Chapter 88 - I Want to Speak (4)

I disembarked late from the ship to avoid all sorts of events.

Honestly, I hadn't planned on disembarking this late, but it just ended up that way. The Archmage's words about me being famous in Zakrati weren't a lie at all.

No joke, I disembarked halfway through and experienced nearly a hundred people gathering in less than five minutes. It was even worse because I had physical features that couldn't possibly be confused for anyone else's.

Before I even had the chance to deny it, everyone rushed at me with absolute certainty.

"You're the hero of Zakrati right now."

Even Windhand, who had grown distant as a result, sympathized with me for a moment. I felt so wronged.

Based on what I'd overheard, Windhand was being treated as half a hero too, so why was it only me...!

"Goodness. This is the first time I've felt glad to have an ordinary face."

I fell into despair looking at Windhand, who easily succeeded in going out just by changing his clothes—an outing from which he returned with seven million gal and shoved it into my hands.

Had I known this would happen, I wouldn't have gone with the half-and-half hair at the very least...!

"The path is clear."

Still, receiving an escort from the personnel sent by the Lord, and moving under the cover of night, stopped the crowds from gathering any further. That was definitely comfortable.

"You've arrived."

... It was comfortable, but I never wished for the Lord to be out here right in front of the castle gates!

I checked the number of guards lined up behind the Lord before making eye contact with her. No matter if this was the front yard of her residence, I couldn't understand her underlying motive for bringing out a mere ten people.

Does she have some sort of purpose?

"Ah, the others should be resting in the rooms provided to them. There's a room prepared for you as well, so don't worry."

Meanwhile, the Lord seemed to have interpreted my gaze drifting backwards as me looking for my party. Her response revealed the location of my party.

I wasn't exactly curious about it, but it wasn't bad to hear.

"More importantly, welcome to Zakrati."

"You did something unnecessary."

"Is that so? Please overlook it anyway. I only came out because it felt a shame that we couldn't even give a proper welcoming ceremony to the savior of Zakrati."

I stuck close behind the Lord as she turned her body as if to guide me. The personnel originally guarding the Lord and the personnel who brought me here merged together to form a formation.

Since Windhand and his crew had slipped away when we nearly reached the castle, the escort formation was arranged very meticulously.

"I heard the stories. That your body is unwell from being hit by a curse. Are you better now?"

A curse...? Well, I suppose it wasn't wrong. It seemed they hadn't relayed the facts properly to this side.

"What about the sword."

I glossed over the matter and changed the subject. Unless the other party was in a situation where they were trying to grasp my weaknesses, overtly avoiding it like this meant they wouldn't ask anymore.

"Do not worry. The sword is complete."

See that. She didn't press it anymore, did she?

"However, the craftsman... stubbornly insists on seeing you. Would that be alright? If you are offended—."

Setting that aside, why would the craftsman want to see me? There was no reason I couldn't make the trip, but for what reason was he calling me?

'I need to see who's going to wield the masterpiece I created!' Was it something along those lines?

"I don't mind."

If the sword was completed well, humoring him that much wouldn't be difficult. Let alone the fact that he was the craftsman and not anyone else.

"I see. I will summon him tomorrow morning."

"I'll go in person."

Ah, I need to buy more things. I absolutely have to go to the smithy in person.

"... Understood. Then I will attach a guide to you tomorrow."

"It had better be someone who won't be a nuisance."

"They won't be."

Instead of getting angry at my rude reply, the Lord responded softly from start to finish.

The guards standing around only twitched their bodies occasionally, but they hardly showed the sharp reactions they used to have.

"I have prepared the reward in your room. For convenience, it has been divided into platinum coins, gold coins, and silver coins; I hope it is to your liking."

Moving on, the Lord even paid the promised bounty.

That was unexpected. From what I heard on the ship, the Lord was scraping the bottom of her storehouses to provide relief for the people right now.

So I had even prepared myself to hear a request to delay the payment date, but it seemed such preparations were unnecessary from the start.

"If there is anything else you desire, please speak up. Given the circumstances, it will be difficult to grant many things... but that doesn't mean everything is impossible."

Still. Does she really have the leeway?

I didn't even pay attention to the talk of additional rewards and absentmindedly looked around.

Having fully entered the interior of the castle, the stone walls and floors were the first things I saw. It looked somewhat bleak.

"Is there truly nothing you desire?"

... Did it originally feel like this? It didn't feel this desolate last time.

Intrigued by the sense of déjà vu, I examined the castle more closely. And before long, I realized the truth.

