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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 30
After Scarlett Arzen left, I lay down in Decaine, crumpling the paper she had given me as I rolled on the floor.
—Tsk. Stop acting like a fool.
My ancestor looked at me with a pitiful expression.
"Agh! Why did she even ask me to teach her that?"
I unfolded the paper, holding it at the top with both hands, but then hesitated and crumpled it back up, stuffing it into my pocket.
On the paper was written the location and time for our next meeting.
—That one still has a long way to go before she can learn Moon Severance. Don't worry about it.
"That's not the problem. The problem is that I have to keep seeing her."
It would have been better if it had been anyone else from the Arzen family.
Her trait — Madness.
If that obsession were to be directed at me, it would become a huge headache.
[Madness]
Becomes obsessively fixated on something.
#Displays an extremely strong focus toward the object of obsession.
Scarlett Arzen, the fourth daughter of the Arzen family’s direct line.
Since childhood, she had an extraordinary obsession with swordsmanship and took a mad pleasure in overpowering, defeating, and even killing her opponents.
As a result, she became stronger faster than others and had already achieved the skill level of a high-ranking knight.
So that was because of her trait.
Back when I was still with the family, I tried my best to avoid any involvement with that lunatic.
But now, I'd fallen into a trap I couldn't escape.
—It’s not entirely a bad thing for you, though.
"What do you mean by that?"
—Do you think it's common to train with a high-ranking knight? Especially an Arzen swordsman? You're not even at the knight level yet.
"Is that really training? I'm supposed to be teaching her."
—Teaching is also a way of learning. Don't think of teaching as mere service.
"Teaching... while learning…."
I mulled over my ancestor’s words, stroking my chin.
"Then did you also learn something while teaching me?"
—Me? Do you learn advanced footwork while teaching a baby to walk?
"I’m not that bad-."
—Wrong. You weren't even at a baby's level. You were more like trash not even fit to be called human.
I regretted bringing it up.
It always circled back to criticizing me anyway.
"I'm doing my best."
—Just doing your best isn’t...
Dragging my exhausted body, I forcibly grabbed my sword.
—Why is your grip so...
Focusing entirely on my sword, the ancestor’s nagging in the background somehow began to feel comforting, almost like background music.
At last, I’ve reached this state.
Feeling a swelling pride from within, I swung my sword nonstop through the night.
* * *
Cormir.
A city within the Brillant Kingdom renowned for its abundant weapon supply.
Managed by the Trevis family, the region housed a deep iron mine that ensured a constant, rich supply of iron.
As a result, blacksmithing flourished, and Cormir eventually became home to the kingdom’s finest smiths.
"So this is the place."
Crowds of people filled the streets.
Lining both sides were stalls displaying decent-quality weapons and gear, and as I ventured deeper, the air grew hotter.
I stopped in front of a smithy called Dragon’s Furnace, said to be run by the most outstanding blacksmith.
It was huge and radiated overwhelming heat compared to the others.
Furnaces roared with fire, and the rhythmic hammering echoed crystal-clear through the air.
Clang!
As I stepped inside, the clear, almost refreshing sound of hammering caught all my attention.
I found myself entranced, following the source of the sound.
Clang!
Before a roaring furnace stood a muscular man swinging a hammer.
Clang!
His muscles flexed and moved like clockwork, perfectly synchronized with his steady strikes.
Clang!
‘That must be…’
I was sure he was Caleb — the greatest blacksmith in Cormir.
Owner of Dragon’s Furnace, and a master smith with unparalleled metalworking skills.
Clang!
Not wanting to interrupt his work, I kept my distance, quietly observing his forging.
‘He’s exceptional. Even someone like me, who knows nothing about smithing, can tell he’s on another level compared to other blacksmiths.’
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Sweat dripped from my nose onto the ground.
When I came to, Caleb had stopped hammering and was staring at me.
"Who are you?"
I bowed politely and introduced myself.
"I'm Ren Arzen."
"Ah, the one the lord mentioned. I'm Caleb."
I grasped his outstretched hand.
The strength of his grip was no joke.
His hot, rough skin testified to countless hours spent wielding a hammer.
"So, you want a weapon? Got anything in mind? A specific shape, a special property you’re looking for?"
"Nothing clear yet."
"Hmm... I see."
Caleb wiped the sweat from his brow and turned away.
"Follow me."
"What about your work...?"
"Doesn’t matter."
There was a faint hint of bitterness in his voice.
‘Did I upset him somehow?’
But the hammering I had heard was nothing short of amazing.
Maybe there was something wrong with the piece, but I wouldn't know enough to tell.
"Here are the weapons I’ve crafted. Take a look and see if anything suits you."
Swords, armors, shields — all neatly displayed.
Even at a glance, their quality was leagues above others.
Maybe I wasn’t the best judge, but by my standards, any of these would be fine to just take and use immediately.
"They all look great. But..."
"But what?"
"None of them click with me. I was hoping for a sword that feels like a lifelong partner, you know? Haha, am I being too dreamy?"
I half-joked, half-spoke from the heart.
I was sick of cheap swords that chipped and cracked after a few swings.
Cohen Trevis had seemed pretty confident when recommending this place, so I had hoped — just a little — that I’d find my true sword here.
But that was wishful thinking.
All the weapons were superb, but none tugged at my soul.
Even if I asked Caleb to forge something new, would it really be any different?
