Chapter 05

After the meal, Ok-hee drove them to Euljiro¹.
Since the Dimensional Fusion, many dimensional races had crossed through Gates and settled in various places.

Euljiro, where people raised beer mugs at outdoor stalls by night and craftsmen raised hammers by day, was a natural place for dwarves, with their love of drink and extraordinary craftsmanship.

“You stupid bastard! What the hell is this? Do you even know what you’re making while you’re swinging that hammer? Think, damn it. Think! You think pounding away for no reason is enough to make anyone a blacksmith?”

A gravelly voice thundered from inside the workshop.
Jun-gyeong hesitated as he was about to pass beneath the sign reading Smith’s Smithy, but Ok-hee didn’t break stride.
She walked straight into the smithy without the slightest hesitation.
She continued deeper inside without even glancing toward the shouting dwarf.
No one in the smithy paid Ok-hee or Jun-gyeong any attention.
Jun-gyeong was somewhat taken aback by the unfamiliar surroundings, but with Ok-hee striding briskly ahead, he hurried after her.

After passing through several doors and heading deep inside, they came upon a pitch-black door that looked formidable at a glance.
Ok-hee pressed a finger against one scanner, presented her eye to another, and went through several other security checks before the iron door, nearly twenty centimeters thick, finally opened with a heavy clunk.

“There are a lot of skilled dwarves in this neighborhood, which means there are plenty of thieves after what they make. So they pay special attention to security.”

Jun-gyeong followed her inside.

“Take a look around, my dear client. Hopefully you’ll find something you like.”

The room made it obvious why she had sounded so confident before bringing him here.
It was a chamber filled with gleaming weapons of every kind.
It was not enormous, but the single room was about the size of Jun-gyeong’s entire rooftop home.
The walls were covered with countless swords, sabers, axes, spears, and every other manner of weapon.

“Ah, do you happen to use firearms?”

She opened a drawer in the massive table dominating the center of the room, revealing dozens of handguns and rifles arranged by type.

“…Aren’t firearms illegal?”

Jun-gyeong knew Korean law as well.
He couldn’t recite statutes word for word, but Han Jun-gyeong had possessed enough basic legal knowledge to know that much.

“Of course they’re illegal. Killing people is illegal too.”
“He was a man who deserved to die.”
“I’m not saying you did anything wrong. I’m saying neither we nor the work we do are exactly in a position to argue about what’s legal and what isn’t.”

Jun-gyeong nodded.
She was right. Neither what he had done so far nor what he would be doing from now on fit neatly into a discussion of legality.

“I don’t use firearms.”

It was not because they were illegal.
Firearms were entirely new to him, and Han Jun-gyeong, who had never served in the military, had possessed no knowledge of them either.
Jun-gyeong began examining the melee weapons displayed along the walls and atop the table.

“Every one of them is among the finest works from Smith’s workshop, so I’m sure you’ll find something you like, my dear client.”

At her confident words, Jun-gyeong drew one of the sabers and nodded as he examined its edge.
The edge was razor sharp.
He naturally tapped the spine of the blade with a finger.

Ting-

A clear note rang out.

“A good blade, but too weak.”

Just as Ok-hee had said, it was a well-made saber with an excellent edge.
But the steel itself lacked strength.
In real combat, the edge would quickly chip, and the blade was likely to bend and eventually snap.

He hung the long saber back on the wall and turned his attention to the shorter blades laid out on the table.
When he picked up and inspected a short blade roughly thirty centimeters long, Ok-hee tilted her head.

“Will something that short really be enough?”

Jun-gyeong glanced at the long saber on the wall, then returned his attention to the shorter weapon.

“A longer blade is pointless if it breaks.”
“Oh, come on~ You really think it’d break? This is Smith’s workshop we’re talking about.”

The blade’s flexibility and thickness were concerns, but storage and transportation were problems as well.
He would not always be traveling in her car.
There were obvious limits to carrying around a sword or saber with a blade nearly a meter long.
Then a gravelly voice spoke from behind them.

