Chapter 128 – The Blacksmith

The blacksmith introduced by the Count was located deep within the blacksmith district, where many forges were clustered.

Strangely, the forge, situated behind a large weapon shop bustling with people, had only a few blacksmiths hammering away at swords.

As I entered the forge with Zahina, I was warned by an old man sitting by the door, smoking a pipe.

“This isn’t a place to buy things. If you want to buy something, go to the shop across the street.”

Listening to the old man, I realized this wasn’t a shop but a workshop where items were made.

Until now, I had only seen forges that doubled as shops, but in the capital, it seemed that forges were separated from shops, much like factories in my past life.

“Did the Count give me the wrong directions? He definitely told me to come here.”

The old man clicked his tongue as I pulled out a note to double-check.

“The Count? Which Count introduced you?”

At his irritated tone, I cautiously mentioned the Count who had referred me.

“Count Schönheim introduced me.”

“The swordsman introduced you? The Count doesn’t usually recommend people so easily……”

Fortunately, when I mentioned who it was, the old man’s expression softened.

Instead, he approached me with a curious look.

Putting down his pipe, the old man, as expected, was the owner of the forge.

His white hair and muscles that defied his age, along with the faintly rising mana, marked him as a rare awakened blacksmith.

“Show me your hand for a moment.”

The old man’s request was a bit sudden, but having had my hands checked many times before, I immediately showed him my hand.

“Hmm……”

After examining my hand, he made an ambiguous expression.

Then he asked me,

“What kind of sword do you mainly use?”

“Like most knights, I’ve mainly used longswords and bastard swords. I’ve also used greatswords a few times.”

I couldn’t afford to be careless with a blacksmith who knew how to work with mana, especially one introduced by the Count.

“I see.”

Nodding at my response, the old man walked to one side of the wall, took down a knight’s longsword, and handed it to me.

“Then, take this and show me your stance and a few swings.”

Following his instructions, I had to step outside the forge.

By now, all the blacksmiths who had been working had stopped and were watching me and the old man.

Zahina, who had come with me, was also standing with them, observing us.

The open area in front of the forge, behind the shop, was empty of passersby. The well-trodden ground looked almost like a small training yard.

As I curiously looked around the area, the old man spoke.

“This is private property. Didn’t anyone stop you on your way here?”

“The head butler of Count Schönheim’s estate guided me to the shop.”

“If you came with the head butler of Count Schönheim’s estate, no one would stop you.”

At my response, the old man waved his hand dismissively.

It was a gesture for me to start swinging the sword.

I began to move the sword as he instructed.

Without using mana, I went through the swordsmanship techniques I had learned.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Perhaps due to the small realization I had during the duel, the sword moved smoothly.

The sword also produced a satisfying sound.

Just as a satisfied smile began to form on my face,

“Hmm…… Interesting. It doesn’t seem like you’ve mainly hunted monsters. But it also doesn’t seem like you’ve fought knights or soldiers.”

To discern that just from watching me swing the sword—this was indeed a blacksmith introduced by a swordsman.

“After becoming a knight, I’ve been fighting undead continuously.”

“Ah, so you’ve fought against the Demon King’s army.”

At my mention of fighting undead, the old man’s tone changed.

“If you’ve fought undead, it’s natural for your posture and muscles to develop that way. Then, let’s try channeling mana into the sword. As much as you can.”

Following his instructions, I pushed mana into the sword.

Whoosh.

The mana flowed smoothly.

The mana seeped into the sword without resistance, making me look at the sword in my hand again.

“This is a good sword.”

“Good? It’s just an ordinary sword supplied to the Imperial Knight Order.”

Wait, a sword supplied to the Imperial Knight Order couldn’t possibly be ordinary, could it?

As I looked at him in disbelief, the old man asked again.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t even asked your name.”

“I’m the free knight Jansen Eger.”

“Knight Eger, huh…… I don’t recognize the name, but did you fight alongside the hero?”

At his question, I shook my head.

“No, I was just an ordinary knight.”

“An ordinary free knight who fought against the Demon King’s army and survived until now, introduced to me by the swordsman himself.”

The old man chuckled.

“Anyway, I understand. I’ll prepare one greatsword and one longsword for you. It’ll take a few days, so I’ll send word to the Count’s estate when they’re done.”

Fortunately, it seemed I could get a sword easily.

According to the old man, I would be getting a sword of the same quality as those supplied to the Imperial Knight Order.

If the sword was as good as the one I was holding now, it would be worth coming all the way to the imperial capital and being swung around by the Count.

The only question was how much it would cost……

“By the way, do you have the money? If it’s a recommendation from the Count, I could give you one sword for free, but I can’t just hand over a proper knight’s sword like this.”

The sword, which looked ordinary since it hadn’t yet been engraved with the knight order’s emblem.

In truth, a sword of this quality would have been enough.

