CH 109

“I, see…”

I muttered as I finished reading my master’s {Records Of The Hero’s Story}. There were a few unpleasant developments in the middle of the story, but if this is the end, it is safe to say that Master was rewarded.

If I was allowed to be greedy, I would like to know even if my Master’s sword really defeated the Demon Lord. but this was only the heroic tale of My master’s …… the Blacksmith Hero. It was inevitable that the best sword would end up in the hands of the right person, so it was an unattainable luxury.

“I wonder who the girl at the end is? It’s also strange that she has a sword that looks like the hero’s sword.”

“Hmm, if we’re told that a girl appeared in the world where we haven’t spent even a year, 300 years later, it’s hard to imagine. Besides, I don’t even know what kind of sword is  [Twilight], let alone something resembling it.”

“From the name, it looks like your sword, doesn’t it?”

Tia’s gaze turned to my waist as she said this. Certainly, going by their names [Dawnbreaker, the Sword of Dawn] and [Twilight, the Sword of Dusk], there seems to be a connection.

“It’s possible that [Twilight] is a further upgraded version of my [Dawnbreaker] but if that’s the case…. then maybe it’s the word that we gave to the Hero of the Kingdome Of Aktor?”

That sword was probably treasured as a sword similar to [Twilight], so perhaps this girl who has it was a princess from other country, or a descendant of the Hero from that time….?

“… Not possible. There are too many things I don’t understand, like the world after 300 years. Well, let’s just be happy that master’s will didn’t end up being twisted into a shitty interpretation.”

“That’s true. Then, What are you going to do now?”

“You read what I read, and now I want to build a furnace for blacksmithing. So, I’m sorry, but can you help me?”

“Of course! Do you want me to get your equipment out for you?　Or will you do it yourself?”

“I’d rather do it myself”

“Okay.”

At my words, Tia went to the bed she had just set up and lay down, and she held out her hand to me in the elegant manner of a noble young lady.

“Come on”

“Alright”

I grabbed her hand reverently and the strength drained from Tia’s arm. As I gently put her slumped hand back on the bed, I heard Tia’s voice inside me.

[You’ve been very courteous to me, haven’t you? Great, great.]

“Isn’t it obvious?'”

[Don’t play tricks on me just because I can’t move, okay?]

“I won’t!? No, I’ll do it if you want… Do you want me to draw something on your forehead?”

[If you do that, I’ll sing loudly and continuously, you know?]

“…I’d hate that.”

While chatting idly, I put my hand into the [Stranger Box] which opened without any problem, and took out the contents one after another. First of all, of course, the iron furnace, which was the center of everything. Due to legal problems, I couldn’t buy a new one, but I found a used one in good condition, so I took it out on the floor.

Next was a large quantity of bricks to surround the furnace. The bricks made by miners, not dwarves …, have a much higher heat resistance than those used in general construction, so you can actually make a rather good furnace just by assembling these bricks. Well, in this case, I was only going to use them as they are supposed to be used to avoid burns and to increase the thermal efficiency of the furnace.

After taking out a set of other blacksmithing tools, such as an anvil, I grimly turned my shoulders and walked toward the bed again. There, I took Tia’s hand, and Tia, whose body shook with a jerk, slowly opened her eyes and let out a small exhale.

“..Fu~ Are you done?”

“I’ve got what I need for now. I’ll take care of the rest of the assembly, so you can get some rest, Tia”

“I just slept, so I’m not tired enough to rest, but… Ah, that’s right.”

Tia jumped up and walked over to the table where we had been, and placed her hand on the crystal ball that was glowing on it. Then she returned and seemed to be in a good mood.

“Oh, did you get any good skills?”

“Fufufu, secret!”

“It’s a secret again… You didn’t tell me the last time either, you know? Is that still a secret?”

“Ara, you didn’t notice? I’ve already used that one, and I’m sure you have felt it, too.”

“Huh!? That’s a lie, When did that happen!?”

I have no recollection of Tia doing anything special or me doing anything special. I was surprised and Tia gave me a mischievous smile and poked me on the cheek.

“Oh well, I put in a lot of effort for nothing.”

“Effort!? Gghh, I’m sorry ….”

“It’s fine. The last one I got is called ‘A Pinch of Love Cookpot] and it says that when I cook a home-cooked meal, the flavor improves according to how much I like the person I’m cooking for.”

“Really?”

Certainly, among the lunches that Tia brought, there was a homemade dish that she mixed in with it. It tasted delicious as usual, but… I don’t remember it being particularly delicious.

“Eh, maybe you don’t like me that much…?”

“What makes you think that! I don’t know the details, but seeing your reaction, it seems like it won’t become especially tasty and go beyond if it’s cooked normally with normal ingredients.”

“Eh? Then what is the use?”

“You know, when we went to test out your sword, you praised the soup I made in the camp for being delicious, right? Actually, it was just a simple soup made from rehydrated dried meat.”

“Huh!?”

Those words reminded me of the taste of the soup I drank that day. It wasn’t amazingly good, but it was pretty tasty for a camping soup. I thought Tia had put a lot of time and effort into it, using lots of spices and stuff. …

“Oh, so it’s a skill that raises the lower limit, not the upper limit.”

I guess the point was not to make complex food taste better, but to make even the most basic of dishes taste better. For those of us who spend a lot of time out of town, with exceptions like this one, this is a pretty useful skill.

“From what I’ve tried, it looks like you’re right. Good for you, Ed, from now on you won’t have to eat the not-so-delicious food when we’re encamped.”

“I’m honestly grateful for that… Hmm? But then what about Tia herself?”

“That’s fine. Because I like myself!”

“Ah,…, that’s good to hear.”

Well, is it also affected by the creator’s liking of themselves? …. Then it seems that Tia herself wouldn’t feel bad no matter what she eats.

“Hey Ed, did you just make fun of me a little bit by any chance?”

No, I didn’t! I just thought it was great that you could be so straightforward and self-loving.”

“Really? If you hate yourself, I don’t think you’ll have any fun every day.”

“That’s true.”

If everyone could truly love themselves, the world would probably be a much happier place than it is now. … I can’t judge whether that would be good or bad, and to be honest, I was not particularly interested in it. If my partner in front of me was smiling happily every day, that fact alone was enough for me.

“Well, I guess I’ll just go ahead and assemble these.”

“Now that I’m back in shape, do you want me to help you?”

“Nah, It’s a bit of a technical job.”

“I see. Then maybe I’ll just enjoy the softness of the bed for a while longer.”

Smiling at Tia, who buried her face in her pillow, I checked the materials I had taken out again before piling bricks around the furnace. The process of joining the bricks, which were different from ordinary bricks and whitish in color, with special clay was a simple but important process.

Place bricks. Apply clay. Place bricks. Apply clay. Pile bricks on top of each other. Apply clay. Put the bricks on ….?

“What is this?”

Suddenly, I felt a knock and a light touch on my finger, not unlike a brick. I grabbed it and brought it in front of my face, and what I found in my hand was a blood-red jewel the size of an adult’s index finger.