kscans

Chapter 2 - The Shoddy Sword and the Soldier

"Hm? What’s that? Sounds like some kind of trouble..."

"Oh, it must be that weapon shop again. Honestly, it's just awful."

As I looked in the direction of the voices, the lady from the stall sighed and muttered.

"That weapon shop?"

"He's a traveling merchant who shows up from time to time. He's got a good selection, but not a very good reputation. The other day, he was arguing with a customer about a knife not being tempered properly."

"Huh, so they have guys like that in the Royal Capital too."

"The Royal Army tries to crack down on them, but they slip in like rats. Most likely, some tourist got tricked."

Even in Rieten, there was a shop that sold poor quality pots and pans at high prices. As a blacksmith, I couldn't just ignore it, so I was always warning people. Of course, this time was no different.

"Ma'am, I'm going to go check it out. The skewers were delicious."

"Be careful. I hear the owner has a short temper."

I left the skewer stall and hurried to the edge of the market. In the center of a crowd, a man and a woman were arguing. It was a young man who had spread a carpet on the cobblestones, and a woman standing before him with an angry look on her face.

"You said it was a Steel Ore sword, so it would be good against plant monsters! It couldn't even cut a Trent branch!"

"Like I said, you used it wrong. Steel Ore doesn't break that easily. You sayin' I sold you a fake? Then show me proof."

"Tch...!"

No matter how much she yelled, the man just grinned, completely unfazed. Maybe he was used to this sort of thing. The woman was holding a broken Falchion. It was a sword with a wider blade than most, one that could be used for striking as well as cutting. Just as the stall owner had said, the woman was a customer, and they were arguing over something she had bought from the street vendor. But, Steel Ore, huh. From a quick glance at the cross section and the blade's temper line, I could clearly see the man was lying.

"Excuse me. I'm a blacksmith myself, what's going on here?"

"Huh? What's it to you, old man? Got a complaint? Don't go stickin' your nose in my business."

"That Falchion isn't made from Steel Ore, it's Tinrock, isn't it? It's not good to lie, pal."

The moment I pointed out the material, the street vendor froze. His smirk vanished, and a look of anxiety appeared on his face.

"W, what!? I didn't use any Tinrock! Don't you go makin' baseless accusations!"

"Then what's this cross section? You can see the porous pattern. Any blacksmith would know at a glance that this is a characteristic of Tinrock."

"Guh...!"

Tinrock is rust resistant and an excellent material for tableware and cooking utensils. However, it's weak against strong impacts, making it unsuitable for products like weapons. On top of that, Tinrock is a D-rank ore because it's easy to mine. Steel Ore is A-rank, so he could probably make a huge profit by passing it off as such.

"And the clearest giveaway is this temper line. See how there are lots of small waves? With Steel Ore, you don't get a wavy temper line. It's just a straight line. You shouldn't be deceiving your customers."

"I, I don't know what you're talkin' about, old man!"

The man shouted, refusing to give up. But the sword itself was telling me he was lying.

"Come to think of it, a blacksmith I know told me that swords made with Tinrock have a wavy pattern."

"So what that old man is saying is true."

"I, I'll go see if I can find any soldiers on patrol."

The surrounding onlookers began to murmur, their wariness toward the man growing. Even though I believed in "never trying harder than you have to," I had always taken my work itself seriously. I was confident that I had a decent amount of knowledge and experience. More than that, I had my own pride when it came to blacksmithing. I spoke softly to the man, who still showed no signs of remorse.

"...Hey. Have you ever considered the lives of the people who use your tools?"

"Huh!? What's that supposed to mean!"

"A blacksmith is connected to people through their tools. That's why we must always put our all into our work."

"Guh... you...!"

The tools I made were part of people's lives. It was a happy thought, but one that also came with responsibility. This man seemed young, so I hoped he could atone for his crime and turn his life around...

"If you understand, then give this young lady her money back."

"Sh... shut up! Don't you lecture me, old man!"

""Whoa! He’s going crazy! Run!""

Suddenly, the man grabbed one of the knives he had on display and stood up. He began swinging it around wildly. Amidst the fleeing crowd, the man charged toward me.

"Die, old man! You can give your lectures in hell!"

"Whoa!"

"Stop."

A woman appeared dashingly from the crowd and knocked the knife from the man's hand with a single chop. Then, in the next instant, she drove her elbow into his solar plexus. The knife-wielding man crumpled to the ground.

"Take him away."

""Yes, ma'am.""

Two burly soldiers who appeared from behind the woman took the street vendor into custody. W, what just happened? As I stood there, stunned by the unexpected sight and the woman's series of poised movements, the crowd broke into cheers.

"It's the Grossa Army! Thank goodness!"

"A, and it's the Legion Commander-sama herself. To think she'd come in person..."

"Her movements are as splendid as ever."

So they were soldiers. No wonder she was so strong. It was my first time seeing the national army up close. Rieten was in the countryside, but it was also peaceful.

I thanked the woman who had saved me from the man.

"Thank you very much. You saved me."

"No, it's my job."

"Well then, I'll be on my way."

"...Please wait a moment. Are you perhaps..."

As I tried to leave, the female soldier began to stare at me intently. W, what was it? Being stared at by a beautiful woman made my heart pound, embarrassingly for my age. But I was also nervous for a different reason. Was I about to be arrested? I was, after all, involved in this disturbance. Haha, no way... wait a minute. A terrible realization hit me, and a cold sweat broke out.

—Wait a second... am I... currently unemployed?

I had come to the Royal Capital on a whim, thinking it was a good opportunity, but looking back, I was currently unemployed. I had been expelled from the guild. A forty year old man, single, jobless, and a stranger in these parts... It wouldn't be surprising if they thought I was a very suspicious person.

"I'm sorry! I, I just came here for sightseeing...!"

"It's you, Sensei! The blacksmith from Rieten! Don't you remember me!? I'm Militar!"

The moment I heard her bell-like, beautiful voice, memories from long ago flooded my mind. Her dazzling blond hair, bright enough to shine even at night, was tied back in a single tail, and her blue eyes were as deep and clear as the great ocean. The strands of hair that fell beside her face, swaying in the wind, were also just as I remembered. Yes, this beautiful woman was Militar. She was one of the neighborhood kids I used to make toys for.