Seeing Master Smith Cheon genuinely repent put me in a good mood.
When I smiled, Master Smith Cheon tilted his head.
“By the way, why are you so happy? You said you’re not even from Heavenly Martial Castle.”
“If Heavenly Martial Castle runs well, the martial world stays peaceful too. That’s why I feel good.”
“What a weird bastard.”
Shaking his head, he finally drank the tea he’d pushed away earlier—then spat it back out.
“Ptoo! Damn it! Smells like grass! I thought it was liquor.”
I couldn’t help laughing at the way he threw a fit.
“Anyway. That punk Yeomhwa—he really that outstanding?”
“He made a high-grade sword out of scrap metal.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Huh... He really is incredible. Thanks to you, I got the best disciple. Thank you. Everything you do is something to be grateful for. How the hell am I supposed to repay this debt...?”
“Keep working hard for Heavenly Martial Castle like you are now. That’s enough for me.”
“You’ve got something with Heavenly Martial Castle, don’t you?”
I just smiled.
“Ah, damn, it’s frustrating. Stop smiling and say something. My mouth’s heavy, you know? I’ll take it to the grave. Yeah?”
He leaned his whole body forward, like he truly couldn’t stand not knowing.
“I’ll tell you when the time comes. What I can tell you right now is... yes. I have a deep connection to Heavenly Martial Castle.”
“Right? Yeah. You wouldn’t do all this otherwise. Good. When we meet later, you have to tell me.”
“Yes.”
“I wanted to share a drink, but that’s a real shame.”
“There’ll be another chance.”
“Yeah. Next time I’ll treat you to real, good liquor instead of this nasty tea.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“So where are you heading?”
“I’m not. For the time being, I’m staying in the Heavenly Forge.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to refine the discarded weapons in the warehouse here and take some home.”
“Why the hell would you pick discarded wea— No. With you, they wouldn’t be discarded weapons, would they.”
I nodded.
“Yeah. Take everything in there. If you ever need a better weapon, just say the word.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank what. I’m the one who’s grateful. Use my furnace for a while, too.”
“What about you, sir?”
“I’m going to rest for a while. While I rest, I’ll merge the Heavenly Forge and the Main Artisan Court—and I’ll keep an eye on my direct disciple Yeomhwa’s skills too.”
“Still, you can’t rest too much. You have to keep supplying Heavenly Martial Castle with good weapons.”
“You—be honest with me. What are you to the Lord of the Castle?”
“Pardon?”
“You can’t go this far unless there’s something between you and the Lord of the Castle. Don’t tell me you’re some covert inspector he secretly sent down?”
I laughed and shook my head.
“No.”
It was close, though.
It just wasn’t Grandfather who sent me.
For all his hulking size, his instincts were surprisingly sharp.
“That’s what it feels like. But then you’re too good at refining, so it feels like you’re not. Damn it! I don’t know! You have to tell me later.”
*****
The next day.
The upper leadership of Heavenly Martial Castle was gathering in one place for the Heavenly Martial Council.
One seat was empty, and everyone looked used to it—like they were about /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ to start the meeting as if nothing was missing.
Then the door opened.
When Master Smith Cheon walked in, everyone stared at him with shocked faces.
“What? Why?”
“M-Master Smith Cheon... what brings you to the meeting?”
“From now on, I’m going to start attending.”
He walked to the empty seat and sat down.
Everyone kept staring at him like they were watching something rare.
“What am I, some kind of exotic animal? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“It is rare. You didn’t even show your nose for years, and now you show up out of nowhere—what wind blew you in?”
At the seat of honor, Jeok Mugun spoke, and Master Smith Cheon stuck out his lower lip as he answered.
“I’m going to start doing my part as the head of the Heavenly Forge.”
“You? Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Huh... Hey, did the sun rise in the west today?”
“No. It definitely rose in the east today.”
Jeok Mugun stared at him with an expression that said he couldn’t believe a word of it.
“Stop looking.”
“I can’t remember the last time I saw my little brother’s face. I’m trying to get a good look at it. Why?”
“I’m sorry. I’ve lived stubbornly, only pushing my own will. From now on, I intend to live as a member of Heavenly Martial Castle.”
“Hwangryeok. You sick or something? Terminal disease? Why the hell are you acting like this all of a sudden? They say when a man does something he never does, he dies.”
“It’s not that. I’m just coming to my senses and trying to live properly. And raise a disciple.”
“Raise a disciple? You always said that was annoying and you’d never do it.”
“I found one with outstanding talent. There’s one even more outstanding, but... damn it. Anyway. That’s how it is.”
“Heh. Today’s really entertaining.”
Jeok Mugun laughed like he truly meant it.
“If you showed up to this meeting, it means you want something. What is it?”
“I want to merge the Heavenly Forge and the Main Artisan Court—and sit as the head of the unified body.”
“Huh? You said managing the Heavenly Forge was annoying, so I built the Main Artisan Court for you.”
“That’s right. But now it needs to be merged.”
“Why?”
“The corruption is too severe.”
“What?”
“You should look down below too, brother. Heavenly Martial Castle is rotting from the floor up.”
“Seriously?”
Jeok Mugun turned his head toward the Inspectorate.
“Hey. If an idiot who only knows iron is saying this, isn’t it insanely serious? You don’t know anything?”
“Th-that is...”
“Doesn’t know... doesn’t know. What the hell is your job?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Starting today, flip it all upside down. If there’s even a sliver of corruption, punish them all severely.”
“Understood.”
Jeok Mugun pressed fingers to his forehead.
“This is my fault too. My fault. With things like this, how the hell am I supposed to protect the peace of the martial world and face the Four Heavenly Demon Fiends?”
