Chapter 60
“You seem to have made up your mind.”
“Yes.”
“But did you tell Moike?”
“Uh…….”
Moikan's expression wavered for an instant as he answered without hesitation.
Moikan had thought it over and made his decision, but still hadn't told his father.
No, more precisely, it hadn't even occurred to Moikan that he should tell him.
“I think you should resolve that issue first. You haven't come of age yet, have you?”
“I'm all grown up!”
“All kids who haven't come of age say that. But once they grow up, they never say they're all grown up. Why? Because they know themselves well. So go to Moike and get his permission first. Let's continue the rest of our conversation after you have it.”
“I'm really fine with it! I'll speak to the chieftain separately…….”
“Go get his permission.”
Jade shook his head.
Though the Stone Mountain Monkey tribe had become residents of his domain, there were still procedures to follow.
No matter how much Moikan wanted it, since Moikan wasn't of age, his parents' consent was necessary.
Apparently, Moikan hadn't said a word, so Jade repeated himself firmly.
“Understood. I'll get permission and come right back!”
“You can take your time. It's not urgent.”
“No! I'll be back soon!”
Unlike easygoing Jade, Moikan was in a hurry.
Moikan was worried Jade might change his mind.
So Moikan bowed and sprinted at full speed the moment he left the reception room.
Clang! Bang!
Though busy with personal training and various other matters, Jade visited Vilf's workshop.
It was a workshop established by the half-dwarf Vilf, who had brought his parents not long ago.
Its scale wasn't much different from Baden Village's blacksmithy, but Jade took the fact that it was called a workshop as a sign that the Vilf family wanted to make many things.
‘Weren't dwarves said to be a race that found joy in making things?’
Dwarves poured all their energy and time into a single finished work, even while producing countless failures.
They were also a race with endlessly high standards of beauty when it came to objects.
Perhaps that was why hammering could be heard even from a distance at which the workshop itself was not visible.
-So clear!
-It's really rhythmic.
Kkyu! Kkyuuu!
The two spirits and Whid's eyes sparkled at the hammering, whose intervals and pitch were both perfectly regular.
All three of them were curious about what the newly built workshop looked like.
“Welcome~! Huh? L-Lord?”
A middle-aged man sweeping the entrance to the workshop jumped in surprise.
He had opened his mouth reflexively upon sensing someone approaching, only to be startled when he saw Jade.
He looked human, yet he was remarkably short.
He was so short and slight that Jade wondered if he might be a dwarf.
“You must be Vilf's father.”
“Y-Yes! My name is Bolton! It is an honor to meet you, my lord!”
Bolton, too slight to be called a dwarf, deeply bowed while holding his broom.
As if he were apologizing for only greeting him now.
“No need to call it an honor. I'm glad to meet you as well. If you have time, would you show me around the workshop?”
“Of course! I'll be your guide!”
Bolton smiled brightly at Jade's more easygoing response than he had expected.
With a smooth, completely beardless face, too.
Fwoosh!
As soon as the door opened, sweltering heat poured out from inside.
It was the characteristic heat of a smithy.
“Haha! We designed it to vent as much heat upward as possible, but some heat still remains. It's better when the wind blows, but there's no wind today…….”
“It's fine. This is a workshop, so this much is only natural. But it looks like you don't have many finished products yet.”
“My wife and son both have impossibly high standards. It's not a failure by any means, as far as I'm concerned.”
Bolton looked frustrated.
Their artisan's spirit was admirable, but their standards were simply too high.
Of course, pride as artisans mattered, but survival came first.
Making a living was most important, yet both his wife and son put that second.
“Sounds like you've had a hard time.”
“Even so, we've learned to live with it. In the Great Forest, we couldn't properly do what we wanted even when we wanted to.”
“Then you haven't opened for business yet?”
“Y-Yes, that's right.”
Bolton looked embarrassed.
It had been several days since the workshop had been completed, yet he didn't have a single thing to show Jade, the lord of the domain.
Though Jade, a commoner-born noble, was said to be quite different in disposition from other lords and generous, he was still a noble.
For that reason, Bolton's lips began to dry with nervousness.
“Well, there's no rush.”
“Pardon?”
“What? Did you expect me to lecture you?”
“N-No!”
Bolton hurriedly shook his head.
But his expression was full of surprise.
He had inwardly believed that, commoner-born or not, a noble was a noble.
Nobles were the sort who would create a reason if none existed, then bully and intimidate their inferiors.
That was why he hadn't believed Vilf, no matter how highly his son praised Jade.
The nobles he had seen throughout his life had been far too much alike for him to do so.
“You built this place rather roughly, too. So you can leave at any time.”
“Absolutely not!”
Bolton schooled his expression and shouted.
But he was startled inwardly.
Because Jade's guess was correct: if he decided the place wasn't right, he intended to take his wife and son and leave at once.
He had already discussed it with his wife, though his son did not know.
“You can leave if you want. You're from the Great Forest anyway.”
“Really, no! I never even considered such a thing!”
“Enough. Just show me around.”
“O-Okay!”
Seeing that Jade clearly did not believe a word he said, Bolton didn't know how to react.
Yet it was awkward to say anything more here.
Anything he said would obviously sound like an excuse.
