Kays Translations

Chapter 65: Information Game

Although it was still some time before the appointed time, Oliver visited Lawrence's store with his sword.

The store is as large and magnificent as ever. It is said that those who come to this town for the first time often mistake it for the Count's mansion.

...... It's a far cry from my raggedy workshop.

Oliver regretted that he had come up with a boring way of thinking. Someone with such a fine store is supporting me. Then that would be something to rejoice about.

"Good morning, Oliver-san. Welcome."

A familiar servant spotted Oliver and approached him cheerfully. Perhaps because he was well-trained, he did not look at all displeased with Oliver's dirty appearance.

"Hey, is Lawrence-san here?”

"The Master is in the back room. He is scheduled to go out this afternoon, so if you want to visit him, now is the time."

"I see, I'm lucky after all. The goddess is waiting with her crotch wet."

"...are you okay?"

When I visited Lawrence's room, guided by the servant, the old gentleman was happy to welcome me.

"Hello, Oliver, you're here quite early."

“I ran around here and there for Lawrence-san’s sake. I would say.....but I just got lucky."

Oliver pulled out the katana at his waist by the sheath and placed it on the table.

Lawrence picked up the katana and pulled it out. The gentle gentleman's eyes turned into the keen eyes of an appraising merchant, staring intently at the blade.

"I see, so this is a katana. I have heard rumors of this sword in fragments, and its characteristics are consistent with the rumors.”

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief at Lawrence's assessment. Although he had thought it was almost certain, receiving an endorsement like this was still a relief.

"Where did you get this thing?"

"It's a bit difficult to explain, but..."

He told him that a woman who claimed to be the wife of a blacksmith came to visit him, how he asked her about the sword and she pulled this out, and how she managed to sell it to him after he begged her to do so.

I skipped things like being a little excited about being stepped on.

When Oliver finished speaking, Lawrence nodded with interest.

"Recently, I heard that the Count's family has recently hired a new blacksmith and decorator."

"Are you saying it was real?"

“However, I think the Count is supposed to be in the royal capital, so I don't think he's had a formal visitation yet. It is only a provisional position.”

……That bitch has stirred up so much trouble with her power shield, and it's temporary. Next time I see her, I'll make her cry with my lower sword.

Oliver's dark vengeance was on the boil. On the other hand, even if it turns out to be a development that makes me cry, it doesn't hurt.

"By the way, Oliver, how much did it cost you to buy the sword?"

"About ten gold coins."

"Well, then please take this."

Lawrence took out a small box from the shelf behind him, picked up twenty gold coins from it, and held them out in front of Oliver.

Oliver's eyes widened with greed and amazement.

"No, no, no. I brought this sword with the intention of giving it to Lawrence-san, so I can't accept the money."

Despite his reticence, Oliver's gaze was fixed on the dull gleam of the gold coins.

He can't help it, Lawrence laughed lightly.

“Please accept it. Otherwise I will be less likely to ask you for a favor next time."

"If that's the case..."

Oliver took out his wallet and stuffed it with gold coins.

If he had bought the sword for fifteen gold coins, would he have received thirty here? Oliver quickly dismissed the thought. It would be too rude to put a price on the favor of a benefactor.

"And I'd like you to keep this katana for me.”

Oliver tilted his head at Lawrence's suggestion.

“Were you not looking for a katana to give to a nobleman, or to show off?”

"I was going to do that, but I got even more greedy."

He continued talking while tapping the scabbard with his fingertips.

"Using this as a sample, can you mass-produce the same thing in your workshop?"

"that is……"

"I want the katana you make."

Oliver's body trembled at those words.

It is a great honor for any creator, not just blacksmiths, to be told that they want your work.

Any sword is not good, I want your sword.

The tingle in Oliver's brain was numbed with emotion at being told such a thing by the only person in the world whom he held in high esteem.

......As I said, the only person who understands me is Lawrence-san.

Oliver showed a little exaggeration by thumping his chest.

"Leave it to me! Ish... No, I'll bring you what you want in a month!"

Thus, he once again entered the Shura path of his own volition.

A few days later, Oliver was in the workshop with his head in his hands.

Around him, there were many sword-like objects that lacked power.

...... It's like a dick that won't stand up.

There is no strength, there is no sex appeal, there is no beauty that is grotesque but eye-catching.