“It’s because peace has lasted too long.”
At Master Smith Cheon’s words, Jeok Mugun nodded.
“You’re right. Peace has lasted a long time. So everyone got lazy.”
Everyone nodded along in agreement.
“That’s right.”
“Is there any solution?”
“If we hold a Martial World Tournament and grant a great reward to the winner, how about that? Then everyone will sharpen their skills to compete, and Heavenly Martial Castle will regain its vitality.”
“Oh. That’s a good idea. Push it forward.”
“Yes!”
Jeok Mugun looked at Master Smith Cheon again.
“So what the hell happened? You never even looked outside the Heavenly Forge, but you changed like this overnight. Something had to have triggered it.”
“To be honest... I met a benefactor.”
“A benefactor?”
“Yes. There is someone who made me realize my own shortcomings. Because of that person, I came to my senses.”
“Oh. Someone like that exists? Who is it?”
Master Smith Cheon told Jeok Mugun about me.
“A connection, huh. Heh heh heh. Fine. What’s his name?”
“I don’t know.”
“What? You don’t even know his name?”
“That’s right. Even when I asked, he just smiled and didn’t say anything.”
“Hm. Sounds suspicious.”
“It’s not! Absolutely not suspicious—please don’t misunderstand!”
When Master Smith Cheon waved his hands and defended me, Jeok Mugun let out a short, amused snort.
“That’s a first. You’ve never covered for anyone like that except me.”
Master Smith Cheon’s face flushed red.
“Where is he right now? If he’s someone you acknowledge, I should personally step in and recruit him.”
Master Smith Cheon’s expression brightened.
From his perspective, I clearly cared about Heavenly Martial Castle, and I clearly respected the Heavenly Martial Emperor.
If the man he respected personally urged recruitment, surely I would accept.
Honestly, Master Smith Cheon wanted that too.
He didn’t want to miss someone like that.
“He’s refining a sword in the Heavenly Forge right now.”
“Yeah?”
Jeok Mugun spoke to the people in attendance.
“That’s enough for today’s meeting. You heard it, right? I’m going to recruit talent.”
Leaving those words behind, Jeok Mugun grabbed Master Smith Cheon’s hand and hurried out.
*****
TANG— TANG—.
A loud pounding echoed from Master Smith Cheon’s furnace.
“That sound is nice.”
Arriving at the Heavenly Forge, Jeok Mugun smiled.
What kind of talent would he be?
From what he’d heard, the man seemed to admire him and care about Heavenly Martial Castle.
He even asked if there was some connection between them.
If someone was already that deep under his skin, this wasn’t even a fight.
Jeok Mugun, excited at the thought of recruiting a brilliant talent, walked into Master Smith Cheon’s private furnace.
Far ahead, someone had his back turned, tapping a sword.
And it was strange.
He wasn’t using a hammer.
He was striking the sword with his fingers.
It was so bizarre that Jeok Mugun kept watching.
Then—
That back looked familiar.
Where had he seen it?
As he tilted his head, the man’s face turned just enough to show.
“Hrk!”
Jeok Mugun startled violently.
Master Smith Cheon asked, alarmed.
“W-what is it? Do you know him?”
“Why the hell is that bastard here?”
Master Smith Cheon’s stomach sank.
Don’t tell me Jeok Mugun hated him.
Was that why he hid things?
Master Smith Cheon moved to stop him, but at the commotion I turned my head.
I was startled too.
That was certain.
Master Smith Cheon regretted it instantly.
He felt like he’d put his benefactor in a difficult position.
If this was how it had to be, he’d stop Jeok Mugun even if he had to throw himself in front of him—
“Why are you here?”
“Huh? Why are you here, Grandfather?”
For a moment, Master Smith Cheon thought he’d misheard his own ears.
“...What?”
He stared back and forth between me and Jeok Mugun.
“You little bastard! If you come, you come straight to see your grandpa! What are you doing here!”
“Heh. I was going to make the sword I’m giving you first, then go.”
The moment I said I was making a sword for him, whatever hurt feelings Jeok Mugun had melted away like snow.
“Is that so? Heh heh heh. I thought you came all the way to Heavenly Martial Castle just to leave without seeing me, and I felt hurt.”
“Come on. Like I’d do that. We promised you’d teach me how to drink, didn’t we? That’s why I refused no matter how much people tried to push alcohol on me. Ask Master Smith Cheon.”
“Is that true?”
“It’s true. He said he had a prior promise to drink with someone, and he didn’t touch a single drop.”
Jeok Mugun’s grin split so wide it looked like it might tear.
“KWAHAHAHA! Damn, you cute little bastard!”
In an instant, Jeok Mugun rushed up to me, grabbed my cheeks, and looked like he was about to die of adoration.
“Grandfather. People are watching.”
“So what if they watch? I’m going to adore my grandson.”
Master Smith Cheon’s mouth fell open.
Jeok Mugun was famous for being strict even with his grandchildren.
People even said being born the Heavenly Martial Emperor’s grandchild was misfortune.
That was how hard he drove them—so brutally that the training they endured was beyond words.
As far as Master Smith Cheon knew, Jeok Mugun had never once smiled at a grandchild.
But what was this?
He looked no different from any other grandfather, smiling in happiness at his grandson.
“But when did you learn smithing?”
“Here and there. Whenever I had time.”
“This little bastard? You learned it ‘here and there’ and then you start lecturing Master Smith Cheon, the greatest among smiths? Do you think that makes any sense?”
“It’s not just lecturing. He’s better than me.”
“Did you hear that? The top artisan under heaven acknowledged you. This little bastard really can’t do anything wrong! Hahaha!”