A Blacksmith's Pride
Hunt could never resist. Clang, clang. The rhythmic sound of hammers rang warmly through the Legrian Territory. Having signed the labor contract, Hort grabbed his hammer and set to work repairing the residents' homes first. At first, he had intended to start with the walls. This place sat right beside Monster Land—dangerous territory where monster attacks could strike at any time, from any direction. Fortifying the walls should have been the priority.
“That monster of a man.” Albert had told him the walls weren’t necessary yet. As long as he remained in the territory, no monster posed a real threat. So instead of the walls, he ordered Hort to repair the residents’ houses first. If anyone else had said that, Hort would have snapped back, accusing them of underestimating the monsters of Monster Land. But this was Albert—the man who had slain a basilisk and even defeated a dragon. What use were walls when his mere presence made the territory safer than any other?
In truth, monsters had attacked several times already. Trolls. Mid-tier monsters considered quite dangerous even among mercenaries. A group of ten C-rank mercenaries would barely manage to take one down. Ten of those threatening creatures had assaulted the territory at once. Under normal circumstances…
These flimsy walls would crumble the moment a troll touched them. This territory should have been finished.
But the outcome had been different. When Albert spotted the trolls, a bright smile spread across his face—the same smile a merchant might wear upon discovering something profitable. Especially once he heard that troll blood fetched a high price as an alchemical ingredient, his eyes had practically rolled back in his head as he captured them. The sight of a mid-tier troll collapsing from a single flick of Albert’s finger had been enough to send chills down Hort’s spine.
He’s a monster. A complete monster! How did I end up signing that contract with someone like him…?
The contract Albert had offered was nothing short of a slave contract. It promised a salary, but only forty-four gold. Something about that number four had clearly obsessed him—it felt almost deranged. “Forty-four gold!? For someone of my caliber, that’s— Haaah, I said I’d do it, so I can’t complain now…” Hort let out an irritated sigh and swung his hammer. He had refused at first, only to be told he would lose his head if he didn’t sign. The threat had sent a chill down his spine. Anyone else might have dismissed it as a joke, but…
He would actually do it.
Albert had said it with complete seriousness. And there was no arguing with him. After all, the man had once declared, “If you bring me the basilisk’s eye, I’ll stake my honor—my hand—on granting you anything! Hahahaha!” Hort smacked his own loose mouth. “This damn mouth of mine. I was told to watch what I say…”
Even as he grumbled, his work speed was nothing short of miraculous. Though it looked like he was just banging away, thanks to the godlike craftsmanship of his race, he never took more than thirty minutes to repair a single house. “At least the materials are plentiful.” When he asked for wood, Albert had fetched it straight from Monster Land—a place others wouldn’t even approach. To Albert, it was apparently no more than a pleasant stroll. He was monopolizing the territory’s overflowing natural resources.
“Well, that should do it.” He finished the roof and climbed down. Today’s work was done. He had told Albert he would only repair one house per day. Since he had completed one, his quota was finished. Time to head back and catch up on the sleep he had been missing. “Hup— Huh? What’s this?”
As he descended from the roof, he finally noticed the crowd gathered below. They were staring at him with curious eyes. Hort’s face twisted into a scowl. “What are you looking at? Never seen a dwarf before!?”
“Actually, this is our first time.”
“Oh, really? Well, I suppose so. Living in a backwater like this, how would you ever see a great dwarf like me?” He burst into hearty laughter. While he laughed, the people examined the house he had repaired. “Incredible! How did he fix it so perfectly?” “This house was on the verge of collapsing, and he actually restored it…” “So this is what dwarves are like? Look at this—even if you hit it, it doesn’t budge.” “We won’t have to worry about it falling while we sleep anymore, right?” “He’s amazing!”
The people kept exclaiming in wonder. The house Hort had repaired had been in such poor condition that it could have collapsed at any moment. Some residents had even developed insomnia from fear of it falling while they slept. It had been so dilapidated that no one had dared touch it, yet Hort had not only repaired it—he had upgraded it beyond its original state.
“Hmph.” While everyone else reacted with excitement, Hort himself wore a disinterested expression. “What’s so perfect about this? It’s basically just got a single support beam added.”
