Chapter 181
I walked leisurely through Janpemon, humming a tune.
I was probably in a rather good mood.
The reason was probably that the food served at Nonna's inn—or rather, at Schoene and Aina's inn now—was just as delicious as it had been in the past.
Of course, the cook had changed, so there were slight differences, but they were too minor to notice.
I was especially happy that the familiar taste I had enjoyed countless times was still there.
Still, I found that somewhat surprising.
After all, even when I ate soba in Fuso, the eastern island nation, I had not felt such intense joy.
But when I thought about it, perhaps that was only natural.
No matter how many memories of my previous life I possessed, I was still the me living in the present.
That was why I did not excessively seek out the flavors I had known in my previous life; I was living in this world, experiencing its many joys.
In other words, I must be happy.
But setting that aside for now, I headed in my good mood toward this town's Blacksmiths' Guild.
Since I was staying at that inn and had encountered those nostalgic flavors, I felt I should do at least one or two smithing jobs in town.
Several gazes turned toward me as I walked down the street.
Janpemon was a prosperous town, so the people coming and going were at ease, and the gazes directed at me were far more friendly than hostile.
Even so, because I knew the town as it had been in the past, I noticed unease mixed into the expressions of the people passing by.
The conflict between Zieden and the Republic of Vilestrica, which had split the Duchy of Karkoim in two.
If two great powers were skirmishing not far from the town where they lived, it was only natural for them to feel anxious.
Of course, the Small States, too, possessed power that could rival Zieden and the Republic of Vilestrica if the countries belonging to them joined forces.
But the Small States were a collection of city-states, and their military strength was dispersed across the various regions.
Even if the Azedda Alliance were activated and its forces were gathered in Janpemon, mobilizing them would take a fair amount of time.
Both deciding to dispatch troops and moving them to Janpemon would take time.
That was a major weakness of the Small States.
If they ever ended up opposing Zieden, Zieden would surely exploit that weakness.
After all, Zieden had already conquered the northern half of the Duchy of Karkoim with irresistible momentum.
For now, its conflict with the Republic of Vilestrica left it no time to turn its attention to the Small States, but that situation could not last forever.
There was no guarantee that tomorrow would come to Janpemon looking the same as today.
That was presumably why some people hoped for the restoration of the Azedda Empire.
More specifically, they wanted a single, powerful nation whose unified will would allow it to quickly decide on troop deployments and concentrate its forces in advance.
It was only natural for the people to demand that their nation possess the power to protect their livelihoods.
However, the strong nation created in response to that demand might, in turn, threaten other countries and their people's livelihoods.
While lost in thought, I arrived at the familiar stone building that housed the Blacksmiths' Guild.
As for the restoration of the Azedda Empire, I had no opinion to offer and nothing I could do about it.
I certainly felt attached to Janpemon, but I was still ultimately an outsider.
The people of this country had to decide its future.
Still, preparing one or two good-quality weapons for the town—or perhaps a few more—was probably something even an outsider could be allowed to do.
Thinking that, I knocked on the door of the Blacksmiths' Guild.
Naturally, the person who greeted me was a guild employee whose face I did not recognize.
"Welcome to the Blacksmiths' Guild. What kind of commission do you have for us today? ... Huh, a blacksmith? An elf blacksmith? Could you be that...?"
Yet when I handed the unfamiliar young woman my advanced blacksmith's certificate, the cheerful expression on her face turned to astonishment.
For some reason, she seemed to know who I was. Hmm, I wonder why?
Surely she wasn't another of Nonna's granddaughters or great-granddaughters...
"I'm a traveling blacksmith named Eisa. I'd like to take on a few jobs, and I'd also like to borrow a forge. The last time I worked as a blacksmith in this town, I borrowed the guild's forge, but..."
As I spoke, I looked around at the unchanged building, overcome by nostalgia.
I had borrowed the forge here for several weeks when I first came to Janpemon, and then for about a year and a half the next time, when I came to Janpemon with Win.
Both of those occasions had been several decades ago.
The employee nodded with a delighted smile,
"Yes, we've heard about you. There's a legend passed down in this guild that an elf blacksmith will visit again someday—the words of the guildmaster from two generations ago! Hehe, I'll take you to the forge right away!"
She sprang from her seat, eagerly took out a key, and led me to the forge.
Even so, a legend...
Ah, those words really made me realize just how much time had passed.
Come to think of it, could the guildmaster from two generations ago have been that male employee who had helped me in the past?
He had been quite adept at arranging work for me, and he seemed like the sort of person who might have risen through the ranks.
It would make me very happy to think that he had kept me in mind all this time.
The forge I was shown had grown quite old, but it had been properly repaired, and it seemed perfectly usable.
Now then, it had been a very long time since I had done any smithing.
What kind of commissions would the current Blacksmiths' Guild entrust to me?
Filled with anticipation, I lit a fire in the dormant forge.