First, I went back to our tent and took my short sword. I then hurried back to the branch office, scraped off the excess charcoal, put the lit ones in the center, and then I placed a brick in front to prevent the lit charcoal from flying away. I also put the displayed goddess statue in my pocket as a lucky charm and took the spear. Its total length is about 120 cm, and it will be effective if the cave is not quite narrow.
Since it’s an escort job, it would be better to have a weapon that can attack in the distance. If I have to abandon it, I should try to at least bring back the spearhead. With two weapons in hand, I returned to the command post again. There’s a leather armor for the upper body there. It’s for me I guess.
“Is it all right for me to use this?”
There are other people in the tent, including Miss Frederica, so I spoke to Marius in a polite tone.
“Yes, you can use it. Hey.”
“Yes”
Marius replied to me and called out to the female soldier nearby. She then took the armor and put it on me. Well, I’m not used to wearing it either…
However, I thought that she was very skilful on this. When I looked closely, I saw that she was the servant in the Eimurl mansion who also changed my clothes before. She seemed to have realized that I recognized her so she smiled at me.
With the armor on, I looked like a lightly equipped infantryman. I lack a shield to enter the phalanx, though. As the servant left, “You look good on it”, she whispered to me in a voice I could barely hear. Somehow it kinda feel embarrassing. And as I felt like that, I noticed Miss Frederica’s gaze at me.
“Does Eizou-san have military experience?”
Miss Frederica asked me that when our eyes met.
“No, none at all. That’s why I had help in dressing up.”
“I see. You look good on it though.”
“Thank you.”
I smiled and I gave her a slight bow as I excused myself. Well, we have to leave already. When I glanced at Marius and his servant, they had a warm expression on them. No way, is Miss Frederica in the command post for healing purpose?
After I left the command post, I lined up behind the soldiers in the square. It seems that I will be under Marius’ command later. Marius came out of the command post shortly after I lined up. Soldiers then lined up and saluted on command. The form of the salute is not the raised hand on the forehead but a fist on the chest. Marius raised his hand and then everyone lowered their hand.
“Gentlemen, today is the day that we will bring down the hammer on those filthy creatures and we will be completely victorious!”
Marius looked around as he speaks in a loud voice.
“Unfortunately, I can’t say that I will reward you all as much as you want for this achievement. The treasure house of the Eimurl House will be vacant so if any of you wish to live in a vacant room, you may do so. I will even earn accommodation fee for your stay.”
The soldiers burst into laughter. That’s a good trend. The joke aside, the moment they were cornered, they couldn’t laugh like this anymore.
“Today, I want you to think of this as your first step towards getting the reward you deserve. I hope this will be your first victory and I hope it will go down in your history!”
The crowd erupted in cheers. I hope this will raise their morale and make today’s subjugation a success.
Leroy led the majority of the soldiers towards the cave first. They were lined up in an orderly fashion and were in high spirits. Their footsteps were somehow in sync, and they must have been quite intimidating if you are to suddenly run into them.
It seems that me, Marius, and a small group of soldiers are going to meet up with the escort target as a separate unit. It’s not a special operation, he just don’t want to send a lot of soldiers on detour. He said that it takes a lot of effort just to get 10,000 soldiers in and out of the square, and even if it’s on a much smaller scale, he would want to reduce the number of times they have to lead them out.
“The planned location is in this way.”
One of the soldiers led the way. I recalled seeing him at Eimurl mansion. He must have brought one of his servants who knows military arts as his personal guard. I first thought that it would have been better to send him to escort the escort target but I realized that it’s no good as Marius’ personal guard will not stay with him.
We walked through a cluster of trees that were too few to be called a forest, but too many to be called woods. I was impressed by the fact that some of the lower branches had been cut down, as if they were being managed as a lumber forest.
It was a little more than a quarter of an hour later when the number of trees had increased a little. An elven woman was standing there facing away from us. There were several elven men who had escorted her here and they were conversing with her.
“It’s that woman.”
The soldier leading the way said that to Marius and me. Then as if she heard us, the elven woman turned around. Fine silver-white hair cut around the shoulders, almond eyes and thin long ears. It’s a feature that that’s quite distinct to an elf. But I was quite surprised.
―The elf woman I would be escorting was none other than Liddy-san.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
This chapter is sponsored by Raymond Anthony. Enjoy reading～
I tidied-up once I returned to the branch office. And while I was waiting for those who will pick up the weapons, I checked the breastplate. Basically, I can fix it by hammering it but it needs to be heated a little. I only need to heat the part that needs to be fixed but just in case, I have to remove the straps so that’s where it will take time. The soldiers arrived not long after I finished cleaning and they then took the repaired weapons.
Work hard and come back again.
After this, all I have to do is go to Oyasan, have dinner, and go to bed. Our stay will be extended as planned, so they haven’t started cutting down on food yet. I ate a good meal and went back to our tent and drowsiness came to me quickly.
The next morning,
After I woke up, I get dressed and then I quickly went to eat breakfast. Some soldiers have come to eat and as far as I can see, they are not yet demoralized. They are probably trying to finish the job today and the thought of a triumphant return if they do well today is supporting them.
To put it the other way around, if they didn’t succeed today, they will have to attack again tomorrow with a reduced number of troops due to injuries or other reasons. They will have to capture the enemy’s territory with lower morale then. And depending on the situation of the enemy and ours, we may have to retreat and come back again or wait for reinforcements.
If we are to drive a fast horse early this evening and hang on for six days, the advance party of reinforcements will arrive with supplies, and the main part of the reinforcements will arrive two to three days later.
However, I can easily imagine that failure would cast a bad shadow on the future of the Eimurl Family. And if it came down to who would pay for the reinforcements, Eimurl family would have a larger share than the country. So no matter what happens, they would want to settle the matter today.
That said, I’ll help him with all my best. With that in mind, I finished my meal and then I went directly to the branch office.
After I arrived at the branch office, I built a fire in the fire bed and then I removed the breastplate’s straps until the temperature has risen. It took a lot of work but I managed to get them off.
The range of my cheat is all blacksmithing related so it should work for the armor as well. I haven’t made one yet because if I am to make it, the number of items that I can finish is too small to justify the effort. Besides, it’s not like I can sell it as a household item like the knife.
Just as the temperature has risen and I was about to start, a young soldier came running towards me. I think he was in a great hurry as he was out of breath. Well, this place was a bit far from the command post after all.
“E-, Excuse me, the Count is calling for you.”
The soldier then told me that.
“The Count?”
“Yes. It’s urgent.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
I’m worried about the cleaning up of the fire bed but since it wouldn’t be a problem if it’s left unattended, I decided to head there immediately.
As I followed the soldier to the command post, I saw a group of soldiers wearing metal and leather armor gathering in the square. As inspection, Leroy was getting reports and such. They would be heading for the cave in a little while. I hope they can settle it today.
“Your Excellency, the blacksmith is here!”
The soldier informed Marius once we entered the tent. Aside from our personal friendship, in here, he is the Count and I am only a blacksmith so I don’t have objection to the soldier’s word.
“Un, thank you for your hard work. Everyone leave for a while first.”
In a composed manner, Marius replied and ordered them to leave. And soon, several soldiers and Miss Frederica went out in succession. Miss Frederica glanced at me with worried look in her eyes.
It’s probably not a punishment. It may be worse than that. In this way, there were only two people in the command post, me and Marius.
“Is it really that of a big deal that you need to make those people leave?”
Now that it’s only me and Marius, I spoke in a casual tone.
“Yeah. No, it’s not a big deal. I say it’s not a big deal but…”
Strangely, Marius hesitated to speak.
“You don’t have to hesitate at this point you know. Well, of course, I’ll get my portion for that.”
I laughed and urged him to speak.
“Then, I’m sorry Eizou but I want you to be one of the escort as we go to the cave. It’s not me that you’ll guard though. It’s someone from the nearby elf village. We need help to contain the source of monsters you see.”
“Are you short of soldiers?”
“No, it’s not impossible to assign one from here. Even if I am to pull out a couple of people from the guards on this camp, the defense here will still be fine. We don’t have a problem in terms of numbers, but they are don’t have that ability….”
“Ah……”
Almost all of them are recruits. Some of the captains who manages the unit of 10 people have some experience, but they have their own job to do. And as an escort, you must protect yourself as well as the safety of the subject. Whether or not you are prepared to risk your life to protect the subject in an emergency, there is no point in being an escort if the escort will die easily.
