Chapter 45: Consequences

How many days has it passed since I last held a hammer? Today, I sat in front of the door again, waiting for him to come.

The new forge was in a building as similar as possible to the old one, but no matter how similar, it was still a different place and felt unfamiliar.

Waiting for a person who may or may not come in an unfamiliar place was far from pleasant, to say the least.

Even if I tried to forget he was gone and attempted to strike iron, those thoughts kept surfacing.

Perhaps he really did defeat Lobo and was returning with its materials.

Even generously estimating, it was a miracle with less than 1% probability, but for some reason I couldn’t shake that possibility from my mind.

So today again, I sit in my chair waiting for him to return.

As I stared blankly at the door like I did yesterday, I felt a hand on my shoulder and instinctively turned around.

“You invite me here and just stare at the door again today? Well, you’d usually be forging swords even with people around, old man.”

“If you’re bored, wait at the inn.”

Hadi, the woman who seemed unable to bear the boredom, looked at me with sleepy eyes as she yawned.

For a sword made from materials of magic beasts, especially one as powerful as Lobo, I hate to admit it, but I lacked the strength to make it alone.

Unlike rare metals with inherent special properties, to fully imbue a sword with a magic beast’s power requires a mage – specifically an expert in magic infusion.

Though young, Hadi was already a renowned magic enchanter in the kingdom.

I’d called her in advance thinking he’d return, but Hadi, not knowing him, didn’t seem to think he’d come back alive.

“Master…”

“What?”

As I gave a short reply while looking back at the door, Hadi hesitantly spoke.

“No, um… Why don’t you just go inside and rest? You were like this all day yesterday too.”

“Sitting here is nothing compared to forging a sword.”

“…I hate to say this, but he’s probably dead. Logically, a first-year Academy student can’t defeat Lobo.”

“…”

This was a natural reaction for someone who didn’t know him. In fact, even I, who knew him, half-believed it.

Thinking I was doing this out of guilt for sending him to his death, Hadi gently patted my back.

“Besides, it’s the fault of the guy who actually went there, not the person who told him about it. It’s not your fault, so just think of it as suicide…”

“That bastard isn’t the type to commit suicide. Unless his hands were cut off and he couldn’t use Baldo anymore.”

“Huh? Ba-Baldo? What are you talking about?”

“…I’m not quite sure myself.”

Damn… To think such words would come out of my mouth. The more I think about that crazy bastard, the more I feel my brain being contaminated.

“From the way you speak, it seems you liked him quite a bit?”

“No, not at all. Rather, I’ve even thought that him not getting stronger and dying there might be better for the world.”

“Huh… Then why are you trying to make him a sword? For free, no less.”

“Because he’s strong. As long as he’s a swordsman worthy of my blade, I don’t care if he’s an adult or a crazy murderer.”

“…For you to say such things, I’d like to see him too. Or rather, given the latter, maybe I wouldn’t?”

“You’ll see him soon, whether you like it or not.”

“No, I mean, no matter how talented, a first-year student couldn’t possibly defeat a legendary magic beast-“

Hadi’s words were suddenly cut off by a knocking sound and came to a stop.

-Knock knock.

Since this forge hadn’t opened yet, I hadn’t told anyone about this place except him and Hadi.

Unless it was a drunkard who mistook the house early in the morning, there was only one person who could be knocking.

“…He’s here.”

“Huh? No way…”

Unlike the half-doubting Hadi, I waited with certainty for the man who would soon open the door.

A moment later, the door slowly opened, revealing a face unchanged from two weeks ago.

“Hah…”

Seeing my reaction, Hadi, realizing the man who opened the door was indeed who I’d been waiting for, looked at him with disbelieving eyes.

“…Wow, he really came.”

“…I’m not sure if this is fortunate or unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate? I don’t know what you mean, but thank you for such a warm welcome!”

Saying this as he entered, the guy handed me the strange iron lump he’d been holding and said:

“This is a souvenir I bought from a nearby village. I don’t need it, so I’ll give it to you!”

“Souvenir?”

The word ‘souvenir’ was strange enough, but upon closer inspection, the iron lump resembled a rapier.

Since the sage Pierre used a rapier, perhaps they were selling them in the village near the forest.

‘But it’s too big to be a souvenir…’

Rather than a souvenir, it looked more like a part forcibly torn off from a statue, considering its material and shape.

“Um…”

As I was wondering what kind of bizarre souvenir this was, Hadi, who had been watching from behind, spoke up.

“I’ve been to the village near the Sage’s Forest before. Isn’t that from the statue of the sage there? I think something similar was at his waist.”

“Exacta!”

“Exa… what?”

“It means ‘correct’!”

“Huh…”

Has this lunatic now torn off a piece from a hero’s statue?

Trying to understand why he did such a thing would be futile. After all, the thought processes of madmen are incomprehensible to the sane.

Hadi looked at me with eyes that seemed to say, ‘What the hell is this guy doing?’, but there was only one response I could give to that look.

Don’t bother trying to understand, just give up.

“…So, did you bring Lobo’s materials?”

Deliberately changing the subject, the guy pounded his chest and said in a confident voice:

“Of course! Why else would I have gone there?”

Saying this, he pulled out what appeared to be Lobo’s teeth and claws from his chest. As if Lobo’s suppressed energy had been released, the room filled with a vicious aura.

