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Magic swords, much like divine tools, were fortuitous creations resulting from a convergence of various factors. It was impossible to intentionally reproduce swords with the same abilities, and there was even a chance of peculiar drawbacks, such as “being sharp but causing stomach aches when wielded.” This was the enigmatic nature of weapon monsters known as magical tools.

These magical tools contain an abundance of Umbracules, and during the daylight when they are enveloped by Lumicules that disperse them, their powers significantly diminish. Essentially, if a weapon incorporates luminous elements, it can counteract the effects of magical tools.

“We will create a holy sword.”

The moment he heard me mention creating a holy sword…

“…If people could do that, why didn’t anyone do it until now?”

His question brimmed with skepticism.

Instead of saying they didn’t create it, it would be more precise to say they couldn’t do it. Besides, lacking an understanding of the definition of monsters or magical tools, it becomes inconceivable for them to even think of such a possibility.

Nevertheless, I opted to avoid delving into those complexities as it would only lead to trouble and instead focused on presenting the most straightforward problem.

“If you tried to create it normally, you would either need a light dragon’s spine crystal, Al-Miraj’s horn, or Amatsutaur’s hoof. And you need a multiple of them, and from different types of individuals too.”

It is evident that Serge was left utterly speechless.

Al-Miraj, a rabbit with a horn, was a fierce creature, yet surprisingly not classified as a monster. Revered as a sacred beast by the followers of Bouevejawel (a rather challenging name), it was bestowed with unique traits by one of the divine beings out of compassion for the feeble rabbit. Hunting down an Al-Miraj would make enemies of all the faithful believers.

Similarly, Amatsutaur was regarded as a god’s proxy in the regions where it resided, much like Al-Miraj.

If someone had the ability to defeat a Light Dragon on their own, humans would cease to be a threat to them, regardless of whether they possessed a magic sword or not. Consequently, creating a sword using conventional means would be highly unlikely and impractical in several ways.

Using conventional means, that is.

“However, if you used alchemy, that would be a different story.”
“Alchemy?”
“Yes. If you can gather manacapul steel, bones of creatures other than monsters, and glowmoth grass from Mildura cavern, we can create materials of the same quality.”

All of them were valuable and hard-to-obtain items, but they were still far more realistic compared to the materials I listed earlier.

For that reason, while he would have normally given up now, he started contemplating it over and over, and finally…

“…If I gather them, can we make a holy sword?”

He asked to make sure.

I was impressed at how determined he was to win, but I couldn’t just lie to reassure him, so I shook my head and denied it.

“No, to make it into a holy sword, we would need ochihalcum, or heil silver, albeit it would deteriorate the quality.”

The rarest metal found within the World Tree is Orichalcum, which possesses the highest affinity with Magicules and Lumicules among all the metals in this world.

Following it in descending order of properties are silver, copper, and gold. Silver, with its symbolic significance, holds significant anti-magic properties, making it a compromise choice. However, without making an alloy out of it, it would be too soft to be usable as a sword, but doing so would lower its purity.

“As long as you bring the materials, I will handle the provision of an alchemist and blacksmith.”
“You will…? I mean, I get the alchemist part, but would it matter if I chose the blacksmith if I get the materials?”

Serge spoke in dissatisfaction, as if he thought it was being used as a pretext for cooperation.

“I’m sorry, but the produced Lumicule metal would need a special furnace to refine, so only someone with skills and knowledge can make it.”
“…S-special? Isn’t there one in the Monoville suburbs? Is that one no good?”

I nodded to the flustered Serge.

“That furnace uses wind crystals to generate high temperatures and is primarily used for two-stage refining processes. However, if the temperature becomes too high, the Lumicules would disappear entirely. The furnaces used for refining while keeping Lumicules preserved are good enough, but those older furnaces had to be destroyed after a single operation. Since the production efficiency is incomparably bad with the modern furnaces which can refine good items in succession, almost every person has given up on them.”
“F-Fine! I’ll leave it to you!”
“Understood.”

Conceding(?) to my relentless words, Serge raised the white flag.

I’m not so ruined that I would rob someone of a choice without a proper reason.

