Episode 38

“Excuse me.”

As usual, I went to see Lord Goral. He was looking out the window, but when he noticed me he turned toward me.

“You went to the market again today, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I sold various things today and earned a total of 512,000 gold.”

“What…?”

Lord Goral’s eyes widened.

…Well, it did increase dramatically compared to last week. His reaction is understandable.

“It seems I caught the eye of a traveling merchant named Rig, and he bought a large lot at once, resulting in that amount.”

“I see. If a traveling merchant took a liking to your work, it might sell even more from now on.”

“Yes. This is all thanks to you, Lord Goral, for providing me with the smithing environment.”

“…Well, I’ll say this: it’s still far from enough. I can’t bring myself to fully acknowledge you yet.”

Lord Goral said that and stared at me intently.

Even though sales went up, from a noble’s perspective it’s probably insignificant.

The kind of smith Lord Goral seeks is someone of a much higher calibre.

“I understand. I will continue to work hard.”

“That’s right…. Also, I want to confirm something: is it true you’ll be undertaking adventuring activities tomorrow together with Alicia?”

“To be precise, we won’t be the ones doing the adventuring activities; rather, we’ll accompany the adventurers who requested weapon crafting. I want to make weapons suited to them.”

“I see. So you’ll accompany them for that purpose. Is it necessary?”

“Yes. Adventurers each seek weapons suited to their own fighting styles. I want to actually see, experience, and then craft them.”

“…You think that far ahead.”

“At the very least, that’s what I do.”

When I answered, Lord Goral nodded once.

“We’ll assign guards, of course, but they’ll basically observe from a distance. If anything happens to Alicia, I won’t let it go unpunished.”

“…I understand.”

The intimidation was overwhelming.

As my cheek twitched, Lord Goral looked at me.

“How much combat experience do you have? You don’t seem completely unable to move, but…”

“Before joining the court, I gathered materials myself and forged weapons. So I don’t think I’d lose to low-rank monsters.”

…I’ve never really fought while caring about a monster’s rank, but at least I’ve never had trouble against monsters.

“Oh, that’s reassuring. How about having you spar with a knight next time?”

“…Of course, if I’m told to, I’ll accept.”

“Is that so. Well then, I’ll consider it later.”

…Well, if my abilities are recognized, I might find a way of life other than being a smith.

If there’s a chance, I’m willing to do anything.

“Rest for today. And protect Alicia with your life.”

“…I understand.”

I have no intention of letting Alicia get hurt either. I don’t want to see someone like her get wounded.

After bowing, I left Lord Goral’s room, returned to my room, and lay down on the bed.

It’s been a while since I last engaged in combat.

I applied an Enchantment to myself and recalled the sensations of fighting from before.

…I should be fine.