Episode 115

“Much of the talk in this town is about you. If you make an effort to gather information, a lot will come together quickly.”

“R-really that much?”

“Yeah. You defeated the Horned Dragon before, didn’t you?”

“The one who defeated it wasn’t me, but an S-rank adventurer called Bertie.”

“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard that too. Including that, I’ve heard a lot about you. It spreads enough to be heard even in other towns.”

“…In other towns as well? They aren’t saying weird things about me, are they?”

Rumors tend to grow tails and embellishments.

From Reberto’s earlier remark, I hoped it hadn’t turned into some strange rumor that made it sound as if I were the one who defeated it.

“I think it’s probably fine. But the party I attended the other day had some high-ranking adventurers invited. Among them was that Bertie you mentioned earlier, and she was bragging about the sword you made. I was jealous too!”

“…Bertie, huh.”

I could easily imagine her talking about it with delight.

But the image of her attending a party… for a moment it was hard to picture, though considering her appetite, it’s not impossible.

There are parties that involve meals.

It’s likely Bertie participated for that reason.

The surrounding nobles were probably trying to get closer to gain connections with S-rank adventurers.

“Exactly. There are hardly any blacksmiths who can work Esrea Magic Ore. From now on, noble requests might increase rapidly.”

“…Well, that’s fine, I guess.”

I can’t take them on immediately, but having more work in itself is a good thing.

If the nobles around me acknowledge it, it will also connect to the Barnast family.

I was talking with Reberto in front of the shop, but thinking it was bad to talk outside too much, I invited him inside.

The shop had become completely quiet after the customers left.

Weapons and the like were still displayed for now, but I didn’t plan to open the shop until I returned.

Reberto leaned his face closer to the displayed goods, stared at the weapons, and spoke.

“By the way, is Lady Alicia going to Rilnam with you as well?”

“Well, yeah. They say there’s no one who can use healing magic, so she might accompany the dungeon’s clearance.”

It’s not yet certain whether they’ll clear the dungeon, so I don’t know what will happen.

When I said that, Reberto looked at me intently.

“Oh? You look worried.”

“…Of course I am. Wouldn’t you be uneasy if your fiancée was going into a dungeon full of monsters?”

I think my feelings are perfectly normal.

However, Reberto crossed his arms and thought.

“Hmm, is it really like that? I don’t have anyone like that, so I don’t really know… But well, destroying dungeons is common for nobles. It can be used to show the subjects ‘we’re doing work’ after all.”

“To the subjects, huh. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Perhaps he means that lords who actively remove dangers are trusted by the citizens.

“That’s right. Depending on the circumstances, you might find yourself participating more often in the future.”

“Well, it seems I might go along this time, but will it increase in the future?”

“Even as a blacksmith, since you’re marrying in, there’s a possibility. You’re part of the nobility now. The domains Barnast manages are large. If they build more towns or villages, you might be dispatched as a steward there, or be involved with dungeon occurrences.”

W-well, I don’t think I could handle something that big.

Seeing my expression, Reberto gave a wry smile and patted my back.

“Well, you probably don’t need to worry so much. In your case Lady Alicia would be dispatched, and Faik would mostly play a supporting role, I think.”

I could only nod at Reberto’s words.

If there aren’t enough hands, there will likely be things I have to do as well.

There are many unknowns about how dungeons appear and about the dungeons themselves.

Since their emergence is truly random, as Reberto said, it’s not impossible that the larger the territory, the higher the chance of them occurring…

When I was a commoner, I thought nobles weren’t that busy, but after getting inside, I realized it’s quite difficult in many ways.

It’s hard to see what a lord actually does, so people don’t know what they’re doing for them.

That’s exactly why nobles might participate in clear-cut dungeon clearances.

Then Reberto suddenly leaned his face closer.

“Speaking of Rilnam, there’s the sea too, the sea.”

“…Yeah.”

His voice sounded oddly excited.

Even though he wouldn’t be the one going.

“You might get to see Lady Alicia in a swimsuit, right?”

“Well… yeah, I suppose so.”

They said that if nothing happens and the problem is resolved, we’d be free afterward.

We might need to return to Barnast’s town as soon as possible, but it’s been a while since I could relax, so I thought I’d take it easy with Alicia.

I could play at the sea with Alicia.

And as Reberto said, I might see her in a swimsuit…

What kind of swimsuit would Alicia wear? Imagining such a sight made my cheeks warm.

“Oh? You’re fantasizing, aren’t you?”

“I-I’m not!”

I hurriedly denied it.

It was clearly the reaction of someone hit on the mark, and Reberto had easily seen through it and was laughing.

“Haha, your face is red. Well, even if you don’t fantasize, it will eventually become reality, so it’s fine. Don’t overthink it; think about fun things too.”

With a ‘tap’, Reberto pushed my back.

When I turned, Reberto was waving his hand cheerfully.

“Well then, I’ll be heading back. Sorry to have bothered you.”

“…Yeah, see you next time.”

“Yeah. Tell me about your trip to Rilnam later. Especially things about the sea, maybe.”

He said it teasingly and then left.

…Good grief.

I sighed softly, yet couldn’t help thinking about what Reberto had said.

The sea, huh.

After imagining various things about Alicia’s appearance, I hurriedly shook my head.

Shaking off those impure thoughts, I headed to the back of the smithy.