Steel Mountain Range (2)

In an alleyway off the main street of the dwarf city ‘Iron Forge,’ beneath a rusty sign engraved with a hammer, stood a smithy where time seemed to have stopped.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

The dwarf girl Garuda pressed herself against the wall, aiming a hammer at me.

“These days, everyone goes to magic engineering smithies… There’s no way this is a real commission! Y-you’re trying to trick me, aren’t you!”

She muttered in a trembling voice. Her hazel eyes, lit by the furnace fire, flickered anxiously.

“Hey, Garuda?”

“Hiiik!”

As I took a step closer, Garuda flinched like a small animal. The hand holding the hammer trembled.

“A-and how do you know my name…? Are you here to collect a debt…?”

“Debt?”

“No, never mind! I’m talking nonsense…”

Garuda hurriedly covered her mouth.

“P-please, just go… Just order from a smithy that’s doing well…!”

With each step I took, she retreated one step. Like a rabbit facing a predator.

Hmm… A rabbit, huh… Then maybe I need some bait?

I opened my bag and took out a feather of the Heavenly Demon Kaiser. Garuda’s eyes sparkled instantly.

“This is…”

“All the materials I’m entrusting are S-rank. You really don’t want to do it?”

I began to take out the S-rank materials one by one.

Fang of the Wolf King.

Shell of the Glacier Turtle.

Horn of the Evil Annihilation Kirin.

Bone of the Mammoth.

And finally, the feather and heart of the Heavenly Demon Kaiser.

Garuda’s eyes grew wider and wider. The blood of a craftsman must be boiling. Even though she looks pretty, she’s still a dwarf.

“T-these are materials I’ve only dreamed of! You’re really going to entrust them to me…? N-no, I’m not worthy of handling such precious materials….”

Her voice was weak, but her eyes didn’t leave the materials.

“I saw your skill.”

I pointed to the unfinished sword on the workbench.

“That’s a failure! It’s ruined!”

“Really? The flow of the rune patterns and the balance of mana circulation are perfect, though?”

Garuda’s face turned red. She gripped the hem of her apron and muttered.

“L-lies… Who looks for traditional blacksmiths these days? Everyone’s into magic engineering…”

“You can’t make a sword like this with magic engineering.”

Her eyes flickered again at my words.

“Because it has no soul.”

“…!”

Garuda’s shoulders twitched. Her lips trembled.

“H-how…?”

“Magic engineering has no sound of the hammer, no warmth of the flame.”

Garuda shouted, her face flushed.

“That’s… but… Ugh… Ugh…”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller. I could see tears welling up between her long hair.

“This… this… I can’t… If you entrust such precious things to me…”

“Who else would I entrust them to if not you?”

“But…”

“How would you handle these materials with magic engineering?”

“I-I’m grateful for the opportunity, but…”

She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

“I’m really… not that great of a person. Just… just outdated…”

Garuda shook her head violently from side to side. Her brown hair swayed like a waterfall.

“I’m sorry… I… Ah… I can’t! I-it’s time to close the smithy! Please leave!”

Garuda’s gaze went from the materials to me, then back again.

This isn’t going to end like this. I’m starting to get tired, too.

‘Ha… I guess I can’t reason with her nicely?’

I said with a small smile on my face.

“Then how about you touch it once? Just to check the condition of the materials.”

Garuda’s eyes trembled. The longing of a craftsman was reflected in her gaze towards the Heavenly Demon’s feather.

“R-really? Can I really touch it?”

Her voice trembled. Like a performer who has reunited with a beloved instrument after a long time.

“Of course.”

As I handed her the material, Garuda carefully reached out her hand. The moment her fingertips touched the feather, she inhaled sharply.

“Such purity… The flow of mana is perfect, too…”

Garuda examined the material with the eyes of a craftsman. Her usual timid demeanor was nowhere to be seen, and she appraised the material with the eyes of an expert.

“This… if I forge it like this… mix in some lava stone here… and use a mithril alloy for this part…”

She examined each of the materials on the workbench one by one. Her serious expression as she appraised the materials with the touch of a craftsman was earnest.

“With materials like these… maybe…”

It was then.

“Ah!”

The feather slipped from Garuda’s hand. Her face turned pale in an instant.

Thud-

The feather that fell to the floor shattered into pieces. Small fragments covered the smithy’s floorboards.

It was as I intended. I had injected mana beforehand to make it unstable.

“O-oh no…”

The color drained from Garuda’s face. Her trembling lips turned white.

“Such precious material… I… Oh…?”

She sat down on the floor and tried to pick up the broken pieces. But her hands were shaking too much, and the pieces scattered even more.

A sobbing voice. Her long hair scattered, covering her face.

“Hmm… this is quite expensive.”

Garuda’s shoulders twitched at my words.

“An S-rank magical beast’s material… At market price…”

I pretended to calculate for a moment. Even though I already knew the price.

