I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With - Chapter 62

WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 62

──────

A Mother's Scolding

* * *

“……”

The moment I took the ore in my hand.

- Thud-thud-thud!

The bathroom door at the back of the room flew open.

“Li- Lionel...?”

Dolores came dashing out.

Whether she'd just been getting ready for bed or had just woken up, I couldn't tell.

She had a robe thrown over a thin nightgown.

Water was still dripping from the ends of her not-quite-dry hair.

“What's wrong? Are you hurt anywhere-”

“I'm fine.”

Once she'd confirmed I was okay, Dolores let out a long breath.

Wait, though.

It's dark outside.

I could've sworn I fell asleep before the sun even went down.

“What time is it right now?”

“It's... a little past five in the morning now.”

“What?”

I really slept a long time.

I fell asleep around six, so...

that's almost eleven hours?

“You said you'd only sleep an hour, but you were sleeping so soundly that...”

She smiled and came closer.

“I was worried, sleeping so long...”

Dolores came up to the bed and cupped my cheek.

“I'm glad. That you woke up safe.”

There's something Dolores always does the moment I wake up.

The good-morning forehead kiss.

Actually, she does it even when I haven't woken up.

And she seems to do it fairly often even when it isn't morning.

Anyway.

- Smooch.

Today wasn't much different.

Only after she'd kissed my forehead did she...

look down at the White-Fire Crystal in my hand.

She seemed to notice it wasn't anything ordinary.

“...You've had quite the stroke of fortune.”

“Seems like it.”

- Ruffle, ruffle.

She stroked my hair.

It's still just ore for now, but soon it'll be a hammer.

Because I'm going to make it one.

Wait, does that make today day two in the Tower?

The Tower Invitation only lets you stay one night, two days total.

Since I woke up before dawn, I could still count on having the whole day ahead of me.

“Lionel, what do you want to do today?”

Before I could even answer,

“Once it's light out, Maman... no, let's just have breakfast together first.”

Did she just say "Maman"?

She really seems to be fond of that title, huh.

“After that, want to go up to the 89th floor too? We could look around that workshop you were curious about, go to the market and pick up whatever materials you need. Or the 5th floor's nice too... that's nice too...”

Dolores's voice was a little more excited than usual.

She'd probably spent the whole time I was asleep planning out today's entire schedule.

“For lunch, we could try something you can only eat here in the Tower. And if we still have time left over-”

“Dolores.”

“Yes?”

“Let's go home.”

“……”

Dolores blinked.

There's nothing left to gain here.

I've seen Dwarf Company.

I've met Boldr.

And on top of that, I've even got good ore in hand now.

A quick trip home, then making the hammer.

That was the priority.

And also.

'I still need to hurry up and make the underwear too!!!!!!'

I hugged the White-Fire Crystal tight to my chest and tried to climb out of bed.

Let's get home quick, yeah?

“……”

Dolores stared at me for a moment after I said that...

“No, you may not.”

“Huh?”

She turned me down. Lightly.

* * *

Just because Dolores turned me down,

it's not like she actually meant to lock me up in the Tower or anything.

“...Since you've received Gaia's grace, you ought to pay your respects to her.”

“Ah.”

If there was no more business left on the dwarves' floor, she meant, then before we left the Tower we should stop and greet her once.

Hearing that, it clicked right away.

Come to think of it, that was fair.

I was the one she chose.

Plus, according to what Boldr had said,

even when countless gods turned their backs on the Sun Dwarves, Gaia was the one who never withdrew her grace.

The timing lined up rather well.

Disappearing without a single word of greeting to a goddess like that, after taking exactly what I needed and nothing else?

'That's a bit...'

Once the Invitation ran out, I probably wouldn't be able to come back for another five years or so.

Even with the hammer this urgent, I had time to say a word of thanks.

“Fortunately, we don't have to go far.”

As it happened, the 5th floor, the one Dolores ruled,

was apparently where the largest temple dedicated to Gaia stood.

Interesting.

There's a huge temple in Dolores's own duchy too.

If the 5th floor has one as well, then...

