tyht 24

Chapter 24

I headed toward the blacksmith’s with the old duke.

His hobby was weapon development.

He enjoyed drawing up blueprints, commissioning their creation, and testing the finished products—it was his only real joy.

‘Well, a lot of these have even gone into commercial production, so it’s not just a hobby.’

One of the main businesses of the Zebert family was weapons manufacturing. Weapons made from high-quality ore mined around their territory were famous across the entire continent.

‘Those shields that block dark magic were particularly good.’

And with the recent wars sweeping the continent, the business must have been booming, whether he intended it or not.

“Wow, it’s huge!”

“It’s probably the largest in the empire.”

As if to prove that reputation, the blacksmith’s complex was enormous.

To exaggerate a little, it almost looked like a small village.

“Welcome.”

We entered the largest building among the many, greeted casually by the owner.

The heat from the blazing furnaces hit us immediately. Clang, clang—the irregular sound of metal being struck echoed.

“Hand it over! My weapon!”

A thug… no, the old duke shouted.

The owner, shirtless and puffing on a pipe, lifted his eyes.

The young-looking man had brown hair tied haphazardly and smudges of soot across his face.

“…You’re a late-born, I see?”

Thud. A large hammer dropped to the floor.

“Still as incompetent as ever.”

“Hoh.”

The owner bent over to peer at me, curiosity in his eyes.

“Put out the fire.”

The old duke said it disapprovingly, and the owner pouted.

“Coming to a blacksmith and telling me to put out the fire…”

Cough, cough.

A sudden gust of wind pushed the smoke from his pipe toward us.

The old duke clicked his tongue and plucked me up, setting me down on the opposite side.

“Can’t you put it out immediately?!”

“Ah.”

The owner finally realized he was holding a pipe in his mouth.

“Oh… sorry about that.”

Swish, swish. He waved away the smoke.

“So, what’s this kid about? Don’t tell me… lead…”

Clang. The old duke lightly kicked a hammer aside.

“Do you even keep up with the outside world? By the way… maybe it’s time to renovate this place, huh?”

“…This anvil won’t do. Nor my furnace. Nothing will do!”

“Then enough chatter—hand over the sword!”

The owner shook his head vigorously at the shouted command.

“Geez, the old man really has a temper…”

“I can hear you.”

“Your hearing is still intact! Is that a relief?”

“Ugh, that guy.”

Hmm, I couldn’t tell if their relationship was good or bad.

In any case, seeing the owner treat the old duke so casually made it clear he wasn’t an easy man either.

The owner rummaged through somewhere and suddenly pulled out a sword.

Crash! He swept a table aside and placed the sword on it.

“Hrmph!”

The old duke’s eyes flashed as he gazed at the sword.

“I’ll hammer it a few more times, but this magical ore refinement is more troublesome than expected…”

“Shouldn’t the handle use Eprion instead?”

“Hm, maybe. But Eprion reacts poorly to sunlight at certain angles.”

The two adults began seriously geeking out over weapons. I cautiously backed away, watching carefully.

“Where are you going?”

He knew?

“I just wanted to look around…”

“No! Don’t you know how dangerous it is here?”

“Then I’ll wait outside!”

The old duke looked between the weapons and me, weighing his options.

“I’ll behave!”

I put on my best obedient child expression. The owner, who had been quietly observing, sniffed and interjected.

“Want to do a little hammering if you’re bored?”

“Huh? Hammering? Me?”

“Or watch the tempering… ah, you could pick out some nice pieces of metal over there and keep them.”

“Why are you making a kid do things!”

“…? When I was your age, that was the most fun thing to do.”

The owner looked genuinely baffled.

“That’s why you grew up obsessed with weapons!”

“Ha, why are you praising me all of a sudden?”

“It’s not praise!”

Hmm, he really isn’t someone to underestimate.

“Hehe… I’ll go wait outside.”

I quietly slipped out of the blacksmith’s.

Outside, a familiar face was waiting.

No wonder the old duke let me go so easily—he knew a guard was following.

“Sir Leon, uncle… I mean, senior!”

“…Long time no see.”

Leon, with his blue hair, looked down at me. A strange expression flickered through his normally stern eyes.

“Long time! But why are you looking at me like that?”

“Why haven’t you ever joined the knight order…”

“Hm?”

“Um, nothing.”

I tilted my head and continued walking.

Leon followed.

“Where are we going?”

“I want to go explore!”

I pointed to a small shop near the blacksmith.

Just as I saw on the map, there it was.

A magical ore shop!

“Ore shop?”

“Not allowed?”

“Well, it’s right next door, so I guess it’s fine…”

“The old duke will take a while. Right, senior?”

“Hm, can’t be helped.”

Leon subtly took my hand. After instructing another nearby knight, we headed into the ore shop.

“Wow, it sparkles! So pretty.”

The shop was empty, perhaps the owner stepped out. My eyes gleamed as I explored.

Of course, I stopped at the display of magical ores.

All shapes and colors.

A smile crept onto my lips.

‘No wonder—they fight monsters so often, they must have plenty of magical ore.’

Slaying monsters could yield magical ore. Mining could also yield it.

The quality varied, and the most powerful ores came from monsters.

Like game items, really.

Processed, magical ore becomes a magical tool.

‘Simply put, these stones are a primary material for magical tools.’

Of course, ordinary people couldn’t make magical tools so easily.

‘Back in the kingdom, I used these ores to make magical tools…’

Our kingdom imported magical ores. Some existed domestically, but Zelox ores were the best quality.

Perhaps because the land teemed with vicious monsters.

‘The magical tools we made were then sold across the continent.’

“Ah.”

My eyes widened as I scanned the displays.

‘Found it—the barrier stone.’

A translucent, pale purple stone filled my vision.

“What are you staring at?”

“Senior! Senior!”

I tugged on Leon’s sleeve.

“There are so many pale purple stones here. What are they used for?”

I asked, testing him deliberately.

“They’re mostly useless magical ore. The color is unusual, so sometimes used for sword decorations, but they’re too heavy to be practical.”

“Really?”

I held one up to the light—it was perfectly clear, no impurities. Quite a product indeed…

“They have little demand because they’re useless.”

That wasn’t true. There wasn’t demand because no one knew how to use them.

‘I’m the only one in the kingdom who knows how to make magical tools with these barrier stones.’

I gripped the purple stone tightly.

‘This is it.’

A way to protect myself and uncle.

‘I’ll use this ore to create a barrier over Zelox. Like the magical kingdom—an unbreakable shield.’

The magical kingdom had been a fortress for a millennium.

No one could invade it, and no attack could harm it.

Those who didn’t know thought the wizards were casting amazing protection spells, but it was really the magical tools embedded with ancient barrier spells throughout the kingdom.

Spells no longer present anywhere else in the world.

‘I can do this.’

I was born with the ability to hold all magic circles in my mind—ancient or modern, it didn’t matter.

The problem, though, was surprisingly practical…

‘I’ll need to buy a massive amount of this ore…’

To cover all of Zelox, of course, I’d need a huge quantity.

I exhaled shallowly, and Leon’s gaze fell on me.

I hadn’t even noticed the large shadow behind me while lost in thought.

‘I’ll also need a secret lab to make the magical tools…’

Could I do it?

I sighed again.

“Kiddo, what exactly are you doing here?”