I was at the villageâs only blacksmith and heard someone hammering steel at a regular rhythm, and I had placed my ultimate weapon here.
âIs it done?â
âOh, Merln, is it you?â
I opened the door, and the blacksmith who knew me by my voice was a middle-aged man. He was a middle-aged man and not an old man, which was an important factor.
âYours is in the right. Get it yourself.â
âYes.â
I watched the blacksmith hammer steel without looking at me, as he was busy with the overflowing work. It was actually rare for a village like this one to have such a blacksmith, as one who could hand steel was valued everywhere. Even if this country was not in war, lords did not easily give up on blacksmiths, as they may pose to weaponize people for a riot.
However, while this world had many bad lords, the one here was a rare exception, and he allowed retired technicians to return to their homelands. Thanks to that, the retired used their skills for their village, and this was a rare grace for this village, as our environment was harsh.
âLetâs see, is this it?â
I watched the blacksmithâs actions for a moment and took my secret weapon from a corner to look over it.
âWow.â
âYour tools are unique, which makes them interesting to handle.â
I heard the blacksmithâs indifferent voice, but I knew that he was surprised underneath. I had been extremely surprised to find out that this world did not have ho-mi, one of Koreaâs best farming tools. As the small tool enabled its user to dig, it had gained international fame, level the ground, removes weeds, and harvest potatoes. It was a multi-purpose tool, simple and suppliable while easy to use. It would enable us to work faster, and the best part was that my cute daughter will be able to use it easily and safely!
âYour quality is perfect as promised.â
âYes, hard and not sharp. I worked harder since you told me it was for a girl.â
âThank you.â
âYou do not need to thank me, as this is my job.â
The blacksmith going back to his steel increased my trust in him, as he really was an artisan!
âHow much is it?â
âTen silver coins.â
The price impressed me again, as ten silver coins may be a slight burden to the ordinary people, it was affordable and cheap when the price was for steel tools.
While the steel was reused from old tools or miscellaneous items, most blacksmiths were considered artisans, and considering his effort, ten silvers were cheap for having him make some customized farming tools!
âUse well.â
The blacksmith had not looked back once after I came in, and he did not even confirm the coins before sending me away. Well, no one who wanted to live here for long would go against him, but still.
âHere it is.â
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I placed the bag with the coins on the floor and shouldered the bag with the tools. While it was quite heavy, I trained for decades and could manage this weight.
âOh?â
However, I felt something was wrong after a few steps after coming out of the blacksmith.
âWhat is this? Did I count wrong?â
The number of farming tools I had was the same since the two of us would farm again, so the weight would be the sameâŚ
âIt seems heavier.â
I placed the bag on the ground, confirmed the tools, and found that the number and size were the same. The bagâs weight was the same as usual, and that meantâŚ!
I wanted to say it was not true, but there was only one option remaining. While I had been lazy during winter, I had trained! I grabbed my arm muscles, and while they had been hard as steel before, they were a bit soft now.
âWhat about my abdomen?!â
While my stomach was still not sticking out, my six-pack had disappeared. How can I think this weight heavy even if I had been a bit lazy?
âIt canât be true!â
I lifted the bag with all my strength, and while I could manage to take it home, it would take much effort. That was the difference between my state last year and this year, which meant I had become weak.
Oneâs body becoming weak was critical for a swordsman, especially those who used high-class skills. Winning by power and strength was for low-class fights, and fights between experts required experience and skills. While the former may seem to suffer more from a weakened body, it was actually the latter who had a bigger problem. Those who fought by power and strength meant that their actions became weaker, but it meant they could not do what they once could do for the latter. Most people who fought by skill used counter moves by using the opponentâs strength against them, but when that calculation fails, they may be the ones hurt. Death will come then to the skilled swordsmen when their body limits what they once could do.
âI donât want to die.â
I could not die like this when I had such a cute daughter. The village seemed peaceful, but when there was the previous Holy Sword, a dragon, and a strange cat with my daughter possibly being a heroine candidate, I could not ignore the possibilities.
The answer to how to survive was actually simple.
#8 Other stories: A daughterâs story
I felt like time had stopped, and while I had dropped my wooden cup in shock, I did not even notice it.
âWhat do you mean, Daddy?â
While I raised my unbelieving eyes to Daddy, the fact he had said that there will be no fried chicken from today did not change.
What happened? I had been asking him to fry the chicken he had brought with him, but he cut me off by saying he would not fry it.
I could not understand this, because Daddy also liked chicken. Who does not like chicken? Everyone I knew did, and why was he doing this?
âItâs fattening.â
âWhat?â
âChicken makes me fat.â
What did he mean by that?
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âYou donât need to think that!â
A little weight would not hurt.
âOne cannot live a long life when fat.â
âI can trade my life to eat fried chicken!â
The future me would agree and would want me to live happily eating chicken instead of living ten more years. Actually, the future me would die in regret thinking that I did not give up chicken to live a life like this.
âThatâs not a good thought.â
âDaddy, itâs not true! What is important for a person in life?!â
âHealth.â
âYes, thatâs importantâŚbut one needs food, clothes, and a house! That means food is more important than health!â
It was perfect logic using common sense. I hoped this would stop Daddy from forbidding chicken.
âWe will have meals with a healthy diet.â
Daddy broke my logic with one sentence.
âWe will have healthier food, and that means we will have both health and food!â
âThis is wrongâŚâ
I could only roll my feet at Daddyâs words since taste and fat went together. We would not be able to have chicken anymore.
âUnnie, help!â
I sent a desperate gaze to Unnie, and she approached Daddy.
âGo!â
I cheered her on since she would be able to do what I could not!
âHey, how about chicken?â
âNo.â
âAll right!â
My belief broke in an instant!
âUnnie!â
âSorry, it cannot be helped.â
âYouâre too fast giving up!â
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âHe wonât bend when heâs like that. Itâs easier to give up!â
âNo, noâŚâ
I could not give up chicken like this.
âUnnie, we have to talk sense into Daddy since heâs wrong!â
âHeâs saying all the right things in essence.â
âAre you betraying me?!â
It looked like my sister would not help, and had she been bought by Daddy? Was he taking revenge for me nagging him to marry again? He had told me that revenge using other methods than power could be more damaging at times. Was he doing it to me?
âI canât lose like this!â
If I gave in now, Daddy would be able to hold fried chicken hostage all the time! A loss meant all losses, and I would bend to my fatherâs attack.
âIf Daddy will do that!â
âMommy?â
I hugged Coco and found the willpower not to give in to Daddy, if only for Coco! The war between Daddy and me was on!
#9 Other Stories: A catâs story
A strange silence filled the room, as breakfast was too quiet.
âOh, itâs all grass!â
Except for the one weird person.
âIsnât this too much? Canât you put it to make soup? Hey, what do you think, little sis?â
ââŚâŚâ
âLittle sis?â
ââŚâŚâ
âDo you want to be hit?â
âUnnie! Iâm stating my dissatisfaction to Daddy through silence! Donât interrupt me!â
âOh, you did?â
The silver-haired girl turned her gaze away at my benefactorâs words to me.
âThen, Iâll play with this cat!â
âMeowww!â
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I donât know what youâre doing but do it fast, or Iâll die first!