Chapter 128: Reach Out and It’s There

Five carriages lined up as traveling shops. While only Claudia’s group had come from the Kingdom, Claudia was not intimidated. Instead, she enthusiastically proclaimed.

“Directly delivered wine from the Walscheid Kingdom!”

You really are strong when it comes to business matters, Lutz thought, looking sideways at Claudia as he unfolded his sharpening tools.

Idle soldiers gathered around one by one, curious to see what was happening. Although they were mostly there just out of curiosity, Claudia skillfully engaged them, enticing their interest with wine, dried meat, and pastries, and making sales.

“Hey, brother, take care of this for me.”

Lutz received the sword handed to him. It was a well-worn forged sword, not too different in performance from the Kingdom soldiers’ weapons.

He began sharpening it. Adjusting the blade angle while sparks flew from the grinding stone, he worked on the sword. There was a different feeling to sharpening swords here compared to back in the Kingdom.

…Is the quality of the iron different?

Lutz reflected that one learns many things when in a foreign land.

Throughout the process, the soldier who had entrusted his sword to him watched closely. His gaze was sharp, more like supervision than curiosity. Despite appearing friendly on the surface, it was challenging to gain trust deep down, especially with foreigners, even if they seemed amicable.

“How does it feel to take money and sharpen weapons for the enemy?”

The soldier asked with a malicious tone. While Lutz was initially taken aback, he quickly reconsidered. They were on different sides until just recently, so enduring a bit of petty sarcasm was preferable to a more hostile interaction.

“Me and you only become enemies when you don’t pay.”

“If the work is good, I’ll pay.”

“I’ll make it better than new, so wait patiently.”

The soldier grumbled and fell silent. His gaze remained provocatively challenging.

After finishing the rough grinding, Lutz moved on to refining the edge with a finer whetstone. Even in a different country, the tasks remained unchanged. He focused solely on putting in his best effort.

“Sorry for the wait. You’re now the strongest swordsman.”

After wiping the blade with a dry cloth and handing over the sword, the soldier scrutinized the blade as if searching for flaws. Eventually, he sheathed the sword, took out a silver coin with a disgruntled expression, and handed it to Lutz. It seemed he couldn’t find any faults to nitpick.

While the attitude was unpleasant, Lutz found it better than the knights of the Count’s domain, who were at most not picking unnecessary fights. As he calmed down, he felt somewhat pathetic.

Perhaps his performance had pleased the onlookers, as the next customer came immediately. Swords, daggers, axes, and spearheads, one after another, were attended to. Just as he was considering closing up shop, a sword with simple decorations was handed over.

“Can you do this one?”

Lutz looked up and saw a man with slightly more refined attire than the other soldiers standing there. He seemed to be of higher rank, perhaps a squad leader.

“Since you’re the last customer.”

Lutz received the sword and drew it from its sheath. Forged, with no magic enhancements. The craftsmanship was rough but not crude. His lips curved upwards naturally – this was a piece Lutz liked.

It was a small pleasure to observe someone else’s sword and deduce their skill and life journey.

“A truly magnificent blade.”

“I’m honored by your praise, but you wouldn’t happen to want to hear a story about me killing Kingdom soldiers, right?”

Lutz nodded and went back to work.

After handing back the sharpened sword, the squad leader carefully examined the finish. Unlike the first man, this didn’t seem to be about finding faults. Satisfied with the result, he smiled and said. 

“What brings you here, trying to find out more about us?”

“Huh?”

The squad leader maintained his smile. It took Lutz a good ten seconds to understand what he was being asked. Feeling it unnatural to remain silent, Lutz hastily opened his mouth.

“Well, it’s for business, of course…”

“The quality of your work is outstanding; it’s not worth just a silver coin. You must be quite a renowned blacksmith, aren’t you?”

While pleased to be complimented to his face, Lutz was at a loss for how to react in this situation.

“I ended up unable to stay in the country due to various mistakes…”

“I see. Then, how about becoming an exclusive member of the guards? Alternatively, I could introduce you to a larger tribe. With your skills, you’d be welcomed anywhere.”

“Well…”

“What’s wrong? Don’t hesitate. If you have nowhere to go, just say it.”

Not knowing what to do, I turned my gaze to Claudia, who simply shrugged. I could come up with plenty of excuses even now, but the fact that I had already been suspected was the issue. It might be better to just admit it already.

“Come on, Lutz-kun, just say it. We didn’t come here to do anything bad.”

I just wanted to gather information as naturally as possible, not as a secret agent of the kingdom. I don’t know what position this captain holds or which faction he belongs to, but silence would be a bad move.

“Actually, I’m looking for a knight named Guen.”

The captain’s eyebrows twitched slightly. It seemed like he had an idea, but the captain continued to feign ignorance

“Well, you see, it’s a common name in our country. Even our relatives’ cats are named Guen.”

“Just a little while ago, he was the man who executed the third prince.”

“…And what’s your relationship with him?”

“I forged the execution sword for Guen-san. It wasn’t a cat, though.”

“I see, so you’re…”

The captain compared his own sword to Lutz’s face and nodded repeatedly. He seemed to be satisfied, acknowledging that Lutz had such skill. In other words, he knew Guen personally and had seen his beloved sword, “Renge.”

“Do you know about Guen-san?”

“I don’t really know…”

For some reason, the captain had a look of exasperation. Perplexed, both Lutz and Claudia tilted their heads in unison..

“He’s the leader of a nearby pioneer village.”

“Nearby?!”

“Just about five kilometers straight west. You could get there in less than an hour by carriage.”

“Seriously?!”

It really was nearby. Without going through the trouble of collecting information, they could have simply asked passersby in the area if they knew about Guen-san and probably gotten directions.

Claudia pressed her forehead and lowered her head. She realized she had overcomplicated things; she felt somewhat foolish.

“But why is Guen-san the leader of a pioneer village?”

Lutz voiced his question. While he understood the circumstances of how Princess Listille became the leader of a pioneer village in their own country, he couldn’t imagine the reasons behind Guen becoming one.

He was just an ordinary knight. He shouldn’t have the funds, the title, or the obligation to guide people.

“Who knows? Why he’s doing such a thing, and where the money is coming from, we have no idea. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that many soldiers have a place to go, and they’ve said they’d take us in once we’re no longer needed as border patrol. Apparently, in the capital, he’s been labeled as a death omen and a traitor, but even that doesn’t matter to us.”

Though he said it didn’t matter, Lutz felt a sense of trust in the squad leader’s words. Regardless of what the world thought, a man who worked for their well-being, ensured their livelihood, and stood by them wouldn’t be hated.

Lutz felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Claudia’s face, determined and eager.

“Let’s set out right away. If we leave now, we should arrive before dusk.”

Claudia started packing up, and Lutz, holding his sharpening tools, headed towards the carriage. But just as he was about to board, he turned back suddenly.

“There’s one more thing I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“How is Guen doing? Is he well?”

“Yeah, he’s doing fine.”

“Well, that’s a relief!”

Watching as the carriage gathered its belongings and burst forth like a wild boar, the squad leader smiled. The blacksmith couple that Guen had showered with praises – there was likely no mistake that he was talking about them.

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