Blanc stopped dead in his tracks. His scalp prickled as he watched the scene. She was only using magic to produce lumber, so why did it look so agonizing?
...There seemed to be something wrong with this girl's mental state.
Blanc cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Laki, need a hand? I'll take over for a while."
At the sound of his voice, Laki slowly raised her head. She squinted for ages before her eyes finally focused, then froze when she recognized him.
"Bl...anc?"
The moment she spoke, her eyes visibly reddened.
With a sudden swoosh, she pounced like a starving tiger and grabbed Blanc's hand. Her eyes shone behind her glasses as though she had spotted an oasis in the desert, and even her voice trembled. "Thank goodness... sob, thank goodness..."
"Finally... I finally don't have to sit here making wood all by myself, day and night!"
Blanc didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Is it really that bad...? How did making lumber leave you in this state?"
She scoffed. "Hah. You don't understand at all. I haven't had a single good night's sleep these past few days!"
"Now, whenever I close my eyes, I dream about thousands upon thousands of pieces of lumber lining up to interrogate me-'Is this the right size?' 'Is this the right shape?' 'Answer us! Is it right or not?!'..."
As she spoke, she roughly pulled a crumpled roll of drawings from inside her clothes and shoved it into Blanc's hands with a hint of relief.
"Here's the blueprint for the new guildhall. Starting today, it's yours!"
She looked as though she were handing over some cursed object.
Watching the oddly emotional Laki, Blanc unfolded the drawings suspiciously.
But when he saw their contents, he fell silent.
The drawings showed seemingly professional perspective