Episode 76

We stopped in front of the building just next to the Adventurers’ Guild.

This is the Blacksmith Guild.

The exterior of the building wasn’t much different from the Adventurers’ Guild.

If there’s any difference, it’s probably just the sign.

Also, there were fewer people coming and going compared to the Adventurers’ Guild.

Adventurers visit the Adventurers’ Guild almost every day, but the Blacksmith Guild isn’t the sort of place people go out of their way to visit daily.

Basically, like me, people probably only go when they have business to take care of occasionally.

I went inside together with Alicia.

There were people here and there, but it wasn’t lively.

There was a calm atmosphere.

What awaited us when we entered the Blacksmith Guild was the reception desk.

Compared to the Adventurers’ Guild, there were fewer reception staff.

Since there was no one waiting, I walked straight up to it.

The woman who was the receptionist bowed slightly.

“Welcome. What can I do for you today?”

“I’m Faik. I intend to open a shop here as a new blacksmith. I was told that saying I’m a blacksmith of the Barnast family would make it clear.”

I relayed the information I’d been given in advance by Lord Goral.

The receptionist nodded as if she understood immediately.

“I’ve heard about it from Lord Goral. Please fill out this form.”

“Ah.”

I wondered what to do about identification, but Alicia standing next to me seemed to serve as the best proof.

I’ll have to thank him later. I can’t thank Lord Goral enough.

I took the sheet the receptionist handed me and filled in the required items.

There was a space for the planned shop location, so I wrote down Bestel’s smithy.

“…So it’s that shop, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s right. So you’ve heard various things after all?”

“Yes, well. It comes up as a topic to some degree even in the Blacksmith Guild…”

The receptionist’s forced smile looked as if she was as frightened as Lord Goral or even more so.

…According to the information I checked, there was no problem, so I think it’ll be fine.

This is the Blacksmith Guild, so there’s a possibility things have been exaggerated more than necessary.

Aside from that, there were no particular problems with the form.

After finishing everything, I handed the paper to the woman.

“Is this okay?”

“It looks fine. I’ll check with the guild leader once, so please wait a moment.”

“Understood.”

The receptionist bowed and left.

Once the receptionist was gone, I let out a small breath.

“Good work, Faik.”

“So now all we need is the Guild Master’s approval, right?”

“Yeah. It should be fine. It seems they’ve never denied permission before, so I think it’s okay.”

After waiting a while, the receptionist returned.

What caught my attention was that she wasn’t alone.

Beside her stood a young man. His attire was a bit more ornate than the receptionist’s.

…Who could he be?

His appearance was handsome enough to make even a man stare.

However, his gaze was sharp. If he softened his expression he’d charm many people, but right now he simply gave off a frightening impression.

“…So you’re Faik, huh?”

Contrary to his expression, his voice was gentle.

“Yeah.”

“Did you bring any crafted items today?”

“Is this okay?”

I took out the sword hanging at my waist and presented it to him.

It was a sword forged from Cirea Magic Ore.

I had prepared it because I heard that when submitting an application at the Blacksmith Guild, they might want to inspect your work.

It was the best sword I had in the mansion at the moment.

The man drew the sword from its scabbard and his eyes widened.

“…I see. Your skill appears to be considerable.”

“Thanks.”

I didn’t know who he was, but being complimented didn’t feel bad.

His expression had softened while he examined the sword.

He was quite different from the initial impression I got.

As I returned his smile, he suddenly spoke as if he’d remembered something.

“I was late to introduce myself. I’m Igref, the Guild Master of this Blacksmith Guild. There are overlaps with the Merchant Guild regarding shops, but I will formally accept your application.”

He said that and handed the sword back to me.

So this man was the leader of the Blacksmith Guild.

He looked a little older than me; it’s impressive that he serves as the Guild Master.

“I’ll do my best not to cause trouble for the Blacksmith Guild.”

“Yeah. That’s right. Also, let me confirm one thing.”

Saying that, he turned the paper I had filled out earlier toward me.

“You’re planning to purchase this smithy, right?”

Saying that, the Master tapped the address field for the planned shop.

That was the notorious property in question.

Mr. Igref’s expression as he pointed it out was stern.

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Well, I think it’ll be fine, but people have said that the ghost of a blacksmith appears or something. I’m hoping you’ll dispel it.”

“Of course.”

A blacksmith’s ghost, huh.

I couldn’t help feeling skeptical about that.

If it were a Ghost-type monster, that would be one thing, but I feel like a ‘ghost’ is probably just someone’s hallucination.

Still, the fact that someone of that status is talking about it means there might, perhaps, be something to it.

“Is the blacksmith’s ghost really Bestel, the legendary blacksmith who owned it?”

If that’s the case, I’d like to ask what sort of spirit he had while smithing.

“It might be. Whether the stories about the smith’s ghost are true or not aside, it’s true that the legendary blacksmith once died in the middle of his work. Just be careful, that’s all I’ll say.”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“That’s good. Also, this will serve as your permit. If you’re going to do business, put it somewhere visible in the shop.”

I received the permit with Mr. Igref’s signature and put it into my item box.

With that, our business here was finished, so we left the Blacksmith Guild.