Chapter 191: Arrow of Hope

I’ve done everything I can. Now, I have to leave everything to Gerhardt.

There’s nothing else to do but wait, and just waiting as someone who’s about to face a monster is quite stressful. Even when trying to distract myself by making a short sword, I couldn’t concentrate, and all I ended up with were failures piling up.

One day, Ricardo, carrying something, visited me. It might be a bit overdramatic to call him a savior, but at that moment, he felt like one.

“Hey, Lutz, what’s with the gloomy face? Is the monster countermeasure going well?”

“Waiting for Ger-san,” 

I replied bluntly, and Ricardo laughed, understanding the feeling. The urgency and frustration of having to do something before a formidable enemy, unnecessarily depleting mental strength.

“I’ve brought a good job for you.” 

“Ricardo, you brought me a job?”

Lutz looked puzzled. Whether he liked that reaction or not, Ricardo grinned and took something out of a large leather bag.

“Wow…”

It was the first time Lutz had seen it, but he knew of its existence. Among all weapons, this one is particularly restricted in possession and use—a dangerous weapon, the crossbow.

Lutz instinctively looked around. Since they were in the forge, there was no need to worry, but if someone saw it, it could be troublesome.

He asked in a low voice, even though there was no need.

“What’s that?”

“Some weapon the bandits who attacked the count’s carriage had. I borrowed it from Josel-san.”

“…What can I say? I’m worried about Josel-san’s situation these days.”

“Everyone feels the same about having to deal with monsters. Let’s appreciate Josel-san’s feelings.”

“Yeah, pushing it back now would just waste his goodwill.”

“That’s right. If we quickly defeat the monster and return it to the armory, no one will be in trouble.”

Ricardo said it with a face that showed no sense of responsibility.

The monster holed up in the labyrinth is like a lion on the other side of the river. We won’t be attacked immediately, but it’s not certain that it won’t cross the river when we’re not looking. It’s not something you can calmly watch.

“So, let’s talk about the crossbow. I don’t know much about Kevin-san, but he’s an amateur when it comes to fighting, right?”

“He’s chased away some small monsters and wild animals with an axe. And purely in terms of power, he’s much stronger than us. It’s beyond comparison.”

“Can a blacksmith say that…?”

“Even if we’re in the same line of physical work, I can’t carry a log like he can.”

Kevin is a lumberjack, not a craftsman, but Lutz still respects someone with excellent skills.

“So, what about Kevin?”

“He’s not exactly an amateur in battle, but he’s not used to it. But he has an excess of power. I thought maybe he could handle rapid firing with the crossbow.”

The crossbow is powerful, but shooting its string is very difficult. There are various methods, such as using a crank, lever, or handle, but the crossbow Ricardo brought was the simplest, using a trigger.

Lever and handle types are expensive and prone to malfunctions. Accidents, such as fingers being severed while pulling the string, occur frequently. A simple structure means fewer accidents and malfunctions. However, it has the problem of relying on human power.

This time, it was proposed to rely on Kevin’s strength.

“I see, this way, Kevin-san could be a force. He might even be the decisive factor.”

“Yeah. I know right? Hey, you can praise me more.”

“You’re a good boy.”

“Nah, I want to hit you.”

The two laughed and joked. Finally, it felt like the tension was easing.

“…So, what job do you want me to do?”

“I want you to make arrows for the crossbow. After all, this is the only one I could bring out.”

Ricardo took out an arrow from the bottom of the bag and shook it. It was much shorter than a regular arrow. Nevertheless, it seemed to contain a monstrous lethality when shot at high speed. Indeed, this was undoubtedly a custom-made item.

“Just to be clear, I brought this out as a sample. I’ll return it when I’m done with it. Since I secretly brought it out, it would be bad if the arrows were reduced.”

“Sigh, it feels like I’m doing a child’s prank.”

“Playing with crossbows, such a dangerous child.”

Lutz held the crossbow with a serious expression, flipping it over and adjusting the string. Ricardo spoke earnestly to Lutz.

“The only problem is that the opponent is a Flame demon. It might burn out before it pierces through its body.”

“I can’t say it’s impossible, but…”

Lutz twisted his head, aiming the crossbow at the wall as if the Flame demon were standing there. He pulled the trigger of the crossbow without a string, and in the illusion, the monster writhed in pain.

“Instead of using wood for the shaft of the arrow, why not make it out of iron? It should be able to inflict damage before it melts.”

“I see.”

Ricardo nodded with admiration. It’s better not to mention that this idea came to mind because he wanted to quickly melt a failed creation that caught his eye when he aimed the crossbow.

“I feel like I can do this, you know?”

Ricardo looked up at the ceiling, now stained with soot, and spoke.

“When I first met the Flame Demon, I thought it was an invincible death god that couldn’t be dealt with by human hands. But if you try various things, there’s no one you can’t defeat. As long as you don’t give up, hope remains.”

Even I said something out of character, Ricardo thought with a wry smile, then stood up.

“Well then, I’ll leave the arrows to you. Let me know when the date for the subjugation is decided.”

With a more confident stride than when he entered, Ricardo left the workshop.

Once Ricardo was gone, Lutz sighed deeply after a while. It was a face he couldn’t show in front of a friend who had brought new hope.

“Money is flying away like arrows…”

There’s no objection to Ricardo’s idea; in fact, he’s grateful. However, it still costs money. Recently, there have been many jobs with little income and a lot of expenses.

More accurately, he had only interfered in troublesome matters on his own.

The only hope is that the Flame Demon has some kind of cursed item. The fact that Ricardo’s katana, the cursed ‘Tsubaki,’ had no effect suggests that there is a possibility. Selling some artifact related to flames could fetch a decent amount of money.

Could fetch, some, decent—words full of ambiguity and uncertainty that make him uneasy.

In the midst of calamity, the last hope. It sounded like a story he had heard somewhere, but Lutz couldn’t recall. At the very least, the story shouldn’t have involved the necessity of monster subjugation.

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