Chapter 37

The next day, Henrik returned to the Volkan Smithy in Lemarnus's blacksmith alley. It was time to entrust Grayson, who had refined his technique considerably, with "that."

As he opened the smithy door with practiced ease, Tyson Volkan, the second son of the Volkan Clan, greeted him.

"Hunter brother, you've been coming by pretty often lately, haven't you?"

"Is Grayson here?"

"Of course he is. He's been over the moon saying his new technique is almost complete."

Tyson set down his massive hammer as he spoke.

"I thought my brother was just a scrawny weakling who took after Mother, but I had no idea he had that kind of talent. How did you notice it?"

"I wouldn't be worthy of being called an Academy professor if I couldn't manage at least that much."

"A professor from the slums?"

When Tyson sneered, Henrik brushed it off with a light joke and opened the door to Grayson's workshop at the back of the smithy.

As the door swung open, an intense light poured out, dazzling his eyes. At the center of that brilliance stood Grayson.

Wearing a safety mask and gloves imbued with elemental mana, he was kneading and shaping metal this way and that.

Having gained considerable proficiency by now, he was crafting weapons one by one using the various ores Henrik had given him for practice.

In one corner of the workshop lay sword blades, axe blades, hammer-heads, and arrowheads.

Though they lacked handles and weren't complete, they were items of sufficient quality to be used in actual combat.

"Grayson."

When Henrik called out to him, Grayson jumped in surprise and spun around.

"Professor?! When did you get here?!"

"Just now. How's it going? Can you make it work?"

"Ah, yes! Thanks to your advice and Grimory's tutoring, it's become much more stable! It takes quite a bit of time, but I've reached the point where I can process things well enough."

At Grayson's words, Henrik casually picked up one of the sword blades he'd made.

The edge was slightly dull, but that was a problem that could be solved with sharpening. What mattered was the form.

Indeed, worthy of being called a future genius blacksmith, the blade's shape was perfectly symmetrical on both sides.

There were no warped or bent sections, and since it wasn't forged by hammering, the blade had no uneven surfaces either. Seeing its artwork-like perfection, it seemed valuable enough to serve as a decorative sword.

"How long did it take to make?"

"At the shortest, three days. At the longest, about a week. That one probably took around five days."

"......"

Henrik nodded.

At this level, it seemed fine to entrust him with "that" now.

"Professor, what's that?"

Grayson pointed at the large bundle Henrik had been carrying.

Usually, the bundle was lumpy because he brought various ores for practice, but today it looked very heavy, as if it contained one massive ore.

-Thud.

Henrik set down the bundle and spoke.

"I'd like to commission a job from you."

"A job?! From me?!"

"I think the ores I've given you so far are more than enough payment."

Grayson glanced at the ores piled in the corner.

"Right. There's no way you'd give ore for free to a worthless guy like me......"

-Thwack!

Henrik lightly flicked the forehead of Grayson, who had slumped in self-deprecation.

"Your technique will become unrivaled as it develops. Your skill of shaping ore like clay without grinding it down means there's no loss of material. Have some confidence."

"......Yes."

Grayson nodded while clutching his stinging forehead.

Swish. As Henrik untied the bundle's knot, a massive ore revealed itself. An ore the size of a person's torso, with stone fragments clinging here and there, but the pure white flesh of the ore showed through.

It looked like a gemstone and also like solid metal.

"This is...... what on earth......."

Seeing the ore for the first time, Grayson seemed dazed and couldn't continue speaking. Henrik tapped the ore and said,

"It's a rare one."

"This is......."

At the mention of rare ore, Grayson rushed over and began examining the ore from all angles.

"Oh...... ohhh...... indeed...... it's incredible."

"It's not a common ore."

Henrik hedged his words. If he told Grayson, whose self-esteem was excessively low, "Actually, this is Sephirum ore, of which only four exist in the world," he would surely collapse from the pressure.

So for now, the priority was to vaguely deflect and guide him to work on it.

"......So this commission you're talking about...... you want me to process this?"

"Naturally."

"......."

When Henrik spoke matter-of-factly, Grayson stepped away from the Sephirum and nodded.

"You want trash like me to do this?"

"I'm not sure about you being trash, but your technique certainly isn't."

At Henrik's words, Grayson broke into a cold sweat and laughed awkwardly.

Even though he was seeing this ore for the first time, it was astonishing. Its whisper was clearer than any other ore. That meant the ore's purity was that high.

Unlike other ores that murmured in an incomprehensible language, this was different. It was clearly conveying to Grayson what the ore wanted.

A vivid voice.

Yet an unknown language. It sounded like a song at times, and gave him a strange feeling of ecstasy just from listening.

'What is this?'

The ore was conveying something to Grayson. The language was unfamiliar, but he definitely understood the meaning being transmitted.

This was the first time he'd heard such a clear voice, and this experience was also a first.

'It's asking me to process it quickly......?'

That's right.

This ore seemed to be urging him, as if asking to be processed immediately.

Goosebumps rose on his skin.

He wanted to process this ore right now. He wanted to fulfill what the ore desired.

"Professor, if I process all of this ore...... what are you planning to use it for? Are you going to sell it at an auction house?"

"I'm going to make it into a weapon and use it myself."

"Use it yourself?"

"Yes. I'm going to make a complete weapon from this single ore."

Grayson smiled and put his gloves back on.

"There's no need to make the handle right away. I'll procure the ore for the handle separately, so it's fine to leave it in a semi-finished state."

"He's even procuring ore separately for the handle..."

Henrik wondered what kind of weapon this man intended to make from such a mysterious ore. His heart raced at the fact that he would be the one crafting it.

Grayson swelled with motivation as the ore seemed to need him.

It was an extremely rare sight given his gloomy personality.

