“Because I need to repay the favor.”

The smile on her face was slightly deeper than before.

“Huh…”

Raon exclaimed.
He could tell at a glance that it was an extremely precious treasure, but she was telling him she would share it.
She said it was repayment, for no reason or condition he knew of.

‘What have I even done…?’

He already received enough of a reward for making Syria back down.
He was grateful for Runaan’s continuous consideration, but he was clueless about how he should react.

‘It’s difficult.’

Raon lowered his head.
The more he learned about the relationships between human beings, the more difficult it felt.

The only thing he knew was the fact that he needed to return as much as he had received.

‘I need to find out what I can do for her.’

This novel is available on ”pawread dot com ”.

Raon nodded silently, looking at the Cold Blood.

* * *

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]

* * *

Two days later, Raon and Runaan were looking up from the entrance of Mirtan Village.
Between the uphill roads, which twisted left and right like grape vines, there were plenty of workshops of various shapes; round, angular, or strangely twisted.

The place where smiths, brimming with individuality, were spread out in a disorderly manner was the blacksmith village Mirtan.

‘It’s not as hot as I expected.’

He had heard that Mirtan was warm despite being located in the north, due to the inactive volcano Skellei right next to it, but there wasn’t much difference from other places.

‘There are a lot of people.’

Once he entered the village, he could occasionally see Zieghart swordsmen, and the village was filled with villagers, merchants, and swordsmen from other places.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

He climbed the uphill road that was filled with workshops, and the hammering, the bellows blowing, and the burning sound of the furnace could be heard non-stop.

The sight of the artisans working hard, drenched in sweat, was enough to give anyone motivation to live a diligent life.

You are going to die if you become any more diligent.

‘I just feel like I haven’t done my best yet.’

I’m not talking about you.
The King of Essence is going to die.
Stop training so much! The King of Essence can’t sleep at all!

Wrath complained with a frown.
Apparently, he disliked the fact that Raon kept the night watch to practice his quick sword on the way to Mirtan.

“Raon, where are we going?”

“I’m not sure…”

Raon looked around.
It was difficult to talk to them, since everyone was extremely focused on their work.
As he was wondering who he should try asking, he felt someone’s presence from the right.

“Hello?”

He turned his head, spotting a smiling man with a smoking pipe in his mouth.
His skin was brown, probably burnt by fire, but the characteristic stiffness of an artisan didn’t exist in him—he looked completely lighthearted.
He was the freest person he’d seen in the village.

“You are looking for a workshop, right?”


“Indeed.”

Raon nodded slightly.

“Then, do you want my recommendation, since I’m born and bred in Mirtan Village? I know a talented artisan that only makes masterpieces.”

“Hmm…”

Although Vulcan promised to forge his sword, they hadn’t yet decided on who to request for Runaan’s sword.
That was why Raon figured it wasn’t a bad idea to look into them.

“Who is that?”

“Harren.”

“I’ve never heard that name before…”

“He’s not that famous yet.
But you’d better get acquainted with him while you can, since he’s going to be huge soon.”

“Hmm, where is he?”

“Here!”

He grinned, pointing his thumb towards himself.

“I’m Harren, the one that will become the Continent’s Blacksmith in the future!”

“……”

Raon, Runaan, and even Wrath leered at him.

“Hey, the pretty swordswoman over there, please don’t look at me like that.
Give me a try! Since you have an outstanding aura, you need someone like me to keep up with your level.”

Harren seemed to have noticed Runaan’s skills, despite her not showing it on the outside.
What he said about his skills was not completely false.

‘Though, he didn’t notice my abilities.’

Raon snickered, checking the smithy he came from.
The fire was extinguished in the furnace, the floor was messy, and spider webs filled the ceiling.

“Tsk, no thanks.”

He clicked his tongue, then left with Runaan.

“Hey, wait! You shouldn’t judge from just that! Nob one is more skilled than me around here!”

“That’s okay.
The person I’m going to see is definitely more skilled than you.”

“Don’t make me laugh! Who is it? What’s their name?”

“Sir Vulcan.”

“V-Vulcan? Kuhahahaha!”

Harren held his sides as he laughed, rolling on the ground.

“Do you really believe that stubborn old man is even going to allow you to see him? He’s done nothing but wait for Zieghart’s head of house for four years now! You won’t even be able to see his face!”

He blabbered that having the door slammed in their face would be the best thing they could get.

“Just leave it to me.
It will be a bit expensive, but I’ll make you something really great.
You will regret it if you miss this opportunity.”

“We don’t need it, so just tell us the location of Sir Vulcan’s workshop.”

“You don’t understand, that won’t work.
That old man didn’t even show his face when the Zetul Kingdom’s royals visited him every day.
There’s no way he’d open his door for you.”

He shook his head, telling him to stop wasting time.

“Then, shall we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“I win if we manage to enter Sir Vulcan’s workshop, and you win if we can’t even see his face, just like you said.
As for the terms, let’s say the loser has to grant whatever wish the winner asks for.”

“It’s plain obvious, but fine!”

Harren nodded quickly.

Another fool took the bait.

Wrath sighed, murmuring that the number of victims had increased.

