CH 38

Fireplace Flame (3)

Why did you step back?

It's not just because the cost of protesting is scary.

Hendrick sticks to what he thinks is right, but now he realizes what mistake he has made.

'Hendrick, Hendrick. What the hell have you done?'

Moment.

Old memories came alive.

Hendrick, who is called Master Blacksmith, also had a trainee period.

At that time, it was a job I chose for a living rather than a sense of duty as a blacksmith like now, and I worked day and night chores to establish myself as a formal blacksmith as soon as possible.

Beating was typical.

Dmitry now has abolished the bad habits of the past, but the bruises on his body never went away when Hendrick was learning to work.

One day.

A mercenary came to the forge.

The mercenary, who had just started to get out of the man's tee, brought only one silver and asked him to sell his sword.

"I am well aware that it is not enough money to buy a useful sword. But this is all my possessions, and if you sell me the sword, I will pay you back tenfold later. I have a family to support. All I have is a strong body, so I need a weapon to make money."

It was common.

People who had neither land to farm nor special talents, believed in only one body and jumped into mercenary work.

It was the same case.

The master of the smithy was not a compassionate person enough to give a sword to a man he had never seen for the first time, so he spit bitter swear words at the mercenary and drove him out of the smithy.

At that time, the back of the mercenary was truly miserable.

Hendrik could not stand still as he looked at the slumped shoulders carrying the burden of the family on his shoulders.

Master secret.

Hendrick followed the mercenary.

Then, without receiving anything in return, he gave him the first sword he had made without his master's knowledge.

happy.

Seeing the mercenaries shed tears and express their gratitude, Hendrick thought that this might be the happiness of a blacksmith.

It was the moment when he was proud of his job for the first time, and Hendrick returned to the forge and immersed himself in his work with the thought of making a better sword.

But after 1 month.

Facing the mercenary's corpse, Hendrick felt the world collapsing.

Behind crying families, people told why the mercenary had died.

"This time, he died while serving as an escort at the upper level. Ttttttt, poor boy. If only the sword had not been broken in the process of dealing with the bandits, I would have been able to come back alive just like the other guys. That's why you should use good weapons."

Yeah. Everyone else is fine, but he said he was dead?"

my heart sank.

My hands and feet were trembling.

What he thought was a good thing, put the life of a mercenary into death.

A strange feeling arose.

It was then that I understood why the Master had said it was too early, but no matter how quickly the regrets were, they could not turn the reality in front of them.

So Hendrik lived as a poor man for a while. Without the help of his close friend, Baron Romero, he would not have returned to the forge.

In the midst of suffering, Hendrick vowed never to repeat this again, and was able to overcome such a painful past and grow into a Master Blacksmith.

By the way.

I made the same mistake I did back then.

Because he didn't like Roman, he felt complacent about going to war with this on the outskirts, so Hendrick forgot his past mistakes for a short time and repeated the mistakes he regretted countless times.

'It's really pathetic.'

The excuse didn't work.

For whatever reason, as Roman pointed out, the trash he handed in almost killed an innocent person.

swallowed the horse

made no excuses

If Roman punishes.

Whether that was the price of protest, or some other punishment, I was going to accept it sweetly.

"I will pay for my actions."

"Master!"

At Hendrick's words, the blacksmiths stopped them with bewildered faces.

They could not accept the current situation.

Hendrik was their heaven, but he was not Baron Romero, nor could he be punished by Roman Dmitry or anything like that.

Roman held the hilt.

Hendrick looked up at Roman's face, waiting for punishment.

That moment.

Roman's eyes met.

"If you are so sorry for your mistake, I will not question you any more. Let's get back to the basics. I know that Master Hendrick is a great blacksmith. Therefore, I would like some armor to arm 30 soldiers."

Roman's words.

Hendrick's pupils shook greatly at the unexpected remark this time.

He was an absurd guy.

Until recently, he acted as if he was going to eat him right away, and when he gained momentum, he did not ask for responsibility.

Roman knew.

Hendrick.

in his position.

How hard it is to admit your mistakes in front of your subordinates.

'Anyone can make mistakes. At the very least, if the mistake is something that can be rectified, repentance will give you another chance.'

Eup yam genus (泣斬山謖).

When he cut off Suha's head while swallowing his sorrow, it was a decision he made when the mistake was absolutely unacceptable.

It was different now.

Hendrick is a man with a bad relationship with Roman, and he timidly took revenge without thinking about what would happen to his own judgment.

If he didn't show any remorse, he could call it malice, but at least Hendrick knew what was right and what was wrong.

'Penalty and punishment should not contain emotion.'

It was Baek Jung-hyuk's iron rule, and he always acted according to the iron rule.

said Roman.

