Chapter 69

"Sorry for yelling. Recently, I've been targeted by troublesome adventurers. I thought it might be one of them again."

Blacksmith Berga, despite his words, showed no sign of remorse.

...If I upset him, he won't forge anything for us. I need to go down and ask him to make the mithril sword calmly.

"You're known as a skilled blacksmith. Adventurers are often rough. I imagine that strange people, who have heard of your reputation, might try to force unreasonable jobs on you. I understand your troubles."

I have to somehow win his favor and make him like me. I shouldn't blame him for his faults. I need to smooth things over.

"What's with your flattery? You probably heard about me beforehand and decided to act this way. I don't like it."

He was more stubborn than I expected. I felt my face twitch but tried to maintain a smile.

"Listen, boy. You came here to request a job, right? But there are two things I don't like! Overconfident kids and superficial flatterers! Today's adventurers are either one of these two!"

Berga's voice grew louder.

"Things started to get strange after Lacobina was called the 'City of Adventurers'! It's full of kids who are drunk on power and immature ones who only think about leeching off the city's prosperity! Even those who bring me requests are like that!"

"Y-Yes..."

...Why am I standing here, receiving a lecture just for saying a polite greeting? I glanced at Lucre, who had a troubled expression.

"Berga, are you being bothered by adventurers? Are you okay?"

Lucre smoothly changed the subject.

"That brat is nothing! That magic swordsman, when I lectured him for his attitude, he said, 'I have money, so just shut up and make me a sword that matches me!' If I were motivated by money, I wouldn't be living here!"

...I was also thinking of using money to get the job done if necessary. If I hadn't heard this, I might have made the same mistake.

But a magic swordsman. They have high attack and magic power, and their basic strategy is to use high-damage skills with drawbacks to quickly end battles. They are not well-suited for the 'Dream Hole' due to their low defense, but they are easy to level up.

"Just thinking about it makes me angry! I yelled at him and chased him away. He said, 'I don't care what happens to this place,' and left. But this Berga won't be intimidated!"

Berga clenched his fists and growled.

He seems to be in a bad mood. His stubbornness is even worse than I imagined. Maybe I should start over.

"Um, we're here to..."

"Don't keep an old man talking out here! You're not considerate... Follow me!"

Just as I was about to leave, Berga went into the back of the forge. Lucre and I, not understanding the situation, stood at the entrance for a moment.

"Lucre, is it okay to go in?"

"...Maybe he just wants someone to talk to and is lonely."

"Boys, I can hear you! If you don't want to listen, just go home!"

Berga's angry voice echoed.

"N-No, we'll come right away!"

Lucre and I hurriedly followed Berga into the back of the forge.

...I thought we could start talking about mithril once we were inside, but Berga's lecture wasn't over yet.

"Today's young people turn a blind eye to their own abilities and rely on weapons and the environment to compensate! It's the person who comes first! I can't forge a weapon that makes anyone a hero just by holding it, and such a thing shouldn't exist!"

"H-Hmm..."

How long will this go on? Lucre also closed her mouth tightly, trying to suppress a yawn.

"I've been a blacksmith in this city for a long time. I know that defensive and speed classes like you have a hard time leveling up. You're too young. You're not at the level where you can handle my weapons! If you try to compensate for your lack of attack power with money, you'll end up losing your life!"

But his words were indeed correct. From Berga's perspective, it seemed that a heavy knight and a jester were trying to compensate for their lack of attack power with equipment.

However, even with equipment, they can't match the main classes in the same role. He thought they would end up losing their lives by trying to compensate with equipment and called them in to lecture them.

His thinking isn't wrong. He has seen many adventurers as a top blacksmith.

"Let me speak for a moment."

"What? I'm giving you a warning! How dare you interrupt..."

"First, you haven't even heard my request. I want you to judge whether you can accept it based on your principles."

"Hmph, but I don't think my mind will change just by hearing it."

I took out a mithril ingot from my 'Magic Bag' and placed it on the table.

"W-What is this...! Is this... mithril!? I've been a blacksmith for a long time, but this is only the second time I've seen mithril..."

Berga swallowed hard.

"I want you to forge a sword with this."

"A mithril sword... by me...! As a blacksmith, I must take on this challenge...! No! I can't give an unworthy person a weapon that doesn't match their strength! It goes against my principles! I won't do it!"

Berga turned away from the mithril, but there was clearly a hint of longing in his expression.

"Old man, this is something Lucre and I obtained by defeating a mithril golem."

"W-What! You're lying! A mithril golem is a terrifying monster that even B-rank adventurers struggle with! There's no way you, a novice, could defeat it!"

I took out a thin metal plate. It was our adventurer's license. We had just been recognized as B-rank adventurers by the guild master, Halein.

"Lucre and I are B-rank adventurers."

"That's impossible..."

Berga took the license and examined it closely.

"Gr... I never thought B-rank adventurers would come wearing the lowest-grade armor."

...As expected, the 'Iron Armor' is a reason for underestimation. Especially from a blacksmith like Berga. I want to get the black steel armor made as soon as possible to match the mithril sword.

"Well, you do seem to have some skill. You also have the composure to listen to my lecture seriously. Barely... barely qualified. Barely."

I sighed in relief. I thought it might not work out, but it seems we can request the job.

"Right, Elma! While you're making the mithril sword, could you also embed a 'Destruction Rune Stone'?"

"Good idea... A mithril weapon will last a long time. With its high attack power, embedding the rune stone won't be a waste."

I nodded and handed the 'Destruction Rune Stone' to Berga.

――――――――――――――――――――

'Destruction Rune Stone'

[Market Value: 20 million gold]

A rune stone that brings destruction.

Increases the attack power of the embedded weapon by 30%.

――――――――――――――――――――

A rune stone that can be embedded in one weapon. It was an item dropped by Kray.

"You even have such a rare item... This has turned into a big job."

Berga took the 'Destruction Rune Stone' cautiously and examined it closely, muttering.

After that, I was able to successfully request the manufacture of black steel armor. Berga muttered, "Good... You weren't planning to fight in 'Iron Armor' forever, were you?"

The mithril sword, black steel armor, and embedding the rune stone. The total cost for all three was four million gold.

Forging weapons is quite expensive. Not only the metal I provided, but also the detailed materials in the forge are used, so the cost includes that as well.

[Other Work Information]

The first volume of 'The Kingdom's Ultimate Weapon, Enrolled in the Knight Academy as a Mediocre Student' will be released on July 7th!

Character designs and illustrations are being published in the activity report!

(2021/6/29)