Chapter 905: The distance to my dream is
It snows in Polka during the Great Invasion. Well, it was the same last year, but this year, just as we were heading to Renfangas, the autumn-barren landscape of Polka had turned completely white.
“Uh, it’s freezing……the moment I opened the door, it felt like winter all of a sudden”
Naris clutched the folds of her cloak tightly, hunching her body as she stepped outside the 「Sexroom」. She looked up at the heavy, overcast sky. It looked like more snow was about to pour down any moment.
“Laila, could you carry just Fiona to the secret hot spring while she’s still in her dragon form? And Anzeros, please use a shockwave to clear a path through the snow. Some of the girls are carrying heavy gear”
“Got it”
“Alright. Everyone, step back”
Laila grabs Fiona and takes off with a flapping of wings, while Anzeros swings her sword, still in its sheath, to blow the snow away. If the snow were any deeper, the weight would be considerable, so it would be faster to just shovel it away, but since it was only knee-deep, a single shockwave created a path of considerable length. Repeating this a few times allowed them to quickly reach the well-trodden path on the outskirts of town.
“That’s a relief. I really don’t want to get my shin guards wet”
Starting with Almeida, who was fully clad in armor, several others were wearing armor with metal components on their lower bodies, and some carried long weapons. While actual combat happens in rain and snow alike and inevitably gets bloodstained, considering the hassle of cleaning up afterward, you’d rather not let them come into direct contact with the snow. Well, if you ask if it’s okay as long as it’s not metal, getting leather or cloth wet isn’t good either.
“Are we leaving the hut here? Won’t it get stolen?”
Corti asks for confirmation. We’d landed on the snowy plain on the outskirts of town as usual, but now that she mentions it, we could’ve dropped it off somewhere more convenient.
“I don’t think it’ll get stolen, but you’re right, we could move it to a better spot. Leda, could you move it to the back of our place? The carriage too”
“Yes, sir”
“We could handle that much ourselves, though……”
Corti pouts. She seems unhappy that even though she was the one who suggested it, it ended up being Leda’s job. But I have no idea what 「How much」 is considered safe for a dragon. The official line is that they obey me 「As females」, but 「As dragons」, they belong to Rainer.
“We don’t even need to turn into dragons, the three of us can lift this hut”
“Right?”
Shario and Corti grab opposite corners of the hut and lift it slightly. ……They actually lifted it. Well, even if the materials are light, it’s a matter of degree, and there’s furniture I built inside, so it’s definitely heavy enough to weigh well over a few hundred kilograms…….
“If people saw you two huffing and puffing while moving this hut, they’d be shocked. It’s better if Leda does it”
“You’d think it would be more surprising to see a dragon carrying a hut……”
……Come to think of it, that’s true. Yeah. But in this town, the idea of dragons doing odd jobs is starting to catch on, enough that people understand if you just explain it. It’s actually more unrealistic to see girls carrying a hut. Which is a bit of a problem.
So, while explaining that ointment to Selenium and the others who came to greet us (with Dianne carrying the fainted Marone on her back), we safely made it back to the Smithson household. From there, the kids who were heading to other inns went their separate ways, we laid Marone down near the fireplace, and Dianne immediately set off to discuss the land preparation work (mainly negotiating with the elves about how to handle the nearby forest).
“So now I’ll have some free time for a while……though free time doesn’t quite feel right”
“Aren’t you free?”
“I’ve got the paperwork for my discharge and plans for my blacksmith apprenticeship to sort out……plus, I can’t just leave everyone at Cosmos’s place hanging”
I scratched my head as I grumbled to Selenium. Our Special Forces mission was over, and we had a plan in place for other personnel to continue the operations. Just as the Masturbation Brothers have already been accepted for retirement and acquired new identities, it’s time for us to step onto the next path. The reason I haven’t officially been discharged yet is either because Dianne is holding me back, or because the Celesta Army doesn’t want to actively cut ties with me, the one who controls the dragons. Either way, I have no intention of returning to the Crossbow Corps or resuming my familiar life in Basson. The one thing I’ve decided is to make this hometown the final destination of my long journey, which began on that day when I was ten. ……But if I do that, things are going to get busy again. I won’t be able to just drift along anymore. You don’t become a blacksmith just by daydreaming. Or maybe if I’d stayed in the capital as an apprentice and continued my training, I might have become one without even realizing it, but quitting the military to become a blacksmith means I have to choose my own master and chart my own path to independence. I’m not a kid anymore; there’s no one who’ll take care of everything for me from start to finish. ……If my old man were still alive, he might have taught me a thing or two, but he’s gone. If I put all that aside and just spend my time fooling around with my female slaves, the few remaining days of my twenties will fly by in the blink of an eye, and I’ll end up as just some good-for-nothing middle-aged guy. ……I’ll just pretend not to notice that everyone seems to think, 「That’s fine, isn’t it?」. Sure, they’d probably accept me even if I’m a loser, but regardless, I want my kids to see me as a capable dad.
