Chapter 33

Through the image sphere, a faint figure could be seen.

It was a man dressed in formal attire, with thick silver hair.

"We need to make sure. If the mineral discovered by Baron Amanta falls into the hands of Eborck, the power of the Schuetz family will only grow stronger."

"Yes, yes. Of course. I understand well."

Dierne bowed repeatedly toward the image sphere.

"Eborck, if only that guy didn't exist, the production of weapons would come to an end. Then it would be revealed that Duke Schuetz's abilities are nothing but exaggerated nonsense."

The man in the image sphere seemed to genuinely wish for the duke's downfall. The enmity in his voice was palpable.

"Yes, it will surely go as you wish, Baron Quintar."

After agreeing, Dierne cautiously asked:

"But if this goes well, will you really... give me some authority over the weapon trade?"

"Do you think I'm the kind of person who would lie?"

"Oh no, of course not. How could I doubt your intentions, Baron?"

After flattering him a few times, the light in the image sphere dimmed.

Dierne sighed.

"Why is it so hard to live comfortably?"

He clicked his tongue and put the image sphere in his pocket before hurriedly disappearing somewhere.

A cold wind blew. After a while, someone revealed themselves, accompanied by the rustling of leaves.

"Wow, is that guy completely crazy?"

It was Eli, a child with bright green eyes that shone even in the darkness.

* * *

Caw!

Eborck woke up to the sound of crows.

His eyes felt even more crusty today.

It seemed the medicine had become even stronger.

Sighing deeply, Eborck got up, his body stiff.

Every time he moved, empty bottles of alcohol clattered under his feet.

"...When did it get this dirty?"

But, well, it didn't matter.

After all, no one cared about the cleanliness of his home anymore.

As Eborck was scratching his scruffy beard, the crows began to caw particularly loudly.

Even Eborck, who had lived with their constant cawing, found it unusually noisy.

Eborck opened the door abruptly to chase the crows away.

"!"

Near the lake, there was a child.

Eborck's eyes widened.

The child was sitting quietly by the lake.

Although it wasn't a dangerous distance, his body moved before he could think.

Eborck grabbed the child's arm and pulled.

Plop. The child's body rolled on the deep snow.

"What are you doing here?!"

Eborck bellowed.

"How dangerous is this lake! Are you crazy?!"

The child, who had been struggling, slowly got up at his shout.

"Phew!"

The child brushed the snow off their face with small hands and then smiled at Eborck.

"Hello, sir."

"Hello? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Eborck immediately shot back.

Then he paused.

Eborck was a man with a fierce appearance.

Perhaps because he had spent his life wielding a hammer, his tone was never gentle.

As a result, everyone who spoke to him was always intimidated.

But the little girl in front of him didn't show a hint of fear; her eyes sparkled.

"Hehe... I'm sorry."

The child gave an awkward smile and scratched the back of her head.

Her smile was so clear and pure.

Eborck's anger subsided instantly.

'Right. What's the point of getting angry at a little kid like this?'

It was Eborck himself who had roughly pulled the child from where she was sitting.

"Thank you for your kindness."

At that moment, the child smiled brightly, her face clean. Her smile was like sunshine.

Eborck flinched.

"I didn't save you... Khom."

Feeling embarrassed, Eborck spoke in a softer tone.

"...What brings you here?"

In response to Eborck's question, the child raised her hand without a word.

Upon closer inspection, she was holding something in her hand.

It was an arrow.

The difference was that the arrowhead glowed faintly in the sunlight.

Eborck's eyes instinctively widened.

"Isn't this cool? I received it as a gift!"

"A gift?"

"Yes. But I've never shot a bow before. I can't let anyone get hurt because of me."

So I came here to practice where there's no one. The child explained, chattering away.

However, Eborck couldn't focus on her words.

The arrowhead in the child's hand was made of a material he had never seen before.

'I knew he would be interested.'

Eli didn't miss his reaction.

"Would you like it?"

Eli extended the arrow toward Eborck. He flinched.

"You're giving this to me? To me?"

Even as he spoke, Eborck quickly took the arrow.

He began to examine it closely with his one remaining eye.

The arrowhead, which had glowed silver, turned black and hardened as soon as he touched it.

'A mineral I've never seen before.'

Eborck's eyes sparkled.

He wanted to analyze this mineral further. He wanted to see with his own eyes how it would change when he touched it.

It had been a long time since he felt his blood boil with excitement.

"Sir?"

Eborck was pulled out of his thoughts by Eli's call.

"...I'm not so conscienceless as to take something from a child who needs it."

"Hmm... Then I'll lend it to you!"

"Lend it?"

Eli nodded cheerfully.

"Yes! You can't take your eyes off it! I want to give it to you, but Baron Amanta would be sad if I did."

Eli emphasized the name 'Amanta' deliberately.

Although he had agreed, Eborck hesitated.

But his curiosity grew even stronger.

"Khem. Then... let me take a look for a moment."

Eborck cleared his throat and held the arrow.

"Come... come inside first. You must be cold standing in the snow."

Eborck turned and headed toward the cabin.

Eli followed him, giggling to herself.

But he suddenly stopped.

The cabin was in a terrible state. The air was stuffy and smelled musty, and the alcohol fumes permeated the entire space.

'Oh dear.'

He quickly opened the windows to ventilate the room.

He threw a few logs into the dying stove and pushed the bottles cluttering his feet to the side.

While Eborck was busily preparing to welcome his guest, Eli's eyes darted around.

She then noticed a small vial on the table.

It contained a clear, transparent red liquid.

'What's that?'

Eli's eyes narrowed.

This cabin, which didn't seem to be inhabited by anyone, felt out of place with that vial.

'And that color...'

Eli instinctively reached out and hid the vial in her hand.

Then she pretended to shiver, hugging her arms.

'What a troublesome kid.'

Eborck clicked his tongue.

Now he had to clean up unexpectedly because of this little kid.

Eborck grumbled.

But he didn't forget to add more logs to the stove.