It's nearly noon."
"Well, time flies when you're drawing schematics in candlelight."
"Did the previous devices work as expected?"
"Much better, in fact, I wanted to place an order for a few more of them. But before that, I want to build another prototype." Saying that, Riku handed over a bundle to Gnord.
Gnord unwrapped the bundle and raised an eyebrow. Inside lay copper wire, polished wood, small enchanted stones, and clay tiles — all carefully prepped and sorted.
"More mumbo jumbo? What even is it?."
"I call it a Coolbox. Think of it as a magic ice vault."
Gnord raised an eyebrow. "To keep fish?"
"To keep anything. And eventually... to make frozen sweets."
Gnord squinted at the drawing. "This crank system looks suspiciously annoying. But where will the cooling come from?"
"The design is complex, yes. I have some runes that can produce the cooling if the crank is rotated, I will just have to do that manually for now."
The blacksmith chuckled, already running his fingers along the edges of the wood and copper.
"Well, I will never understand your designs. Anyways, no matter. You will have your designs in one to two weeks."
"I figured," Riku said, "In exchange, I will let you in on a nice business idea, once it is done."
"I don't need anything. You have already done so much for us. I would be sinning if I took something from you." Gnord said, shaking his head.
"Don't worry about that. Just trust me. Soon, I will bring a lot of development to the village, and I will need a lot of people to work with me as well."