Chapter 7: A New Commission

The rapier was now complete, so the next day, I decided to make a scabbard. Camilo hadn’t relayed any specific requests for the scabbard, so I was just going to rely on my instincts. If the client didn’t like the final result, I could always remake it to their specifications. Once again, I was going to be working alone today; Rike and the others were continuing to forge entry-level models.

Before I settled down to work, I went out to our wooden plank storage, selected two of the right size, and brought them back into the forge. The fundamental process of making a scabbard for a rapier was no different from any other sword.

Each plank would form one-half of the scabbard. I carved out a hollow where the rapier would rest and then glued the two sides together. I also carved the outside to match the shape of the blade.

Amusingly, I recalled that the opening of a scabbard for a Japanese sword was literally called the koi fish’s mouth because of its gaping shape. For this scabbard, I decided to use steel to reinforce both the tip and the opening. With these steel additions, the scabbard looked more sturdy than when it had been just plain wood. If I had wanted to make the scabbard even more elaborate, I could’ve chiseled a design into its surface, or covered it with the leather from a deer’s hide. However, I decided to leave it as it was.

Scabbards never took long to make, but I finished the one for the rapier more quickly than usual since it was only provisional. With the time left in the day, I selected a portion of the shortswords and longswords that the other three were making, choosing ones that had just been unmolded. I would be turning them into elite models.

The swords—both the ones that Samya had cast and the ones Diana had cast—were clearly better made than they had been in the past. Thanks to the two women’s efforts, the swords would be easier for me to finish up. They were good, not just for entry-level models, but for elite models too.

Perhaps it was because I’d gotten used to the level of intense focus I’d had to maintain in order to forge the rapier, but I found myself concentrating more without realizing it. The imperfections in the metal seemed to melt away under my hammer, and at this rate, I’d turn everything into custom models by accident.

I was no longer tortured by the question of whether it was conscionable for me to make the weapons I wanted and yield them to a third party, but that was different than making exclusively custom models. To begin with, making everything a custom model didn’t make any practical sense—they were sold for a gold coin at least (though the price was subject to my whims), a price that was prohibitively expensive for most. Elite models were by far the best candidate for our forge’s flagship product, as they struck the perfect balance between quality and affordability.

And so, I restrained myself as I worked. As I’d predicted, since I had started with a high-quality cast, I was able to quickly complete the elite sword. Maybe it was time to let Diana try her hand at hammering as well.

By the end of the day, we’d produced a satisfactory number of swords. Tomorrow, we could move on to knives. At the pace we were working, we would have plenty of stock for Camilo by tomorrow, and we might even be able to take time off on the day after tomorrow.

It had been a while since our previous vacation. The mess over in the capital had happened right after our last break, and we hadn’t gotten a day of rest since then. Plus, the mithril rapier had been a challenge to make, so I was ready for a break.

During dinner, I proposed to the others that we take a day off. The plan was received with fanfare and passed unanimously.

It became official—the day after tomorrow would be a vacation day!

⌗⌗⌗

The next day (the one before our off day), Samya and Diana left together to hunt. Diana was no longer coming back from these trips exhausted, unlike when she’d first started living with us. Her stamina must have increased from running around in the forest and keeping pace with Samya. I noticed the difference in our daily sparring sessions too; our matches lasted a little longer every day, with Diana pushing to counter more and more of my attacks.

I was pretty confident, but not certain, that with Diana’s current level of stamina, she could win against an average soldier by outlasting them and wearing them out bit by bit. She was well on track to becoming the strongest fighter in the region.

With the other women out hunting, Rike and I were spending the day in the forge working on knives. Rike was making entry-levels, and I was making elite models. By now, the work was so routine that we could do it in our sleep. We worked quickly and efficiently, churning knives out one after another.

Has Rike gotten faster or am I imagining it? I think I’m still in the lead, but she could give me a run for my money if we were to compete. Everyone’s leveling up slowly but surely.

We worked in silence. By the end of the day, we had surpassed our weekly quota of knives, so we were able to close the workshop before dusk. As we were cleaning up, the clappers on the door alerted us that Samya and Diana had returned.

“Perfect timing,” I said to Rike.

“It really is. I’ll clean up this area, Boss.”

“Thanks.”

Between the two of us, the room was tidied up in a flash. We then returned to the living room where Samya and Diana were setting down their bows and other belongings.

“Welcome home,” I called out. “How did it go?”

“We’re home,” Samya answered for both of them. “We took down a humongous deer today.”

“Can’t wait to see it tomorrow when we go to bring it home.”

