The First Commission

They say life can turn on a dime — and mine had just proved it.

Until yesterday I was tapping away at a keyboard in an office. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd end up as a blacksmith.

"So, what's your name, anyway, bbi—?"

"Han Doyun. And since we're on the subject — do you two really have to end every single sentence like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that?"

"It's a fairy trait, bbi—! I was born this way, I can't help it, bbi—!"

"That's going to give me a headache."

Well, my commute was gone either way, so I decided to commit to learning the trade properly.

"So... what exactly am I supposed to do now?"

"Simple, bbi—! A blacksmith of Astra maintains the equipment of magical girls. That's our duty, bbi—! Doyun, all you have to do is follow that duty, bbi—!"

"And how does one 'maintain equipment'?"

"First, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let's find a magical girl who needs help, bbi—!"

"Wait, you're throwing me straight into fieldwork without teaching me a single part of the job?"

"We'll figure that part out when we get there, bbi—!!"

Why was I smelling the distinct odor of a small-to-medium business coming off a fairy?

Was this really how it worked?

"Let's go find a magical girl in distress, bbi—!"

Hammer tucked into my backpack, I stepped out onto the street with Ppeupri.

Given how often the Evil Organization popped out of nowhere, the neighborhood was surprisingly peaceful. Probably because the magical girls responded fast enough to nip most rampages in the bud.

Just then, my phone went off.

Weeeeing—

Level 5 was the lowest alert there was.

Good timing, honestly. Didn't seem like it would be too dangerous either.

"Ppeupri, look at this. It's right around here."

"Perfect timing, bbi—! Let's go meet that magical girl, bbi—!"

We didn't even need directions to find the monster. People were running toward us in tears.

Must be over there.

Before long, a colossal, comically dim-looking onion came waddling into view.

"Yang— papapa. How dare you toss me into some cheap assembled jjajangmyeon? Let everyone drown in tears—!"

"Gaaah! My eyes!!"

"The tears won't stop!"

Damn it.

Forget the stinging eyes — I could feel the sheer sorrow that onion had lived through!

What kind of monster wastes fresh onion like that anyway?

"So we just wait here?"

"That's right, bbi—! It's so spicy and sad, bbi—!"

I forced my tear-flooded eyes open and waited for the magical girls to show up.

And then—

"Halt! Onion Monster! Stop tormenting these people."

"Yang— papapa. Who goes there?"

Two magical girls revealed themselves atop a building. One with blue hair, one with red.

A voice amplified by magic rang out over the street.

"I am Aqua, of peace and water! Onion Monster, you have committed the crime of forcing innocent people to weep. Now, by the purifying waters, I shall—"

"I'm Blaze. I'll burn it~"

"Blaze?! You can't just phone it in!"

"Don't care. Tired."

Welcome to the age of self-promotion, I suppose.

Magical girls always, without fail, declared their name, affiliation, and purpose before taking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down a monster. According to rumor, though, if no one was around to watch, they'd just skip the speech and start swinging — no idea if that was actually true.

The onion monster let out a contemptuous laugh.

"Burn me? Yang— papapa. Don't underestimate the strength that survived a wok!!"

"Aqua!"

"On it! Ward of Water!"

Aqua shouted her skill name and swept her staff, and a long ribbon of water surged up, batting away every onion peel the monster hurled.

Wait a second, though.

I could see something.

When I focused my attention on Aqua's staff, a status window bloomed into view.

There were other effects listed too, but Aqua had already started moving, so I couldn't read them properly.

It was hard enough keeping my eyes open through the onion fumes anyway.

"See anything, bbi—?"

"Yeah. Something's wrong with Aqua's staff over there. It says the durability's low and the alignment doesn't match."

"That's exactly it, bbi—! Both of those drag down an item's performance, bbi—!"

"So what do we do about it?"

"Low durability can be repaired, and a mismatched alignment can be changed, bbi—! Did you happen to check the rank, bbi—?"

"Yeah. Three stars."

"Bbi—?! Then that's a problem, bbi—! Your hammer is still a baby, Doyun, so it can't handle it, bbi—! 3-star equipment can only be touched by hammers of 3 stars or higher, bbi—!"

My hammer was a baby?

I pulled it out of my backpack and focused my mind on it.

"One star...? Why is it so low? If a legendary blacksmith used it, shouldn't it be top-tier by default?"

I had no idea how high the ranking scale went, but even at a glance, this thing looked like junk.

Ppeupri fluttered up above my head and flapped its wings.

