The Blacksmiths' Commission
The Demon King Castle on the 72nd Floor had always been a quiet place, but today it was packed with people. They looked different, spoke in different voices, yet they all shared one common trait.
Most of them wore thick leather belts heavy with hammers, chisels, tongs, and other forging tools. That alone made it obvious what kind of people had gathered here.
They were the blacksmiths of the Demon Realm.
Blacksmiths from the 72nd and 70th floors had come, and for some reason, even those from the 71st floor were present.
“Weren’t you stationed on the 71st floor? What are you doing here?”
“I was told to come, so I came.”
“I heard there was a war recently. Maybe they want us to make weapons?”
“I hope it’s a big order. Business has been tight lately.”
Each floor didn’t have that many blacksmiths, but with three entire floors gathered together, the number was considerable. While they murmured among themselves, unsure of the reason for the summons, the doors of the Demon King Castle swung open.
“Huh?”
“It’s Her Majesty Seere.”
“And Her Majesty Sitri is with her?”
The ruler of the 72nd floor, Seere von Devata, and the ruler of both the 71st and 70th floors, Sitri, walked out together. Following closely behind them was a man.
“That person… isn’t he Her Majesty Seere’s master?”
The blacksmiths recognized him at once. Every resident of the 72nd floor knew that a man had recently become Seere’s master and was rapidly expanding the floor’s power.
As Seere, Sitri, and Nahen emerged, Kain, who had been waiting, raised his voice toward the gathered blacksmiths.
“Blacksmiths who have assembled here, listen! The reason you have been summoned is that the great Demon Kings themselves have something to tell you in person!”
All eyes turned toward Sitri and Seere.
Seere stared at the blacksmiths with a blank, innocent face. Her adorable expression caused many of the blacksmiths to break into involuntary fatherly smiles.
Sitri glanced at the crowd and asked Nahen, “Are they all here?”
“Why ask something so obvious, Your Majesty?”
“I swear I’m going to hit you one of these days…”
“I look forward to that day as well.”
Sitri cleared her throat and straightened her posture. Then she addressed the blacksmiths in a loud, clear voice.
“Greetings, artisans from every floor. I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today.”
She pulled out an object. It was the high-quality sword Nahen had handed her before they arrived—one looted from the humans.
The moment Sitri drew the blade, the eyes of every Demon Realm blacksmith changed completely. The same craftsmen who had been watching her with mild disinterest suddenly burned with intense curiosity.
“Can you see this?”
“W-where did you obtain such a weapon?!”
“C-could I possibly take a closer look?!”
“It is a sword taken from a human adventurer.”
At the word “human,” the blacksmiths’ eyes shifted once again. Most demons held a negative view of humans. This was especially true for the residents of the 72nd floor, who suffered directly from human incursions. No matter how fine the sword, if it was made by humans, they couldn’t help but dislike it.
With clear disappointment on their faces, the blacksmiths asked Sitri, “Why are you showing us a human-made sword?”
“You must analyze the various weapons of the humans and create swords of comparable quality.”
“…Pardon?”
The blacksmiths began to murmur among themselves. Some even frowned openly, showing clear displeasure at Sitri’s statement.
“Are you saying our weapons are inferior, so we should copy theirs?!”
“That is exactly what I’m saying.”
The one who answered wasn’t Sitri. Nahen, who had been standing a step behind, stepped forward.
“Because you keep producing substandard weapons, Her Majesty Sitri has no choice but to issue this command.”
“W-what did you just say?! Substandard weapons?!”
“Shall we test it?”
Nahen took the sword from Sitri and continued, “If I strike a demon-forged sword with this blade, what do you think will happen? Which one will break first?”
The furious blacksmiths fell silent. Even they knew the truth objectively. The looted human sword was superior in every way to the weapons they produced. One look was enough to tell.
“We need weapons. But if we continue relying on inferior equipment, innocent soldiers will die meaningless deaths. That is why we seek weapons of proper quality. Is there a problem with that?”
“Even so, to use human-made…!”
“Then if a soldier dies because his sword shatters due to your low-quality weapon, will you take responsibility?”
“……”
Nahen tossed the sword he was holding at the blacksmiths’ feet. The very same craftsmen who had scorned it as a “human weapon” could not tear their eyes away from it. They hated humans, but the weapon itself was undeniably excellent.
“Imitation is an indispensable stage of creation.”