“First, becoming an apprentice……going back to Master Sleedo’s place……that might be a bit tough. Without my dad’s recommendation”
“Is that so?”
“Even if I say I was dragged into this by circumstances, I’m just too old now……over there, they start training kids from a very young age. Besides, Master Sreedo must have been close to sixty when I was there. It wouldn’t be surprising if he’s already retired, so I wonder if he’d feel obligated enough to train me now. I wasn’t exactly the most promising apprentice, either”
Anyway, blacksmithing isn’t exactly a healthy profession. It’s common to lose your eyesight, fingers, or toes working with the forge, and especially in the capital, people traditionally tend to drink too much and have unhealthy diets. It’s a common story that once they retire, they end up bedridden and die soon after. I don’t have the courage to confirm it, but the thought that Master Sreedo might actually be dead already is always lingering in the back of my mind.
“Then why don’t you just ask Jackie to teach you?”
“I know, but……I feel like he’d say something like, I couldn’t possibly teach you”
“……Ah”
My father wasn’t a bad craftsman, but he was a bit of a slacker, and he didn’t really treat Jackie as a proper apprentice. I think it’s more like he saw him as a reliable employee he could ask to do anything, and by the time Jackie-san had gradually picked up the trade, my father had already passed away……I think he’d have more confidence if he’d been raised under the strict system of a major workshop, one that clearly enforces the hierarchy, treats apprentices as apprentices, and properly grants them the right to hang their own sign once they’ve struck out on their own. It’s not that Jackie-san’s skills are lacking, mind you. But I get the feeling he wouldn’t take me on as an apprentice. Which leaves…….
“That leaves Old Man Dan……umm”
“Is Dan no good?”
“No, it’s just that he’s a dwarf……dwarf blacksmithing is incredible”
“Is it?”
“It is”
“……What’s the problem?”
“If he does blacksmithing with a dwarf’s sensibilities, a human could never keep up. ……At least, that’s common knowledge among blacksmiths. Our tolerance for heat and our sensitivity to the state of the metal are just too different from the ground up. No matter how hard I try to steal his techniques from the sidelines, I just can’t imitate them”
On top of that, our physical strength is completely different. Even that tiny Jeanne can easily toss me around and I’m a grown man. Old Man Dan’s power must be two or three times mine. With my pitiful strength, I doubt he’d even consider me to have the basic foundation required to be a blacksmith. And if I were to learn blacksmithing from him……I have no idea when I’d ever be recognized as a competent blacksmith in my own right. It might be different if someone who’s already a decent blacksmith were to seek him out for even higher-level skills……but he’s probably not the kind of master you’d apprentice under if your primary goal is to become a competent blacksmith on your own.
“……This is surprisingly difficult……. Maybe I should just ask Carlos to introduce me to a decent workshop in Celesta? No, but considering he’s the type to try and get me hooked on adult entertainment……he’d probably go so far as to set up a brand-new workshop just to torment me……”
“Don’t you think you should trust Carlos a little more……? Nancy is with you, after all. I’m sure he doesn’t really want to get into a serious fight with Andy-san either”
“He’d probably go as far as the very edge of a real fight, though……”
There’s no doubt he’s an incredibly sharp guy. That’s exactly why I want to avoid turning to him too easily when it’s not a situation where I should be relying on him. It’s one thing if it involves his sisters or other Talc residents, but if I personally start leaning on him, there are endless ways he could set me up…….
