WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

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◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 044

──────

A Glorious Homecoming

* * *

I'd succeeded in making the divine implement.

"There's no time to waste!!!!!"

No need to deliberate. I'd spent a month and a half grinding myself into the ground for this.

I should head straight for the imperial family and hash this out.

Actually, not even "hash out." I just needed to deliver the divine implement.

And the most important part.

What should I ask for as a reward?

I'd already thought of a few options, and the lightest, simplest one was this.

An ultra-high-heat furnace facility.

The reason I needed to go through the imperial family for this specifically...

Once you get to furnaces, that means you're serious about actually doing something. For real.

It's simply a different caliber of thing.

What does that mean, exactly?

A furnace, once lit, can never be allowed to go out.

If it goes out, that's just a full-blown disaster.

It has to run for years straight, bubbling away without a break.

So this wasn't the kind of request like, "just set me up with one hearth, please."

'I'm going to build an entire factory.'

I'm going to plant a permanent ironworks right in the heart of the Duchy.

That's what it amounts to.

Given that the Duchy and the imperial family are cooperative partners while also constantly keeping each other in check.

Normally, the process for something like this could get complicated.

"They'd have no reason not to grant it."

I curled the corner of my mouth up.

But even that was, at the end of the day, a secondary request.

The real one was something else entirely.

"Maman! Let's go to the imperial family!"

"....."

Dolores looked at me and smiled softly, then

dragged me off somewhere.

"D-Dolores?"

"Lionel."

She sat me down in a chair in her study

and took the seat across from me.

"If there's something you want..."

"Yes."

"You need to learn how to secure it cleanly."

And so Duchess Dolores's lecture began.

It wasn't a long talk, but I came away knowing a lot more.

And I brought up something I'd been turning over in my mind for a while.

Was this even possible? Was it the kind of thing you could actually ask the imperial family for?

"...It won't be easy, but it's certainly worth bringing up."

"That's a relief."

"There's likely a contract term in the way, so it might not happen right away, but it's still worth raising."

Good.

That was enough. It wasn't something I needed right away.

I just needed to be able to secure supply, eventually.

That much settled the question of compensation, for now.

"More importantly, Lionel."

"Yes."

"Can you show me the earrings now?"

"Oh, of course."

Dolores had seemed curious about my earrings ever since yesterday.

I took out the case and opened it in front of her.

"................."

She held the case and stared at the earrings without a word for a long while.

"...................."

Her eyes went wide at first,

then her expression shifted through, I don't know, all kinds of things.

Her eyes softened, her mouth fell open,

surprise, some feeling too hard to name, all sorts of things, really.

Sure, I'd made it well.

But I hadn't expected it to leave her this stunned.

And then, finally,

- Grab.

"It's, it's lovely... beautiful. The Princess will love it."

"....."

Dolores held the case out to me.

Her voice had cracked, just slightly.

I reached to take it, but

- Grab.

"....."

Dolores tightened her grip, just barely, and wouldn't let go.

Ah.

Sure, I don't understand a woman's heart.

[Facts.]

I really don't have a fucking clue, but I could tell exactly why Maman was acting like this.

"There's a word: prototype."

The first time I looked up its etymology, I was a little surprised.

It means "the first original form," but its root, surprisingly, was "to strike," "to hit."

So the original meaning was apparently a mark left by a blow, a trace hammered into being. A shape stamped from a mold.

"It means 'the original form.'"

I looked down at Dolores's hand, still gripping the case.

"....."

"From now on, I think I can make things even prettier and more precious than this."

It wasn't flattery. I really meant it.

I said it with a grin, and

"Dolores, would you be willing to take the ones that come after this...?"

At my question, Dolores smiled brightly,

"Of course. Naturally."

- Slip.

and let her grip on the case relax.

Maman, you're greedier than I thought.

* * *

The heart of the Empire.

The Imperial Palace.

A month had passed since the birthday banquet.

The Princess's days were visibly improving.

Even though she was still young, she used to ration out every day by the hour.

Even opening her eyes had felt like labor, and she'd often had to grab the railing partway up a staircase.

If she stared at documents too long, the letters would blur.

So she was always calculating.

