Chapter 14: The Crossroads of Iron and Magic

　Gerhard and Jocel returned silently to the workshop. Ricardo, by the way, had already fled, not wanting to get involved.

“Hey, Jocel..”

“It’s impossible.”

　He said, interrupting his mentor’s words.

　I know what Gerhard wants. He would ask me to get another sword.

　It was just a coincidence that I got the mysterious sword last time. Although I took it away somewhat forcibly, it was as if it came to me from the other side.

　It’s not like Jocel has a talent for exploration, and he himself is aware of it.

“You said that you had a sword, but is it not possible to use it?”

“It’s not like I’m holding back, but…”

　Gerhard stood up in a cumbersome manner, took a sword from the collection cabinet and handed it to Jocel.

　”I’ll take a look,” Jocel said, drawing the sword.

　It is single-edged. The blade crest is floating. It has a tsubasa and a handle. There is no doubt that this is a katana, but the overall impression is that of a cheap sword. Compared to that mysterious katana, it seems like a toy.

“It’s just a piece of crap that I bought from a peddler for curiosity’s sake. I cannot offer such a thing to the Count.”

“That’s true…”

　Jocel also has an eye for appraisal, though not as much as Gerhard. This is just a mass-produced cast metal object that has been tempered to a certain degree. It is nothing more than an iron rod in the shape of a sword.

“Oh, that’s right. I didn’t thank you for finding that mysterious sword.”

　Gerhard suddenly let out a gentle voice. As for Jocel, he had nothing but bad premonitions.

“I just found it by accident, not so much that I tracked it down….”

“Well, please accept it.”

　Gerhard laid the gold coins on the table, and Jocel’s eyes were riveted. Five gold coins, about the same amount as Jocel’s annual income.

　Gerhard saw through this upset.

“Your wife says you’re on your second?”

　While saying that, Gerhard drew an arc in front of his stomach.

　Life is hard even for high-ranking knights. It is better to have money than to have nothing.

　The reason why Jocel is learning enchantment is because he thought that he would be able to do something even after handing over the family estate to his son.

　What if the second one is also a boy, what are we going to do, shove him into a cesspool that is too filthy to even call a knighthood? No kidding.

　If possible, I would like him to be adopted by another knight’s house as a son-in-law, or start a new house.

He loved his wife and son. I’m sure he will give the same affection to the new life that would be born.

　For Jocel, the gold coins lined up in front of him were a bridge to the future.

“If you can find the sword or the swordsmith who made it, you will get five more gold coins. If you can establish a friendship with the swordsmith, you will receive twenty gold coins.”

“What…”

　His voice was hoarse. With that much money, he could send money to his wife’s family, a failed baron.

　Having married into a family with a lower family status, he has given his wife a hard time. If I can repay my beloved, what is the use of a few unreasonable demands?

　Jocel thought for a moment and then said.

“…I’ll go to the station and ask about the woman who was captured and the man who threw the sword. I might be able to find something.”

　The last time I went there, I couldn’t help but think about it and didn’t pursue it deeply.  I regret it now. I hope those chicken-headed idiots still remember.

“I can’t say that I can catch it for sure. What would you do if the thread breaks?”

“At that time, I’ll have no choice but to hand over the sword to my usual blacksmith and order him to make something similar to this.”

“……Could he?”

“I don’t know if he can do it. But we will do it. If you polish the blade to a shine and decorate the scabbard and hilt with all kinds of fancy things, you will be able to make a sword of a certain quality.”

　After spitting out a few words, Gerhard looked up at the soot-stained ceiling.

“I do not dislike the good-natured Count. I wouldn’t want to deceive him if I could….”

　I agree, Jocel nodded deeply.

　There were somehow two groups in the knights’ office.

　Those who have a dagger made by Lutz and those who don’t.

　Only those who had it naturally began to gather, and they began to feel a sense of superiority over others. A knight, above all else, must spend money on weapons.

　The sub-weapon is admirable, but it’s not very convincing because the essential longsword is rusty and chipped.

　When this happened, people who didn’t have it became uncomfortable, especially the man who failed to buy it after making a complaint, was completely treated like a fool.

“You can have a great weapon, but you have to be good with it.”

