Today, as always, I was swinging my hammer and pounding the iron with all my heart. It was a routine that had not changed since the day I became Master Dalton’s apprentice for the second time, but there was one thing that was different from the first day. It was …

“Hello. Ed, I brought your lunch.”

Tia, who had entered the blacksmith shop from the store in a very natural manner, called out to me without the slightest hesitation. In her hand was a woven basket with a handle, I stopped hitting my sword and turned back to Tia,

“Ahh, As always, I am sorry, Tia but Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I thanked her, and Tia responded with a smile. At first glance, it might look like I was a useless man being taken care of by her, but in reality, that was not the case. I have to make sure that Tia was involved with my Master by having her visit the smith frequently, or else she would be in trouble if she failed to fulfill the “joining the party of the hero” requirement.

I mean, to be honest, I wasn’t absolutely sure that I could meet the requirements with this. But I couldn’t let Tia do the blacksmithing, so this was the only way I could think of to help her.

“Sandwiches today, looks good.”

“Right? When you get back to the inn, be sure to tell the innkeeper what you think.”

“Oh, is that so today? I’ll tell her at night.”

Tia brought lunch from different places depending on the day. I guess she was paying attention to the menu, as it would inevitably tend to be the same if she kept ordering from the same place.

If we were on an adventure, we might have to eat the same old food for months, if not weeks, but since we were in town, it would be better to have a variety of food.

“Dalton-san, if you would like some.”

“Ah, well, I’ll take it then.”

At Tia’s suggestion, Master also smiled and reached for a sandwich. At first glance, his blunt manner and stern face seem to indicate that he was displeased at being interrupted from his work, but in fact he was in a good mood and smiling.

If one could tell the difference in these facial expressions, one would pass Master’stest, and Tia was easily able to tell the difference. It took me quite a while to get there, but it seemed to be a no-brainer for the Elf-sama, who excelled at communicating …… Muu.

“Ah, Hey Dalton-san. There’s something I’ve been thinking about, can I ask? ”

Tia, who was also sitting on a chair and munching on a sandwich, spoke to My Master. My Master, who was not very good at socializing, was no match for Tia’s friendliness, and answered her with a face that would make a child cry… In other words, he answered Tia with a normal face.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Whenever I come in, there doesn’t seem to be anyone in the store, is that okay?”

“The store? It’s true that sometimes when I’m concentrating on blacksmithing, I don’t know when a customer comes in, but I’m fine. If they need me, they’ll come back.”

“Ehh….? No, that’s not what I meant! I’m just wondering if it might be possible for someone to steal a few of those magnificent swords on display as there’s not even a store keeper there.”

“Ah, that’s what you mean.”

At Tia’s question, My Master smacked his knee and grinned.

“When we sell the swords we forge, we put a “true mark” on them in a certain place. If you steal a sword from a storefront, of course you don’t have a true seal, so you can’t sell it or even send it out to be sharpened. If you were going to use the sword as a disposable or a piece of jewelry, you might do it, but would you go to the trouble of stealing a sword and carrying it out of town while avoiding the eyes of the guards? If that’s the case, it would be much easier to kill some random adventurer outside of town and take his sword. So, well, the conclusion is that it’s unlikely anyone would steal a sword.”

“Really? What about faking that “true mark”?”

“Ha! A true mark is the skill of the craftsman who engraves it. For example, if a person can forge my true mark exactly like mine, it means that he himself has blacksmithing skills close to mine.  Why would someone like that go to the trouble of forging a true mark? If you forge a sword in your own name, there’s plenty of work out there for you, you know?”

“Ah, I certainly wouldn’t do that.’

Tia smiled bitterly at Master’s words. If one had the skill to forge the true marks of famous names, it was more profitable to forge one’s own sword, rather than forging the marks of second- or third-rate blacksmiths.

So as a result, no one would forge a true mark, and there would be no such thing …. which would mean that no one would steal a sword that couldn’t be exchanged for money.

“But it’s not like they never get stolen, right? From what I’ve heard, there’s at least one stolen every year.”

“OH, Really!? That’s not good!”

This was what I heard in the first round, not what I heard now, but it was before I came to this world, so it should be the same in this world. Tia’s eyes widened in surprise at my words, but Master laughed it off as if he knew where I was coming from.

“Heh, even if 10 pieces are stolen, the thieves of eight of them will be caught easily. The other two or so will end up not being caught, but if it’s one every five years or so, it’s much better than hiring a troublesome store keeper. That’s all there is to it.”

“Wow, that’s bold or rather appropriate. …”

“Hahaha, that’s just like My Master.”

It was easier to let the occasional theft go by than to worry about it and take countermeasures. Whether you think this was a cost-effective and brilliant response or just a random act was up to the individual, but since this store was run by Master alone, no one would say anything as long as he was happy with the situation.

Aware of this, Tia only made an exasperated face, but with that expression, Tia turned her gaze towards me.

“I don’t disagree with Dalton-san’s thinking, but Ed, don’t copy it, okay?”

“No I won’t! I have no intention of opening a store in the first place!”

“What the heck aren’t you training because you want your own shop?”

“Ah,, no. I just want to make the best sword for myself and my friends, so I have no intention of taking in an unspecified number of customers…Is that no good?”

“It doesn’t mean you can’t. Just don’t forget to always be objective. While you can do an unlimited amount of work for yourself, there will be no one to complain to when you make compromises. It is difficult to find the right answer only by yourself. Make a “standard” that is the same for everyone, not just a feeling. Draw a clear line at the stage before completing the work, and don’t waver from that line. The only way to draw that line is to decide for yourself, while experiencing pain to the extent that you don’t die.”

“Thank you, Master. I’m learning a lot.”

“Tsk! Don’t say that with an obedient face!”

I bowed my head seriously, and he frowned and turned away. He munched on his sandwich and went back to work without a word. This was the kind of attitude My master often adopted when he was embarrassed.

(Fufufu, Ed’s master is really cute, isn’t he?)

[You, don’t ever say that!? It’ll make My Master really grumpy!’]

[I won’t. That’s why I am telling you like this, right?]

Gently touching my hand, Tia smiled mischievously as she communicated using [Missing Talk]. If this had been a normal conversation, even if it was in a whisper, I would have had a barrage of fists falling on my head.

Let sleeping dogs lie. I didn’t want to continue the dangerous topic and get hurt, so I also took a bite of my sandwich and finished my meal to change my mind.

“Well then, I guess I’ll go back to work too. The lunch was delicious, Tia.”

“Thanks, but I didn’t make it.”

“Hahaha. See you later.”

“Okay. See you later.”

After lunch, Tia left the forge. After that, I immersed myself in blacksmithing again, and in the evening, Tia came to pick me up and we went home and went to bed. ….After about another week of such days, one morning.

“Ah, looks like someone stole my sword.”

“What!?”

I shouted dumbly in the morning at the words of my Master, who unusually had a bitter look on his face from the bottom of his heart.