Chapter 676
Chapter 676
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 676
Chapter Title: The Smith's Legacy
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676.
“Sir Dweno is incredible, as expected!”
“He was so valiant, wiping out those demons all by himself!”
Praise for Dweno flowed endlessly from all corners.
Listening to it, Ar muttered.
“That’s Sir Dweno for you. Even before he achieved the great deeds of a Hero, his reputation among the people was immense.”
‘It’s only natural, I suppose. In the beginning, Dweno was the most famous one in our party.’
He and Lisinas were also famous enough that no one didn't know their names.
‘Well, Lisinas and I were infamous, though.’
The foolish one who uttered the witless words of saving the world.
And the surviving hero who returned alone after sacrificing his comrades.
He wasn't a welcome presence, as rumors claimed he brought death.
Luna was just starting to make a name for herself at the time, and Ar-on was young.
The most famous hero of that era was Agon of Reisal.
Ar-on’s master, who held the title ‘Guardian of the Azure Sky,’ and a potential companion Lisinas had considered.
And Dweno’s renown was nearly on par with Agon’s.
“He is quite amazing.”
“Of course he is. He’s Sir Dweno, after all.”
“That’s right. Everyone in this city respects Dweno. He’s a great leader.”
Enniha said, taking a large swig of his drink.
Beside him, Driana nodded emphatically. “Mhm, mhm-!”
Hearing this, Leo silently brought his cup to his lips.
“I was a failed leader.”
One day, during a banquet after a battle.
The words Dweno had spoken when the two of them were sharing a drink suddenly came to mind.
“The warriors of Ivaldi were magnificent, and there were many skilled artisans. If I had protected them to the end… the outcome might have been different.”
It was one of the few times Dweno, who never spoke of his past, shared his story.
“How wonderful it would be if I could turn back time. I could have saved so many more people then.”
“Are you drunk? You know better than anyone that something like that can’t happen.”
“…”
“We don’t have the luxury of looking back right now. It’s time to look forward and move on.”
“Haha… you’re right. You’re right.”
“Dweno, you’re already carrying so much. Don’t try to carry the past as well.”
“Stop saying such cringey things.”
“I’m trying to be nice here.”
Smiling faintly at Kyle’s scowl, Dweno spoke.
“You should make a promise with me, too.”
“What?”
Dweno gulped down his drink.
“That you can regret the past, but never be bound by it.”
“That will never happen.”
“Right. For you, that would never happen.”
“Leo?”
Chelsea’s voice broke him out of his reverie.
“Yes?”
“Your cup is empty… should I fill it?”
“No.”
“This isn't like you, Leo Flove. Being lost in thought.”
As Duran snorted, Leo let out a small laugh.
“I was just thinking about the old days.”
“There you go, acting like a little old man again.”
As Eliza’s lips curled slightly, Karl spoke.
“Eliza.”
“What?”
“You’ll get divine punishment for that.”
“What did I do?”
Karl shook his head as Eliza scowled at him.
“Class Rep, what are you thinking so hard about?”
“It’s nothing.”
Leo scanned the Beastkin and Dwarves enjoying the banquet.
“It’s just that I’ve come to regret something I did a long time ago.”
“That’s strange. You having thoughts like that. I didn’t think you were the type to have regrets.”
Leo chuckled at Iliana’s words.
“Is there anyone in the world like that?”
They couldn’t know, but the people here were beings of the past.
5,000 years ago.
Countless lives that resisted destruction, only to crumble away in Ivaldi.
Dweno’s regret.
But a thought suddenly occurred to him.
‘If I… had taken his hand just a little sooner.’
If he had taken Lisinas’s hand and embarked on the journey to save the world a little earlier.
‘Could these people have been saved?’
He knew it was a meaningless regret.
But Leo couldn’t stop regretting.
These people were the regrets left behind by a dear friend.
They were the unknown past of a comrade who had saved his life on the battlefield time and again.
