Chapter 26
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Aqar Quf Hardware Store
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Following Lea to the bustling streets of Aqar Quf, Lee Se-hun stared at the scene before him with a look of surprise.
"...There's a lot."
Everywhere he looked, restaurant signs filled his view. And right at lunchtime, an enormous crowd packed the streets.
The sheer number of people was so overwhelming it felt like he might get swept away. Lee Se-hun asked in wonder,
"Is it always this crowded?"
"It's even busier than usual because it's the first week of school, but it's not much different on normal days. Aqar Quf has a ton of great eateries."
"I see..."
With this many people milling about, it should have felt chaotic, but in reality, everyone moved smoothly like a flowing river.
Cadets and faculty alike were all trained to a basic level, so they naturally dodged each other without colliding.
'This kind of sight is only possible at Babel.'
As Lee Se-hun watched the crowd undulate like waves, Lea, who was leading the way, turned back to him.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and stop dawdling."
"Got it."
Lea navigated through the throng, then came to a stop in front of a shop at the heart of the bustling district.
[Aqar Quf Hardware Store]
Unlike the neatly kept shops around it, this hardware store had all sorts of kitchen tools piled up like mountains even at the entrance.
Lee Se-hun glanced at Lea, eyeing the worn-looking place.
"This is it?"
"I told you. We're heading to my workplace."
Lea strode inside as if no further explanation was needed. Lee Se-hun followed, scanning his surroundings.
The area was full of restaurants, so the interior was crammed with kitchen tools hanging everywhere. As he examined them, Lee Se-hun's expression turned intrigued.
'These are pretty well made.'
They looked like junk piled haphazardly, but traces of a master craftsman with solid fundamentals shone through.
Someone at this level could easily teach at the Forging Department.
While Lee Se-hun inspected the items closely with that thought in mind,
"Granny! I'm here!"
Lea bellowed toward the back of the shop in a booming voice.
Ching-ching─
An old woman emerged, parting a curtain of ladles hanging like beads.
She had chopsticks stuck in her hair like a hairpin and wore baggy work clothes. Her sharp eyes and downturned mouth gave off a fierce vibe.
"My ears work fine."
"They do, but you won't come out unless I shout."
"Quiet."
The old woman snapped irritably at Lea, then shifted her gaze to Lee Se-hun standing behind her.
"Who's this kid? Boyfriend?"
"Ew, no way. He's a freshman who just started this year. A junior."
"Hmm. Newbie, huh."
The old woman blatantly sized Lee Se-hun up and down at Lea's answer, then clicked her tongue.
"Tch tch. Babel's gone to the dogs, letting in softies like this."
It could have sounded like a deliberate jab, but Lee Se-hun didn't take offense at the assessment.
'He really is soft, physically speaking.'
In terms of raw physical ability, he was at the bottom among this year's freshmen. He'd passed thanks to skill, not strength—if he'd lost his memories or something upon regression, he wouldn't have made it into Babel.
Lee Se-hun nodded in agreement instead of getting upset, and the old woman's expression shifted oddly. Lea grinned at the sight.
"You can say that?"
"Say what?"
"Looks can be deceiving—he's the top freshman in Borsippa this year. Forging Department, no less."
"...This guy?"
Her eyes widened in genuine shock, clearly caught off guard. Lee Se-hun gave a slight smile and bowed his head.
"Lee Se-hun, first-year Forging Department."
"...Helena."
"Looking forward to working with you, ma'am."
Helena eyed Lee Se-hun with a strange look, scratched her head, and turned to Lea.
"Cut the nonsense and get to work. Newbies have piled up a ton this week."
"Sure thing. Over here."
Lea led Lee Se-hun through a passage hidden behind stacked frying pans, and soon a large workshop came into view.
'Hmm...'
It was a bit worn, but it had everything from the forge onward, all in decent condition.
More importantly, each tool bore the patina of careful maintenance over years—marks only found in a skilled blacksmith's workshop.
'That old lady's better than I thought.'
He couldn't fathom why someone like her ran a hardware store here. As Lee Se-hun looked around curiously,
"Ugh..."
Lea peered at the mountain of kitchen tools in one corner and stuck out her tongue.
"This is bad..."
Seeing Lea's dismay, Lee Se-hun stepped closer to check the pile.
'Stuff brought in for repairs.'
They showed traces of past enchantments, now worn off from heavy use.
Lee Se-hun instantly realized what Lea's "work" entailed.
"Re-enchanting these is the job, right?"
"Bingo! Pays decent, and unlimited materials for enchanting—pretty good gig overall."
Lea flashed a grin, holding up a frying pan with its enchant completely faded.
Enchanting cheap kitchenware wouldn't pay much, so she must love the freedom to practice as much as she wanted.
"Alright, you wanted to see my enchanting, right? Come here."
Lea patted the spot next to her and pulled over an "enchant palette" from nearby.
It was filled with powders ground from various mana stones—sixteen colors in total, quite the variety.
'I thought basic was eight colors... She handles a diverse set.'
As Lee Se-hun examined it with interest, Lea pulled an enchanting brush from her sleeve.
"Here we go."
Woooong.
Mana gathered at the brush tip, glowing blue. Dipped in red mana stone powder, it shifted to a rippling crimson.
After coating it, Lea flipped the frying pan to inspect the base closely, then slowly moved the brush.
Swish-swish─
The brush glided smoothly over the faded enchantment lines. The dingy pan base swirled with red energy once more.
In the blink of an eye, the enchantment breathed new life. Lee Se-hun was quietly impressed.
'Reviving damaged enchants this easily... Not bad at all.'
Restoring a damaged enchant was like patching torn clothes with mismatched fabric—seams showed, colors clashed.