“I’m just a blacksmith though.”
Knowing that he couldn’t just ask a blacksmith, I tried to refuse.
“Eizou is good at it, right?”
It’s futile. Marius knew that at that time (during the turmoil), the Marquis intimidated me and that I managed to overcome that pressure.
“All right, all right. However, you should prepare for a reason as to why me, a blacksmith was assigned as an escort.”
“For that, I’ll say you were so enthusiastic about military arts that you became a blacksmith in pursuit of your own weapon. Only, when it finally suit your taste, you were far better than a recruit.”
Uh-, even the cover story was already prepared huh. I shrugged my shoulders and somewhat reluctantly agreed.
“We are leaving already, right?”
“Yeah. We are supposed to meet the escort target when we move a little away from here.”
“Understood. Then, let me prepare first.”
“Please do.”
I waved my hand to indicate that I understood and then I sprinted to our tent to get my things.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
There were many longswords on the list, a few shields, and one breastplate armor. I could imagine their fierce battle. How I wish I could finish all of these today. However, there are about four barrels brought by the soldiers. This may not be done by the end of today.
I then took everything out of the barrel. There was a large amount of weapons inside the 4 barrels. They are now all crammed inside the branch office as I arrayed them. I put them in the order of the least time to fix.
By repairing the ones that take the least amount of time to repair, I hope to get as many of them back into their usable condition as possible. At the same time, by doing so, more weapons will be usable. When it comes to an emergency, each piece could mean a difference between their life and death.
The first step is to repair the lightly damaged longswords. As there is no need to prepare fire, the work process itself is as simple as hitting it. Of course, something that can be fixed by hitting it once or twice is not considered as damaged in the first place so it wouldn’t be brought here. In other words, it is a certainty that at the very least, this will take more time to fix.
However, if I don’t start, I can’t finish these items so I picked one up, placed it on the anvil, and hammered it while checking for distortions using my cheat.
It was a bit forced, but thanks to the cheat, I was able to repair one in less time. There are nearly two digits more to go. I didn’t have time to feel relieved or tired, so I put the repaired one in a barrel and started hitting the next one. I continued to work hard on the repair and then I eventually finished repairing everything that needed correction for minor distortion.
I also placed the ones that requires sharpening together with them, and I then carried the barrel containing them near the whetstone stand. I also carried an empty barrel and lined it up near the whetstone stand.
I pulled one out of the barrel containing the longswords and sharpened it while checking it with my cheat. As I don’t need to worry too much about the finishing touches, I just made sure that it’s ready for use. Since it is more efficient to do the same work together, I adjusted the sharpening process so that I could fix it all together.
One piece is finished in less than a minute. Without the cheat, it would have taken more time, but if I use the cheat without caring about the finishing touches, it will take much less time. Once I finished that, I took the next longsword out of the barrel, sharpened it, and then I placed it into the other barrel. Then eventually, the barrel containing the unsharpened ones is emptied out.
“With this, I’m finally done with the longswords.”
Totalling to a two-digit number, the swords are now ready to be returned to the front line. There are still a few heavily distorted swords left unrepaired, but I think I was able to secure a sufficient amount to replenish the supply.
The next step is to repair the two shields. One of them can be repaired by just hammering it, but the other one is dented enough that there’s even holes. To repair it, it must be heated and after it’s heated, it would also take a lot of time to remove or squeeze the handle of the shield. Therefore, this one is considered to be irreparable. And, even if I check it with my cheat, compared to the sword, it is a certainty that the shield that can be hit and fixed needs to be hit more.
Let’s get started then.
The shield is gently curved. Therefore, the dented part needs to be repaired along with it. It would be nice to have a batten, but let’s do something with my cheat here.
The first step is to knock the dent to the opposite side. This is the first step in bringing it back to a near flat state. After that, while adding a little magical power, I hit it at an angle so that the curve returns. Normally, this kind of modification would not result in its original performance.
In my previous world, it’s like you’re trying to put back an empty can that was once dented in the center. At first glance, it may look as if it has returned to its original state, but if you look closely, you will find distortions here and there. In the same way, hitting it from the back will not work that well, but there is something I can do with the combination of my cheat and some magical power.
Eventually, the shield has almost regained its original roundness. If I am to check it, I think there are still some small distortions but the extent of the repair should be enough on the front line.
At this point, the sun was already setting down. I still have a breastplate armor to be repaired, I wonder if this is something that needs to be finished today. The heavily distorted longswords have cracks and they need to be heated up so it will take even longer to repair, I don’t have a choice but to forgo them.
I decided to leave the branch office with the list in my hand and head for the command center.
When I entered the tent of the command center, things were starting to calm down inside. It must have been a long time since they returned while I was repairing. Marius and the others were around the table discussing some strategy. They were exchanging some words but they didn’t seem to be arguing, but rather, it’s like they’re repeatedly reviewing it.
Since Miss Frederica had come to request repairs and the order to withdraw had not come down, it’s likely that the mission will continue tomorrow regardless of a failure or success. Even if it is extended until the day after tomorrow, it is still as planned, so they may have retreated today although the damage was relatively minor.
“Frederica-san”
“Oh, Eizou-san. Is it done?”
I called out to Miss Frederica even though she seems to be relatively busy in the command center.
“No, I still have the breastplate left. It’s about time for the sun to set, so if I’m going to repair it today, I’m going to need a bonfire. If I need to repair it by the end of the day, I’ll arrange for it.”
“I see. I have a spare breastplate so it can wait until tomorrow.”
“Alright. Next is, the shields and swords here are irreparable. If you really want to, I can fix them, but it’s only for emergency measure.”
“I understand. You can leave the parts that cannot be repaired as they are. The parts that have been repaired today will be picked up later.”
Pointing to the list of items that I found irreparable, Miss Frederica takes a new piece of paper and writes something on it. Well, it would affect my payment and if I am to repair an item separately, there would have to be different request form (whether if I am to repair or melt it down). It’s probably something like that.
“Then I’ll bring this back tomorrow.”
I picked up the list that I brought.
“It’s good if it will be settled tomorrow.”
“Yes, I hope so.”
I then left the command post and returned to the branch office, thinking about the repair schedule from tomorrow.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
At the front door of the mansion, the father and daughter pair were making such a racket. Lord Frederia clings to Erna’s waist and desperately tries to hold her back. However, Erna forcefully moves forward one step at a time and she steadily approaches the front door.
The spectator, me and the Lady, can only be exasperated at such scene.
“Why don’t you just give up? Erna is already nineteen years old. She’s old enough to live well by herself.”
“No! My adorable Erna won’t go anywhere! The successor of this house can only be Erna who evolved into a founder elf!”
“Haah-…”
The lady sighs loudly.
As the audience with the Queen and the sacred tree was now done, my task here is also completed so we decided to leave Sanargia. From the start, I didn’t plan to stay here for a long time so it was convenient for me that the matter was settled quickly. That was why I’d like to leave right away, but the problem is as you can see.
The love of Erna’s father for her has indeed gone over the top.
Based from the story that I heard, of her three sisters, it seems that Erna is the one close with her father. And when she left the house, he cried his eyes out, enough to form a puddle. Furthermore, because Erna informed her parents that she has evolved into a founder elf, it was immediately decided that Erna would take over the Frederia family. That’s also one of the reasons why her father was pretty much riled up now.
Well, founder elves are the symbol of the sacred tribe in Sanargia after all. Along with the sacred tree, they were the ones who started and created this kingdom, which then became the starting point of the elf race. On top of that, Erna is the only currently confirmed founder elf. So even if it’s not her father, someone will also try to keep her here.
“You will succeed the Frederia family! I won’t allow you to be an adventurer!”
“No! I’m going to be a great mage! I want to be even more famous and become a great adventurer!”
It seems that Erna is a little stronger than him. She gradually dragged his father as Erna approaches the front door. Her outstretched hand was now about to grab the doorknob.
“Rock wall!”
With the magic of her father, a rock wall appeared before the front door. It cut-off Erna’s path and it blocked the door which was just within her reach.
“Father that’s mean!”
“Kuhahahaha! We are mages, the wiser one wins!”
“Is that so? Here I go then! Fireball!”
After Erna swings her staff, many softball-sized fireballs appeared. The fireballs then hit the rock wall directly and the front door was blown off along with the rock wall and such a huge hole was opened up.
“Damn! That power is a foul!”
“Well, I’m a founder elf! Father’s magic can’t be compared to mine!”
