Chapter 20

“A Tamer actually managed to make it all the way here, I see.”

The place looked like nothing more than an empty, simple room of iron.

However, ever since I stepped into this room, I felt like it had become harder to exert my strength.

For now, I decided to give him an answer.

“Thanks to that, I’ve had to deal with all sorts of troublesome things because of that fake king.”

“Is my foolish younger brother doing well?”

“He’s doing so well that I’ve ended up in a place like this.”

“My apologies. I offer you my own apology.”

He sat cross-legged and tried to lower his head, but I stopped him.

“You don’t have to do that. If anyone’s going to apologize, it’ll be your brother. More importantly, I have a request. Or rather, I want you to listen to it.”

“A request?”

“I’m looking for someone who can turn this into a dagger. I want information on that.”

I showed the fang in my right hand to Dowal.

“May I take it in my hands?”

“Go ahead. It’s a pretty rare material, so don’t go scratching it.”

I handed the fang to Dowal.

I purposely didn’t ask about Grandfather. Thanks to the fake king, I felt like I’d become slightly distrustful of humans.

“This is… is this the fang of Lord Fenrir? No, there is no way that person would ever be defeated…”

Heh, so he can tell. It looks like this is indeed the Dwarf Grandfather was talking about.

“This is a fang I received from that Fenrir. He gave me a fang that had chipped off during a fight long ago.”

“What! You were favored by that Lord Fenrir!? Who… no, just who on earth are you?”

“I’m not good with people using polite speech with me. Just talk normally. More importantly, do you know anyone who can process that?”

King Dowal stared intently at the fang. Suddenly, a sort of intense aura emanated from his body, and he spoke with great force.

“Let me forge it! I cannot—no, I will not—leave Lord Fenrir’s fang to anyone else!! With this fang, a Legend-class armament can be created!! It will likely become my greatest masterpiece!!”

He’s gotten incredibly worked up, but I’m only asking him to forge it.

“You realize I’m the one who’ll be using that weapon, right?”

“Indeed, no one but you could possibly use it. This fang is still just a material, but it would surely loathe being used by anyone other than yourself.”

“Loathe? Don’t describe it as if it’s a living thing.”

“To us blacksmiths, both iron and monster materials are as good as alive. We hear the voices of the materials, and we believe that by being guided by those voices, we can forge the ultimate armament.”

The voice of the material, huh… It’s not a bad way of putting it. In fact, I kind of like it.

“Alright. I’ll leave this fang to you, King Dowal.”

“!! Truly!?”

“Truly. But only after we settle this commotion. Also, how long will it take to process the fang?”

“…I want to create something I can be satisfied with. It will take at least a month; at worst, it might take a year.”

A… a year? I knew Grandfather’s fang was sturdy and could cut through anything, but to think it was a material that required that much time…

“Understood. Just tell me what tools or materials you need later. It’s my own sword, after all—I’ll help out as much as I can.”

“That would be a help. Ordinary flames likely won’t even be able to heat it; I’ll probably need the flames of a powerful monster from somewhere.”

I have to start by searching for the fire too!?

Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Grandfather’s fang is definitely off the charts…

“For now, Dowal, let’s get out of this strange room. If you don’t get out, you can’t process anything.”

“You’re right. First, I must reclaim the forge from my brother.”

Well then, shall we go pick a fight?