Chapter 210: Earth Bearer, Part 2
Grandpa Dan’s smithy was quite hot. Blacksmiths are already priced as hot, but dwarves don’t bother with that heat. The skin is said to be naturally heat resistant. A dwarf is a creature that creates a tunnel even in a volcano where ordinary creatures make a lot of noise. It’s okay to hold the bottom of a boiling pot with their bare hands. I’m a little wondering at what temperature it will burn. Since they were born to play with such metals, they have the perception of hunting for minerals with their noses and intuitions and other races are still completely unmatched by dwarves in blacksmithing and metalworking. Even in a country like Trot, which is covered by humans, the industry itself is thrown to the dwarves when it comes to mining, so there were many countries on the continent where all the metal industry was covered by dwarves. I’m super cool trying to blacksmith in front of such a dwarf. No, I’m sorry. I tried to inspire myself. I know it’s really reckless.
“Hey, what are you going to do? You didn’t decide until you got here”
“It’s a rehash of a broken weapon. Jeanne, take it down”
“Nn”
Jeanne takes down the wooden box, she was carrying. The joint between the handle and the broken blade. And a blade that broke so miserably that it couldn’t be thought of as metal.
“……It’s a weapon that still doesn’t make sense for me”
“This is a weapon that 10-man captain Smithson has kindly made from the materials that were available!”
“What a human, actually raised by a dwarf. I know you fell in love with Jeanne”
Why does he think so?
“10-man……I was the one who fell in love with Andy. He just helped me when hunting Hell’s Boar”
“Hunm. ……I thought it would be a fashionable action of a human to hand over a handmade craft to a woman”
Naris blushes when Dan’s mutters.
“Wh, What do you mean with it? Isn’t Celesta too strange? If you give a knife, you’ll propose!”
“It’s an old custom of an oasis in the south. It’s supposed to be only dark elves and ogres, but I know strange things……well, the long ear chiefs sometimes dress younger than their age. Did you treat it as a little girl prematurely?”
“Don’t say things like dressing oneself younger than their age or that’s disgraceful! I´m only 113 years old!”
“……Are you the same age as me? You´re a splendid mature woman”
“A, Are you the same age? I’m a little happy. Can I call you Dan-kun?”
“Silence”
After screaming at Naris, the old man begins to scrutinize the parts of Crash Haken.
“The more I look at it, the more weird it is. The quality of the steel itself is quite good, but I think it wouldn’t break like this……”
It’s hard to understand how it broke because the joints are completely crushed and the material is broken and the crest engraving is broken, so it doesn’t work.
“Do you know the crest engraving of the southeastern elf forest?”
“……Ah, that stone shining thing?”
“I’m just dabbling in and applying it. That’s why this was originally a farm tool sickle, but it’s changed to move like this……”
“……Hunm. I see. It’s a mere form of the gimmick weapon of West Afilm. ……It’s a half-hearted imitation. If it’s an axe, it’s an axe. If its an halberd, its an halberd, but when you decide it’s going to be an halberd, then you´re going to hit it again”
“I made it at the forefront of the demon territory, so there was no furnace……”
“Don’t be stupid. If that’s the case, don’t make a half-hearted thing and hand it over. You had to have a weapon and you couldn’t leave it to someone else? Was this elder sister in a state where she had to fight with a damn fake weapon? It’s unavoidable for someone who can’t fight without a weapon to run away. But if you have a weapon, you can understand the feelings of a warrior when the weapon was just a trash that looked like it was a crap. The worst deception. It’s the lowest cheat”
Old man Dan blames me for making excuses with a harsh tone.
“Well, I can use anything, so I don’t have much trouble if I only use sticks, right?”
Naris hurriedly enters the follow-up, but Grandpa Dan quickly points his palm at Naris and refuses.
“Shut up. That’s the problem. It’s a matter of hitting a weapon. Well, the point of victory and defeat that a warrior entrusts his life to is a weapon. If you can deceive yourself with such an excuse, you can’t use it to break it too much, or you can’t use it to break it because it’s not used properly. Don’t be a blacksmith. Your weapon can’t protect the user. It’s the worst tool that only causes harm”
“…………”
I endure. Various possibilities are created by using crest engraving. I can make various new weapons. I can make things that have never been possible before, such as special arrows and breath calibers. I was so ecstatic and proud of it. The thick arrows, which fly forward and are used up in one go, are a weapon that don’t consider defense and the breath caliber, which is just a fire-blowing tool, is nothing more than ad hoc. It’s true that my range of weapon creation has expanded, but it’s not that I’ve been able to make good weapons that even famous swordsmen can proudly recommend. Naris was about to fall victim to it.