“Huh? But…”
“A proper house must remain safe no matter what danger comes. Only something an ogre could step on without breaking deserves to be called a house. This thing would fall apart if an orc so much as poked it.” He walked away, clearly unsatisfied. What a mess. How did a territory with a monster like that living in it end up in this state?
“Hm?” As Hort headed toward the lord’s mansion to rest, he spotted someone else repairing a house. A human man. The man was sweating as he hammered wooden planks into place. His posture wasn’t bad—he seemed to have some experience in this line of work. Clang, clang!! “This should be fine if I just attach it here, right? Whoa, this one too… like this… and over here…” The man worked busily, repairing the house.
“……” Watching him, Hort felt something boiling inside that he could no longer contain. No, how is he even holding the hammer like that? The force isn’t transferring at all.Look at that! Is he seriously hammering the nail in like that? It’ll throw off the balance completely!Why is he reinforcing it with wood there? You need to tear that part out and replace it properly!Whoa, whoa, whoa! That’s crooked! It felt like his insides were on fire. The man was clearly trying to imitate something he had learned by watching, but nothing—from his stance to his technique—was done correctly.
“You… No, never mind.” Hort, don’t get involved. You already finished your work for the day. Just go back. He had agreed to repair only one house per day. It was his own form of protest—his pride’s way of saying, You think you can work a high-class talent like me to the bone for only forty-four gold!? He couldn’t break that agreement. Pride had to be maintained. Fine. I’m leaving. Hort turned his head.
“Huh? Does this go here? Well, whatever.” “This spot… Hmm… I’ll just hammer it in for now.” “And here…” He tried to ignore the man and walk past, but after only a few steps, he stopped. “Aaaagh! Damn it! I can’t take it anymore!! You! Hand over that hammer right now!”
“Wh-what!? Whoooah!? A-a dwarf!?”
“Never seen a dwarf before!? Ah, of course you haven’t! Anyway, give me the hammer!”
“What are you doing!? Suddenly!?”
“Suddenly, my ass! I can’t stand watching you anymore! The hammer! Huh? Who holds it like that!?”
“Eeeh!?”
“You have to hold it like this for the force to transfer properly! Hammering isn’t just about banging nails in! You need to find the center of balance!” Hort snatched the hammer away, looking thoroughly exasperated. “Watch carefully. Hold the hammer like this and strike the nail dead center. And fixing a house isn’t just about slapping on more wood! This is where people live—if you repair it like this, it’ll collapse, you idiot! Are you trying to kill someone!?”
“No, I wasn’t trying to—”
“Don’t you ‘no’ me! How old do you think I am, talking so casually!?”
“Gasp!”
“Good grief, you’re hopeless. You act like you’ve learned something, but starting from how you hold the hammer… You should count yourself lucky. Back in my day, if you held a hammer like that, I would’ve smashed your head in with it!”
“……”
“Anyway, you hold it exactly like this and…”
Hort’s pent-up lecture continued without end.
* * *
From the lord’s mansion, Albert watched Hort and smiled brightly, as if everything had gone according to plan. “He really can’t resist giving advice.” Elena, standing beside him, looked at him with admiration as Hort moved exactly as Albert had predicted. “You planned this?”
“Of course.”
“How?”
“Gym bros can never stand watching someone else work out wrong.”
“Gym bro…? Gym… what? What does that mean?”
“It’s just a thing.”
When Hort had declared he would only repair one house per day, Albert had accepted it without complaint. Hort was valuable labor. Even with a contract binding him, forcing him would only reduce quality and efficiency. It was important to make him act of his own volition. He’s high-class talent, after all. If I want to squeeze proper work out of him, I need to make him move on his own. Motivation was necessary. That was why Albert had deliberately placed a man in Hort’s path. The man’s name was Hunt—the only remaining human blacksmith in the territory.
“Thanks to him, our territory was at least able to maintain some semblance of order.”
“His skill is…”
“Not bad. But when it comes to construction…”
“He’s a blacksmith, after all.”