They were heroes who had vanished in a place he knew nothing about.
‘History cannot be changed.’
Even if they achieved victory here, it wouldn’t change history.
But…
‘I can tell their story to the future.’
The existence of these people, unknown to those of the current era.
The final moments of those who fought to the end for the world back then.
‘I can pass it down to future generations.’
That must be his role as someone living in the present.
‘I will make sure your story is told to those who come after.’
Leo turned his head.
In the direction of Dweno’s workshop.
‘So, Dweno. You shouldn’t be bound by the past either.’
***
The next morning.
Chelsea, who had been sleeping in a tent, shot up.
“Hwaaah!”
With a long yawn, Chelsea rubbed her eyes and got up.
She had gone to sleep relatively early, around dawn.
‘Ar, Driana… and Iliana aren’t here. Did they go to train?’
Looking to one side of the room, she saw Eliza, Aina, and Artian sleeping as if they were dead.
Yesterday’s battle had been fierce.
It was only natural to be physically exhausted.
She peeked outside and saw it was late morning.
‘Did I use too much mana yesterday too?’
She felt muscle aches all over her body from mana overload.
“I’m definitely better suited for fighting on the front lines than casting spells from the back.”
After rubbing her shoulders a few times, Chelsea was stretching with a groan.
“Hey! Little lady! Good morning!”
“Wahahaha! You were amazing yesterday! We would’ve been in big trouble if it weren’t for you!”
“Do you need a magic staff, by any chance? I can make you one.”
The Dwarves and Beastkin moving around the fortress walls showed her goodwill.
“It’s okay! My staff is excellent! Should I help you carry those repair materials?”
“No, no. How could we ask a precious mage to do such work?”
“I’ll help!”
“It’s fine, I said! Just get some rest!”
A female Beastkin waved her hands dismissively as Chelsea approached her with a friendly smile.
Seeing this, Chelsea let out a sigh of relief.
‘The walls between us have really come down.’
The overt, wary gazes were gone.
It seemed that fending off Tartaros’s invasion together and enjoying the banquet had an effect.
‘Anyway, the conditions for conquering the dungeon have been met.’
To clear the dungeon that had appeared, exploring its interior was essential.
Whether it was inside this fortress or in the surrounding area outside.
They had to find and destroy the Legion's Record that was generating the dungeon.
That alone would perfectly resolve this mission.
‘Before that… can’t we request support from Demian?’
Just as Chelsea was pondering this.
“You’re up early.”
“Leo. Good morning!”
Chelsea beamed and walked over to Leo.
“Where have you been?”
“I just left the kids with Dweno.”
Early in the morning.
Leo had woken up the sleeping Ar, Driana, and Iliana and dragged them to Dweno’s workshop.
“Huh? Ar is training too?”
Chelsea tilted her head, and Leo smiled.
“I thought it would be necessary. It’s the same training Ar-on did in the past.”
“Did Ar go willingly?”
She had already heard about the training regimen.
“No.”
Of course, there was no need to worry.
‘Let go of meeee! You perveeeert!’
Having heard the situation from Leo, Chelsea muttered.
“A water ghost… no, a fire ghost.”
Chelsea clicked her tongue, then snorted with a “Hmph!”
“It’s a good thing they get to train with Sir Dweno and you!”
“Want to join them?”
“…I’m good.”
Chelsea laughed awkwardly.
Having been caught and trained by Leo since her first year, she knew better than anyone.
Just how terrible Leo’s training was.
‘Well, it’s certainly effective, though.’
Shuddering, Chelsea said.
“Are you making breakfast? I can help.”
“No. We’ll just have something simple this morning. There’s something I need to do first.”
“Something to do? What is it? Is it related to the dungeon raid?”
“No, it’s personal.”
“Personal…?”
“Yeah.”
Leo looked out at the city inside the fortress.
“I need to find the one who saved my life.”
“The one who saved your life?”
