Chapter 4: What’s Next

“I’m back……”

“Hahahaha! I guess I should say I’m home too, from now on!”

　Lutz has returned home. With an extra bonus.

　I’m tired from too many things. It is already nightfall. I wanted to just eat dinner and go to bed, but that was not going to happen.

“Follow me. I will guide you to your room.”

“Oh, you have an extra room?”

　Claudia said surprisingly. What was this woman going to do if there was only one room? It seems she was really acting without thinking.

　Not that she had much of a choice. It would have been much better to roll into the room of a man she knew than to stay in the wild and be attacked by thugs.

　I wonder if it is my strength or my weakness that even if I am pushed around a little, I consider the other person’s feelings, and if I am satisfied with the situation, I do not complain. Probably both.

　The only thing that is true, at least, is that I have no intention of kicking Claudia’s big butt and telling her to get out.

　Passing through the forge, I entered the living room and kitchen. There were two doors at the front. The right door opened into a dusty room with only a bed and a chest of drawers.

“Use it however you like”

“What kind of room is this?”

“My father used it. He passed away three years ago.”

“Hmm. Speaking of Papa Lutz, I’m sure he was also your mentor.”

“Oh. My father learned the art of sword smithing during his wandering training. The way he makes swords is quite different from the way they are made in this country.”

　Nodding in agreement, Claudia approached the bed, which had no quilt or pillows, just a wooden frame, and tapped it lightly.

　Dust was rising in the air. Lutz turned his face away embarrassingly.

“In case you’re wondering, I at least clean it regularly…”

“There is nothing more unreliable than a sloppy man who says he cleaned the house. He thinks he’s done it, so it’s even worse. He only dusts and airs things out when he feels like it, right?”

“I was scolded severely if I left tools unattended in the forge, but nothing was said if my room was messy. Rather, my father’s room was worse. It took me a month to sort through his belongings.”

“Really, a male household…”

　Blurting, Claudia dusted herself off and collapsed into bed. There were plenty of complaints, but they were all swept away by sleepiness.

“I’m going to bed. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

“Oh good night”

“And also…”

“What?”

“Thank you”

“Okay.”

　As soon as she heard Lutz’s reply, Claudia began to sleep. Lutz quietly closed the door and left.

　I started a late meal by heating the soup left in the pot. I had thought that she would not be able to sleep because she was overwhelmed by too many things, but I was attacked by drowsiness and had my head dizzy many times while holding the tableware.

　Eventually, I plopped down on my desk and fell asleep without returning to my room.

　Lutz woke up with his face illuminated by the morning sun shining through the gap in the window. Claudia doesn’t seem to be awake yet.

　There is a saying that there is no time for poverty. Or are you poor because you are free? Lutz’s case was the latter.

　He can make anything from sickles to hoe stoves to knives, but he does not take orders.

　I once thought that if I kept a certain amount of cutlery in stock, I would be able to respond quickly to orders, but it would require a reasonable amount of space for storage. Also, blades rust if stored improperly, so care must be taken. In addition, I had to worry about theft.

　Sometimes a customer placed a detailed order and the inventory did not match it.

　In the end, it wasn’t worth the cost, so I decided to do it only with order productions. If it’s a larger blacksmith’s guild, it would be nice to put the products side by side, but it’s difficult for an individual blacksmith to keep an inventory.

　I wanted to talk to Claudia about my future business, but she is still dormant.

　I was impatient and irritated. But it was only for my own reasons, so it was wrong to take it out on Claudia.

　Perhaps it is only when I have free time that I should make a sword to replace the one I let go, but I am not confident that I can concentrate with the uncertainty of my life ahead of me.

　By the way, I just learned that no matter how great the sword is, there is no way to sell it.

“Oh, no! What do you want me to do?”

　A twenty-two year old child rolling around with his head in his hands. I looked up and there was a woman’s leg. When I looked up, there was a woman’s surprised face.

“Lutz-kun, what are you doing…?”

“I’m looking for something important that I’ve lost somewhere in my life.”

“… Did you find it?”

“I don’t even remember what I dropped.”

　Seeing Claudia sit silently on a chair, Lutz also got up and took a seat across from her.