“…”

There was no need to appraise it; it was clearly from Lobo or a magic beast of similar caliber.

Hadi seemed to share my thoughts, staring blankly at Lobo’s fangs as if entranced.

“…You really did it.”

Surprised by the unbelievable fact even after seeing it directly, the guy snorted and said:

“Why are you stating the obvious! There’s no way I, who uses Baldo, could lose!”

“Baldo? What’s that…”

As the usual nonsense spewed from his mouth, Hadi tilted her head in confusion.

“Don’t mind it. If you pay attention to every bit of nonsense this guy spouts, you won’t live to see your next birthday.”

“Nonsense?! I only ever speak rationally. By the way, who’s this person next to you?”

As he turned his gaze, Hadi stepped forward before I could speak:

“I’m Hadi Falstein. Not to brag, but I’m a somewhat successful magic enchanter.”

“Magic enchanter?”

“I can’t fully imbue a sword with a magic beast’s power on my own, so I specially invited her. I’ll cover all the costs, so don’t worry.”

“No, just being able to work with such rare materials is enough. Don’t worry about the cost.”

Saying this, Hadi turned back to him and extended her hand:

“I never thought there’d be a student from the Academy who could defeat Lobo. I look forward to working with you in various ways from now on.”

“Yeah!! I’m Ian Barthow. If something like this happens again, I’ll be counting on you then too!”

“Thanks, but did you say you wanted a katana made? Aren’t you going to make a rapier?”

“Rapier?”

Wondering what she meant, I looked closer and saw a silver rapier at his waist that hadn’t been there when he left.

“What’s this, have you finally abandoned your love for that weird katana?”

“What nonsense are you spouting? There’s no way I’d use such a weapon unsuited for Baldo. Don’t ever joke like that again, even in jest.”

His icy voice, devoid of any playfulness, made Hadi and me involuntarily flinch.

I made a mistake. Lunatics should be handled carefully, like an overly sharp blade that might cut oneself.

“Ahem… So what’s that rapier? It doesn’t look like an ordinary weapon.”

“Oh, this?”

Changing the subject, he pulled out the rapier from his waist and a reddish-brown staff from behind his back and showed them to us.

“Don’t tell me that’s…”

“Oh! Looks like you have an idea! As you guessed, these are Pierre’s rapier and staff!!”

“Wha-What?!”

Did this bastard not only defeat Lobo in such a short time but also find the sage’s grave?!

While I was stunned by this fact, even more unbelievable than defeating Lobo, he continued:

“Old man! Please dismantle these and use them to make a new katana!!”

“…Dismantle them?! These?”

“Yes!! I got permission from the spirit, so it’s fine! Though I would’ve done it even without permission.”

By spirit, does he mean the earth spirit that announced Sage Pierre’s death?

If that spirit revealed the location of the grave, it’s not strange that he found it so quickly.

“Wait a minute! Strictly speaking, the ownership of that rapier belongs to the Pierre family, so even if a spirit gave permission, we can’t just dismantle it…”

“F*ck!!”

As Hadi tried to stop him with perfectly sensible words, he instead shouted:

“What f*cking rights do those bastard children have!! Don’t ever say such disgusting things again!!”

“Ba-bastard children? What do you…”

The words that followed from his mouth made me wish I could erase the memory of hearing them.

The descendants of the sage were actually descendants of some nameless knight?

And the witness to this was none other than the spirit that spent half a lifetime with Pierre?

This is the worst scandal that won’t happen for the next 100 years.

Just imagining what would happen if this scandal spread made my head ache.

“I’d appreciate it if you kept this secret for the time being. In exchange, feel free to spread the story that I made a katana from Pierre’s rapier.”

“…Why?”

“So those bastard children will come to judge me!! Then I can freely unleash Baldo on those who come to kill me, using this fact as justification!!”

“…Huh.”

He’s insane. It’s the first time I’ve thought this again about someone I already considered mad.

Hadi, seeming to finally understand the kind of person Ian Barthow was, said with an awkward smile:

“Haha… You’re an interesting guy…”

Though she said that, her voice carried not a trace of positive emotion.

“Well then, I’ll be going now since I’ll only be in the way while you work. If you need anything else, please let me know anytime!”

“…Sure.”

After he left, Hadi and I stood dazed, staring at the door he’d exited through for a while before speaking.

“Master, who the hell was that crazy bastard?”

“I told you. He’s skilled, but insane. Anyway, the sage’s rapier and staff… I need to appraise what metals and magic stones were used quickly!”

“What?! You’re really going to dismantle these?!”

“Of course!!”

These are materials used in the weapons of the legendary sage. As a craftsman, it would be a lie to say I’m not interested.

Moreover, the thought of reforging the sage’s rapier into a katana I made filled me with a kind of sacrilegious excitement.

“Ho-how are you going to deal with the aftermath?!”

“That bastard will deal with it, not me. Well, even if I had to, I’ve lived long enough that I don’t particularly value my life.”

“Ah, aah…!”

As Hadi, unable to find words, looked at me with disbelief, I pulled out one of Lobo’s fangs that he had left behind and said:

“So, are you not going to do it? If not, I’ll look for another magic enchanter…”

“No, that’s that and this is this. I’ll prepare right away!”

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