The place Leo headed to was the weapon production district, located next to the fortress’s residential area.
Dweno, who used a personal workshop, was a special case.
Most smiths produced their weapons in a communal space.
Gardsrone was no different.
*Clang— Clang—*
*Hooo— Hooo—*
*Fwoosh—! Tssss—!*
The sounds of hammers, bellows, fire heating metal, and steam hissing filled the air.
“You two. This is a restricted area.”
Normally, outsiders weren't allowed here.
But that morning, Dweno had given him permission to enter.
Leo took out the letter Dweno had written and showed it to the person in charge.
After reading it, the supervisor nodded and asked.
“What is it? Are you here to get a weapon repaired?”
“Is there a dwarf named Dinette here?”
“Dinette?”
The female dwarf, who appeared to be the supervisor, tilted her head.
“She’s a smith who makes swords. I believe she’s a mid-rank smith.”
Dinette.
It was the name engraved on the hilt of the sword Kyle had used, alongside the symbol of Ivaldi.
He had asked about her in his past life, but even Dweno hadn’t known.
‘There were many smiths in Ivaldi. A mid-rank smith would have been more than capable… but unfortunately, her rank wasn’t high enough for me to remember.’
Ivaldi was one of the few fortresses that had long resisted Erebos during the age of calamity.
As such, it boasted a massive scale.
The population within this fortress alone was substantial.
It was therefore impossible for Dweno, who was also the commander-in-chief, to have remembered the name of a mid-rank smith.
“Dinette… Dinette… Ah! That Dinette.”
The supervisor of the armory nodded.
“Why is an outsider looking for Dinette?”
“She’s a benefactor.”
“What?”
“I was saved time and again because of a weapon that artisan made. I want to express my gratitude.”
“Hah… to think the day would come when someone who used a weapon from Ivaldi would come to give thanks…”
“I know I’m far too late.”
He didn’t know how it seemed from their perspective, but in actual history, it was an expression of gratitude 5,000 years in the making.
As Leo smiled wryly, the supervisor smiled back, tinged with bitterness.
“Dinette would have been overjoyed to hear that. It’s the greatest honor for a smith.”
“Would have been?”
“She died. Right before we were transported here.”
“…”
At those words, Leo closed his eyes, and Chelsea gasped.
“Her grave is in Ivaldi, but there’s a memorial stone for those who died. I can guide you if you wish.”
“Please.”
***
The place they were guided to was lined with memorial stones.
A few new tombstones, erected after their arrival in this world, were visible, suggesting this was to be a new cemetery.
Leo stood before the stones.
Searching the engraved names, Leo found the name Dinette.
An artisan whose face he had never known.
Dinette, too, would have gone to her death never dreaming of who used the weapon she had made.
The surviving hero had merely picked up Dinette’s weapon by chance on a battlefield.
Dinette had simply forged a weapon as a smith.
But…
“Thanks to you, I survived time and time again.”
The fact that Leo owed his life to her, over and over, did not change.
“And because of that, I was able to save the world.”
The weapon of a single smith, who never stopped forging in a world of despair, hoping for its salvation, became a cornerstone in saving that world.
“Thank you. For saving my life.”
Though his words would never reach her.
Having said what he had to, Leo turned away.
***
*Fwoosh—*
A black flame soared within the furnace.
*Swoosh—*
Gias lifted a giant hammer.
Before him was an anvil that resembled a mountain of pig iron.
And upon that anvil lay another Gias.
*Thump—*
Grasping the hammer with both hands, Gias smiled.
“Everything is as God wills.”
With a chilling smile, the massive hammer was swung.
*Crack—! Crunch!*
The arm of the Gias on the anvil was mercilessly crushed.
The agony of having one’s body mangled while still alive.
“Kuhuhuhuhu! Kuhahahahaha!”
The Gias whose body was being crushed burst into mad laughter.
Through his bloodshot eyes, he could see the black flames enveloping him.
“Everything is as God wills!”