I think this should be stopped, but I can’t find the right words to mediate between them. Besides, I don’t think other people can just intervene in a squabble between a parent and child.
“That reminds me, you guys have an agreement during your duel right?”
Lady Frederia right next to me nudged me with her elbow.
Ah-, I see… That agreement can be effectively used here. I then spoke to Erna’s father.
“Lord Frederia, do you recall our duel?”
“What is it this time? I’m busy right now, let’s talk later.”
“I can’t do that. You see, Lord Frederia and I promised that the one who lost in the duel would agree to the demands of the other party and, since I won… You understood what I meant right?”
“Don’t tell me…”
Lord Frederia’s face turns blue.
Yes, it’s precisely that.
“As her parent, I would like you to approve of Erna as an adventurer. Adventure is a part of an adventurer’s work you see. It will be against our agreement if you stop her.”
“Noooooooooo! Erna is my adorable daughter! I don’t approve of it! That agreement is now invalid!”
He clings to Erna like a child. The Lady who was watching the situation swings her staff and then Lord Frederia’s eyes rolled and with a thud, he collapses on the floor.
“Alright, go on. I’ll take care of the rest so don’t hesitate to go on an adventure.”
“Thanks Mother.”
Erna hugged her mother and then she rushed out of the front door. After giving a bow, I followed Erna and went outside.
“Shinichi, here are the unicorns!”
Erna is pulling the reins of the two unicorns and brought them to me. We hopped on them immediately and we then left the Frederia Family’s residence.
“What was the magic used in your father a while ago?”
“That’s my mother’s original magic. I don’t really know much about it, but she often uses that magic on father.”
“Original magic?”
Lord Frederia said that when he became a master-class mage, he could freely use magic. That is probably his original magic too. If so, magic can be an even more useful force, well, depending on how you use it of course. It is a technique that I want Erna to learn as well.
“I have a question, Erna can you also create original magic?”
“It’s difficult right now. Rumor has it that master-class mage will have special training, but I don’t know how to do it, besides, I’m not yet that skilled on magic manipulation.”
“Special training huh… Is it not that easy to get?”
I was only able to ask till that part. I stopped talking as we are now about to leave the city.
“He—y, stop!”
A soldier was waving at the exit of the city. Seeing his face, it was that Kevin guy, the childhood friend of Erna. We then made the unicorns stop. Kevin rushed to Erna and speaks to her.
“Erna! Are you leaving the city already!? You just came back!”
“Yeah. We are already done with our business here so we are now leaving.”
“That’s—!!”
Kevin was so shocked that he even held his head.
“Is that it? We are in a hurry you see.”
“W-Wait! Then, the next time you come back, uhm, w-will you go on a date with me!?”
“Date?”
After thinking for a minute, Erna replies with a smiling face.
“I don’t know when I’ll be back, and I can’t afford to do something like that now… I’m sorry.”
“I-I see…”
Kevin looks at me with hatred. Perhaps… does Kevin and others think that I’m dating Erna? That’s a big misunderstanding.
“Alright then, see you again Kevin.”
Erna then urged her unicorn to run. I immediately urged my unicorn to run as well and then we quickly moved far away from the entrance of the city.
“That young man seemed to have a good personality. Are you fine not going out on a date with him?”
“I’m not interested in Kevin. I can’t think of going out with anyone unless that person is at least more capable than you Shinichi.”
“A person that surpasses me huh. I think someone like that exists out there, but I don’t know if you can meet one that easily.”
I’m not being proud here, but I’m still confident in my strength and wisdom. Finding a person who is better than me would probably be hard. I’m worried that Erna will be late in getting married.
“…Stupid Shinichi.”
“Hn? I’m not stupid, I was even reputed to be a man with a sharp mind you know.”
Erna rolled her eyes. Why was she making an eye roll? Really, I’m not stupid.
“Forget it.”
Erna resigned herself to something and then she made her unicorn speed up more.
◇
As we cross the mountains, the dense trees ultimately reduced in number. Gradually, the number of large rocks began to increase and then I began to see rocky mountains on the cliffs. Further along the road, we arrived at a mountainous area with wide grasslands.
“It seems that the dwarves’ kingdom is just ahead of here.”
“Dartan Rock Kingdom right? By the way, why wear your hat that deeply?”
Erna wore her purple pointed hat so deeply that even I couldn’t see her face. Her appearance give me a sense of discomfort.
“I guess you have forgotten that the elves and dwarves are not on good terms.”
“Ah-, I did heard something like that.”
That was when I introduced myself to the members of the Earth Fang. Roy considerately taught me why Dhal and Erna were always arguing.
“But Dhal was someone who likes to look after the others, he also took care of you, right? Isn’t all dwarves like that?”
“They are completely different. Dhal has lived in the kingdom for a long time, so unlike the other dwarves, he is kind to other races. But the dwarves in the Rock Kingdom are different. When an outsider comes, their response towards them is always cold and they especially ban elves from entering.”
“So to hide your ears, you decided to wear your hat huh.”
I was convinced. They probably hate them a lot that’s why there’s even an entry ban on elves. I want to know what happened in the past, but the first question is whether Erna can enter the city safely. While thinking about that, a magical beast that I had never seen before, popped out from the bush in the direction of our travel.
“Gugyaun!”
Its height is about 1m. Its body is covered with stone-like skin, the mouth has sharp fangs, and the ears are also sharp. At first glance, it looked like a fiend, much like the gargoyles built in a Western-styled building.
I immediately used my analysis skill.
【Analysis Result: Gargoyle: They eat various rocks and metals, especially iron and silver. It is said that the wings on its back are prepared not for flying but for gliding from high places: Rarity C】
【Status】 Name: Gargoyle Race: Gargoyle Magic Attribute: Earth Magic: Rock Arrow Skills: ▹Intermediate: Fang Strengthening, Hardening, Separation ▹Beginner: Nail Strengthening Evolution: Does not meet the conditions <Requirements: Fang Strengthening (Special Grade), Physical Strength Enhancement (Intermediate), Hardening (Special Grade), Separation (Special Grade) >
“As I can see, it really is a gargoyle huh.”
After I made the unicorn stop, I alight from the horse and stepped on the ground. Erna on the other hand began to watch the surroundings for other enemies.
“Gugaaa!”
The Gargoyle bares his fangs and jumps at me. However, its movement appears to be slow. Contrary to its appearance, it is probably a heavyweight magical beast.
I straight away swing the sword down from above my head and I instantly cut the gargoyle’s body. I moved out of the way as the magical beast that was turned into two (while it was still in the air), fell to the ground.
“Erna, are the materials from a gargoyle expensive?”
“Well, it depends on the location. It seems that it often appears here in Dartan Rock Kingdom, so I think that selling it around here will only fetch a low price.”
“Oh, let’s sell it after we returned to the kingdom then.”
Immediately after I used Skill Picking, I acquired separation skill and then I placed the gargoyle’s corpse inside the bangle. I want to sell the corpse of the magical beast I have in stock somewhere in the city.
It has already been the third day since we left Sanargia, and we have hunted more than 20 magical beasts. I don’t know the extent of the capacity of the bangle but it’s obvious that I’ll be in trouble later if I don’t organize it.
“Okay, let’s resume.”
After I get on the unicorn, we start moving along the road again. Looking up at the sky, bird-like creatures were flying between the towering mountains. And if you look closely, they are griffons. Many were flying in the sky as they cry. Their appearance is imposing and elegant.
“Hmm, that’s…”
I finally saw city on the horizon. Surrounded by an outer wall made of gray stone, the entire city has a strong impression of being a fortress.
That should be Perun, the capital of Dartan Rock Kingdom. As we approached the entrance to the city, two men, who looked like a soldier here, crossed the spear in their hands to block the way.
“The two of you stop! It’s not allowed to bring a magical beast inside this city!”
As expected, we were stopped because of the unicorns. For the time being, I get off the horse and humbly replied to the soldier.
“This is a variant of a unicorn, a magical beast called homeless unicorn. You can think of it as a unicorn in black color. It has the same personality as a normal unicorn.”
“Homeless unicorn? It’s a magical beast I’ve never heard of. But this is pretty good.”
The soldier touches the unicorn’s body. The pitch black coat is illuminated by sunlight and it looks even more beautiful.
“Well, that’s fine then. Don’t let it rampage in the city though.”
The soldiers then made way for us. We succeeded in entering the city safely.
