novelraw Chapter 450
Chapter 450
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 450
Adamantium is a mineral that is truly difficult to obtain.
And even if it could be acquired that easily, there was no simple, small-quantity solution.
Even assuming that every last bit would be used without wasting anything until the very end, roughly estimating the item Dragon Forge had put up still left it insufficient.
“Should I shift toward the side that uses less material?”
Isna had jokingly said, Couldn’t Elpiria maybe increase adamantium? but I didn’t see it that optimistically.
Just thinking about whether Elpiria could handle that intentionally gave me the answer.
Right now, Elpiria was no different from a baby faithful only to instinct.
Above all.
Since then, I had never once seen Elpiria transform into the appearance of around fourteen years old.
I’ll think about the complicated things later.
What matters is whether adamantium can be secured at Dragon Forge.
It seemed Dragon Forge was in quite a hurry too.
They were throwing away even dwarven pride and, if they thought it possible, were trying to give everyone a chance regardless of whether they were human, dwarf, or elf.
It didn’t even seem to be some kind of competition, either.
“From the look of it. They’ll probably at least provide what’s needed to filter out the riffraff.”
I rose from my seat at once to go see the situation.
“Want me to go with you?”
“No. Today I’m just going to take a look at the situation and come back.”
“What! Where are you going!”
Just then, Melissa, holding Elpiria in her arms, saw me getting ready to go out and cried out in shock.
“Play with Elpiria. I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t talk bullshit! If you handed this disaster-item to her, then you need to take responsibility!”
“Why are you freaking out like a velociraptor that hasn’t eaten in days? Just wait. I’ll be back soon.”
“No! Don’t go! Hey! Is this a house-head order?! Huh?! This is an order! Elpiria! You say something too! Daddy’s running away!”
“Kyareureuk!!”
Jingle! Jingle!
I deliberately ignored the panicked shouting.
Elpiria too was pestering Melissa as if asking her to play more quickly, and they seemed to be getting along very well.
Even in the middle of that, Elpiria tightly held the unique rattle I had given her in her hand and shook it vigorously, as though she liked it.
Just what kind of scoreline would come out of that match?
* * *
Dragon Forge was a mining city located near the southernmost tip of the Central Continent, and a paradise of dwarves where the entire city itself was one giant smithy.
Of course, not every dwarf liked the work of hammering iron.
Still, if you grabbed a passerby and asked for the greatest artisan city, this place would certainly come up.
Come to think of it, I felt like Dragon Forge had once contacted me after taking interest in the incubus artifact.
What did that have to do with what I was doing now?
A giant city located inside a vast mountain range.
Looking down from the ghost wyvern flying through the sky, the dwarven kingdom was, in the literal sense, bustling beyond the gates.
Are those the artisans who gathered after seeing the notice this time?
There were countless dwarves, but I could also see a considerable number of humans, beastfolk, and elves.
At this point, it felt less like a help call and more like some massive festival.
I got down from the wyvern and stood in the long line.
What is this, it’ll take forever just to get in.
It felt like if I just waited, it would take all day.
So I slowly swept my gaze around as if in thought.
Should I sneak in?
It wouldn’t be hard. But... it felt like it might cause needless trouble…….
After thinking it over, I decided to go bold.
[Invisibility]
The moment I slipped out of the line, I naturally wrapped my entire body in invisibility magic.
Then, after lightly warming up by bending and stretching my legs, I jumped and shot up into the air.
The wall encircling Dragon Forge’s outer perimeter was, as expected of the dwarven kingdom, extremely solid and thick, packed with many techniques.
But.
No matter how thick a fortress wall was, once you simply jumped over it, it became useless.
The moment I entered Dragon Forge’s interior, it was packed with an enormous crowd.
In truth, aside from the Duchy of Cascadia, most places were like this.
There were many sections where it was hard even to walk because carriages and crowds were mixed together.
In Cascadia’s case, there were many carriage-only roads made underground or in separate districts, so it was far more pleasant, but other territories usually didn’t do that because of technical and cost issues.
Dragon Forge seemed to have an especially high proportion of smithies.
Normally, all of them wouldn’t be giving off such a busy feeling.
No matter that it was the continent’s greatest producer of steel, this wasn’t wartime, so there was no reason for it to be this hectic.
But right now, every smithy visible on the streets was in absolute chaos.