Samya puffed out her chest and her face beamed with pride. “You’re in for a surprise! Look forward to it.”

In contrast to Samya’s excitement, Diana looked dazed, almost as if there was a soft light shining directly on her face.

“Hey, Samya... What’s going on with Diana?” I asked.

“Oh, you see,” Samya started, shaking her head disapprovingly, “a mother wolf and her pup came up to us while we were gutting the deer. Diana took one look at the pup and fell in love with how cute it was. She’s been like this ever since.”

“I understand perfectly.” I pictured a baby wolf wagging its tail like a puppy. It was easy to see how Diana had fallen under the pup’s spell without any resistance. “What happened to the two wolves?”

“They snatched up the deer’s intestines and ran off somewhere. They probably knew we were hunting and had been waiting the whole time for their chance to scavenge,” Samya explained. “But don’t worry. We buried the heart of the deer properly.”

The forest wolves were extraordinarily intelligent. If Diana found out that we could train one to live with us by feeding it regularly, she might be tempted to give it a try. But that was one front I wouldn’t compromise on—it was one thing if we found an orphaned pup to raise, but we couldn’t possibly separate one from its parents. When I met Samya’s eyes, I could tell that we’d come to the same conclusion. Both of us nodded firmly in unison.

⌗⌗⌗

All throughout dinner, Diana raved about how adorable the wolf pup had been.

Unfortunately, she was still preoccupied the next day too.

We started the morning by completing our chores. Then, we headed out to the lake together so that we could retrieve the carcass of the deer. Diana was restless during the entire trek to the lake. I bet she was checking to see if the pup was around.

Don’t get me wrong, I sympathized with her feelings. Back in my previous world, I’d occasionally run into cats with their kittens in tow. Whenever I’d pass the area again in the days after the encounter, I’d always be hyper-alert, hoping against hope that I’d see the cats again. However, reunions had been rare. I’d never seemed to find the cats again, no matter how hard I’d looked.

And so, in the end, we arrived at the shore of the lake without seeing hide nor hair of the wolves. I could tell by looking at Diana’s eyes that she was disappointed, but what didn’t kill you made you stronger.

As for the deer... It was as large as the enormous boar that Samya and Diana had killed.

It must be at least two meters tall!

“Hunting this deer must’ve been quite the challenge,” I said.

“Thanks to the arrowheads you made, along with a bit of luck, we were able to bring it down quickly, and it died almost instantly after I shot it,” Samya said. “I must’ve hit a vulnerable place.”

“Amazing.”

“I never could’ve taken it down so quickly with a normal arrow. We would’ve been chasing it until well after sunset.”

In response to Samya’s roundabout compliment, I simply said, “Thanks.”

I asked Rike to cut down a larger tree while the rest of us dragged the body of the deer to shore. At first, it was easy; we were aided by the buoyancy of the water. But as the body neared dry land, it became heavier and heavier.

Samya, Diana, and I were far stronger than average humans, so the weight was not unmanageable. Pulling a deer this size surely would’ve taken more than two people, assuming an average person’s strength.

Between the leftover boar meat and this new venison, we’d have more meat around than we knew what to do with.

With the wood that Rike had chopped, we made a pallet and loaded the deer onto it, then set off for home. The pallet was larger than usual to accommodate the sheer size of the animal, and we dragged it all together. Between the weight of the pallet and the weight of the deer, the trip was both more exhausting and longer than usual.

Back at the cabin, we strung up the body, which was no easy feat. But after that, the butchering was simple. As always, our custom model knives were a big help when it came to carving, but more than anything, we’d simply grown accustomed to the work. After all, we had to butcher an animal almost every week. I set a portion of the fresh venison aside for our daily meals. This time, Samya also saved some of the deer’s tendons so that she could use them to restring her bow later.

There was only so much meat we could cure with salt, so we ended up having to dry more than usual. In the end, there was meat hanging from every possible surface and free spot in the workshop, making the room look more like a butcher’s shop than a forge.

Looks like that storehouse—smokehouse combo building would be useful to build after all.

For lunch, we had sautéed venison. Since we were taking the rest of the day off, I served wine (and brandy for Rike) with the meal. Having a drink with lunch was common in this world, although it was rare to find a person who drank wine as if it was water. The taste of a midday drink was delicious no matter which world I was in, and today, we enjoyed the fresh meat and liquor together.

In the afternoon, we all broke off to do whatever each of us was most interested in. Samya repaired her bow, Rike practiced forging pieces with delicate detail work, and Diana practiced her swordsmanship.