“That may be true, but…”
“I’m not telling you to copy them exactly. Analyze the weapons we provide and recreate them in your own style. Are you willing to let the humans you despise so much surpass you in weapon quality?”
Nahen spoke to the blacksmiths as if encouraging them.
“I believe you can do it. I will give you as much time as you need, so take your time analyzing and produce something truly solid. Prove to everyone that the blacksmiths of the Demon Realm are not inferior to those of the Human Realm.”
The blacksmiths exchanged glances. While they were still hesitating, one of them stepped forward and picked up the sword Nahen had thrown.
“I’ll do it.”
“H-hey, you!”
“However, since we don’t know the manufacturing process, the analysis will take considerable time.”
It was a troll blacksmith with a thick, bushy beard.
Nahen nodded in satisfaction and turned to Sitri and Seere.
“Then how about we appoint this blacksmith as the leader? Your Majesty Seere. Your Majesty Sitri.”
“I’m fine with it!”
“…Yes, that seems appropriate.”
Nahen looked back at the troll.
“You heard them. What is your name?”
“I am called Doomgrik.”
“Doomgrik, you are the leader of this project. In the names of Seere von Devata and Sitri, I grant you the authority to command the other blacksmiths.”
Doomgrik’s eyes widened. The other blacksmiths protested immediately.
“Wait, I have far more experience than him…!”
“You can’t just decide this on your own!”
“The leader should be chosen through discussion…”
“Silence.”
Nahen’s gaze turned icy cold as he swept his eyes over the blacksmiths. Every single one of them felt a chill run down their spine.
In the sudden silence, Nahen spoke with biting frost in his voice.
“You people who didn’t even have the courage to step forward first dare to argue about who should be leader? Don’t make me laugh. Regardless of experience or skill, a leader is someone who steps up first, takes action, and bears responsibility. Among all the blacksmiths gathered here, who else stepped forward besides this man?”
The blacksmiths had no choice but to shut their mouths.
Nahen continued, “And above all, this is an order from your sovereigns, Her Majesty Seere and Her Majesty Sitri. Are you, mere blacksmiths, going to defy their command?”
“T-that was never our intention!”
“We would never defy the Demon Kings…!”
Leaving the flustered blacksmiths to their hasty excuses, Nahen looked at Doomgrik.
“Doomgrik.”
“…Yes.”
“Disobeying your orders is the same as disobeying the orders of these two exalted ones.”
Nahen pointed at the sword in Doomgrik’s hand.
“If any blacksmith refuses to listen to you, execute them on the spot.”
“…!”
“These two consider this matter extremely important. If any interference or unnecessary noise arises during the process…”
Nahen’s golden eyes turned toward the rest of the blacksmiths. They shivered slightly. Those golden pupils that seemed to scan them all at once were utterly terrifying.
“Eliminate the source.”
Doomgrik swallowed hard, then slowly knelt. He bowed his head deeply and answered with utmost respect.
“This humble one shall obey the command of the exalted ones.”
As soon as Doomgrik knelt, the other blacksmiths hurriedly followed suit, dropping to their knees and lowering their heads.
“Did I do well?”
Back in the Demon King Castle’s office, Sitri asked Nahen with a proud expression. Ignoring her, Nahen was praising Seere.
“You must have been nervous, but you stayed quiet and well-behaved the whole time.”
“Hehe.”
“Hey! Why are you ignoring me?!”
“What exactly did Your Majesty do that deserves praise?”
“I’m really going to kill you…”
Nahen chuckled softly.
“I’m joking. You did very well. Thanks to Your Majesty, it was much easier to set the proper atmosphere.”
“…Well, fine. Then shall we talk about the details now?”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Nahen and Sitri sat down facing each other across the table. Seere looked back and forth between them for a moment, then scampered over to Nahen and sat beside him.
“You want to use my name to run a business?”
“Correct. Officially, the ruler of the 70th floor is Your Majesty Sitri. Since the business must operate on the 70th floor, it can’t be helped.”
“And what do I get out of it?”
“We will supply you with high-quality weapons and give you a portion of the profits. All you have to do is collect the revenue without lifting a finger.”
“What’s the split?”
“Do you have any particular figure in mind?”
Sitri let out a thoughtful hum, pretending to consider it for a moment. Then she boldly declared, “Half.”
“You really are a complete crook.”
She had known it was an outrageous demand and had only said it as a joke, but when Nahen called her a crook to her face, even Sitri was taken aback.