“It’s probably over 10,000 gold?”

“T-ten… ten thousand gold?!”

Garuda’s youthful scream burst out. Her pale face was revealed through her disheveled hair.

“S-such a large…”

Her hands began to tremble. Even the hand holding the hammer lost its strength and dropped it to the floor.

“I… I don’t have that kind of money…”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Like an unstoppable waterfall.

“I already have debts of several thousand gold… Now… Now…”

Garuda knelt on the floor. Her long hair scattered as if embracing her body.

“What do I do… What do I do…”

She kept muttering. Her shoulders trembled with sobs.

“Even if I sell my entire shop… At this rate, even the smithy my father left me… Hwaaaa…”

It was pitiful to see her sobbing with her face covered, but it couldn’t be helped. I was almost there.

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll compensate you!”

She prostrated herself, her forehead touching the floorboards. Her long hair swept the dusty floor.

“Compensate? How are you going to compensate?”

“U-um… Maybe… in installments…?”

Garuda continued in a trembling voice.

‘The time has come.’

Taking advantage of Garuda’s panic, I snatched her hammer. A heavy weight settled in my hand.

“Oh? This is a good hammer.”

Looking at the handle of the hammer, I saw rune letters engraved on it. The words ‘Pride of the Blacksmith’ shimmered faintly.

“G-give it back…”

“This is good, though? I think I can do it with this hammer?”

“No!”

Garuda reached out her hand as if begging. Her eyes sparkled with tears.

“That’s our family heirloom… Passed down for generations…”

I swung the hammer in the air. The heavy weight felt good.

A guy like this would be worth enough.

I turned and took a few steps towards the exit. Garuda’s face turned pale.

“W-where are you going…”

Startled, she hurriedly followed me. Her long hair, scattered on the floor, kept getting caught in her feet, making her look like she was about to fall.

“Why? I’m going to beat up magical beasts with this. You have to restore the materials you smashed, right?”

“No!”

Garuda grabbed my arm. Her skinny hand trembled.

“Then let’s do this.”

I said, raising the hammer.

“If you become my exclusive blacksmith, I’ll give you back the hammer. And we’ll forget about the broken material.”

“Eh!? T-that’s…”

Garuda’s face turned even paler. Her lips trembled.

I raised the hammer high.

“You don’t want to? Or should I try experimenting with it in a magic engineering furnace? A hammer with runes engraved on it… I wonder what kind of reaction it will have. I’m also an honorary member of the Ether Magic Tower, you know.”

Of course, that magic tower was destroyed by me… no, by Aris.

“No!”

Garuda shouted as if screaming.

“I… I understand…”

Her shoulders slumped. Tears dripped down between her long hair.

“Exclusive… I’ll do it…”

Perfect. Now, finally…

“Well, shall we write a contract first?”

I took out parchment from my bag. The contract, engraved with rune letters, shimmered in the light of the furnace.

“C-contract…?”

Garuda’s voice trembled. An anxious look could be seen through her long hair.

“Just sign here.”

The contract was simple. A lifetime exclusive contract. She had to make the equipment I wanted. In return, I promised the best treatment.

‘It’s almost like a slave contract…’

I swallowed a bitter smile inside. But it had to be this way. I couldn’t leave any room for her to escape.

As I held out the parchment, Garuda flinched as if looking at a viper. But after looking at my hand holding the hammer, she lowered her head.

She took the pen with a trembling hand. The ink shimmered faintly on the parchment.

‘Garuda Ironheart’

Crooked handwriting. But that was enough.

“Now you’re my exclusive. You know you can’t run away, right?”

I said, rolling up the parchment. Garuda cowered even more.

“Yes… But I don’t know if I can do well…”

“Don’t worry. I think you have the talent to become the best.”

Garuda’s eyes flickered.

‘I have to do this to make this timid kid unable to refuse me.’

This was a calculated move. In the original work, she was the best blacksmith. Of course, she’s still incomplete now. I have to make her grow more.

But it couldn’t be helped. She was the only one who could handle the Chaos Crystal, the only one who could complete the Demon Sword, this timid dwarf girl.

“Well, let’s work hard from now on.”

“Y-yes… I’ll… I’ll work hard…”

I smiled, handing her back the hammer.

“My exclusive blacksmith.”

“Hiiik!”

Garuda took the hammer and immediately hugged it tightly to her chest. As if she had recovered a treasure she had lost for a long time.

“T-then I’ll finish the work…”

“Where are you going?”

“Hiiik! N-no! I…”

Garuda stammered an excuse. Her long hair fluttered, covering her face.

“I-I’m not running away! I’m just… just… I talked too much today….”

A smile appeared on my face. This clumsy side of her isn’t bad either.

A girl who single-handedly protected tradition in an era dominated by magic engineering.

A child who dreams of becoming the best blacksmith but doesn’t believe in herself.

Now is the time to grow this girl into the best artisan.