How many hours she could hold out today. Where she needed to hold something back.

That was why she'd always been sparing with her expressions, too.

Inside the palace they called it composure, cool-headedness, but the truth was she simply couldn't spare even the strength to smile.

Lately, though.

"....."

The Princess touched a hand to the corner of her mouth.

She'd just been smiling, for no reason at all.

Even after that extravagant waste of energy, her body still had strength left over.

That child had been right.

No. That person had been right.

When she'd formally petitioned him to take on the commission, it had felt like grasping at straws.

What could a thirteen-year-old possibly do, she'd never said it out loud, but some corner of her heart had clearly thought exactly that.

After all, human blacksmiths didn't exist anymore.

So she'd simply let the time pass.

Her body kept getting better and better. It really had been the necklace, the true culprit all along.

The same was true for the Prince.

Today, her brother had gone out riding.

'...This can't be real.'

This was someone who used to spend three days sick in bed after half a day of walking.

Someone who hadn't gone anywhere near a stable in nearly ten years, let alone climbed into a saddle.

An impossible thing.

Which only made her more excited.

'I wonder what that person will bring this time.'

What would the young blacksmith bring?

'It'll probably take a full year, at least.'

According to her father, His Majesty, who had dealt with blacksmiths before,

once they started forging something, it took well over a year.

She was more than used to waiting, but this time felt like it would drag on unusually long.

Just as she was thinking she'd have to hold onto this happiness for an entire year,

"...Your Highness."

Richard, who should have been out helping her brother ride today, had come to find her.

"House Dolores says they're bringing the item."

"...What?"

"As soon as tomorrow..."

"Wait... is that really true...?"

Didn't they say a year...?

This too, she simply couldn't believe.

* * *

Was this what a glorious homecoming felt like?

Honestly, it wasn't my hometown, and I wasn't really coming back either, but...

I'd made it into the palace.

For one thing, this was different from last time, when I'd only been as far as the banquet hall out on the palace grounds.

This time, I was heading straight into the Imperial Palace itself.

Ruby said she'd rather stay home and read today, so she didn't come.

I'd sent word just yesterday.

Told them I'd be coming tomorrow, so they should have appraisers and everything else all set up.

Of course, I didn't phrase it quite that bluntly.

『I will be visiting with an item in hand. Verification of its suitability for wear by a member of the imperial family will be required.』

Words like that sound a lot more convincing when Dolores writes them for you.

God. Tier. Maman.

Anyway, I was confident, so whatever.

For reference, I'd also brought along the Sun Rising Pendant and the Moonlight Essence Necklace for the verification.

We headed straight for the audience chamber.

Having the Emperor there would also make it easier to get my request approved.

"If it's the audience chamber, His Majesty should be there."

Luckily, he was.

- Clack... clack....

The corridor was long.

Our footsteps echoed with a low hum, which meant there weren't many people around.

And that probably meant not just anyone could walk in here.

In my hands was the earring case, wrapped neatly.

After walking for who knows how long, the attendant leading the way stopped in front of a door.

"Presenting Her Excellency, Grand Duchess Dolores."

- Creak....

The massive doors swung open to either side.

[Dolores moves first. Stay half a step behind her, big brother.]

Got it.

I followed slowly behind her, taking in the audience chamber as I went.

'...Wow.'

The moment I stepped in, I was silently impressed.

I'd told them to set everything up properly, and they really had gone all out.

At the very front, in the highest seat, sat the Emperor, of course.

Below him sat the Princess, and beside her, the Prince.

A step off to the side stood a familiar face. Richard.

And to one side,

today's special guests stood crowded together.

Appraisers.

Not just one, but several.

Human appraisers were apparently less reliable than dwarves, so maybe they needed cross-verification.

Each held a magnifying glass, and the elderly man standing at the very front wore a monocle over one eye.

They must have gathered all these people in a single day.

Even in a fight whose outcome was already decided,

with a stage set up like this, feeling tense was only natural.

Not that I was nervous, exactly.

'Just... excited for what was coming?'

- Slip.

Dolores, walking ahead of me, stopped and bowed her head.

"I greet His Majesty the Emperor."

I bowed too, half a step behind her.

