CH 59

Chapter 59 - To the Workshop of Doga, the Dwarf

After leaving the adventurer’s guild, Souya went to the adventurer’s tavern next to the guild and bought a bottle of 20-year-old whiskey, the most expensive liquor in the store, to give as a souvenir to Doga, the dwarf blacksmith.

The price was twelve gold coins. The price was quite high, but Souya was in a position to ask him to make weapons, and above all, Doga was an old acquaintance 20 years ago.

Considering these factors, the expense was well within the acceptable range for Souya.

In the meantime, he decided to ask the master of the adventurer’s tavern about the location of Doga’s workshop. I should have asked Charlotte, the second receptionist of the guild, about the location when I visited the adventurer’s guild earlier, but we got sidetracked in the middle of our conversation and Souya, stupidly, had forgotten about it.

Fortunately, the master of the bar was well versed in the information of Ilstadt due to his profession, and the fee for the information was a service for the purchase of high-quality whiskey, so Souya was given the location free of charge, and was also given a simple map.

The fact that he has not yet completely lost his sense of the real world, where he can easily search for places he does not know, made Souya chuckle as he looked at the hand-drawn map that was handed to him.

(What worries me is that you can’t get an introduction unless you’re a Gold-class adventurer or higher.)

According to Charlotte’s story, Souya, who was still a Bronze adventurer, was in no position to be introduced to Doga.

It’s just a convenient interpretation for us to say that because of his fame as a demon slayer, it’ll be fine even he’s just a bronze-class.

“I could have asked Charlotte-kun, a gold-class adventurer, to come with me later, when she is off duty, but …… I can’t afford to owe her any more than I already do.”

I just asked her to help me procure some magic stones from the magician’s guild. He said that he failed to give Charlotte the money, but that she would give it to him for free in exchange for Souya teaching her magic. 

But teaching magic is not something that can be done overnight. There is a limit to what Souya can teach you in a few hours. Souya thought it was just an excuse to meet with him.

Souya felt some regret about his promise to Charlotte, but for now he was finishing up the work he had decided to do during his vacation. In the meantime, he was able to find a way to procure the magic stone, and he was able to easily settle the score with the Thief Jackal with the eye patch that he had been worried about. The only thing left to do was to procure an adventuring weapon to replace the broken saber.

Relying on the hand-drawn map he had received from the tavern master, Souya headed for Doga’s workshop.

According to the map, the workshop was located in a remote house near the south gate of Ilstadt. There were few stores in the area, and it seemed a little inconvenient to live here, but there was a mountainous area to the south of Ilstadt. There seemed to be a workshop nearby where mined ore was processed in a furnace. It seemed to be suitable for the purpose of procuring materials and prioritizing the function as a smithy.

It’s also possible that, in the same way that the wood elf Merylou can’t be separated from the forest, the dwarves have a habit of setting up base near the mountains.

Souya stopped and looked at the building in front of him. The workshop was made of solid stone, as it was the home of the dwarves. Smoke was rising from the chimney of the workshop, and the sound of hammers being hammered in a steady rhythm could be heard from inside.

A metal plate inlaid in the entranceway had the words “Doga Grundy’s Weapons Workshop” engraved on it. This must be the place. Souya decided to ring the doorbell.

“Hello. Is Doga-san there?”

There was no immediate answer, but after a minute of waiting, the hammering stopped and he heard footsteps approaching from the back of the building.

When the footsteps stopped, the front door slowly opened in front of me and revealed a middle-aged dwarf with white hair and a white beard, two heads shorter than Souya.

“…… Who are you? Never seen your face before. From your looks, are you an arms dealer? If you’re a salesman, look elsewhere.”

Blacksmith Doga. He was currently restricting his work, and we were worried that he might not be in good health, but from what Souya could see, he did not seem to have changed much. The lifespan of a dwarf is almost twice as long as that of a human, and it was probably due to the fact that he originally had an old face.

When Souya saw the Dwarf with a Buddha’s head on his shoulders, dressed in simple work clothes, he suddenly felt nostalgic because of the memories of his previous adventures, but Doga knew him by his name when he was a young man, Rei, not Souya.

Souya decided to greet Doga as if they were meeting for the first time.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Souya. I’ve come to ask Doga, who is a renowned blacksmith, to make a weapon for me. Here is a letter of introduction from the Adventurer’s Guild.”

Souya smiled and handed over the letter of introduction that Charlotte had written.

After receiving the letter of introduction, Doga peeled off the wax seal, unfolded the letter he had taken out and began to read through the text.

After a few moments, Doga finished reading the introduction, stroked his white beard, looked tired, and sighed loudly.

“Hmm …… Souya. It’s a name I’ve never heard before …… Bronze-class? Do you know that I’m limiting my work? …… And this letter of introduction …… has strange handwriting.”

Doga looked at Souya with a dubious expression. He seemed to be looking at him with suspicion. It may be that he thinks it is a fake letter.

The person who usually writes the letter of introduction to Doga would be Louise, who serves as the receptionist. As a substitute receptionist, Charlotte rarely writes letters of introduction, which may be why he feels uncomfortable with the handwriting.

By the way, I think Charlotte said that she wrote the letter of introduction more carefully than usual. There was a possibility that this might have been a bad thing. In any case, Souya almost frowned at Doga’s poor reaction.

“It said that you’re a demon slayer, but is it true? …… Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ve decided that I’ll only make weapons for adventurers of Gold-class or higher. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave for the day.”

Souya smiled at Doga’s overly curt attitude. From the looks of it, there was no way to get around it unless I presented my own gold-class adventurer’s card. 

He had always had a strange stubborn streak in him. He was very strict about the rules and regulations he set for himself. Although his bad premonition had come true, Souya felt relieved to see that he had not changed.

However, Souya could not just give up and leave, as Doga had told him. Whether or not he gets a new weapon is a matter concerning his future adventure.

In the past, I was optimistic that I could take it easy and have a second adventure in another world, but after my last fight to the death with the Silver Demon, my perception has changed.

It is necessary to have the power to protect my precious friends. If that’s the case, I guess I’ll have to cheat a little. Souya hesitated for a bit, but decided to speak to Doga as a different person than usual.

“You really haven’t changed, have you? Isn’t that stubbornness what allows you to strike steel?”

Souya spoke lightly and turned a provocative gaze on Doga, a change from his earlier politeness.

“…… What did you say? How rude! …… Whatever you say…”

“It’s me ……. Don’t you understand? Well, I have no choice. And I don’t want to make it easy for you. I’m relieved.”　

When Souya confirmed that there was no one in the vicinity, he began waving his fingers and chanting magic.

“Magic is a guise. The shape of it will be flexible. [Transform].”

As the chanting cleared away the smoke of magic, Souya was transformed into the form of a boy.

His height is still the same, but his eyes were sharp and his hair was casual and shining silver. Compared to the neatly dressed and sophisticated Souya, his appearance was prickly and rough.

“…… Are you …… Rei?”

Doga’s face was deeply creased, and his eyes were wide with surprise. It was a bit of a rough way to call it an emotional reunion, but I guess it had to be done.

Besides, Souya wanted someone to whom he could reveal what had happened twenty years ago. Douga has a stubborn and troublesome personality, but he is just as outspoken and righteous. He can be trusted. Even if I reveal it here, it will not be conveyed to Ilstadt.

“Grandpa Doga, aren’t you quite cold for a reunion after 20 years? Even though I bought you your favorite drink to celebrate our reunion. So you don’t you need this.”

Souya, who had transformed by using magic into the magician Rei, held up a bottle of fine whiskey and laughed mischievously.

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