Chapter 289: Greatsword Maintenance

After parting ways with Hwayoung Sunbae at the station near the hotel, I immediately walked quickly towards the outskirts of Gangdong District.

Walking straight down this path and turning into the alley on the right leads to the villa where Min-ah and her siblings live, but today’s main purpose wasn’t exactly to meet them.

Nearby, besides Min-ah’s semi-basement villa, there was another place I needed to visit for a different reason, so I just stopped by.

If meeting Min-ah was the goal in the first place, going to the company would have been much more likely. She was practically a corporate slave, spending more than half her life at the company.

Following the path that takes about 30 minutes at a leisurely pace, the surrounding scenery I had memorized gradually began to come into view.

After walking for 30 minutes like that, a familiar sign I had seen about three days ago came into view.

「The Flame of Creation」

Fortunately, the shop seemed to be properly open.

Before going into the shop, I ducked into the side alley for a moment and took out a few necessary items from my spatial pocket to prepare for entry.

First, an unidentified mask was essential, and the rest were a Damascus steel greatsword and a spear with only its shaft remaining.

The monster material pouch and the spatial pocket seemed similar in function but were slightly different.

Unlike the monster material pouch, which could only store monster cores or related materials, the spatial pocket, which could hold all sorts of items, was inevitably an unfamiliar item to ordinary people.

Therefore, if I were to openly take out weapons like swords or spears pretending they came from the monster material pouch, I would probably attract suspicion in various ways.

With those thoughts, having made full preparations before entering the shop, I stepped into the shop labeled 「The Flame of Creation」.

“……”

The shop door was open, but seeing the counter left unattended so casually, it was clear the owner lacked a sense of urgency in many ways.

Leaving it so defenseless like this, what if someone stole something? What were they thinking?

It was their own shop, so I figured they’d handle it, and I turned my gaze towards the call bell on the counter.

「If the shop owner isn’t here, press this!」

Even though I’d only met her once, her unique vibe radiated strongly from the handwriting on the note, and a chuckle escaped me.

As soon as I pressed the call bell on the counter, a clear ‘Ting~’ sound echoed from inside the workshop, and not long after, a familiar voice replied from beyond the door.

“Yep~. I’m comin’ out right now~!”

From behind the door, sounds of setting things down and moving them, followed by bustling noises, continued for a few moments, and then, opening the inner workshop door, Areum popped out with her abundant brown hair.

“Who is… Ah, Unnie!”

“It’s been a while, Areum.”

“I was just thinking you’d come today and waiting! You’re so diligent since the morning!”

As if she had been working until just now, with soot smudged on her clothes and face, she rushed over excitedly with a happy expression.

Should I say she’s naive, unbefitting her age?

In terms of absolute years, she was much older than me, but by half-dwarf standards, she was around her twenties.

I didn’t exactly find this bright and energetic personality strange. I’m not a racist.

Well, perhaps it’s because the only dwarf I know is the half-dwarf Areum, that’s how I formed this impression.

“Ah, right. You came to get your sword, Unnie, right? Wait just a sec, I’ll bring it right over.”

“You can take your time.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll bring it right over.”

Taking my words about taking my time as empty promises, perhaps, Areum immediately greeted me and quickly moved into the workshop.

Soon, carrying the greatsword I had entrusted to her with both hands, she returned with bustling steps.

“Here, Unnie, it is!”

With innocent, wide, sparkling eyes, looking up at me, she reached out both hands towards me.

Amidst the sparkling view in many ways, the Mithril greatsword Areum was holding naturally caught my eye.

More precisely, it was her enormous breasts supporting the blade.

“……”

Having absorbed plenty of oil, perhaps because it was resting on the gleaming blade, it felt particularly emphasized.

Seeing that clear expression, it seemed she truly hadn’t noticed. I don’t know how that’s possible, but.

To try and ignore this awkward situation, I desperately shifted my gaze far away.

“…Let’s not think weird thoughts for no reason.”

Areum just thinks I’m a woman, that’s why she’s acting so unguarded, right?

Besides, the reason I decided to get close to her had little to do with that. If I entertained weird thoughts and ended up losing my connection with the dwarf blacksmith, it would only be a loss for me.

If that happened, who would manage my swords?

“Unnie? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“……Uh, yeah?”

“Your expression suddenly got serious. Is there something you don’t like?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing, really.”

“Hurry up and take the sword. It’s so heavy, my arm’s gonna fall off.”

