WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 006

──────

A Blacksmith’s Debut Battle

* * *

Early morning.

Today too, I gave the glow spell some practice, feeling like I was scratching a lottery ticket.

“Moon… please, moon… just a little magic for me…”

Yeah, unfortunately, it seemed like I had zero talent for magic.

I did about an hour of it and then went outside.

The sun had already risen.

I’d left the hide soaking in water overnight, but…

I guess I should say I wasn’t expecting much.

The hide I’d tanned was spotted-cow hide,

and it was far tougher than it looked.

So, I hadn’t figured it would turn out right overnight.

“Huh?”

Splash.

The hide I pulled out of the water had a smooth surface, but the grain was still intact.

Barely any grease, barely any smell.

It felt like it would go nice and soft the moment it dried a little more?

Even supple.

This, this right here, I could feel the Elves’ philosophy in it.

I hung the hides outside right away.

The sun was blazing, so they’d probably dry fast, but.

“It’s fine to dry them outside, right?”

[Actually recommended]

Good.

So what do I do with the spare time?

Yesterday, just in case, I hadn’t put all the hide into the water.

Who knew what would happen if I soaked the whole thing, so I couldn’t bring myself to put it all in.

In the end, there was one hide where all I’d really done was beat the hell out of it and leave it half-finished.

I was going to use this one to try making gloves first.

The nice soft hide would be ready soon enough anyway,

so this one would basically be practice, an experiment.

“Alright… let’s do this.”

I spread out the half-tanned hide.

It was a disaster, honestly.

The parts that hadn’t fully lost their grease were shiny, and the parts I’d scraped were too thin.

Well, it was practice material anyway.

I never intended to make a perfect glove out of this in the first place.

This was about getting the feel of it under my hands.

[Leatherworking]

The core of Dwarf leatherworking was cutting and sewing.

“Pull it up?”

I brought up the manual.

And then.

I focused.

How much time had passed?

- Sting.

“Ow.”

A bead of blood welled up on my finger.

Looked like I’d accidentally poked myself with the needle. I should probably watch out for tetanus… well, if I catch it, that’s just unlucky.

I lifted my head and looked outside.

“…?”

The sun was high overhead.

In this world, the only way to check the time was the position of the sun.

[3 PM]

“What are you talking about, how do you know that?”

[I checked it against the Outer Tower Community’s built-in clock?]

Wait, if you knew that, you could’ve told me sooner.

“…Anyway, how long was I at it?”

My focus was pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I’m the type who wins through sheer stick-to-it-iveness, glued to my seat.

[8 hours]

[Good work]

Oh, please, it wasn’t that much…

“Whoa, that was close.”

And in my hands,

sat a glove, seemingly on the verge of being finished.

“…Well then, let’s see.”

My personal opinion was simple.

What I was looking at was closer to a leather sack than a glove, but

you can’t fill your stomach with the first spoonful.

“Toss it, toss it. No wait. Give it to Eric. Eric.”

I’d worked hard at it, but between the weird hide and everything else, it just hadn’t come together.

Let’s just say the attempt itself was the point.

It seemed like it would suit Eric’s chubby hands well.

Still, I had to finish it off properly.

The final step in finishing a glove was to stand under the sun and let it soak up light for thirty minutes.

Something about it needing to take in the sun’s energy, or so it went.

Made sense, given they were called Sun Dwarves.

I took the glove and stepped outside.

I held the glove up, spread open, under the blazing sun.

Thirty minutes.

All I had to do was just stand there. It was the easiest step by far.

As I stood there blankly like that,

- Ssssss…

“Huh?”

A black pattern started etching itself into the bottom of the leather sack, no, the glove.

Slowly, a sun shape carved itself into the leather.

[That’s an engraving only elite blacksmiths, the Heirs of Flame, can carve.]

Yuna’s explanation continued.

[Apparently while you’re an apprentice, only the sun pattern gets engraved, and the number of patterns you can carve grows as your skill improves?]

[Looks like you can customize it a little too, make it prettier.]

“…Yeah?”

That wasn’t the important thing right now, though.

I waited for the next window.

[Would you like to register this?]

“Huh?”

A window popped up in front of me.

I blinked and pressed register.

─────────────────

[the Apprentice Blacksmith’s Greasy Gloves][☆☆☆☆☆]

[Compatibility Rating][-/10]

─────────────────

【You can’t fill your stomach with the first spoonful.】

『Toss it, toss it. No wait. Give it to Eric. Eric.』

- Civilian L -

─────────────────

The Compatibility Rating was blank since there was no wearer.

And on top of that, the words I’d muttered while making it were engraved verbatim.

Civilian L. That’s me, right?

Apparently, whatever the maker says gets engraved.