“Maybe I should just learn elven blacksmithing……? No, but just like with dwarves, there’s probably a limit to what a human lifespan can handle……”
“You don’t need to worry that much; I’m sure things will work out somehow……why not try something other than blacksmithing?”
“Well, that’s just……how should I put it? I shouldn’t be thinking about that before I’ve even tried”
Being a blacksmith is not only a family business, but also the job I enjoy the most and the one I want to do most of all. It’s been my dream ever since I was a little kid, delighted by the tiny knight figurine my dad made for me. ……And so on. Beatrice, who had apparently been listening to me talk about this with Selenium the whole time, slammed her fist down on the table.
“That’s not so simple”
“?”
“Whether you’re half-baked or inexperienced, just go for it. Weren’t you the one who said you could become anything?”
“Ah……no, that’s not what I meant……”
I tried to make an excuse to Beatrice with a wry smile, but my words caught in my throat. ……What exactly isn’t right? I stopped my training halfway through. That’s why I haven’t become a blacksmith. I’m not there yet. That’s just something I’ve decided on my own. Just because I can’t do everything a blacksmith should be able to do, does that mean I have to learn the whole range of skills? That varies depending on the guild and the race. Some blacksmiths only make kitchen knives, and others only make specific tools, so if you ask me what exactly that 「Whole range」 is, I can’t say. A blacksmith who can only do what they’re capable of is still allowed to call themselves a blacksmith. And above all.
“If you run into something you can’t do, just ask anyone to teach you, right? Whether it’s that Dan or Jackie guy, or the craftsmen in Kalwin. There are plenty of people to learn from”
“…………”
……Yeah, that’s right. What was I even worrying about? I don’t need to become someone’s apprentice and get a master’s certificate, do I? Even after becoming a master myself, I’ll still keep studying. I’ll keep taking on challenges. Master Sreedo said it himself. That resting on your laurels is the same as being dead. Even Anzeros and Aurora, who were recognized as Ace Knights long ago, are still learning voraciously to become even stronger. What’s wrong with learning new skills after you’ve hung out your blacksmith’s sign? I’m already qualified to be a blacksmith. I’m not the kind of apprentice Master Sreedo would be proud of. Even if I’m still far from the level of Master Smithson, who’s taking my father’s place.
“……Hahaha”
“What are you laughing at?”
“No, you’re right. You’re absolutely right”
To think that the words I used to encourage Beatrice, who knew nothing but fighting and had never seen the wider world, would come back to me like this. That’s right. Yeah. ……I’ll go with that.
“Thank you, Beatrice”
……I’ll have to ask Dianne to handle the retirement paperwork. After that, I’ll just have to keep pushing forward with confidence.
It’s already late afternoon; it’s not really time to start doing anything new. But it’s a bit too early for a drink at the tavern. 「Well, I guess I’ll take a bath」, I say, heading for the men’s bath as usual. I’ll let Fiona have the secret hot spring all to herself. It would be a pain if I went all that way only to find that ointment smell still lingering. ……Just then, I ran into 100-man Commander Becker in front of the men’s bath.
“Oh, you’re back, Smithson”
“100-man Commander……ah, your hair”
“I used magic to dye it again. Looks good, doesn’t it?”
It was definitely golden. On top of that, the shine had returned just right.
“Did you get the elves to help you?”
“Apparently it only lasts a few months, but I figured if I keep trimming it short, by the time the magic wears off, it’ll all be my natural hair. This way, my wives won’t be disappointed in me”
100-man Commander flips his bangs back, looking excited. It seems having white hair was really getting to him. ……Well, he is at that age where he starts to care about such things.
“By the way, since you’re back, that means……the women’s bathhouse is probably”
“……Yeah, I guess so”
“Alright. Let’s go explore some female bodies for the first time in a while”
“……Somehow, at a time like this, I feel like I’m missing out”
Having just been gazing at those breasts up close, now I have to go out of my way to look at them from afar with someone else. Yeah. I suppose it is a bit of a luxury.
“Then I’ll just go by myself?”
“That would make me feel like I’m missing out even more, so I’ll come”
……I do wonder for a moment what the hell I’m doing, but even if I say I’m missing out, there’s still a certain charm to secretly peeking at breasts.