“Oh, this is amazing.”
In the Rock capital, Perun, buildings made of gray stone were lined up in a row. Furthermore, smoke rises from the chimney of each building, and the entire city looks like a factory. On the main street, many wagons loaded with stones were passing by, and a male dwarf wearing gloves and apron was puffing on a pipe of tobacco while looking at the sky.
“Shinichi look! It’s a beastman!”
A man with cat ears was walking in the direction Erna pointed. Although they are not found in Sanargia or in Rogas, beastmen seem to be a race common in this kingdom.
“Ooh~ I’m hungry! We should grab a meal after work!”
I glanced towards that familiar voice. The source of the voice is from the trio coming out of a large building.
“Dhal!”
“Ah?”
When I called out, the bearded dwarf stared at me. And then he grinned.
“Oh, isn’t this Shinichi!”
Dhal runs up to me and I shake hands with him. Behind him are Roy and Nina. I was delighted with the accidental reunion with this Earth Fang trio.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Now that I’ve finished the maintenance of Oyasan’s kitchen knives, I’m ready to finish the spearhead.
The temperature of the fire bed, which had dropped during the maintenance of the kitchen knife, is raised again by operating the bellows. Charcoals hold its heat well so there was no need to reignite it.
I grabbed the spearhead with the pincers and put it in the fire bed, add some charcoal and then I send in some wind. The flames that died down come back to life and it then raised the temperature of the spearhead.
Eventually, the cheat detected that the temperature had risen to a level suitable for quenching. I then quickly removed it from the fire bed and placed it in the water to quench it.
From the pincers that I held in my hand, I felt that the steel was getting harder. From that feeling, the cheat tells me that it’s time so I took it out of the water. Steam then rises from the spearhead as if it started breathing slowly.
After that, I polished the fine bumps on it with the whetstone. Then I sharpened it to attach a blade to it. This now completes the spearhead. Looks like the troops that went to the cave haven’t returned yet, I’ll go look for a suitable handle then.
I left the branch office and head to the wagon loaded with the materials from the Eimurl Family. If it’s about the things on that wagon, I don’t have to inform Miss Frederica and if anything happens, I guess I’ll just have to reimburse Marius directly in the worst case…
And so, I’ll use it properly.
I don’t know when the troops that went to the cave will come back so I have to find one quickly. When I was rummaging inside the wagon, I found a collection of rods of various lengths. These are probably not the ones used to prevent attacks, but the leftovers from the ones used for the fence around this place.
In that case, they probably won’t be used anymore. I don’t think we’ll change places so there won’t be a need for additional fences. I then took out a rod that was a little longer than it should be, and returned to the branch office.
When I returned to the branch office, I cut off the rod I brought to turn it to the right length. The other piece that I cut off will be used for other purpose. I pushed the tip of the rod in the part of the spearhead that was opened to insert the handle and crimp it. This then completes the spear. I did not make a butt end though. Well, it wouldn’t be used in an actual battle either.
As for the short end of the rod―I mean, the scrap. I used my knife and hollowed it out to make a miniature cup. I then filled it with water from the canteen and placed it on the shelf where the statue of the goddess is placed. I then placed the spear below the pillar where the kamidana is placed as an offering.
It would be better not to come to such a situation, but I hope I can get the blessings of this goddess if I should ever use this spear. Well, the problem is that I don’t even know what kind of goddess she is.
Just when I thought I was running out of things to do, Matis came over.
“I want you to fix the horseshoes, is that okay?”
“Hn? Oh, sure.”
I won’t earn money on it but I don’t see a reason to refuse. Thus I accepted it. I thought I’d have more time on my hands, but I guess I’m kind of busy today.
When I agreed, Matis handed me some horseshoes. I checked them with the cheat and found that they were indeed distorted. I don’t need to heat them up so I’ll just hit them directly in the anvil and fix them.
“It’s a good horseshoe.”
As I found out from the cheat, the iron used on it is relatively good. It’s a bit of a contradictory, but I think it’s too good for a horseshoe.
“You can tell?”
Matis is back to his usual short words, but he asked in a slightly joyful tone.
“Yes, that’s my main job after all. It is made well but the materials are quite good too.”
“I see”
Matis spoke in an even more joyful voice. It’s hard to tell because his facial expression doesn’t change much, but, he may be surprisingly more straightforward than I thought.
It took me some time but I hit all the horseshoes and finished fixing them. I used cheats for every process, and since it wasn’t a weapon, I decided that it wouldn’t be a problem to strengthen it so I infused some magical power on it. In this way, it would probably last much longer than a normal horseshoe.
“Alright, it’s done.”
“I’m sorry for the trouble, thanks a lot.”
“Don’t worry about it. This is also an experience for me.”
I respond with a wave of my hand.
“Does Eizou make horseshoes too?”
“Well, I’ll make it if it’s requested, but for now, I’m mostly making weapons.”
“I see”
Matis said so, but it’s hard to tell if he’s sad or satisfied because his facial expression doesn’t change that much. Speaking of that, should I consider that horseshoes could be ordered too?
After Matis received the horseshoes, he thanked me again in a prolonged way of speaking and headed for the stables.
As soon as I thought I could take a break, the next job came in. It seems that the subjugation team that headed to the cave has returned as Miss Frederica came running into the branch office with a repair request form and barrels full of weapons carried by the soldiers.
“I’m sorry Eizou-san! I want you to fix all this!”
Miss Frederica says in an unprecedented anxious tone. Looking at the amount of weapons that she wants me to repair, it seems that there are a lot of injured people, the command post is probably hectic now.
“I understand. Please put it there for the time being.”
“I’ll leave them to you!”
Miss Frederica left in a hurry again. I’m sure she’ll be managing the other materials after this. Thanks for your hard work.
“Hmm, let’s see……”
After I saw Miss Frederica off, I started checking the inventory on the request form given to me.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Lord Frederia shoots a fireball at the very start of the duel. Of course, I immediately avoided it.
“You can’t escape! Fire Arrow!”
This time, fire arrows are fired at me continuously. Looks like his strategy is to keep me away from him. As I continued to avoid it, the number of fire arrows that are fired at me also increased steadily.
“What’s wrong human!? Didn’t you want to beat me!? Looks like I’ll win in no time! Kuhahaha!”
“It’s not that fun if I end it right away so I’m taking the trouble to prolong this you see. Or, do you really want to lose that badly?”
“This freaking brat! How about this!”
The number of fire arrows has increased further. The arrows shot at once are more than 20 and it is difficult to keep avoiding them like this. I decided to use the wooden sword to defend against the arrow. I ignored the arrows that won’t hit me and using the sword, I only cut the ones that will surely hit me. When the fire arrows were cut by the wooden sword, it made a whooshing sound and it then disappeared. Well, I was worried about the durability of the wooden sword but I am relieved that it did not break as I cut those fire arrow.
“Tsk, for this damn brat to cut magic with a wooden sword. I hate you more and more.”
Lord Frederia stops attacking and uses another spell. With a sharp sound, a blade of wind was emitted from the tip of his staff. It’s an intermediate magic, the air cutter.
“Uh! Not good!”
Air cutter cannot be cut with the wooden sword. I could barely see the wind blade and all I could do is bend my body and avoid it at the last minute. Lord Frederia clicked his tongue when I avoided it and he increased the number of wind blades furthermore. It seems like he really want to chop me up.
“Damn! Stop avoiding it! You should just die quietly!”
“I can’t do that you know. There’s no reason for me to die here either.”
Once I avoided it, the wind blade that passed me cuts down the trees far behind me. It’s so ironic that the beautiful garden is being destroyed by its owner.
“You should stop using the air cutter. How much do you think it will cost to fix the garden?”
Lady Frederia voiced out expressionlessly. Then, Lord Frederia abruptly stiffened, saying, “Ye-Yeah… I’ll stop using it.”
I’ve been thinking about it since I came here, but for this Frederia family, the women seem to hold the upper hand. Still, as she didn’t admonish her husband’s remark, the Lady may also have some thoughts of her own.
“Well, that’s enough for the warm up. Let me show you my real ability as a mage.”
When Lord Frederia raises his staff, magical power is released from his body. Normally, it should be sucked into the staff immediately, but the released magical power accumulated first and then it came back as it is sucked into the staff. Then, the magical power released from the staff changed into a huge serpent-like shape. The surrounding sand and stones are drawn into that magical power eventually forming the body of the serpent. In just a few seconds, a rock serpent was created.
