Master Swordsmith Reiba
The next day, Lufen and I headed to Black Furnace Street with one of the ores in hand.
We had two immediate goals. The first was to visit Farel in the Royal Capital and have the mysterious ore appraised.
The second was to register ourselves with the Merchants' Guild.
Right now, we were unregistered merchants.
If we didn't register, we couldn't openly conduct business.
Worst case, we'd get arrested.
Up until now, we'd been able to buy and sell thanks to Lufen's connections and ridiculously good looks, but we'd better get registered before the law caught up with us.
There were three things required to register as a merchant: merchandise, a storefront, and money.
As for the shop, I was leaving that entirely to Lufen. Apparently she'd already found a promising location.
Money wasn't an issue either. The registration fee was only five gold coins, which we could easily afford now.
And lastly...
We'd come here to have the products we'd sell in our shop made.
"Umm... I think it was this way..."
"Is today's shop another regular from the tavern?"
"No. I've never met this person before. They're someone Jingo-san introduced to me."
Ah, one of Jingo's contacts.
Can I really trust one of his introductions? It's not gonna be another stubborn old geezer, is it?
… Still... if that old man recommended them, they had to be an exceptional swordsmith.
"Oh! There it is, Dyrel. This is... it?"
Why are you saying it like a question?
I looked where Lufen was staring.
"... Here?"
I froze too.
Pink exterior walls.
Heart-shaped windows.
Flowerpots overflowing with colorful flowers.
And for some reason, giant red and pink ribbons decorating the roof.
It screamed “wrong place”.
This building looked completely out of place on the tense, gritty Black Furnace Street.
"Hey... are you sure this is it?"
"Jingo-san did say we'd know it when we saw it."
Well... with a storefront this memorable, I could see why he'd say that.
But... was there really a swordsmith in there?
"... Well, let's go inside. Excuse us~"
She really wasn't afraid of people.
Ghosts terrified her, but people? Not in the slightest.
I followed her inside.
The interior was just as pink and white as the outside, enough to make my eyes hurt.
There was also a floral scent mixed with the sweet smell of baked goods.
And beneath it all… the unmistakable smell of iron.
No matter how much they'd tried to cover it up, that distinctive scent hadn't disappeared.
"Excuse me~! Reiba-san? Are you here?"
Lufen called toward the back.
A few seconds later, a timid voice answered.
"S-s-sorry... c-could you p-please come around to the b-back...?"
The back?
We stepped outside again and went around through the side alley.
… What the heck?
In complete contrast to the bright pink storefront, an enormous, rugged workshop stood behind it.
So this was Reiba's forge.
Then why was the front so absurdly flashy...?
I was tilting my head in confusion when the area around me suddenly darkened.
Wh... what...?
I looked up. A woman stood there.
Half her hair was pink. The other half was white.
Her shoulders were unbelievably broad, matched by an equally impressive chest and hips.
She had a large mouth that fidgeted nervously.
And above all… she was way taller than me.
"You're huge."
"Eeeek! I-I-I'm s-s-so sorry! S-s-sorry! F-forgive someone l-like me for l-looking down at youuu...!"
She immediately bowed her head.
I swear I heard the wind whistle from how fast she moved.
Big body, tiny confidence.
"Hey, idiot!"
Oof...!?
Lufen smacked the back of my head with all her might.
"Why'd you hit me?"
"Because some people are sensitive about that! Honestly... you have zero tact!"
"Tact? Can you eat that? What a stupid thing to worry about."
Lufen forced a smile and approached Reiba.
"A-are you Reiba-san? Nice to meet you. Jingo-san sent us. My name's Lufen, and this is Dyrel. We'd like to talk business, if that's alright?"
"J-Jingo t-told me you'd be coming... p-please, come inside. Hehe..."
That old man had already smoothed things over for us. Pretty thoughtful of him.
Reiba led us into the workshop.
Amazing… the place was fully equipped for forging swords.
So many blades had probably been born here.
Once we sat down, she served us tea in well-worn cups.
"S-so... y-you're looking to make products to s-sell in your shop...?"
"That's right. We plan to sell all kinds of things, but we'd like to start with knives and swords. We've already brought the materials."
Lufen nudged me with her elbow, so I pulled the iron out of the bag.
Reiba's eyes widened. She picked up the iron and examined it from only inches away.
Gone was the timid, uncertain woman from before.
Now she had the eyes of a true craftsman judging the quality of raw materials.
"Purity... excellent. Hardness... excellent. Structure... excellent. Iron quality... excellent. Refined deep beneath the eastern mountains. This is iron that was born to become a blade."
"Y-you can tell how incredible this little guy is...!"
"My eyes do not deceive me. A sword forged from this iron would deserve to be called a masterpiece. I have no doubt."
I couldn't believe this was the same nervous woman from a moment ago.
So this was the artisan Jingo acknowledged.
"I've got fifty more just like this. Can you forge them all?"
"It'll take time... but I can do it. I don't have any work at the moment."
We're in luck... we're really in luck.
At this rate, we'd be able to register as merchants in no time.
Lufen and I bumped fists.
But then Reiba interrupted us.
"However... I have one condition."
"A c-condition...?"
W-what now? Is someone else about to dump another impossible request on me...?
I tensed up. The next instant… the giant collapsed.
"Wha!?"
"R-Reiba-san! Are you okay!?"
We rushed over to her.
That wasn't a normal collapse. Did she have some kind of chronic illness...!?
I was just about to use my Conversation skill on her body when…
A tremendous rumble, loud enough to shake the air, came from Reiba's stomach.
"I-I'm... so hungry... I don't have any strength left... P-please... food..."
“”Don't collapse and scare us like that!?””
What do you think about this chapter?
