WeTried Translations
Translator: [IncomeElastic]
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈
Chapter 100
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Bringing In X-Tier Gear and Tormenting Everyone With It ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
* * *
After finishing the gear, I spent a while recuperating.
I'd been at it for nearly three months straight, so my body deserved some rest too.
The whole time I rested, I had a seaweed strip on my forehead, courtesy of my doctor, Camilla.
She told me to just keep it on quietly, so I did....
"Ooh."
It definitely felt like I was recovering faster than usual.
Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of standing in front of doctors.
Same in my past life, too. They were always yelling at me and giving warnings.
Waaah, scary.
[.............]
[I'm not sure what you mean by a doctor "yelling"...?]
Waaah, I don't know.
But the doctor I've got this time around is generous to an all-time degree.
She lets me do whatever I want as much as I like, as long as I properly rest when it's time to rest, so anyway....
"Good."
By my standards, that was great.
Eat well, sleep well. Sometimes go out for a walk in the garden, then come back and lie down again.
I wondered if it was okay to live this idly, but honestly, I had plenty to think over while resting.
『Now that you've made gear like that... more people will surely come looking for you.』
That was something Hareungar had said.
『From now on, all kinds of people are going to come looking for you, baby, for all sorts of reasons.』
That was something Gaia had said.
Dolores seemed quite fond of the emblem.
She'd probably wear it out often from now on... and someone might end up asking about it.
"... Hm."
If it had been like before, I'd have insisted on keeping it hidden, a secret no matter what... but this time, I found myself actually thinking it over.
"I guess it's about time I started gradually letting people know..."
The way I'd quietly revealed Ruby's Totality at the social gathering.
I pushed the seaweed strip sliding down my forehead back up with a finger.
Of course, I didn't mean I was about to throw open the doors and start taking customers right away, just that I figured I should start thinking about how much it'd be okay for people to know.
After all, my goal was to open a workshop and make gear for people.
Of course, my top priority was still Dolores and Ruby.
I'd only take on anyone else once I was done with them, but I'd also realized it wasn't bad to wander off the path here and there, like with Yeomhwa, making new gear along the way to pick up fresh inspiration.
"Both of them had been flowers, after all."
I figured getting my inspiration from flowers had turned out to matter a lot, in the end.
Not that Yeomhwa was some side path, though, she'd already been tucked snugly inside the fence around my heart.
Saved inside my heart.
Still, getting something from a complete stranger and picking up new inspiration from it seemed like a good thing.
I might end up making something I'd never have thought of otherwise.
"... But what should I take as payment?"
The price of crafting, in other words, what should I charge as a fee?
I mean, I did technically come up on the streets, from an orphanage, but that life was really short.
Not really enough to go around claiming any street cred.
After that, I'd grown up in plenty of luxury, lacking for nothing.
Maybe that's why I never really developed a sense for money.
I had absolutely no idea how much to charge....
"........."
I wanted to ask, but Dolores was currently off at the Tower because of tomorrow's climb.
"Guess I'll go check the community boards."
That was right when it happened.
- La-la-la~♪
A cute humming voice drifted in from the hallway.
"Oh."
Should I ask Yeomhwa?
Come to think of it, she was the one who'd first taught me the concept that gear should come with a price, after all.
The deliberation was short.
"Yeomhwa!"
- Freeze.
The humming cut off....
- Clack... clack....
Footsteps came closer, heading my way.
- Creak.
- Peek.
"Oh? Did Lionel call for me?"
"Yeah, there's something I wanted to ask about."
"What is it, what is it?"
Yeomhwa came pattering over.
- Hop!
and dove straight onto the bed Dolores usually lay in.
Right beside me.
She turned to face me right away.
"What's our little smarty-pants curious about?"
Yeomhwa said, smiling brightly and poking at my forearm.
"You told me before that blacksmiths usually get paid something when they make gear for someone, right?"
"Mm, I did."
"... I was thinking about what I should take as payment once I open my own workshop as a blacksmith."
"Ahh...."
Yeomhwa nodded, as if she understood exactly what I was worried about.
She rested her hand on her chin and seemed to think it over...
"... No idea!"
"Eh."
When I made a face like I didn't trust that, Yeomhwa quickly shook her head.
"Nuh-uh... I'm not joking around."
"Okay."
"I brought you a whole bunch of stuff last time, remember?"