And some of the larger smithies even had inexplicable lines in front of them.
“Next, come in!!”
At the cry from some of the dwarves, I could see the people standing in line pour inside.
Every last one of them looked like artisans who had learned smithing techniques.
I went to a nearby stall, paid an appropriate amount, and ordered some street food.
“There seem to be an unusual number of people. What are those lines?”
At my question, the dwarf grilling meat chuckled.
“What else would they be. People who gathered saying they’d try to repair the Sea Dragon’s Armor. From riffraff to those with real skill. Here. Pork brazier skewer.”
Chuckling, he handed me a skewer.
“But. Isn’t there only one Sea Dragon’s Armor? How exactly are all these artisans supposed to restore it?”
Too many captains will steer a ship into the mountains from the start.
Among all these people, there would be some worthless ones, and some skilled ones.
If all of them rushed in to restore the Sea Dragon’s Armor, how would they clean up that whole mess?
That question occurred to me, so I asked, and the dwarf stroked his beard.
“Well. I’m no artisan, so I don’t know the details, but they say the royal family made several checkpoints. They make them forge an easy iron sword, and if they pass that, they move on to armor, and then, if they pass that, they hand out special minerals.”
Special minerals.
If one could skillfully handle even minerals that even fairly decent artisans could not manage easily, then that was when they would entrust it to them?
Even so, there would not be only a few who could handle them.
“Besides, there are some conditions attached. All work must be done only within Dragon Forge. Especially when it comes to special minerals, taking them out is prohibited.”
Ahh.
So that was why it was so hectic.
Even within Dragon Forge, it was a way to definitely grow the internal commercial district.
The outside artisans wouldn’t have workshops of their own, so in the end they’d have no choice but to rent workshops here.
The same went for basic swords or armor.
What Dragon Forge wanted was skilled technicians, not highly finished goods.
“From the look of it, young man, it seems you came after seeing this notice too. Are you an artisan?”
“Ah. Well, yes, I am. But today I’m just looking at the situation first.”
“I see. If you go upward from here, there’s a large lodging complex. I don’t know if there’ll be any rooms left, though.”
“Thank you for the directions.”
“Heh heh. Have a good look around.”
Perhaps because there were almost no cases of Dragon Forge taking in this many outsiders, there were indeed not a few tourists as well.
Maybe this, too, would make finding lodging not easy.
Of course, the truly famous artisans had probably already been invited inside Dragon Forge.
Of course, that wasn’t the case for me.
The lodging complex was, as expected, incredibly crowded.
Finding a room was really not easy either.
I had to struggle quite a bit, but fortunately, I was able to secure a place, shabby though it was.
From the start, rather than people staying for a few days and rotating through, most were effectively staying until they achieved their goal.
It could only be seen as very good luck.
In the worst case, I might have ended up in the tent settlement outside Dragon Forge.
Stepping into the old, musty interior, I scattered mana appropriately and erased the surrounding smell, then swept away all the dust.
After that, I placed my hand on the wall, then slowly drew my finger across its surface.
Riiip!!
Then, with a faint sound, space tore open.
With this, I had made a temporary door that connected to Cascadia.
If this were found out inside Dragon Forge, there would probably be quite a stir, but…….
If I didn’t get caught, it wasn’t a problem.
To begin with, this was a place without teleport gates.
Since there was no one managing such things, they’d be even less likely to know.
Afterward, I looked around further to find a place suitable for carrying out the work, and only then did I return through the gate.
And the moment I got back to Cascadia, what I saw was—
“Oh…….”
The sight of maids lying stretched out everywhere.
As I passed through the dim corridor and entered the house head’s office, Melissa, looking hollow-eyed like someone who hadn’t slept for days, glared at me with ominous eyes.
“Was it fun?”
“Uh…… mm. You worked hard.”
“That thing. It’s a disaster-item. The kid won’t sleep. She keeps her eyes wide open and keeps pestering us to play with her……. Mother, Father. How did you live like this…….”
I could more or less guess what “that thing” she was talking about was.
“Where’s Elpiria?”
At that, she did not answer and simply dropped her head and fell asleep.
No matter how much stamina kids had, and no matter how high Elpiria’s play threshold was, could it really be enough to leave a Sword Master that flattened out?
That question came to mind.
Then again.
