Episode 47

I was summoned by Lord Goral and headed to his office.

What on earth could it be?

I had nothing in particular to report, and I couldn’t remember causing any trouble.

Had I done something without realizing it?

With a heavy heart I knocked on Lord Goral’s door.

A reply came, and when I entered he pierced me with his usual stern stare.

“Long time no see.”

“Ah, yes. There’s a letter for you right away.”

…A letter? I couldn’t think of anyone who would go out of their way to send me one.

I tilted my head and took the letter.

I can at least read and write. When I looked at the sender’s name… it was Reberto.

“He sent the same letter to me as well… Basically, it’s that he wants to see you.”

I opened the letter and checked its contents.

Just as Lord Goral had said.

Reberto wanted to “request smithing work” from me.

“What will you do?”

“Yes. If it’s a smithing request, I’ll gladly accept it.”

When I said that, Lord Goral nodded.

“I see. Then I’ll reply accordingly.”

“Understood. Thank you in advance.”

After bowing to Lord Goral, I left the room.

Still—a smithing request.

What sort of request could it be?

Three days passed.

Reberto arrived at my smithy wearing a broad smile.

“I managed to obtain Eirea Magic Ore. That’s why I thought I’d ask you to make something.”

What?! I looked at him in surprise.

A knight who had come with Reberto carried a box over to me.

I checked inside, and sure enough, as Reberto had said, there was Eirea Magic Ore.

Magic Ore can be recovered from monsters’ bodies. However, a strong monster doesn’t necessarily have a high-rarity ore.

There’s also luck involved. Sometimes weak monsters will, rarely, carry excellent Magic Ore inside them.

So adventurers spend their days hunting monsters, dreaming of such luck.

And when it comes to Eirea Magic Ore, it’s truly, truly rare. Of course it’s inferior compared to Esrea Magic Ore, but Esrea ore hardly circulates at all. A sword made from Esrea Magic Ore would be treated as a family heirloom.

And that’s not the only astonishing thing.

I turned my eyes to the other materials in the box. Alongside the Eirea Magic Ore was Birea Magic Ore, which isn’t as famous.

The problem—or rather, the noteworthy part—was what came next.

…The claws and fangs that lay there. I had seen such magnificent ones only once before.

“…Is this a dragon?”

“Yeah, that’s right. A dragon appeared within the territory, and we hunted it down. During that, we acquired Eirea Magic Ore and obtained its fangs and claws. So I want to commission you.”

He said it offhandedly again, but slaying a dragon is an incredibly difficult task.

It’s the kind of monster that only the most capable adventurers can finally bring down when they band together.

“Did you slay it alone?”

“No, no—it’s impossible alone. We coordinated with the knights and somehow managed to defeat it. And well, I played my part, so I got a share of the reward. This is it.”

I see.

“Is it possible to use the Eirea Magic Ore as the core and supplement the shortage with Birea Magic Ore?”

So that was the intent behind including Birea Magic Ore.

There really isn’t quite enough Eirea Magic Ore to make a full sword on its own.

“Of course. But in that case, it will inevitably be inferior to a pure Eirea Magic Ore sword—are you okay with that?”

“Still, with this amount you could at best make a dagger, right? Well, I’m prepared to compromise to an extent. What I want is a sword, after all.”

…I see.

I looked at the Eirea Magic Ore in my hand and felt a surge of excitement.

I had worked Eirea Magic Ore a few times before, but I hadn’t expected to be commissioned again like this.

Perhaps it was the blood of a smith in me.

The dragon’s fangs and claws as well—facing materials of this caliber made it impossible to contain my excitement.

…Shall I start smithing right away?