Episode 109

The Horned Dragon was successfully defeated, and I had come to the shop for the first time in a while.

For now, I needed to hurry and restock the merchandise.

That’s what I thought, but――

Several hours before opening, the outside was already overflowing with people.

Wh-what’s going on?

I looked out in confusion together with Alicia.

“Wh-what is that?”

“I-I don’t know. There are so many people…”

I didn’t know the reason, but there were a lot of people outside.

They were all dressed like adventurers.

What on earth happened? And moreover, they’re all waiting in front of my shop.

Is this… interference with business?

As Alicia and I watched nervously, Refy came over.

“Lord Faik. I asked the adventurers outside about it.”

“Wh-what did they say?”

“They said they’d like to request custom-made items.”

Custom orders.

I see, so that’s why there are so many.

But still, it’s before opening, isn’t it?

“Could it be because of the Horned Dragon incident?”

“It seems so. They all know that Lord Faik forged the sword that defeated the Horned Dragon, so they want Faik to forge swords for them.”

…I-I see. So they formed a line before opening, each eager to place an order.

“What will you do, Faik?”

“Of course I’ll take all of them. They came all the way here, after all.”

I couldn’t refuse if I wanted to make this shop more famous.

Until my hands can keep up, I’ll take every order, of course.

“Refy. For now, can you have the people who want custom orders come around to the back entrance? I’ll have them come into the smithy from there and discuss their orders one by one.”

“Understood. I’ll handle it right away.”

Refy bowed slightly and headed outside.

“Then I’ll take care of the shop. Leave it to me.”

“Ah, got it. I’ll go then.”

I asked Alicia to look after the shop and headed to the smithy at the back of the store.

I took a number of custom orders.

The total number of orders I received was fifty-six.

I accepted them in the order they came.

When taking custom orders, people generally loaned me the swords they currently had, so there were ten swords lined up in the smithy.

These were the swords to be made today and tomorrow.

After that, they would have to come to the shop again and hand over swords or materials as needed.

For those I couldn’t deal with immediately, I gave them reservation tags made of wood. They were to bring those with them.

To be honest, it’s insanely tough.

When it comes to custom work, the limit is probably around three to five swords a day.

Even with a generous estimate, these orders alone will take nearly two weeks.

But they came all this way. I should make the best swords I can.

Before continuing with the custom orders, I went to check on the shop.

Inside, the shop was bustling.

A good number of people were looking over the things I had made.

“Ah! Lord Faik!”

“I participated in the fight against the Horned Dragon! I saw Lord Faik’s actions with my own eyes!”

“Ah, ah… thank you.”

Customers who noticed me kept calling out.

I-I only delivered the sword, though…

I dealt with their excitement—almost as if I had slain the Horned Dragon—while feeling bewildered.

“It was really amazing!”

“You were cutting down monsters left and right…!”

“You rescued the injured!”

“And, above all, you delivered the blow that weakened the Horned Dragon!”

“It was incredible!”

S-surely the rumors aren’t getting exaggerated…?

I gently denied the parts that were incorrect and continued speaking with them…

About an hour after opening, the shop finally calmed down.

“…The shop’s stock is starting to run low.”

“…Yeah. Everyone’s coming to buy because the swords were made by Faik. Custom orders seem like they’re going to increase for a while—should we make that our main focus?”

“That… might be the way to go.”

To be honest, there’s no way I can also prepare shop stock under the current circumstances.

If I had more time, I’d want to handle it, but…

As I was thinking that, more customers came in.

“Oh, Ivas and the others. What’s up?”

I felt a little relieved.

Ivas, Weather, Erna. There were also the rookie adventurers.

They all had their chests puffed out somehow. For some reason they looked proud.

“Fufun. Lord Faik, long time no see!”

“Ah, long time. You’re even more energetic than usual—did something good happen?”

Ivas, Weather, Erna.

And the rookie adventurers were also standing proudly with their chests out.