I think this is what people call flavor text… something like that.

Is there just no privacy at all here? Is it really okay for a line like that to get stamped on?

I couldn’t say a word after that.

“Whatever.”

It was practice material anyway.

What mattered was what number this would show for Dolores.

“I’ll register it.”

I registered the glove in front of me,

and pictured Dolores in my mind.

The status window rose up, and the glove slot opened.

Dolores’s gloves, still glowing white.

[Would you like to swap it?]

Yes.

And then, Dolores’s equipment changed to my leather glove…

[the Apprentice Blacksmith’s Greasy Gloves][☆☆☆☆☆]

[Compatibility Rating][2/10]

[The sun engraving slightly suppresses the Yin energy. However, the grease doesn’t suit the wearer’s standing.]

For starters.

There were several changes.

First, the Compatibility Rating had broken 2 for the first time.

And the wording itself was reasonably positive, and if I chalked up the grease issue to the hide never even being properly tanned in the first place, then…?

This, I could feel it.

Fast.

I hurried over toward the hide I’d hung out to dry.

But.

“…Hm?”

Someone was already there ahead of me.

The child Dolores kept close by.

Ruby.

“Oh, hey.”

I greeted her and moved naturally toward the hide, but

“…Hey.”

our cute but hard-headed little squirt blocked my way.

Fortunately, I’d just succeeded in my debut as a blacksmith,

and I was in a good enough mood to have some room to deal with her.

“What?”

“Is this yours?”

Ruby pointed at the hide hanging out to dry.

“Something like that.”

“For what.”

That wary look in her eyes, the same one she got when someone tried to steal her candy.

I thought it over.

Would she tell Dolores?

Whether she told her or not, whether I even had a reason to hide it,

or whether maybe Dolores had sent her here,

all of that flashed through my mind, but

I’d been told not to lie anyway.

“The Duchess looked cold to me.”

“…?”

“So I figured I’d make her some gloves.”

“Ha!”

Ruby let out a disbelieving laugh, then started spilling words in a rapid-fire burst.

“Teacher wears really, really nice gloves, you know? She’d never, ever wear something you made!”

“Sure, if you say so.”

Judging by her reaction, she seemed to have come here on her own, unrelated to Dolores.

I stepped past Ruby and headed for the hide.

“Grrgh…”

When I ignored her, she puffed out her cheeks.

Exactly the reaction I was hoping for.

It’d actually be great if she went and told Dolores outright.

If Dolores already knew ahead of time that I was doing something other than magic, it’d make explaining things later a lot easier.

But her pride turned out to be stronger than expected, apparently, since instead of going to Dolores, she followed after me without a word.

Hmm, this wasn’t great. I had no interest in babysitting.

I stopped in front of my door.

I had no intention of showing her the crafting process, so I turned to face her.

“Want me to tell you a secret?”

“…What.”

“I’m actually a Sun Dwarf.”

Somehow, that’s just how it turned out.

An Heir of Flame, no less.

And then.

- Slam.

I shut the door.

- Huh? Grrgh!!

I could hear Ruby fuming outside, but

‘If she goes and tells Dolores, great. If not, that’s fine too.’

I went back to my worktable.

And then.

I spread out the hide, now dried nice and soft.

Completely different from the practice one.

The grain was even, consistent, and it didn’t go stiff even when bent.

Now, it was just repeating what I’d already done.

Tracing the pattern, cutting, sewing.

Even the feel of the knife going in was different.

- Creak…

- Crunch.

The thread slid through the hole.

“…Agh.”

I pricked my finger once.

Once is fine. Earlier it had been three times.

This counted as growth too.

A few hours passed like that.

I stitched the final needle through and lifted the glove up.

It was nothing like the potato sack from earlier. At least it looked like an actual glove.

All that was left was the final step.

I took the glove and went outside. The sun hung low, setting. Cutting it close.

Before the sun went down.

I held the glove up, spread open, under the sunlight.

And then.

- Crackle…

The engraving began to carve itself in.

I’d made it, just barely.

Maybe because of the practice run, the second time around was noticeably smoother.

Watching the glove come together, I felt a swell of pride…

Wait a second.

I need to say something, don’t I?

If the maker’s words get engraved just like before, I should probably go with something a bit more polished this time.

This counted as my first real, proper piece of gear, after all.

I’d made it with Dolores in mind, put real care into it.

Ah, well, not exactly care. I’d made it because my position was on the line.

Anyway.

I cleared my throat and straightened my posture.

“Ahem. Ahem. Ahem. A rather fine leather glove. Exceptional warmth.”

Perfect. You could feel the dignity of a true artisan in that.

There, take that.