“This is……”
“Are you surprised? This is the power of a master-class mage. Magical power is the power to embody an image. Manipulating magical power outside the frame of magic is the reason for one to be called as a mage.”
Frame of magic huh. That’s probably the magic that Erna usually uses. I am also quite interested in it. The magic of this world is very beginner-friendly and easy to use. To put it more simply, it’s like the magic in a game. Just select it and the magic will be activated.
But, isn’t it too strange?
Lord Frederia continued talking.
“The magic we use is activated according to the laws of the world. It is said that our ancestors interfered and simplified it for other races. In other words, the original magic was more complicated. But we, master-class mages are not bound by it. We can build as much magic depending on the amount of magic and attributes we possess.”
“Hoh-, that’s pretty interesting.”
Hmmm, I assumed that magic was a simple technique to remember but it seemed to be much more profound than I thought. However, I am much more interested in the development of that magical power.
Lord Frederia once tried to cast this existing magic. However, as far as I can see from his movement earlier, I believe that he cancelled it. And by adding yet another image from there, he created a magic different from before it was activated. That’s my conjecture.
“It is not recommended to those who are not a mage to use this technique. It’s a trick that only those who are good at magical operations and those who excel at manipulating magical power can do. Take me as an example, fire, wind, earth, I possess these three attributes, and unless you have a long experience, you won’t be able to do something like this.”
“Well, I’m not really trying to replicate that. I’m not a mage you know.”
“Hmph, it’s a shame that you don’t seem to understand my greatness. Alright, let’s finish this quickly.”
Lord Frederia swings his staff and the rock serpent wriggles and approaches me. It is a fairly large serpent with a total length of about 15m and a body height of nearly 2m. Its speed is not so fast, probably because of its weight. When the big serpent is in front of me, it bared its sharp fangs and swiftly aimed to bite me. I threw the wooden sword on the ground and caught its mouth with both of my hands. Then with all my strength, I throw it all at once.
“Deryaaa!”
With a terrific thud, the serpent struck on the ground and the rocks that made up its body fell apart. Lord Frederia, who was watching the situation, froze with his mouth left wide open. Looking closely, the Lady also seemed to be surprised as her eyes were wide open.
I then picked up the wooden sword on the ground and shake my head.
“It’s surprising that you thought that you could beat me with only that degree of power. I’m still stronger than a high dragoneut, you know?”
“If that’s the case, I won’t be holding back anymore! Flame burst!”
The explosion hits me directly. A bright red flame obscures me and soon, black smoke rises. I then heard Lord Frederia’s laughter.
“Kuhahahahaha! That too much force killed him just now! Farewell, nobody that follows Erna around!”
Addressing me as “nobody” is just…
I am not even enthusiastic about it, besides, Erna was the one who told me that she wants to be friends with me in the first place. Her father misunderstood that part. It’s about time to cool his head.
As I jumped out of the black smoke, I instantly moved in front of Lord Frederia.
“Uh-What!?”
He makes an indescribable voice, but I mercilessly brandished the wooden sword. I aimed at his right collarbone. With a snapping sound, Lord Frederia drops his staff on the ground and shouts in pain.
“Gyaaaaaaa!!?”
“I broke your collarbone. You won’t be able to move your right arm.”
This time, I swung the sword up to break the left collarbone.
“That’s enough!”
It was Lady Frederia who stopped me. As she approaches Lord Frederia, she casts healing magic and begins treatment.
“It’s a perfect win for Shinichi.”
Erna rushed to me happily. Apparently, when Lord Frederia let go of the staff, the victor was decided. Well, it will be difficult to turn it around when I am at such close distance. I think it’s the right decision.
“Damn! For a high elf like me, to the likes of this human…!”
After finishing the treatment, Lord Frederia stands up and trembles with anger. Lady Frederia who saw him like that started talking expressionlessly.
“I was also curious in the man that my daughter brought home. Since you are someone with ability to such extent, I have no objection. You should get over it, why don’t you approve of Shinichi-san?”
“I don’t like him! I won’t give Erna to him! I’m firmly opposed of giving my cute daughter to someone who I don’t know the origin!”
“You’re really a stubborn one…”
Hn??? Something is wrong with their conversation…
Why is he saying that he doesn’t want to hand over Erna? I then glanced at Erna.
Erna, the main topic, was blushing and kept silent. In order to not to put this out of control, I’ll have to join their conversation.
“Uhm, it seems like you’re misunderstanding something. I came to Sanargia as a messenger of the Kingdom of Rogas. This is the letter I received from King Rogas.”
I took the letter out of the bangle and give it to the Lady. Actually, I have four letters for this trip. Of course, it’s for each king.
“It’s certainly the signature of King Rogas. So that means that Shinichi-san didn’t came to take Erna then.”
“Why would I do that? I’m an adventurer and I just came to Sanargia for work. I’m not thinking of taking Erna as a wife you know.”
When I said that, Erna puffs her cheeks and hits me with her staff. No matter how I look at that expression, she seemed to be angry.
“I don’t know Shinichi anymore!”
“Why are you angry? Stop hitting me! It hurts!”
I don’t understand how girls this age thinks. Did I say something bad?
“So it’s like that huh. Then you should have said it sooner. Wasn’t it pointless for me to lose to a Human then?”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s pointless. At least it’s clear that he is a human with the ability to beat you, and we now also know that he is a credible person.”
“Uh… it cannot be helped then. I’ll give this letter to the Queen. You guys should follow me.”
Lord Frederia walks somewhere at a brisk pace. We then decided to follow after him. We left the mansion and then we eventually reached the center of the city. There was a dizzying giant tree towering toward the heavens.
“From here on is a sacred place. Rudeness is unacceptable.”
As he said that, the atmosphere near the giant tree become serene, creating a sacred atmosphere. Then, I saw a woman at the base of the tree. Wearing a white dress, her long blonde hair flutters in the wind beautifully.
As Lord Frederia approached the woman, he knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the Kingdom of Rogas.”
“Is that so? Give it to me then.”
When the woman addressed as the Queen receives the letter, she opens the content and looks through it. After that, she turned her eyes to me.
“Are you the messenger from the kingdom? What is your name?”
“I’m Shinichi Tanaka. I’m an adventurer in Mana, one of the city in the kingdom.”
The Queen then asks Lord Frederia a question while observing me.
“Right Minister, can we trust this person?”
“I could humbly say that I can trust him. He is a little brusque, but I think he is a person who keeps his promise.”
“…Then I’ll take your word for it.”
“Thank you very much.”
The queen nods lightly. What surprised me more than that was Lord Frederia’s evaluation of me. Even though he was mad at me, I was impressed that he looks at people properly.
We really can’t say that all ministers are rotten.
“If you’re a person we could place our trust to, I will not be afraid to help. If you want reinforcements, I’ll send them to the kingdom right away.”
“However,” the Queen added and looked back at the tree, “Please tell us the correct choice Oh, sacred tree.”
The queen calls out to the giant tree. I tilt my head seeing that situation. It was as if she was talking to a person.
『…This is a race I’ve never seen before. He looks like a human but his core is completely different. 』
A quivering voice resounded. Two eyes open on the trunk of the giant tree, and the its gaze land on me.
I immediately used my analysis skill.
【Analysis Result: World Tree Trent: The longest living sacred beast in existence, it is said to be the outcome of a Trent turned into a sacred beast. The Sanargia Great Forest Kingdom is a nation formed around the World Tree Trent, and their final decision is left to the World Tree Trent: Rarity SL】
【Status】 Name:*** Age:*** Race: World Tree Trent Magic Attribute: *** Magic: *** Skills: *** Evolution:***
This is a trent…?
I couldn’t believe the results of the analysis before my own eyes. Many of the status’ detail are also hidden. It means that I can’t see it with my current level of my skill. Lastly, it’s rarity. The best I saw was SS. In other words, it means super rare.
But what does rarity SL mean?
I can think of SL as Super Legend. When I look at sacred tree, I feel like that’s the correct answer. The sacred beast in front of me is a legendary creature.
『I think it’s good to send reinforcements. As far as I can see, I think he can be trusted. So, I wonder if it would be a plus for this kingdom to lend a helping hand. 』
“We will respect the will of the Sacred Tree. Then, under the authority of the Queen, we will send troops to their kingdom.”
『Yes, do that. 』
The Queen turned to face me and stretched out her right hand. I timidly held her hand.
