Stepping out of the Adventurers' Guild, Lina and I followed the address Dex gave us and arrived at an old, weather-worn forge.
Dex had said the store owner was a master craftsman who truly loved weapons, though he was terribly shy.
We pushed open the door. Inside, the walls were lined with countless weapons—each one ornate, refined, and unquestionably powerful. As we were admiring them, a trembling, timid voice drifted out.
"E-excuse me… w-what kind of weap-pon are you… lo-looking for? Ah—my tongue…"
We turned toward the voice. It came from behind the counter—but we saw no one. No, someone was there: a single hand nervously clutched the edge of the doorframe behind the counter.
We walked over and waited. Only when he cautiously poked his head out did I speak.
"Are you the store owner?"
"S-something… like that…"
The shopkeeper was a short old man with his head wrapped in cloth—ears included. His voice was tiny, shaky, and the way he bit his tongue made his words blur together.
Not wanting to waste time, I took out my broken sword and placed it on the counter.
"I want this sword repaired."
The moment he saw it, he instantly materialized in front of me. His whole attitude shifted—the shy tremble vanished, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"This poor sword… to think it was broken… how tragic."
I had barely begun explaining when he snatched up the blade himself, examining it with great sympathy—as if he felt sorry for the sword rather than for me. It was annoying, honestly, but he clearly loved weapons. So I decided to test him a little.
"Store owner, if you happened to obtain a 500-year magic core, would you report it to the country?"
"Of course not—I'd use it to forge a weapon… W-wait—what do you mean?!"
He answered reflexively, then froze as he realized I was testing him. He probably thought I was trying to catch him disloyal to the crown.
But his honest answer told me everything.
Since the store owner's true heart leaned toward weapons rather than authorities, things would be easier. I took out the magic core from the ape chief and held it before him.
"This magic core is 2,018 years old. I want it embedded into a new sword."
I gave him a small warning before handing it over. His timid, tongue-bitten voice immediately returned.
"R-r-really…?"
I passed him the core. A proper forge would have a device to measure age.
"You can check."
He did—and went pale.
"T-t-two thousand and eighteen years! W-where did you g-get this?!"
"That I can't say. But I want you to treat it like an ordinary core while forging my weapon. Please."
I bowed my head to him. Using this core meant exposing a secret. I needed the craftsman to keep quiet. But he hesitated.
"I… I…"
"If that's not enough, I have four more millennium-grade magic cores. I can give you three. All I ask is that you keep this matter a secret."
If honesty didn't work, then payment would. I laid the four magic cores I had casually taken earlier onto the table. But I could only give away three—one was reserved for Lina.
The shopkeeper mulled it over for a long time before finally answering.
"…All right. I won't tell anyone. Being able to work with a magic core over a thousand years old… I might be the first person ever to do it."
Perfect. A man who loved weapons would prioritize forging over reporting to the authorities. I bowed again, sincerely this time.
"Thank you, store owner."
"Don't call me store owner. My name is Kaiden. What are your names?"
"I'm Karen, and she's Lina. Oh—Lina, lend me your staff for a moment."
After introducing ourselves, I turned to Lina and asked for her staff. It was time to replace its core too.
"Here."
"Mr. Kaiden, earlier I said I could give you three cores. The remaining one is for this staff."
Lina pulled her staff from her storage and handed it to me. I pointed to the millennium core and the staff.
"I'd like this core embedded into the staff."
Kaiden studied the staff closely, running his hands along each joint.
"This staff could be made even more beautiful. The grip could feel smoother. May I improve it?"
I looked at Lina. She nodded. So I answered Kaiden.
"Of course."
We settled on a date to pick up the weapons, then left the forge. Kaiden even lent me a temporary sword for the meantime.
My impression of him? A gentle man with a soft voice and a deep love for his craft. Once he warms up to someone, his shyness hardly matters at all.
After having lunch, Lina and I planned to return to the guild and pick up a new quest. The moment we stepped through the entrance, I could feel all those stabbing gazes again. And then Brett appeared.
"Hey, Karen, I heard you two got promoted to Rainbow-rank! How does it feel?"
"Not bad."
It would feel even better without all these eyes on us. Brett looked a little worried.
"News spreads fast around here. That guy will probably come looking for you soon…"
"Who?"
"Okabuz Brandalla. I'm not saying you can't beat him, but—oh, speak of the devil."
So it's that troublemaking marquis's son. Brett stared at the door with a disgusted expression. We turned too—and saw a guy who was obviously trouble.
His hair was messy and unkempt, both ears filled with piercings, a dragon tattoo wrapped around his arm, and he walked like he didn't care who he might smack along the way. Two swords hung at his waist.
"HEY! I heard some bastard got promoted to Rainbow-rank! Who the hell is it?! Get out here and fight me!"
The first thing he said made him sound exactly like a thug. No—he wasn't "like" a thug. He was a thug. Brett whispered to us.
"Hey, you two should leave. Now."
I agreed. The farther away, the better.
"Lina, let's go."
"Mm."
I let Lina walk in front. Okabuz was still yelling, but no one responded.
"I wanna see how strong that bastard is compared to me! Hey, you—black-haired kid!"
No idea which black-haired person he meant, but I definitely wasn't going to assume it was me. Lina tried to turn around, but I covered her eyes, signaling her to keep walking.
"I'm TALKING TO YOU! Didn't you hear me?! Are YOU the bastard who got promoted to Rainbow-rank?!"
Suddenly my right shoulder was yanked backward. I turned—and saw Okabuz right in my face. So he was talking to me. Since he wasn't sure, I tried dodging the issue.
"No, I'm just an adventurer here to take a quest."
"Don't lie to me! Even if they didn't say anything, everyone's been staring at you! Come on, spit it out!"
Okabuz tore my lie to shreds, his temper flaring. I glanced around—everyone wore apologetic expressions.
Fine. If he already knows, I'll just admit it. I unconsciously crossed my arms.
"Yeah, I'm the Rainbow-rank adventurer. Give me three reasons—three good reasons—why I should fight with you. And keep your voice down."
Okabuz obviously couldn't accept that. He was just a battle maniac who only wanted to fight.
"Quit screwing around! Just answer me—are we fighting or not?!"
For the question fight or not, I only had one answer.
"No."
As expected, Okabuz exploded.
"You bastard—! Ah… ah!? Y-You're… w-wait… white—"
He grabbed the hilt of his sword, ready to force a duel. But then he suddenly froze. His face turned pale as sheets, his trembling finger pointing behind me.
I glanced back.
He was pointing at Lina.
Lina's expression wasn't good either—it was the face she made when she was genuinely angry.
"W-White… White Monster!"
He actually called Lina a monster.
That was it.
He crossed my bottom line.
Completely.
"Great. You just gave me a reason much better than three. I'll accept your challenge."