─────────────────

[the Apprentice Blacksmith’s Warming Gloves][★☆☆☆☆]

[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility Rating][-/40]

─────────────────

『Because I made it with care, thinking of Dolores…』

- Apprentice Blacksmith L -

─────────────────

What the hell?

No, seriously, what the actual hell.

“Wait, can everyone actually see this text?”

[Looks like you’d need to go to a high-level appraiser to see it]

[They print it out on an appraisal slip, apparently]

“Hah…”

I put a hand to my forehead.

Right, well…

Performance was what mattered.

As long as it performed well, that was enough.

The interesting part was that I’d been Civilian L earlier, but now I’d become an actual Apprentice Blacksmith.

Meant I’d grown, I guess.

It was even Unique Equipment, the only one of its kind in the whole world.

I took a deep breath.

My heart started pounding.

This had better go well.

I pictured Dolores in my mind.

The status window rose up. The glove slot.

Still glowing white, the 5-star White Gloves.

[Would you like to swap it?]

“Yes.”

And then, this time too, Dolores’s equipment changed to my leather glove…

[the Apprentice Blacksmith’s Warming Gloves][★☆☆☆☆]

[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility Rating][33/40]

[The sun engraving’s warming effect suppresses the amplification of the wearer’s Yin energy.]

[Meridian occlusion symptoms easing. 7 of 9 meridians progressing toward opening.]

“…”

I stared at that number.

1-star. A one-star warming glove had utterly demolished the 5-star White Gloves’ Compatibility Rating.

That wasn’t all.

Progressing toward opening. Not closure, opening.

The White Gloves had frozen things, holding back the progression while still pushing toward closure, but now it was the exact opposite.

Honestly, Dolores would understand what this meant better than I ever could.

“I did it.”

By my own standards, at least, this was a total success.

Before I knew it, the day of reckoning was tomorrow.

“Ah…”

Tonight, at least, I felt like I’d actually be able to sleep well.

* * *

Late in the evening.

The night before the appointed day.

“Mm, and then?”

“…For now, there’s no sign that he’s used magic.”

“Is that so?”

Dolores sipped her tea as she listened to the instructor’s report.

She hadn’t asked him to, but the instructor had taken to reporting on the child like this on his own.

What she’d heard boiled down to, well, the magic training hadn’t gone anywhere.

He’d spent it kneading leather and making strange gloves, and that was the end of it.

When Dolores said nothing, the instructor bowed his head and slowly took his leave.

Elysia von Dolores.

She set down her tea and thought.

“He seemed sharp enough.”

But he’d just… played around?

She hadn’t expected to be surprised like this.

“Guess I’d hoped for too much.”

She wasn’t disappointed.

Disappointment, after all, was an emotion that came bundled with expectation.

His eyes seemed sharp enough, but there was no point in it if he neglected his magic training.

Unless he was some kind of genius who needed no practice at all.

She brushed the stray hair off sleeping Ruby’s forehead and smiled faintly.

“I thought she might make a friend.”

Guess that didn’t work out.

* * *

I couldn’t sleep a wink.

I scratched off one last lottery ticket that morning too.

“Moon…”

Of course, the magic failed again today too.

But my heart felt light.

Because in my hands was a glove that looked, in its own way, pretty fancy.

The strange thing about spotted-cow hide was that once tanning finished, it turned black.

The glove I’d made ended up black, with a gray sun engraving on it, surprisingly decent-looking.

Honestly, that was mostly the hide doing the work, but.

“Hah…”

Please, somehow, work out.

In the end, it was the last supper. I was in the middle of eating lunch.

“Thanks, Lionel.”

“…Don’t mention it.”

“Good luck today.”

“…Thanks.”

Eric wore the glove I’d given him and grinned.

Give it to Eric, Eric, that’s right. I’d really decided to give it to him.

He said he’d been managing the ranch at night lately, and it kept his hands warm when he wore it.

Seemed like he’d given up on magic and found some enjoyment in farm work instead.

It actually suited him pretty well, a potato-sack glove on chubby hands. A perfect match.

In the end, I left the dining hall without even knowing whether I’d eaten through my mouth or my nose.

“She says to come after lunch.”

“Yes.”

The instructor was waiting for me. He hesitated a moment, then asked.

“Did you… succeed with the magic?”

Sorry, instructor. Turns out there’s no such thing as magic in this world.

“No.”

“…”

The instructor’s expression hardened.

He’d given me a whole week, and this meant the magic had failed.

“Deal with it yourself.”

He walked off just like that. Disappointment written all over his back.

It stung a little. But results speak louder than a hundred words.

I gripped the glove tucked in my clothes.

- Knock knock.

I rapped lightly on the cabin door.

