I carried her home. She was light—too light. Not like flesh, but like bone-dry earthenware.

  Back in my workshop, my hands were already reaching for the clay before I could think twice.

  I’m no master craftsman. I don’t know the proper way to heal a living statue.

  But I know clay.

  I know how it yields under a thumb.

  I know how it finds its way into cracks—how it settles there, as if it was always meant to.

  My fingers moved before I could think.

  I pressed thin layers of clay into the cracks in her skin.

  I didn’t have a manual. I didn’t have a theory.

  I just followed the itch in my brain that demanded every surface be smooth.

  I warmed the clay with my own hands. Not out of magic—

  it just felt right.

  I kept smoothing. Filling. Pressing.

  By the time I stopped, I was slumped over the workbench—exhausted, and strangely satisfied.

  ...As I lost myself in the work, I eventually fell asleep, slumped over the desk.

  "Wake up!"

  I was jolted awake from my makeshift bed by an unfamiliar girl's voice.

  "Wait, what!?" It was still before sunrise. Dawn was bleeding into the eastern sky.

  The owner of the voice was a girl with crimson hair.

  "...Isn't it a bit early?"

  I found myself retorting to my savior right off the bat.

  "Look, in these situations... aren't you supposed to wake me up along with the beautiful morning light?" "

  There's no such rule.

  On the contrary, 'The early bird catches the worm.'

  " She smacked my hunched back repeatedly.

  Her hands and feet were still encased in clay that looked like casts.

  "...Are your limbs okay?"

  "Oh, these? They’re still 'rendering.' I feel like they’ll come off naturally after a bit more time passes."

  "Are you... the Haniwa I made?"

  "So it seems."

  I took another look at her as she stood there with her hands on her hips.

  She wore an oriental-style outfit—a red Japanese-style top and a black skirt.

  Her crimson hair, falling to her shoulders, had a mysterious texture, clumped together like clay.

  It felt like I was still in a dream.

  My head throbbed as I tried to recall last night.

  Right... the Bear-Goblin, the Haniwa, the light, the red-gold moon. It didn't feel real at all.

  "...What are you staring at?"

  "Eh?"

  My eyes met her round, ruby-like pupils.

  "Your appearance is just... unusual. You look kind of like pottery."

  "Hah? Who says 'You look like pottery' the first time they meet someone?"

  "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it like that..."

  I felt like I’d stepped on a landmine right from the start.

  "So, what's your name?"

  "Uh, it's Kutani."

  "Right. I am Lurdona."

  Lurdona tried to cross her arms but failed due to her stiff limbs. Looking awkward, she stared intently at my hands.

  "Kutani, you don't seem to have any mana. How did you knead that clay?"

  "Eh? No, I just kneaded it out of stress... I've had this habit of kneading clay whenever I'm under pressure since a long time ago."

  What am I telling a stranger?

  "You're still carrying stress even after being reincarnated?"

  "...Probably. I mean, the habit just won't go away."

  Lurdona let out an exasperated sigh, then allowed the corners of her mouth to relax slightly.

  "Fine. You are my creator, after all."

  "Eh?"

  "Your tears created me. —You were crying, weren't you?"

  "...I wasn't crying."

  "Liar. Your face was a mess."

  "That was... humidity. This house is a wreck, I'm going to open a window."

  I stood up and opened the window. A gentle breeze flowed in.

  "Humidity doesn't turn a face into a crying mess."

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  Lurdona burst out laughing. Her smile was pure innocence. A smile directed at me. There was nothing rarer than that.

  She was teasing me.

  And yet—

  I hadn’t felt this relieved in years.

  But immediately after, anxiety surged, and I couldn't help but speak.

  "...I'm ten billion in debt."

  She blinked.

  "Ten billion…"

  For a brief second, her eyes lost focus.

  "That's manageable.”

  "If you have a debt, pay it back. If it's a wreck, fix it. —As long as you're alive, there’s always a way."

  I felt a little comforted by her bold declaration. But the emotional resonance didn't last a second.

  The moment she stepped forward with full confidence, her joints operated with the mechanical clack typical of clay work, and she fell straight forward.

  "Whoa!?"

  As I caught her, the cold, hard sensation of earthenware hit my chest.

  "...Forget that."

  Lurdona said in a muffled voice, her face buried in my chest.

  "Eh?"

  "I said, delete that scene from your memory right now! My dignity! My 10-billion-worth of dignity!"

  "You didn't have that much. The 10 billion is my debt. ...Well, thanks anyway. For cheering me up."

  I felt Lurdona's body grow slightly warm in my arms.

  We sat down together on the sofa by the window. The sofa was positioned so we could clearly see the view outside—early morning mist, the sun not yet fully risen, and steam rising from the town in the distance.

  "By the way, how did you know I was in trouble?"

  "Maybe because I was created by you, Kutani... I just seem to know when you're in a pinch."

  "I see... Anyway, I'm glad your wounds are healed."

  Looking at her cracks, they had vanished to the point of being almost invisible.

  "You were in terrible shape, how did you do it?"

  "Oh, I just tried applying high-quality clay to the cracks. For the bruises, I mixed in some medicinal-looking herbs and made a sort of clay poultice. ...Did it work?"

  "Yes. Especially this poultice thing, it's amazing. I feel like power is surging through me."

