Why Am I Working So Hard?

Lovely's magical girl was Lumina, the Pure White.

A first-generation magical girl specializing in healing and protection — I'd caught her on TV and YouTube more than a few times myself.

Pink hair, snow-white outfit.

And whenever she used her powers, angelic wings unfurled from her back, which had earned her a huge fanbase.

I was hardly a fan, but even I thought she seemed like a good person.

"But lately her mana consumption's gotten way worse, myong—!"

According to Lovely, back in the day Lumina could hold her transformation for days on end without running dry, but now she could barely last a single day.

On top of that, casting a spell or two left her exhausted in no time.

The reason she'd gotten injured by the monster this time, Lovely said, was that she couldn't throw up her barrier in time.

Having heard all this, Ppeupri sank into thought, chubby belly sticking out.

"Hmmmm... Has something changed in her home life recently, or has she been feeling down, ppi—?"

"Nothing like that, myong—!"

"Then does anything hurt when she casts spells, ppi—?"

"She never said anything hurts, myong—! My guess is it's an equipment problem, myong—!"

"An equipment problem, ppi—?"

"Lumina's a first-generation magical girl, myong—! It's been ten whole years, so obviously her gear's ancient by now, myong—! Her equipment can't do its job anymore, so her mana's leaking out like a sieve, myong—!"

"I dunno, ppi—. Stuff can break, sure, but that seems way too fast for it to be worn out, ppi—. Could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it be because Astra and Earth are so different, ppi—?"

"Whatever the reason — fix it, myong—!"

"Hold on, she can barely even keep her transformation going. How's she supposed to hand over her gear, ppi—? The second she transforms back, the equipment disappears with her, ppi—!"

"Myong—?! I didn't think of that, myong—!"

So what were we supposed to do, then?

Ppeupri mulled it over for a moment before speaking up.

"I've got it, ppi—! Lumina's problem looks like a classic mana leak, ppi—! So we solve it by forging her a new piece of equipment that plugs the leak, ppi—!"

"Ppeupri!!! You're a genius, myong—! Truly worthy of being Master Belgram's assistant, myong—!!"

"Ppi— heeheehee."

And there they went, stroking each other's egos like a pair of drummers jamming at their own parade.

Ppeupri asked Lovely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a few more questions about the symptoms, then nodded with the air of someone utterly convinced.

"Mana leak, confirmed, ppi—! And this problem is easy to fix, ppi—!"

"Really, myong—?!"

"Yep! Come back here tomorrow, ppi—! I'll have it made by then, ppi—!"

Lovely fluttered off, practically glowing with joy.

That left just Ppeupri and me standing in the street.

"So... this is unpaid work, right?"

"Don't worry, ppi—! Master Belgram always said: do the work with all your heart, but make sure you get paid what it's worth, ppi—! I'll make sure you earn at least enough to cover one wrecked used car, ppi—!"

"Huh. First time you've actually looked dependable."

Well, Lumina was a celebrity — nobody was going to stiff her on payment.

"Now let's head home and get to work, ppi—!"

The moment we got back, Ppeupri told me to point the hammer at the living room.

"We're going to the forge, ppi—! Recite the incantation, ppi—!"

Incantation? What was it supposed to be?

Was it this one...?

I dug through the Status Window, and a relevant keyword caught my eye.

"Gate Open — Galactic Forge."

I never thought I'd be saying something like that out loud!

Wasn't I basically the protagonist of a hunter story now?

The moment I finished reciting the cringe-inducing yet strangely exhilarating incantation, the space in front of me began to warp.

Then a gate tore open, and waves of blistering heat rolled out.

"Go on in, ppi—! This is the workshop Master Belgram used, ppi—!"

"Uh, right."

I carefully stepped through the gate.

In an instant, the scenery transformed completely.

"Whoa......"

A massive volcano rising in the distance, earth scorched pitch-black, and an old, weathered building.

Lava was cascading down the mountainside like a waterfall.

The sweltering heat rising from the ground stole my breath for a moment, but oddly enough, I adjusted to it right away.

Stepping inside the building, I found an ancient workbench, tongs hanging on the wall, and tools like drawplates and wire rods lining the room.

On one side sat an enormous forge, and beside it, an anvil worn smooth by years of use.

The floor wasn't a speck of dust anywhere — a quiet testament to how faithfully this place had been tended over the years.

"So this is...... where Belgram worked?"

"That's right, ppi—! The forge Master Belgram used right up until the very end, ppi—! This is where we'll make the equipment, ppi—!"

Ppeupri said, puffing out its belly with pride.

The place where a legendary blacksmith had swung his hammer.

And I had inherited it?

A sense of reverence hung in the air of the forge.

"I like it."

So it was finally beginning, huh.

My life as a blacksmith.

Somehow, my heart was beating a little faster.

"So...... what am I making?"

"A bracelet, ppi—!"

A bracelet, out of nowhere?

"Not a sword, or a shield, or armor?"

"You couldn't make any of those at your current level, Doyun, ppi—! Start with the basics and work your way up, ppi—!"

Apparently there was a system to all this.

