Given a Stamp of Approval
"Oh. Is that so? Well then, see ya."
I turned on my heel to leave and headed for the door…
"Hold it."
"Hggh...!"
Don't just grab me by the collar out of nowhere! You're choking me...!
As I crouched there coughing, the old man shook his head in exasperation.
"Lufen-chan said there was someone she wanted me to meet, so I waited around. Turns out it's just some spineless brat."
"Come on, don't be so grumpy, Jingo-san. And sorry, Dyrel. He's just a little stubborn."
A little? A little, huh? What does "little" even mean? Is that a word I don't know?
With a sigh, I got back to my feet and looked at the old man again.
He certainly looked every bit the craftsman. He was probably well-known among sharpeners.
But that didn't change the fact that he was a damn old geezer who'd called me a little brat the moment we met.
As we glared at each other, Lufen stepped between us.
"All right, that's enough. No glaring each other down."
"Hmph."
"Hmph."
Ah. We did it at the same time. Ugh, I hate being in sync with this guy.
The old man pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it without so much as asking us.
"Sorry, Lufen-chan. But I ain't got time to waste. I've still got plenty of sharpening jobs lined up. So let's hear what you came for."
"Okay. We were hoping you'd sharpen some old knives this boy found. Of course, we'll pay."
Lufen made a little hand gesture at me.
She wanted me to take out the knives.
Haaah… he was probably just going to refuse anyway. What a pain.
I pulled the five knives out of my bag and set them in front of the old man.
"Hey now, Lufen-chan, were you even listening? My schedule's booked solid for the next year. I'm not wasting time on some brat's old kni…"
The moment he looked at the knives… the look in his eyes changed.
He immediately stubbed out his cigarette and picked up one of the knives.
With an utterly serious expression, he began examining every inch of it.
(Eep~)
(He's staring sooo hard~)
(I'm embarrassed, so embarrassed...)
Ahh. The knives were getting embarrassed.
Well, if someone looked at a person that closely, they'd probably feel awkward too.
"Hey, Lufen. Is this guy okay?"
"Shh. Just watch."
Just watch, she says...
As I kept quiet like she'd told me to, the old man suddenly fixed me with a sharp glare.
"Brat. Where'd you find this knife?"
"Huh? Uh... at... at the town's secondhand shop... I think that one cost... three copper coins..."
"What? Three copper coins? You sure you don't mean silver? Hah! Some worthless fool without an ounce of judgment must've been running that shop."
He sounded genuinely exasperated as he gently stroked the knife, almost affectionately.
I could hear the knives talking, so it was hard for me to judge… but were they really that incredible?
The old man looked back at me.
Gone was the mocking expression from before.
Now there was just a hint of warmth in his eyes.
"On the other hand, you've got a good eye, kid. Every one of these five gets my personal seal of approval. You could call them famous blades. Nicely done, brat."
"... I'm not 'brat.' I'm Dyrel, old man."
"I'm not 'old man,' I'm Jingo, brat. Show some respect to your elders."
How am I supposed to respect someone who started by calling me a little brat?
Jingo gathered up all five knives and lined them up neatly beside his workbench.
Without another word, he started sharpening them. It was like we'd already ceased to exist.
(Fwaaah~ This feels sooo good~)
Ooh… the knives sounded like they were in heaven.
Eh, wait… Did that mean he'd accepted the job?
When I looked at Lufen, she winked before calling out to Jingo.
"So then, Jingo-san. Will after lunch be okay?"
"Yeah. Just don't get in my way."
"All right. See you later."
She casually waved goodbye, and we left the shop.
Lufen flashed a big grin and lightly patted my shoulder.
"Good for you. You passed that stubborn old man's inspection."
"... He really is that amazing?"
"Yep. He's the nation's official master sharpener. Swordmasters, Sword Saints, Knight Commanders, even the royal family's personal head chef, all insist they won't let anyone but him sharpen their blades."
He's that incredible!?
"W-Was it really okay for him to push all those people aside just to take our job...?"
"How should I know? All we did was ask. Jingo-san's the one who decided to start sharpening them."
I guess she had a point.
"So how'd you even get to know someone like him?"
"He comes into the liquor store where I work all the time."
Ahh~... come to think of it, she'd shown me her liquor store uniform once.
That thing was a weapon designed to slay men. Certain parts were just... way too much.
Wait a second. So he's really just a dirty old geezer who comes to see Lufen.
What do you think about this chapter?
