[26 — Hobby?]

Honestly, I didn't expect my trip to the forge to pay off this much. This was hands down the biggest loot haul I'd gotten since coming to this world. And if I may say so, I'm pretty damn satisfied with the outcome.

Not only did I walk away with a shiny new sword, I also managed to squeeze 20 silver coins out of Cjorn. That was the price he thought fair in exchange for me not paying his wife a little… visit.

A modest sum, sure, but more than enough to get me out of the red and stop me from begging for handouts for a while.

"Hah, life really is hilarious sometimes."

"That was amazing! How did you know you'd walk away with something for free?" Sera's eyes were sparkling.

"Well… that's called behavioral analysis. In time, you'll learn to use every bit of information to your advantage. Who knows; maybe one day you'll be half as sharp as me."

"Behavioral… analysis… I see..."

Yeah, I felt a little guilty for dragging her into my schemes, but what could I do? The end justifies the means. And besides, twenty silver coins.

With that, I could finally start narrowing down the gap caused by my lack of information.

"I can only imagine what Ruru's going to say—"

"Whoa, hold it right there!" I grabbed her shoulders. "You're not telling Ruru a single word of this, got it? This stays between us."

"B-but—"

"No buts. If you keep quiet, I'll buy you something at obaachan's shop. Sound good?"

I could afford to splurge a little. After all, I wasn't broke anymore.

"…Fine."

Phew. That was a close one.

*

"Destroyer-sama, I can't believe this. Where in the world did you find money to buy all this junk?"

… Looks like I underestimated Ruru's sharp eye.

"Relax, Ruru. This is the fruit of my sweat and hard work. And for the record, these aren't 'junk.' These are supplies. Raw materials for war."

"They spin so fast!"

Sera was happily playing with her new pinwheel.

"Ah… I really don't know what to do with you, Destroyer-sama. Why did you buy all these blocks of wood?"

On my bed was a messy pile of wooden cubes I'd bought at Obaachan's shop. Some small, some large, all cut from the same pale, lightweight wood.

At first glance, yeah, it probably looked like a huge waste of money. Judging by Ruru's tone, she must've thought I was just a materialistic idiot. But that couldn't be further from the truth.

I'm not the type to spend recklessly.

Still, since I'd scored big this time, I decided to indulge in a little luxury: a new hobby. Crafting.

Sure, I wasn't skilled enough to make detailed figurines or anything like that, but with a little practice? Maybe I could craft something useful; maybe even turn a profit.

For now, though, the best I could manage were throwing knives and deadly needles.

It took a bit of effort to get the shape right, but once you got the hang of it, it was easier than—

"Oi! Ruru! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Huh? I'm throwing out the trash. If you leave these splinters lying around, someone's going to get hurt."

"S-splinters?! Can't you see these are my fatal needles? I stayed up all night carving them!"

"C-carving? Ah… right. I see."

"…"

The look of disgust Ruru gave my works of art needed no words. Yet I wasn't shaken.

Even Van Gogh was only recognized after his death, so… there was no reason for me to despair. The greatest geniuses are always misunderstood.

…Of course, that didn't mean I would let this slide.

It was time to teach Ruru a lesson.

*

Spiders are incredible creatures.

Despite being so small, with such simple brains, they can lure, manipulate, and destroy their prey in a battle of pure intelligence.

Most people think their webs are just sticky traps, but certain species elevate the art to another level, hiding them from the light until they're practically invisible to any poor soul who dares step foot in their territory.

And as if that weren't cruel enough, some spiders weave their silk in ultraviolet, tricking pollinating insects into mistaking their webs for flowers.

So the innocent little creature goes chasing a promise of paradise… only to watch its entire world collapse beneath its feet.

In that moment, it realizes not only that it's been following a script written by its predator, but that every choice it made led inevitably to its own doom.

Simply genius.

"…"

Ruru didn't move.

More precisely: she couldn't move.

She was trapped.

Caught in the merciless chains of the food chain.

"Gulp." She swallowed hard.

I knew exactly what she was thinking.

Her innocent blue eyes darted all over the terrain, searching for an opportunity—any sliver of hope—for escape.

But it was impossible.

With her hands tied and her movements reduced, there was no hope for the poor silver-haired girl.

She knew she was powerless before absolute strength.

And as I looked down at her defenseless form, I thought about the chain of events that had brought us here. 

Could it have gone differently?

I'll admit, a part of me (a very small part) did pity her. Like the last shred of my humanity was whispering that I should forgive her; for mocking me, for underestimating me, for making a fool of me all this time.

But the stronger part of me (the one that had read Machiavelli's The Prince) had no scruples. All it could see was the sweet taste of victory, and nothing—not even mercy—would distract me.

So I acted.

I identified her only possible escape route and decided to play with her. I guided her gently, savoring every second of her despair, until she saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

If she needed a push to walk herself into the abyss, then I would gladly give it. 

A coup de grâce.

At once, a smile spread across her lips. The smile of someone who thought everything was fine, that she'd finally found the answer.

She took a step back, clinging to the last thread she could reach, but unfortunately… she didn't know.

She didn't know that the one holding that thread all along… was none other than her executioner: Murakami Katou.

"Checkmate!"

"N-nooo!!! How? How did you still have that bishop and I didn't notice?!"

"Hah… it's useless, Ruru. No matter what tricks you pull, the gap between our skill levels is so absurd it's insane to expect any other result."

…Tch. Not to brag, but beating me at chess is impossible.

"Ugh! The worst part is that I was so close this time."

"Nn... haa~ feels so good." I yawned.

I think Ruru finally learned her lesson.

"This game looks fun." Sera picked up one of the pieces.

"You want to learn how to play, Sera?"

"No, Ruru. She's still too young for this." I plucked the piece from her hand and slipped it into the cloth bag.

"Hey!"

"Destroyer-sama, Sera may be young, but she's smart. Why not teach her? I bet she could beat you in no time!"

"Beat me? And then people say I'm the delusional one, haha. Spare me, Ruru. That's impossible."

I'm not teaching anyone.

"Hoh? What's this? I smell fear~"

…Oh, Ruru. So naive. Reverse psychology doesn't work on me.