“Good judgment. A longer blade isn’t necessarily a better one.”

A heavily bearded dwarf appeared in the doorway, siding with Jun-gyeong.

“Long blade or short, a man dies all the same. Once steel touches flesh, skin splits and muscle tears. There’s no need for the blade to be long.”
“Then why did you make so many of them this long?”

At Ok-hee’s question, the dwarf clicked his tongue.

“The right weapon length depends on your height and the length of your arms, little girl. That enormous two-handed axe over there is for orcs, while those long swords and sabers are for humans with long arms. Not that I know how many humans could actually use them. And more importantly…”

The dwarf looked around at the weapons for a moment before continuing slowly.

“…Aren’t they beautiful? Those swords, sabers, and axes hanging there aren’t meant for actual use. They’re decorations.”
“Little girl?! I’m over five thousand years old! Watch your mouth.”

The dwarf shook his head at Ok-hee, whose outrage had somehow focused on entirely the wrong point.

“Would you prefer I call you an old-timer?”
“Tch! An old-timer is a dwarf who looks like you, Smith.”

Apparently unwilling to be called old after all, Ok-hee snapped her head away as she spoke.
Perhaps finding the sight rather cute, the dwarf Smith smiled.
Jun-gyeong’s low voice cut through their exchange.

“Can you make me a saber?”
“A saber?”
“Yes. There was one I used in the past. It was a baeipdo.”
“Oho~ A baeipdo. A saber with only the tip formed like a double-edged sword. Interesting. Do you have it with you?”

Jun-gyeong shook his head.

“I can draw it.”
“If you can draw it, that’s more than enough.”

Smith stepped outside and returned with paper and a pen.

Scratch- Scratch-

Jun-gyeong began sketching Mukhwa without difficulty.

“I’d like these characters engraved on it as well.”

Large Chinese characters were written across the paper.
Seolhwa (雪華²).
It was the blade’s name, created by combining her name with Mukhwa.

“Excellent. That’s easily done.”

Smith spoke with his eyes burning brightly.

“Assuming you have enough money, of course.”
“…So it… requires money.”
“Kwahahaha! Of course it does. Bring me the money. I’ll make you a real weapon, not some decoration.”
“How much?”
“I dislike putting a price on the creation of a true weapon at all, but one billion won³ should do it.”
“One billion?! You damned blacksmith bastard, what kind of scam are you trying to pull?!”

Ok-hee exploded, while Smith thrust out his belly and raised his chin defiantly.

“A scam? A scam?! This will be my finest work, made on my honor! One billion is practically giving it away! Giving it away!”
“Grrr!!”

Even so, perhaps because she understood his point, some of Ok-hee’s anger subsided.

“If it were anyone else, I’d ask three billion. I’m only making it this cheap because he came with you. One billion, and not a single won less.”

Jun-gyeong turned his gaze toward Ok-hee.
Ok-hee shook her head and raised both hands.

“No. I can provide you with one of the weapons here, but I can’t give you anything beyond that. King Yama ordered it personally.”
“…Understood.”

Smith looked between the two of them and smacked his lips regretfully.

“What a shame. It’s a rare chance to make a real weapon. How about this? I’ll make it in advance. Come back for it once you have the money.”
“You’re fine with that?”
“Of course. Opportunities like this don’t come around often. But…”

Smith’s gaze lingered on Ok-hee for a moment before returning to Jun-gyeong.

“…How old are you, anyway? Why are you talking so casually to me?”
“Pfft!”

Ok-hee burst out laughing.
Jun-gyeong’s face flushed bright red.
By appearance, he looked to be somewhere in his mid-twenties.
Naturally, his looks and manner were bound to give Smith the wrong impression.
Jun-gyeong’s gaze shifted back to Ok-hee.
Smith also looked at her and shook his head.

“Whatever. You’re probably about the same as that shameless old hag anyway.”
“What about me?!”
“Quiet. In any case, I’ll put everything I have into making you a masterpiece. Just come back for it.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”

Smith the dwarf looked down at the drawing and nodded.