“Shinichi Tanaka, we Sanargia, will send troops for a friendly relationship with you. Understand that it is not for the royal family of the kingdom.”
“It’s okay with me, as long as you send reinforcements. I have something to ask though. Why doesn’t Sanargia try to help the kingdom of its ally? I’m not pleased with that you see.”
“That’s a good point. Of course, it’s true that Sanargia looks down on the Kingdom of Rogas, but the main reason is the royal family of Rogas. They took it for granted that we can help them. They even insulted us, who had helped them many times. That’s the reason why Sanargia decided not to help the kingdom again.”
I would like to talk with the Lord of Mana and Duke Medil about this different story. I haven’t heard that the royal family offended Sanargia. But if this is the real case, it is self-made that the kingdom is in crisis. The king, whom I’ve never seen his face, felt insulted and took offence I guess.
“Alright, I’ll ask for reinforcements using the friendship between me and Sanargia. I swear that it’s not for the royal family.”
“In that case I can comfortably send out the army.”
I exchanged firm handshake with the Queen. However, this is their response because we are allies. I’m quite nervous to think about how the other three kingdoms would respond.
This trip will be tough.
『Right, I’ll give this to Tanaka-kun.』
The sacred tree moved its huge arm, which I think is a part of its trunk, and began to touch the area around its head. After a while, the huge arm drops a branch.
“This is?”
『I think it will be useful for something.』
“Well then, I’ll be happy to take it.”
Although it is a branch, its size is ridiculous. Just by its width, a two-story single-family home is likely to fit in it. I then stored it in the bangle.
『As expected, you have a sacred treasure with you.』
“Sacred treasure?”
I feel doubts when I heard the muttering of the sacred tree. When I was about to ask what the sacred treasure was, Lord Frederia called me.
“It’s about time to go. You don’t have any business here anymore right?”
“Uh, yeah…”
I felt a painful reluctance but I decided to leave the sanctuary for the time being.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Without waiting for any delay, Presha-san made a move first ―she dashed forward with her spear. With her in a position close to the ground, it’s as if she slithers towards him. The archers behind Alejandro and the spearmen couldn’t react at all, they couldn’t even aim at her.
“―Haaa!”
While jumping off the ground, Presha-san swings her long spear. Alejandro’s horse was so surprised that it doesn’t even give him time to react, at that very moment, the tip of Presha-san’s spear aims at Alejandro’s neck ―but,
Uh…!
Together with a dull metallic clank, Presha-san’s spear was deflected ―with it came a spray of blood from Alejandro’s arms and cheeks.
Presha-san’s spear should have certainly hit Alejandro. However, Alejandro did not fall, he even received Presha-san’s spear ―as he can’t make it in time if he parried it with his sword, he received it with his hand guard instead.
“Guu…!”
It’s not that he is unscathed, still, he survived Presha-san’s first strike. Then Alejandro hit Presha-san’s abdomen as she passes by midair.
“uu…uugh…!!”
Presha-san’s body slammed against the wet ground. Though she knows the risk if she can’t do it, Presha-san still jumped in and aimed for the enemy general’s neck.
If we defeat Alejandro here, our victory will become clear. We can’t let Alejandro escape among with the other enemy soldiers, ―but…
“Grass-nii, you must not… If you go out now, uh-, Grass-nii…!”
Presha-san rolled and avoided the spear of the soldier who was at the end of her fall, she brandished her spear and mowed it down.
“――Haaa!”
I can still fight ―as if to show me that, with only a single spear, Presha-san dealt with the spearmen who attacked her one after another and ultimately defeated them.
“Alejandro… that man, in here I…!”
Noin begins to cast magic ―the power of the water spirit which has been filling the area around us since the rain had just lifted, begins to gather at her fingertips. If we use magic now, they will know our location –but I can’t voice that out. Using his uninjured left hand, Alejandro is already aiming at Presha-san using a form of weapon I haven’t seen before.
Small bow…No, it doesn’t respond to the spirit of plants…!
“―Presha-san, move back…!”
“…!”
Noin summons the water spirit Apsaras and then she creates water bullets and shoots them in succession ―each shot is compressed, creating a shockwave that surges out as soon as it lands.
“Guaa…!”
“Uaa…!”
This is the power of a court magician ―but Alejandro did not hesitate to use his injured arm and shoots the approaching water bullets at high speed. With his white hair swaying in the mist of the water bullets, Alejandro had this beastly glint in his eye. For the first time, a clear killing intent dwells in Alejandro’s eyes, which had never revealed any emotion before.
“Uh… a… aa…”
“―Run, Noin!”
“… Air spirit Earia…, create an invisible wall to protect us…!”
She tried to protect Noin ―But Alejandro gives instructions to the archer behind him and he himself points his steel weapon at Noin without any hesitation. Alejandro’s weapon launched a steel arrow ―the wall of air deployed by Leslie reduces the power of that arrow but that did not completely stop it and it still pierced through.
“Kuu…!”
“―Grass-nii!”
An arrow grazed my arm when I protected Noin ―a searing pain runs through my arm, I immediately perceived that poison has begun to enter my body.
“Grass-sensei…!”
“―I’m fine! Presha-san, please retreat! With your assistance, our chance will definitely come!”
“Uh…!!”
If the poison component was from organisms, it would have been difficult to deal with. Fortunately, it was a plant toxin extracted from aconite species.
“Leslie, please create an air ball!”
“Y-Yes… Earia, please…!”
I extracted the poison that inflicted me and enclosed it in the air ball that Leslie shot at me. Presha-san shakes off the enemies chasing her as she runs towards us and the moment she speeds up with her body close to the ground, the air ball runs past her and flies toward Alejandro.
“…!?”
Alejandro shakes off the air ball. Unaware that it would disperse the enclosed poison.
To look down on us… He was so convinced that he could win by outdoing Noin’s magic using Presha-san. That carelessness is fatal…!
Millenia-neesan once talked about how terrifying it was to not know what kind of magic the opponent would use. It is said that even a magician with a higher ability may lose to a lower magician due to their compatibility.
As long as you can exploit your opponent’s weakness, rudimentary magic will surely produce a deadly effect.
“Gaa… aah…!!”
“W-What… the Commander is… uh!”
Alejandro scratches his chest. I extracted the poison that entered my body and altered it for it to easily circulate around the enemy’s body –the poison paralyzes the muscles and make him breathe much faster than usual and then eventually, taking away his body’s freedom.
Depriving the enemy of freedom with poison is contrary to a doctor’s job. However, right now, no matter what kind of hand I have to use, everyone needs to survive.
“―Rezeneia’s dog! Don’t get in the waaaayyy!!!”
Alejandro bellowed ―in the next moment, a rush of gale runs from behind us. And before the arrow that Alejandro was about to shoot was shot, a sword flash ran like white light.
“Gaah… haa-…”
Following Astina-denka, Raquel-san charged forward –the spearmen were blown away and all the arrows shot by the archers were flicked and kicked off by the giant horses.
“A beast who throws the lives of his subordinates away has no right to call us dog.”
Her Highness’ sword sliced Alejandro’s armor –that’s possible because Her Highness is a shrine maiden who also has the power of a magic warrior.
“―Astina… you alone…!!”
Alejandro, who was deeply wounded, points his steel bow at Astina-denka. Her Highness Astina is now in close proximity with Alejandro. It meant that the shrine maiden, who could mediate the power of the sacred tree, was in the pocket of the enemy.
Oh mistilteinn that lives on the branches of a sacred tree. Dwell in the shrine maiden, become a shield to protect her…!
I remotely summoned Mistilteinn –the vines of the mistletoe that twine around her arm stretches and stops the arrow fired at Her Highness at an invisible speed.
This is the power of the shrine maiden of the sacred tree. I can bring out power that is incomparable to when I use magic alone.
Alejandro discarded his right arm holding the sword to stop Presha’s spear. Otherwise, he would have been able to match Her Highness –but that didn’t happen, he was about to meet his end with the poison of the arrow he released himself.
“―You monsteeeeeers!!”
Until the very end, Alejandro never returned from a beast to a human. He called his opponent, whom he could not understand, a monster, and raised his sword with an arm that should have already had no senses.
However, the sword was never swung down. Whether it was a stray arrow or someone aimed and fired at him ―Alejandro took the arrow that flew at him and falls off his horse in a crumpled heap.
“His Excellency… His Excellency Alejandro!!!”
