The Dwarven Blacksmith, Ijok
“Haa, haa... wait... just... give me a second... haa, haa.”
“Miss Alyssa, here—some water.”
I took some water from my Storage and handed it to her.
Gulp, gulp, gulp. “... Ah, thank you.”
“So, Alyssa, what’s going on?”
“Um, that Karkinos—did it have an injury around its abdomen?”
“Injury? I don’t remember, but... Belle?”
“Hmm, I don’t remember either... maybe we should take a look?”
“Oh, right.”
“Huh? Miss, you brought the rest of the Karkinos too? Why?”
“Well, we received its life, so we have to use everything and give thanks!”
“O–oh, I see. Well, let’s have a look then.”
“Okaay... here it is.”
“Another one frozen solid, huh...”
“Umm... ah, this must be it?”
The Karkinos they had defeated had a sword wound across its abdomen.
“I knew it... This one’s got a bounty on it.”
“““What!?”””
“Let’s see... according to the request form, a blacksmith named Ijok tried to capture this Karkinos for materials, but it fought back and injured him. He then put a bounty on it—he said if a Karkinos strong enough to wound him exists, he wants to forge weapons and armor from it.”
“Hooh, so this is the Karkinos that managed to wound him, huh.”
“Is that Ijok guy strong?”
“He’s a B-rank adventurer, technically, but his real job is blacksmithing. He only registered with the Guild to collect materials.”
““I see.””
We went back to the reception counter to have our guild plates updated.
“So, this will be your total payment for both the subjugation and the bounty. Here’s the split amount for each of you.”
““Thank you very much.””
“No, thank you! That bounty’s been around for a while, but no one’s managed to complete it...”
“Why not?”
“Because no one could identify which Karkinos it was. Just saying it’s ‘bigger than usual with an injury on its abdomen’ isn’t specific enough.”
“Ahh, makes sense—”
Bang!
While talking with Alyssa, the swinging doors behind us burst open. When we turned around, a bearded old man stood there, breathing heavily.
“Ah, Ijok!”
““Huh?””
“Hey, Alyssa! Which one is it!? Who took down my damned nemesis!?”
The bearded man strode toward the counter, shouting.
“Ah, it’s these two, right here.”
“Hah!? You’re tellin’ me these two girls took down that Karkinos!?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Oi! Girls, is that true!? You really defeated it!?”
Belle and I nodded together.
Geez, this guy’s voice is so loud my ears are ringing. Could he maybe step back a bit—or at least lower the volume?
Also, I’m not “girl,” I have a name!
“Girl, what’s your rank?”
“I’m not your girl! I’m Joan! And I’m a D-rank—why?”
“Hah? A brat like you, and only D-rank? You expect me to believe you two took it down? Quit lying.”
““......””
“See? Can’t even answer—means you’re lying! Oi, Alyssa! Since when does this Guild just accept fake subjugation reports without question!?”
What is with this old man!? He doesn’t even let anyone talk!
Ugh, seriously, what a pain.
“Hah? Shut it, you old geezer!! What’s wrong with a D-ranker taking it down!? Oh, right—I heard a certain B-ranker got his ass handed to him and ran off! No wonder you’re embarrassed a D-ranker did what you couldn’t!”
“Jo–Joan...”
“What’d you say!? Some snot-nosed brat thinks she can mouth off to me!? I’m a Dwarf, I’ve been alive longer than you’ve been outta diapers! Show some respect, you punk kid!”
“Then maybe don’t act so high and mighty toward someone you don’t even know! Respect’s earned, no matter the race! And if anyone here’s gonna need diapers soon, it’s you—since you can’t even listen properly anymore, old man!”
“What the hell!!”
Ijok lunged at Joan—
“Stop this at once!!”
At the sound of that voice, everyone froze.
Standing there, with Rottenmeier at her side, was none other than Lindsay.
““!!””
Joan and Ijok went completely stiff when they realized who it was.
“I stop by the Guild after so long, and this is what I find?”
“M-my apologies...”
“You don’t need to apologize, Alyssa… Ijok, care to explain what’s going on?”
“Y–yes, of course, Lady Lindsay. Well, I heard the Karkinos I’d put a bounty on was slain, so I came to thank whoever did it. But these two little br—er, girls claimed they were the ones, so I was giving them a piece of my mind.”
“I see. And you two—did you really lie about it?”
“No, ma’am. I didn’t lie. We defeated it together, all of us as a team.”
“Don’t lie! No D-ranker could’ve beaten that thing!”
“Ijok, silence! If you interrupt one more time, I’ll make you physically silent!... Now then, do you have any proof you actually did it?”
Proof...
The parts alone might not be enough—they could just say we picked them up. What should I do... ah! Maybe...
“I might have proof. Just a second... Rosso, show me your hat.”
I lifted Rosso’s hat to check the magic stone hidden under it.
“Ah, just as I thought. Here it is.”
“What’s that?”
“It should contain the footage from the subjugation.”
“I see. Then let’s confirm it… You there, Gellucci—quit lurking and get over here!”
She called out to Gellucci, who’d been standing on the landing of the stairs to the second floor.
“Ah! Lady Lindsay, didn’t see you there!”
“Oh, don’t you lie to me! Anyway, lend us a room—we need to view this recording.”
“Well, you can use my office.”
Following Gellucci, we all entered the office in this order: Grandma Lindsay, Ijok, Rottenmeier, me, Belle, and Alyssa.
On the way, Alyssa explained that Gellucci was both the Guildmaster and the chief of the dismantling yard.
… Would’ve been nice to know that earlier!
Once inside, we checked the recording device—and sure enough, it had captured everything: the Karkinos battle, the beach cleanup, even Lindsay’s dramatic entrance.
Ijok was stunned to see proof of the actual subjugation, while Gellucci and Alyssa were utterly speechless at the sheer power of Pearl and Rosso’s attacks.
What do you think about this chapter?
