The Regular Customer Brings a Guest
Park Doyun returned three days later.
He was not alone.
Beside him stood a man carrying a massive shield, and in Doyun’s hand was a carton of strawberry milk.
“Ihyeon, is your grandfather here?”
“He went out shopping.”
“Ah, I see.”
Doyun’s face fell with mild disappointment.
“Guess I’ll have to wait, then.”
“I can take a look myself.”
“I’ll just take the thought for now.”
Doyun smiled and held out the strawberry milk.
“This one’s for you, Ihyeon.”
I accepted it without a word.
This was the customer who had paid an extra ten million won for the repair. Taking this much was fine.
Only after I had stuck the straw in did I properly size up the man standing next to Doyun.
Short-cropped hair. Thick arms. On his back he carried a square shield large enough to cover his entire upper body.
The center of the shield was deeply caved in.
“This is Choi Minseok. He handles the vanguard in the same party as me.”
“Hello.”
Minseok bowed politely toward me.
For someone his size, his manners were surprisingly refined.
“Hello.”
I returned the greeting while still holding the strawberry milk.
Minseok’s eyes swept the interior of the ironworks.
“Is this really the place?”
“I told you it is.”
“The sign’s completely faded.”
“Just look at my sword first.”
Doyun tapped the sword at his waist.
“You’re the one who asked to see it yourself, so I brought you.”
Minseok still looked unconvinced.
He had every right to. This was an ironworks staffed by nothing more than a retired old man and an eight-year-old girl drinking strawberry milk.
Even I would not have expected good equipment to come out of a place like this.
It stung a little, but only a little.
While we waited for Grandfather, Doyun pulled out his phone.
“Want to see this too, Ihyeon?”
The screen showed the inside of the Tower.
A wide chamber enclosed by gray stone walls. On the floor, a boar the size of a grown man scraped at the ground with its front hooves.
Black iron plating covered its back and head.
High defense. D-class parties usually avoid it on sight.
In the video, Doyun drew his sword.
A blue line raced along the blade.
The Ironclad Boar charged.
Minseok met the rush with his shield.
CRASH!
That was the moment the shield caved in.
Doyun slipped in beside the boar. His sword skimmed across the black plating. Blue light carved a half-circle. The iron armor split open.
The boar took two more steps and collapsed.
The video ended.
“Well?”
Pride filled Doyun’s voice.
“The sword’s good.”
“Right?”
“Just the sword.”
Doyun’s expression froze. Beside him, Minseok barely held back a laugh.
“Before, I couldn’t even scratch the plating.”
Doyun sounded almost wronged.
“This time I cut it in one stroke. Clear time dropped by half.”
He said he had taken the repaired sword into the Tower three more times. The edge never dulled once. Mana consumption dropped enough that even after clearing the same floors he still had two potions left over. They had even started hunting the Ironclad Boars they used to avoid, and the party’s income rose.
“The others suddenly started asking where I got the sword.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Just that I had it repaired by a craftsman I know.”
Doyun had not mentioned the ironworks’ location. He was tighter-lipped than I expected.
“So that’s why you came again?”
“That, and something else.”
Doyun lowered his voice.
“There’s something I want the boss’s permission for.”
“Bringing customers?”
“How did you know?”
I pointed at Minseok’s shield. He had not hauled that thing here for sightseeing.
“I didn’t tell just anyone.”
Doyun hurried to add,
“Minseok’s in the same party. He’s blocked attacks for me more times than I can count. He’s someone I can trust.”
“Why didn’t you spread the word?”
“If a place like this gets known, the big guilds will come running.”
A more practical reason than I expected.
“Then lower-rank hunters like us wouldn’t even get a turn.”
Doyun understood the true value of this ironworks perfectly. At the same time he made no effort to hide that he wanted to keep that value mostly to himself.
I liked that. Someone with visible calculations was easier to handle than someone without greed.
“I didn’t come just to ask about my own sword.”
Minseok unslung the shield from his back.
THUD.
The workbench trembled slightly.
“I’d like you to look at whether this can still stop the next attack.”
The shield was not Tower loot. It was an alloy shield manufactured by a modern defense contractor for hunter use—thick steel plates sandwiching shock-absorbing material. From the caved-in front, cracks had already reached the inner plate.
It could be fixed. But simply hammering it flat again would only mean Minseok’s arm broke next time.
“This—”
“Our Ihyeon loves looking at equipment.”
