Episode 70

“I’ve heard of him. Although I don’t know the details… but I heard he mass-produced some incredible weapons.”

“As Alicia says. The legendary blacksmith—some of his works remain even in the present day. …They do remain, but some of them have a bit of a reputation attached.”

“…A reputation attached?”

“Apparently in his old age he forged with an almost terrifying obsession.”

“Do you mean they’re cursed or something?”

I’ve heard of cursed weapons.

The maker’s grudges, or the owner’s grudges.

It’s said that if you possess a weapon imbued with that and use it in battle… it can warp the owner’s sanity.

Of course, if one has the strong mental fortitude to overcome the curse, that’s another matter.

“Exactly. How about a cursed sword made by Bestel?”

“Bestel! I’ve heard that name!”

I couldn’t help but react to that name.

I haven’t seen one myself. Still, I’d heard his swords were dangerous things.

Rig smiled and pointed to a spot in the workshop.

“That one displayed here, the single sword, is also said to have been made by Bestel.”

Saying that, he pointed at a sword hung on the wall.

I stared at the sword on the wall.

…No Enchantment or the like had been applied.

As I kept looking at that half-finished-looking sword, a dull throb of pain shot through my head.

I instinctively pressed my hand to my head, and Alicia, flustered, placed a hand on my shoulder.

“A-are you okay?”

“Y-yeah…”

I looked at Bestel’s sword again, but… I no longer felt that earlier pain.

What on earth was that? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t keep thinking about the pain and make Alicia worry.

When I looked up, Rig was watching me with concern.

“…Perhaps it would be better if a blacksmith didn’t buy it after all.”

It was Rig who murmured that.

“What do you mean by that?”

With all these facilities, you’re saying a blacksmith shouldn’t purchase it?

I thought a blacksmith would be the one to make the best use of this forge.

Could it be related to that ghost fuss?

“A blacksmith did buy it once before, but he went mad…”

“…Went mad?”

“Yes. They couldn’t find a reason, but that person was never able to smith again.”

“……”

I-is that for real?

“However, they couldn’t find the cause… They asked the Church and even had the Holy Maiden examine it, but apparently nothing was discovered.”

Curses can be somewhat eased by magic.

When it comes to the Holy Maiden, complete removal is sometimes possible.

However, many cursed weapons in the world weren’t intentionally imbued with curses.

That’s because the curse itself can drastically boost the weapon’s performance.

For curses that pose no real problem to someone with strong will, it’s better to leave them as is and let an owner who can handle them take them, rather than remove the curse and downgrade the weapon.

“I see. Is that Bestel sword cursed as well?”

“No, that one seems fine. That sword was, according to Bestel’s will, meant to be displayed here, and the king at the time felt indebted to him and left it on display.”

“…I see. But wouldn’t someone try to steal a sword made by Bestel?”

It’s a half-finished sword, not a completed piece.

So it can’t really be used as a sword, but selling it would fetch money.

“There were people, but they all died in unfortunate accidents.”

“…So it is cursed, isn’t it?”

“However, the Holy Maiden inspected the sword, the building, and so on, and said there was no problem. I also had various acquaintances investigate and they found nothing unusual.”

So it’s got a reputation, huh.

This is far more credible than a rumor about seeing a ghost.

“So, I can’t really recommend purchasing it…”

“Is it okay for you to say that, Rig?”

“That was said not as a merchant, but as a friend.”

I nodded at Rig’s concerned, considerate expression.

Alicia was looking at me worriedly too, so it seemed wise to think on the purchase a bit longer.

Still, judging by location, facilities, and price… This place really is top-notch.

“For now, shall we go see the next room?”

“…Understood. The second floor is private quarters, so I’ll show you those.”

We followed Rig’s lead and went up to the second floor.

“The second floor can be used as living space.”

Right upstairs was a living room, with several rooms branching off to the left and right.

It’s reasonably large, so normal living would be possible.

“This is convenient.”

If we open a shop in the future, we’ll likely have occasion to stay here.

In that case, we’ll probably use this place often.

After checking all the rooms, we went back outside.

“So, what will you do?”

“For now, please let us put it on hold. We’ll go look at the other candidates.”

“Understood. I hope you find a property you like.”

Rig bowed his head slightly and smiled.

We pulled out other documents and headed to the next prospective location.