In that case, it was better to keep quiet.
Clang! Clang!
Secretly watching Jade's reaction, Bolton led him to the workroom containing the anvil and forge.
Strangely, the temperature changed as soon as he opened a single door.
It wasn't merely sweltering; searing heat poured out with frightening intensity.
In particular, the massive forge resembling a blast furnace was the first thing to catch Jade's eye.
Hiss!
“My lord!”
Vilf, who had been quenching metal alongside his mother, was startled by Jade's appearance and came over.
He hadn't expected Jade to come all the way in.
By contrast, the dwarf woman who appeared to be Vilf's mother had a sturdy, powerfully built physique, and her eyes were equally steely.
“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Haren.”
“I hope I'm not interrupting.”
Jade politely greeted Haren, who had greeted him first.
Vilf was a half-dwarf, and Bolton was human.
But Haren was a pure-blooded dwarf, so Jade did not speak casually to her.
Nothing could be more ignorant and rude than imposing human notions of status on another species.
“Vilf told me you have a gentle appearance.”
“……I do?”
“Yes. Your eyes are clear, so I suppose it's no wonder spirits like you. You seem especially close to fire.”
“You can see that?”
“Yes. I've spent my entire life with fire.”
Haren looked at Jade with a glint of interest.
Others couldn't see it, but Haren could.
The flames dancing in the forge and the heat filling the workshop did not reject Jade.
Rather, Haren could feel them embracing him warmly, so she looked at Jade with a fascinated expression.
“I suppose it's because I made a contract with a fire spirit.”
“I don't think that's the whole story.”
“How is life here? Since this is a small village, I imagine it isn't exactly prosperous.”
“It's wonderful. Just being able to quench metal in safety like this makes me happy. Vilf is learning diligently as well.”
“Haha.”
Vilf laughed awkwardly at his mother's praise.
His face was covered in sweat, perhaps because of the heat.
“If you need anything else to run the workshop, tell Alfredo anytime. The more famous Vilf's workshop becomes, the better it is for our domain as well.”
“Thank you for looking after us. We'll open for business as soon as possible.”
“There's no rush, so take your time. Getting settled comes first.”
“We're settled in enough. The villagers and beastfolk are all kind and good people.”
Haren smiled faintly.
Compared with the constant tension of life in the Great Forest, Baden Village was practically heaven.
In the Great Forest, they hadn't even been able to hammer comfortably for fear that monsters might hear them.
That was why Haren smiled and shook her head.
“That's good to hear.”
“We'll repay your kindness little by little from now on. But…….”
Haren's voice trailed off.
Her gaze passed over Whid in Jade's arms and went to his waist.
More precisely, she'd been eyeing the sword made from black drake teeth.
“Have a look.”
The moment he noticed her gaze land on the sword, Jade drew it and held it out to her.
Her eyes widened.
Because the moment she received it, she could tell that it was made from an extraordinary material.
“I was curious too…….”
Vilf approached his mother's side.
He had been curious as well.
But unable to bring it up first, he had suppressed his curiosity. Now that an opportunity had arisen, Vilf sidled over and examined the sword with his mother.
Tap tap.
As they examined the unfamiliar material, Haren and Vilf grew serious.
The blade, which emitted a subdued black sheen, was light but hard.
Hard enough to cleave most ordinary swords in a single stroke.
Haren knew it the moment she touched it.
‘It's not metal.’
Haren's gaze grew somber as she examined the sword from every angle.
She knew the instant she touched it that it wasn't metal.
But she couldn't tell exactly what it was.
“It seems like a tooth or bone. But it's not from a griffon or wyvern. I've examined the remains of creatures that died of old age, and they didn't feel like this.”
“And it's not a saber tiger.”
“That kind of hardness is impossible. Saber tiger fangs are hard, but not this hard.”
“That's right.”
Haren furrowed her brow.
Dozens, even hundreds, of materials crossed her mind, but none had characteristics that matched the sword in her hand exactly.
“Why are you racking your brains over it? You could just ask the lord. Just because you're a dwarf doesn't mean you know every metal, material, and mineral.”
Bolton, who had been watching the two, said this in exasperation.
It seemed they were choosing a needlessly difficult path when an easy one was available.
Of course, dwarf pride was at stake, but sometimes one needed to humbly accept one's shortcomings.
“T-That's true.”
“Your dad is right once in a while.”
“Sometimes? Who makes a colder, more level-headed judgment than I do!”
Bolton flared up.
As the head of the household, he was the one who, knowingly or not, worked to preserve peace in the family.
Yet he got angry when told he was useful only sometimes.
“Good grief, don't go treating every little remark like a matter of life and death. Vilf and I both know we've made it this far thanks to you.”
“Ahem! Why bring that up now?”
“Because I'm grateful, grateful. You always make up for what I lack.”
“Are you trying to hurt me and then soothe me or what?”
Bolton grumbled and turned his head.
But the anger had already vanished from his face.
As the saying went, a married couple's quarrel was like trying to cut water with a knife; the mood between them warmed in an instant.
Though, judging by Vilf's age, they must have been together for quite some time, the couple's eyes were still full of passion.
“Ahem! The lord is here too, so let's leave it at that.”
“Ahem!”