by Aneko Yusagi
“How are things going so far?” he asked.
“We were just discussing our progress. But what are you doing here?” I replied.
He’d gone back to the castle town last I knew.
“I never heard back from you after that mess, so I closed the shop down temporarily and brought Tolly to come check on you,” he explained.
“Ah, I see. Sorry about that. I’ve had my hands full,” I said.
After we got everything settled in Siltvelt, thanks to Atla, I’d been pretty busy with other things. After looking into the Jaralis thing and searching his house, we rushed around getting the ship ready and then set sail for Q’ten Lo. I hadn’t had time to return to the village, much less stop by the weapon shop to give the old guy an update.
“So you’ll be able to reach the country you’re headed for by the day after tomorrow?” he asked.
I pointed at the map.
“Oh, so that’s where it is. That’s perfect. Do you think I could tag along? There are some materials around there that can’t be found anywhere else. If you’re heading into Q’ten Lo, I’d like you to take me with you,” the old guy pleaded.
He clasped his hands together for dramatic effect. When I didn’t say anything, he pulled out the assassin’s broken weapon that I’d given him after the attack.
“Tolly and I took a look at this weapon and I think we figured something out,” he said.
“Oh yeah?”
I’d asked him to check the weapon out. Did that mean there had been some kind of development?
“It seems like our master is the one who crafted it,” he continued.
“What?”
I remembered hearing the old guy and Imiya’s uncle talk about their master a little bit before.
“You’re telling me your master is the one who forged Q’ten Lo’s mysterious weapons?” I asked.
“There’s a good possibility he did. So could you take me with you? I’d like to look into it some more,” he replied.
“But . . .”
Even if that were true, did I really need to take the old guy with me? I would’ve preferred to have him stand by at the village or go do some work in the neighboring town while he waited. Then again, I did owe him after all he’d done for me.
“It’ll be dangerous,” I said.
“I’m aware of the dangers, kid. I can hold my own in a fight too, you know. I won’t go down easily,” he replied.
Hmm . . . This was a request from the one-and-only old weapon shop guy, after all. I was still thinking about it when Ren raised his hand.
“I think he should be fine. He’s even given us a few lessons while we were training over in the town,” he said.
“Now that you mention it, he’s the one that taught me how to use a sword too,” Raphtalia said.
She stood there reminiscing for a moment.
“Only the most basic of basics,” the old guy said.
“I’ve been teaching her a little something too, lately,” Sadeena interjected.
“Yes, I’m finally starting to understand how to use a katana properly,” Raphtalia replied.
“I’ve noticed that, now that you mention it. You’ve become a rather troublesome opponent,” Atla said.
“I don’t plan on losing to you, Atla,” Raphtalia replied.
Now that they mentioned it, I did notice Raphtalia training with Sadeena while we were on the boat. Sadeena had been giving her a detailed explanation of how to use a katana. Sadeena was most proficient with harpoons and spears, but she seemed to know how to handle a variety of weapons. Was there anything she couldn’t do?
“What’s your actual level?” I asked the old guy.
“I used to be an adventurer, you know. I’m level 87, give or take,” he replied.
That was higher than I expected! In that case, he would probably be fine. I guess. It still made me a bit uneasy, though.
“Hmm . . . Alright, then. But I’d prefer to bring you once we’ve landed in Q’ten Lo and made sure things are safe,” I said.
“Oh, come on. I could use a little bit of adventure every now and then too. Besides, you or the little miss might end up killing the master if he happens to be on the enemy’s side for some reason. That would defeat the whole purpose, right?” the old guy replied.
He had a point. All I knew about their master was that he was a swordsmith. Checking the identity of every enemy we fought probably wasn’t feasible. I could always take Imiya’s uncle instead, since he knew their master’s face. But considering their levels, the old guy made more sense.
“You better not do anything crazy. And I want you to stay close by,” I said.
“I know all of that! You sure are a worrywart, kid,” the old guy replied.
Well, yeah. He’d done so much for me. It was only natural that I’d worry about him.
“Naofumi has a sharp tongue, but generally speaking, he’s always thinking about protecting others. It only makes sense that he would worry,” Ren said.
Ren spoke up on my behalf. Why was he acting like he suddenly knew all about me? I had a feeling commenting would only cause trouble, though, so I kept my mouth shut.
“And what about us? Should we go with you too?” Ren asked.
“I was planning on having you stay here to deal with any attacks on the village. I don’t want to leave the place without anyone to fight back,” I replied.
I mean, it wasn’t like the villagers were helpless. But they still needed someone here to fight alongside them as their leader. And when all was said and done, Ren and Itsuki were pretty much a dream team. The two of them together would basically be considered OP, or overpowered, in gamer terms.
It would be nice to have them with me when I invaded Q’ten Lo, but that would mean neglecting defense back at headquarters. It helped that there hadn’t been many attacks so far. But it would be a real problem if the enemy managed to capture the village while I was gone and then held the residents hostage.
“Of course, that’s only until we make it into Q’ten Lo,” I continued.