I wanted to work on our budding courtyard. Someday, I hoped to make it a full-fledged flower bed or vegetable garden, but for now, it was still a bare plot of dirt. We’d been neglecting its care, so it had become overgrown with weeds. The soil was still soft to some degree, but I would definitely have to replow the field.

I fetched a hoe from the workshop and began to plow the soil. It was much easier than it had been the first time, even without the support of the others. In some respects, the work resembled what I normally did as a blacksmith, but since I wasn’t making a product to sell, it didn’t seem like work.

It feels good to move my body too. I should cultivate the field more often.

I finished plowing the plot by myself. When I was done, the dirt looked soft and fresh again. If I wanted to take this even more seriously, I could sieve the soil, but I wasn’t sure how much effort I should dedicate to the field. At the very least, I would try and make sure that weeds didn’t start growing again.

For dinner, I stewed the venison in wine. Since we would be restocking the wine tomorrow, I could afford to be liberal with it. Plus, it was important to treat ourselves once in a while. We were on vacation, after all. Between the delicious food and the lively conversation, everyone managed to recharge their batteries so that we could face the new day with vigor.

⌗⌗⌗

The next day, we headed into the city to see Camilo and drop off the blades we’d made. Everyone helped to load up the cart, and then we set off into the forest. I’d made sure to prepare an extra two gold coins for today.

We passed the occasional deer or other animals, but nothing dangerous. Diana was restless, her head swiveling every which way as she walked. She was probably still on the lookout for that wolf pup.

We proceeded with caution on the road into the city, but as usual, the journey was peaceful and quiet. I occasionally checked with Samya and Diana to see if they’d sensed anything, but they said no every time. Before long, we arrived at the border of the city.

The guard on duty was the one we had seen the last time we’d left the city.

I wonder what happened to Marius’s friend... He’s also a customer of ours, so he’s more than a stranger. I hope he hasn’t run into any trouble the way Marius did.

I nodded to the guard as we entered through the fence.

We made our way to Camilo’s store, and there was only one deviation from our routine: instead of leaving all our goods in the storage area, I brought one piece with me directly to the conference room. It was the mithril rapier of course. There was no way I could simply leave it lying around in the cart.

As usual, we waited in the conference room for Camilo and the head clerk. As they entered the room, Camilo’s gaze snapped straight to the rapier sitting in my hands. “You’ve finished it,” he said.

“Yes. It gave me some trouble,” I replied, passing it to him, “but I managed, one way or another.”

Camilo unsheathed it. The faint glow of the metal combined with the delicate metalwork of the knuckle guard gave the weapon a mystical air, if I do say so myself. Camilo nodded in satisfaction. “I made the right choice to entrust you with this commission.”

A knot of tension unraveled inside me when I heard Camilo’s praise, but I tried to keep the relief from showing on my face. I kept my reply simple. “I’m pleased that you like it.”

“One more thing—remember the supply of appoitakara I mentioned previously?”

“Of course. What about it?”

“I worked out a way to procure some.”

“Just what I wanted to hear!” I exclaimed.

“Thought so. However, you’re going to have to wait a little longer. Appoitakara is even rarer than mithril, so there are a few remaining hoops I have to jump through.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault. Don’t worry.” I fumbled in my pockets for the coins I’d prepared and took them out. “Let me pay you in advance. I brought the money.”

Camilo immediately palmed the two gold pieces and grinned. “Pleasure doing business.”

Our conversation had veered slightly off its normal course, but our negotiation was fundamentally unchanged. Once we had wrapped up our discussion, the head clerk left the room to direct the loading of our cart.

“Oh, and I forgot to mention earlier,” Camilo said, “but I have an update about the five halberds you entrusted to me.”

“Yes, and...?”

“His Lordship was most eager to purchase them for the guards in his employ,” Camilo reported.

“Good. I didn’t think he would refuse.”

“His Lordship has an additional request he’d like to ask of you.”

“Interesting,” I said. “What is it?”

“He’d like you to make three more halberds for his household’s private guards.”

“I’d be happy to.”

If someone wanted to commission a custom model from me, they needed to journey out to my forge. However, I had no problem taking normal commissions from Camilo.

I’d better make the halberds soon so I don’t accidentally forget about them.

With our official business concluded, we passed the time chatting about news and happenings in the world. These conversations with Camilo were my only source of information about current events. In my previous world, I could find out about an uprising on the other side of the globe with one tap of a finger. Compared to the power of the internet, these once-a-week chats were merely a drop of water in the ocean. Camilo was only one man, and his information was limited to only our region. One of these days when I had time—it didn’t have to be today or tomorrow—I’d have to secure a better source of news.