His ability to make equipment was decent, but construction was outside his expertise. Still, it was better than having no one at all. So that’s how the farming tools and such survived—because there was a blacksmith. Anyway, Hunt had probably thought he was doing a decent job repairing the house, but to a specialist in the field like a dwarf, his work must have fallen far short. In the end, Hort had spotted him on his way past and hadn’t been able to resist giving advice.
[You aimed perfectly.]
[Since he’s moving voluntarily, he’ll work hard.]
[And on top of that…]
He’ll probably teach Hunt some techniques too. Even if Hort wasn’t proactive about it, he would at least correct the basics. If Hunt could learn dwarven craftsmanship, there would be nothing better. Skilled blacksmiths were never in excess—especially considering the territory’s current state. They would need many more in the future. Not just blacksmiths, either. We’ll need plenty of other specialists too.
“Haaah.”
[Why the sigh?]
If it were you, wouldn’t you sigh too? I finally retired and came back thinking I could rest comfortably in my old age, but there’s even more work here than before.
[Then do you regret returning?]
Of course not.
If asked that, the answer was no. If he had known the situation here, Albert would have rushed back even sooner, no matter the cost. If he had arrived just a little earlier… Maybe he could have saved his parents too. Regret was pointless, but he couldn’t help the lingering ache. The territory his parents had protected. The family. His younger sister. Albert didn’t want to lose anything else. Not a single thing. Never again… As he thought this, a deep longing lingered sadly in Albert’s eyes.
* * *
“This is wonderful!” “Whoa! This is really our house!” The residents exclaimed in admiration as they looked at their perfectly repaired home. “No more drafts!” “Ohhh, even the gaps in the roof are completely sealed! We won’t have to worry about leaks when it rains anymore!” “Now it’s safe.” Bright smiles spread across the residents’ faces. At night, they had prayed, Please, just let us wake up in the morning without dying in our sleep. Please, don’t let the house collapse… They had gone to bed trembling with anxiety even inside their own homes. Some had even slept outside because they felt safer there. That was how bad it had been. Hunt had done his best to repair things, but since it wasn’t his specialty, the work—though they felt guilty admitting it—had been shoddy. But today, their house had finally been perfectly restored. The comfort and warmth they felt upon entering—it was a house that seemed capable of protecting them from any threat.
“This is all thanks to Lord Albert.” “That’s right. Ever since he returned… things have started changing.” “Like that wyvern that came last time, too.” When the dragon had appeared before, there had been quite an uproar, but Albert had calmed them by claiming it was just a wyvern. Of course, they wouldn’t have believed such an obvious lie under normal circumstances, but he had used his skills—Persuasion, Trust, and Deception—to force them to accept the ridiculous story.
“As long as he’s here… our territory will return to how it used to be.” “Yeah, probably.” “Then we won’t have to live in fear anymore, right?” “……Probably.” “No need to leave, then.” Satisfied smiles appeared on the residents’ faces. But not all their worries had disappeared. “By the way, what happened to those people who ran away saying they hated the territory?” “Ah, those guys?” “They’re probably doing fine. They fled to other territories, after all.” “It’s a bit annoying that they abandoned their hometown, but…” “They had no choice back then. I would’ve run too if it weren’t for my parents.” “Me too. My parents refused to leave until the end, so I had no choice but to stay.” “Those were terrifying times.”
The residents stepped outside and looked at the changing territory. With Albert’s return, the Legrian Territory was slowly tasting the winds of change. It resembled a chrysalis—preparing for a beautiful transformation.
“You lot!!” While the residents were lost in sentiment, a furious shout rang out from somewhere. They turned to see Hort standing there, hammer in hand, fuming. “This is the problem with you humans!! Get to work! What are you lazing around for!? Get over here right now! We’re already short on hands as it is!!” “Gasp!” “Damn it! We’ve been caught!!” “How dare you indulge in sentiment at a time like this! Do you think you have the luxury for that!? Get to work!!! Come here right now!!!” “Aaaagh!!” The residents who had been trying to slack off were dragged away by Hort. The Legrian Territory was slowly, but surely, changing. And toward that territory…
“Whoa, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Legrian Territory. That place still hasn’t collapsed, huh~? By the way, I wonder how my fiancée is doing?” A certain fly was buzzing its way over.