  "Does it have an enhancement effect too?"

  I examined the clay poultice I’d applied to her, touching it to verify.

  "Where do you think you're touching!?"

  "Wait, it's just the poultice!"

  "You touched somewhere else too, didn't you!?"

  "I did not!"

  "I can't let my guard down around you for a second."

  Lurdona scooted to the very edge of the sofa.

  It's probably best not to get close to a girl when she's in this state.

  I let out a sigh, said, "I'm going to knead some clay for a bit," and headed to the workshop.

  There, I hurriedly bored holes in stones and threaded them together with a string, making a beaded bracelet. I casually returned to the room and held it out.

  "Here, take this."

  I held the bracelet in front of the sulking Lurdona’s face.

  "Eh, what is...?"

  "It's for you."

  "For me?"

  "Just take it, come on."

  I almost forcefully placed the bracelet on her right wrist. She stared at her own arm for a while as if in a daze.

  "...Th-Thanks!"

  She turned her face away sharply and moved to a distant sofa, but I saw the corners of her mouth twitch upward. Her hand touched the bracelet gently, as if handling a treasure. Illuminated by the morning sun, she was a presence I had never seen before—possessing the divinity of a guardian statue from a temple, combined with the "easy-to-please" vulnerability of a meddling childhood friend.

  An idea formed as I watched the scene.

  I've been reincarnated, but... maybe living through creation just to see smiles like this wouldn't be so bad.

  The thought slipped out of my mouth.

  "Maybe I'll try opening a general store."

  A 10-billion debt. A ceramic girl who was the strongest but clumsy. A reincarnation with no mana. To get through this chaotic situation, I felt like I had to create something for the sake of smiles like hers.

  "...That sounds interesting. We might actually be able to pay back the debt that way."

  The sunlight finally streamed in through the window. Her smile, bathed in that white light, was like an angel descending with a blessing.

  "Alright, it's settled. Let's head to town right away—"

  "Okay, I'm going to sleep now."

  The hand I had reached out was left hanging in mid-air. Lurdona lay down on the sofa.

  "Wait, what happened to the flow!? Aren't we supposed to tour the town and go on an outdoor adventure together now!?"

  "I'm nocturnal. It seems I'm forced into a 'Sleep Mode'..."

  "You were just sleeping until a moment ago... again?"

  "If you're in danger… I'll intervene."

  "Intervene how?"

  "...Administrator privileges."

  Before she could even finish her sentence, she closed her eyes.

  "...'Administrator Privileges'? What server are you from, exactly?"

  "Maybe I'm sleepy because I'm a 'newborn'... I bet my 'patches' are applied during the day. I think I'll be forced to sleep during the day from now on. I'll take the night shift, so I'm counting on you."

  "Patches? Your word choices have been sounding awfully like an engineer lately."

  "I don't know. They just come out of my mouth on their own."

  Wait... does she have some connection to the world I came from?

  "Even so, that sounds like the quirk of a high-tier character who joins the party late in the game..."

  "I don't know about that... goodnight..."

  As soon as she said that, Lurdona's body hardened like earthenware... and amazingly, she became just like a Haniwa. Her Haniwa form, sleeping peacefully in the morning sun, was nothing short of an avant-garde work of art.

  "What is this... this is awesome."

  I muttered as I stared at her in Haniwa form.

  However, I was alone once again. But I wasn't lonely. I felt a strong sense of relief in having someone who trusted me.

  "Alright, I'm going to the town at the foot of the mountain to buy some tools for clay work."

  I slowly opened the door and stepped out into the world filled with light.

  The town at the foot of the mountain was named Slowtown—a medium-sized town where humans and monsters coexisted. I ended up talking to a plump, talkative Ogre woman.

  "So you bought that house? It's been vacant for a long time. Some witch-like person used to live there selling suspicious tools and medicines."

  "I see... Wait, a witch!? Is it going to be okay?"

  "It's just that nobody wanted to buy it! I'm sure it'll be fine!"

  "...This is news to me. Though the loan alone is heavy enough to be a curse."

  Marie, the Ogre shopkeeper, showed me her tools.

  I didn’t know the alloys. I didn’t know their history.

  I probably wouldn’t have understood even if she explained it.

  I wasn’t particularly skilled.

  I just liked clay.

  Probably more than was healthy.

  Still, my eyes kept drifting to certain pieces.

  That spatula’s curve looked comfortable.

  The wire beside it looked… satisfying.

  I had no real reason. No theory.

  I just wanted to try them.

  “Uh… I’ll take this one. And that. And… maybe the wire too.”

  10,000 Gel.

  Not knowing which bill was which, I handed over all the money I had at the time. Marie said, "It's a little short, but I like your eyes, so I'll put it on your tab," and gave me a powerful wink.

  "In exchange, if you make something interesting, show it to me first. I'm counting on you!"

  Slapped on the back by the Ogre's massive arm, I practically fled the shop.

  I returned home. Lurdona was still on the sofa in "Sleep Mode (Haniwa)."

  I sat at my desk, the new tools feeling heavy and right in my hand. I wasn't trying to create a masterpiece; I was just kneading clay to keep my hands from shaking at the thought of the debt. Then, a soft knock. The door creaked open, and a small child stood there, looking up at me with hesitant, tear-filled eyes.

  "Hello... is the shop open?"