“Your Excellency… G-General Alejandro lost…”
Alejandro’s men seemed to realize that resistance was now futile. The commander is defeated, they are now surrounded and there is no means to retreat.
With the enemy soldiers unable to move or surrender, a lone knight approached us. He dismounts from his horse and kneels before Her Highness, indicating that he is unarmed ―he is an older, middle aged man among the soldiers in the military camp.
“State your name and affiliation.”
“I am Richard Orlock… the one who was the deputy general of this fort.”
The zirconia soldiers said nothing, they just stared at Her Highness and Richard. They were so exhausted and they could to fall into dread in any moment –Her Highness’ pure qi attracts their eyes and calms them down.
Even enemy soldiers have a feeling of reverence toward her. The person I serve was the one who really had the dexterity to cause such scene to happen.
“I am Astina Rezeneia, the guardian of the Isle Rose Fortress across the canal. You are now a prisoner of war and this camp is now under our control.”
“Yes…”
Richard replies, but he did not lift his head until he was allowed. After seeing the deputy general’s action, the soldiers finally understood the situation.
The Knights of Isle Rose, with only 2,500 soldiers, defeated the fort which is believed to have a much larger number of troops. An important base of the zirconia empire was now taken away from them.
After the rain, the sun hidden in the thin clouds appears, illuminating the camp where rain dew remains. Noin didn’t move, she kept staring at Alejandro, but eventually, she looked up at the sky.
The knights surrounding the fort came inside and the enemy soldiers surrendered. With Her Highness’ permission, I approached Alejandro and noticed that the last arrow that pierced him was made of steel. The arrow used by our army has a wooden shaft with wind blades and metal arrowhead.
―The white crow was shot by an arrow fired by a Zirconian soldier himself.
Perhaps since she was now able to dock the warship, Dite-san came towards us on a horse. Raquel-san lends her shoulder to Presha-san who’s currently injured. Well, I am injured too, but I have to look at her first.
“Grass-sensei… I’m afraid I’ve shown you how uncool I am there.”
“No, that’s not the case. Presha-san was very heroic back then.”
“If you say it like that, this girl will charge by herself again… Even if it’s not a life-threatening fight, it will still be dangerous if you misjudge the enemy’s strength.”
“Yeah… I’m sorry, Raquel-ane. I need to be stronger…”
I will use this military camp’s medical station to treat Presha-san. Deputy General Richard was cooperating with us and the turmoil within the enemy forces had already subsided. Without any problems, their submission is now relayed to every soldier in the fort.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
The chapter for today is sponsored by Raymond Anthony. Enjoy reading～
I was in high spirit but I don’t have work to do so far as the subjugation team hasn’t even left yet. Maybe it would have been better if I did what Oyasan told me and slept until after noon. Going back to sleep now is a bit…, it’s kind of inconvenient and even if I am to say I’ll help with something, there’s almost nothing I can work on yet before their departure.
In that case, it would be better to finish the spearhead that I kept inconspicuously in the corner of the branch office and make it as a warm-up exercise. I decided to do so and started igniting the left over charcoal from yesterday’s work.
As the fire on the fire bed was starting to build up, I manipulated the bellows to send in some wind. When the fire was sufficiently ablaze, I heated the spearhead that I had brought out discreetly from the corner. I added more charcoal and operated the bellows to raise the temperature further.
When it was hot enough, I took it out and hammered it to shape it. Since I don’t intend to give it to anyone else, I’m applying the method for creating custom model. However, compared in the Black Forest where my main workshop is located, the magical power here is definitely thinner. It will be able to boost the performance of the item but I don’t think that it will be as good as what I made over there.
Even if I make a knife using the same method, if it’s made at the main workshop, the entire log stand will be split apart. But at this branch office, it can only cut up till the half or a third of the log. Still, such performance is already good enough.
As I was working like that, about four soldiers brought me two barrels of charcoal. It was unexpectedly quick. I guess it’s because Miss Frederica is not that busy at the moment. When everyone returns from the subjugation, the lid of the cauldron of hell will then be opened.
“Oh, I’m sorry for troubling you guys. You could put it next to the barrel over there.”
“Understood”
The soldiers left after they put down the barrel. The subjugation team were probably already on their way to the cave so they must be the ones left behind serving as the guards here. It’s possible that I used some of their break time. I do feel a little guilty when I think about it, but I’ll let the younger ones work to their heart’s content.
With such black thoughts in my head, I tried to go back to work. However at that moment, I heard a loud voice and the source of that voice appeared before me.
“Eizou! I’m here for you to check my knife!”
It is Sandro-oyasan. Oh! right, I did told him yesterday that I would check it myself. Haa-, being forgetful can’t be helped when you get older.
“Alright”
I replied to him without revealing that I completely forgot about it. Two knives were handed over to me. It’s one big and small sized knife with a shape like that of a butcher’s knife. Their shape were almost the same, it’s just that the larger one is about two smaller knives combined, and as for the larger one, it may not be used that often.
“Hmm, I think I’ll be done in half an hour.”
I said as I inspect the two knives. As expected of Oyasan. The maintenance is almost perfect. A good craftsman has first-class tools but maintenance for the tools should also be first-class. That’s because it’s no different from the care for our arms, hands and fingertips. As far as the maintenance of kitchen knives is concerned, there may be a part where Oyasan is better than Rike.
“If it’s only about that long, can I watch?”
Oyasan asks in a rare, not-so-loud voice (it is still a big voice though). Well, the fact that he doesn’t sound timid comes from his size and the volume of his voice.
“It’s fine with me but, it might be boring for you though.”
“No, I also thought that it might help me when I’m doing it.”
Oh, I see. It’s not like I have a reason to refuse him, but since he said that, all the more that there is no reason for me to decline. I readily agreed to Oyasan’s request.
“I’m going to hit it to make some adjustments, but please don’t be surprised.”
“Okay”
I informed Oyasan in advance. It’s no good if he felt offended if I hit it suddenly. I put the knife on the anvil and check it with my cheat. It seems that it was made by a skilled craftsman, which is why it is quite good.
If I inadvertently put magical power, it will end up with a great sharpness so I don’t need to weave some magical power. However, I carefully hammered it to correct the slight distortions and variations in its structure, it’s done in a way that there’s no change to the shape of course. I can do it because of my several cheat.
No tempering is done in this process. Well, when I looked at it, I know that it would be taking more than an hour’s work if I am to do some tempering. Both pieces were made in this way to remove distortions and variations in the structure. It’s about as good as a high-end model in my workshop.
“Woh～…”
When the work is nearly finished, Oyasan exclaimed in admiration.
“I have no idea how you are doing it.”
“Well, that’s the thing about this work. This work is not within the scope of normal maintenance you see. And you see, I don’t have any idea what you guys do when you prepare our food either.”
“That’s indeed so if you put it that way.”
Actually, there is more than a difference in professions, and even a normal blacksmith probably doesn’t know what I was doing, but I’ll still dare to say that. Oyasan believe me unquestioningly too.
“I think you can understand it from here.”
“Ou-“
I’m sure he has done a lot of work on the sharpening process, and although he may not understand the details, he should understand what I’m doing.
I’m going to sharpen it slower than usual. Of course, I’ll utilize my cheats to make it sharper. Basically, it’s a matter of angle, but I think its sharpness will increase even when it’s sharpened normally because of the adjustments I made earlier. It didn’t take much time because the original maintenance was pretty good. If it’s Oyasan, since he is already good at it, he can take care of these knives by himself without any problem.
“Alright, we are now done. From what I can see, I think Oyasan’s way of taking care of it will be enough.”
I handed the two finished knives to Oyasan.
“Oh, sorry for trouble.”
“Not at all, just make a delicious meal for me in exchange with this.”
“Okay, leave that to me!”
With a louder voice than ever before, Oyasan promised me that.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
I finished eating the supper Oyasan had prepared, returned the dishes and then I went to bed. If tomorrow is a full-scale subjugation, there is no doubt that I will be busy. If I don’t go to bed early and regain my energy, this 30-year-old body will not be physically fit for it. When I returned to our tent and lay down with a blanket on, drowsiness came over to me quickly, probably because I am tired.
The next morning,
When the sun rises, I get up and do some light exercise, get myself ready and then I head to the kitchen area. Oyasan and the others have already finished preparing the breakfast and they are already waiting for us to come to eat.
“Good morning Oyasan.”
“Oh, good morning!”
“Oyasan is quite energetic from the morning huh.”
