Grandpa Danās smithy was quite hot. Blacksmiths are already priced as hot, but dwarves donāt bother with that heat. The skin is said to be naturally heat resistant. A dwarf is a creature that creates a tunnel even in a volcano where ordinary creatures make a lot of noise. Itās okay to hold the bottom of a boiling pot with their bare hands. Iām a little wondering at what temperature it will burn. Since they were born to play with such metals, they have the perception of hunting for minerals with their noses and intuitions and other races are still completely unmatched by dwarves in blacksmithing and metalworking. Even in a country like Trot, which is covered by humans, the industry itself is thrown to the dwarves when it comes to mining, so there were many countries on the continent where all the metal industry was covered by dwarves. Iām super cool trying to blacksmith in front of such a dwarf. No, Iām sorry. I tried to inspire myself. I know itās really reckless.
āHey, what are you going to do? You didnāt decide until you got hereā
āItās a rehash of a broken weapon. Jeanne, take it downā
āNnā
Jeanne takes down the wooden box, she was carrying. The joint between the handle and the broken blade. And a blade that broke so miserably that it couldnāt be thought of as metal.
āā¦ā¦Itās a weapon that still doesnāt make sense for meā
āThis is a weapon that 10-man captain Smithson has kindly made from the materials that were available!ā
āWhat a human, actually raised by a dwarf. I know you fell in love with Jeanneā
Why does he think so?
ā10-manā¦ā¦I was the one who fell in love with Andy. He just helped me when hunting Hellās Boarā
āHunm. ā¦ā¦I thought it would be a fashionable action of a human to hand over a handmade craft to a womanā
Naris blushes when Danās mutters.
āWh, What do you mean with it? Isnāt Celesta too strange? If you give a knife, youāll propose!ā
āItās an old custom of an oasis in the south. Itās supposed to be only dark elves and ogres, but I know strange thingsā¦ā¦well, the long ear chiefs sometimes dress younger than their age. Did you treat it as a little girl prematurely?ā
āDonāt say things like dressing oneself younger than their age or thatās disgraceful! IĀ“m only 113 years old!ā
āā¦ā¦Are you the same age as me? YouĀ“re a splendid mature womanā
āA, Are you the same age? Iām a little happy. Can I call you Dan-kun?ā
āSilenceā
After screaming at Naris, the old man begins to scrutinize the parts of Crash Haken.
āThe more I look at it, the more weird it is. The quality of the steel itself is quite good, but I think it wouldnāt break like thisā¦ā¦ā
Itās hard to understand how it broke because the joints are completely crushed and the material is broken and the crest engraving is broken, so it doesnāt work.
āDo you know the crest engraving of the southeastern elf forest?ā
āā¦ā¦Ah, that stone shining thing?ā
āIām just dabbling in and applying it. Thatās why this was originally a farm tool sickle, but itās changed to move like thisā¦ā¦ā
āā¦ā¦Hunm. I see. Itās a mere form of the gimmick weapon of West Afilm. ā¦ā¦Itās a half-hearted imitation. If itās an axe, itās an axe. If its an halberd, its an halberd, but when you decide itās going to be an halberd, then youĀ“re going to hit it againā
āI made it at the forefront of the demon territory, so there was no furnaceā¦ā¦ā
āDonāt be stupid. If thatās the case, donāt make a half-hearted thing and hand it over. You had to have a weapon and you couldnāt leave it to someone else? Was this elder sister in a state where she had to fight with a damn fake weapon? Itās unavoidable for someone who canāt fight without a weapon to run away. But if you have a weapon, you can understand the feelings of a warrior when the weapon was just a trash that looked like it was a crap. The worst deception. Itās the lowest cheatā
Old man Dan blames me for making excuses with a harsh tone.
āWell, I can use anything, so I donāt have much trouble if I only use sticks, right?ā
Naris hurriedly enters the follow-up, but Grandpa Dan quickly points his palm at Naris and refuses.
āShut up. Thatās the problem. Itās a matter of hitting a weapon. Well, the point of victory and defeat that a warrior entrusts his life to is a weapon. If you can deceive yourself with such an excuse, you canāt use it to break it too much, or you canāt use it to break it because itās not used properly. Donāt be a blacksmith. Your weapon canāt protect the user. Itās the worst tool that only causes harmā
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā
I endure. Various possibilities are created by using crest engraving. I can make various new weapons. I can make things that have never been possible before, such as special arrows and breath calibers. I was so ecstatic and proud of it. The thick arrows, which fly forward and are used up in one go, are a weapon that donāt consider defense and the breath caliber, which is just a fire-blowing tool, is nothing more than ad hoc. Itās true that my range of weapon creation has expanded, but itās not that Iāve been able to make good weapons that even famous swordsmen can proudly recommend. Naris was about to fall victim to it.