“For the time being, I plan to work exclusively with Lutz-kun. I will get the orders, Lutz will make the products, and I will deliver them, and we’ll repeat the process.”

“Thanks, but is there really that much demand?”

“Fufufu, leave it to me. I’ll take care of it. I just need something to get myself ahead. You still have the money for the axe, don’t you?”

“You’re an expensive woman…”

“That’s what being a good woman is all about.”

　When I tried to pick some silver coins out of the leather bag that served as my wallet, the leather bag was snatched away.

“Wait for the good news. Good day!”

　Claudia energetically jumped out.

　It was only yesterday that she was captured by the Knights in a sort of false accusation. Of course, she was captured earlier than that, so her captivity would not have lasted more than a day or two.

“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

　Scratching his head, Lutz decided to stock up on charcoal and iron. Claudia, motivated as she was, would probably not come back empty-handed.

“Haha, I’m home, Lutz-kun!”

　At dusk, Claudia returned. She was even more energetic and noisy than when she left.

“Good work. So, did you receive an order for sharpening knives?”

“Listen and be amazed. I have taken a contract for five daggers. Eighty pieces of silver for each.”

　Lutz freezes with his mouth wide open.

　Seeing that, Claudia smiled with satisfaction.

“That’s it, that’s the reaction I wanted to see.”

“How did you get that order?”

“I went to the knights’ station.”

“Isn’t this awkward after yesterday ……”

“If there’s a business opportunity, there’s no time for awkwardness.”

　Merchants must also be mentally tough. Suddenly the woman in front of me seems like a great person. Perhaps it is just my imagination. At least I am sure that she has something that I don’t have.

“I thought that if it was the weapon of the author who struck that mysterious sword, they would want it. Of course, I reminded him that a work of that calibre is not that easy to make. Also, we couldn’t just go out and buy a long sword that would cost dozens of gold coins for the first time, so we decided to have him bring a dagger to start with.”

　The words “that mysterious sword” made my heart prickle. Perhaps it would become my lifetime masterpiece. Even though I had no choice but to let it go, I still wanted to at least give it a name.

　There was a sense of guilt, as if he had abandoned his own child.

“What happened to the sword?”

“That’s right, it’s a funny story, but I heard that the superior officer took it away from him.”

“What’s there to laugh at?”

“I heard that one of the knights with the sword in his hand got seriously injured by rubbing his cheek on it.”

“…… all the way up to the blade?”

“He must have been out of his mind, because there was a lot of blood and he was cut right down to his cheekbones. In fact, there were traces of blood all over the room.”

　Hearing other people’s painful stories makes my stomach churn. Both Lutz and Claudia had wry smiles rather than laughter.

“So, the superior officer who heard the commotion, got angry and confiscated the sword. I don’t mean to sound like a rude person, but I feel a little bit better about things now.”

“After all that, they still want the sword…”

“People can’t resist true beauty. It is unlikely that he would ever own a sword like that one, so I guess he thought it would be better to have a dagger by the same maker.”

　It was Claudia who nodded as if she was convinced by herself.

“Now then, I have fulfilled my promise. The rest is Lutz-kun’s job.”

　Lutz nodded strongly.

　This is an order that Claudia has taken by riding into what could be called hostile territory. If I make a poor product here, it will be a disgrace to her face and negate her efforts.

　I don’t like bad knights, but if it’s for Claudia’s sake, I won’t hesitate to do my best.

“If they like the dagger, it could lead to an even bigger job. Good luck.”

“Leave it to me. Oh, and…”

　Lutz looked around with a terribly hesitant look, and eventually opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“Can I kiss you again?”

　Claudia looked surprised for a moment, then immediately smiled a bewitchingly kind smile.

“Hmmm, Lutz-kun likes me after all.”

“What about you, Claudia?”

“Well, what do you think…?”

　Claudia’s arm wrapped around Lutz’s neck. The thought that she had negotiated with these vicious people with this thin little body made me love her.

　Women are much like swords. They are bewitchingly beautiful and dangerous. Knowing this, we cannot stay away.

　What did you get instead of letting go of your masterpiece? There are no regrets there, even if there are some unresolved issues.

　Two shadows illuminated by flickering torches slowly overlapped into one.

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