"Fine. So how do I make a bracelet?"

"First, receive the relevant experience and knowledge, ppi—!"

Receive it?

I searched the Status Window, and sure enough, there was something that fit.

"'Receive' I don't get, but there's a Bracelet Crafting download. This it?"

"That's the one, ppi—! Press it and all of Master Belgram's hard-earned experience and knowledge gets injected into you in one go, ppi—!"

I pressed it, and a loading bar materialized.

What a steal.

Getting to freeload on experience and knowledge someone else had bled for, just like th—

"AAAAAGH!"

Out of nowhere, a splitting headache hit me like a pickaxe to the skull, and a searing pain shot through my hands.

Meanwhile, the loading bar kept climbing.

Hey, you... THIS is what "downloading experience and knowledge" meant?!

I scrambled to stop it, but there was no cancel button.

And so I was forced to roll around on the floor in a cold sweat until the loading finally finished.

"Ppi— heeheehee! There's no such thing as a free lunch, ppi—!"

"......Get over here."

"Ppi—?! I-it only hurts because you haven't adapted yet, ppi—! You'll be fine once you do, ppi—!!"

It hurt like hell, but it was worth every second.

The feel of working metal, the techniques, everything there was to know about bracelets — it had all soaked into me.

I felt like I had a pretty good idea what to do next.

"I'll forge a bangle-type bracelet for mana control."

"That's it, ppi—! Great idea, ppi—!"

There were many ways to craft equipment, but the method for this one was forging.

Heating iron until it glowed red-hot, then hammering it into shape.

The entire process surfaced in my head with startling clarity.

Nice.

I felt like a genuine professional.

"This is the right iron, isn't it?"

"Correct, ppi—! Stardust iron is perfect for magical girl equipment, ppi—!"

In one corner of the forge, piles of pre-made iron blocks were already stacked high.

They called it stardust — a special iron ore from Planet Astra, refined into ingots.

I lit the forge, dropped in a piece of stardust iron, and let it heat until it glowed.

Then I pulled it out with the tongs, set it on the anvil, and got to hammering.

First, I stretched it into a long bar, evening out the thickness as I went.

CLANG— CLANG— CLANG—

Next, the cooled metal went back into the forge for another round of heating.

Out again, refine the shape,

CLANG— CLANG— CLANG—

and finally, one last gentle heating before setting it down on a rounded steel rod.

Now for the bracelet shaping.

Roughly this size should do it, right?

Just curl it into a nice round ring while hammering, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and......

Crack.

"It cracked, ppIII—!!! Bracelets are small, so you can't hammer them too hard, ppi—!"

"I know. I know, alright...... Hah. This is harder than it looks."

I'd received the experience and knowledge, but apparently that didn't mean I could make one perfectly on the first try.

Maybe my hands just hadn't gotten used to it yet?

"Well then, guess I'll just keep going until it works."

And so I repeated the same process over and over.

One, two, three......

Sweat dripping, I hammered away relentlessly.

My skills improved steadily, and before long nothing was cracking anymore — but the quality still wasn't where I wanted it, so I kept at it.

Without my noticing, a growing mountain of failures had piled up beside me.

"I'm hungry, ppi—. Aren't you gonna eat dinner, ppi—?"

"What...? It's already dinnertime?"

I checked the clock — half the day had flown by.

Unbelievable.

Me, losing track of time like that!

"Aren't you taking this a bit too seriously, ppi—?"

"Right? Why am I even working this hard? It's not like I'm the one wearing it."

"Take it easy, ppi—!"

"Just one more, and I'll stop."

Only after finishing that one more did I finally order hamburgers with Ppeupri.

"Delicious, ppi—! I love these, ppi—!"

But how does a bird even eat a hamburger?

Ppeupri devoured its shrimp burger with tremendous relish.

And then, late that night.

"Whew. Done."

"You finished it, ppi—?!"

In my hand was a round, silver bracelet.

Those perfectly smooth curves, not a single flat edge!

I made it myself, but honestly? Not bad.

"What do you think, Ppeupri? Passable?"

"Hmm...... This'll pass, ppi—! But it's not finished yet, ppi—!"

True enough.

For this lump of metal to be reborn as magical girl equipment, one final step remained: imbuing it with the power of the stars.

Grant — Starforce.

During this ritual, you could also grant a bonus effect of your choosing — and for this one, I'd be adding Mana Control.

"......Do I seriously have to recite a chant for this too?"

"You do, ppi—! It's a sacred ritual, ppi—!"

Of course. Can't have anyone saying this isn't a magical girl show.

Why does the blacksmith have to do a chant too?!

"O, O light of hope. Answer my call!"

A shimmering, iridescent glow gathered at the tip of the hammer.

I raised it high above the bracelet.

"Descend! STARFORCE!!!"

CLANG—!

The instant the hammer met the bracelet, a blinding radiance burst forth.

And when the light finally faded, a status window was floating above it.

"It's done."

I lifted the bracelet up to the light.

The silver bangle had transformed into an iridescent piece of equipment, runic characters now etched across its surface.