āā¦ā¦Hun, do you understand? Thatās right. Itās not so dangerous that the odds are pretending to be full-fledgedā
The old man snorts when he sees me hanging my head silently. Seeing that, Naris took a step in resentment.
āYou canāt say thatā¦ā¦ā
āDonāt you like the way I say it? After all, haughty long ears are particular about crapā
āItās my weapon!? Where I was in trouble, I fell down and worked hard with the things I hadā¦ā¦!!ā
āStop Narisā
ā10-man captain Smithson!ā
āStop. Thereās nothing wrong with what the old man says. If you were seriously injured by having such a weapon, I canāt complain that Sharon or Tetes would kill meā
āThat wonāt be the case!?ā
āNo matter how much I fall down or you are dexterous, defective products are defective products!!ā
I just yelled and became a little awkward and turned down again. ā¦ā¦And then, a little bit, I sit down on the ground.
āOld man. No, Dan-san. ā¦ā¦Can you lend me a hand? I canāt give Naris a bad weapon againā
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā
Grandpa Dan folded his arms and snorted.
āJeanne. And long ears. You guys get outā
āā¦ā¦Noā
āJeanne-san, take it off a little without pulling it!?ā
āItās terribly sweaty, Nee-chan. Iāll take you to the sand bathā
āThatās why I donāt pull the pants tourmer, itās a clasp, so it comes off!?ā
Naris leaves the room with Jeanne. The door closes. Grandpa Dan and I are alone. ā¦ā¦I wonder if I will be beaten again.
āRaise your faceā
āā¦ā¦?ā
āFirst of all, rehash. The temperature is still enough because I used the furnace a while ago. Also, the tailoring of the gimmick weapon has been a bit bitter in the past. Leave the deformed part to meā
āā¦ā¦Th, Thank you for your helpā
With Grandpa Dan, I put the Crash Haken fragments in the furnace.
While it heats up, even the old manās head sweats and Iām stunned at the smithy. Ventilation may be considered by dwarf standards. Itās hard for me. However, I remember my childhood when my boss yelled at me that it was natural for the smithy to be hot. If IĀ“m willing to go somewhere before the Spirit Festival, I donāt have much time. Itās so hot that I canāt complain.
āā¦ā¦I donāt have a parent like Jeanneā
While throwing a burning stone into the furnace with a shovel, the old man talks. I listen carefully.
āIn this colony, itās not such a rare experience. Itās a narrow colony that asks everyone to be first-class as a blacksmith, a warrior and a family member. As a warrior, it also means asking everyone to have the ability to fight monstersā
āā¦ā¦Honestly, I thought it was terrible to have such a small child fight such a monsterā
āThatās right. But the labyrinth here is so big that the flow of energy is sometimes biased due to the influence of the season. Sometimes the colony is flooded with monsters. Sandworms Hellās Boars and rock dolls are next to each other. There are many times in the history of hundreds of years that all the children were killed because of the labyrinthā
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā
āEveryone can be strong to prevent it. It is an obligation to be strong. That is why everyone is strong. For thatā¦ā¦even if I die. I will fight repeatedly just in case and itās a frustrating story to die, but if itās not obligatory, everyone will enjoy it. I donāt want to think I canāt help it, but I canāt help itā
ā¦ā¦Every time I hear such a story. I realize that I am blessed. Bonaparteās old man once played with me, who lives a peaceful life without knowing the fight to protect the country. The stories of the people who live in Renfangas and the stories of the people who live in Carlwin have a rigor that is far from my life.
āā¦ā¦Then, surely Jeanne is still too young. At least five yearsā¦ā¦no, I was going to teach various things at hand for about ten years. You will understand. Dwarves are half the age of humans. Itās a hang. She is still a kid, isnāt itā
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā
āI certainly donāt see a dwarf girl having children at that age, but did Jeanne really give birth?ā
āYes. Peter Smithson. He has the same as my dad who was also a blacksmithā
āā¦ā¦Hun, itās a weak name. Thereās a stronger name like Vargas or Gregā
There is a story that dwarves like voiced sound, but it seems that this old man is also the same.
āā¦ā¦But, is that so. Jeanneās childā¦ā¦is it my great-grandchildā
The old man looks a little far away and puts in fuel. I tried to argue that the name had been dismissed, but I lost my head in the heat as I thought about it.