For the time being, it was shaped like a katana, so its miserableness stood out even more.

The blade pattern does not float on the blade. The warp was not created by temperature differences, but was shaped that way from the beginning. It is more like a flat iron plate than a blade.

This is no longer a matter of good or bad skill, but clearly a different way of making it.

I have learned that it is not casting but forging, that is, the iron is not poured into a mold with molten iron but is forged by beating the iron. That is all I have learned in the past few days.

I have to ask someone to teach me. However, a decent craftsman would not hand over his skills so easily. It is because the monopoly of technique is linked to one's own value.

If the blacksmith who made the katana were to lose his position as a master craftsman and become just another ordinary craftsman, once the manufacturing process of the katana leaked out and anyone could make one, he would lose his position. He knows this better than anyone else.

If you know what you're talking about, there's no way you're going to tell me when I get down on my knees. If you can't teach me directly, I'd like a little hint of something.

Oliver waited for the day of the trade association meeting. There, he would casually and unobtrusively bring up the subject of the katana. Someone might have information and slip up.

Someone, if, maybe. Everything is vague.

...... Don't worry, I'm Lucky Oliver. I am a man who has a harem with the goddess of fortune as his attendant.

Despite his unfounded confidence, he regained his mental stability.

It's a little better than whining. This may be one of his talents.

It was just casual.

The meeting place was full of stories about katanas and a woman with attractive buttocks.

After five minutes of the usual talk about the allocation of iron and charcoal, the assignment of arms production, etc., the man who is called the elder among the master group said as if he remembered.

“It seems that katanas are popular these days, but I don’t know.”

It was extremely deliberate. But none of the fifteen masters complained to the elder. They had come here to talk about it.

Everyone was on board, trying not to make eye contact. It was as if they were afraid that if they looked into each other's eyes, information would be drawn out of them.

“The sword given to the barbarians at the peace talks is called a katana.”

"It's a problem for merchants who are quick to get on with fashion. So, how much longer will this foolishness go on?"

Some nodded, saying that was what they wanted to hear. If a fad is going to die out soon, then let it go, but if it is going to last forever, then blacksmiths who can't make katana swords are going to be left behind.

“It seems that Marquis Eldenberger was at the center of the meeting…”

“That festive bastard!"

He will be touting the credit for putting the peace together. Naturally, the story of the katana will be widely reported.

Waiting for it to fade away will take years. And there is no guarantee that the boom will have subsided after a few years.

“A woman who claims to be the wife of the blacksmith came to visit…”

“My house too. When she served the spices to my apprentices, they ate them up in one sitting.”

"If you give it to a bunch of growing up bastards, so be it. I enjoy it in secret, alone."

"I will tell your apprentices what you just said."

"Oh, please don't do that."

There was a burst of laughter, but most of the people thought that they weren't talking nonsense in their hearts.

“At any rate, that woman had a nice butt.”

Everyone, including Oliver, nodded their heads in agreement.

"I asked her to be my son's wife, but she simply refused."

"Of course, there's no merit in leaving your husband and getting together with a punk who can't even cut charcoal."

Charcoal cutting is the process of cutting the charcoal into even pieces to eliminate uneven temperatures in the furnace.

It is the basic of basics, the "ka" character for blacksmith.

"Indeed, and that's why I'm in trouble, because he intends to take over the workshop...."

The conversation went off track and never got back on track.

Apparently, that's as far as we got. The only thing we learned that day was that the katana boom was likely to continue for the foreseeable future, and that Claudia had visited all of the city's blacksmithing workshops.

After all, I have no choice but to ask the man named Lutz directly. No, he'll just think I'm an idiot.

If he is not careful, the Count may tell him that he is not worthy to be a master. That alone is troublesome.

At any rate, I would like to at least talk to him. As I was thinking of an excuse to visit the workshop, I thought of Claudia's smiling face.

My husband is a knight, so. She said something like that.

...... Damn, what a hateful bitch. I'm going to get a boner from rage.

Oliver gasped, remembering the rest of what Claudia had said at that point.

If you want to make a formal greeting, come over there.

Yes, it would be rude not to congratulate the new blacksmith in residence. If he glanced into the forge at that moment, it was an accident. It can't be helped.

As one by one they left the meeting place, Oliver remained until the end, a thin smile on his face.

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