30. Gran Cappadocia (3)
#30
Even though I have been working as a blacksmith for over 300 years it was a material I had never seen before. Ronan smiled as he stroked Sita.
“It’s an eggshell that it cracked open.”
“Pyeol-ah.”
Sita pressed her face into Ronan’s hand. Doron’s eyes widened.
“An eggshell? “Is this what you mean?”
Doron began examining the eggshell like a person possessed by something.
He not only checked it by turning it around with an estimator on but also put it in a furnace or placed it on an anvil and hit it with a hammer. Finally Doron let out an exclamation after spraying unknown reagents on the shell.
“This is really amazing. Hardness weight and rigidity…all perfect! If I mix it properly with Brankar Cloud Iron…perhaps the greatest masterpiece of my blacksmithing life can come out. “Can I really use this?”
“sure. “I took it with me just in case and it turned out well.”
Doron hissed. He began squeezing Ronan’s hand and rocking him up and down.
“Thank you. I will definitely make you the best weapon. “I’d like to come visit you in three months.”
“Okay… wait three months?”
Ronan frowned. It took a long time but it took too long. He had to acquire a weapon as soon as possible to be able to take Butterfly Rose’s class.
“Okay three months. Even if I wanted to do it faster I couldn’t help it. “I just did a heat resistance test and it showed signs of rusting only if I used the highest quality soft coal but now I’m almost out of soft coal.”
Doron pointed to a brazier shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped. I saw five or six red round lumps rolling around the furnace. It was a soft coal used to melt highly heat-resistant ore.
“There are a lot of requests from other customers as well. “I’m sorry but I guess you’ll have to wait.”
said Doron scratching his head with the hilt of his hammer. Marya who was quietly listening to the conversation opened her eyes wide.
“Wait a minute Grandpa. “Small coal?”
“Hmm? That’s right. Soft coal.”
“…I think I can get you something?”
“What? What does that mean? “I heard that there was an earthquake in Drumkus the largest producer of soft coal and that distribution across the islands is blocked?”
That was the reason why the dwarves were busy spreading lava. Since you can’t just not work at all you have to melt the special ore with the heat of the lava. Marja nodded his head.
“that’s right. There was an earthquake. But our leader went to Drumcus just before that.”
“That means….”
“yes. There is still one wagonload left. “I’m keeping it until the price rises further…Can I sell it to you if you need it?”
“of course! How much is it? How much is it? Didican! “Bring me my safe!”
Doron shouted throwing down his hammer. The eyes revealed through the stubble covering his face were shining brightly. It was the moment when Didican who was startled was about to take a step.
“for a moment. I don’t need any money Grandpa. “Can I get something else instead?”
“What else do you mean…?”
“The weapons here. “Overall the quality is very good so I really want to sell it at our store.”
“You mean these studies? That’s right. “I don’t mind taking as much coal as I want as long as they give me coal that I can use right away.”
“No. That can’t be possible. “I think it would be better to write an accurate contract.”
Marja smiled brightly and took out paper and pen from her arms. She wrote the contract in elegant handwriting and explained the details of her transaction to Doron in detail.
“So… that’s how much they put a value on a single piece of coal. “There are different types of weapons…”
“Hey even if I explain it to you you still don’t understand. Just leave the soft coal and take what you can.”
“No. What do you do if you get scammed by other people? Now let me explain again.”
It took over an hour to complete the contract. Marja smiled contentedly and put her contract into her arms. Doron grunted and rubbed her old eyes. Ronan laughed when he saw that.
“You’re amazing too really. “Are you trying to play a businessman in this situation?”
“Heheung it’s basic to becoming the best merchant. “I think we can increase the size of the upper level significantly through this transaction.”
“You wouldn’t have made a mistake by saying that you are an old man who has lived like a mole for hundreds of years right?”
“hey! What do you think of the next leader of Caravel Sangdan?”
Well looking at the future and Father Duon’s philosophy there seemed to be no possibility of that happening. She also felt that it was good to make friends at Marvas back then.
It was a good thing that she got the weapon quickly. Ronan handed Grancia’s note to Didican.
“Please pay all three of us to Schlieffen of Grancia.”
“Are you okay? “The amount may be considerable.”
“I need to use this incident as an opportunity to wake up. “For a guy called the Empire’s Morning Star to be mean to a woman…”
Didican chuckled and filled out the transaction form. The story was that Doron would produce weapons for Ronan and Asher Marya and the price for them would be paid by the Grancia family. Asher hesitated and opened his mouth.
