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The next day after returning from the forest, Arisa took me to the artisan district.

　We were going to see the blacksmith who she had promised to introduce me to before. Additionally, Lily also came with us. The atmosphere over here is different than the marketplace and the main district.

“Right…..I don’t come to this part of the eastern sector too often so……
“Lily, even when you come to the eastern sector, you only visit the magic-related shops~”

　There were various different kinds of craftsmen in the eastern sector, which is considered the artisan district, but basically craftsmen of similar fields were concentrated here. Blacksmithing, leatherwork, magic tools, weaving, clothing, and so on.

　The blacksmith’s workshop was also located here, the sound of striking iron could be heard, but other than that, the atmosphere was surprisingly quiet.

“The blacksmith’s workshop we’re going to is a place where one of the most skilled masters in the royal capital is located~”
“But they’re not on good terms with the master of the workshop from across the street, right?
“They used to work at the same workshop, and I heard that they were on good terms then~”
“The workshop where they originally worked no longer exists, so do you mean the original branch?”
“Something like that~ By the way, it seems that the workshop opposite of them is leaning towards the magic field recently~”
”But the place we’re heading now is purely focused on improving their blacksmithing skills, right?”

　I guess everyone’s fighting similar battles……I’m also interested in my Magic Conferment skill, but right now I just want to focus on leveling my blacksmithing skill, so I’m glad they’re just focusing on that area.

“And we’re here~”
“Ohh~”

　Somehow, it just feels like a good store. The glass show window even showcases various swords and armor, and I can see the inside of the store too. Although the swords being showcased don’t look very practical, are they just meant for decoration or for ceremonies? They do look nice though. But the blade itself is different, it looks like it was forged to be able to withstand actual battle. I can tell due to Appraisal.

“Then let’s go in~ Hello~”

　With a ring, we opened the door and entered the store. There was a counter just after entering the store, and a young male store attendant was sitting on a chair. The counter could be entered from the side, and a hallway that appeared to lead to the back could be seen.

　Are these noises coming from their hammer sounds? There’s a lot of swords on display too. The room is filled with the smell of iron and oil, this is definitely a blacksmith! This feeling.

“Ah, Miss Hamilton and the young miss. How may I help you today?”
“Is the master in? I have a request~”
“The master is in the back. I’ll call him, so please have a seat and wait a moment.”

　The young male shop attendant went into the back hallway, so we sat down and waited.

“I think he’ll probably not come out right away~”
“Ren, there sure are a lot of swords, right?”
“It is a blacksmith’s workshop, after all~”

　I didn’t want to just sit around wait, I also wanted to see the swords on display to pass the time.

“Can I go look at the swords on display?”
“Sure~”

　Then don’t mind if I do. With my hood down, I picked up a sword that was leaning against a sword stand by the wall and pulled it out of its sheath. Hmm….

　I looked at the sword next to it, then the sword next to that, and so on.

“These are made through striking, right? That is forging, not casting.”
“Yes, all the mass-produced products in this workshop are hand-forged~”
“Arisa, is that profitable for them?”
“There’s a surprising high demand for mass-produced products with good quality~”
“Is that so?”
“It is so~”

　……This place is pretty good. After using Appraisal and Analyze, the overall feeling I got isn’t too bad. All the swords I’ve checked so far inside the shop are quite good. If these are all hand-forged, then isn’t the master here the old-fashioned craftsmen type who are very particular about their work?

“……They’re good.”
“You can tell~?”
“I’ve never seen a store with mass-produced items of this quality. The same goes for the blades, and the way the steel itself is made is also great.”

　Although it’s somewhat rough, considering the metallurgy advancement and the equipment made from the world’s development level, I think it’s quite an accomplishment.

“Ohh, you’re quite small and yet you’re acting like you know a lot.”
“Ah, master~”
“Oh, Arisa is here. I haven’t seen you here much lately?”
“I went to Harula and was working as a waitress~”
“What’s with that?”
“I’m 14, so I have to find a job~”
“And so a waitress, are you doing your job properly?”

　So this person is the master? Looks about 45 years old? He’s only a bit taller than me. His muscles were really developed and tough-looking. He had dark, red hair and also some gray hair in a short-trim hairstyle. His face looked sunburnt and tan, his beard was also cleanly shaven, and his eyes looked stern. Dwarf……probably not, maybe.

　It looks like he’s on good terms with Arisa, but that aside……

“… Lily, you and Arisa are 14 years old?”
“Huh? I didn’t tell you? My birthday is next month, but we’re both 14 this year.”
“I thought Lily was at least 15 since you’re pretty mature.”
“Eh, do I look that old?”

　No, I said mature, right? Rather, next month is your birthday? I wonder if there’s something I could give as a gift? Hmm?

“So, what kind of request did you want? Is it something ridiculous again?”
“No~ It’s not ridiculous~? My friend wants to borrow a smithy, so I was wondering if she could borrow one?”
“That is ridiculous. What workshop would just loan out their smithy out of the blue and for free? Rather, is that friend perhaps the tiny one over there?”
“That’s right~”
“Hey now, the lass over there! Do you understand what you’re asking for? Blacksmithing isn’t a playground, you know? Rather, can you even use a hammer with that body?”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll probably be alright with the hammer too.”