āā¦ā¦You āll bring him here somedayā
āAlwaysā
āā¦ā¦Good, itās love that feels like it. Iām gonna hit it. Have you learned how to swing a hammer?ā
āOf courseā
There are a number of hammers ahead of what the old man showed with his chin. The grip is a little short, but is it adapted to the small physique of a dwarf? Among them, they are reasonably heavyā¦ā¦or rather, I take the lightest hammer and aim at the red-hot steel presented by the old man.
āGoā
āYesā¦ā¦!!ā
Gan!! Gan!! Gan!! Gan!! Gan!! I hit it many times in repetition. The steel materials that have melted and become one will be reborn as a weapon again.
āWait, thatās it! The temperature has dropped!ā
I noticed that the old man had stopped, I swam my body in an attempt to stop the hammer that I was about to shake down. And, partly because my head was dumb, I almost fell on the anvil. Itās on a hot anvil, where thereās still hot steel, even though the temperature has dropped. Iām sorry if I fell down. However, the old man had his hands blocked.
āU, Uwaaaā¦ā¦!ā
āFool!ā
The old man throws out the steel and tries to reach out, but on the other side of the anvil. His hands are too short to support. I was prepared for a moment.
ā¦ā¦No. I canāt get hurt by such a silly thing. I have a lot to do. Hit a weapon for Naris. Spend the spirit festival with everyone. I promised Irina and Breakcore to be the priest, NeiaĀ“s home was still in danger and Laila and Maia would regret not being there if I was hurt by not needing them.
āGaaaa!!ā
With a momentary awakened head, I choose to hit the anvil with all my might. My hands are numb, but I clench the handle and stay on it as a support. There was a great noise.
āā¦ā¦Cool downā
āIām sorry, itās hotā¦ā¦my headā
āHumans are too weak. ā¦ā¦But thatās not the point of patience for being thin. Half a manā
The old man takes the steel and pliers back and puts them in a suitable place to open the door of the room. Ventilation is quick due to the temperature difference and breathing becomes a little easier.
āContinued. ā¦ā¦Youāve got a good master. I canāt complain about the posture of your lower backā
The old man bluntly said and grabbed the pliers again.
Hit it several times and shape it.
āWhen it cools down, I put a gimmick in earnest. ā¦ā¦But itās a strange weapon. I know if itās an axe and a halberd, but an axe and a sickle?ā
āItās really just a farm toolā¦ā¦ā
āIs a halberd fine? I can do it now. Thereās plenty of material here to fill the gapsā
āā¦ā¦I have to ask Narisā
No, I didnāt ask when Crash Haken was first manufactured.
āIn any case, if the sickle is not for cavalry, it will be hard for everyday use. That long ear doesnt look like a cavalry. Itās such a round-out lookā
āā¦ā¦Well, she is certainly not a cavalrymanā
Do I want to keep the function as a sickle for āsomedayā or leave it as an axe or halberd? Itās a little subtle.
The slightly smoky underground colony is also a paradise compared to the heat of the smithy. If I look for a little while taking a deep breath, I find Jeanne running very much.
āJeanne, where is Naris?ā
āNow sheās in the sand bath. Iām going to deliver a sand removal brushā
āI need to ask her something, so show me aroundā
āNnā
I follow Jeanne as it is.
When I got into the sand bath, Naris was just crawling out of the sand. Her whole body is covered with sand, but she is naked and on all fours.
āDonāt make a noise when you show off your butt and boobs with such an embarrassing bikini armorā
āI, Iām not quiet!! Please turn over there!!ā
āYes Yesā
Naris who turns bright red and gets angry is a little cute. I wonder if there are only such reacting children, Naris and Neia, around these days.
āSo, Naris. I have something to askā
āDonāt look!! Never look over here!! What is it?ā
āIām going to remake Crash Haken, but weāll review the deformation functionā¦ā¦Iād like to turn off the sickle function and use the axe and graveā
As an image, the large blade slides the handle to make it a weapon with different reach and handling.
āEhā¦ā¦ā
Naris raises a dissatisfied voice.
āWhat is itā
āā¦ā¦That would be that grandfatherās suggestionā
āThatās right, butā
āSickle. Please do thatā
āWhyā
āIsnāt it regrettable? Isnāt it regrettable that 10-man captain Smithson has been urged to change it?ā
āRegrettableā¦ā¦I actually broke it because I wasnāt good at itā
āIf you leave the concept to that old man, youāll be fooled. Letās not loseā
āItās not a matter of winning or losing, thoughā
Naris emphasizes while having Jeanne remove the sand with the brush.
