Kays Translations

Chapter 478: In a Book I Read Before

Silence fell over the room. Naturally, every eye was fixed on me.

What should I do? I needed to invent an excuse somehow.

“Um… I read about a similar sword in a book some time ago.”

“And who exactly wrote that book? Almost no one should know of the Holy Sword’s existence…”

One of the researchers in the room placed a hand against his chin and sank into thought. It seemed that he believed me. That was close. When I glanced at Brother Alex, he met my gaze with a smile. What was this feeling? I nearly gave him a wry smile in return.

“What did the book you read say about this sword, Julius?”

Brother Alex’s smile deepened. It was a little frightening. Sister-in-law Daniela, standing beside him, was also smiling more and more broadly.

Could it be…? Had they sensed something?

Think. I had to think. What was the best move I could make now? Should I continue feigning ignorance and simply return home?

If I did that, who knew how much damage the Kingdom of Raven would suffer before the Bone Dragon was defeated? In the worst case, the disaster might even spread into the neighbouring Spencer Kingdom—my own country.

Wouldn’t it be better to repair Gatekeeper here, teach Sir Erwin how to use it and have him defeat the Bone Dragon? Sir Erwin could then become a count and marry Princess Sophia, while the Kingdom of Raven would be saved.

If I was going to act, now was the time.

“U-Um… I don’t know whether the book was accurate, but I think it described how to repair Gatekeeper and how to use it…”

“Julius-sama, please teach us!”

“Guh!”

Princess Sophia hugged me. She was not quite as overwhelming as Sister-in-law Daniela, but she was still rather well endowed. The surprise attack caught me off guard, and I couldn’t secure my airway. I-I couldn’t breathe…

“Princess Sophia, that’s enough. You’re choking Julius.”

“Ah! I-I’m sorry!”

“Cough, cough… No, it’s fine. Of course I’ll teach you. I can’t guarantee that what was written in the book is correct, though.”

I added that disclaimer just in case. I was certain the sword could be restored and made usable, but declaring that it would definitely work would only make them suspicious.

The room grew noisy, but everyone soon settled down again.

“Then what should we do?”

“Um… May I take a closer look?”

“Of course!”

I approached the pedestal and examined the sword carefully. It appeared that they had collected even the smallest broken fragments. If I melted and reforged only the damaged section, there should be no problem. The magic formulas inscribed on the Holy Sword had also faded or unravelled in several places. That was probably why it had failed to function properly. Rewriting them should restore it.

“If I reattach the broken section and redraw these black lines, I believe it should work.”

“We tried to repair the Holy Sword ourselves, but no matter how much we heated it, nothing changed.”

“Ordinary fire won’t work. It has to be fire produced by magic, or the metal won’t soften.”

The researchers looked astonished. Brother Alex, Sister-in-law Daniela and Princess Sophia appeared to have decided that they would quietly watch what happened next. They observed from a short distance away. For some reason, my stomach was beginning to feel unsettled.

“I-I see. That never occurred to us. How should we redraw these black lines?”

“The ink is made from a mixture of powdered Gravid Crystal and Azure Silver. I saw Gravid Crystal in the compounding room, but do you have any Azure Silver?”

“Of course. I’ll fetch it immediately.”

“Ah, wait. I’ll need to use the weapons workshop to reforge the Holy Sword, so please have the materials prepared there.”

I stopped the researcher before he could run off. It would honestly have been troublesome if he had brought the materials into this room. There was no suitable equipment here unless I used my Laboratory skill.

Gatekeeper’s blade was an alloy of orichalcum and Azure Silver. I was extremely glad that they had gathered every broken fragment. Finding orichalcum now would have taken far too long.

“Clear the weapons workshop and bring the Gravid Crystal from the compounding room.”

“Understood. I’ll arrange it immediately.”

The researchers moved swiftly at Princess Sophia’s command. She possessed a remarkably dignified presence. It looked as though Sir Erwin might end up completely under Princess Sophia’s thumb. Then again, that was not so different from the men of House Heine.

Would Lady Fabienne have me under her thumb someday too? Well, if it was her backside, perhaps I wouldn’t mind being under it.

“Julius, are you certain you’ll be all right?”

“I think so. Since the craftsmen have been cleared out of the workshop, it appears I’ll be the one reforging the Holy Sword.”

“Can’t someone else do it?”

“…I doubt it. The metal has to be tempered while being enveloped in mana.”

“I see. Then no one else could do it. I’ve never heard of a blacksmith who can use magic.”

Brother Alex gave me a warm smile, although his eyes showed that he was worried. Sister-in-law Daniela wore the same expression.

To put them at ease—and to prepare for what was coming—perhaps I should simply give up and tell them the truth.

“Brother Alex, Sister-in-law Daniela, please keep it secret that I’ve done blacksmithing before.”

“That may be difficult. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to tell Father.”

“Then please at least keep it between the three of you.”

“All right. I promise.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, all right?”

Sister-in-law Daniela hugged me. Was this really acceptable? I had now been embraced by two princesses in quick succession. Any other man who saw this would surely scream in jealousy.

While I enjoyed the embrace—one she showed no sign of ending—someone announced that the preparations were complete.

I had explained the situation to Brother Alex and Sister-in-law Daniela, and I was certain that Princess Sophia would keep it secret as well. The researchers in the room would surely do the same.

Even so, I was certain that problems would arise. But I couldn’t abandon the people of the Kingdom of Raven. If there were people within my reach whom I could save, then I wanted to save them. That was how I honestly felt.

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