In any case, from Camilo’s information, it didn’t sound as if there were any wars brewing or monsters, like dragons or ogres, that needed subduing. It was unlikely that soldiers would need to be deployed en masse anytime soon. In other words, it wasn’t likely that I would be forced to drop my work and divert my resources into mass-producing weapons for a war effort. Whether or not I was equipped to complete such an order in the first place was a separate discussion.

While there weren’t any large-scale events, a few fishy rumors were floating in the air. Skirmishes with magical creatures on the border. Disputes, and signs thereof, over water privileges and land rights. Hopefully none of them would blow up out of proportion.

After we concluded all of our business and conversation, we left Camilo’s store and headed out of the city. Come to think of it, the guard at the city gate wasn’t using a halberd yet; they must need training before they could carry the weapon on the job. As we went, we bid farewell to the guard on duty.

Both the road and the forest were quiet throughout our journey home. We kept watch, but we also took it easier than usual. We reached the cabin quickly, unloaded the goods, and stored them in the house, thus completing our goal.

⌗⌗⌗

The next day dawned, and it was back to blacksmithing. I was working on the halberds that Marius had commissioned while Rike and the others were forging various weapons. Since this wasn’t my first time making halberds, forging three more didn’t take long. I was able to finish all of them in two and a half days.

Which brought us to the present day. Day three. With the remaining half of the day, I engraved the halberds with designs befitting the status of a noble family’s personal guards. I used the same chisel that I’d reinforced for ornamenting the mithril rapier; it was still sharp, so it carved through the steel as if the metal was butter. Having taken care of the detail work, I could now declare the commission to be complete.

Even with the engravings, the halberds were too plain for ceremonial use, but they were sure to look imposing in the hands of the gate guards at the Eimoor estate.

And so, with the commission behind me, we were back to our normal family routine. The following day, I moved on from forging the halberds and started making the weapons for Camilo’s standing order. Rike continued to forge entry-level models. Samya and Diana went out to hunt. We weren’t short on meat just yet, but the hunting trip would also double as a patrol trip.

Rike and I were both making knives today, anticipating that Samya and Diana would be taking a break from hunting tomorrow. The two of us each focused on our own work and heated up plates of metal. The crackling of the flames provided a backdrop to the sharp and rhythmic strikes of the hammers. Occasionally, the hiss of metal coming into contact with cold water would slice through the air, followed by the swishing of a blade sliding across a whetstone.

We broke at midday for lunch, then worked through the afternoon.

Just as the sun was starting to set, the orchestral music of our tools was interrupted by a knock at the door.

The tap at the workshop’s storefront was restrained and almost timid, a far cry from Helen’s unabashed knocking. Helen rapped against the door as if she meant to bash it in. By comparison, our guest today seemed to be on the courteous side.

“I’m coming!” I called toward the door, heaving myself out of my seat. The knocking stopped immediately, so I assumed that they’d heard me.

I unlatched the door and opened it. A woman stood across from me. She was taller than Rike but slightly shorter than Samya. Her lithe frame was clothed in traveler’s garments, and her eyes were almond-shaped. Her fine, silver hair—an arresting feature—hung neatly down to her shoulders. However, what really captured my attention were her long and pointed ears.

Based on the woman’s appearance, my experience from my previous world, and my installed knowledge, I was pointed to a single conclusion—I was in the presence of an elf.

“Is this the forge belonging to a Master Eizo?” Her voice was high and clear.

“Yes, my name is Eizo, and this is my forge.”

“Good. I’ve come to you with a request.”

“You’re at the right place, then. Please, come in.”

“Thank you.”

She followed me obediently as I led her inside. Rike had stopped working and was peering at me. I offered a pacifying gesture to show that everything was all right and then asked her to bring some wine cut with water.

“Please, sit,” I told the elf, gesturing toward a chair that was little more than a stout log.

The elf nodded, put down her baggage, and sat in front of the simple table, all without a single sound. Rike soon came with the wine and placed it on the table. The elf dipped her head in thanks.

“So, what did you want to request?” I asked.

In lieu of an explanation, she simply said, “I’ll show you.” She pulled out a cloth-wrapped bundle from her baggage and placed it down before her. Unwrapping the cloth, she revealed the contents. My eyes widened when I saw what was inside.

“I came to beg you to restore this,” she said, a pleading expression on her face.

Lying before me was a mithril blade broken into several pieces.