Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: A Taste That Doesn't Lie
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"Mister! We're here!"
After dealing with the pig, it was already evening, so we headed straight for the smithy.
As always, I called out for the mister, and he emerged from the inner door.
He must have been forging a weapon just now; his head was slick and shiny with sweat.
"You're here, kid. Just in time."
Hearing him say "just in time" must mean it was just completed.
"Ooh...! Where's the sword?!"
"Hold on a second."
The mister went through the back door and came out carrying a large sword wrapped tightly in bandages.
Seeing a size I'd never encountered since coming to this world, I knew it was the greatsword I had commissioned.
Preventing spoilers by wrapping it in bandages.
This guy has good taste.
"You were saying something about it being difficult, but you made it just fine, didn't you?"
"If I couldn't even do this much, I couldn't call myself a blacksmith."
True, even if no one uses Rhino Horn material, there are plenty of materials harder than this.
If he'd gotten stuck, I would have had to find another smithy.
"Here, go ahead and unwrap it."
"Ooh-ooh! Ooh-ooh!"
It was so large that even the mister had to use both hands.
I made monkey noises as I took the sword from him.
That big, brawny, beautiful sword possessed a devilish charm that could turn any man, no matter how smart, into an ape.
Should I say I can feel its aura?
My first thought upon receiving the sword was that it wasn't that heavy.
It wasn't that it wasn't heavy, but it was light for its appearance.
As for its size, if I stood it on the floor, it came up to my chin.
"Mister, how long is this thing?"
"170 centimeters, including the handle."
The blade was roughly 20 cm wide and 3 cm thick. It was a proper Dragonslayer.
To visually ravage this sword, I brought my hand to the end of the bandages.
With a slight tug, the bandages unraveled with a soft rustle, revealing its beautiful form.
The body of the sword was rough, as if carved directly from stone, and had a dark gray hue. The Iron Horn material forming the edge was so dark it seemed to absorb light itself.
The handle wasn't attached separately but was one piece with the blade, wrapped in bandages to prevent slipping.
The sword, stripped of its bandages, was in that moment lewder than a naked woman.
"Hah! Hah!"
I licked the flat of the blade.
"This taste... is a taste that doesn't lie!"
So honest!
"Alright. Your name is Dragonslayer."
As I named the sword, a blue window appeared before my eyes.
◈ Item Information
Name: Dragonslayer
Grade: B+
Description: A greatsword forged by the Imperial blacksmith, Smith. Its materials include components from the herbivorous monster Rhino Horn and its named variant, Iron Horn. It is characteristically light yet durable. Despite its grandiose name, "Dragonslayer," it cannot actually slay a dragon.
This bastard? How dare the system rain on its master's parade?
If I ever meet the author, I'll give them a good spanking.
"I've never seen someone name a sword before..."
"Let him be. You get guys like that sometimes."
"Haaah... Mister. As a sign of my gratitude, may I perform a dance for you?"
"No. Don't."
I immediately started twerking my ass off.
"I told you not to...!"
That's why I'm doing it. Because he told me not to.
If he'd asked me to, I wouldn't have.
Luna pretended not to look, sneaking glances out of the corner of her eye, while the mister simply turned his back.
Thirty minutes passed like that.
"Phew! Thank you!"
"Haaah... Are you finally done?"
"Should I do an encore?"
"If you do, you'll never set foot in here again."
Too bad.
"Oh, right. Kid. You haven't reported catching that named monster to the Adventurer's Guild yet, have you?"
"The what now?"
"Please, speak in a way I can understand..."
"What is it?"
"There's not much information on named monsters, so if you report it to the Adventurer's Guild, you can get a fee for the intel. Just a heads-up."
Can't say no to money.
"I've told you everything I needed to. Now get out of here so I can get some rest."
"Ah, before we go, could I ask you to take a look at this too?"
I took a safe out of my inventory.
"What's with the safe...?"
I found it before coming to the smithy, after I took care of that pig bastard and looked for anything valuable.
It was too hard to break with my fist, and I couldn't just smash it open since I didn't know what was inside.
If there were gold coins, they'd get smashed along with it.
"Someone gave it to me, but I don't know how to open it."
The pig did say he'd give me all his money and whatnot before he got beaten, so it's not a lie.
"Haaah... Fine. I'll work on it when I have time. Come back later."
As expected of Mister-aemon. There's nothing he can't do.
"Well then, we'll be on our way~"
***
The day after the incident.
The Empire was swept by a great wave.
"Sir Luke. Here is today's newspaper."
"They have newspapers?"
No TV or cell phones, but they have all sorts of other things.
If this was the case, why tag it as medieval? They should have just made it a modern fantasy for convenience.
I took the newspaper from Luna.
I'd spent my whole life avoiding newspapers and news, so I normally wouldn't read one, but today was an exception.