"Nothing is guaranteed, bbi—! This hammer is a special one Belgram left behind for his successor, bbi—! Accept that meaning with gratitude, bbi—!"

Special, my foot.

Wasn't this just a fancy way of saying "don't eat fancy food, start your career solidly from the bottom"?

Tch.

"So what now? By your own logic, Aqua's staff is beyond fixing, isn't it?"

"For now, yes, bbii—! But if you talk with the magical girl, there might be something you can solve, Doyun. Do that, bbi—!"

Talking with a magical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠girl, however, turned out to be easier said than done.

Aqua and Blaze took down the onion monster with a combo attack, gave the crowd a cursory wave, and vanished without a trace.

All that remained on the road was the scorched, shriveled husk of the onion monster, a scattering of onion peels, and a few blue mana stones.

Black cars began rolling in from somewhere.

"This is the Elemental Guild! We're taking control of this area now!"

Magical girls with guild backing never bothered to look back at a site once a takedown was finished. Guild employees came out personally to collect the monster materials, direct traffic, and clean up the scene — so why would they?

At this rate, striking up a conversation would be next to impossible.

Maybe I should just put in a request through the guild?

"Ppeupri?"

Just then, a white rabbit came bounding down the street.

Except "rabbit" didn't quite cover it — the thing looked like a plush doll. There was even a heart marking on its forehead...

Wait, that's a fairy?!

"Lovely!"

"Ppeupri!!"

The two fairies threw their arms around each other like long-lost brothers reuniting at an airport gate.

"I missed you, myong—!"

"I missed you too, bbi—!"

That way of talking, honestly.

Completely forgetting my existence, the pair exchanged warm greetings for a good while — until Lovely suddenly turned to look at me.

"By the way, what's with this derpy human, myong—?"

"He's Belgram's successor, bbi—!"

"?! Is that for real, myong—?!"

The look Lovely gave me changed in an instant — from total indifference to suddenly sparkling eyes.

"Hmm, though for a successor of Belgram, aren't you a bit wobbly on your feet, myong—?"

"Well, that much is true, I suppose, bbi—."

"...I can hear every word, you know."

"Ahem. Ahem. Successor of Belgram—! I have a favor to ask, myong—!"

Switching gears with zero shame, Lovely got straight to the point.

"Take a look at my magical girl's equipment, myong—!"

"No thanks."

"Myong, myong. Right, of course. A successor of Belgram would naturally accept a... hold on, what did you just say, myong—?!"

"I said no."

Lovely was completely blindsided. So was Ppeupri.

"Why not, myong—?!"

"Because I'm not thrilled about working with a client who, within five minutes of meeting me, openly calls me derpy and wobbly."

If my years in the workforce taught me anything, it was this: there's no reason to let people walk all over you. And honestly, judging by who seemed more desperate here, I'd say it was them.

"Go find another blacksmith~ Come on, Ppeupri."

"Y-you're really walking away, bbi—?! Lovely! There are no other authentic blacksmiths of Astra left except this human, bbi—!"

Ppeupri played the persuasion card, and barely a few steps later, Lovely shouted after us. I turned around to find the tiny creature flattened against the ground in a full prostration.

"I'm sorry for running my mouth, myong—!"

"Hm."

"I'm really sorry, myong—! Look, I'm groveling, myong—!"

Ears flopped low, tiny hands rubbing together — I'd never seen many fairies in my life, but somehow the apology felt genuine.

"Fine. I'll take a look."

"Really, myong—?! So you'll check my magical girl's gear, myong—?"

"Yeah. Lead the way, I'll follow."

"Ah, that you can't do, myong."

"Excuse me?"

Lovely's face went dead serious.

"Privacy is a magical girl's lifeline, myong—! Meeting face-to-face with an outsider in private is absolutely forbidden, myong—!"

"Hold on. You asked me to look at her equipment. How am I supposed to do that without seeing it?"

"Not my problem, myong—! You'll have to figure that part out yourself, myong—!"

"...Ppeupri? If you don't come along this time, you're getting made into fried chick."

"I-I'm coming, bbi—!"

"Please, myong—!! My magical girl can't even transform right now, myong—!!! Just this once, I'm begging you, myong—!!!!!"

In the end, with Lovely clinging to my pant leg for dear life, I had no choice but to accept the commission remotely.

Ppeupri did mention there was a way to do it without meeting face-to-face, at least.

Either way — this was my first commission as a blacksmith.

"So... who exactly is this magical girl?"

"The Pure White Magical Girl — Lumina, myong—!"

Lumina?!