CH 94

“…… Oh? OHHHHHH!?”

The big mountains far up in the distance and the towns at the foot of the mountains with their many strands of smoke rising in the sky… I know, I know! This time I remember it well!

“Is this the next world? Hey Ed, this is… Kya!?”

“You did it! You did it Tia! Your lottery luck is the best!”

“What!?”

Tia had a puzzled look on her face, but I hugged her with a big smile on my face. My joy was not going to be stopped by such a thing.

“Ed! Hey, Ed! Mou~, that’s enough!”

“Oww!?”

But when she kicked me in the leg, I stopped. Ugh, it hurts. But it’s a pain of delight that I accepted with open arms.

“So, what is this place? Why are you so happy?”

“Fufufufu, this is… the world where my master lives!”

“Master?  Does that mean that the hero of this world is Ed’s master?”

“Well, yeah! So, let’s get going!”

I took Tia’s hand and we went on our way. I arrived at a town of blacksmiths like Atorumtein in the first world.

However, the people there were not human. The only people walking around town were no taller than my chest. The men were usually muscular, and the women wre plump and round, which was a very similar characteristic to the race that Tia and I know so well.

“Hey Ed, is this a Dwarf town?”

“Maybe. They are a race called ‘Miner Tribe,’ and they are a little short, they like booze, and they are good at blacksmithing, but I don’t know if they are exactly the same as the Dwarves you know”

“Hmm, I can’t help but think they’re the same… but it’s because the world is different, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Well, if you treat them normally, there’s no problem.”

It was extremely dangerous to assume that something that may be the same was “the same” because it was similar. However, they were the same as us. We could communicate with each other, and since we were not hostile in terms of race, there would be no problem if we treated each other in a civilized and normal manner.

“What do you mean!?”

And then we heard such yelling coming from the far end of the street. As we slowly walked closer, we saw a human man who looked a little older than me and a stubborn-looking miner standing facing each other.

“Is there anything like this, huh? I don’t have a sword for a brat like you. Get the hell out of here.”

“A brat!? Did you know that I’m Akutor’s Hero!?”

“How can I not know you when you say it right in front of me? Are you stupid?”

“Guh!? Then, according to the agreement, the sword――”

“and I told you to take it!”

The miner pointed to a sword propped up on a nearby wall. But when the self-proclaimed hero saw it, he became even more agitated and raised his voice.

“Don’t bullshit me! Aren’t those the common swords lying in your shop!? Smith a sword for the hero, that’s your job!”

“That’s right. That’s why I am selling you that sword. If you want me to properly smith you a sword, come back when you have acquired proper skills!”

“…Damn it! You’ll regret it!”

“Ha! You better train your arm than your mouth and make me regret it, asshole.”

The self-proclaimed Hero spat out a few words to the miner, who took an uncooperative attitude, and left the place. With that, the miner man also walked away, and peace returned to the area.

“Okay then let’s go”

“Yeah… Huh?”

I started to walk again, but Tia suddenly tugged at my hand curiously.

""

“Hey Ed, where are we going?”

“Hmm? Where? Well, my master’s place.”

“No, I mean, that person is the hero and your master, right?”

“Huh? Ah! Ah, yes. Heheheh, just like me at first.”

Tia’s words made me chuckle as I remembered my first round. Yeah, it’s not that I was dumb, it’s just that if I didn’t know any better, I would.

“Mou~, what’s with that face?”

“No no, I just thought I made the same mistake. It’s okay, because the real hero is ahead of us now.”

“The real one? Does that mean the person we just saw is a fake?

“It’s not like that, but… I’ll talk about the details later. I’d rather say hello to my master while I still can. I don’t know when I’ll be able to see him if he’s stuck in his blacksmith shop.”

“Hmm. I don’t know, but I get it. Then tell me later, okay? ”

I nodded broadly at Tia, who appealed to me with her eyes, and I stepped into the store where the miner man had just entered. There, I found a man who made no attempt to hide his grumpy attitude, frowning at the armaments displayed in the store.

“Hmm? Who the hell are you?”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Ed, and I am a wandering blacksmith. I have come here to ask Blacksmith Dalton-sama to teach me.”

“Che, Don’t talk so smugly. I’m in such a bad mood right now, okay? If you show me something stupid, I’m going to snap it off.”

“I’m ready. Tia, give me that sword.”

“Uh, yeah.”

I told him, took the silver sword from Tia, and presented it to Dalton. Dalton took the sword, looked at it with serious eyes, and called out to me.

“Let me ask. Is this your best work?”

“No, sir.”

“… Then why did you show me such a half-baked thing?”

“The best environment, the best materials, the best tools, the best user …, it’s not realistic to have everything you want. That’s why I hammered that sword with everything I had available to me at the time.”

Ultimate metals whose existence was only known, and magical cauldrons that once existed. I could never create a masterpiece in pursuit of such a dream story, even if I spent my entire life doing so. If that’s the case, then  I would do the best I could with the reality in front of me. Hearing my determination, Dalton strokes the beard on his chin, deep in thought.

“… this is not bad. Just to make sure, you forged it by yourself?”

“? Yes, that’s right, but…?”

""

“Humph…..”

Dalton snorted and kept staring at the sword, and a bead of sweat ran down my forehead.

In the first round, I was just an amateur and most of what I did here was chores. Toward the end, I was taught a few things, and after obtaining the [Master Smith] in a later world, I began to do some serious blacksmithing, which was why Dalton’s skills in this world were still burned into my eyes.

This was the 48th world. In other words, I worked on blacksmithing for about fifty years after this, but of course my priority was to be a member of the hero party, so I didn’t have much time to devote to it seriously,….?

(Hmm? Thinking about it, the amount of time I spent devoting myself to smithing wasn’t that big of a deal, was it?  But in spite of that…do I actually have a talent for smithing?）

Somehow, I felt something stuck in the corner of my head. But before I could even worry about it, Dalton opened his mouth.

“Alright then. I’ll use you at least for chores for now. I’m not saying you cannot watch and learn, but I don’t have time to teach you how to do it, either. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course. I’m looking forward to working with you, master.”

“What do you mean, ‘Master’!?”

At my words, Dalton, who had returned the sword to me as if to press it against me, twisted his mouth and disappeared into the back of the workshop. At first glance, his demeanor appeared to be sullen, but unlike earlier, I knew that this time it was a subtle attempt to hide his embarrassment.

It seems that my full strength on that day had increased to the extent that I was able to break through the first hurdle.

“Come on, get your ass in here and do your chores!”

“Ah, yes! Sorry Tia, I think We’ll probably be staying here for a long time, can you get us a place to stay?”

“Okay. See you later.”

“Oh!”

I responded to Tia, who sent me off with a smile and raised her arm, as I stepped into the scorching forge.

(T/N: I’m sorry, Got invested playing Persona 5 royal.)