“Well then, okay.”
“Tsk, just take it.”
Hauman, with a disgusted smile on his face, took the sword from Master’s hand and left the store. Normally, that would be the end of it, but I fear that won’t be the case. Fortunately or unfortunately, my prediction came true, and three days later at noon…. we were eating lunch when we heard a ghastly yell from the store.
“What the hell is going on? Come out, Dalton!”
“What… oh, it’s you. What do you want?”
I left my half-eaten sandwich on the table and followed my master, where I found Hauman, accompanied by two knights, staring at my master with a red face.
“What’s wrong with you! What the hell is this!?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Don’t try to play dumb! What the hell is this shit!”
With that, He took the sword, given to him a few days ago, from a knight behind him and slammed it on the counter. Considering how it was being treated, it was probably because Howman had come to the conclusion that it was not a valuable item.
“How dare you give me a fake sword! Do you take the kingdom of Aktor for a fool!?”
“You’re the one making a fool of me! Why do you say it’s a fake!?”
“…… for two reasons.”
Howman stared at me as he said this in an angry voice, not hiding his frustration at my Master’s words.
“First reason, you bastard went out to test the sword again. We know that you left town with this sword and that man had a sword on his hip that looked just like this one. When I heard that, I rushed to have this sword tested. But what do you think happened? No matter which of our country’s elite knights I put to the test, they could not cut anything properly with this sword! That is the second reason! That means that you have presented me with a fake sword and have hidden the real one for that man to use! Now, tell me!”
“Haaaaaaaa …………………….”
Seeing Hauman banging on the counter and threatening him, Master let out a long, loud sigh. Then he turned his head toward me and gave me the planned instructions with his mouth in a way that only I could understand.
“Hey Ed, draw your sword and hold it at the ready. And that knight over there! Give me your sword.”
“What? What are you doing—-“
“You are telling me that the sword I forged is dull? Then why don’t you try it and see which one is better? Now, give it to me.”
“But …… Hauman-sama?”
“Fine, give him. Just so you know, we still have other knights posted around the store, okay?”
“That’s not important .. Ho, it sure is a nice sword. As expected of a state-issued sword.”
While he picked up the sword on the counter, Master appraised the sword given to him by the knight and muttered to himself. Then, after confirming that I was ready, Master lightly tossed the borrowed sword towards me.
“Cut it.”
“Haaa!”
I swung down my dark sword at the knight’s sword that was flying in the air. Then, with a hard “kiing” sound, the blade of the sword borrowed from the knight was sliced in half.
“………………Eh?”
“Huh!? M-My Sword!?”
“So, you still think this sword is shit?”
Master said with a smug look on his face, but Howman was panicking.
“N-No! Yeah!, I heard that the sword is quite sturdy. I just let its firmness get the better of me and you smashed it”
“Are you an idiot? Putting it aside, if it’s fixed somewhere, I don’t think it’s possible to break a sword thrown into the air. If you can do such a thing, it’s rather amazing. Hey, knight, how’s that cut?”
“It’s been cut … cleanly. ……”
“Right? A sword that can cut through steel is a joke?”
“But when our knights used it—”
“That’s just because you’re not good enough. Even the best sword is nothing more than an iron rod if the wielder lacks skill. That’s what I told that Hero when I refused to forge him a sword, you know?”
Hauman gritted his teeth with a frustrated expression as my master agitated him. But apparently, he still hasn’t given up.
“Ggghhh….I get it. I’ll admit that this sword is worthy of being the “Sword Of Hero”. But what do you mean there is another one?”
“Hmm? Isn’t it just one piece? The equivalent of this guy is…here.”
So saying, Master took out two additional swords from the counter. Hauman’s eyes widened in astonishment at the three “Sword Of The Hero” lined up on the counter.
“Th-three!? Why three!? And they’re all a little different!?”
“Yeah, their weights differ depending on the user, like its center of gravity. Uh, if you don’t like the one I gave you last time, you can take another one, okay?”
“What!? Then give me all three!”
“Are you sure? There are three heroes in this world right now. That’s why there are three of these swords. If you insist on taking them all, I’ll tell the heroes of the other kingdoms when they arrive that the Kingdom of Aktor has taken them all, okay?”
“Gggggh! But then only our country will be ahead of the rest of the world. …”
“So, What are you going to do? I don’t have time for this. Decide quickly.”
In front of Master, who was grinning while urging him on, Hauman was frantically thinking about something as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. After that, the two guards picked up the sword and practiced with it, and in the end, they only took the first sword, which we gave them the first time around, and stood in front of the shop.
“Ggghhhh…I am sorry for being so disruptive this time. Now, I will take this sword according to our agreement.”
“Yeah, Take it and get the hell out of here! If you say anything more, I won’t deal with it anymore.”
“Nghhhh…., Excuse me! We’re leaving!”
“”Ha!””
With a face covered in anger and humiliation different from when he came in, Hauman left the store with the knights in tow. After that, when we saw that the knights’ presence had disappeared cleanly from around the store, we looked at each other and laughed heartily.
“Gahhaha! We finally drove them back!”
“Even so, Master you’re quite a shrewd man, aren’t you? I didn’t expect you to hand over a prototype.”
“Oi oi, I didn’t tell a single lie, right?”
“Well, you’re right.”
Master said that he would hand over the sword, but he didn’t say that he would hand over the finished product [Dawnbreaker]. When asked by Haumann about the “other sword,” he did not mention the finished product, but simply said that there were three swords …. that were equivalent to the one in front of him, i.e., three prototypes. He certainly didn’t lie in any way.
“I mean, it’s a prototype, but it cuts perfectly. I was a little nervous, thinking that I might have to secretly help out in case it didn’t work.”
“Even if it’s a prototype, just because it’s not designed for you body doesn’t mean it’s sharp, Ed”
“If I had to cut a rock turtle with that thing, I’d have a pretty tough time, but I can handle a steel sword,”
“Hmmm. Eh, but then Ed ……”
“I don’t know what they’re going to do with that, but I don’t think they can use it properly. But I can’t really say anything for sure.”
Having shown them by cutting steel in front of their eyes, Hauman and his team know that that sword can really cut. However, it was not possible for them to reproduce that sharpness. Then what they’re going to do to prove that the sword they brought back is real… well, none of my business.
“Anyway, thanks to them biting the bait so quickly, the trouble is over! I also showed them that I have more than one sword, so they have no reason to complain if Ed is wearing it from now on! Now, let’s eat and get back to work!”
“Yes!”
If Hauman had not accepted the invitation, we would have had to engage in endless and needless trial tests, but we no longer had to worry about that. Now that I could finally devote himself to blacksmithing, I was more enthusiastic than ever.
“I… what should I do? Maybe it would be fun to watch Ed work once in a while?”
“Hm? Don’t you have your work as an adventurer?”
“..You know this girl I know, the way she looks at me lately is a little scary. I don’t think she’s a bad person, but…”
“O-oh..”
There are so many things that come to mind that I won’t go into it any further. It was much easier to deal with a government bigwig than it was to deal with people like that.
""
“I don’t mind you visiting, but please don’t get in the way, okay? Alright, let’s resume work!”
Master, with a big mouth full of sandwiches, stood up from his seat in high spirits. Thus, the noisy days of peacefully striking iron have returned to my daily life.