Episode 53

Seeing her up close again, I was struck by her beautiful appearance.

She looked like someone who could be a painter’s model.

She wore a somewhat mischievous smile and approached me.

“I’m Arme. Are you Faik?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Aha! Is that so! My master told me you make really wonderful weapons!”

She leaned forward with sparkling eyes. Her chest bobbed in front of me, and my cheek twitched.

I felt like I was being glared at by Alicia standing beside me, so I immediately switched back to my work as a blacksmith.

“For now, I have the weapons you requested delivered, and I have a few others prepared here. Please choose what you’d like.”

“Okay, understood.”

As Rig had asked, I arranged the items to be delivered, including swords and knives of slightly reduced quality.

Arme stared at them intently, drawing swords from their sheaths to examine them.

“I don’t need these three. I’ll take ten of each of these ones!”

…Impressive.

Arme clearly discerned the three long swords and knives whose quality I had deliberately lowered and excluded them.

“Understood. Then, as planned, that’ll be 1,450,000 gold, please.”

When I said that, Arme stared at me for a moment and then loosened the corners of her mouth.

“About that… could it be a little cheaper?”

Saying that, Arme moved around the desk to sit beside me and leaned in.

Her chest brushed my left arm slightly. Mixed with her scent, I felt dizzy.

…So that’s a seduction, huh.

My cheek twitched at Alicia, whose eyes behind the mask were sharpening.

Don’t underestimate me.

I have someone I like—Alicia. It’s not a lie that I don’t dislike these kinds of sensations, but if she were to be disillusioned with me, it would be tantamount to death for me.

I tapped her shoulder and pulled Arme away from me.

“No. It’s 1,450,000 gold.”

“…Oh my, you’ve got some nerve ignoring my seduction. Fine, I understand—”

Arme said regretfully and handed the money over to me.

Sure enough it was 1,450,000 gold. I put it in the item box and handed her the sword.

The large man put the sword and knives into the item box he was carrying.

“By the way, you have very skilled hands. Where have you been working until now?”

“I’ve been in the Northern Empire for a long time. I had a bit of a connection, so I moved here.”

“I see, I see. We might be doing business for a long time, so please take care of us when that happens.”

She blew a kiss and left.

Arme, huh.

She was quite a formidable person.

With that, most of the goods were sold. As I lined up the remaining swords and knives on the table, Alicia poked my shoulder.

“…What’s up?”

Looking at her, even though she wore a mask, it was obvious she had a troubled expression.

“So, bigger is better after all?”

“…No, that’s not it.”

“…Your eyes were glued to it.”

“Men, you know, like wild males hunting monsters—it’s natural for eyes to be drawn to things that move.”

“Are you saying I don’t attract attention because mine don’t move…?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant.”

Alicia looked a little downcast and stared at her own chest.

Ah, even Alicia, though modest, I think has a proper chest.

…I was too embarrassed to say that aloud.