Carpets, curtains, ornaments, and everything else that had decorated the castle were gone. The phrase 'scraping the bottom of her storehouses' that people talked about was quite literal, it seemed.

"What are you looking at so intently? Ah, you must find the changes to the castle's interior awkward. I tidied things up a bit since I heard this sort of style is popular these days."

Vintage has its limits. Besides, it's weird for vintage to be a trend in this kind of world to begin with.

I withdrew my gaze from my surroundings, ignoring the Lord's words that were obviously an excuse. Sometimes, even if you knew the truth, there were things you had to turn a blind eye to.

"This way."

Anyway, after walking for a while, an annex appeared. Several presences could be felt, confirming that my party was indeed staying here.

"One moment, could you take this before you go."

Just then, the Lord held me back as I was about to head inside.

"I originally intended to hand this over during the triumphal ceremony, but it seems things have turned out this way."

From her hand, having received something from a guard, a cluster of white light flowed out. It wasn't magic or anything like that, but pure light.

"Praise to the savior of Zakrati."

For instance, it was like the light of a jewel that crushed trapped moonlight and scattered it in all directions.

"And the honor fitting for him."

A medal was placed onto my hand.

"No matter what anyone says, you are the benefactor of this land, and the hero who cleared away the dark clouds and brought hope. Even after hundreds of years pass, that fact will not disappear, and you will be remembered in this land for generations to come."

It was my second medal.

"Therefore, you must also never forget at any moment. Someone might consider you to be the darkness, but in this land, you were a being more radiant than anyone else."

... Now that I looked at it, it wasn't as if I hadn't received it properly before, either.

"If you had the money to spend on something like this, you should have cared for the people out there instead."

"Haha. Are you worrying for them? Do not worry. This wasn't something I sought to create, but rather something the citizens voluntarily made and delivered to me."

"...!"

"So please, accept it. No, take it. The gratitude of those you have saved."

In the end, I ended up acquiring dead stock this time as well.

It wasn't a terrible feeling.

* * *

Instead of refuting, Piuon quietly watched the person who merely chewed his lip a couple of times and left.

Because the face she saw every time they met had been incredibly fierce, she hadn't realized it, but looking at him now, she thought he was truly young and youthful.

"It's a bizarre thing."

"Pardon?"

"To come to accept something I thought I would never forgive in my entire life, and to be endlessly grateful to something I originally would have despised."

It was deeply sorrowful. Yes, it was heartbreaking.

The burdens they had placed upon those who were so young were far too many.

"... And by the hands of those so young, at that."

She quietly lowered her gaze. When it came to youths, the one who came to mind right after the Demon Knight was the child whose bright red hair was so pretty.

["Yes, I know. That there are still many people in this land who hate the Order. However, we never expected to gain everything from the beginning."]

How bold she was, just as much as her provocative hair color. She was the first to answer like that to the remark, 'There are still many who hate you.'

["Atoning is always our responsibility. It is also our responsibility to not forget the past and remain vigilant so that it doesn't repeat. Lastly, it is our job to strive until those people feel like accepting our help."]

... Such a straightforward admission was also a first.

["So it is fine. Since God loves those who strive earnestly, we will knock with all our might until everyone opens the doors for us."]

Because it was all a first, to the point she ended up believing them.

"... The Demon Knight doesn't look that young, though."

"Pfft. Do you really think so?"

The red-haired Priest brilliantly captivated her heart. That young knight also became the hope of the people through his own martial prowess.

While being so young, and so youthful.

"He looks just as young as that red-haired Priest to me."

... Or was it rather because they were young that they could act like that?

Could they strive so hard because it was the world they lived in, and to make the world they would live in better?

"... Since the youth are striving so hard, the elderly can't just sit still."

She didn't know. It probably wasn't anything vastly important either.

What was truly important...

"Now then, let's head back. We still have much work left to do."

Was that she must not squander the opportunity those youths had strived to give her.

The fight against the demons had ended, but the struggle for Zakrati's future had just begun.

* * *

The next day, I moved toward the smithy as soon as dawn broke. It was a measure taken out of fear that people would flock to me.

The fact that it was almost time to set sail and I needed to get back before then also played a part.

"It's right over there."

Fortunately, the smithy wasn't too far from the castle, and the guide had the skill to choose and lead us through paths devoid of people.

I safely reached the smithy.

"It's smaller than I thought?"

DeB muttered from a spot where the smithy was slowly coming into view. He had tagged along saying he had something to buy too... Anyway, the words he brought up weren't wrong.

Even from afar, the smithy looked cramped.

"Still, his skills are excellent."

At DeB's words, the guide hurriedly defended the place.

