Kays Translations

Chapter 150: Drunk in Love

After kicking Ricardo out of the workshop, Lutz sat down and pondered over the requested sword.

The nature of the request was for a conventional sword. Ricardo's cursed blade, 'Tsubaki,' was too powerful to wield casually. Consequently, he usually carried two weapons, only drawing 'Tsubaki' in dire situations. His request was to upgrade his everyday sword. So far, so good.

The issue lay in Ricardo's desire to eventually master dual-wielding. Considering he would have 'Tsubaki' in his right hand and a new sword in his left, the new sword needed to be as lightweight as possible.

However, Ricardo's occupation was that of an adventurer. His opponents ranged from people to monsters, from guarding caravans to delving into dungeons. There would be little time for meticulous maintenance, and his fighting style could become rough. He should not be worried about his endurance.

...A light, sharp, sturdy sword that could be wielded with both hands or the left hand. Yeah, it's impossible. It's a contradiction, are you an idiot?

Lutz felt an urge to punch Ricardo. He even half-seriously considered barging in to confront him. But just then, the door opened, and Claudia entered.

"I'm back."

Claudia's unusually cheerful voice made Lutz discard his menacing thoughts for now. When he looked, Claudia was carrying a basket full of ingredients.

"What's that?"

"Something good happened today. I'm in the mood for some delicious food."

Saying this with a cheerful wiggle of her hips, she headed to the kitchen. Lutz had a vague idea why she was in such a good mood, but he didn't pry further.

On the table were freshly cooked meat dishes, steaming soup, and fluffy bread. There were even baked sweets for dessert.

Claudia poured wine into Lutz's cup with a charming smile.

"Were you that happy?"

Seeing Lutz's eyes widen in surprise, Claudia shrugged her shoulders.

"I understand that celebrating someone's death is vulgar, but I couldn't help feeling so refreshed and satisfied from the bottom of my heart. Even though I know it's wrong."

"I don't intend to deny those feelings. Those guys deserve to be hated for what they did."

"Yeah, that's right. They deserve to be cursed. I feel like sending an appreciation letter to the street slasher."

Clinking their glasses and laughing heartily, Claudia and Lutz shared the same sentiment.

When about half the food on the table was consumed, Claudia spoke up with a question.

"By the way..."

"What is it?"

"I wonder what Street Slasher-san's purpose is. If his goal is to purify the rotten Knight Order, I can support it openly. But if it turns out that innocent civilians become victims tomorrow, it would feel awkward celebrating so grandly."

Claudia seemed to share Lutz and Ricardo's concerns regarding potential civilian casualties. Mysterious heroes of justice whose intentions were unclear were just eerie beings.

"Maybe he's after money?"

"Lutz-kun, put yourself in Street Slasher-san's shoes for a moment. When you want money and plan to attack someone to steal from them, would you really target the Knight Order? If you hang around a tavern, there will be plenty of happy merchant husbands who are in a good mood and saying they're going to the brothel."

Indeed, Lutz nodded, then earnestly tried to put himself in the Street Slasher's shoes.

"Maybe he wanted to fight someone strong."

"That's quite off the mark. If anyone in this town thinks of someone strong and envisions the Knight Order, they're either mad or delusional clowns. Well, if you're aiming to be a clown, I'd recommend a career change."

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Claudia's tongue was sharper than usual. Although usually kind and polite, she had no mercy when it came to the Knight Order.

"They were unwilling to fall for a bandit, so they went after someone they didn't feel too guilty about killing."

"I see, I see, you're quite smart, Lutz-kun! Let's get married!"

"We're already married."

"That's right! Well, we can fall in love as many times as we want!"

Claudia started laughing heartily, saying such things. She seemed quite drunk. The wine, which Lutz thought they couldn't finish, had reduced to about twenty percent. Lutz had consumed about three cups, and the rest was all Claudia's doing.

"Alright, let's share a special tidbit, onee-san style! The cute little knight that got killed this time, turns out his wallet wasn't taken from his pocket. Although to be honest, it was filled with nothing but copper coins."

This was new information for Lutz as well. Not only was Claudia reveling in the news of the knight's death, but she had also been diligent in collecting information.

"Well, if it were a money-hungry street slasher, he would at least check the wallet, right? Although, I doubt there's an honest thief who returns the wallet just because it's empty."

"Instead, there was something missing."

"Like what?"

"A short sword. Not a dagger, but a short sword. Do you understand what that means?"

While Claudia's cheeks remained as red as ever, her expression was not the relaxed one of someone intoxicated; instead, it was a serious, focused look. Lutz also nodded deeply in response to Claudia's demeanor.

Back when Lutz and the others were living as undercover blacksmiths outside the city walls, they once sold short swords to the Knight Order to make ends meet. This stolen item was one of those short swords.

"The culprit knew that the victim had a short sword. However, given that those idiots were boasting about their weapons all over the place, it's not certain that it was the work of someone involved with them."

"So, has the culprit achieved their goal with this? Or are they targeting other knights with short swords? Or..."

Lutz stopped speaking at this point. Or maybe the blacksmith who forged the short sword might be targeted. It might sound like a bit of a leap, but he couldn't dismiss the thought as absurd.

"Please be cautious. If anything happens to you, I..."

Claudia's head nodded with a slight droop. She seemed quite sleepy. Lutz told her he would take care of the cleanup later, then lifted Claudia onto his back and headed toward the bedroom.

"Lutz-kun, do that thing, that thing! Mm, princess carry!"

"Carrying you up the stairs might be a bit challenging."

"Stingy..."

After laying Claudia down on the bed, she quickly started snoring. Lutz smiled as he looked at her peaceful sleeping face, then went downstairs to check the locks.

The door had a sturdy bolt in place. The windows were tightly shut too. Moreover, the windows were not large enough for a person to pass through. Checking was just a precaution.

As Lutz was about to step onto the stairs to tidy up the table, he suddenly halted. He turned back for some reason and double-checked the locks.

It was closed. Of course, it was.

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