"You did."
I honestly felt I'd gotten more than I ever expected as payment.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that was exactly why I'd managed to make such an outstanding divine implement.
"Personally, I think even three times that wouldn't have been enough...?"
"What?"
"But a lot of what I gave you is hard to put a price on anyway. So it's kind of hard to say exactly how much more I'd owe you."
That much...?
"So anyway, since I still owe you plenty, I was thinking I'd pay Lionel back with my body sometime."
"Whoa."
"Sounds good, right?"
"........."
No comment on that one, for now.
Whether or not she even realized she'd just made a mischievous joke, Yeomhwa kept smiling brightly, without a single shift in her expression.
There was no winning once you got swept up in Yeomhwa's pace.
So that's how it was, then....
Setting a fixed price in money sounded like it'd be tough on both sides.
"Honestly, baby, you can just do whatever you want."
"Is that so."
Yeomhwa nodded.
- Slide....
Her arm found its way to my back before I noticed, and started slowly stroking it.
"Right. Ask for a ton of materials, like you got from me. Honestly, aren't you the type who likes materials you can't even buy with money more than money itself?"
"That's exactly right."
"Then just say 'accepting rare materials~' and tell them to bring something. If you like what they bring, take it as the deposit and get to making."
"And if I don't like it..."
"Tell them to get lost. 'Bring something else~'"
Simple enough, but wasn't that running the business a little too on nerve alone?
There was no telling what people would even bring.
"... Heh heh, guess you don't like that either?"
"........."
When I couldn't come up with an answer, Yeomhwa burst out laughing.
"Aww, such a good boy... why's he so cute...."
- Squeeze....
Yeomhwa wrapped her arms around my back and slowly pulled me into her chest.
... She smelled of roses.
The hug felt different from Dolores's, and it threw me off a little.
"... Thanks, that helped me sort my thoughts out a bit."
"Mine aren't sorted yet."
"........."
She didn't seem to have any intention of letting go of the hug.
Patting my back gently, Yeomhwa leaned in and whispered quietly by my ear.
"Tomorrow's the day Dolores challenges the 146th floor."
"Yeah, I heard."
"Did you hear the test's theme too?"
"The theme...? No, I don't really know that part."
I didn't actually know all that much about the Tower.
Every ten floors there was a trial, and every fifty floors a great trial.
Every fifteen floors there was a gear verification office... and every fifty floors, an auction house?
The 150th floor was these days considered the benchmark for High Rankers, so I'd heard whether Dolores could clear it or not was a pretty big deal.
"The 146th floor is a team battle. Only the top four teams pass."
"A team..."
Did Dolores even have a team....
I was pretty sure the other Apostles of Dawn sisters were all on higher floors than her.
"Who's she going out there with?"
"By herself."
"........."
A team battle, but alone, so I figured everyone else must be entering solo too, and it was just called a "team" battle in name only....
"The other teams have about five people, I think?"
"What?!"
Five against one??
I tried to bolt upright, but the arm wrapped around my back held me firmly in place, and I couldn't.
"Wait, she's fighting five people alone?!"
"Yeah, calm down first, baby."
- Slide... slide....
Yeomhwa smoothed down my messed-up hair with her hand.
That actually helped calm me down a bit.
"It's fine, she'll probably kill them all."
That was a pretty extreme way to reassure someone....
"........."
"Oh, not literally kill them, I mean."
I'd been pretty startled.
"Big sister'll just bring you a good video tomorrow."
- Slide....
Yeomhwa whispered into my ear.
"Let's lie in bed and watch it together, okay?"
"... Yep."
"Good boy."
It was surely just going to be a battle video, but....
I nodded.
* * *
The next day came.
Dolores was probably already inside the testing grounds by now.
Yeomhwa had also left to go record Dolores's battle footage. She'd said we'd watch it together once she got back, but....
How was I supposed to wait that long.
"Guess I'll just watch it lying down."
I lay down on the bed and pulled up the community boards.
Honestly, there was something appealing about watching it raw first, not knowing anything, and then hearing it again through an expert's commentary.
The place to go was the live broadcast board built into the Tower's own system.
Like I'd said before, it was called a "board," but it was really more of a streaming platform.
I was finally about to see how Dolores fought with my gear on.
I typed "Dolores" into the search bar.
