Kays Translations

Chapter 248: Swords and Thrones

Amidst the opulent thrones of the royal palace, nobles and knights stood in rows. Seated firmly on the throne, King Ratwald Walscheid seemed to have gained more dignity and confidence compared to before, surprising the nobles who visited the capital after a long time.

The king’s attendants held parchment scrolls vertically and read out names. The called knights proudly approached the king and knelt before him.

“A grand occasion.”

“Ha!”

The king drew the sword and examined its blade. A guardsman received the sword from the king and advanced towards the kneeling knight. The knight respectfully accepted the sword and returned to the line. This process repeated ten times.

For the knights, receiving arms from the highest authority, the king, in a grand stage after accomplishing feats, would be the highest honor. However, for the spectators, especially those who didn’t see any value in such events, it was exceedingly boring.

Standing inappropriately at the edge of the procession was a man who seemed out of place. He wasn’t a noble; he held the title of a knight, but it was only recognized within the Count’s domain. This man was Lutz, a blacksmith.

He had dressed up in extravagant clothing for this day. Despite having been measured properly, the attire didn’t suit him at all. This was precisely what it meant to wear clothes.

Beside him stood another out-of-place figure. While it wasn’t strange for her to mingle with the nobles, it was odd for her to be next to a country bumpkin who stared blankly at the ceiling, waiting for time to pass.

It was Claudia, clad in a bold dress that emphasized her ample bosom. Her beauty attracted attention from the nobles, who wondered who she was and calculated how much it would cost to make her their mistress. However, flirting with her in front of the king while he praised the knights was out of the question.

Naturally, suspicious glances were directed at the rural man next to her. Lutz wanted to shout, “I’m a blacksmith, and she’s my wife!” but he wasn’t reckless or ignorant enough to do so in this setting.

“Ugh, the piercing stares are painful.”

Perhaps bored herself, Claudia whispered to Lutz in a voice only he could hear.

This dress wasn’t Claudia’s choice. She had been toyed with by the castle maids, who said there was joy in dressing her up. The smug face of the elder maid who seemed to be the leader was still vivid in her memory.

“Hey, Clau, is this dress considered irreparably damaged?”

“…You sometimes say the most awful things.”

“Sorry, it’s just so beautiful.”

“After the ceremony, let’s see if we can negotiate to buy it.”

Claudia lightly nudged Lutz’s side with her elbow. He couldn’t turn his face, but he could easily imagine the mischievous smile on her lips.

“Thanks, I think I can endure a bit longer now.”

With the prospect of enjoyment after the boredom, Lutz regained his composure.

Lutz hated these ceremonies with a passion. Being forced to waste time by others was what he detested the most.

He strongly resented having been coerced into participating in the sword unveiling before leaving the count’s domain. Just recalling it made him angry.

In the end, the lower-ranking nobles, the count’s retainers, didn’t ask him anything about the swords. If they had, he could have understood that he was summoned for that purpose. But they treated him as mere decoration.

…In other words, nobles only saw craftsmen as tools or something of the sort.

Despite growing dissatisfaction and distrust towards the nobility, he couldn’t refuse when summoned by the royal family. Understanding his own absurdity, he could only wait for time to pass.

As he pondered when it would end and who would be called next, the king’s attendant loudly announced the name of the next knight.

“Thirteenth Knight Order, Captain Leonard!”

Finally, a familiar name was called. Lutz furrowed his brow and squinted at the throne. A slightly hunched man clad in shining silver armor stepped forward.

He’s sure to like it, Lutz thought, feeling a bit nervous. It was the piece he had struggled the most to create, and he hoped it would be the one appreciated the most.

King Ratwald’s expression twitched as he drew the sword. It seemed that his eye for swords had become more refined, as he immediately understood that this was an excellent piece of work. He sheathed the sword, satisfied that it was a suitable blade to be given to a hero.

“…You’ve truly put in a lot of effort.”

“Your words make it all worthwhile.”

Leonard accepted the sword and returned to the line. His expression remained unchanged; he didn’t even attempt to walk proudly on this grand stage. Lutz couldn’t tell if he was pleased or not, leaving him with a sense of unease.

…But then again, it wouldn’t be appropriate to approach him and ask, would it?

Lutz tilted his head slightly, maintaining his posture. He wanted to hear Leonard’s thoughts, to have a conversation, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it.

And then, the name of the captain of the Fourth Knight Order was called next. The sword he would receive was also made by Lutz.

“This is quite impressive… Is this your order?”

Ratwald examined the sword with a strained expression, as if it weighed three times the usual. The captain chuckled in response.

“With this physique, I can’t feel like I’ve swung a regular sword.”

As the captain flexed his tree-trunk-like muscles, Ratwald smiled wryly.

Previously, this man was someone I didn’t quite like, but now he seems quite agreeable. Could it be because of his interest in swords? Ratwald nodded slightly, finding this trend not bad at all.

“Please use this sword to protect the country and me.”

“Yes, leave it to me!”

The guardsmen carefully carried the sword to ensure it didn’t sway. Dropping the bestowed sword here would be a great embarrassment. At the very least, one would never appear on such a stage again.

The captain who received the sword, however, didn’t seem to move from his spot for some reason. He simply gazed intently at the simple yet tasteful scabbard.

“Your Majesty, may I draw it here?”

The guardsmen stiffened in shock. Some of them even reached for the hilts of their swords. To draw a weapon in front of the king—did this man realize how dangerous that was?

No, despite being filled with muscles to the brim, he was still the captain of the knight order. He couldn’t be unaware of the implications of his words. That’s precisely why his intentions were unreadable and frightening.

“Hmm, why?”

Rather than being calm, Ratwald seemed to enjoy this somehow.

“If I don’t draw it, I won’t understand its excellence.”

A straightforward logic, but this was a different story if it weren’t in front of nobility. Ignoring the nervous guardsmen, Ratwald chuckled to himself.

“Very well, I permit it.”

“Yes!”

Without hesitation, the captain drew the sword. Despite its weight, he handled it effortlessly. Truly, it was a sword made for him and him alone.

With a magnificent gleam visible even from afar, a silhouette so fierce and formidable that it could cleave a person in half with a single blow. There were no voices of condemnation towards the captain; the throne room fell into a deep silence.

In the midst of it all, the captain turned his massive body around while holding the unsheathed sword.

“Hey, Lutz! I like it!”

Suddenly being singled out, all eyes turned to Lutz at once.

What’s he doing, what’s he saying? Despite that, it was genuinely heartwarming to know he liked it.

Forgetting that this was the throne room, Lutz doubled over in laughter, clutching his stomach. Claudia seemed to be holding back laughter too, as she slapped Lutz’s back repeatedly.

…There really are all kinds of people among the nobility.

All the boredom and dissatisfaction toward the nobility had completely disappeared from Lutz’s mind.

Perhaps coming here today wasn’t so bad after all.

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