novelraw Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Chapter 72
The smithy was one of the principal administrative facilities in each territory.
It had become a world in which one could not survive without the ability to produce proper arms and armor.
Since smelting techniques were not something one could learn overnight, the departure of craftsmen inevitably translated directly into a weakening of a territory’s military strength, so they were thoroughly managed to keep the artisans from feeling discontent.
‘Besides, blacksmithing was an extremely popular occupation in our territory.’
The men of Johnson Territory liked working in the smithy very much.
The second most preferred workplace for the men of the territory was the smithy.
If you considered that the first place was knights or soldiers, it was practically the same as being first.
These days the Horned Rabbit breeding pens were quickly rising in popularity, but they still fell a little short of catching up to the traditional powerhouse that was the smithy.
For a muscular tough guy, the smithy was the most certain place to show off his strength as an artisan.
-Indeed, the weapons here were of quite good quality.
Because weapon quality directly affected combat power, smelting techniques were also developing in various directions.
Grinding monster bones to make alloy was basic; they tried adding various materials, including mana crystals, to produce metals that were harder and better suited for using aura.
Compared to before the Great Cataclysm, one of the few fields that had progressed was the smelting field.
All of this was to create weapons capable of dealing with monsters efficiently.
And our territory had several craftsmen whose skills were quite respectable.
‘Just like this person.’
The chief artisan of Johnson Territory, Elder ‘Dikki,’ was an expert who had been active as a craftsman for decades and knew this field so well that there was scarcely a monster he hadn’t worked with.
Because Johnson Territory hosted a wide variety of monsters, they had never once lacked materials, and with that accumulated experience, no one could match Elder Dikki when it came to handling monster bones.
Arrows were numerous and difficult to manage, but the weapons used by knights were made from alloys mixed with monster bone powder, and their quality was exceptionally high.
So I had entrusted the bones of the variant crocodile to him.
Now that the piece had been completed, it seemed I could finally confirm the result.
“Elder, were you here as well?”
“Of course. How could I stand idly by when my precious granddaughter’s equipment was being made? I had to lend a hand.”
“Indeed. Enchanting would have to be applied separately, so borrowing your skill wasn’t a bad idea.”
Since I thought that using the variant crocodile’s bones, which had contained flames, would make a weapon that suited Irene perfectly, I had specially requested Elder Dikki to craft it.
He had also pushed me off and saved me when we had faced that creature, so I had thought I should repay him somehow, and before I knew it, Elder Benetrang had rushed to the smithy to check the finished piece.
He was probably the sort of grandfather who wanted to enchant the weapon that his granddaughter would use with his own hands.
-How doting.
‘Let us call it devoted grandfatherly love.’
Thinking that Elder Benetrang’s doting was plausible as he had even come from Johnson, I nodded, and a grumbling voice from Elder Dikki reached my ears.
“That old geezer, honestly. He comes here every day and makes a racket, meddling in every little thing. There’s no one else as troublesome as him. Lord, please do something about that old fool.”
“Hah, who are you calling troublesome? If that’s the case, then make it properly. Anyway, a fellow with no skill but full of pride….”
“What, what did I not make properly?”
“You say it doesn’t look pretty — the shape. Pretty Irene will use it, so of course the shape must be considered.”
“What does appearance have to do with a weapon meant to beat monsters to death? As long as the performance is good, that’s what matters.”
“Hah, a craftsman saying that… he really is unreasonable.”
There was a lot of bickering, but it was nothing to worry about.
Those two always acted like that when they met.
Still, it posed no real problem because, even after a heated argument, by the next day they behaved as if nothing had happened.
Were they soulmates or sworn friends of some sort?
It was a little surprising to see people who hadn’t known each other long get along like that.
They first met last winter, when Elder Benetrang came to the smithy to overhaul the equipment.
Replacing the runes in the facilities had dramatically improved the work efficiency.
Perhaps because they had met under good circumstances, they had maintained a good relationship.
Among craftsmen who had devoted their lives to a single field, there was something beyond ordinary understanding.
They had clicked right away and cooperated, and since they were of similar ages, they communicated well and had stayed on good terms.
Add Butler Harold and veteran knight Sir Dominic to the mix, and the four old-timers of chaos were formed.
They were a circle of elders I would not dare to interfere with.
Of course, looking at their behavior made it questionable whether they truly got along, but that was their everyday life, so it was best to leave them be.
“Hah, fine. Let’s ask the lord. Let him tell us whether what I made is really flawed.”
“That’s a bit unfair. You and the lord both have terrible aesthetics. Leave it to someone who should be entrusted.”
“What, then what are you proposing?”
“Now, now—let us see the item first. Why not hear the evaluation directly from Sir Irene, who will use the weapon?”
“Hmm, that will do. Wait a moment.”
I had intended to stay out of it, but it seemed endless if I didn’t intervene, so I cut in.
Judging the completed piece was simple — just ask Irene, who would be its owner, how satisfied she was.
Having wrapped up the fruitless debate, Elder Dikki returned with the finished piece after tidying up the final work.
It was a massive war hammer with a faint reddish glow.
“Oh, the color itself is special.”
“I heard Sir Irene used fire-attribute aura? Then casting it from a single block would be much better than using an alloy.”
“You mean, it wasn’t made from an alloy….”