“……Hun, do you understand? That’s right. It’s not so dangerous that the odds are pretending to be full-fledged”
The old man snorts when he sees me hanging my head silently. Seeing that, Naris took a step in resentment.
“You can’t say that……”
“Don’t you like the way I say it? After all, haughty long ears are particular about crap”
“It’s my weapon!? Where I was in trouble, I fell down and worked hard with the things I had……!!”
“Stop Naris”
“10-man captain Smithson!”
“Stop. There’s nothing wrong with what the old man says. If you were seriously injured by having such a weapon, I can’t complain that Sharon or Tetes would kill me”
“That won’t be the case!?”
“No matter how much I fall down or you are dexterous, defective products are defective products!!”
I just yelled and became a little awkward and turned down again. ……And then, a little bit, I sit down on the ground.
“Old man. No, Dan-san. ……Can you lend me a hand? I can’t give Naris a bad weapon again”
“…………”
Grandpa Dan folded his arms and snorted.
“Jeanne. And long ears. You guys get out”
“……No”
“Jeanne-san, take it off a little without pulling it!?”
“It’s terribly sweaty, Nee-chan. I’ll take you to the sand bath”
“That’s why I don’t pull the pants tourmer, it’s a clasp, so it comes off!?”
Naris leaves the room with Jeanne. The door closes. Grandpa Dan and I are alone. ……I wonder if I will be beaten again.
“Raise your face”
“……?”
“First of all, rehash. The temperature is still enough because I used the furnace a while ago. Also, the tailoring of the gimmick weapon has been a bit bitter in the past. Leave the deformed part to me”
“……Th, Thank you for your help”
With Grandpa Dan, I put the Crash Haken fragments in the furnace.
While it heats up, even the old man’s head sweats and I’m stunned at the smithy. Ventilation may be considered by dwarf standards. It’s hard for me. However, I remember my childhood when my boss yelled at me that it was natural for the smithy to be hot. If I´m willing to go somewhere before the Spirit Festival, I don’t have much time. It’s so hot that I can’t complain.
“……I don’t have a parent like Jeanne”
While throwing a burning stone into the furnace with a shovel, the old man talks. I listen carefully.
“In this colony, it’s not such a rare experience. It’s a narrow colony that asks everyone to be first-class as a blacksmith, a warrior and a family member. As a warrior, it also means asking everyone to have the ability to fight monsters”
“……Honestly, I thought it was terrible to have such a small child fight such a monster”
“That’s right. But the labyrinth here is so big that the flow of energy is sometimes biased due to the influence of the season. Sometimes the colony is flooded with monsters. Sandworms Hell’s Boars and rock dolls are next to each other. There are many times in the history of hundreds of years that all the children were killed because of the labyrinth”
“…………”
“Everyone can be strong to prevent it. It is an obligation to be strong. That is why everyone is strong. For that……even if I die. I will fight repeatedly just in case and it’s a frustrating story to die, but if it’s not obligatory, everyone will enjoy it. I don’t want to think I can’t help it, but I can’t help it”
……Every time I hear such a story. I realize that I am blessed. Bonaparte’s old man once played with me, who lives a peaceful life without knowing the fight to protect the country. The stories of the people who live in Renfangas and the stories of the people who live in Carlwin have a rigor that is far from my life.
“……Then, surely Jeanne is still too young. At least five years……no, I was going to teach various things at hand for about ten years. You will understand. Dwarves are half the age of humans. It’s a hang. She is still a kid, isn’t it”
“…………”
“I certainly don’t see a dwarf girl having children at that age, but did Jeanne really give birth?”
“Yes. Peter Smithson. He has the same as my dad who was also a blacksmith”
“……Hun, it’s a weak name. There’s a stronger name like Vargas or Greg”
There is a story that dwarves like voiced sound, but it seems that this old man is also the same.