There was no basis for it, but I trusted him. After all, unless the Lord was crazy, there was no way she would entrust a commission to an incompetent person.

"Mister! Can I eat this?"

"You can eat it, but take it in order! The other kids need to eat too, so don't be too greedy!"

"Sir, the refugees sent some food to show their gratitude for your help..."

"They should be putting it in their own mouths, why would they send anything! Give it back to them!"

"Sir, we did buy cornmeal with the payment... but the folks from Gridana lowballed the price of the swords so much that the amount is less than expected..."

"What? Those thugs! They're using other people's misery to make a quick buck?"

"We're sorry..."

"Damn it. Just boil up some porridge with that for now! It's almost time for the kids to come!"

... That's probably the case.

"... Is this really a smithy?"

DeB truly had an outstanding ability to say the things I couldn't on my behalf.

I also wanted to ask the guide. Was this really the place?

"Yes, that's right."

"It looks like a soup kitchen."

"It's because the old sir is such a good person."

As we seemed to be gradually losing faith, the guide hastily opened his mouth.

What followed was an explanation of how good a person the owner of the smithy was, and just how many good deeds he did.

Things like how he was the biggest sponsor of the orphanage, how he took in talented children and taught them for free, how as soon as this incident broke out, he distributed his merchandise weapons free of charge so people could defend themselves, or how now that things had settled, he was buying food with the money from selling weapons to feed the neighborhood.

"He's a good person?"

"Indeed he is."

Like lord, like subject—just listening to the words, he was a picture-perfect saint.

"He really is a good person. He makes things so well that even folks from the mainland drop by to buy from him."

Of course, in many games, this kind of do-gooder was surprisingly often shady behind the scenes... well, I had no intention of digging that deeply anyway.

And the evidence of his good deeds was too clear for him to be shady. The ones who looked like apprentices and the ones receiving help were all smiling.

"Then I'll wait outside."

"Yep."

I left the guide behind and entered the yard of the smithy. People's gazes simultaneously gathered on my half-and-half hair, which could be recognized from 300 meters away.

The bustling yard instantly grew quiet.

"T-That person is..."

"The Knight? Is that the Knight?"

Why did this city market my name and appearance so well?

I deliberately created a menacing atmosphere so people couldn't approach me easily. I felt a bit sorry that the kids made scared faces, but I hated the idea of being surrounded by a crowd here.

"I came to retrieve my sword."

In the middle of the yard, I quietly stated my purpose. At that, someone straightened his bent back and approached me.

"Is it you? The person who requested a sword to be made through the Lord?"

It was a man with a burly build and a stubborn face.

"You guys handle it yourselves! Follow me. The finished product is inside."

"Uh, can I come with you?"

"... Come if you want!"

"Yep."

The craftsman led DeB and me toward the inner part of the yard, inside the building. Since he'd asked to see my face, I thought there would be some kind of test, but fortunately, there didn't seem to be anything like that.

"There's no merchandise?"

"Is there something you're looking for?"

"I was going to buy a dagger..."

"I sold them all, so there are none."

"Is that so."

The inside of the building we entered was divided into a display stand for goods and a workshop further inside.

The display stand was completely empty, as if he really had sold all his items. DeB, who seemed to have come to buy a replacement for his broken kukri, drooped his ears and tail.

"If you ask me to make one, I will."

"I don't have time to wait, so it's fine."

"Tsk."

In the meantime, the craftsman went into the workshop and rummaged through a box there. Soon, something wrapped in cloth was drawn out in his hand.

"This right here is the finished product. Check it."

The craftsman placed the sword on the display desk so we could see it, then pulled back the cloth.

In that instant, an exclamation squeezed through my teeth.

"I melted down the scale-like pieces to make the blade, and carved the bone you gave me to make the hilt and scabbard. I decorated it finely with gold and jade, keeping it to a level that wouldn't get in the way. Well, is it to your liking?"

I brought my hand over to the half-revealed sword. My fingers first touched the pommel embedded with jade.

Passing over the ivory hilt wrapped in pitch-black leather straps, my fingers reached the dark blue blade.

"It's pretty..."

Leaving DeB's mutterings behind, I slowly ran my fingers along the edge. The blade, dull dark blue and non-reflective, yet exuding a more elegant and dangerous charm because of it, felt incredibly cold.

At this level, I was satisfied with its appearance.

SWISH.

"...?"

"Huh?"

I was satisfied with its appearance.

I had been satisfied...

"... The sword is short."

The truth revealed as a result of completely pulling back the cloth that covered the sword while sweeping along the blade was truly miserable.

