Chapter 61
Chapter 23 Explosive Synergy (2)
Seeing the strange atmosphere between the mother and son, Bilf stepped in.
They seemed too absorbed in their own little world, even though Jade was there too.
He was also personally curious about the material of the sword he was holding.
“I'm sorry, my lord.”
“Not at all. I thought it was nice to see.”
“Thank you for seeing it that way.”
Haren's cheeks reddened faintly as she apologized politely.
She had only been pretending to be calm; inwardly, she was embarrassed too.
But that expression vanished in an instant.
Returning to the gaze of a master craftsman, Haren looked at the sword her son was holding.
“Here it is.”
At her glance, Bilf tactfully handed the sword to Jade.
He had inspected the sword enough and was returning it to its owner.
“May I ask what it was made from?”
“It was made from a black drake's tooth.”
“Ah!”
Haren's eyes sparkled.
A fully grown black drake's tooth explained everything.
At the same time, curiosity filled her eyes.
“M-Might you have any more spares?”
Bilf, almost as surprised as Haren, cautiously spoke up.
The sword was impressive, but if possible, he wanted to see its original form for himself.
Whoom.
At those words, Jade opened his subspace and took out a tooth.
Even after giving many away as gifts, plenty remained, so he casually picked one and held it out to the two of them.
“Ooh!”
“If an ordinary tooth—not even a fang—is this large, it must have been a fully grown black drake.”
“And it didn't die of old age, either.”
The mother and son traded opinions without pause.
They had been completely captivated by the first black drake tooth they had ever seen.
“The sword was made by a dwarf, after all. Human craftsmanship couldn't make a blade this sharp and sturdy.”
“I agree. Though he isn't exactly one of the more skilled dwarves.”
“Still, he isn't particularly bad.”
“As a craftsman, he's disqualified. He worked hard in his own way, but at that level, you can't say he drew out all of the material's potential.”
“I agree with that too.”
At Haren's decisive words, Bilf nodded.
That was something he agreed with as well.
“Haha, I'm sorry. Just as you'd expect from a mother and son, whenever they see an unusual mineral or material, they lose all awareness of their surroundings. They don't even realize anyone else is here.”
“That must have been difficult.”
“It hurt at first, but now I've gotten used to it. Hahaha.”
“Are you from Baron Leon's territory?”
“No. We're from the Kingdom of Arhan. We did stop by Baron Leon's territory for a while, though. But given my appearance, I haven't been able to settle down in one place.”
Bolton grinned.
Despite his words, there wasn't a trace of bitterness in his smile.
He was short, but he seemed big-hearted, if that was the right way to put it.
It showed in his expression.
“Prejudice is hard to ignore.”
“That's right. When I was young, I even thought it might be better just to get beaten.”
“I hope Baden Village suits you.”
“Judging from how things feel so far, I think this will be the first and last place we'll settle. As a place for my family to put down roots, I don't think we'll find anywhere better than Baden Village.”
Bolton spoke sincerely.
He had been through so many bad experiences that he had been suspicious at first.
His wife had been the same.
He had heard that Jade's reputation was not bad, but since he had not met him in person, he had not been able to readily believe it.
But now he thought differently.
At the very least, he knew Jade was different from the nobles he had seen until now.
Kuaaaam!
‘Ordinary nobles don't raise a baby gold drake and carry around a plentiful supply of black drake teeth.’
Bolton had not taken his eyes off Jade even once since their first meeting.
Because he had to support his wife and children, who became oblivious to everything around them once they fixated on something, he was always suspicious and wary.
He thought he had to be that way for his family's safety.
That was why he could be certain.
Jade had hunted the black drake.
He had so many that he could afford to treat them as nothing special.
Gulp!
When his thoughts reached that point, Bolton's knees went weak.
Jade was the one who had defeated the Wolf King alone, even though the Wolf King had nearly brought all the beastfolk under his rule.
In other words, not only Bolton but also his wife and children knew that Jade was strong.
But a drake was another matter.
‘He is human, yet not human.’
Compared to other races, humans were hopelessly weak.
If an unarmed human encountered a wild beast, they had no choice but to run.
But once they cast off their limits, things changed.
Humans were capable of even hunting dragons, beings called demigods.
‘Of course, dragons are powerful in their own right, and one would need a special weapon akin to a divine sword to hunt one. Still, even a drake…….’
Bolton swallowed dryly once again.
To him, drakes and dragons were much the same.
Either way, they were beyond anything he could gauge.
“You have a lot of farming tools.”
“I figured farming tools would be what we needed most. I noticed on my way back and forth that the villagers' tools were quite worn. Since there's only one blacksmithy, it seemed difficult to handle everything, so I've been making farming tools whenever I have time.”
“Good choice.”
“Starting with farming tools, I plan to make one or two weapons as well. Since we're next to the Great Forest, maintaining weapons is essential. Might you need armor as well? We can make custom-fit armor.”
Bolton asked cautiously, watching Jade's reaction.
If Jade did not have any armor of his own, he intended to offer him one as a token of goodwill.
“No need. I don't need armor.”
“Understood.”
“Actually, I'd like to ask for something else. Can you take custom orders?”
