Chapter 20

──Why did I... forget about it?

Eliott stared at the sword placed silently before him, questioning himself.

As he reflected on the day he had taken the holy sword and the year that followed, a chill slowly crept down his spine.

──I thought I had lost it and didn’t even bother to look for it...

It was supposed to be something important.

But the honor of obtaining the holy sword and the exhilaration of easily defeating the undead beast were too great. As he became engrossed in those glorious and proud days, the loss was pushed to the back of his mind and eventually forgotten.

Eliott averted his eyes from the sword, trying to escape the rising nausea in his chest.

Feeling Goliath’s gaze from the front, he kept his head down and spoke only the facts.

“...This is the sword I used before obtaining the holy sword. I thought I had lost it.”

“I see.”

Goliath’s flat, emotionless voice lingered in his ears.

“This is no ordinary sword. Not only is the blade beautifully crafted, but the shape of the hilt and the meticulous work on the details. And the distinctive pommel. – I suspect this is the work of Dolf from the Hidden Village.”

“...Hidden Village...?”

“Oh? You didn’t know where this sword was made?”

Goliath’s narrowed eyes, as if appraising something, made Eliott feel suffocated.

“This sword... was a gift from someone else.”

He answered, suppressing the bitterness.

Goliath, with a thin smile that was hard to read, picked up the sword again and gently touched the damaged and warped blade.

“Hmm, I see... Well, let’s get back to the main topic. In short, you want to do something about this, right?”

“Can it be fixed?”

“I can’t say for sure yet. Even if our blacksmiths can repair the broken parts and restore the shape of the sword... it won’t be the same as the original.”

Eliott bit his lip at this, and Goliath deepened his smile, as if to comfort him, and continued.

“If we entrust it to Dolf, the creator of this sword, it might be possible.”

“Then...! Where is this Hidden Village...?”

Eliott finally raised his head and asked, almost pleadingly.

“...If I remember correctly, it’s about a two-day carriage ride from the main gate of the capital.”

As Eliott and Lloyd stood up upon hearing this, Goliath added with a sidelong glance.

“Even if the form of the sword is restored, there’s no guarantee that everything will return to how it was. But, of course, doing nothing isn’t an option. ...If you can’t find him, please come back again.”

Eliott and Lloyd, interpreting Goliath’s words as a concern, thanked him and left the room.

In the small room where the guests had departed, a young butler entered with tea ware. As he sipped the prepared tea, Goliath asked the butler:

“Have there been any changes in the merchants entering and leaving Dolf’s village recently?”

“No, Goliath-sama. The main visitors are still food and daily goods merchants. But it seems the number of blacksmiths in the village has increased recently.”

“Given the situation with the holy sword, that’s to be expected. ...Oh, I forgot. I carelessly only told them about the ‘Hidden Village.’”

Goliath dramatically held his head, but his face had a somewhat silly look. The young butler laughed in exasperation.

“Goliath-sama, you did it on purpose, didn’t you? You don’t think they’ll be able to find that village, do you?”

“Who knows. The one with them seemed to have some potential.”

Goliath leaned back deeply into the sofa, looking relaxed and pleased.

“Those who are worthy to be invited recognize the village as a normal scene and call it the ‘Blacksmith Village’ without doubt. But those who are not invited cannot even find it, so they call it the ‘Hidden Village.’ I forgot to mention that. Well... I’m sure an opportunity to apologize will come soon.”