“Hey! Do you have any idea how hard it is to run a business using a Demon King’s name?! And you keep calling me a crook lately, it’s getting a little—”
“Never mind. We won’t be using your name after all.”
“W-wait…!”
Realizing her little prank had nearly cost her free money and weapons, Sitri hurriedly stopped him.
“It was obviously a joke! Can’t I even make a joke?!”
“Were we having a conversation that allowed for jokes just now?”
“…No, but still.”
“Then who was in the wrong?”
At Nahen’s question, Sitri squeezed her eyes shut. She nodded reluctantly.
“Ugh, fine! I was wrong!”
“Then I would appreciate a serious answer this time.”
“…How much are you willing to give?”
“Let’s hear your suggestion first.”
Sitri answered with slightly more sincerity.
“Ten percent.”
“Do you have no conscience at all?”
“You’re using my name to run a business and you won’t even give me that much?!”
“Then we’ll give you ten percent of the profits and forget about supplying the weapons.”
“That…”
Sitri’s eyes darted around as she began calculating in her head. Would it be better to steadily receive one-tenth of the profits, or to receive a smaller share along with a steady supply of weapons?
No matter how she looked at it, the latter was far more advantageous. Business revenue fluctuated, so taking ten percent carried risk. But with weapons, she would still receive them even if sales were low.
“…I’ll take less profit if you still supply the weapons.”
“Let’s cut it in half from there.”
“Only five percent? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”
“In terms of percentage, yes. But the actual amount of profit that will come to Your Majesty will be quite substantial.”
Sitri tilted her head. Nahen spoke with such confidence that it was as if he already knew the business would succeed.
“How could you possibly know that? We haven’t even started yet.”
“It will be that way.”
Nahen smiled with absolute certainty. Sitri let out a small sigh at the sight.
That confident look again…
If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have believed them. But after everything she had seen from Nahen so far, that smile filled her with trust.
“…Fine. It’s not like I’m the one providing the capital anyway.”
“Exactly. Your Majesty simply needs to lend us your name and collect both the weapons and the profits.”
Nahen and Sitri drew up a contract on the spot. They exchanged the documents, checked the contents carefully, and stamped them with their blood seals.
After stamping her seal, Sitri asked something that had been bothering her.
“There’s one thing I’m curious about. Can our blacksmiths really replicate human weapons? I’m not so sure about that.”
“It is possible.”
Nahen was certain. No—he knew it for a fact. This was one of the builds he had already tested and proven effective during his time playing the game.
It wasn’t that the Demon Realm’s blacksmiths lacked skill. The issue was necessity. Because demons possessed magic, the value of ordinary weapons diminished the higher one climbed among the Demon Kings. The more advanced the magic, the less meaningful conventional armaments became. That was why the Demon Realm’s weapon-crafting capabilities lagged behind the Human Realm’s.
But the statement that weapons lost meaning in the face of magic was only partially true.
No matter how powerful a Demon King may be, they cannot protect every corner of their territory at once.
A Demon King was still only one person. Even a high-ranking Demon King could face an army of hundreds of thousands, but what if the enemy numbered in the millions? And what if that army was equipped with far superior gear than their own forces?
Since Nahen’s goal was to rise beyond the high ranks and claim the very top, investing heavily in weapon production from now on was only natural.
“The blacksmiths of the Demon Realm simply lacked proper research. Now that we’ve provided them with research material, they should be able to produce weapons of similar quality in a short time.”
“Really? Then that’s good to hear.”
“If you’re still doubtful, you may withdraw from the deal.”
Sitri answered in a fluster.
“W-when did I ever say that?! Free weapons sound great, why would I back out?”
“Free? It seems you’re under a misunderstanding.”
“Huh? You said you’d just give me the weapons. We already signed the contract—are you changing your mind now?”
“No. I’m saying the word ‘free’ is incorrect. The weapons provided to Your Majesty are all usage fees. They are compensation for borrowing Your Majesty’s name and for you bearing the associated risks.”
Sitri blinked, then asked, “Wait, risks? What do you mean by…”
“The business will officially be conducted under Your Majesty Sitri’s name, won’t it? If it fails, naturally Your Majesty will be the one to lose credibility.”
“…Huh?”
It was obvious. In reality, Nahen would be running the business, but officially it would be Sitri’s. Yet Sitri had been so distracted by the prospect of receiving weapons and profit without investing any money that she hadn’t realized it.
“You… you—!”
When Sitri finally understood and began to fume, Nahen simply smiled.
“There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, Your Majesty.”