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Neil was a little depressed, but his messenger didn’t manage to collect any information regarding her, which made him even more disappointed.

From the fragment of information I heard from the guild staff, I guessed that she was heading to the royal capital.

Royal capital, huh… I was thinking about going to subjugate the Lord of Winter soon, so this is perfect. I didn’t intend to follow her around to recruit her, but at least I wanted to become her acquaintance.

However, it wasn’t until a few months later that I finally arrived at the royal capital.

No, I’m not playing around, okay? I had a lot of things to do… I went to see the territory’s situation and recruited other people.

Besides, I had to show my face here and there after arriving at the royal capital to prepare the equipment for subjugation… I had responsibilities too.

Then a few days after arriving at the royal capital.

I went to the castle and talked to Father… His Majesty about the material of the magic sword for the Lord of Winter’s subjugation. After that, everyone took a breather and enjoy the festival.

After having a lot of fun, I also took part in the martial arts competition on the last day.

During that match, I felt like someone was trying to look into my status, but it wasn’t strange that everyone would try to get information of their opponent in this kind of tournament. In the first place, I hid my identity using [Camouflage] skill and magic equipment, so it’s unlikely that someone would reveal my real identity.

However, during my match with Neil, I could sense an unpleasant sign of someone seeing through my [Camouflage], but maybe it was my imagination?

Well, I was ‌worried about that, but the unexpected reunion after that made me forget about this matter.

A few days after the harvest festival was over, I visited the blacksmith who forged the attribute sword I used to defeat the previous Lord of Winter and asked him to forge a new sword. There, I met that girl again.

I didn’t notice her at first since she always wore a hood before. But I finally realized it when Neil, who had a strange face, told me.

I knew that her face was beautiful from what I could see from the hood, but I didn’t expect her to be this pretty…

But that wasn’t the only thing that surprised me. She said she could forge a magic sword that was stronger than Arnold’s.

Not an attribute sword, but a magic sword? This child could forge that?

Arnold was an excellent blacksmith, and only one or two people in the royal capital could compete with him. No, even within the kingdom… and the neighboring countries. From what I could infer within the conversation, he talked like that girl was better than himself… But she’s a bit too young, isn’t she?

After that, I listened to their conversation. Looking at Arnold and her attitude, it seems like she could really forge a magic sword.

At first, I was skeptical, but Arnold already said that it would be difficult for him to forge something better than the previous one. I asked her, who was originally reluctant and only giving me a half-hearted answer…

I didn’t expect her to really make a magic sword better than this one… I couldn’t even imagine a magic sword with [Weapon Skill]; you know?

I tried activating the skill in the plains around the royal capital, and I couldn’t stop laughing after seeing the crazy firepower with my own eyes.

The magic shield she made with the set was ridiculous, and the cloak ‌she gave to me as a bonus was also amazing… I heard about this from Neil later on, but seems like I was grinning all the time that day. I had to be more careful.

Anyway, I realized that I had to get close to her no matter what. It would be horrifying to think ‌a blacksmith who could forge this kind of sword might go to another country.

Besides, she seemed to be able to make a lot of other things, so I made sure to give her escorts as I promised.

After that, I talked to His Majesty about this matter. Since I was the one who found her first, I could negotiate with her first. And even if I failed, His Majesty would negotiate with her. Well, even if I successfully recruited her, the result would eventually return to the country. His Majesty would benefit from it, so he wouldn’t be that concerned.

Well, after that, while receiving the report from the escorts, I continued to prepare for the subjugation of the Lord of Winter.

D-rank Neil and the others joined the subjugation main unit and got placed in logistical support units. Irvine and Gilliam had just risen to C-rank, but we had to deal with the Lord of Winter’s followers, so they also prepared their weapons and armor.

Neil consulted to me that he wanted the sword that the girl forged, but he gave up obediently after I told him it would be hard considering her personality. But then, Neil’s sword was also personally made by Arnold, okay? He was honestly getting a gem unworthy of his current skill.

After that, when the subjugation battle began, there were a series of troubles and things didn’t go as planned.

To defeat the Lord of Winter, I eventually used up the [Weapon Skill] four times. Since I had run out of magic power, I couldn’t take part in the pursuit of the giant and its minions who were heading toward the town.

I was also injured in the battle with the Lord of Winter and the Frost Salamander, so I returned to the town while being supported by my companions.

However, my status and skills had increased dramatically by defeating the Lord of Winter, who was far stronger than I expected.

It might be troublesome again if this unexpected growth was to be known. I had to be careful when going around in the castle from now on. But after that, I was confused because people started thanking me for something I didn’t do.

Somehow, a powerful mage with two black wolves had defeated the Frost Giant alone. Also, the mage said I was the one who arranged for her to guard the town.

The mage rode the wolf, running around the battlefield with her beautiful silver hair dancing in the wind. She annihilated the hordes of demons, prevented the attack of the Frost Giant many times, and eventually defeated it. Then she left dashingly.

Long hair, two wolves. Her mouth was hidden with a muffler. The color of her hair and her wolf’s fur were different, but it was probably her. She could do a lot of things, so I wasn’t surprised if she could conceal herself with [Disguise] skill like I did.

I knew that she would take part, but I didn’t expect her to help directly. Now I had a debt to her, making it ‌hard to recruit her.

But then, she could tame Fenrir, forge a magic sword which could match the national treasures, excel in alchemy, and cook amazing dishes… Now you told me ‌she was also an excellent magician. Isn’t that a bit too much?

As I wondered what her real identity was, I decided that I had to negotiate and seize the giant magic stone as a reward to her. Apparently, I was grinning again. Neil nudged my arm with his elbow.

Hmm, I’m really interested in that kid. I unconsciously smiled when thinking about her antics.

How should I hand over the magic stone once I receive it? If I gave it to her directly, she probably wouldn’t take it. She probably wouldn’t admit that she saved the town.

Then… If I remember right, she got along with a novice adventurer party. Those kids also came to this town, so let’s have them give the stone to her…

Now then, I might be a little busy from now on, eh?¹

1. Silva: I don’t think I like where this is going. Nothing good ever comes out of people trying to do something behind your back with hidden agendas.