The Hero and the Guillotine
The Hero and the Guillotine
We'd agreed to regroup with Siegfried and his party at the academy's main gate, but the moment I opened my office door, the cold draft that hit me made me tilt my head.
"Master?"
[No one's here!]
I called out just in case, but as Laika confirmed, there was no sign of anyone around. I was certain I'd left the heater on, so I checked it with a puzzled feeling and spotted the lever still set at a low temperature. When I looked inside the heater, I had no choice but to furrow my brow.
"So, the magic stones I filled it with first thing this morning were all depleted?"
The sight of the magic stones, which should've been faintly glowing with Mana, lying as dull as ordinary rocks, didn't just baffle me—it pissed me off.
Fuck, do you know how much this costs? And they were mixing defective junk in to sell—
"No. That can't be right, can it? Even if it were bad, one or two defective ones I could understand, but how the hell does it make sense for a whole batch to pull this shit?"
If that was the case, it'd be a scandal worthy of front-page news as a corruption case in the Royal Academy's supply chain.
I wondered if the heater itself was broken and leaking somewhere, so I put in the remaining magic stones, and the heater started working just fine as if that's what it'd been waiting for. Looking at it with Magic Sight, I couldn't spot any defects there either, so it didn't seem to be the heater's fault.
"I'll have to get it inspected later."
In case Master or Seneran came back while I was out, I scribbled a warning note and stuck it on the message board, then headed out, locking the door and making my way to the main gate. It was only then that I realized the whole building was in an unusual uproar.
"You fuck! I told you not to turn off the magic separator!"
"What are you talking about, no one even touched it?"
"Huh? Did the light go out? Teaching assistant, bring me some magic stones."
"Could it be someone messed up another experiment? Everything we had running just went completely dead!"
"Aaaagh! I hadn't finished recording all the experiment results yet!!"
Most of it was the kind of stuff that would haunt a teaching assistant or researcher in their nightmares. Something had apparently gone wrong with the Mana supply for the entire building. By the time I escaped the place, which had suddenly turned into a violence-inducing experiment zone for magic-stone addicts, the situation looked so bad that I found myself thinking I was lucky it only boiled down to a broken heater on my end.
"Seriously, if someone caused this by botching an experiment, there's gonna be hell to pay."
Of course, since it was none of my business, my steps were feather-light as I left the building filled with despair and screaming behind. When I hurried to the main gate, Siegfried's party and Sheryl were already there, fully geared up and waiting for me.
"Eldmia. Is the professor building okay? There was a sudden Mana supply problem elsewhere, and it's gotten pretty chaotic."
Crazy. Absolutely insane. So the situation in the student building and the other places was no different from the professor building? A full-blown major incident, then.
"No. It was bad. Everyone was screaming and raising hell over there too. The other places are the same?"
"So I heard. We almost had a problem getting our leave permits because of it."
With the Holy Light Cross Order and even the Imperial Hero visiting, they must've been completely humiliated. Despite the gravity of the situation, I couldn't help but crack a grin.
"A massive incident like this on a day they'd even invited such important guests? The dean must be in quite the awkward spot."
"Well, some days are just like that. More importantly, the sword—the sword!"
Siegfried, who tried to take the lead despite not even knowing the way, looked absolutely thrilled with the world. I glanced over, wondering if this was really the same guy who'd just been dragged off and chewed out by Eselua, but for some reason, even Eselua didn't react to Siegfried's state.
What's up? Did she actually call him aside for something else entirely?
"Little brother! You've got to show us the way!"
"Yes. Let's go."
Well, as long as the mood wasn't weird, it didn't matter to me either way.
◈
Compared to the Empire, the capital city was really nothing much to see, but on the way to the Dwarf District, Siegfried darted around relentlessly, gawking at everything. He even claimed it was somehow more interesting this way. Either way, with Siegfried so absorbed in sightseeing, I managed to buy some liquor as a gift for Mr. Balkun, so it wasn't a bad deal.
When we finally arrived at the weapon shop where Mr. Balkun worked, after taking quite a roundabout route, the place was even more packed with people looking to buy equipment than the last time I'd visited. The sight of it had me a bit overwhelmed, and Siegfried was impressed.
"Whoa, this is incredible. Is this the power of a master craftsman?"
"I'm not sure. It seems like there are even more people than last time..."
Was the business just booming day by day? Given that I'd made some big talk to Siegfried, it wasn't a bad situation for me, but this was excessive. Just as I was starting to worry if we'd even be able to meet Mr. Balkun among this crowd, a familiar face approached me.