I could teleport back and forth with my portal skill, so I could return to the village at any time. I figured things would work out if I used that advantage to keep the village defended. That was why I had S’yne keeping tabs on me at all times from a distance, after all.
“Besides, we’re still traveling by boat, so we have to think about fighting on the water. Putting you in a situation like that could be dangerous, right?” I told Ren.
“Ugh . . .” he groaned.
That’s right. Ren couldn’t swim. On top of that, there was a good possibility we would end up facing enemies that were like mass-produced Sadeena clones. Putting Ren in a situation like that would be too risky. I couldn’t have him getting killed in battle right after we’d finally gotten him on our side.
“Why don’t you try working on your swimming if you have some spare time? Luckily for you, some of the weapons you can unlock using sea monster materials have adjustments that make swimming easier,” I said.
“Okay, I’ll do that. Still, it will take time . . .” he mumbled.
“Of course. I realize that. That’s why I want you to watch over the village and town for me. I’ll use my portal to call for you if you’re needed,” I replied.
“Okay. Sorry I can’t do more,” he said.
Ren was always so serious now. My opinion of him improved with each day.
“Don’t worry about it. More than that, I really wish you two would hurry up and go to the Cal Mira islands to get rid of those curse effects,” I said.
We were on high alert and didn’t have time to go register the hot springs as a portal location. But it would still be a while before they fully recovered from their curses, and that was a problem. I wasn’t sure what to do about that.
“Itsuki, you can swim, right?” I asked.
“Yes. I can swim,” he replied.
Itsuki hadn’t changed. He always responded, but he still seemed to lack any emotion due to th
e effects of the curse. That made him far easier to deal with than before, but the complete absence of emotion was kind of creepy.
“If I’m going to take one of you with me on the way there, it would be better to have Itsuki, since he can make ranged attacks from the ship,” I said.
“If those are your orders . . .” Itsuki replied.
Hmm . . . Deciding what to do with Itsuki wasn’t any easier than it was for Ren. Having him there during the trip would be nice too, of course. But even more than that, if something were to happen upon our arrival in Q’ten Lo . . . I had to consider the possibility that we might end up having to fight as soon as we got there. In that case, it definitely made sense to have him with us at that point.
I couldn’t expect Ren to help fight while we were on the boat, but Itsuki could still prove useful. He came as a set with Rishia too, and the two of them together were pretty formidable. I was worried about the Q’ten Lo equipment that weakened attacks made by heroes, but that would be an issue no matter where we were fighting.
“Hey! Hey! Little Naofumi!” Sadeena called out.
“What?” I asked.
She spoke up as soon as I finished talking.
“Considering what lies ahead, I think you should take Gaelion with us too. Being a dragon, he should be able to sense when we approach the water dragon,” she said.
Was that because of dragon territorial marking or something? If that were the case, I wanted to say that Filo could probably do the same thing. But then again, Gaelion could fly too. That might come in handy if we got into trouble.
“Fine. It’s starting to look like we’ll be invading with a pretty big group,” I said.
When I really thought about it, taking the whole village to invade was a possibility too. But the villagers were busy peddling our wares and taking care of routine operations. We needed money. I could probably get a substantial amount of support from Siltvelt if I asked, but I didn’t want to rely on them any more than I already had. Doing so would probably just be digging myself into a hole. And seeing them all lined up like a bunch of pigeons bobbing their heads and praying to me was super creepy.
“It doesn’t matter, either way. We set sail tomorrow morning, so be ready,” I told everyone.
“Understood!”
And so time marched on.
Chapter Eleven: The Flawed Master
The next day, I rounded up my best fighters, boarded the ship, and set sail for Q’ten Lo. The ship crew was all from Siltvelt. They seemed a bit wary when Itsuki got on board, but I shot them a stern look and that shut them up.
It was around evening that day.
“Rafu!”
“Tadaaaa!”
“Stop posing like that on the ship’s bow! It’s bad luck!” I shouted.
Filo and Raph-chan must have lost their minds. They were standing at the front of the ship and holding their hands up in the air. It was the exact same pose made famous by that movie about the luxury cruise liner that ended up sinking. Where did they learn that? From Ren or Itsuki, most likely.
There was a lantern with fancy decorations hanging near the front of the ship and burning brightly. According to Werner and the old genmu, it was some kind of special item that would enable us to enter Q’ten Lo. They said something about it allowing us to navigate around the raging currents.
“That sure is a mysterious light,” Raphtalia whispered.
She approached the lantern and peered in at the flame.
“I can sense the flow of some peculiar power. We probably just need to follow that flow, but it seems to change randomly and quite often. It would be difficult to mimic the lantern’s effect on my own,” Atla said.
“Ugh . . .”
Fohl had gotten seasick and wasn’t doing too well. He’d been like this ever since getting on board. The difference between him now and when he’d won the duel in Siltvelt was like night and day. It was pitiful.
“Little Naofumi! Little Raphtalia! Look at those whirlpools,” Sadeena said.
