Episode 112

At Lord Goral’s request, I was to leave this town.

Apparently a dungeon has appeared near the town his son manages.

So I’m heading there to help, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be leaving immediately.

I need to tell the customers who come to the shop.

So I had the shop open at the forge today as well.

I’ve been telling customers for several days, so most of them already know. There’s even a sign outside the shop saying it will be closed for a while.

I also finished all the custom orders I had taken on before hearing Lord Goral’s request yesterday.

For the time being. With that, there shouldn’t be anything that seriously damages the customers’ trust.

As I was thinking that and organizing merchandise in the shop, Ivas arrived.

He seemed to be alone today. The usually cheerful him had a somewhat serious look today, so I couldn’t help watching him, wondering what was up.

He came straight toward me and stopped in front of me.

Unlike usual, he had a serious expression, and though I had a slight question about it, I thought it was perfect timing.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t told him yet that I’d be leaving town for a while.

“Lord Faik! Is it true that you’re going to the town of Rilnam?!”

It was Ivas who spoke first.

Rilnam.

That’s the name of the town where Lord Goral’s son is.

I smiled wryly, understanding that Ivas, who had asked with a serious expression, was probably misunderstanding my situation.

“Even if I say I’m going, it’s temporary, okay? Once the business over there is done, I’ll come back.”

At my words, Ivas still couldn’t seem to shake his unease and kept asking questions.

“It’s not—not for life?!”

“Of course. I’ll come back when the plans are finished.”

When I answered, Ivas widened his eyes in surprise.

I returned a wry smile at the change in his expression, and he let out a relieved breath.

“Ah, is that so. I thought from now on I’d have to go to Rilnam to have swords made.”

“That’s not the case. It’s just that I’ll probably be busy for a while.”

What I’ll be doing in Rilnam is preparing weapons to fight monsters.

There are blacksmiths in Rilnam too, but they lack manpower, which is why I was called… Thinking about it that way, there is a possibility I won’t be able to return to this town for a while.

How long it takes depends on the issues with the dungeon.

“I see. Being a noble blacksmith really is tough, huh.”

“Is it… really?”

Unsure how to respond to Ivas’s phrasing, I could only nod vaguely.

Because I don’t really understand the circumstances of other families.

However, Ivas didn’t say anything in particular in response to my half-hearted reply; he folded his arms.

“Speaking of Rilnam, I heard a dungeon was discovered nearby.”

“So it’s a topic among adventurers too?”

“Yes. When there’s a dungeon, monsters start appearing in the vicinity, and I’ve heard the overflow of mana from the dungeon causes a variety of problems.”

Ivas waved his arms around as he talked.

It’s a childlike motion.

“It’s not just ‘various things’—the dungeon’s magic affects the surrounding land and the monsters too.”

“That’s it! But I’ve also heard it’s not all bad.”

“If I recall correctly, in some areas crops even grow better because of it, right?”

“Ah, I’ve heard something like that!”

I gave a wry smile at Ivas’s words.

There are still many things about dungeons that remain unexplained.