Grandfather, who had returned at just the right moment, smoothly cut across my words. Both hands held shopping bags.
Doyun shot to his feet.
“Boss.”
“You’re back again.”
“The sword was truly incredible.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Grandfather smiled, yet his eyes flicked briefly toward me—an unspoken acknowledgment of who truly deserved the praise.
That was enough.
Doyun showed Grandfather the video again. Minseok explained the shield’s condition from the side. Grandfather tapped the dented section and checked the inner grips.
“Simply flattening it isn’t difficult.”
“Then may we leave it with you?”
“But if you plan to keep using it, that alone won’t be enough.”
Grandfather looked at me. I pulled a sheet of paper closer.
“All the impact concentrates in the center.”
Doyun and Minseok’s eyes turned to me. This time I remembered to use polite speech.
“With the current structure, even if the shield stays intact the user’s arm won’t last. You need to channel the force out toward the edges.”
I sketched a simple cross-section of the shield, dividing lines that began at the crumpled center and radiated in four directions.
“Add a metal framework on the inside and redesign the grips so the whole arm takes the load.”
“How would a kid like you even…”
Minseok’s voice trailed off. Doyun, by contrast, looked unsurprised.
“I told you Ihyeon has a sharp eye.”
Apparently he really did think it was just a sharp eye. Grandfather hid a laugh behind a cough.
“If we reinforce it the way she described, it should be usable.”
Minseok’s face brightened.
“Cost is no object.”
“Would it be all right if I take something other than money?”
I asked.
“Something other?”
“Materials from the Tower.”
Doyun glanced at Minseok. After a moment’s thought Minseok set down the small pack on his back. From it came monster horns, shards of black dorsal plating, scraps of hide, and several red stones.
By-products from the Ironclad Boar, he said. Most of them were things I had never seen before—except for one of the red stones.
I picked up a stone no bigger than two finger joints. It was warm. Deep inside its surface a faint light pulsed slowly.
“Where did you get this?”
“From a Flame Lizard on the fourth floor of the Tower.”
Minseok answered.
“Appraisal called it a low-grade Firestone. Market price is about three hundred thousand won each.”
Low-grade Firestone. That was what the System called it. In my previous life we had called it Bulssiseok—Firestone. A mineral that held a small flame for a long time. We used it in auxiliary forge hearths or to keep metal at temperature.
“I’ll take these.”
“Just that one?”
“All three.”
Minseok counted the red stones.
“Even so, it still feels short for the repair fee.”
“Bring the rest as materials next time.”
I had already been paid more than enough last time. What I needed now were Tower materials.
Doyun jumped in as if he had been waiting for the opening.
“I’ll procure them.”
“You will, Doyun?”
“Just tell me what materials you need. I can get them from the Tower or buy them from other hunters.”
A voluntary supply line had just appeared. Not a bad customer at all.
While Minseok and Doyun sorted the materials they had brought, Grandfather called me deeper into the work area.
“Ihyeon, are you truly all right with this?”
“With what?”
“More customers coming. I’m worried it will be hard on you.”
I looked past the counter at the two men. When hunters came, the number of things to repair increased. At the same time, Tower materials I could never obtain on my own came with them. Right now the gains far outweighed the costs.
“As long as we don’t take too many at once, it’s fine.”
“If it ever gets hard, you tell me right away.”
“I know.”
Only then did Grandfather nod.
We set the conditions for future commissions.
One piece at a time. The ironworks decides the repair schedule. No photographs, no posting online. New customers must first be vetted by Doyun. Part of the fee is paid in Tower materials.
Doyun accepted every condition.
“I won’t bring just anyone.”
“Why do you get to decide?”
“Because I’m the first regular?”
He wasn’t wrong.
“In return, could you look at my gear first?”
Of course he had no intention of working for free.
“I’ll decide after I see the item.”
“That’s more than enough.”
Doyun smiled, satisfied.
Grandfather had already found an old ledger from a corner of the ironworks. On the first line he wrote Park Doyun’s name. On the second, Choi Minseok’s.
The ironworks that had once closed its doors was taking work again.
I looked past the ledger to the Firestones sitting on the workbench. Red light pulsed at a steady rhythm.
I had already made the Strength Assist Gloves. Tower materials were beginning to come in. Now I needed a proper fire that could heat metal the way it deserved.
I picked up one of the Firestones. Warm light spread across my small palm.
The next thing I would make was already decided.
A mana furnace.