“Of course. Naturally we can. Even if we have other orders, we can do it!”
Bolton immediately answered.
No matter how busy they were, this was the lord's request.
So they had no choice but to do it.
“You don't have to go that far.”
“We really can, my lord. As you can see, we're not officially open for business yet.”
“Um……”
While looking around the workshop and talking with Bolton, the mother and son approached Jade.
They had apparently finished their discussion and were carefully holding the black drake tooth as they spoke.
“Thank you for letting us examine it, my lord.”
Haren continued, wearing exactly the same expression as the dwarf Jade had met in the capital of the Kingdom of Arhan.
She spoke with a face full of lingering regret.
At the sight, Jade smiled and retrieved the black drake tooth.
“That's perfect. I actually had something I wanted to ask you, ma'am.”
“Ask me?”
“Yes. I'd like to commission a bow made from this. Would that be possible?”
“Huh!”
Haren's eyes grew as large as saucers.
Bilf, who was standing beside her, was just as surprised.
Only Bolton remained calm, without a trace of surprise.
“You don't have to force yourselves. Depending on the workshop's schedule……”
“I'll do it! No, leave it to me!”
She was so excited that she cut Jade off and abruptly grabbed his hand.
The one holding the two-meter-long black drake bone, that is.
“We have nothing scheduled! So you don't need to worry!”
Bilf joined in.
Knowing all too well that opportunities to handle black drake bone were rare, Bilf grabbed Jade's other arm with blazing eyes.
He looked ready to go down on his knees if Jade refused.
“I'd like to use this tendon for the bowstring.”
“Absolutely! It's completely possible! I'll do my best and make it a masterpiece of the highest order!”
At Haren's overflowing enthusiasm, which seemed about to explode, Jade smiled awkwardly.
It seemed excessive, to say the least.
But if he wanted to see what they could do, he had to entrust at least one commission to them.
He did actually need a special bow, after all.
“I'll look forward to it.”
“I'll do my best to produce something worthy of those expectations.”
“I'll work hard to assist my mother too!”
Haren and Bilf both bowed repeatedly.
They had already been itching to work with black drake teeth; after being given bone and tendon, the mother and son had the same gleam in their eyes.
At a glance, the light streaming from their eyes looked almost like madness.
But apparently Jade was not the only one who thought so, because Bolton, standing beside them, also looked aghast and shook his head.
Kyuuuu!
From one side of the training grounds, the enlarged Whid let out a loud roar and launched himself off the ground.
He had been hot on Moikan's heels to catch him as he darted this way and that.
But Moikan made full use of his small frame and narrowly dodged Whid's forepaw.
“You're still far from catching me!”
Kyu!
At Moikan's taunting grin, Whid curled his lips.
Then he lashed out with his long tail.
He moved his tail as if intending to seize Moikan by the neck in one motion.
“Hup!”
But Moikan had already anticipated it.
After playing tag countless times, he was gradually starting to read Whid's patterns.
Kyuwoooo!
At that, Whid let out a great howl.
He was frustrated at not having caught Moikan even once.
But soon Whid steeled himself and charged again.
“I told you, you can use your wings. You can use all of your physical abilities.”
Kyu!
Moikan said it while dodging, apparently still at ease.
But Whid shook his head firmly.
He could catch Moikan if he used his wings, but it would not restore his cracked pride.
So Whid stubbornly used only four legs.
“Your legs alone aren't enough.”
Kyuuuu!
Compared to the beginning, his speed and agility had improved tremendously, but they still couldn't compare with Moikan's.
Moreover, monkeyfolk were particularly gifted in quick reflexes and judgment, so Moikan evaded Whid's pursuit with ease to spare.
“But no breath, okay? If your breath hits me, I'm in serious trouble.”
Moikan said, turning serious.
It was fine for Whid to use his wings in excitement, but not his breath.
Whid's breath was so powerful that it was hard to believe he was a hatchling, so Moikan earnestly reminded him again and again in case he forgot.
Having been hit once by Whid when he had lost control, Moikan absolutely did not want to be hit again.
Grrrr.
But at those words, Whid gave a wicked grin.
As if he intended to make a mistake on purpose.
At the sight, Moikan swallowed dryly without meaning to.
“No! Absolutely not!”
Kekeke.
The more anxious Moikan became, the wider Whid's smile grew.
He had been waging psychological warfare in his own way.
“That's a pretty dangerous game of tag.”
“It doubles as training, too.”
“But isn't Whid growing too fast? He's already using psychological warfare.”
“Drakes are fairly intelligent, too.”
Jade smiled with satisfaction.
Whid was doing remarkably well despite all the various restrictions.
“Whid might become the first drake to suppress his instincts.”
“We'll have to watch a little longer. He's still a hatchling.”
“More importantly, do you think Moikan can learn the mana cultivation method?”
Aruellia, standing next to Jade as they watched Whid and Moikan's game of tag, asked casually.
She was curious herself.
“The elves have techniques similar to the mana cultivation method too, right?”
“We call ours the Forest Breathing Method. The tribe's name goes before it, though. It differs a little from tribe to tribe.”
“Then shouldn't beastfolk be able to do it too?”
“So you think it's possible?”
“So far?”