Grayson couldn't take his hands off the ore. He could feel the ore's myriad emotions responding to his touch.

Above all, he had an instinct that his skills could process this ore. A gut feeling that this ore shouldn't be carved or cut down.

It seemed like something only he could do.

Then Grayson suddenly stopped moving.

As Grayson halted before beginning the processing, Henrik quietly approached to observe him. Having realized this was no ordinary ore, Grayson felt inner hesitation.

"Professor... my technique isn't perfected yet. Is this okay? I mean, if it's a weapon you'll be using... I want to make it properly..."

Understanding his concern, Henrik nodded and said.

"That won't be a problem. I'll supervise from the side."

"Really?!"

With his worry resolved, Grayson immediately channeled elemental mana into his gloves and carefully removed the stone fragments attached to the ore.

One by one, following the ore's whispers, he worked with such concentration that sweat beaded on his forehead as he processed everything from large to small fragments.

Henrik taught him the parts Grayson missed and how to apply the techniques from the side.

"For that part, concentrate mana at your fingertips to remove it."

"Like this?"

"That's right, not bad."

A chuckle escaped him.

Right now he was teaching Grayson, but in the old days, it had been the opposite.

When Grayson worked in his previous life, Henrik used to do small tasks alongside him. Making small arrowheads or repairing sword blades-such work was routine, but Grayson constantly interfering and offering advice was the daily norm.

'Now I'm the one teaching you.'

It felt fresh. Naturally, every point Henrik corrected was something Grayson had pointed out in his previous life.

He'd always loved talking about himself, so Henrik had learned much from him.

"..."

"..."

The two quietly processed the ore.

After considerable time passed and night deepened, Henrik gently placed his hand on Grayson's shoulder.

"That's enough for today."

"What? Already?"

Henrik pointed toward the window with his finger.

"Ah, it's already night."

"Bring the ore back tomorrow morning."

"...Of course, since it's a precious item... B-but!"

Grayson rarely voiced his opinion. It was an unusually proactive attitude.

"I can hear this ore's whispers clearly! I could definitely feel what the ore wanted. And the ore needs me too."

"Hmm..."

Henrik glanced at the Sephirum. He'd expected it, but there seemed to be something about the Sephirum. Especially enough to make that gloomy Grayson actively express his opinion. Being such a rare ore with strong divine power, it appeared capable of communicating with Grayson, who could hear the ore's whispers.

'Truly a mysterious ore.'

However, he couldn't leave the precious Sephirum here.

"I'll ask you later. Now isn't the time."

As Henrik shook his head, Grayson's shoulders drooped with disappointment.

Of course, Henrik planned to process the Sephirum outside the Academy if possible. If divine power burst out while processing the Sephirum and the demons hiding in the Academy reacted, it would be disastrous.

There was also the problem of figuring out how to hide the naturally emanating divine power once processing was complete.

Henrik wrapped the Sephirum in a bundle and quietly left Grayson's workshop.

"Finished your business?"

Just then, Tyson, who'd been relaxing leisurely, casually addressed Henrik. Henrik observed Tyson briefly before handing him an ore.

"I'd like to commission a weapon to use temporarily."

"From me? What about that Grayson you cherish so much?"

"I already commissioned him. Since he's starting from processing, it seems it'll take a long time. I need a weapon to use in the meantime."

"Hmm..."

Tyson nodded as if convinced.

"Well, my advantage is speed. So what kind of weapon do you want, brother?"

"A hammer. A silver hammer."

Tyson picked up the ore Henrik handed him and examined it carefully.

"High-purity silver? Quite the rich man, aren't you? Or maybe you've got some high-ranking noble backing you?"

Henrik thought of Ted.

"Moderately?"

"Hahaha!"

Volkan scratched his head sheepishly and continued.

"Well, what do I care about that. Come back tomorrow morning. Since you're a regular, brother, I'll make it right away."

"Alright."

Henrik leisurely left the blacksmith's workshop.

* * *

Walking down the street, Henrik spotted a familiar figure.

A rare person to see outside, which piqued his curiosity.

Swoosh-a man walking while carefully cradling a black box in his arms.

His extremely nervous appearance looked like he was hiding something while returning to the Academy.

"Ted."

As Henrik approached and called out to him, Ted jumped in surprise and dropped the box.

"Ah!"

As he let out a short groan, just before the box hit the ground, Henrik quickly kicked it up with his foot and caught it.

"Henrik!"

Ted trembled as he stared at Henrik.

His eyes held a complex mixture of half gladness, half resentment.

"Seriously, because of you I... Ugh, well, thanks anyway."

"Was it something important?"

"Of course, it's a very precious item."

Henrik inwardly chuckled watching Ted even remove his robe to wrap the box tightly. His excessively exaggerated behavior looked quite ridiculous even to Henrik.

"What were you doing that you're only heading back now?"

"Stopped by the blacksmith's workshop for a bit. Had to commission some equipment to prepare for what's coming."

Ted glanced at the bundle Henrik was carrying and nodded.

"I see."

"What about you?"

"Me? Pretty much the same, actually."

The fact that Ted was also preparing for future situations was rather intriguing. Henrik and Ted walked quietly toward the academy, continuing their conversation.

"So what exactly is that thing you're being so careful with?"

"Ah... well..."

Ted seemed reluctant to answer.

"Is it an artifact or some kind of magic tool?"

"No, nothing like that."

"A weapon then? A bomb, explosives, something like that?"

"Not that either."

"Then... poison?"

"What is wrong with the things you think of?!"

Ted burst out at Henrik's relentless questioning.

Catching the curious gleam in Henrik's eyes, Ted finally spoke.

"It's alcohol. Liquor. Very expensive liquor."