Chapter 63: The Mad Dog of Loyalty

“I see, you can’t make katanas……”

The merchant in front of me said with a terribly disappointed face.

…… again, it’s just so depressing and annoying.

Blacksmith Oliver hides his inner frustration,

“I’m sorry, but we don’t handle it.”

He apologized.

Frankly, I want them to leave quickly.

It is a job to bow down, even if you don’t want to bow down. Oliver, who had risen to the position of master on the strength of his accumulated hard work, was well aware of this, but there are limits to what can be done.

The merchant walked away silently, without saying sorry or that he would be back.

I am so glad I didn’t have a sword or hammer at hand. If I had, I would have surely chased after that guy and cracked his fat, round head open.

“What’s with the katana, you fashionable fools!”

This is the only thing that’s been going on lately.

The owner of the large shop, Otana, personally comes to the store and asks for weapons. Everyone is talking about how much they want a katana.

It seems that peace was made with the coalition countries and on the occasion of the peace, a katana was given as a gift. With the prospect of an arms boom, merchants were running around collecting swords from all over the country.

But the merchants weren’t there at the meeting, and most of them didn’t even know what the katana was.

For that reason, in the market, bent and over decorated swords were sold under the guise of katana, and then they were sold again.

It is truly a lawless zone for weapons.

“They are all so loud about katanas! If you want a two-handed katana, you can use the bastard sword, but the traditional katana of our country is here! This is it! ”

Oliver shouted and picked up the sword hanging on the wall. It was heavy and sturdy, and he was supremely confident. Gripping it tightly, he finally regained his composure.

……I’m still a genius. I just haven’t been recognized by the world yet.

When will the public notice the existence of a genius named Oliver? That is the question.

Borvis, who was called the best blacksmith in town, died of a heart attack. Oliver said that he was an old man who had forgotten his diligence, but when he heard that he died in his workshop with a hammer in his hand, he honestly acknowledged the manner of his death. He was even moved. I thought, “That is how a blacksmith’s death should be”.

I waited anxiously for the next blacksmith who would be allowed to visit the count’s house, but no one from the count’s house came to visit me.

When I asked an acquaintance of a low-ranking knight about what was going on, the Count apparently stopped giving weapons as a reward.

Orders from the counts for soldiers’ armor and horse shoe iron and steel are allocated to blacksmiths in the city, but they no longer receive special requests.

……It’s so wonderful, why can’t it be recognized? What am I missing?

While I was contemplating, staring at the shining blade, I heard a knock on the door and my apprentice entered.

“Master, you have a visitor.”

“You bastard! Don’t interrupt me while I’m thinking, or I’ll rape you!”

The disciples were accustomed to this and let it slide appropriately.

However, Oliver rose from his chair vigorously at the name conveyed by his apprentice. It was the name of a wealthy merchant who had taken care of him since his predecessor.

You don’t have to be understood by anyone else, only that person will understand. He patronizes this workshop.

Oliver ran joyfully into the reception room. He had a bad feeling on the nape of his neck, but he ignored it and tucked it away in the back of his mind.

“Lawrence-san, thank you for waiting!”

I walked briskly into the reception room and found a gracious gentleman sitting there with a soft smile on his face.

“I’m glad to see you, Oliver, doing well.”

“I can’t make a depressed face in front of Mr. Lawrence.”

It was Lawrence who supported Oliver’s appointment as master. He is, so to speak, a benefactor.

“So what can I do for you today?”

… My life always took a turn for the better when this person came along. This time too, I’m sure it will. He came to welcome me to a new stage of my life.

Oliver waited patiently for Lawrence to speak. Anticipation and anxiety swirled around in his chest.

“I’m looking for something called a Katana…”

Oliver’s mind went blank.

You want a katana, too? The benefactor’s outstretched hand was inserted into Oliver’s heart and stirred it into a mess.

Lawrence-san, you have created a wonderful sword.

Lawrence-san, I can make a special offer to you.

Lawrence-san.

All the words I had prepared were wasted. It is even comical..

Still, even with his pride tarnished, Oliver did not want to disappoint Lawrence. He had come to me because he relied on me, and that much was true.

“Okay… no, please come back in a month. I’ll be sure to prepare a katana for Lawrence-san.”

Lawrence had a surprised look on his face as if he had originally thought it was no good. And immediately he nodded with a wide smile.

“As expected Oliver. Well, I’m glad I consulted with you. I’m looking forward to a month from now!”

With that, Lawrence grabbed Oliver’s hand firmly.

The benefactor’s delight made Oliver happy, but at the same time terrified. If he can’t do anything, he will disappoint this person. And at the moment, there was no way he could count on it.

“Leave it to me. Ha ha ha…”

A dry laugh escapes from the corners of Oliver’s mouth.

When I was about to blurt out a week, I changed it to a month, and that alone was the seed of hope.

Five days later, Oliver was in his room with his head in his hands.

Clutching at straws, I went to the market and asked around, but the only two answers I got were either that they didn’t know or that they knew.

In my haste, I found an unscrupulous man who tried to sell me a curved blade, calling it a katana. I lost my temper and got into a fistfight with him, and was captured by the knights, spending three precious days eating smelly food.

If it weren’t for the craftsmanship protection policy, I might have been sent to a dangerous mine, so I was lucky only there.

The only remaining hope is the trade union meeting in a week’s time. I have no choice but to ask there. But I doubt that they will give me the hottest information on katana so easily.

What do you need, money?

……Well, maybe 20 gold coins if you scrape them together from all over the place. No, no, maybe another ten if we pay the craftsmen’s salaries this way and that.

As I was thinking about such things that I shouldn’t, there was a knock at the door and my apprentice entered without even hearing my reply.

“Sir, you have a visitor.”

“You’re not too shy about your asshole, are you!?”

His thoughts were interrupted, and his anger and frustration were directed at his apprentice, who was working diligently. The apprentice was in no hurry to answer, although it seemed as if he would really be paid this way and that.

“She’s a beautiful woman. If you’re going for the ass, go for that one.”

“A good woman. Is she proposing to me?”

“What do you find sexy about being over fifty? How can that be?”

“The right age is when you want to get laid!”

“At the very least, can you tell me that the time when I fall in love is the right age for love…”

The disciple sighed inwardly. A skilled but crazy master, he thought, I must be the only one who struggles with this kind of thing.

“So, if you don’t want a child of a genius blacksmith, what do you want?”

“It seems to be a moving greeting.”

“Please take care of that kind of thing on your own. You just have to accept the free gift and say hello.”

“Are you saying that it’s a little troublesome, or are you saying that if you make a mistake in dealing with it, it will become troublesome later on…”

“What is it, Yakuza, a Miss Ane-san?”

“It seems that she is the wife of the blacksmith employed by Count Zander…”

“When did they decide on a blacksmith?””

“Now ……?”

If he really is a blacksmith in your employ, does he know anything about katanas? If he is an impostor claiming to be related to a noble family, it is dangerous to get deeply involved.

Is this a thread of salvation or a trap of destruction? Oliver went to the reception room without knowing what was going on.

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