All kinds of people gathered in the Imperial Capital of the Eslick Empire.
Men and women of all ages, as well as foreigners, members of the Demon Tribe, exiles, refugees, and so on.
As such, many goods also gathered here, and among them, Schwaben Street was considered the best when it came to magic.
“So why did you bring me? I can’t even use magic properly.”
“Please relax your face. Anyone would think I dragged you here against your will.”
“You did.”
Ignoring Til’s grumbling, I scanned the bustling street.
The idea that Schwaben was the best was just something I had memorized from the setting.
Actually walking through the street gave me a completely different feeling.
I had imagined a street lined with shops, but it was a far more chaotic place, where large buildings were mixed with street stalls.
All kinds of goods tempted me from the stalls, urging me to test them out right away, but I resisted and walked past.
Most of them were probably flashy on the outside but cheap in quality.
I didn’t come to Schwaben to find things that were so easy to come by.
As we entered the western street, a splendid building with a Twin-headed Eagle sign greeted us.
“The Imperial Blacksmith Guild. Seriously, your standards are ridiculously high. Even a wealthy person doing well would have to think twice about coming here.”
“Good items come with prices that match, don’t they?”
Everything that entered the Eslick Imperial Palace—famed for its magic-user families—passed through this place.
The quality was, needless to say, top-tier.
It was a space I was quite familiar with, since it served as the treasure vault that the original protagonist’s party would loot.
Seeing it in person felt novel, but it was the lavish shop I had imagined.
“What are you going to buy?”
“One magical item, one weapon.”
“A weapon? You don’t need something like that.”
“Correct, I don’t. It’s a gift for you.”
At the word “gift,” Til looked me up and down with a face full of suspicion.
Talk about brutal treatment.
“You? For me? Why?”
“Think of it as a sort of advance payment, since I’ll be needing your help more from now on.”
Even with that convenient excuse, her suspicious expression didn’t go away.
But seeing how her gaze kept drifting to the displayed weapons, it seemed she had no intention of refusing.
“Well then, shall we go in? Let’s hope there’s something worth buying.”
***
Two customers entered.
‘What kind of combination is that?’
Judging by the tense atmosphere, they didn’t seem to be lovers…
The woman, who looked like a soldier, was snapping at the noble-looking man, and the man kept replying with a smirk.
Maybe they decided to act separately, because the woman headed toward the weapon display while the man came straight to the clerk.
“Excuse me. I was hoping for some recommendations for magical items.”
Despite his polite speech, the twisted corners of his mouth and his closed eyes gave a very unpleasant impression.
There was also a subtly condescending attitude that was irritating.
Even though I was still an apprentice, I was nonetheless a proper member of the Imperial Blacksmith Guild.
‘A noble acting all high and mighty, huh.’
This was a guild that dealt with the Imperial Family—how laughable for some low-tier noble to act like this.
“There are some over there.”
“I don’t have much of an eye for these things. Would you mind recommending one?”
That smiling face somehow looked mocking and made my blood boil.
But an apprentice at the Imperial Blacksmith Guild throwing a tantrum at a customer was even more unacceptable.
“Please follow me.”
I decided to hand him something suitable and send him on his way quickly.
After that, I showed him various items and explained them, but this ridiculously picky customer didn’t pick a single one.
“Hmm, I think the mana capacity is too small.”
“The usage limitations are too strict—this seems unusable.”
“The tier of the inscribed spell is too low.”
Hearing all kinds of reasons for rejecting the items made my blood pressure rise.
These were all items that my seniors had poured their hearts into crafting, and he was treating them like this.
In the first place, there weren’t many magical items inscribed with defensive spells.
Unlike magical tools used by ordinary people without mana, magical items were made to assist trained mages.
Since mages could use simple defensive spells on their own, it was more economical to inscribe other types of spells into the items.
As I was thinking of how to chase out this rude customer who didn’t even know the basics, a good idea came to me, and I spoke gently.
“If nothing suits your taste, how about looking at uninscribed items?”
“Uninscribed items, you say… hmm, well, that’s not a bad idea.”
As I led him toward the uninscribed section in the far corner, I laughed inwardly.
There was always a reason an item remained uninscribed.
Most were items that didn’t meet quality standards or were byproducts of excessive experimentation—rejects, essentially.
“How about this ebony staff? It adds style while walking and can be used as a magical item when needed.”
The customer took the staff and examined it carefully.
He seemed to like it, so I took another step forward.
“Feel free to try it. That much is allowed.”
Just imagining the noble’s face turning pale made me smile without realizing.
Five years ago, the head blacksmith had made it while testing how large the mana capacity of an item could be.
It still hadn’t found an owner.
Magical items only became useful once the owner infused a certain percentage of mana, but this one required such an immense amount that no one had been able to use it.
This customer would surely fail as well.
Thinking that, I waited to see him collapse after pouring in all his strength and mana.
Just when I wondered if I’d been waiting too long, black light began to ripple from the ebony staff.
The dust that had been covering it fell away in an instant, revealing the pure black surface from when it was first made.
“Uh…?”
“This should do nicely. It has decent capacity and is practical for everyday use. I’ll take it.”
“Uh… yes, of course.”
Looking dazed, I went to the register, where the woman who came with him was already waiting with a sword.
“Hey, you said I could pick anything, right? Then I’ll take this.”
“Didn’t you abandon your sword when you cut ties with your family?”
“…It’s for decoration. Decoration.”
It was a ridiculously large cavalry saber.
It had been collecting dust because it was too heavy and hard to handle—she was really going to buy that?
“Alright, how much for both?”