“……But, is that so. Jeanne’s child……is it my great-grandchild”
The old man looks a little far away and puts in fuel. I tried to argue that the name had been dismissed, but I lost my head in the heat as I thought about it.
“……You ‘ll bring him here someday”
“Always”
“……Good, it’s love that feels like it. I’m gonna hit it. Have you learned how to swing a hammer?”
“Of course”
There are a number of hammers ahead of what the old man showed with his chin. The grip is a little short, but is it adapted to the small physique of a dwarf? Among them, they are reasonably heavy……or rather, I take the lightest hammer and aim at the red-hot steel presented by the old man.
“Go”
“Yes……!!”
Gan!! Gan!! Gan!! Gan!! Gan!! I hit it many times in repetition. The steel materials that have melted and become one will be reborn as a weapon again.
“Wait, that’s it! The temperature has dropped!”
I noticed that the old man had stopped, I swam my body in an attempt to stop the hammer that I was about to shake down. And, partly because my head was dumb, I almost fell on the anvil. It’s on a hot anvil, where there’s still hot steel, even though the temperature has dropped. I’m sorry if I fell down. However, the old man had his hands blocked.
“U, Uwaaa……!”
“Fool!”
The old man throws out the steel and tries to reach out, but on the other side of the anvil. His hands are too short to support. I was prepared for a moment.
……No. I can’t get hurt by such a silly thing. I have a lot to do. Hit a weapon for Naris. Spend the spirit festival with everyone. I promised Irina and Breakcore to be the priest, Neia´s home was still in danger and Laila and Maia would regret not being there if I was hurt by not needing them.
“Gaaaa!!”
With a momentary awakened head, I choose to hit the anvil with all my might. My hands are numb, but I clench the handle and stay on it as a support. There was a great noise.
“……Cool down”
“I’m sorry, it’s hot……my head”
“Humans are too weak. ……But that’s not the point of patience for being thin. Half a man”
The old man takes the steel and pliers back and puts them in a suitable place to open the door of the room. Ventilation is quick due to the temperature difference and breathing becomes a little easier.
“Continued. ……You’ve got a good master. I can’t complain about the posture of your lower back”
The old man bluntly said and grabbed the pliers again.
Hit it several times and shape it.
“When it cools down, I put a gimmick in earnest. ……But it’s a strange weapon. I know if it’s an axe and a halberd, but an axe and a sickle?”
“It’s really just a farm tool……”
“Is a halberd fine? I can do it now. There’s plenty of material here to fill the gaps”
“……I have to ask Naris”
No, I didn’t ask when Crash Haken was first manufactured.
“In any case, if the sickle is not for cavalry, it will be hard for everyday use. That long ear doesnt look like a cavalry. It’s such a round-out look”
“……Well, she is certainly not a cavalryman”
Do I want to keep the function as a sickle for “someday” or leave it as an axe or halberd? It’s a little subtle.
The slightly smoky underground colony is also a paradise compared to the heat of the smithy. If I look for a little while taking a deep breath, I find Jeanne running very much.
“Jeanne, where is Naris?”
“Now she’s in the sand bath. I’m going to deliver a sand removal brush”
“I need to ask her something, so show me around”
“Nn”
I follow Jeanne as it is.
When I got into the sand bath, Naris was just crawling out of the sand. Her whole body is covered with sand, but she is naked and on all fours.
“Wh, WhWhWhWhーーーー!? 10-man captain Smithson!?”
“Don’t make a noise when you show off your butt and boobs with such an embarrassing bikini armor”
“I, I’m not quiet!! Please turn over there!!”
“Yes Yes”
Naris who turns bright red and gets angry is a little cute. I wonder if there are only such reacting children, Naris and Neia, around these days.
“So, Naris. I have something to ask”
“Don’t look!! Never look over here!! What is it?”
“I’m going to remake Crash Haken, but we’ll review the deformation function……I’d like to turn off the sickle function and use the axe and grave”
As an image, the large blade slides the handle to make it a weapon with different reach and handling.
“Eh……”
Naris raises a dissatisfied voice.
“What is it”
“……That would be that grandfather’s suggestion”
“That’s right, but”
“Sickle. Please do that”
“Why”
“Isn’t it regrettable? Isn’t it regrettable that 10-man captain Smithson has been urged to change it?”
