Side Story 127: A Certain Blacksmith's Story (1)

Rudek is a great mining nation. The quantity and quality of the ore it produces are among the finest on the continent.

Consequently, Rudek is home to many blacksmiths.

Many smiths compete to demonstrate their skills, particularly in the towns built around its mines.

Zeno was one such blacksmith. He had spent many years wielding his hammer in Ruden, a town at the foot of the mountain range separating Rudek from the Empire.

With his wild beard and bulging arms, Zeno was taciturn and surly. He was the very image of a craftsman.

He was the most skilled smith in Ruden. Yet he had few customers. The reason lay in Zeno's exacting standards. He judged what to make based on the person who would use it, and often forged weapons that did not match what his customers wanted. As a result, he frequently quarreled with them.

Zeno's fellow craftsmen in town were used to this. Whenever he got into an argument with a customer, they would step in, mediate, and lead the customer away.

They made what the customer wanted at a lower price than Zeno would have charged, so no one complained. A portion of the fee they received was then paid to Zeno as a referral fee.

Because his days always went that way, Zeno was perpetually short of money despite his skill.

One day, a strange customer came to Zeno's shop. One glance told Zeno that the man's bearing marked him as a warrior of no small caliber—the kind of customer Zeno liked. But that had nothing to do with what weapon Zeno would make...