"Customer! I've been waiting for you, wondering when you'd arrive!"
"Ah, nice to see you again. But, you were waiting for me?"
The waitress, who'd happened to serve me every time I came by, nodded her head vigorously with a bright smile.
"Please, come on in! You'll hear the details inside! It'd get complicated if we talked here!"
It was hard to understand why she was so excited if things were going to get complicated, but regardless, unlike my worries, the meeting was happening, so I just decided to follow her lead.
"My, you're quite the VVIP customer, aren't you?"
"There you go with those weird terms again..."
I needled Siegfried's comment like usual, but inside, I was thinking the same thing. The only things I'd bought here were the freakishly good sword and the freakishly good handmade throwing weapons I'd gotten for dirt cheap, practically a steal, all because of Mr. Balkun's hobby. So why?
"Ah! Eldmia! It's been a while!"
When I passed through the now-familiar corridor into the forge, Mr. Balkun noticed our presence, turned his head, and greeted us warmly.
"I've been well. I've been so busy lately I haven't had a chance to show my face. The magic tool you made for me last time has been very useful. I brought a small token of my appreciation, so please share it with your apprentices later."
"Heh, bringing something every time you come. You're going to spoil my kids rotten! But I'll gladly accept it!"
He laughed heartily and extended a thick hand to shake mine first, his face brightening further as he took the bottles of liquor I'd brought as a gift. It was pricier stuff than last time, but I didn't feel it was a waste at all.
"As a matter of fact, thanks to you, business has been booming so much lately that I was meaning to thank you, but here you go giving me more gifts!"
"...Me?"
"That's right! Word got around that you stopped by and bought a weapon here, and customers have been flooding in! Even some adventurers who used to be too scared of my name to even come near the place have been scraping together money to buy at least one piece!"
Even though Mr. Balkun was the main attraction here, there were plenty of other blacksmiths and a diverse range of gear, but the psychological distance created by his reputation meant that a lot of his excellent, cost-effective equipment hadn't been well known. That was how he explained it.
"It took me back! A long time ago, a snot-nosed brat came to the workshop with a handful of pocket change looking to buy a sword, and his eyes were so fierce I practically gave him a good sword as charity. But then within a few years, the kid got crazy famous, and my sword's reputation went right up with him! One of the proudest moments of my life. Lately, I hadn't gotten that same thrill, but thanks to you, I'm really enjoying myself! My apprentices are also gaining confidence seeing their work sell, and I like seeing that too!"
Good heavens, to think there was that kind of backstory to Mr. Balkun's secret hobby. Seeing him happier that so many people were using his and his apprentices' work than about making a lot of money, a smile unconsciously crept onto my lips.
"Then it looks like you might get to experience that one more time today. I came today to commission a sword for someone else."
"Hm? Now that you mention it, you've got a big group with you! I was so distracted I didn't— Hum?"
He'd been laughing heartily while glancing at the group standing dumbly behind me, but when he looked at Siegfried and Sheryl, he tilted his head and asked me,
"Someone else? Not 'people'?"
"It was just one person, originally."
"Hah, you're pretty brazen, bringing two of these folks here!"
Mr. Balkun clapped me on the waist, looking like he was in such a good mood he might've already had a drink.
"You heard him, Sheryl. Want to get a sword too? Your birthday's coming up, so I'll buy it as a present."
"...W-Well, maybe I should."
She tried hard to act indifferent, but the corners of her mouth kept twitching. As expected of someone from a knight family, she was absolutely crazy about swords. Still, Siegfried was the main event, so I gestured for him to step forward and face Mr. Balkun.
"I originally came to commission a weapon for him."
"Hm? Not a friend?"
"We're like brothers. Nice to meet you. I'm Siegfried."
Mr. Balkun shook Siegfried's hand, which was extended with a genial smile, and looked at him with eyes full of interest.
"How fascinating. Is there power in the name Siegfried? The Empire's hero is also named Siegfried, and this one's got talent, even if it hasn't been polished yet."
"This is Hero Siegfried."
"...Huh?"
"I'm that Siegfried!"
At that hearty shout, every single hand working busily behind Mr. Balkun stopped, and a sudden silence fell over the forge. But regardless, Siegfried used spatial magic to pull out his greatsword and lay it down, then spoke to Mr. Balkun.
"I'm looking to commission one of this size!"
"...Huh-huh-huh?"
Mr. Balkun's gaze shifted between the sword, Siegfried, and me several times, and finally, a bewildered laugh escaped his lips.