“Regrettable……I actually broke it because I wasn’t good at it”
“If you leave the concept to that old man, you’ll be fooled. Let’s not lose”
“It’s not a matter of winning or losing, though”
Naris emphasizes while having Jeanne remove the sand with the brush.
“I think it’s a good weapon to leave as it is. Long-handled weapons are certainly useful, but I don’t think they’re generally weak because there are ways to fight an axe with an axe and a sickle with a sickle”
“Naris……”
“……And it’s my first weapon just for me……I don’t want to think it was a totally loss”
“Eh, I’ve had you make your order……”
“I don’t have that kind of money. Since I was an adventurer, I didn’t say that weapons were usually dropped by friends”
“……Is it so”
……Yes, is it the first order? In a way, I’m a little proud.
“I understand. See you later”
When I tried to look back and say it, the sand on her whole body was dropped and Naris was all nude.
“Don’t lookーーーーー!!”
Naris kicked the sand up and slammed it on my face.
———————————–
“……Sand bath, did you go in?”
“No. I was just hit with sand by a rascal”
I was in agony for a while with the sand not coming out of my eyes, but I managed to return to the smithy.
“It seems that the sickle and axe as before are good”
“……I think it’s hard to handle.”
“She can use any melee weapon. Axe, hammer, sword, spear”
When I think about it again, I think that she also is a talent.
“Well, yes. ……If it’s the same as before, it’s a gimmick as an axe. This is how the folding gimmick……put your support here and do it this way”
“Oh, it’s a bit more like an ordinary axe than before”
“The previous design is different from a hatchet. ……Emm, if you work carefully from the forging stage, it will not be like the previous one. I don’t know if it is a crest engraving, but if you are a blacksmith, don’t neglect blacksmithing. It should be a much stronger alloy than before, mixed with secret rare ores”
“……I don’t hate or distrust blacksmithing. It’s just that the war started before I learned how to smith a knife in earnest”
“Hunm. It’s an excuse. If I had that basic, I should have accumulated it myself, as it would have been an experience”
“……I wonder if that’s true”
My master felt that there was still more to teach. That’s why I have a big complex in coming out without being taught it. ……I wonder.
“Everything is about studying after becoming a full-fledged person. No matter how good you are, you don’t need anything else. If you’re half a man, it’s even more effort. ……『Desert Black Dragon』is with you. Then you can come from anywhere. If you come, I’ll train you. Be a full-fledged person. It’s embarrassing for a blacksmith with a dwarven bride”
“……What, that”
Did he admit it? ……When I look at Dan-san with hopeful eyes, he looks suspicious.
“What?”
“Emm, can you accept my relationship with Jeanne?”
“…..What do you say?”
The old man sighs while playing with the handle of Crash Harken.
“Even if I admit it, it’s not like this to go all the way to the kid. I just tried to let you hit”
“……E, that?”
……What, maybe.
“Blacksmithing is the test of seeing that area……”
“It was you who said that. If Jeanne promised to lend a furnace, I wouldn’t be reluctant as a relative and I couldn’t let you make something boring”
“…………”
That?
“I just thought that way. ……It’s a boring idea that seems to be half a man”
The old man sighs again.
“There aren’t many good stories in the world that you can take with you because you’ve made it. If you want to marry Jeanne, or if you want me to recognize you as my son in law, don’t neglect your efforts. Keep on being the right guy. It’s an effort to have someone else in your family. No matter how hard you try, you don’t need anything else”
—————————————–
“……Was that what happened?”
“I’ve been searching around for where you went to”
At dawn, the three of us return to Laila’s bed. Dianne, Aurora and Luna had relieved faces. Laila was calm, so maybe she had heard that we decided to go to the Dwarf Colony.
“It’s a souvenir”
“……Liquor barrel?”
“Ho, is it the dwarf bubbling spring alcohol?”
There was a mysterious fountain in the dwarf colony where liquor sprang up. It seems that Jeanne once wanted to drink it, but wasnt allowed.
“After all this liquor is good”
Jeanne has a happy face with a barrel different from mine. And Naris was in a good mood carrying the new weapon that was completed.
“Well, let’s go to the next place! This Crash Haken II is hungry for blood!”
“Don’t be hungry, idiot!”
The shiny 「Crash Haken II」, was a collaboration with my original draft and Dan-san. I hope it lasts longer this time.