“Probably……rather, how long are you planning on renting it for? From the looks of it, it’s not just for one or two days, right? Do you have enough money?”
“I would like to rent it for half a year if possible. I think I should have enough money. If I don’t have enough, I can go make some more money.”
“……..Hah. Hey Arisa, the lass is saying this, but is she really alright?”
”Hmm, I guess the money aspect will be fine~? She even said she’ll earn more too, so it’ll be alright~? Besides, I don’t think she’s the kind of person who will say something if she can’t do it~?”
“That’s quite the statement……hmm……hey, lass. I don’t know what you want to make, but I can’t loan a smithy out to someone who just has money and no skill. Do you have something that you made yourself?”

　If it’s something I made, I guess the shortsword that’s hanging off my waist? Should I also show a throwing knife? Although it’s just an improved version of the one I bought before.

　I removed my short sword from my belt and handed it over.

“This sword. And this one too.”
“Hmm, then shall I take a look?”

　The master pulled out the short sword and looked over the blade. After looking over it for a while, his expression grew more and more serious. Something wrong with it?

“Do you mind if I?”

　A small iron rod? The master took out a rod with a spherical shape on the end and showed it to me. Ahh, it must be something that allows him to find out what the material is through tapping it or by sound.

“Go ahead.”

　He began tapping the blade of the short sword and then frowned. The knife was also examined the same way.

“……Did you make these, lass?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…..what kind of forging method is this……no, this is…….hmm…….”

　Ah~ I’m guessing that tamahagane made from iron sand is probably different from the regular wrought iron forging method used here. And since it’s made using magic, the quality is uniform, and it looks like an unknown forging method.

“Would you like to take a look at this too?”

　I pretended to take something out of my bag, and took out one of the tamahagane ingots from Storage and gave it to the master.

“……Are you sure?”
“I don’t mind.”

　He had a contemplative expression as he tapped it.

“…….Did you forge this too, lass? The material seems to be iron but…..there’s something a bit different about it……”
“The material is made from iron sand. I collected it at a river, and smelted it afterward.”

　But with magic.

“Iron sand, iron sand……if I recall there were forging methods that used that in the past. I see……so this is…..but this mixture is……”

　Mixture? The carbon mixture?

“……Hmm, alright. If you can make something like this, your skills should be fine. I will lend you a smithy.”
“Is it really alright?”
”Yeah, it’ll be good motivation for the young fellows. There are several spare smithies available, so you can use one of them.”
“Thank you very much!”

　Yes! I’ve captured a smithy! Normally, you wouldn’t just lend out a smithy to a random someone, so in that case…….

“This isn’t much of a thank you, but if you would like, you can have this.”

　I presented the ingot I took out earlier. If this could make him feel grateful to me, it would make various things easier.

“…….Are you sure? Isn’t this some kind of trade-secret?”
“I don’t mind. You’re even letting a stranger borrow one of your smithies too.”

　He looks very skilled, so he might be able to reproduce it if he has an actual one. But I don’t think it’s going to cause a drastic technical skill increase, so it’ll probably be fine?

“…….Alright, I’ll gratefully accept it. But, right……you said you wanted to rent it for at least half a year. Then 1 small gold coin for each day will be enough. I’ll also pay for the fuel expenses.”
“Is it really alright?”

　I was already grateful that he even allowed a stranger to borrow the place, and it was also considerably cheaper than expected too. In truth, I was prepared for it to be more expensive, but instead, they’re even covering fuel expenses, it’s quite an unbelievable bargain.

“It’s fine. This single ingot will teach me a lot of things. It will take some time to examine it, but if I can recreate it, our workshop’s skill will become even better. Even I can tell how much this will benefit us in the long run……so compared to that, this much is cheap.”

　Ah- right…….I forgot about that. Nuu.

“That’s right…..lass, where are you planning on staying?”
“I’m thinking of staying at an inn.”

　As expected, I can’t keep relying on Lily and her family even after she goes back to Harula. Well, Lily’s mother did say she didn’t mind, but it felt like I might become involved in her affairs, so I had declined.

“In that case, we have a few extra rooms for our live-ins, so you can use one of them. We also prepare meals if you need it. And we have separate baths for men and women, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Ah, that’s-”
“No need to be reserved! Then it’s settled! So when will you be starting? Today? Tomorrow?”

　Huh~ He’s being quite pushy. Do I even have the option to decline? Mumumu.

”Well, then I will accept your offer of the room. As for when I’ll be moving in……how about tomorrow?”
“Yeah, tomorrow then! I’ll make sure the room is cleaned up nicely, so don’t worry about that!”¹

　I guess it’s good that I have less to worry about? There’s even a place for Norn and Bell to sleep, so that’s a relief.

　Afterward, we left the workshop and went back to Lily’s parents’ house.

　Lily and Arisa were returning to Harula by carriage tomorrow, so I cooked dinner as a treat and invited Arisa as thanks for taking care of me up to now. This is also to serve as a birthday present for Lily.

　But it wasn’t anything fancy, just fried rice with egg, chili shrimp, onion soup, and fresh salad with dressing. Which were all dishes I cooked for Lily and Arisa during the carriage trip to the royal capital. Since I was a bit self-conscious about serving new dishes.

　However, Lily’s parents were so impressed that they had to be restrained.

“How about you just become our child? How about it!? How about it!?”

　No, no, please give me a break.

1. Silva: The master will secretly observe Ren and be gobsmacked by her… unusual(?) skills