Well, I may have said a lot, but the truth is, alchemy can actually generate materials purified up to the refining stage.

And if we’re talking about creating a holy sword… well, I can quickly make it, but if I don’t have him pay a suitable compensation it would not be beneficial for him either.

“Manacapul steel should be either from Mono or Pinea… I’ll leave the bones for the last, and as for the rest…”

He seemed to have switched his thinking already and was planning his course of action.

Someone who was so irresolute not too long ago had become so optimistic. Love really does wonders.

“Ah, right… How much would all this cost?”
“I will discuss it with the alchemist and calculate it. Please come again tomorrow.”
“What a pain…”

He probably wanted to pay it right away, but I can’t do something so impudent as accepting it now.

As our conversation reached the stopping point, Serge slowly stood up from the chair.

“I’ll need money either way, right? I’ll go ahead and register for tomorrow’s participation.”
“We have to train our formations before that!”

Turning around with a startle, he was greeted by his party members spearheaded by sullen Erica.

“You didn’t show up during the appointed time, so we came to the branch, and it turns out you’re heading off to the arena.”
“Geh, it’s already so late?!”
“So you left Erica aside and got so engrossed in a conversation with Illya that you lost the sense of time? What were you talking about?”
“W-Well… I was just asking if there were any good commissions for the formation training.”

Teased by his comrades, a flustered Serge struggled to find his words. There was really no need for him to hide anything, yet he insisted on awkwardly concealing the truth, causing Erica’s gaze to turn frosty.

He should just be honest and not worry about appearing uncool.

While I was lost in these thoughts, a young human man, dressed lightly and wielding a one-handed sword and shield, approached Claris with a commission paper.

His attire resembled that of an ordinary warrior, but there was a certain aura about him that set him apart from the other guild members in the branch.

Using my Eyes of God, I could see that his charm stat was remarkably high, and it even displayed “Imperial Prince.”

So, his charisma must be a result of receiving the education befitting a noble prince. Perhaps due to being accustomed to being observed, he seemed unfazed by the curious gazes from perceptive individuals.

I couldn’t understand why an imperial prince would be in a distant place like Rondoville, or why he would possess a guild member registration card… However, with no entourage and his choice of attire, it was evident that he was intentionally concealing his identity.

Yet, his distinctive skills and the bracelet he wore seemed to reveal the intricacies of the young man’s situation.

Unaware that his true identity as an imperial prince had been uncovered, he displayed a sense of discomfort towards me for my slightly more focused observation.

“…What. Do you have some business with me?”
“No, excuse me.”

Claris put the registration card and commission paper over the glass plate, initiating the registration confirmation for the job. Though I couldn’t grasp what was causing his irritation, the young man appeared restless, fidgeting with the bracelet on his right hand.

Well, even if he wanted it to hurry up, there was nothing you could do about it, I thought inwardly, maintaining a composed expression as I stood there. Then, I noticed a faint light beginning to shift.

The result was displayed in red. The glass panel indicated that the commission was not eligible for registration.

Upon closer examination, I noticed the flickering light on the held-up commission paper, indicating the job’s rank was the problem. It was only natural for a Guild Rank D member to have their registration request denied for a Rank B extermination request.

Though it was hard to believe that he, being of royal blood, wouldn’t know this… Claris proceeded as per the manual, placing the request form and registration card on the counter, preparing to explain to the young man.

“My apologies, but the registration request has been rejected.”
“…”
“Are you aware of the rank restriction rules of the commissions?”
“…”

The youth had a disappointed expression, neither confirming nor denying it, and then took the registration card and the commission paper and moved away from the counter.

Seeing how he wasn’t surprised that it was rejected, it seemed like he was aware of the rank restriction.

Did he bring it thinking he could cheat it or something…?

He didn’t protest in any way and returned the commission to the bulletin board, after which he just left the branch without picking up a different one.

“I wonder what was that about.”

No one answered Claris’ mutter, and the branch soon returned to its usual state.

Afterward, I checked if he was still in the town but he was no longer there… so I couldn’t even find out whether he was here as a human supremacist to try something in Luneville.