“That will be 120,000 ducats.”
“120,000?”
It wasn’t surprising that she was shocked.
120,000 ducats was enough to buy a decent house in the Imperial Capital.
The quality was worth the price, but it was still an amount even the wealthy would hesitate to spend.
“Do you accept promissory notes?”
“As long as the issuer is verified, yes.”
Upon receiving the note, the clerk’s eyes widened.
Eslick Mint, Leitche Public Bank, Northern Finance Union… all famous names recognizable by anyone.
Who exactly was this customer?
“Your payment has been completed.”
“Thank you. I hope we meet again.”
Before I could even respond, the two were already walking out of the building.
As I stared blankly, someone came rushing out and stopped the customer's steps.
It was the Guildmaster, whose face was rarely seen.
“Count… my apologies… no, no… what a relief. Yes….”
It was the first time I saw the Guildmaster act so humbly.
While I was watching in amazement, someone smacked me on the back of the head.
“Ack! Senior, what brings you here…?”
“Hey, did you treat those customers properly?”
“Pardon? Of course I did.”
“You’re sure you didn’t mess anything up?”
At my senior’s serious expression, I nodded stiffly.
He sighed and lowered his voice.
“That gentleman is Count Valheit, and the lady with him is the eldest daughter of the Chartra Family.”
“What?! You mean that advisor to the Imperial Family…”
“Anyway, if you didn’t screw up, that’s a relief. That man’s temper is nasty—if you even slightly rub him the wrong way, your life either spirals or ends. One or the other.”
Suddenly, I remembered the final words that customer had left behind.
‘I hope we meet again.’
As I reflected on the meaning behind those words, my face quickly turned pale.
***
Leaving the Imperial Blacksmith Guild, I looked up at the sky and let my shoulders droop.
To others, I probably looked like some weirdo standing there with my eyes closed.
‘120,000 ducats…’
That was half of Headquarters’ monthly budget gone.
If the Finance Department found out I’d even used promissory notes, they might faint.
‘Sorry, Finance… I’ll make it up somehow.’
While I silently apologized, Til was spinning her new sword this way and that, her eyes sparkling.
“Do you like it?”
“…A little?”
As soon as I spoke to her, she quickly masked her expression.
Though she couldn’t stop the twitch in her cheek muscles.
“We’re done here, right? I’m off to engrave a name into this sword.”
“Are you engraving your name?”
“No, of course it’s the sword’s name. I’ve already decided—it’s going to be Cryde.”
Ah, so that sword was Cryde.
I had been wondering what Cryde in the Status Window referred to.
[Relationships]
▶ Til Chartra (3 / Improving!!)
(+) Gifted Cryde.
To think gifting a single sword would raise her relationship level to the point of reconciling a family feud with her father.
I had somewhat planned this from the moment she said she liked swords, but I didn’t expect her to like it this much.
Even the Skill section had a new alert.
[Relationship Reward: Til Chartra!] [Skill ‘Weapon Demon’ acquired!]
Upon use, enter the Weapon Demon state and become a close-combat specialist! Upon deactivation, movement is disabled for 1 minute!
▶ Duration varies depending on relationship level. ▶ Current: 9 seconds
Weapon Demon.
Given that it was Til’s epithet, it was a very fitting name for the skill.
The only problem was its performance.
Though the duration supposedly increased with relationship level, right now it only lasted 9 seconds while the penalty lasted 60 seconds. The tradeoff didn’t seem worth it.
On top of that, what was I supposed to do with a melee combat skill when I was still a novice mage?
‘I’ll probably only know when I get the chance to use it, but if that situation comes up, things are already bad.’
Well, it’s still better than having nothing.
With that thought, I closed the Status Window.
“No, there’s still one more place to visit.”
“Knew it… Where are we going?”
“Don’t you think we should at least say hello to Mr. Strauss?”
Of course, we weren’t just going to say hello.
There was another reason.
“To also check on how the late His Majesty’s son is doing these days.”
***
Old man Strauss yawned widely as he read the newspaper through a magical magnifying glass.
It had been nearly 25 years since he opened his appraisal shop in the Imperial Capital.
Back then, there weren’t many shops equipped with professional tools, so business had been decent—but that was all in the past.
Now, aside from a few merchants and trading companies who gave him work out of old friendships, there was hardly any business.
He got maybe five customers a month, at most.
Considering the man’s age and the burdens he carried, that wasn’t too bad.
That’s why Strauss frowned when the bell above the front door rang loudly.
A walk-in customer without an appointment. There were usually only two possibilities in such cases.
Either they didn’t trust the appraisal results from elsewhere and wandered into this alley, or…
They were from the Eight Council.
“They act like this place is their living room just because they help fund it.”
With no one around to hear, Strauss grumbled aloud.
Though he had ties with the Eight Council and managed their contact point, it wasn’t much of a role compared to the name.
Usually, all that happened was a few agents dropping by now and then—like today.
Still, he had to greet his guests, so he removed the magical magnifier hanging from his nose and stepped out into the office.
Two uninvited guests came into view.
He recognized both of them.
“Mr. Strauss, it’s been a while.”
The man with narrow eyes greeted him with a bright smile.
A chill ran down Strauss’s spine, despite the smiling face.
Swallowing dryly, old man Strauss cautiously bowed his head.
“Count Valheit… What brings you to such a humble place…?”
“Oh come now, we both know what this is about. I came to see your face, Mr. Strauss. Ah, and to see the distinguished guest you’ve been housing.”
The man’s smiling expression didn’t change. Only his voice did.
And that alone was enough to put a strain on Strauss’s heart.