Depending on the spot, it was impossible to hide, so most stripped and redid them entirely.
Kiiing!
But Lea flawlessly revived every damaged section, restoring them to pristine perfection, as if newly etched.
Watching the process, Lee Se-hun nodded unconsciously.
'Pretty solid fundamentals. No flaws.'
Her clean basics made the slump issues glaringly obvious at a glance.
'This'll wrap up quick.'
Having figured out a fix, Lee Se-hun was about to speak as Lea finished, but then—
Thud!
Lea tossed the finished pan aside and grabbed a new pot without pause.
"..."
She kept brushing relentlessly, eyes unblinking, lost in her own world. Lee Se-hun watched for a moment, then smiled.
'Nice.'
That level of immersion was a talent in itself.
A genius enchanter building her foundation steadily even in a slump. Lee Se-hun decided to let her finish and quietly explored the workshop again.
'Got just about every tool imaginable. Might as well borrow this place to make a new hammer... Huh?'
Scanning the corners, Lee Se-hun spotted rectangular stones lined up and his eyes lit up.
They came in various colors—all whetstones. He headed straight over.
'All custom-made.'
Not just for sharpening, these resonated with mana arrays for special effects—a finicky tool that could ruin blades without proper technique.
Lee Se-hun intuitively grasped how to use them.
'Sharp potential here...'
Just brushing the surface conjured the finished edge in his mind.
After etching "White Light" yesterday for the first time in ages, his hands itched. Seeing proper tools made him itch to sharpen something.
As he pondered,
"Go ahead and use them."
A gruff voice came from the passage.
"If you can, that is."
Helena leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyeing him challengingly. Pointing at the whetstones, Lee Se-hun asked,
"You sure I can use them?"
"Yeah. Pick any knife from that pile over there."
Kitchen knives stacked in one corner, all dull and varied.
'Meant for later sharpening.'
She was testing him, but trying these custom whetstones was a steal.
"Understood."
Accepting, Lee Se-hun skipped the whetstones and inspected the knives first.
'Might as well do a proper one.'
After close examination, he picked a rough-looking kitchen knife—the plainest of the bunch.
But Helena looked shocked.
"...That one?"
"Yes. The wear suggests a skilled user. Should be satisfying to sharpen."
Even the same knife bore unique traces from its wielder. To Lee Se-hun, this one's owner was a swordsmanship expert.
'Even wear across the blade, no warping.'
A novice would've brought it in earlier, but the owner had pushed it to the limit with their skill.
Whoever it was, they were no slouch with blades.
'Whetstone... This one.'
He chose the one with the most evenly compressed mana particles. A craftsman this skilled could handle a razor edge.
Splash─
Sprinkling diluted mana stone water on the whetstone, Lee Se-hun took position and began honing the blade slowly.
Shhhhk─ shhhhk─
Each stroke bit into the stone like cutting, reviving the knife's edge to gleaming white sharpness.
Soon immersed in his own world, Lee Se-hun worked. Helena straightened from her slouch, staring intently.
"..."
Was this really a freshman?
The unbelievable sight made Helena fixate on the knife in his hand. Only brush strokes and honing sounds echoed softly in the workshop.
Soon, both faded.
"Done!!!"
Lea stretched her back after finishing the last ladle and shouted.
"Oh. Granny, when'd you get here?"
"...Dunno."
"What's with the attitude... Oh."
Spotting Lee Se-hun with the blade, Lea pieced it together and grinned.
"Tried to nitpick our junior and got schooled, huh?"
"Quiet."
Crack!
"Eek!"
Helena whacked Lea's forehead with metal chopsticks and approached Lee Se-hun, who'd finished honing.
"All done?"
"Well..."
Lee Se-hun eyed the blade's faint blue shimmer.
A subtle azure edge rippled along it, drawing ambient mana into the array—a sign of proper honing with the custom stone.
But he frowned.
'Not perfect.'
Compared to its ideal from this whetstone, it was superficial. The middling finish left him unsatisfied.
'A bit more mana support and... Tch.'
Clicking his tongue inwardly, he answered Helena's piercing gaze honestly.
"This is it for now."
"...Right. Both of you, get going."
Helena pointed down the passage with her chopsticks, dismissing them curtly. Lee Se-hun set the knife down without regret and stood.
"Such a grump... Let's go!"
"Sure sure."
Lea rubbed her forehead, grabbed Lee Se-hun's arm, and headed out—
"Can you do this well next time too?"
Helena asked, staring at the knife. Lee Se-hun paused, then smiled.
"Next time, it'll be even sharper."
"...If we're short-handed, I'll call. Come if you're interested."
Lee Se-hun nodded at Helena's gruff back.
"I'll look forward to it."
With that, they left. Alone in the workshop, Helena stared at the honed knife as if entranced.
A heavy silence settled—until
"Sis! Forging time?!"
A burly man burst in with a booming voice.
"What? Nothing's happening. Why no answer when I called?!"
"...Shut it."
"You'd have answered sooner, no noise! Anyway, the knives? Orders are piling up!"
Helena glared as the man nagged.
"When the hell are you quitting that restaurant? A Swordsmanship Department head instructor..."
"Don't knock my hobbies. Where are the knives... Ah, there!"
Spotting his knife, the man strode over, picked it up, and frowned oddly.
"What? Sis, you got hammered last night? Edge feels off—only about 70%."
"...Not me."
"Come on. Whose is it then? Those old TA buddies?"
"Freshman."
"...What?"
The flustered man—Swordsmanship Department head instructor Kasar—got a reply from Helena, her eyes gleaming strangely.
"A freshman who started this year honed it."