I did remember that, for Elpiria to be satisfied, Melissa had to hold Elpiria in her arms and run around the mansion at tremendous speed.
When playing with ordinary children, how much chance is there for a Sword Master to get tired?
And so, the thing I saw the moment I entered my room was a pair of sparkling eyes as though they held starlight.
Jingle jingle—
And Elpiria, who had played all day and yet still looked perfectly fine, as if shouting, “I Can Do This All Day,” showed me an endlessly pure and happy smile.
“Abu!!”
I let out a small laugh and slowly approached, scooping Elpiria into my arms.
Then I said,
“I’ll have to take back the rattle.”
Elpiria was fundamentally different from other children.
On top of that, with the rattle’s effect added in, it felt as though she had literally become a runaway locomotive.
So I slowly reached out and retrieved the rattle clutched in Elpiria’s hand.
“H-heuguk!”
At once, Elpiria began to tear up as if she were about to burst into crying at any moment.
I’m screwed.
I put the rattle back into her hand and sank into deep thought.
The Sea Dragon’s Armor?
More than that, I desperately needed a means to calm Elpiria down.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
* * *
To meet the minimum requirements Dragon Forge demanded, weapons and armor to submit were necessary first.
However.
In the case of swords, it seemed I could work freely within Dragon Forge, but from the next stage onward, an inspector would be attached.
Whatever the case, it seemed to mean that I would have to use a workshop inside in the end.
Securing a workshop was even harder than finding lodging.
“My apologies, but we’re fully booked.”
“Try somewhere else.”
Since there was no point in sending someone else pointlessly, I personally searched among the better-managed workshops, but the result was a dud.
Any place that looked even remotely decent was already reserved solid for several days or more.
And since it was impossible to snatch one away by offering extra money or anything like that, it was a very troublesome situation.
If only I had found out a little earlier, things would have gone more smoothly.
I sat on a rocky mountain from which Dragon Forge’s scenery could be seen and silently looked down at the brightly shining cityscape.
Centered on the royal palace of Dragon Forge, which looked as though it had been carved out of a massive cliff, countless lights beautifully adorned the entire city.
It was definitely different from Cascadia’s scenery.
Still, as expected of a kingdom of technicians, it felt impressive.
“Mm? A young human, I see. Don’t tell me you came after seeing this notice too?”
When I turned my head at that moment, I saw a dwarf climbing up onto the cliff.
“Yes. Did you as well?”
“I’m no artisan. I’m a local here.”
Chuckling, he settled himself near me and plopped down, then took out a leather waterskin from his chest and opened the cap while looking down at the cityscape.
A strong smell of alcohol drifted over.
“From the look of it, it seems you weren’t able to get a workshop. Truth be told, it seems even those in the upper ranks hadn’t expected artisans to swarm in to this degree.”
“There’s nothing I can do when there’s no place to try anything.”
A considerable number among them would fail to pass even the first exam and be weeded out.
I had been thinking of waiting for that point.
From the start, most workshops now were like that.
The rental period was very short.
So the artisans had to work under pressure of time to make the items Dragon Forge wanted.
“But. What do they do with the weapons and armor made like that?”
“For the time being, Dragon Forge itself buys them according to quality. Of course, if they’re a total mess, it’ll be hard to get their proper price.”
Even so, those people were in a relatively good situation.
Some, like me, could not even get a workshop in the first place and could do nothing but wait.
“Sir.”
“What is it?”
“Do you perhaps know of some quiet workshop that only you know about?”
At my question, he glanced at me.
He looked as though he wanted something.
So I took out a bottle of strong liquor from my subspace.
It was a strong drink Berus, a dwarf artisan in the territory of Cascadia, had liked.
“It’s a strong liquor that a dwarf in our territory liked, though I don’t know whether it’ll suit your taste.”
“Ahem! You’re a quick-witted young fellow! Kuh-heh-heh-heh.”
Laughing as though satisfied, he roughly uncorked the bottle I handed him and downed the liquor in one go before letting out a “Kheu!”
“It’s very strong, and I like it. Right. A quiet workshop, you say.”
“Yes.”
“There isn’t one. If there were such a place, it would already be fully reserved. Even the workshops of fools who manage theirs poorly are all booked up, so what more is there to say?”
Particularly in the case of artisans, they tended to feel quite a lot of antipathy toward someone else using their workshop.
