CH 25

The day after I had officially joined the Sword of the Blue Sky.

I went out to the city with Grave.

Grave held a bag of blacksmithing tools in his left hand.

“Is there anything else?”

“Umm… I think that’s all of it.”

I looked into the bag Grave was holding open, checked its contents, and nodded.

We went to Doga’s smithy.

“I’m sorry, I always have to go shopping.”

“I don’t mind. I’m happy to be able to spend more time with you.”

“S, stop, don’t say such embarrassing words…”

“Hahaha. Well, if I let you go alone, you’ll definitely get lost.”

“Uh…”

I recently discovered that I had no sense of direction.

Just yesterday, when I went out to the city alone, I got lost. If Grave hadn’t found me, it would have surely escalated into a big deal.

“Be careful. Some people are looking for you because of the recent incident.”

“O, okay…”

“I wish I could spend more time with you. You’ve been receiving more requests, while I also have had an overwhelming number subjugation requests come in.”

It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who attracted attention at that time.

Grave had won the duel against the hero.

His heroism had spread throughout the city and beyond thanks to the travelers and merchants.

Although only a few days had passed, a flood of requests exclusively requesting him had arrived.

“It’s tough being popular.”

“Give me a break…”

While talking about nothing else, we continued along the road and arrived at Doga’s smithy.

“Could Doga be busy?”

“…Liliana?”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“Let me affirm this—do you remember the directions so far?”

“Of course! I’ve been here many times!”

“Is that so? I’m glad, then.”

I could see that Grave was truly relieved.

Was I that concerning?

When I went to the back of the smithy, I found Doga working.

When I attempted to speak to him,

“Oh! This presence—why if it isn’t none other than Liliana!”

“H, hello…”

I hadn’t spoken to him, yet.

It wasn’t just him being ‘attentive’, right?

“Doga, you’re becoming more and more of a pervert day by day.”

“Craftsmen are no different from perverts in a sense! What business do you have today? Isn’t this your day off?”

“Actually, there is something I want to talk about…”

“So, you want to work at my house—”

““No, that’s not it.””

“Guho!”

While clutching his chest, Doga collapsed painfully.

We had gone through that exchange many times. I was used to it.

As soon as he realized that we were unfazed, Doga got up.

“So? What do you want to talk about?”

“…Yes. Actually, I’m now an official member of the Sword of the Blue Sky.”

“Is that so? Congratulations! Are you alright with that?”

“I am. Hence, Grave is going to prepare a smithy for me.”

“Ooh! Is that so—huh!?”

Doga’s facial was dyed an astonishing color.

Apparently, Doga noticed what I was implying.

“I, is that it? You won’t be coming here anymore?”

…He doesn’t need to be so depressed.

Doga suddenly withered.

“N, no! The building hasn’t been decided, yet! I think it’ll take a while, so, until then—”

“—Of course you may! You can use my smithy as you please!”

“Well, that’s a little…”

Well, should I be relieved that the discussion was going well for the time being?

It was going well, I hoped.

***

A few days had passed and it was time for dinner.

“Liliana! I found a good property!” Said Rigard.

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s not that far from here, and the road is simple, so you won’t get lost, …probably!”

‘Probably’?

The next day—

—I was escorted by Grave to the building that Rigard had found.

Along the way, Grave explained the building.

“It’s a two-story, single-family, house. A young couple lived there, but now they’re moving to another city. As such, it’s vacant. The uncle who managed it gave me an endorsement that I could renovate it however I like.”

“It’s amazing how you were able to find a place so quickly. Did you buy it? Do you know how much it cost?”

“When I asked the boss, he said he didn’t mind.”

In other words, Grave didn’t know.

It seemed that Rigard was adamant about not telling him.

The building was probably expensive…

“I must do my best.”

“Perhaps, the reason why the boss doesn’t want to tell you the price is because he doesn’t want you to overexert yourself.”

Grave stopped after saying that.

“We’ve arrived.”

“This place is—”

—that place would become my smithy.

It was a stone house. The wall was a bit musty, but it was white.

A small signboard was hanging at the entrance. It was quite the fashionable building.

“It seems that it used to be a café.”

“Seems plausible.”

“Let’s renovate the first floor and turn it into a smithy. I think leaving the second floor as it is would be for the best. That way, you’ll be able to stay there. What do you think?”

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea.”

To have my own smithy—it was like a dream come true.

“You can name the place if you want.”

“Name the place?”

“Yes. Does your smithy have a name? Doga’s smithy is called, ‘Doga’s Workshop.’”

“That’s… somehow to be expected?”

I knew it was rude, but I actually didn’t remember the name of Doga’s smithy because the person himself had a strong character…

“So, what’s the name of your smithy?”

“Well, if you were to suddenly ask that…”

“Maybe you can use Doga as an example? How about ‘Liliana’s Workshop’? It’s too long, I know…”

“Hmm…”

Having to name my smithy was quite embarrassing…

…If possible, I’d like the name to be unique. But, Grave gave me an idea.

“Oh! Then, how about ‘Lili’s Workshop’?”

“Yes. Not only does it sound adorable, it’s perfect, right?”

“L, Lili’s Workshop…”

“Indeed.”

‘Lili’s Workshop.’

A sign with the smithy’s name engraved on it would be displayed in that very house.

That was still a while away.

I was no longer a court blacksmith.

I was the blacksmith dedicated to the Sword of the Blue Sky—Liliana.

E/N: Once it gets out that she is capable of forging holy swords, she is going to have lines of people begging to be her apprentice.  It also wouldn’t be strange for wars to break out between kingdoms just to possess her…

***T/N: I hope the author is aware of that possibility, and put it into play!