- Come in~

I slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

A fragrant scent of tea.

Dolores greeted me with a bright smile.

“You’re here. The air’s been lovely, thanks to it… I’ve had a good week of rest and relaxation.”

“I hope today’s result gives you some relaxation too.”

“Hmm?”

When I spoke with unusual seriousness, Dolores’s eyes widened slightly.

She tilted her head and smiled.

“But according to Ruby.”

Dolores slowly turned her teacup.

“You didn’t do any magic, and just made gloves instead?”

She’d gone straight for it.

Based on my thirty years of experience,

the smile she wore right now was pretty close to a sneer.

Translated, it went something like this.

‘I told you that you had talent for magic, and you spent the whole week just making gloves?’

Beside her, Ruby crossed her arms and looked at me with a smug, confident expression.

“‘Show me something interesting’… those were your words.”

I opened my mouth.

“There could be ways to surprise you that don’t have to involve magic.”

And I pulled the glove out from inside my clothes.

Black leather, engraved with a gray sun.

My glove.

Over this past week,

I hadn’t just been making gloves.

I’d also spent spare moments researching Dolores.

And there was one thing I’d learned. Nowhere,

not on any wiki, not on any community forum,

was there any record that Dolores suffered from a condition called the Nine Yin Meridian Affliction.

Which meant no one knew. In that case, beating around the bush would be pointless. I needed to put the evidence right in front of her.

“I set out to make gear that would ease your Nine Yin Meridian Affliction.”

“…!”

Her eyes went wide. The air in the room froze.

Ruby tilted her head. Her eyes sank slightly, growing distant.

I went on slowly, but

“It’s slow, but it should gradually…”

“Having a mouth doesn’t mean you’re free to say anything with it.”

Dolores rose slowly to her feet.

“There are things that should never be said.”

- Slither.

A familiar sound came from behind her.

The scorpion tail.

“Where did you hear that?”

I turned my head, and Ruby was already fast asleep, face buried in the bed.

Had she put her to sleep? Magic really was terrifying.

Was this dangerous?

If I’d just been running my mouth with nothing to back it up, probably, yes.

“I’ve got pretty good eyes.”

“…”

The scorpion tail creeping toward me stopped.

Just as I thought, Dolores…

seemed able to tell truth from lies.

Which meant that, on the day we first met, telling me not to lie hadn’t just been some throwaway lecture.

If I was only speaking the truth, and she knew that,

“You’re welcome to kill me, if you like.”

Not that I actually wanted that, but I lifted the glove up.

“I put real effort into making this, after all.”

And then.

- Swish.

I flipped the glove over to show its underside.

I moved the hand I’d had raised out of the way,

revealing the pattern I’d been covering with my hand.

The gray sun engraving.

Dolores’s eyes. For the first time, they wavered.

One more thing I’d found in my research.

‘Gear made by an Heir of Flame, the elite among Sun Dwarves.’

Something that passed for legend in this world, known to just about everyone,

and desired by just about everyone too.

And with almost no one left alive who could make one.

“Would you like to try it on?”

And that very engraving sat carved into a glove made by some kid from an orphanage.

“…This is.”

Dolores’s gaze rose from the engraving up to my eyes.

The scorpion tail lowered slowly, crossing behind her.

I said nothing, just smiled.

“…”

She took the glove without a word.

And then.

“For the record, it’s the genuine article.”

Even if I was only an apprentice blacksmith.

I added, smiling.

Dolores looked at me for a moment.

- Slip.

Keeping her eyes fixed on me, she pulled off Gorgonyu’s White Gloves.

I naturally bowed my head and took the gloves from her.

That was the kind of weight a Sun Dwarf’s name carried.

Even gear handed over by some random kid was worth being fooled by, at least once.

Her hand was white.

White to the point of looking pale.

Dolores picked up my glove.

And… slowly put it on.

The reaction was immediate.

“…!”

Dolores’s eyes went wide.

The instant the black leather touched her hand, the gray sun engraving flashed.

And then.

- Trickle…

Water ran down from between the fingers of the glove.

Just a few drops.

Like ice melting and turning to water.

Dolores looked down at her own hand.

“…”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

I couldn’t know for sure, but

she surely knew. No, she could feel it.

[the Apprentice Blacksmith’s Warming Gloves][★☆☆☆☆]

[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility Rating][33/40]

[The sun engraving’s warming effect suppresses the amplification of the wearer’s Yin energy.]

[Meridian occlusion symptoms easing. 7 of 9 meridians progressing toward opening.]

Because her own physical sensation would hit far harder than a hundred lines of text ever could.

“…It’s warm.”

Dolores said. Her voice was quiet.

Head bowed.

“It’s warm.”

She said it again.

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