“…Of course it would be heavy.”

I barely swallowed back the inappropriate remark that almost slipped out, grabbed the hilt, and carefully took the sword from her.

If I could just take it like this, this awkward situation would be like nothing ever happened….

“Hngk?!”

…It didn’t work out that way.

Although I tried my best to take it carefully, in the end, during the process of drawing the sword, the greatsword’s blade brushed against Areum’s chest once.

Only then, realizing where her chest had been, Areum let out a small laugh with an embarrassed expression.

“Ah, s-sorry. It was just resting there, wasn’t it…”

“…You don’t need to apologize.”

“Anyway, these breasts of mine are uselessly heavy, making things tiring in many ways. Even when hammering in the workshop, they shake constantly and ache, and when I try to lift or move something, they always get in the way annoyingly. Because they’re heavy, resting them on something is a habit now, I guess it’s become a habit, hehe.”

“…Yeah, that must be tiring.”

“When I finish a job, it’s full of sweat between and below my breasts. I can’t find work clothes that fit, so I have to try them all on individually before buying. Have you ever experienced that, Unnie?”

“I think I have… maybe…”

Without any suspicion, talking to Areum about her troubles, trying to answer nonchalantly was quite taxing. Every time she said something, it conjured images in my mind. Because of her strangely detailed anecdotes, the lustful demon in my head had to be suppressed.

When imagining them shaking with every hammer strike, or wiping the sweat collected between her breasts, I tried my best to think of pure thoughts. Vast nature, green forests, clear rivers….

Perhaps she thinks I’m a woman like herself, that’s why she’s so casually engaging in girl talk like this. Later, if she finds out I’m actually a man, what will her reaction be?

For her sake, too, the fact that I’m hiding my gender must not be revealed until the very end.

“Oh, right. I’ll return this too.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, you left that greatsword with me too, didn’t you? Come here.”

While I didn’t have the Mithril greatsword, which I had borrowed as a substitute, she took the Damascus steel greatsword, and immediately upon receiving it, examined the sword’s blade back and forth.

“You said you didn’t need it when you picked it up, but looking at it now, it looks quite used.”

“It just happened that way.”

“See? It was good you took it, right? A swordsman wandering without a sword, is that even sensible?”

“Yes. You’re definitely right, Areum.”

“Your weapons, always carry them carefully. And your greatsword, Unnie, if possible, it would be good to get it maintained about once a month. Mithril and similar materials you use, if they get damaged once, repairing them could take more than a year.”

Areum too says something similar to Eunyoung Noona.

Coming from both a current dwarf blacksmith and an S-rank greatsword master, hearing the same advice certainly carried weight.

From now on, I should regularly entrust my greatsword for maintenance.

“So, this Mithril greatsword, if I bring it next time, can you, Areum, check it for me?”

“Ah, that? If it’s that, I looked at it once this time, so there’s no problem. As long as you haven’t gone and broken it somewhere, I’ll take it.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Still, next time, I’ll charge you. I have to make a living too.”

“That’s only natural.”

For now, being able to continue getting maintenance at Areum’s workshop in the future, having received confirmation, was enough.

Especially, being able to entrust my Mithril greatsword to the dwarf blacksmith, who usually doesn’t take on other people’s equipment, was the biggest thing.

Inside the dungeon, meeting Areum was, in many ways, a great stroke of luck for me too.

“Well then, I’ll just take this thing and be right back.”

“…Okay.”

Before I knew it, just like before, unconsciously using the Damascus steel greatsword as a rest for her chest, she then walked towards the back of her workshop.

Since I had received the Mithril greatsword, I was thinking of saying goodbye and heading back, when suddenly something hard and sharp was felt inside my pocket.

“…Come to think of it, I almost forgot about this other business.”

“I’m back, Unnie.”

“…Areum. Sorry, but could you possibly repair this too?”

“Huh? I don’t usually handle things touched by others, you know.”

“That’s fine. This is something I bought here.”

“Huh? What was it that you bought last time, Unnie?”

Tilting her head, trying to recall, I took out the spearhead, which had shrunk to the size of my palm, and handed it over in front of her.

“…What is this?”

“Spearhead.”

“Huh?”

“Last time, the three spears I bought from you, one of them.”

“……”

Silently, Areum took the spearhead resting on my palm, examined the item back and forth, and asked with a dumbfounded expression.

“…Did it get hit by a bombing or something?”

“Something similar, yes, it did.”

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight, though.