Given what happened yesterday, today's paper was bound to be interesting.
[ Viscount Berkeley Found Tied Up Half-Naked in the Plaza. ]
Such was the headline gracing the front page.
There were no photos, perhaps because there was no technology to take pictures with magic, but even if there were, it would have been too disgusting to publish.
I read the article just below the headline.
[ Early this morning, Viscount Berkeley was reported to have been found hanging half-naked in front of a fountain in the Imperial Plaza. The Viscount's face was not intact, appearing to have been beaten dozens of times, and below him was a ledger labeled "Slave Trade Contracts." Based on this, it is presumed that Viscount Berkeley was the victim of retaliation. ]
"The reporters here are pretty accurate."
Last night.
Luna's suggestion, which stopped me from killing him, was this.
- Let's strip him naked and tie him up in the busiest plaza.
Even the Demon God would shake his head and say, 'That's a bit much...'
I didn't know Luna had that side to her, but I guess she couldn't help herself when faced with the sweet fruit of revenge.
And she's the one who's always calling me weird.
Normally, the higher-ups would block this kind of information from leaking, but how could they when he was strung up in such a crowded plaza?
To silence all the witnesses, they would have had to kill a third of the Empire's population.
"Alright, now that we've seen all there is to see, shall we get back to work?"
Yesterday, I just picked up the sword, had dinner, and went to sleep, so I didn't get a chance to use it.
So I was dying to swing it around. Didn't matter if it was at a person or a monster.
"Luna! Get ready, quick!"
"...As I always say, Sir Luke, you're the only one who needs to get ready."
"Te-hee."
***
When I entered the Adventurer's Guild, it was unusually chaotic.
'Did an S-rank adventurer show up or something?'
"Adela. Why is the guild so noisy today?"
"Word is spreading about an Imperial noble committing a crime."
"Wow! You know about that!"
"You didn't have something to do with it, did you, Luke...?"
I was involved, but I wasn't the one who did *that* to him.
I smiled slyly and looked at Luna.
Adela followed my gaze and looked at Luna with an expression of horror.
"Could it be... Luna...?"
"...*Ahem*."
"It can't be..."
Luna, being around Luke has corrupted you.
Adela said with a despairing look.
Hey, I didn't do it, so why are you blaming me?
"Adela, you'll definitely regret saying that to me."
"...I'm already regretting it as we speak."
Regretting that I ever met you.
I'll just pretend I didn't hear that last part.
She'll be shocked when she sees what I caught in a single day.
She'll look at me in a new light, thinking, 'Oh my! Such a fearsome monster! As expected of Luke!'
Then I'll say, 'Who are you?' and she'll be like, 'Aah! Please don't abandon me!' and we'll have a whole regret-despair-obsession arc.
I crudely pulled the Iron Horn's head from my inventory and plopped it onto the reception desk.
"...This is!"
"A named monster. Is there a problem?"
"Please explain in detail!"
"A receptionist... giving orders!?"
"...Please."
There, there. That's the attitude someone asking for a favor should have.
"Luna. Explain."
"...?"
But... I'm a STEM guy, so I'm not good with words.
Not that I'm good at math, either.
I stepped back and listened as Luna explained.
Its ferocity, its carnivorous nature, and even the berserk-like symptoms where its eyes turned red.
"To think you caught a named monster..."
How about that, Adela? Feeling a little respect for me now?
"With this..."
Adela muttered something to herself.
How flustered must she be to break down and start talking to herself?
"Luke. Would you be interested in taking on a Giant Ant subjugation request? If you complete it, you can be promoted to D-rank."
"We leave immediately!"
"W-wait a moment! You have to listen to the explanation first!"
"Oh, right."
"First of all, since you're currently an E-rank adventurer, you can't accept the Giant Ant subjugation request."
Then why the hell did you mention it?
Is this some kind of psychological torture?
"Please let me finish..."
"I'm listening."
"Your expression is full of dissatisfaction."
Is it?
"Luna, what's my face look like right now?"
"It's a face that seems to be saying, 'Then why the hell did you mention it?'"
Damn, that's spot on! She could be a translator.
"Anyway, Giant Ants themselves are E-rank monsters, but this is a D-rank request because it involves subjugating their nest. However, seeing as you brought in a named monster, I thought you might be capable enough to participate. If you agree, you'll go with a D-rank adventurer."
"Do I get to choose the adventurer?"
If I'm choosing, it's gotta be a beauty.
"No. There's already a D-rank adventurer who accepted the subjugation request, so you'll be going with them. Ah, speaking of which, here he comes now!"
At Adela's words, I turned around.
"What's this, a brat? Haven't you pissed off back to the academy yet?"
There stood a bald man with a large, double-bladed axe on his back.
"Alright. Let's kill him."
"Sir Luke, no!"