“He smelted the bone whole. Even used as is, it was harder than ogre alloy. You should know well enough yourself how exhausting that process is, Lord, so I won’t bother to say more.”
“True. You must have suffered a lot.”
From the smoothly shaped handle to the brutal-looking head that made one’s knees weak just by sight.
It was obvious that, though he grumbled with his mouth, he had put in more effort than usual because it was a weapon for the granddaughter of his close friend, Benetrang.
But with Elder Benetrang failing to appreciate that and instead nitpicking uselessly, there was no way he would be pleased.
These elders really lived amusingly.
“But still, isn’t that too rough-looking?”
“In my opinion, that much is just right. Sir Irene’s current weapon is similar to this, isn’t it? The best weapon is always the one you’re used to.”
“Mm, but it’s the very first birthday present made by the lord….”
“…Ah, a birthday present?”
“It’s Irene’s birthday, so you’re making her one specially. No need to hide it from me.”
So Irene’s birthday was near?
I was the kind of person who didn’t even bother with my own birthday, let alone care about someone else’s.
Of course, I had no idea when hers was either.
I had only thought it would be good for her to have a dedicated weapon, but because the timing overlapped, it had somehow turned into her birthday present.
‘Feels like this could cause some trouble.’
In this world, even giving a birthday present was not something to do lightly.
A birthday gift implied a very close relationship.
The best way would be to pretend ignorance until the end, then frame it as repayment for saving my life and present it that way.
“In any case, I’ll gift this to Sir Irene. You can check the evaluation later. But where is she?”
“I hear she’s been going frequently to the mountains with the women knights.”
“Ah, Sir Irene went there as well? Crimson Comet had no reason to join spring training.”
“Not training—seems she wants something.”
“…I think I know what. Understood. Then, I’ll leave you to it.”
Now that winter had ended and it was spring.
The only military action I had ordered was deploying the 2nd Knight Order, under Rudick, to clear out the entrance of the Monster Mountains as part of training.
Since the 2nd Knight Order still needed more actual combat, I had given the order as part of their drill.
In Johnson Territory, unless it was winter or some special situation like war, knight training was left to the commander’s discretion.
At first glance, it looked like neglect, but it was long tradition.
Knights who fought with their lives on the line in the most dangerous positions became less efficient if restrained too much.
Besides, all knight commanders carried mana communicators, so if a problem arose anywhere, they could be contacted immediately.
The territory was so small that there was nowhere far to go anyway, so if something urgent came up, they could be called right away.
Because of this, the knight commanders were left to lead their forces freely, and just checking on what they were doing revealed their personalities.
Limond, for example, claimed boredom and joined the 2nd Knight Order in cleaning the northern mountains, while Sir Dominic, temporarily commanding the 1st Knight Order in Rudick’s stead, was patrolling near the territory and farmlands.
Irene’s whereabouts were less clear, but according to Elder Benetrang, she had joined Limond and gone into the Monster Mountains.
Since Irene’s condition was not fully recovered, if she had forced herself into the Monster Mountains, her goal was surely the Three-Horned Mountain Goat.
That woman, if nothing else, was overly serious about mounts.
“Perhaps it may be possible. This winter especially, monster migrations were active.”
There were several habitats of the Three-Horned Mountain Goat in the Monster Mountains.
But in winters like this, when monsters migrated en masse, the goats might have lost their old habitats and been forced to find new ones.
Though fairly valiant, compared to mid- to large-sized monsters of the Monster Mountains, the goats were weak.
If the goats, driven from the depths of the Monster Mountains, had come closer in search of new grounds, perhaps they could be captured alive, like Ultra and his herd that had suddenly been abducted before.
-Indeed, would the red-haired, mount-obsessed female achieve her desire?
I wondered.
By now, it was about time for the 2nd Knight Order and the Black Lion Warriors to return.
If Irene and Crimson Comet had gone into the Monster Mountains with them, soon we would see the result.
“My lord, the forces have returned.”
“Very well.”
I was about to head toward the goat ranch when a soldier guarding the gate ran up to report the returning forces.
It seemed the knights were back.
Curious whether Irene had achieved her dream, my steps quickened.
And when I arrived at the goat ranch—
“Lord Iron! We caught it!!”
Irene’s voice, full of joy, confirmed that they had successfully captured a Three-Horned Mountain Goat.
She had sung about goats and goats endlessly, and now, having longed for it and worked hard, it seemed she had indeed achieved her dream.
“But… doesn’t that one look a bit strange?”
“Lord Iron. This one is definitely the leader. Can’t you feel it just by looking?”
“It is different, but… it’s too different.”
The goat Irene was hugging tightly was indeed unusual.
Normally, male Three-Horned Goats were large, with two thick horns on either side and a smaller one in the middle.
Females, on the other hand, were smaller, with smaller side horns but a larger middle horn.
But the goat before me had a large body, small side horns, and a massive central horn towering high, making it very different from the others.
It had horns like a female, but its size exceeded that of most males.
“Who caught this one?”
“Tito. He said he was an expert in goat capture, so we specially invited him.”
“Tito again? That fellow always brings back strange ones….”
The fact that self-proclaimed goat-capture expert Tito had picked it made it all the more suspicious.
He had once precisely captured Ultra, the leader of a goat herd, and presented it to me.
Could this goat also be the herd’s leader?
It was truly strange how he managed to select only such specimens.