[146th Floor Climb Broadcast (Grand Duchess Dolores's Trial Entry)]
[21.1k ]
"... Twenty thousand people?"
There were already twenty thousand people watching.
The eyeball icon standing for viewer count was just common knowledge around here too.
The comment section scrolled up the moment I entered.
────────────────
- when's it starting?
- where's dolores
- other side
- guess she's really doing it solo
────────────────
- Looks like it'll be starting in about two minutes.
Maybe because this was a stream with a decent-sized audience, the streamer's own pacing felt pretty clean.
"Not out yet."
The footage itself felt like looking down from the stands of a huge arena.
Both gates on either side of the arena were closed... looked like each team would come out from there.
"........."
While I waited, I thought back on Dolores's Genesis Garden.
Rather than climbing the Tower the moment she'd received it, she'd taken time first to understand the gear.
She'd apparently spent an entire week using it with Yeomhwa, sparring and everything.
So... today would be the first time she actually put it to real use, I figured.
"Hope it goes well."
Right then, a booming sound came through the screen.
- Boom....
- Looks like they're entering now.
Five people walked out from the left.
Armor, a staff, arrows, they were clearly decked out head to toe in combat gear.
Then the opposite gate opened....
"Maman...."
Alone, just as expected.
She stepped into the arena, smoothing the hem of her dress a little as she walked.
But something... the gap in their outfits was way too extreme.
I suddenly got worried. She'd be fine, right?
────────────────
- off to some social gathering or something ㅋㅋ
- what is this fr
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ the gap is fucking wild
- guess she's planning to flash around and just beat the shit out of them
────────────────
"Flash."
Guess Dolores's Silver Palace had gotten pretty famous after all.
Right, if things got dangerous, she had Flash.
- Once this match ends, that's the top four teams settled right there.
So that meant an instant pass.
Right as the streamer finished explaining, both gates shut.
- Ba-baa-bam~
A trumpet blast rang through the arena, unmistakably signaling the start of the battle.
But Dolores just stood there where she was, quietly staring at the other side.
"......?"
I wondered if the battle hadn't actually started, but the other team's movements grew busy in earnest.
They seemed to be gauging the distance... the archer in back drew back their bowstring.
- Twang!
"Uh, uh...."
Almost at the same time, the mage standing next to them thrust out a staff too.
- Bang!
The instant the arrow fired, the mage seemed to do something, and the arrow suddenly grew larger.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
"The arrow!! Dodge!!!"
Before I knew it, I'd shot up from the bed and shouted, but....
- Crunch.
The arrow vanished right in front of Dolores's face.
And at the same time....
- Pop.
A single flower bud suddenly burst open behind Dolores.
"...... This."
This was it. That one.
The Flower That Wilts In Your Stead.
I stared at the screen with my mouth hanging open.
────────────────
- ??
- ????? what was that just now?
- where'd the arrow go?
- ?????
────────────────
Dolores glanced back once at the wilted flower bud behind her...
and smiled faintly, as if to say that would do.
As for why I knew that expression meant "that'll do"....
she made that exact same relieved face whenever she woke up in the morning and hugged me for about five minutes.
The other team clearly hadn't made it to the 146th floor by playing patty-cake either, and scrambled hastily to prepare their next attack.
But.
Dolores slowly extended her hand toward them.
- Tight.
and clenched it into a fist....
- KA-BOOOOOM!!!
A huge flower bloomed beneath all five of them, and a pillar of fire surged up and swallowed them whole.
The whole screen turned red.
- uh, uh... that... holy shit...?
The streamer stammered.
Right after, letters lit up on the arena's scoreboard.
[Team A Wins]
For reference, Maman's team was Team A....
- G, Grand Duchess Dolores has passed the trial....
I checked the match timer in the corner.
[00:10]
Only ten seconds had passed....
"Insane...."
I put a hand to my forehead, my mouth hanging wide open.
This was the emblem...?
Genesis Garden...?
The comment section froze for a moment, nothing coming up at all, but....
before long, it exploded.
────────────────
- holy shit
- wait, wasn't the grand duchess an earth mage??
- is that gear too??
- ??
- ?????
- what the fuck??
────────────────
Kargon: Genesis Garden... the showcase seemed to have gone well.
────────────────
- fucking hell, where's she keep pulling this shitty broken gear from, she's wrecking everyone ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
────────────────
Pretty successfully too, apparently.
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