“Of course! It’s no good sharing your energy if you look grouchy!”
“Oh, Oyasan is indeed a professional.”
“That’s a given!”
Oyasan’s energy is definitely something to learn from. I took my breakfast of soup and bread and then I went to a simple table that is vacant.
The soup had a lot of ingredients in it and it is a solid meal for breakfast. A soldier would have to eat something like this to be able to survive. The bread was softer than the one we had eaten on the way here, probably because it was baked after we arrived here.
There’s a possibility that I’ll be busy by noon so I’ll have to eat well too. Looking sideways at the soldiers who are eating in a hurry, I eat slowly and steadily. I felt a little bad for them, but I’m sure they’ll understand that my age and the work I have to do are different.
While I was eating like this, Miss Frederica came over to me with her breakfast.
“Good morning, Eizou-san.”
“Good morning, Frederica-san.”
Miss Frederica puts her meal across from me but she looks very sleepy.
“You look so sleepy. Did you stay late last night?”
“Yes. The Count had been planning the strategy until late so I calculated the supplies accordingly.”
After saying that, Miss Frederica yawns, looking fluffy and cute.
“Thank you for your hard work. But you shouldn’t stay up that late. I heard it’s the archenemy of young women’s beauty.”
“Thank you. However it can’t be helped even if I care about my beauty.”
Miss Frederica says so, but she’s basically prettier compared to the noble ladies I saw at Marius’ party. I’m sure there are many woman who wouldn’t be relieved if they weren’t dressed like they do now.
“I think Frederica-san should be more confident. You are prettier compared to those noble ladies.”
I said that while carrying the soup to my mouth.
“N-No, that sort of…”
Miss Frederica is mumbling to herself. I can’t tell whether she’s embarrassed or not. However, it’s no good if we felt awkward from the morning, so let’s change the topic.
“By the way, is it likely that there will be more repairs today?”
“Hmm…”
Miss Frederica thinks while holding a wooden spoon (that she used to scoop some soup) in her mouth. She’s looking straight ahead, but her focus is not on me. This is one of the things I’ve learned about her over the past few days, she has a tendency to look into the distance when she’s thinking.
“I think it will probably increase. The Count said that he was prepared for some “loss” you see.”
“I see…”
Either there are many or there are strong enemies. I think they came back yesterday after they figured it out to some extent.
Well, I think Miss Frederica was also thinking about how much she could share to me, a mere blacksmith, but I guess she told me a part of her supply plan.
“If that’s the case, it would be better to bring about two more barrels of charcoal. The fire bed also uses quite a lot of charcoal. In that situation, it may not be that easy to ask for help.”
“I understand. I’ll arrange for it.”
Miss Frederica looked up at the void and muttered three times, “two barrels of charcoal at Eizou-san’s place”. This is the second habit of her, when she have something important and she can’t write it on a paper, she memorizes it three times.
“Sorry for the inconvenience, but I’ll leave it to you.”
“No problem.”
Today as well, Miss Frederica responded to me with a smile like that of a small animal. After that, we talked about a few trivial things as we finished our meal. In the end, I didn’t ask her why she was chosen to be the civilian in charge of supplies this time. Well, she mentioned that she didn’t have any actual combat experience, so I guess the purpose of why she’s here was to give her some real combat experience.
On my way to the branch office after I had my breakfast, I saw a group of fully armed soldiers. They were not lined up, probably because their departure was not yet scheduled. And among them, there are some figure that I had not seen yesterday. They were slim, long-eared men ―elves to be precise.
“Just as I thought huh.”
I wasn’t surprised to see an elf. As I tried yesterday, I realized that there is a lot of magical power around here. In that case, it’s no surprise that elves, who need to absorb magical power on a regular basis and can only live in such a place, have settled down in this area. It is natural to think that if there is a concern about monsters in one’s own home, it is a given that they would offer their help to eradicate those monsters.
They need a supply of magical power, but if there is a cave or other space nearby where magic is stagnant, there will surely be a risk of monsters wandering around.
Feeling a little sympathetic towards them, I headed back to the branch office to focus on my work for today.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
The following chapters are sponsored by Raymond Anthony. Many thanks again everyone for your support.
The longsword was plunged into the fire bed, but the fact that it needs to be heated means that it is that distorted. Normally, it takes a long time to fix such a problem, but this time, I’m going to resort to fully utilize my cheat.
I only heat the distorted part and raise the temperature to the level necessary to restore the distortion. Hmm, this is really very distorted… How did they used this anyway? I wonder if that guy couldn’t pull it out after piercing it in so he opted to pry it out with brute force. If that’s indeed the case, is it the work of a dwarf, a beastman, or a lizardman?
Now that the temperature has risen, I’m going to remove the distortion by hammering it. If the temperature is raised to the point where it can be fixed and softened like this, it will not be the same even if it is quenched again so this is where what I checked earlier comes into play.
While I’m hammering to fix it, I gradually weave in some magical power to adjust the hardness so that it will be the same as the other part when it is quenched again. This is done by utilizing my cheat of course. In this way, when the part of the sword with a lot of magical power was hardened, tempered and polished, the longsword, which was almost the same in appearance and performance, would be restored.
However, though I’m saying that the sharpness is the same, if you check that exact spot, you can see that some magical power is naturally contained only at that part. You can also tell that its strength has increased a little, and if you look at it closely, you can see that the magical power is added to repair it.
Well, if I put magical power into the whole item, it will be more than a high-end model. And for now, this repair will do. As for the other longswords and shield, which are less distorted, I will fix them by just directly hammering them without heating them. Though the shield will have some bent parts, it will still be usable.
The longsword has a big chip in the blade, so I decided to sharpen it as a first aid. If the chip is too big, I may need to repair it by splicing a piece of iron. Normally, I would not do this, but since it is a first aid measure in a war zone, it should be sufficient.
If any of the items brought in this time had large cracks or were totally broken, they would be discarded without being repaired. Well, I’ll be checking whether they can be repaired or not, so it’s safe to say that there were no weapons that went that way this time.
It would have been fine if I had assumed that the greatly distorted one I mentioned earlier was also unrepairable, but this time, I wanted to make sure that the method I used earlier would work so it was “subsequently” done.
If I am to say one excuse, I’ll say that I wanted to establish a method for quick repair so that even if I run out of spare longswords, I can repair the distorted ones and have them use it first……. Well, no, it’s really my aim.
After I finished my work, I headed to the command center with the documents I had been given. The sun is already working on it’s one last job of dyeing the surrounding orange, the soldiers are going back and forth while preparing bonfires for the night. I’d better hurry or I’m going to miss my dinner.
When I entered the tent on the command center, Marius, Leroy, and some other soldiers were discussing something. They were probably having a long strategy meeting for tomorrow’s full-scale battle. I then found Miss Frederica dealing with some papers at a simple desk in a corner. I then presented the documents I’m holding to her.
“I’m done for today’s work.”
“Oh, as expected, Eizou-san sure is fast.”
“Well, there weren’t many things to do today.”
While glancing and pointing at the list of documents, Miss Frederica says,
“All of this?”
“Yes. Nothing was irreparable.”
“Alright. I’ll send the soldiers to pick them up later. Thank you for your hard work today.”
“Okay, then I’ll go ahead.”
As I bowed to Miss Frederica and was leaving the tent, I glanced at Marius and our eyes met. And for a moment, his expression seemed to be unusual. Well, in such a place, a blacksmith can’t just simply say, “How are you doing?” to the count.
I then head back to the branch office and cleaned up the mess. Just as I was wondering what to do, a soldier came to pick up the weapons that I had fixed so I said, “Thank you for your hard work” and then I handed the items over to him.
This completes my work for the day then. I’ll head to Oyasan’s place, have dinner, and then I’ll go to bed.
It is already getting dark and the bonfires were lighting up the surrounding darkness so I hurriedly went to the kitchen area, where some of the soldiers were having a late dinner. I wonder if they had come to eat during their shift change. It also appears that the rest of the supply team (other than me and Miss Frederica) has already finished eating. Well, I do felt apologetic that I’m going to eat first.
Today’s menu was still stewed dried meat, but it was more like a stew with some root vegetables and something that looks like a potato.
Mmm, yeah, it’s a potato.
Potato is a crop that would be very helpful if we could grow them in our garden. When we go back after the expedition, I’ll have to check with Oyasan to find out where to buy it.
With that in mind, I ate the delicious stew that Oyasan and the others had made.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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