Even so, the reason they were still lending workshops out was probably because they were that interested in the Sea Dragon’s Armor.
“To tell the truth, this matter has caused quite a lot of debate even within Dragon Forge. As you know, we dwarves are stubborn.”
“To be honest, I was a little surprised too that artisans were renting out their workshops.”
If it were me, I would never lend one out even if I died.
At my words, he chuckled.
“Yes. But they themselves couldn’t do it. So isn’t it that, wishing for even one person to be able to do it, they’re acting like this?”
After draining the whole bottle, he stood up.
“Still, I ought to earn the price of the drink. Follow me.”
“There is one?”
“Well. It’s not a workshop for rent, but there is a place my young son used to fool around and work in. Though that unfilial brat died buried in a mine.”
With his hands behind his back, he began walking skillfully down the path leading beneath the cliff.
Was I lucky?
The place we arrived at following the old man’s words was a shabby smithy located quite on the outskirts.
At a glance, the equipment was poor, the furnace cold, and it was clear that it wasn’t well maintained.
It was the kind of workshop that any artisan with an eye would avoid no matter how urgent things were.
“What do you think. If you want, I can lend you even a place like this.”
“Hmm.”
“To be frank, no matter who came, this is not a situation where they could rent a proper workshop right now.”
Right.
Well, the strong liquor I gave him wasn’t all that expensive anyway.
At this point, this was more than enough to be grateful for.
“Sir. How long can I rent it for?”
“Use it as long as you want.”
The best possible condition.
Other places gave barely enough time to finish an item while racing the clock, but here, didn’t that mean I could effectively take the place for myself until the competition ended?
“To tell you the truth. For most of the artisans here, Dragon Forge doesn’t really expect anything. They just opened it up on the off chance.”
“Then…….”
“However, the famous artisans, or those who truly had potential, all went inside the royal quarters. They’ll be working there after receiving dedicated workshops.”
In other words, Dragon Forge had summoned all the famous people while also doing this to search for any rough gems that might be out there.
“With time pressing them, proper-quality items probably won’t come out. But then, the objective wasn’t to make weapons or armor in the first place.”
I quietly nodded.
“You know a lot about things like this, sir.”
It seemed like the sort of thing a person unrelated to the royal family normally wouldn’t know.
“Heh heh. If you just go on getting old, you naturally come to know a lot.”
I stepped into the workshop he had guided me to, a place that looked almost untouched by human hands.
It was full of dust, but I silently placed my hand on the anvil.
Traces of work could be seen.
Though covered in clumsy marks, the maintenance itself was still fairly decent.
After that, I moved toward the furnace for heating metal.
It was the same here as well.
There were clumsy traces visible, but strangely enough, at least the bare minimum had been maintained.
“Sir. Before your son, was there someone else who used this place?”
“Hm. How would I know? The brat used it since he was little, so is there any need to dig deeper?”
That was a signal.
A signal telling me not to pry into another person’s family matters.
I nodded.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t wrong.
From his position, even lending out the traces of his inactive son to someone else probably felt like giving away quite a lot.
Why he had made such a decision, I had no way of knowing.
I slowly stretched out my hand and raised a wind, gathering all the dust in the workshop into one place and then burning it away with hellfire.
After that, I summoned Sur.
“Sur. Melt away only the impurities inside the furnace.”
-Ppiik!
Usually, when the firepower grew stronger, the furnace would also be damaged, but that did not apply to Sur, who handled heat with exquisite precision.
I took out a hammer whose handle had half-rotted and crumbled away, separated the handle and head, then took out a nearby piece of wood, shaved it suitably, and fitted it together.
Right after finishing that minimal work, I lit the furnace.
“A weapon…….”
I just need to make a sword or something, I guess.
The elderly dwarf approached and watched me as I picked up the hammer.
“Sir?”
“Go on with what you were doing. Looking at you now, I feel nostalgic, as though my son had come back alive and was working again.”
“Your son wasn’t a dwarf?”
“He was a half. So the brat was taller than me.”
I gave a suitable nod and began the work.
Sur quickly began to stoke up the heat, and I pulled out iron ingots and several alloying materials from my subspace and threw them all into the furnace.
If I made just one sword at around the unique level, even the upper ranks would probably be satisfied.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]