　He said this in frustration, but what he received in return from the dagger group was a scornful sneer.

“Well, well, well. You’ve got a big mouth, don’t you? Why don’t you just talk your way out of the next bandit subjugation?”

　The dagger group pointed at the man and started giggling. In many cases, the number of people involved in an organization’s bickering is not a matter of righteousness or eloquence, but of being pushed aside by the number of people involved.

　No one was there to defend the man. They were fed up with his boasting about his weapons, and who was getting frustrated every time he saw them..

“Let’s see if it’s all talk ……?”

　The man put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Seeing this, the five members of the dagger group stood up at once.

“You’re going to wield a longsword indoors, you idiot.”

　Five people surround him in a semicircle. The odds were stacked against him, but if he was the kind of man who could apologize here, he wouldn’t have been so stingy with Lutz in the first place. He was extraordinarily prepared to go all out.

　With a loud bang, the door was opened. Standing there was a man who looked grimmer than anyone else in the room. It was Jocel, a high-ranking knight who was the superior of the knights.

“Good, you seem to have a lot of time on your hands.”

　When Jocel glared at them, the knights who had been making a fuss about dying or killing became quiet.

“I have something I want to ask you today…”

　After saying that much, he noticed the dagger the knight was holding. Neither the sheath nor the hilt were of this country’s make.

“What is that sword, show it to me.”

“Um, this is what I paid for with proper money ……”

“I won’t take it away, I just want to look at it.”

　He reluctantly took the dagger offered to him and drew the white blade.

　It was a beautiful blade. Although it was not as disturbing to the mind as that mysterious sword, the question arose as to whether it was made by the same swordsmith.

　It is not a work of art. However, it is carefully made. Joselu personally preferred this to a bewitched sword.

“Where did you get this?”

　I ask as I return the dagger.

“That woman came to take my order. She asked me if I wanted one by the same maker as the sword.”

　The knight looked puzzled as to why he would ask such a thing, but for Jocel it was a valuable piece of information.

　This is it, this is what I wanted to hear.

　The swordsmith lives in the present day. And probably lives in Count Zander’s domain. There is a female merchant who is connected to the swordsmith.

　Getting a sword has become a reality. In addition, twenty gold coins were within reach.

　My son, my unseen child, Papa is working hard today as well. Jocel hid the grin on his mouth with his hand.

“So, after a while, a merchant woman came with a man who seemed to be a blacksmith to deliver the daggers…”

“Mm, good. So what are their names? Where do they live?”

　Silence. The air was delicate for a while.

“…Hey, don’t tell me you don’t remember.”

　The air of buoyancy from just a few minutes ago had vanished with a whimper.

“Haa, umm…The guy broke in on his own both times, so I don’t know his name. The woman, what was her name?”

　The knights looked at each other, but no one had an answer.

　It is too much of a stretch to catch them falsely accused, then make a deal with them, and then no one remembers their names. It would be more useful to destroy the Knights and put them in the kennel.

　As Jocel glared at them to quickly remember, the knights became more and more deflated and unable to think straight.

“Clu…, Cle…, Claudia?”

“No, I’m pretty sure it was Kura… was it Clarissa?”

“Are you sure about that!?”

　Here, Jocel made one mistake. The knights could not say that they might have been wrong or that they needed more time, because their ogre superior had pressed them with more words.

　Excessive rigor is the only factor that can induce mistakes.

“Yes, sir. There is no doubt!”

“Okay. So you don’t have an address?”

“I can say where she used to live, but I think she moved now because her property was confiscated…”

“So you don’t know where she is.”

“Ah, no, it didn’t turn out to be a lot of money even though it was a property confiscation. Horses and old clothes that seem to be for sale, even if you scraped it up, it wouldn’t reach a single gold coin…”

“So what!?”

　Are you trying to say that it’s not a big crime because it didn’t make a lot of money? That’s not what I’m asking about now.

　After that, while suppressing my irritation, I found out the characteristics of the man and woman and left the station.

　I turned around once and was about to tell them to at least patrol the area once in a while, but decided against it. Having a bunch of knight miscreants wandering around would only cause trouble for the citizens.

　Before returning to the castle, I went around several merchant houses and asked about the woman named Clarissa, but everyone just tilted their heads.

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