āI think itās a good weapon to leave as it is. Long-handled weapons are certainly useful, but I donāt think theyāre generally weak because there are ways to fight an axe with an axe and a sickle with a sickleā
āNarisā¦ā¦ā
āā¦ā¦And itās my first weapon just for meā¦ā¦I donāt want to think it was a totally lossā
āEh, Iāve had you make your orderā¦ā¦ā
āI donāt have that kind of money. Since I was an adventurer, I didnāt say that weapons were usually dropped by friendsā
āā¦ā¦Is it soā
ā¦ā¦Yes, is it the first order? In a way, Iām a little proud.
āI understand. See you laterā
When I tried to look back and say it, the sand on her whole body was dropped and Naris was all nude.
āDonāt lookć¼ć¼ć¼ć¼ć¼!!ā
Naris kicked the sand up and slammed it on my face.
-
āā¦ā¦Sand bath, did you go in?ā
āNo. I was just hit with sand by a rascalā
I was in agony for a while with the sand not coming out of my eyes, but I managed to return to the smithy.
āIt seems that the sickle and axe as before are goodā
āā¦ā¦I think itās hard to handle.ā
āShe can use any melee weapon. Axe, hammer, sword, spearā
When I think about it again, I think that she also is a talent.
āWell, yes. ā¦ā¦If itās the same as before, itās a gimmick as an axe. This is how the folding gimmickā¦ā¦put your support here and do it this wayā
āOh, itās a bit more like an ordinary axe than beforeā
āThe previous design is different from a hatchet. ā¦ā¦Emm, if you work carefully from the forging stage, it will not be like the previous one. I donāt know if it is a crest engraving, but if you are a blacksmith, donāt neglect blacksmithing. It should be a much stronger alloy than before, mixed with secret rare oresā
āā¦ā¦I donāt hate or distrust blacksmithing. Itās just that the war started before I learned how to smith a knife in earnestā
āHunm. Itās an excuse. If I had that basic, I should have accumulated it myself, as it would have been an experienceā
āā¦ā¦I wonder if thatās trueā
My master felt that there was still more to teach. Thatās why I have a big complex in coming out without being taught it. ā¦ā¦I wonder.
āEverything is about studying after becoming a full-fledged person. No matter how good you are, you donāt need anything else. If youāre half a man, itās even more effort. ā¦ā¦ćDesert Black Dragonćis with you. Then you can come from anywhere. If you come, Iāll train you. Be a full-fledged person. Itās embarrassing for a blacksmith with a dwarven brideā
āā¦ā¦What, thatā
Did he admit it? ā¦ā¦When I look at Dan-san with hopeful eyes, he looks suspicious.
āWhat?ā
āEmm, can you accept my relationship with Jeanne?ā
āā¦ā¦What do you say?ā
The old man sighs while playing with the handle of Crash Harken.
āEven if I admit it, itās not like this to go all the way to the kid. I just tried to let you hitā
āā¦ā¦E, that?ā
ā¦ā¦What, maybe.
āBlacksmithing is the test of seeing that areaā¦ā¦ā
āIt was you who said that. If Jeanne promised to lend a furnace, I wouldnāt be reluctant as a relative and I couldnāt let you make something boringā
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā
That?
āI just thought that way. ā¦ā¦Itās a boring idea that seems to be half a manā
The old man sighs again.
āThere arenāt many good stories in the world that you can take with you because youāve made it. If you want to marry Jeanne, or if you want me to recognize you as my son in law, donāt neglect your efforts. Keep on being the right guy. Itās an effort to have someone else in your family. No matter how hard you try, you donāt need anything elseā
-
āā¦ā¦Was that what happened?ā
āIāve been searching around for where you went toā
At dawn, the three of us return to Lailaās bed. Dianne, Aurora and Luna had relieved faces. Laila was calm, so maybe she had heard that we decided to go to the Dwarf Colony.
āItās a souvenirā
āā¦ā¦Liquor barrel?ā
āHo, is it the dwarf bubbling spring alcohol?ā
There was a mysterious fountain in the dwarf colony where liquor sprang up. It seems that Jeanne once wanted to drink it, but wasnt allowed.
āAfter all this liquor is goodā
Jeanne has a happy face with a barrel different from mine. And Naris was in a good mood carrying the new weapon that was completed.
āWell, letās go to the next place! This Crash Haken II is hungry for blood!ā
āDonāt be hungry, idiot!ā
The shiny ćCrash Haken IIć, was a collaboration with my original draft and Dan-san. I hope it lasts longer this time.
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