She pointed at a whirling current near the ship. When I looked more closely, I realized we were actually sailing inside of an eddy too.
“If you watch carefully, you’ll notice that the current flows outward. Do you see it?” she asked.
“Yeah, now that you mention it,” I replied.
The whirlpools were all flowing in a set direction. It looked really creepy. But now it made sense that it would be easy to leave and tough to get in through these waters.
“So you and Raphtalia’s parents made your way through all these whirlpools?” I asked her.
“We sure did,” she replied.
It was hard to believe anyone could make it through waters filled with so many whirlpools. I was honestly impressed.
“It must be nice having such a lively bunch of friends, kid,” the old guy said after coming over to join us.
Before we left port, he’d wandered around the area buying all kinds of stuff and then asked me to transport it back for him. We had a bit of extra time, so I agreed. He said he’d make us some nice weapons after we got back, so I was looking forward to that.
Speaking of the port area, something about the countries beyond Siltvelt all reminded me of Japan. We’d seen a good mixture of humans and demi-humans of all races, but they seemed to be getting along well regardless.
“What kind of guy is your master, anyway? I remember hearing something about him being like Motoyasu,” I asked the old guy.
I couldn’t help but wonder about his past.
“Hmm . . . Well, he’s about as skilled as they come. I’m still not confident even I could match his craftsmanship,” he replied.
“And you say the weapons those assassins who attacked the village were using look like your master’s work?”
“Yeah, there’s no doubt about it. But if you asked me whether he was from Q’ten Lo, I really have no idea.”
“Oh really?”
“I guess you could say he was a bit of a vagabond. I wandered around from place to place studying blacksmithing at first too. But the moment I saw his work, I fell in love. I became his apprentice after that.”
To sum up what the old guy told me, he’d gone traveling from country to country as an adventurer when he was younger. He wanted to expand his horizons to make himself a better blacksmith. One day, he stopped in at a weapon shop that carried weapons made by local smiths. After spotting several masterfully crafted weapons there, he went and started an apprenticeship under the blacksmith who’d made them.
The masterpieces he’d seen were a katana and a sword. The old guy mentioned his own specialty had been making swords up until that point.
“Now that you mention it, I ask you for all kinds of different equipment, like it’s the norm. But now that I think about it, being able to handle all of that is really impressive,” I said.
I’d heard that even just making a sword was an incredibly complicated process. But on top of that, he was able to handle spears, bows, short swords, all kinds of other weapons, and even armor and shields. He honestly deserved the praise.
“If you say so. But yeah, I handle a little bit of everything at the shop. I do my best to fulfill custom orders too,” the old guy replied.
He acted really embarrassed.
“Master used to say that blacksmiths who specialize in a certain type of weapon always end up hitting a dead end, so we should keep an open mind and try to craft a variety of weapons and equipment,” he continued.
“That must be why you even make pajamas,” I retorted.
“That one was your fault for bringing me such a strange request in the first place, kid,” he shot back.
I guess a Filo Kigurumi wasn’t any stranger than a Pekkul Kigurumi.
“I do consult with specialists from time to time, but I always do my best to analyze materials and figure out how to make the most of them,” the old guy continued.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed. So what? You became an apprentice and worked on all kinds of different
stuff, then?” I asked.
“Pretty much. We traveled the world and did all kinds of things. Like getting into messes because of the master’s womanizing and me being forced to pay off his massive debts. I got all kinds of experience,” he replied.
“Umm, none of that has anything to do with blacksmithing, does it?” I said.
A bitter smile crept across the old guy’s face.
“That’s why very few of the master’s apprentices stuck with him until the end, despite how skilled he was. Aside from me and Tolly, everyone else ended up running away,” he replied.
“You mean Imiya’s uncle. But he ended up leaving before he finished too, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, right when the master was about to fully certify him, he had some family issues come up,” the old guy explained.
“I heard he was working at an ironmonger’s shop or something,” I said.
I mean, that wasn’t completely unrelated. But would a blacksmith really be content working at an ironmonger’s shop?
“Back to what I was saying. So I was still in the middle of my apprenticeship, but one day the master just left a letter on the table and disappeared. It said he had nothing left to teach me and that I should open shop wherever I wanted,” the old guy continued.
“That makes the guy sound kind of cool, but I’m guessing there’s a twist,” I replied.
I stared at the old guy suspiciously and he let out a loud, bitter laugh.
“Yeah, it was only a matter of hours before the women and debt collectors came flooding in like a tidal wave,” he said.
Yeah, his master was a complete deadbeat. If we ran into him, we should probably punish him right then and there on the spot.
“Now I understand what it is you want to do. We can settle your grudge and secure your future at the same time,” I said.
“I just realized that talking to you was a huge mistake, kid. I’ve never felt more certain of anything in my life,” the old guy replied.
He was squinting his eyes at me. What was that supposed to mean? Had I said something wrong?
“Am I wrong?” I asked.
“Well, I do wish he’d do something about his womanizing and irresponsible spending habits. I won’t deny that. But that’s not what I’m after,” he replied.