"As I said before, I don't think Master Hendrick was intentionally trying to protest. Perhaps it's because of their resentment towards me, and I fully understand that feeling. So, I would like to bury these two mistakes. All I want is a sword and armor that will protect the lives of my soldiers."

It was a stick and a carrot.

After waving his whip until his skin was burning red, Roman presented the carrot in a cunning eloquence.

Roman's attitude.

At that, Hendrick was amazed again.

'Roman has changed.'

heard rumors

In particular, he was aware of the reputation around him that he had really changed due to this enlistment recruitment.

But seeing it in person was different.

Hendrick, who had been ignoring the truth, had only now seen the true face of Roman.

It was different from before.

Roman, who had dirty and clouded eyes, became a strong man, and the charisma that came from his sharp eyes made his heart tremble.

It's not just about changing your appearance.

From one to ten, Roman was different from his past appearance to the extent that it was thought that he was a completely different person.

How is this possible?

Obviously, there are traces of Roman who was called Dmitry's jerk, but it could not be called Roman at that time.

Prejudice has been stripped away.

acknowledged

Roman has changed, and today's job is her own mistake.

It was unacceptable that he, who had regretted countless times over the past, gave garbage to his personal feelings.

Hendrick said.

" Again, I'm really sorry about this. In the future, no matter what happens, I will not repeat such a thing. And as an apology, I will prepare the weapons and armor for your soldiers with the finest iron that Dmitry is proud of."

After all the riots are over.

Roman decided to pick up the goods later and left the forge.

In the process, I heard Hendrick's circumstances through another blacksmith.

"It was Master Hendrick's masterpiece, the sword that Master Roman stole that day. It took six months to come up with it, and it was a masterpiece that I barely finished while living in the blacksmith for a whopping three months. But he sold it to a street vendor at a bargain price, so it was natural to be angry. What really upset Master Hendrik was that, rather than the fact that Master Roman stole it and sold it, the masterpiece he had created could not find its owner and was sold at a low price."

I understood.

Why was Hendrick angry?

What was the reason for throwing garbage at Roman, even though he knew that it was against the spirit of craftsmanship?

Roman from the previous life has crossed the line.

an unforgivable mistake.

So, before leaving for the last time, Hendrick said to Roman:

"I have not completely forgiven you for this. I will grant your request because I was wrong, but I still cannot tolerate the neglect of the eldest son of the Dmitry family in the work of the forge. keep in mind Dmitry's roots lie in the forge. In the future, if the day comes when you make even a single piece of garbage with your own hands, that might be an opportunity to see you again."

Hendrick was stubborn.

Although he said that this incident had removed a layer of prejudice, he did not recognize Roman as Dmitry's successor.

By the way.

Even as Hendrick, there was one misjudgment.

'The Roman Dmitry Hendrick remembers must have been a nerd who had no interest in the smithy. Garbage that ignores the roots of the family and enjoys only pleasure. It's understandable why Dmitry's people hate him. However.'

Baek Jung-hyuk.

He was different.

"From now on, shall we prepare for dispatch?"

moved on

For this outing, one more purpose remained.

* * *

The place where Roman arrived.

It was a workshop where he practiced closing.

The workshop, which was old and shabby back then, was neatly organized enough to be able to work right now.

right after the war was decided.

Roman told Hans to make it usable for its original purpose.

long time no see.

Shh.

I walked inside and looked around.

It was a nice place.

The ceilings were high and ventilation was good, and the lighting properly separated the areas to be lit and the areas to be darkened.

For a blacksmith, ventilation is essential.

The smoke and dust from the coal fire obstructed the view, so when checking a forge suitable for work, ventilation was the first priority.

after that.

I saw familiar things.

An oven to boil hot.

An anvil that looks cold and heavy and an oak pedestal that supports it.

And hammers and tongs, etc.

It was something I had seen in Hendrick's work space, but for Roman, the present moment was special.

'The first day comes to mind.'

first.

The day I started my life as a Roman.

Hearing Dmitry's history in a shabby shack, Roman thought that maybe this was his fate.

Cheonma Baek Jung-hyuk.

In the history of Moorim, he is simply described as the first in the world (天下第一), but those who were even a little interested in him could see a different side of Baek Jung-hyeok.

That's exactly what this blacksmith looked like.

Right after he decided to leave the army, Baek Jung-hyuk always visited the blacksmith's shop and performed his own ritual.

life of struggle.

To survive.

to win.

And, to rule.

Baek Joong-hyuk expressed his soul in front of the hot flames.

Hwareuk.

rumbling rumble.

lit a fire in the fireplace.

from now on.

It was his turn to make a sword just for himself, in preparation for the war in the future.