TYHL 24

~Chapter 24~

I headed to the forge with the Grand Duke.

His hobby was weapon development.

Drawing blueprints himself, commissioning their creation, and then testing the completed products—this was his only real pastime.

‘Well, since many of them actually went into mass production, I guess it’s not just a hobby.’

One of House Jebert’s main businesses was the weapons trade. The high-quality minerals mined from the territory’s surrounding mountains were famous across the continent.

‘The shields that blocked dark magic were especially good.’

And with the continent-wide war in recent years, business must have been booming, whether they meant it to or not.

“Wow, it’s huge.”

“It’s probably the biggest in the Empire.”

The forge’s massive size matched its reputation.

If I exaggerated a little, it looked almost like a small village.

“Welcome.”

We entered the largest building among many. The owner greeted us halfheartedly.

The heat from the furnace hit me in a wave. Clang, clang—the sound of hammering metal rang irregularly.

“Bring it out! My weapon!”

The Grand Duke—like a gangster—shouted suddenly.

The shirtless owner, a pipe in his mouth, glanced up.

With his brown hair tied messily and soot smudged everywhere, the man looked surprisingly young.

“…You have a late-born kid or something?”

Thud. The huge hammer he held hit the floor.

“You’re still as lacking as ever.”

“Oh?”

The owner bent down to look at me, his eyes full of curiosity.

“Put out the fire.”

The Grand Duke spoke with displeasure. The owner pouted.

“Telling me to put out the fire in a forge…”

Cough, cough.

A sudden gust of wind blew pipe smoke into the air.

The Grand Duke clicked his tongue, grabbed me, and set me down on the other side.

“Put it out, now!”

“Oh.”

The owner seemed to only then realize he was still holding the pipe.

“Ah… sorry about that.”

He waved the smoke away.

“So what is this kid? Don’t tell me he’s your illegi—”

Clang. The Grand Duke lightly kicked the hammer.

“You really live without hearing a thing from the outside world, don’t you? Now that I think about it… it’s about time I tore this place apart.”

“…This anvil’s not for that. Neither’s my furnace. Nothing here is.”

“Then stop talking nonsense and bring me the sword!”

When the Grand Duke barked, the owner shook his head.

“Old man, your temper is…”

“I can hear you.”

“Guess your hearing’s still fine! Is that a good thing?”

“You little—”

Hmm, I couldn’t tell if they were on good terms or not.

Either way, anyone who could talk to the Grand Duke like that clearly wasn’t ordinary.

The owner rummaged noisily through something and then suddenly pulled out a sword.

With another loud crash, he cleared a table and placed the sword on it.

“Ohhh!”

The Grand Duke’s eyes sparkled as he looked at it.

“I’ll hammer it a few more times, but the magic stone refinement on this side is a bit tricky, so it’s still…”

“Wouldn’t it be better to use Epiron for the handle?”

“Hmm, maybe. But Epiron catches the sunlight at an awkward angle.”

The two adults dove into deep weapon talk. Seeing my chance, I cautiously backed away.

“Where are you going?”

I thought I’d gotten away unnoticed.

“I just want to look around…”

“No! Do you know how dangerous it is here?”

“Then I’ll wait outside!”

He looked back and forth between the sword and me, clearly torn.

“I’ll behave!”

I put on my best model-student face. The owner, who had been watching, rubbed the bridge of his nose and spoke up.

“If you’re bored, want to try hammering?”

“Huh? Me? Hammering?”

“Or you could watch the quenching… Oh, or you could pick out a pretty metal scrap over there to keep.”

“Why are you giving her jobs?!”

“…? At that age, I thought it was the most fun thing to do.”

The owner looked genuinely puzzled.

“That’s why you grew up obsessed with weapons!”

“Hah, why does that sound like a compliment?”

“It’s not a compliment!”

Yep, definitely not an ordinary guy.

“Hehe… I’ll just wait outside.”

I slipped out of the forge quietly.

Once outside, a familiar face was waiting.

Ah, so that’s why the Grand Duke let me go so easily—because he knew my escort knight was here.

“Sir Leon—uh, I mean, Senior!”

“…Been a while.”

Sir Leon, with his blue hair, looked down at me. Something flickered in his stern eyes.

“It’s been a while! Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Why haven’t you ever… joined the knights…”

“Huh?”

“Mm. Never mind.”

I tilted my head, but started walking again.

Sir Leon followed.

“Where are you going?”

“I want to visit that place!”

I pointed to a small shop near the forge.

Just like on the map—it was a magic stone shop!

“A mineral shop?”

“Not allowed?”

“Well, it’s right next door, so…”

“The Grand Duke will take a while. Right, Senior?”

“…Fine, no choice.”

Sir Leon gently took my outstretched hand.

After saying something to another knight nearby, we headed for the shop.

“Wow, so shiny. Pretty.”

The shop seemed empty—maybe the owner had stepped out. I looked around with bright eyes.

Naturally, I stopped in front of the magic stone display.

All shapes, all colors.

A smile spread on my lips.

‘As expected, they have plenty here—this land hunts magical beasts all the time.’

Magic stones could be obtained by killing magical beasts, or by mining magic ore.

Of course, quality varied greatly, and the most powerful stones came from beasts.

Like rare items in a game.

Magic stones—also called mana stones (though in my view they were different)—could be processed into magic tools.

‘In short, these stones are the main materials for magic devices.’

Of course, ordinary people couldn’t just make magic devices.

‘When I was in the kingdom, I made magic devices from these stones…’

Our kingdom imported them.

We did have some, but Zerlox stones were the highest quality.

Probably because this land teemed with terrifying magical beasts.

‘Then we sold the magic devices back to the continent.’

“Oh.”

My eyes widened as I scanned the display.

‘Found it—Barrier Stones.’

Transparent stones with a faint lavender hue filled my vision.

“What are you staring at?”

“Senior, Senior.”

I tugged his sleeve.

“There are so many purple stones here. What are they used for?”

I asked as if I didn’t know.

“They’re mostly useless. Sometimes used as sword ornaments because of the color, but they’re heavy and not practical.”

“Really?”

I held one up to the light—perfectly clear, no impurities. This was premium quality…

“Since they’re useless, there’s little demand for them.”

That was wrong.

It wasn’t that there was no demand—people just didn’t know how to use them.

‘Only I know the method to use Barrier Stones to make magic devices, even in the kingdom.’

I gripped the purple stone tightly.

‘This is it.’

The way to protect myself—and Uncle.

‘I’ll use these stones to create a barrier over all of Zerlox. Like in the Magic Kingdom—an unbreakable shield.’

The Magic Kingdom was a thousand-year fortress.

No one could invade, and no attack could harm it.

People thought the mages cast some great protective magic, but in truth, it was because of the barrier magic devices planted throughout the kingdom.

Ancient magical constructs no longer found anywhere in this world.

‘I can do it.’

I was born with every magic circle in my head—ancient or modern, it didn’t matter.

The problem was something more practical…

‘To do that, I’ll need to buy a huge amount of these stones…’

Covering all of Zerlox would take an enormous quantity.

I sighed quietly. Sir Leon’s gaze fell on me.

I was so deep in thought, I didn’t notice the large shadow falling over me from behind.

‘I’ll also need a hidden workshop to make the devices…’

Could I do it?

I sighed again.

“Little booger, what are you doing here?”

But it wouldn’t be easy… Never mind the workshop—for now, I didn’t even have the money to—

“I’m broke…”

“…”

“…”

Grit.

“Huh?”

At the sound of teeth grinding, I looked up.