The blade was too short. If I said the blade length alone seemed to be between 30 to 40 centimeters, and even including the handle it would only be 70 centimeters, you could probably get the gist of it.

This was almost at the level of a dagger.

"What happened here?"

I urgently pressed the person who would know the cause. The craftsman, who had been watching from a step away, shrugged his shoulders.

"I pray you don't blame me for the lack of materials."

"The materials, were lacking."

"Yes."

Wait, they, they were lacking? Of course, if you only made it with that, it might be lacking, but... don't you usually mix in other metals to bulk up the volume?

"If it's lacking, shouldn't you just fill it in with other metals?"

"Hah, if that were possible, I would have done it already!"

... It wasn't possible?

"From iron to copper, to zinc... I brought out every metal I've ever worked with and tried mixing them, but not a single one mixed. They just separated like water and oil. On top of that, I couldn't even contact the client! What was I supposed to do then?"

So it wasn't possible...

"So I had no choice but to make it with as little material loss as possible. If you give me additional materials and tell me to melt it down and remake it, I will, but if not, you better be satisfied with that."

I did have additional materials. Since the Archmage said he managed to get more carcasses for my share.

However, that was back on the mainland. Bringing that all the way back here to have it crafted was a bit much too.

Because of this, I was left feeling dumbfounded. It wasn't the craftsman's fault, and saying it was my fault felt a bit ambiguous, which only made my heart feel even more heavy.

"Uh, then what do we do?"

"What do you mean, what do we do? Either take it, or request a remake—it's one of the two."

Even amidst all this, the sword was stupidly beautiful.

I blankly lifted the sword, which was slightly longer than a dagger but absurdly shorter than a one-handed sword. Even considering it was in the dagger category, it was extremely light.

"... It's light."

"Yes. It's light. Compared to an iron sword of the same length, it should be twice as light. Additionally, its sharpness and durability..."

Saying so, the craftsman held out something to me. It was an iron rod about 4 centimeters in diameter.

"Strike down as hard as you can."

I swung the sword as if possessed. I felt a slight sense of resistance, but the iron rod was cut off easily. The iron was sliced cleanly off even without me coating it in mana.

"... When I swung it, it only went as far as getting stuck in the iron. Ahem, anyway, it's harder and has vastly superior cutting power than an iron sword. The edge won't break or dull from just anything."

I hurriedly checked its options. It was meaningless. The options were completely plastered with ???. Damn system.

"I'd really appreciate it if you acknowledged how many hammers I broke while making that thing."

"... It certainly seems like a sword worthy of that. It cuts iron like slicing a radish."

However, even if the options didn't pop up, I could tell this sword was exceptionally well made. The problem was just that the blade was too short!

Setting aside the urge to smack my forehead repeatedly, I checked the sword several more times.

It was truly, truly made so well, and the design was so pretty, but the length of the blade resulting from that damned lack of materials was a stumbling block. If the blade had at least exceeded 50 centimeters, it would have been worth trying to use.

"Hey, Hanta. You in?"

"...?"

While I was drowning in grief, a familiar voice struck my ears.

"Sir Windhand?"

"Hm? What's this, why are you guys... Ah, the Lord must have entrusted it to Hanta."

"Is that you, Suriya?"

"Yeah."

"What brings you poking your head in here? Isn't it time you should be off making money right about now?"

"We have to ferry those folks to the mainland, so we're not going today. And... well, I just dropped by briefly to tell you that there's no money I can give from my end. I don't think I can help out for at least a few days."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"Tsk, forget it. If you can't help, I'm sure there's a reason."

In the midst of all this, why were the voices of Windhand and the craftsman coming through to my ears so clearly?

I barely suppressed the urge to cry and sheathed the sword into its designated scabbard.

Compared to the dark blue blade, the scabbard had a grayish-white ivory texture and was decorated with gold, exuding a completely different charm. I wanted to cry even more.

How did such a trial befall me?

"... I'll take it as it is."

However, in the end, there was only one option I could choose.

No matter how much I pondered, it wasn't a length I could make use of... but just because I couldn't use it didn't mean it was useless.

The craftsman's gaze returned to me.

"Then get out."

It was a truly cool treatment.

"Yep. Let's go, Sir."

No, wait. I still have business left.

CLINK.

My hand, which had briefly gone into my bag and come back out, pulled something out and dropped it onto the desk. A sound that anyone could recognize as metal rang out clearly and beautifully.

"...?"

"This is your labor fee."

The length of the blade isn't to my liking, but the sword itself is still well made. I should at least leave a tip before going.