“……”

Is Dolores maybe a BIG FAN of Gaia?

A devoted believer, or something like that.

We headed straight for the Tower's inter-floor transport.

In my hand was a pheasant skewer bought in the dwarf village.

I'd wondered what kind of pheasant this could possibly be, grilled like this, but it turned out to be surprisingly good.

The skin was nice and chewy.

“Nom.”

The White-Fire Crystal.

Meeting Boldr.

Dwarf Company's corruption.

Gaia's flower.

It had been a fruitful trip, in more ways than one.

“Take us to the 5th floor.”

“Confirmed.”

Dolores took my hand and spoke to the attendant,

and the transport activated right away.

- Whirrrr...

As we stepped onto the device, the pattern engraved beneath our feet lit up,

and I felt my body float for a brief moment.

Then.

- Fwoosh!

The scenery around us changed completely.

The first thing I noticed was different: the smell.

The scent of metal and fire, or maybe coal.

Unlike the dwarves' floor, which had reeked of smoke,

“...... Sniff sniff.”

here it smelled of wet earth and grass.

And.

“Wow...”

It's huge.

Broad avenues paved in pure white stone...

and lampposts standing at even intervals along the road.

Here and there, canals and flowerbeds threaded through the streets,

and beyond them stood rows of massive buildings, one after another.

How should I put it.

It felt like looking at the imperial palace inside the Tower.

Compared to the dwarf village we'd just left, this place had the air of serious old money.

“Is this the 5th floor?”

“Yes. It's one of the residential floors where the largest number of people in the Tower live.”

And Dolores rules over a place like this...?

That's no joke.

The atmosphere was completely different from the dwarves' floor.

Stepping out of the transport station, the view filling my eyes only grew grander.

Most of the people on the street were human.

Some looked like climbers, others were just ordinary residents in plain clothes instead of armor.

There were a lot of humans.

There really were a lot of humans, but...

Here and there, some people stood out unusually.

Most were slender, though not especially tall... hm...

long limbs, good proportions, everything filled out right where it should be.

Just objectively speaking, great bodies.

Not so different from humans, but their ears stretched out long and pointed to the sides.

“Their ears are pretty unusual, huh?”

“They're the Elves.”

“...... The Elves?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Wait, what?

The Elves?

I stopped chewing my skewer and looked at them again.

No wings on their backs.

And while they definitely weren't tall,

at least they weren't as small as I'd imagined.

No, wait.

“Aren't Elves supposed to be, like, this big?”

I held up my thumb and index finger to show something the size of a palm.

“With clear little wings and everything.”

“Ah.”

Dolores laughed, seeming to catch on to what I'd mixed up.

“Elves are smaller in build on average, but not that small.”

Then she added,

“That kind of fairy only exists in human imagination.”

“Oh, that...”

I looked them over once more.

A build similar to humans.

Long, pointed ears.

This wasn't what I'd pictured when I heard "Elves" at all...

No, wait.

Anyone from the modern world with even a passing knowledge of fantasy would think exactly the same thing.

'...oh. So THIS is what an Elf actually looks like.'

So this world just filed real fantasy Elves under a name that made me picture something completely different.

Hold on.

Now that I think about it.

That floor war between the Elves and the dwarves...

It all suddenly made complete sense.

I don't know why, but...

'Elves and dwarves.'

That's traditionally known as a combination that never got along, after all.

That gave me a bit of a chill.

So this really was Elf technology I'd gotten my hands on…

With that unexpected realization,

Dolores and I made our way toward Gaia's temple.

Its name, apparently, was the Grand Temple of the Earth.

But something I noticed as we walked was...

“Lady Dolores.”

A passerby recognized Dolores and bowed their head.

“Good morning, Lady Dolores.”

Every single person who spotted Dolores stopped in their tracks to greet her.

From ordinary residents to armored climbers.

Humans, of course, but even the long-eared Elves.

Dolores met each of their eyes one by one and returned every greeting.

Her title of Duchess went unspoken, but considering this was the Tower,

that just meant this was her standing even here.

I found myself thinking, once again,

our Maman really is the best.