“Hey I haven’t decided what weapon to get yet…”
Asher had not even drawn up an estimate yet. Doron who had been preoccupied with the eggshell belatedly raised his head.
“Oh yeah. You were there. You’re a wizard right? What properties are you dealing with?”
“It’s telekinesis….”
“It’s a rare talent. This is an area where precision is very important. “Can you do magic without a wand?”
“Yes…for now.”
Doron urged Asher to show him magic. After a moment of hesitation Asher put his hands forward and chanted his incantation.
“Invisible Hand.”
About twenty weapons of all types rose in a row in the air. Asher was shown handling the weapons like chess pieces and moving them around. Doron nodded his head.
“Hmm… it’s not that bad. How long have you been learning magic? “I think I received my education at an early age in either the magic city of Delphium or the Magic Tower. Is this old man’s guess correct?”
“Oh no… I first learned magic about six months ago….”
“…What is it?”
Doron’s expression hardened. He asked Asher a lot of questions about his background in learning magic.
“But you still have a teacher right? “Who did you learn magic from?”
“Uh…I read the book and followed along.”
“under! “It’s a book!”
Doron snorted. He tried some more magic on Asher.
“Like this?”
“okay. “Is it possible to move each one separately?”
Although there were a few mistakes because he was used to mana handling with a staff Asher did an excellent job overall. Doron chuckled.
“It’s fun it’s fun. “This is my first time seeing fun kids like you.”
He bent over for a long time and whimpered. Eventually Doron raised his head and smoothed his beard with a somewhat serious expression.
“Did you say Asher? If you get the chance be sure to visit the Twilight Tower where Lorhon is.”
“Lorhorn…?”
Asher knew him. It was a name I learned from my first class at the Phileon magic department. He is the first human 9th circle wizard. He is a transcendental person who has surpassed the limitations of the body and has enjoyed hundreds of years.
‘The old magician.’
Ronan was also a familiar name. He was the one who sealed one of the three giants at the time of his advent. Although the problem was that he catalyzed his own soul. Asher asked with a trembling voice.
“Can I see Lord Lorhorn…?”
“I don’t know about that either. I’ve only seen you a couple of times. Anyway be sure to visit the Twilight Magic Tower at least once.”
Doron patted Asher on the back approvingly.
“I think you should discuss your weapon with the other old men. Wizards’ equipment requires much more detailed tuning. “There are other people who are good at that kind of thing.”
“Then old man if we receive the soft coal right away how long will it take?”
“Hmm… 15 days will be enough even if you take enough.”
Ronan nodded his head. 15 days was a good period in its own way. I could have spent the free time doing something else.
“Then I can look forward to it old man.”
“Goodbye everyone. “Thank you for lighting a fire in the old man’s heart again.”
With those last words the party left the blacksmith shop. Didican saw them off to the exit. Just as he was about to get into the elevator Ronan heard a strange sound.
-Rumbling…!
Ronan looked around. Asher and Maryah didn’t seem to hear. he asked poking Didican in the side.
“What does that mean?”
“hmm? Oh what. Did you hear? “You have great ears.”
“okay. “In the depths…”
“don’t worry. There’s a newly dug oyster inside there these days. “I guess it’s because I’m also running a mine.”
Ronan narrowed his eyes. It felt somewhat foreign to the sound of simply digging into the ground. Sita was also staring at the place where the sound came from. Didican laughed.
“It happens often. “Dwarves treat rocks like kneading rice cakes so you don’t have to worry about them.”
“…Well then.”
Ronan nodded his head with a shocked expression. Didican shook hands with the group one by one.
“It was fun. Friends. If you ever stop by Gran Cappadocia please come and visit Didican. “Say hello to my brother too.”
“brother?”
“Yes Pileon Academy’s Gidokan is my older brother. Please tell me that your brother is satisfied with his work hammering iron. “You worry about me a lot.”
Ronan was able to picture the prayer room without difficulty. He was one of the judges who conducted his interview and he was the instructor in charge of the hunting skills he was taking. Ronan chuckled.
“Sure.”
The group took the elevator and headed to the ground. In each of their hands was a makeshift weapon taken from Doron’s forge.
Marya was wielding a great sword earlier Asher was a wand that was slightly smaller than the existing staff and Ronan was a long sword with a pure white sword body. Although its appearance and material were ordinary its quality was incomparably better than the black iron sword previously used.
