'Two of something this hard to get? How...?'

While Haruna was still puzzled—

click-click-click...

—the ugly teddy bear who had just given her two magic wands was riding a bicycle out of the restroom.

Realizing who the teddy bear was, Haruna instinctively grabbed the long handle attached to the back of the tricycle.

As the pedals spun in the air, the ugly teddy bear turned to look back.

— What is it?

Haruna held up her phone.

“Are you Jjapso?”

The ugly teddy bear’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

She looked as if she was debating whether to admit it, so Haruna quickly continued.

“I mean you no harm.”

'......'

“There’s no special reason. I just have something I want to ask you.”

After a short silence, a gruff, voice-modulated tone came from the teddy bear’s mouth.

— What do you want to ask?

Haruna’s face lit up when she checked the meaning through her translation app.

Then she typed firmly on her keyboard with a surprisingly serious expression.

“Do you enjoy making things?”

Behind the phone she held out, her face could be seen—resolute and sincere, showing clearly that she had no intent to mock or belittle.

— ......?

The unfinished teddy bear tilted her head slightly to the side.

— Dat’s a stwange question. Makin’ tings is awways fun.

Haruna read the translation and gave a bitter smile.

[“I figured. With so many people lined up....”]

Even just at the pop-up store now, there had to be at least a thousand people.

[“When you receive so much love from so many people, making must be a great joy.”]

Guru blinked after checking Haruna’s murmured words through the app.

— Whiwe it’s twue dat peopwe wikin’ it feews nice... makin’ is fun fow its own sake, isn’t it?

[“But....”]

Looking dejected, Haruna lifted her phone.

“Isn’t making something that no one likes a meaningless act?”

The unfinished teddy bear’s mouth opened in a triangular shape, looking shocked. She had never once thought of it that way...!

— I-is dat so?

Haruna pressed her lips together and nodded.

Then, after hesitating for a moment, she continued speaking through the translation app.

“I intend to quit making things.”

Eh?!

Guru was so startled that she blurted back with a dumbfounded look.

— Why? Inoue Hawuna, awe you not a tawent of Japan who couwd stand awongside Kazuki?!

Haruna opened her mouth as if to reply, then swallowed her words and gave a bitter smile instead.

The sight struck Guru as terribly lonely, and she lifted her eyebrows all the way to her hairline.

— Is makin’ not fun fow you anymowe?

“I have never once found making fun.”

Haruna shook her head firmly.

“Not even once.”

Thud—!

Guru stiffened as if struck by lightning at her resolute words.

Then, in a low tone, quick words slipped out.

— How can dat be? Makin’ is da most fun ting in da whowe wowwd?!

[“I...”]

— Dat’s impossibwe. Inoue Hawuna, yoo awe gweatwy mistaken. Dis Mama wiww show yoo da supew-dupew joy of makin’ tings.

At the sudden flood of words, Haruna fumbled with her translator in confusion.

Then Guru stored her bicycle in her inventory, waddled up, grabbed Haruna’s hand, and led her out of the restroom.

“Who’s that?!”

Serhi, who had been waiting in front of the restroom, looked startled at the sight of Guru suddenly emerging with some girl.

But Guru just grabbed Serhi’s hand with her other hand and bustled forward.

Following behind, Serhi made eye contact with Haruna and gaped.

“Inoue Haruna?”

Haruna flinched.

Just then, Gidan, who had finally managed to snag one of the hands-on zone tables, waved to Serhi and Guru.

“You’re back? And who’s that...?”

Gidan looked over the girl Guru had brought and then raised his voice.

“Ino-whatsit—!”

Serhi swiftly clamped a hand over Gidan’s mouth and glanced around.

If he loudly announced that Inoue Haruna was here, it would definitely draw massive attention.

“Do you want to be noticed?”

When Gidan shook his head, Serhi finally let him go.

Gidan whispered with his voice lowered to the bare minimum.

“No, but that’s Inoue Haruna...!”

“I know, idiot. She got picked up from the bathroom.”

Despite the two’s flustered reactions, Guru just sniffed and perked her ears.