"Lionel, of House Dolores. I greet His Majesty."

The formalities themselves, my body had gotten pretty used to by now.

You get better at anything with practice. Even this.

Only the setting had changed.

"Rise."

The Emperor's voice settled over the chamber.

"Good to see you, Duchess. I didn't expect to see your face again so soon."

"I too am overjoyed to see Your Majesty again so soon."

"It's hardly been any time at all since our last meeting."

The Emperor leaned back against his seat.

"Let's get to the point."

His gaze dropped.

Past Dolores, and onto me.

"As I understand it, it usually takes a blacksmith more than a year to forge a single piece of gear."

"....."

"I didn't expect you back so soon. Ha."

It wasn't phrased as a question, but I figured he meant it for me.

A blacksmith who'd shown up with the finished piece after just a month.

I hadn't realized. Apparently a year was the usual expectation.

I'd figured more like three, six months.

It struck me all over again: the blacksmiths of this world were way too lazy.

I answered evenly.

"Isn't it usually the ones without skill who need more time?"

At that confident remark of mine,

the audience chamber went quiet for a moment.

Just as I started to shrink back, wondering if I'd said something wrong,

"Ha ha ha ha!"

the Emperor burst out laughing.

"That's right. Exactly right."

- Tap.

He rapped the armrest once, then said,

"I suppose that's not wrong."

Luckily, it seemed I'd hit his taste square on.

I'd noticed it before, too: the Emperor seemed to like confidence.

The Emperor's smile faded as he pointed to my right.

Toward the row of men holding magnifying glasses.

"Please, don't misread why I've called so many of them here."

"....."

"It's not because I doubt you. It's simply the procedure for anything meant to touch a member of the imperial family."

Fair enough. The necklace last time had also passed appraisal with a perfect rating.

They'd been burned badly once. Tighter procedures were only natural, maybe.

"So bear with the inconvenience a little, if you would."

"It's fine."

Now, the moment to hand over the item.

- Slip.

Dolores stepped lightly aside,

leaving me to carry the case toward the Princess alone.

A piece I'd poured a month and a half of myself into.

My legs had buckled working the treadle. I'd pulled all-nighters twisting wire.

Made while staring at the Princess's face like a madman.

'This feels strange.'

A sensation I hadn't felt in a long time.

It felt just like a thesis defense.

You push a paper you've poured years into across the table to the committee,

then get all but chased out of the room, left sitting alone in the hallway to wait.

That feeling of waiting to be called back in.

That was exactly the feeling.

But there was one difference between me back then and me right now.

I smiled and knelt on one knee.

This time, I was sure of myself.

"The Cradle of the Earth."

I said, and opened the case.

- Click.

With a small sound, the lid folded back.

The chamber's light poured inside,

and the Green Jade drank it in.

That was the heart of the Elf tribe's gem-cutting technique.

"....."

No one spoke.

The first to react was the Princess, right in front of me.

"...Ah."

A short breath escaped her.

Her expression softened.

She covered her mouth with one hand, unable to tear her eyes from the case.

When people see something that genuinely delights them,

the first thing to soften is always the eyes.

That was exactly how the woman before me looked right now.

Maybe it was because I'd stared at her face so much these past two weeks I was nearly sick of it,

but I could tell she'd put on a little weight and looked healthier.

'She looks good.'

I could tell just how much life that necklace had drained from her.

The Princess, still gazing at the earrings,

suddenly-

- Slide.

reached a hand toward them.

'...Huh?'

Wait, was she about to put them on right now?

But her expression stayed soft-eyed and dazed.

"Your Highness, the appraisal isn't finished yet."

Despite Richard's urgent objection,

"Right....."

she said, agreeing.

And yet her hand kept reaching anyway.

Her words and her hand weren't listening to each other.

Just as her hand was about to touch the earrings,

"Your Highness the Princess."

"Ah, yes. Yes... yes, I understand."

Called twice, her hand finally drew back, reluctant.

Even after pulling back, her hand hovered lost in midair before she finally gripped the hem of her own dress.

"It's, it's so beau-, beautiful...."

she murmured quietly.

"R-really, it is."

Once more.

Thankfully, it really seemed to have won her over.

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