We passed down the avenue like that,

and finally arrived in front of the Grand Temple.

Seen up close, the temple was even more massive than it had looked from a distance.

Past the open front gates stretched a sanctuary large enough to fit hundreds of people at once.

Inside, for some reason,

a faint scent of wet earth and grass drifted through the air.

Instead of a ceiling, branches stretched overhead.

A rather unusual style of construction, but with sunlight filtering through the gaps...

hm, there's a real sense of philosophy to it. Not bad.

“Lady Dolores.”

Her popularity was the same inside the temple too.

People at prayer rose one by one from where they knelt and bowed their heads.

Even the priests placed a hand over their hearts in respect.

“You've returned.”

“Yes. It's been a while.”

She returned the greeting,

“Let's go.”

and pulled me along by the hand.

“Weren't we here to pray?”

“We are.”

Hmm...

The sanctuary's that way, though.

“We need to go a little further in.”

A little further in?

I tilted my head but followed her anyway.

Not that it was far.

Right beside the crowded main sanctuary,

there was a small wooden door, half-hidden behind a pillar, easy to miss.

The priest guarding it saw Dolores and, without asking a single question, opened it for us right away.

“Please, take your time and pray.”

“Thank you.”

This seemed to be Dolores's own personal prayer room, apparently.

- Creak.

Once we stepped inside, the door closed quietly behind us.

Compared to the main sanctuary, it was a remarkably modest space.

At the front stood a stone-carved statue of Gaia and a low altar.

A sweet scent lingered here too.

Wet earth and grass.

The same smell as the forest where I'd first met Gaia.

- Shff.

Dolores knelt on the cushion in front of the altar.

She folded both hands neatly over her chest.

I watched her for a moment beside her, and then,

- Shff.

did the same.

This kind of thing, you know,

if you just copy whoever's in front of you, you're halfway there, right?

Dolores closed her eyes.

“I give thanks always to the embrace of the earth. Thank you for the blessings you've granted, and for the mercy with which you always watch over us.”

Then, after hesitating a moment,

“Yesterday, in all the confusion, I left without properly paying my respects.”

Dolores bowed her head deeply.

I hurried to follow suit and bowed my head too.

What am I supposed to say?

It felt a little dishonest to just repeat what Dolores had said word for word.

Before we came in, she'd told me,

there was no need to be formal, I could just say whatever I wanted to say.

So I just went with,

“Thank you too.”

I said it honestly.

“For giving me the flower. And for coming to see me in person the moment I entered the Tower.”

I lifted my head and looked at the statue.

“Thank you for liking the Cradle of the Earth too.”

Then, after thinking for a moment, I added one more thing.

“The way you looked wearing it... was really, incredibly beautiful.”

At that moment.

- Shhh...

The scent drifting through the room grew a little stronger.

Interesting.

Guess that means she wasn't displeased.

“Once I leave the Tower now... I probably won't be able to properly come back until about five years from now.”

That's a little disappointing, honestly.

“I'll be looking forward to the day we meet again.”

That should be about right.

I think I did pretty well, clean and simple.

Of course, I still plan to keep sending divine implements.

Who else would I send them to besides Gaia?

“……”

But then I felt something strange beside me.

Dolores was still bowed with her head down, her hands folded neatly on her knees.

- Flinch, flinch.

“Y-yes. Yes. Yes... I fed him.”

It sounded like she was answering something.

“I peeled him fruit too... What? A skewer doesn't count as a real meal... but he's just such a picky eater... Yes.”

Her head kept sinking lower and lower.

“Yes... I'll make sure to feed him properly from now on. But actually, this seems like something Gaia doesn't need to concern herself with... ah, yes, yes...”

Her shoulders were trembling.

She looked kind of like someone getting scolded.

“Yes, but I'll handle it myself, yes, I'll take care of it...”

No answer.

“Do- Dolores?”

“Hm, oh, it's nothing. It seems Gaia is quite fond of you too.”

The moment she said that.

- Shff...

Beneath the statue,

on a patch of bare earth where nothing had been before, a single flower bud.

- Pop.

poked its head out.