"Don’t worry about it. Hmm... I’ll just pick one from here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
No need to bother Caleb with forging something special.
Whatever he made likely wouldn’t differ much from what was already here.
"Alright then. Oh, and by the way, the lord also asked me to show you our masters’ graves. Want to go now?"
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[Translator - Night]
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"Would that be okay?"
"We usually don't bother showing this place to outsiders, but since you're a gravekeeper, I suppose it's fine."
As we headed toward the graveyard, he told me various things about it.
It turned out that 'Carter,' Caleb's former master, was also buried there.
Carter was said to be the greatest blacksmith ever produced by the Dragon’s Furnace, and Caleb was his successor.
'He seems calm, yet somehow... strange.'
At a glance, he looked like he was filled with longing or sorrow.
'He also seems unstable...'
That instability didn’t quite suit his towering, muscular frame, but that's how he appeared to me.
"Here we are."
There were quite a lot of graves scattered around.
Each grave had a weapon thrust into the ground above it, and some graves even had several weapons.
"Our forge has a tradition: when one of us dies, we plant a weapon we crafted at their grave instead of a tombstone."
"I see."
I looked around, fascinated.
Swords, sabers, axes, spears, halberds—various weapons were lined up, and each bore the small inscription of the blacksmith's name.
"Wow..."
A breath of admiration escaped me before I realized it.
They said the weapons weren't maintained at all.
Some had weathered decades, while others were relatively new.
Yet some weapons still looked so sharp that a mere brush of a finger might cut skin.
"With all these weapons, aren’t there people who would want to steal them?"
"Hahaha, no way. If someone wanted to rob us, they'd target the smiths' storerooms up above rather than bother with this place."
I nodded in agreement.
"That makes sense."
The blacksmiths didn't choose their greatest masterpieces to serve as their grave markers.
At first, I assumed they would, but Caleb's explanation made me realize that wasn’t the case.
"Giving your finest work to a great knight so it can make a name for itself is much better, isn't it?"
"True. Here, it would just rot away underground."
"Exactly."
While wandering among the graves, I stopped in front of Carter's grave, Caleb’s former master.
A pale ghost slowly rose from the coffin.
An old man, with muscles and a massive frame to rival Caleb’s, looked at Caleb with eyes full of melancholy.
—My foolish disciple...
Hearing the voice filled with deep sorrow, I immediately glanced at Caleb.
But Caleb simply looked at Carter's grave with a calm, composed face, unchanged.
—Why must you suffer so because of this old master...
I wanted to ask Caleb what that meant, but hesitated with him standing right there.
Should I reveal my ability to him?
[Sub Quest – Carter’s True Feelings]
[The once-promising Caleb began to fall apart after Carter's death. Though he appears to have recovered and resumed work, his inner self remains unstable. Carter wishes to convey his true feelings to Caleb.]
[Reward – Eternal Stone]
As soon as I saw Carter, the quest popped up—just as I expected.
So, it's about conveying Carter’s true feelings...
Would it be okay to just use necromancy and deliver his message right away?
But my instincts told me not to rush.
'I should approach this more carefully.'
It would be better to get a little closer to Caleb and listen to their story first.
"Caleb, sir."
"What is it?"
"I have something I’d like to ask—not as a visitor to the Dragon’s Furnace, but as a gravekeeper."
"…Ask away."
"What was your relationship like with your master?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Well..."
At that moment, as if Carter heard our conversation, he spoke again.
—We were like family... sob Yes, that was the problem. That's why he turned out like this...
They were like family, and that caused the trouble.
I needed to learn more.
"...Because I could feel longing in your gaze. When you looked at Carter’s grave, there was so much emotion in your eyes."
"…My master and I were like family. I relied on him, respected him. He was always by my side."
I already knew as much.
Then what was the problem that Carter kept lamenting?
"After your master's death, did you feel any change within yourself?"
"There was no such thing. I was just a little lost for a while. You saw everything, didn't you? Let's go back now. I’ve left the forge unattended too long."
"Understood."
Maybe because I brought up his master, but Caleb’s figure as he turned away looked somehow... broken.
'I can’t just leave it like this.'
Who knew if I'd ever be allowed here again?
[Descent – Carter]
—Ugh...?
Carter groaned in surprise at the sudden pull of spiritual energy, then entered my body.
"What is... happening...?"
—This is my ability. Don’t you want to see how your disciple is doing?
The word 'disciple' made him flinch.
"I... I do want to see him..."
—Then don't say anything. I’ll handle the body.
Fortunately, he seemed quick to understand, and I felt no resistance to my control.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, um, I'm coming!"
Caleb sat back down in front of the furnace, where the apprentices had stoked the fire, and began working the bellows again.
After getting Caleb’s permission to stay a little longer, I stood behind him and watched.
Once he started working, Caleb became completely immersed, as if he had forgotten my presence.
'That focus is impressive.'
-Does it look impressive to you?
'Isn’t it?'
-You must have troll eyes. Look closely. That pathetic fool is full of distracting thoughts.
Somehow, I turned around and saw Carter’s ghost floating behind me, overlapping with someone else's image—maybe it was just my imagination.
'He looks like he’s doing great to me.'
-Eh! Look at that! Oh, my! Sigh! Tsk, tsk!
I had to listen to Carter's grumbling alone until Caleb finished working the bellows and forging the metal.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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