“My terms are simple.
I’ll forge that swordswoman’s sword.
And I’m the one that gets to choose the materials and the price!”

Harren pointed at Runaan, who was standing there blankly.
The way he was rubbing his hands against each other with a grin made him look exactly like a third-rate thug.

“Hmm…”

He didn’t want to request Runaan’s sword from someone like him, but he was bound to win the bet.

“Runaan.”

“That’s fine.”

Runaan immediately nodded, trusting him without even listening to the reason.

“Thank you.”

Raon smiled at her, then raised a finger towards Harren.

“Approved.
I’ll tell you my terms later on.”

“Alright! I’ll guide you, let’s go!”

Harren went ahead and climbed the hill.
His confident expression showed that he was certain of his victory.

“Hey, Harren! How come you woke up before the sun set today?”

“Is the sun going to rise from the west tomorrow, since you aren’t drunk at this hour?”

“Start working already! Your workshop is rotting, you bastard!”

The artisans either clicked their tongues at Harren or shouted at him to reform himself.
It was enough to prove that he was the ruffian of the village.

“Shut up! I’m bringing those fellows to the old man, since they said they can make him meet them.”

Harren frowned furiously.

“That’s impossible.
How would they even meet the former village chief?”

“Stop wasting time and come to us! I’ll make it cheap for you!”

“Even the royals that visited ten days in a row didn’t see a strand of his hair.
There’s no way they’ll be allowed.”


“That’s pointless!”

The spectators and artisans all shook their heads, saying that they wouldn’t be able to meet with Vulcan.

“You heard them, right? I won’t cancel the bet, even if you ask.”

“I’m not asking that, so let’s get going already.”

“How arrogant…”

Harren pouted, stopping in front of the artisan building on the highest hill of the village.
The hemispherical building looked like an upside-down bowl, and a thick metallic door was tightly shut in the center.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering steel, done at a constant speed and strength, could be heard from the inside.
The mature sound of hammering resembled an instrumental performance, and it was enough to feel how skilled the artisan was.

“Ahem.”

Harren cleared his throat.
Instead of using his previous voice, he raised the tone to another level, shouting with a completely different voice.
He was probably trying to hide his identity.

“Hey, former village chief! You have guests! Clients are looking for you!”

He kept slamming the metallic door as if he were trying to break it, but there was no answer from inside.

“You have clients! Open the door!”

“Tsk, just leave! I’m not currently accepting clients.”

Vulcan’s voice could finally be heard from the inside.
It was deeper than before, but it was his voice for sure.

“See? I told you it was pointless.
I’ll take the down payment for now.
Give me that box.”

Harren giggled, extending his hand towards the box Runaan was holding.

“I knew that would happen.”

“He’s not called the Continent’s Blacksmith for no reason.
He’s as stubborn as a mule.”

“He didn’t open the door to royalty.
There’s no way he would allow those children inside.”

“It’s regrettable that the ruffian is getting money.”

The spectators that followed them clicked their tongues, saying that they knew it would happen.

“I’ll try.”

Raon walked past Harren, who opened his hand, and stood in front of the door.

“I told you it’s pointless! Stop bothering the old man and come this way…”

“Sir.”

Raon continued, thinking about Vulcan’s smile at the North Grave Mountain the last time he’d seen him.

“I’ve arrived, after forming an indomitable mind.”

The continuous sound of hammering stopped at once when he spoke.

Rumble!

The metallic door, which seemed like it would stay shut until the end of the continent, was pushed wide open as Vulcan made his appearance alongside a powerful heat.

His face was still full of wrinkles, but his eyes were brimming with vitality, and his entire body was covered with inflated muscles.

“You’re finally here.”

“It’s been a long time.”

Raon and Vulcan looked at each other’s changed appearance and smiled delightedly.

“Huu? Huuu?”

Harren’s jaw dropped, to the point that his lips seemed like they might tear, as he looked back and forth between Raon and Vulcan.

“H-How did this happen? Why did that old man come out?”

He pinched his cheek in disbelief.

“H-He really came out!”

“Gasp! But he said he would never open the door, not until his real client arrived!”

“Wh-Who is that young man, for Sir Vulcan to make that expression…?”

The smiles disappeared from the spectators that followed them at once.
Everyone gasped in surprise.

“What a bland ending.”

Raon smiled, looking at Harren’s astonished expression.

“I won the bet.”

“Argh!”

When Harren started to step backward while biting his lip, Vulcan’s eyes turned to look at him.

“Stop.”

“Huff!”

Harren stopped like a marionette with a broken thread upon hearing that.

“You bastard, why are you here instead of working?”

“I-I was kindly guiding…”

“Nonsense! You must’ve been doing some obnoxious touting, rather than increasing your skills as you should!”

“F-Father, that’s not what happened!”

“Silence!”

Considering the fact that he called him father, Harren was apparently Vulcan’s son.

Raon was planning on making him run some errands, or getting one of the items he made if there was anything decent, but he was probably going to be useful in different ways if he was Vulcan’s son.

‘I got another doormat for myself.’

Raon smiled at Harren, who was held by collar by Vulcan.

____

____

点击屏幕以使用高级工具 提示:您可以使用左右键盘键在章节之间浏览。

You'll Also Like