“Seolhwa. A beautiful name.”

Jun-gyeong replied in a voice overflowing with affection.

“I’m counting on you.”
“Don’t worry. And if this is the kind of blade you’re used to wielding, the trash in this room won’t satisfy you. Follow me. I’ll give you something to use for now.”
“What? Trash?! Hey! You sold those to me as your finest work!”
“…They are my finest work. As decorations, that is.”
“You bastard!”

Leaving Ok-hee’s irritation behind, Smith exited the room first, and Jun-gyeong followed.
The three returned to the main workshop and entered Smith’s office next door.
At the far end, an antique solid-wood desk stood in strange harmony with a plush modern office chair. In the center was a large conference table covered in scattered blueprints and other papers.

“What’s supposed to be in here?”
“Humans have a saying, don’t they? It’s darkest under the lamp.”

Smith answered Ok-hee’s question.
He sat in his chair and moved several objects on the desk until something clicked.

“That unlocks the drawer.”
“I didn’t ask!”

He opened the drawer and pressed a concealed button inside.
With a heavy clunk, the center of the conference table began to rotate.

Whirr-

The center of the overturned tabletop opened with a mechanical hum, revealing a glass panel beneath.
Inside were five swords and sabers of varying lengths.

“Wow~ No way! You’ve had these hidden here?”
“True masterpieces of beauty that you trigger-happy lot would never understand.”

Smith approached the glass and placed his palm against one corner. With a hiss of escaping air, the panel slid open.
He removed a saber roughly a meter long, inspected the edge, and handed it to Jun-gyeong.

“Try it. See if it suits you.”
“…”

Jun-gyeong took the saber and examined the blade.
He gripped the hilt and tested its weight and balance.

“Kwahahaha! This is from the finest series of masterpieces I’ve made since crossing over to Earth. My very best work!”

Jun-gyeong gripped the hilt and gave the saber several quick swings.
It settled naturally into his hand.

“It’s a fine weapon.”

Yet Jun-gyeong set the weapon back down.
Smith frowned at the sight.

“Hm? Why?”
“I’m not ready for it yet. And it would be inconvenient to carry around.”
“Aha! I see. Then this should suit you better.”

After looking over Jun-gyeong’s physique, Smith pulled out the shortest blade at the end and held it out.

It resembled a sashimi knife.
But both its sharpness and the thickness of its blade were on an entirely different level.
Jun-gyeong lightly flicked it with a finger.

TUNG!

Instead of the clear, bright note from earlier, a deep and weighty sound rang out.

“Well? This should be easy enough to carry. It comes with a sheath too.”

His gaze moved from the blade to Ok-hee.
Ok-hee nodded.

“Yeah. This is about what we should be giving him. Old man, how much is it?”
“Three hundred million won.”
“What?! Three hundred million? What kind of knife costs three hundred million won?”

When Ok-hee stared at him in disbelief, Smith merely chuckled.

“Hohoho. Even those decorations you’ve been hoarding cost a hundred million apiece. This masterwork took several times more effort to create, and you’re complaining when I’m only asking three hundred million? You should be thanking me.”
“R-Really?”
“Of course! A warrior’s weapon is his very life. Ok-hee, how much is your life worth? Is three hundred million enough?”

Ok-hee scratched her head.

“You really know how to leave me with nothing to say. Well, I was ordered to provide one basic weapon. Tch. Fine. Fine!”

Jun-gyeong merely nodded as he watched their exchange.
Once Ok-hee agreed, Smith rubbed his hands together.

“Cash, please, dear customer.”
“Fine.”

Jun-gyeong looked at the pair, then thanked Smith for giving him a genuine weapon.

“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I’m the grateful one. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one of my children finally go somewhere it’ll be put to proper use.”

Smith smiled broadly, looking genuinely pleased.

“All right. You’re armed now, so let’s move. It’s almost time for our appointment.”
“The saber… I’m counting on you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll have it in your hands within a month.”

With Smith seeing them off, the two left the workshop.