Thankfully, since there were quite a few kids cosplaying Jjapso at the pop-up store, there was no commotion about “the real Jjapso” appearing.

Gidan gestured toward Haruna and asked Serhi:

“...She alone?”

“Yeah. No one was tailing her.”

“Jwesonghamnida. Jwesonghamnida.”

With a near-teary face, Haruna kept repeating apologies in clumsy Korean.

'The way she looks, it’s just like our Guru picked her up off the street...'

Gidan crossed his arms and gave Haruna a dissatisfied once-over.

Running into her in the restroom and bringing her out was one thing, but she had to have come to the pop-up store on her own two feet. And she was wearing a hat and mask to avoid being recognized...

She looked like a fragile girl—what purpose could she have had in coming here alone? He soon figured it out.

It was thanks to the envious stares zeroing in on the magic wands in both of Haruna’s hands.

'Is that the reason?'

An S-Class crafter came all the way here just to buy that?

While Gidan was still puzzled, Guru declared proudly in her gruff, modulated voice:

— Hawuna wiww awso assembwe a dwone wif us.

Serhi sighed.

“Why suddenly do it together? She looks uncomfortable too.”

Meeting Serhi’s gaze, Haruna bowed repeatedly at the waist.

— Just... she has hew weasons.

Rather than explain Haruna’s private ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) reason for quitting crafting, Guru simply glossed over it as “having reasons.”

That wasn’t the sort of thing to share lightly with others.

“What kind of explanation—”

At that moment, Gidan cut Serhi off with a crooked grin as if he’d just remembered something.

“What else?”

He plunked down two drone head pieces onto the table.

“It’s a Korea-Japan match.”

Haruna looked between her phone screen and Gidan.

Korea-Japan match? Surely that was a mistranslation?

Gidan tapped her phone screen twice and then made a circle with his thumb and forefinger.

“That’s right. Korea-Japan match.”

***

“No skills allowed—pure assembly only. First we finish, then we see whose toy is stronger. Got it?”

Gidan explained the simple rules with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The one who objected was Justice Guru.

— If dis is a Korea-Japan match, it’s thwee to one. Wooks wike we’re da viwwains.

“The host country always gets a buff.”

— Hooh! I see.

“What do you mean, ‘I see.’”

Serhi, clicking his tongue, gestured at Haruna.

“I’ll be on her side. That okay?”

Gidan’s eyes quivered with betrayal.

“You’re really going to be a traitor?”

“Our country’s been doomed for a long time.”

“You’re Korean. I even gave you a Korean name and this is how you act?”

“What name? Are you insane?”

“Jin Sehee!”

“Shut up!”

As Gidan and Serhi bickered, Haruna looked flustered and tried to calm them down.

Guru stopped Haruna and shook her head.

[“Boys grow up like that.”]

[“Is that so?”]

[“Yes. Wet’s assembwe.”]

Haruna nodded before she could think.

Is this really okay? While Haruna was still unsure, Guru was fully immersed in assembly, her focus and concentration immense.

After a while, even Gidan and Serhi joined in, and soon the table was filled with the sound of tap-tap-tap from the assembly work.

Haruna fiddled with one piece, her eyes darting around.

'A Korea-Japan match, seriously.'

To suddenly be representing Japan in a toy assembly contest at a department store! She really should be going home now, but she’d gotten swept up in whatever the Hyeonak bunch was doing.

In truth, she could have just stood up and left.

'I could give back the magic wands...'

She pressed her lips together as she looked at the wands on the table.

“...”

But of course she couldn’t.

She had never once insisted on her own opinion before.

So Haruna slowly began to assemble.

She’d only ever made swords or pottery before. She’d never made a toy...

While Haruna was still wondering what kind of toy she should make, Gidan asked casually:

“So why are you here? You could make a kid’s toy like that easy, right?”

“Ah...”

He pointed with his chin at the magic wand on the table.

Haruna hurriedly put the wand into her bag. Then she tapped quickly on her phone and pressed the speaker icon.

“I cannot make toys.”