As we left the old blacksmith shop strong sunlight poured down on the group’s heads. Seeing people walking under the blue sky made the time I spent in Gran Cappadocia feel like a dream.
“Bye!”
Sita flew up as if she had been waiting. The three people and one horse returned to Phileon after enjoying their outing.
****
The weekend and the following week went smoothly.
Ronan did his best to use his time wisely. He often encountered familiar faces at the fitness center which he usually went to during his spare time.
– Hahaha! You come here every time Ronan junior! As expected he has the perseverance of a second-ranking member!
– Oh you’re here today too Senior Braum. There was nothing special to do. What happened to the great sword?
– Don’t worry junior! I repaired it right on the day of the entrance ceremony where I competed with you! Now I weigh 130kg!!
– That’s great.
-Anyway Instructor Naviroje keeps asking how you are. What’s going on?
– Uh… please pretend not to notice. I’ll see you soon.
At night I read books stored in my dorm or reviewed my notes. Unlike studying for entrance exams you only take the subjects you want so your level of interest is wrong.
“Hmm. As expected that workbook wasn’t fun. “Isn’t reading more worth it than I thought?”
Ronan perused various books with his legs up on his desk. [Imperial History] [Western Travels] [Why did the Baroness give Max a steak?] etc…
There were fun books and boring books. Still it was fun to learn information I didn’t know without having to move my body. On Monday of the third week I took Sita to visit Wear Lion Professor Varen.
“Oh…ohhh! “That kid is…!”
“It took a lot longer than I thought. “It’s been a while Varen.”
Varen’s class had not yet started due to his personal circumstances. So this was Ronan’s first conversation with him since entering Phileon. Varen’s mane bristled noticeably as he made eye contact with Sita.
“Oh please sit down. I’ll bring some tea. How have you been? “Ah congratulations on your admission!”
“Take it slow. “Because I’m not running away anywhere.”
Ronan sat down on the sofa. Varen served refreshments at lightning speed. The whole time he was pouring tea and arranging cookies prettily his eyes were fixed on Sita.
“Brother?”
Sita was sitting on the table looking at Varen with bright eyes. Varen suddenly took out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes.
“…She really is a really pretty child. “What’s your name?”
“Sita.”
“Yes Sita.”
Varen very carefully stretched out his hand and placed it in front of Sita’s eyes. Sita who was quietly blinking pressed her face against Varen’s fingers.
“Pyeong~”
“…!”
Ronan deliberately lifted the teacup up to his eyes. The sight of a wear lion over 3 meters tall shedding tears was not a very pleasant sight. At that time Marfez who was napping on Varen’s chair slowly approached.
-Phee?
“Wow your hair has grown more. How are you?”
The blue feathers were abundant enough to remind one of a bush. As Ronan waved his hand Marfez came roaring up. Sita’s eyes widened when she saw that.
“beep??”
-Peeee?
Marfez reacted the same way. There was no need to say who went first. Sita and Marfez simultaneously flew and ran towards each other.
Eventually the two dream birds faced each other and began to caress each other’s feathers as if they had been waiting. Varen seeing the happy family reunion muttered in his main voice.
“Wow is there no way to record this moment this scene forever?…”
“I see. I’m sorry for breaking the mood Varen. Do you happen to know what influenced him?”
Ronan stretched out his index finger and pointed at Sita. Varen sniffed his nose and stood up. Varen who had been rummaging through his desk laid out three pieces of paper on the table and said.
“sorry. When I thought of it as Marfez’s child I got emotional… Wow the only ones I can guess are these three.”
On the paper were detailed drawings of monsters that appeared to be phantom species or monsters. Ronan tilted his head.
“This is the Black Dragon Orce…what are the rest of the monsters doing? “Isn’t this a human being?”
The thing drawn on the leftmost piece of paper was the black dragon Orsay. A demonic dragon who was defeated by the Empire and moved to a plateau in the far west. I knew it because it appeared in a children’s book that Iril used to read to me when I was a nosebleed.
The problem was that the names of the other two beings were unknown. On the center piece of paper was a human male wearing a fancy uniform and on the other piece of paper was a pink cluster of lights that looked like a sea urchin.
Varen opened her mouth. The gaze was still fixed on Marfez and Sita.
“The one in the middle is a vampire of the Warsaw clan and the one on the right is Atia Fairy. “Each of them uses blood magic and has the ability to heal wounds.”
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