Chapter 486 – The Nostalgic Blacksmith:
Tauro was taking a stroll through the city of Saishi at night.
Three years ago, shops in this city would have been closed at this hour, and the streets would have been dark — that was normal. But now, many stores stayed open even into the night.
This was likely due to the high demand for mythril ore, which kept the streets bustling with people.
Currently, the area was under the care of the royal family, so the profits went directly to the royal family.
Tauro didn’t know exactly how much revenue being generated went to the royal family each year, but he couldn’t help thinking: Perhaps the people of the former Viscount Saishi territory are actually better off this way.
Despite the late hour, there were even people putting on puppet shows in the streets.
Feeling nostalgic, Tauro stopped walking and decided to watch one of the puppet shows.
Now that I think about it… there was a time when stories based on me were being spread around.
Tauro smirked to himself, recalling the events of three years ago.
Back then, to counter the unwanted fame, he had popularized the game Reversi, which ironically led to him going to the royal capital — where he met people like Chairman Mardai of the Garfish Trading Company, Prime Minister Barriella, and Prince Fleue, who had since become a close friend regardless of their social standings. Life truly was unpredictable.
At the time, powerless and fearing fame, Tauro had even used the alias ”Giro Sugar” to avoid drawing attention from powerful individuals.
He reflected on those helpless times, realizing how much he had been helped and protected by people like Branch Chief Leo, the adventurer Mauve, receptionist Nei, and all thr other adventurers when he was still weak and inexperienced.
As he walked past the now-changed buildings along the street, Tauro suddenly recognized a small shop at the corner that hadn’t change at all, sparking a wave of nostalgia.
He turned down the street and found himself standing in front of a blacksmith’s shop—drawn there instinctively.
It was Angus’s Blacksmith Shop.
Tauro had been deeply indebted to the owner of the shop, Angus.
Not only had he learned about blacksmithing from him, but the short sword “Small Tauro” he still used to this day was made by Angus himself.
Tauro felt that he had a deep connection with the owner, the dwarf blacksmith Angus, but when he visited Angus’s Blacksmith Shop, it had become much larger and no longer resembled its former self.
“Angus, you rebuilt your shop… That’s a bit surprising.”
Of course, it was only natural—I heard Angus was now a renowned master craftsman, known even for forging swords for the royal family. Still, I had imagined him pounding away at iron in his rustic shop as before, so seeing this transformation feels a little bittersweet.
Though the shop itself was already closed, but there was a light in the window of what appeared to be the blacksmith’s space, and laughter could occasionally be heard from inside.
“That sounds like Angus’s voice…”
Curious, Tauro walked around to the garden side and peeked into the smithy.
Inside, several young blacksmiths he didn’t recognize were chatting and laughing.
But Angus was nowhere to be seen.
“The sign in front said Angus’s Blacksmith Shop… but who are these guys?”
Tauro tilted his head in confusion.
“Who’s there? The shop’s already closed. Come back tomorrow.”
One of the young blacksmiths noticed Tauro peeking in and called out to him.
“Ah, sorry. Is Mr. Angus here?”
Tauro asked politely.
“Master Angus? Oh… another one hoping to become his apprentice? He’s already gone to bed—gotta rest up for tomorrow. Besides, he’s not taking any more apprentices, so scram!”
It seemed these young men were Angus’s apprentices.
The other disciples also stopped their tidying up work and looked at Tauro,
“You’re still pretty young. Go hone your skills somewhere else for ten years, then come back.”
They clearly assumed Tauro was an aspiring apprentice and urged him to leave.
“No, I’m not here to become an apprentice… If he’s not available, that’s fine. But could I leave a message for him?”
Tauro was a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t get to see Angus, but he decided at least to leave a message of gratitude.
“A message? Master Angus is a busy man. Depends on the content. If it’s nothing weird, we’ll pass it along.”
The apprentice blacksmiths must have had plenty of experience dealing with this sort of thing, as they reacted with a sense of familiarity.
Tauro closed his eyes for a moment, picturing Angus’s face in his mind, and said:
“Then please tell him this: ‘Angus-san, it’s been a long time. The short sword you forged for me was safely delivered by His Highness. It’s saved my life many times. Thank you so much. Please tell him that I hope he stays healthy forever.”
The apprentices looked puzzled, not quite understanding what this boy in front of them was talking about. But, something about what he said seemed to strike a chord, and one of them asked him his name.
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tauro. If you tell that to Mr. Angus, I’m sure he’ll understand.”
Tauro smiled, gave a polite bow, and left the place.
“Tauro…?”
The apprentices looked at one another in confusion after he left.
“Wasn’t our master’s great master named Tauro or something?”
“Yeah, but Tauro’s a common name. And that kid was just a boy. If he really was Master Angus’s teacher, he’d be way older, right?”
“Still… didn’t he mention the short sword we gave to the royal family—the ‘Tauro-Kai’? That’s gotta be it, right?”
“The story of the dagger being presented to the royal family is now a well-known story in this area, you know? Besides, Master doesn’t really talk much about that stuff…”
“Should we tell him?”
“Let’s bring it up tomorrow morning, if we get the chance. It’s probably not worth waking him up for.”
And thus, “The story of the dagger being presented to the royal family is now a well-known story in this area, you know? Besides
The following day, just before noon, Angus finally received the message from his disciple. He yelled at him, “Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?” and burst into tears.
Whether those tears were from the pain of not being able to meet with him, or from pure joy, the apprentices couldn’t tell—and were left bewildered.