It seemed the Count had sent me here to give me this sword, the sword of the Imperial Knight Order.

But I couldn’t say that to the old man, who spoke of this sword as if it were nothing special.

‘If only I hadn’t heard about the gold bars.’

If David hadn’t told me about the Korean national gold reserves, I might have been satisfied with this sword.

But knowing that more gold could come in, and having heard that he could make a much better sword, I couldn’t help but go for it as a knight.

I opened my pouch and took out the gold.

Gold bars piled up on one side of the forge.

One, two, ten, twenty.

By the time one pouch was emptied,

“You’ve brought quite a lot. I thought a greatsword might be too much, but with this amount, it should be possible.”

The old man stopped me with a satisfied expression.

The gold I had taken out was enough to buy a small manor in the countryside.

It was an amount that made my hands tremble, but I closed my eyes and handed it over to the old man.

The blacksmiths who had been watching carried the gold inside and began to clear their ongoing work.

“Prepare for the work, and you, go to the shop and tell them the delivery will be delayed.”

At the old man’s words, one of the blacksmiths ran across the yard to the shop.

The old man’s decision to postpone all ongoing work and prioritize making my sword made my trembling hands stop.

“Now, we need to start working, so you should go.”

The old man promptly shooed us out, and as we walked toward the shop, we saw a middle-aged woman running from the shop.

She entered the forge, shouting.

“What’s this about a delayed delivery! This order was personally requested by the Marquis for his daughter’s birthday celebration!”

But the old man’s voice that followed was just as loud.

“Birthday celebration? Swords for the battlefield come first.”

“No, not this again. Think about my business too. I have to apologize to the Marquis. Really, Dad! You stubborn old blacksmith!”

We left the forge, listening to the daughter’s lament.

Passing through the now more chaotic weapon shop, we headed to the carriage parked in front.

Seeing the head butler standing by the carriage, I asked Zahina, who was following me.

“I have another place to visit. Would you like to go back first?”

Although Zahina had come along to see the forge, the next place I was going was truly a personal matter.

“Can I keep following you? I came along to observe the people of this world, after all.”

It seemed her studies were still ongoing.

While it was a personal matter, it wasn’t something I needed to keep secret.

“It won’t be interesting.”

“Interesting…… I’ve never been bored while following you, Knight.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I decided to let her come along.

After sending the carriage and the head butler back to the Count’s estate, we headed to the slums on the outskirts of the capital.

Amid the many carriages and people passing by, and the clean streets made possible by magic, there was, as in any city, a rundown and dirty slum.

As we entered the slum, I felt the gazes of people watching us.

Perhaps because Zahina was a beautiful woman who didn’t belong in the slum, the looks directed at us were filled with desire and greed.

But despite those looks, no one approached us.

No matter how rough the slum was, it was still the imperial capital, and attacking a knight would be unthinkable.

Recalling what I had heard in the past, I retraced my steps through the dirty alleyways.

Passing an old pawnshop and a half-collapsed water pump, I reached the very end of a deep alley, where an old house stood.

When I opened the door, a woman sitting on the threshold was startled and hugged a child playing beside her.

“Who are you?”

After a moment of looking at the woman and child, I silently took out a few items from my pouch and laid them out in front of them.

A letter, a few gold coins, a sword, and an old notebook.

These were the items I had promised before he died.

The diary he had kept every day, despite being mocked by other soldiers, the letter to his wife, and the sword he had carried until his death.

These were the belongings of a soldier who had fought by my side for a long time during the early days of the war.

It had already been several years since the soldier’s death.

The family in front of me must have heard of his death long ago.

“I’m sorry for being late. He was an excellent soldier and a good friend.”

“Ah. Ah…… Ah……”

The woman, unable to speak as she saw the items one by one, burst into tears upon hearing my words.

“I had just, just started to forget…… Why……”

Amid her sobs, I heard resentment directed at me, but I bowed my head in apology and turned to leave the house.

There was nothing more to say, and nothing I could do would be more helpful than the gold coins I had given.

As I had expected, it didn’t feel good.

But I had to do it.

The promises I made to the dead were one of the few ropes that kept my humanity intact during that brutal war.

As I left the house in silence, Zahina followed behind me.

She walked behind me, staring intently at me.

That day, I met the families of three more fallen comrades.

Some thanked me for coming, even if it was late. Others were angry with me.

And then there were those who surprised me.

“My master died in another world? He died stepping on an explosive device? Couldn’t he block it with a mana barrier? Is mana different there?”

The mage bombarded me with questions upon hearing of her master’s death.

She didn’t even glance at the items her master had left behind.

Instead, she packed her belongings and followed me out.

“To get to that world, I just need to join the combat mages, right? The Allied Forces are still accepting volunteers, aren’t they?”

The apprentice of the combat mage who had died from a landmine in the other world ignored her master’s last wishes and chose to follow in his footsteps.