WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 67

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Underwear

* * *

There's a thing in this world called a communication crystal.

It's an object that projects the other person's face and surroundings onto the crystal's surface.

If I had to compare it to the technology from my past life, it's basically the equivalent of an internet video call.

The catch is that it definitely isn't a phone.

Two crystals are bound together as a pair, so each one only connects to its matched partner.

In other words, it's not the kind of thing where you punch in a number and reach whoever you want.

Think of it more like each orb comes pre-assigned to whoever it's supposed to talk to.

So the usual setup is that the imperial family hands one down to each noble house.

If you want to reach House Dolores, you need the crystal that's paired with House Dolores.

After the Tower appeared... most communication ended up handled through the in-Tower messenger system instead.

Only the truly formal customs, things like written letters, survived alongside it.

Communication crystals are, for all practical purposes, obsolete.

And yet.

"The Princess never climbed the Tower, so she used one?"

[Yep. That's right.]

I'd been summoned by Dolores and was on my way to her office right now.

Well, Yustia had probably contacted Dolores first,

but the actual business was obviously with me, so it seemed like I'd need to take the call myself.

I'd been getting ready.

- Knock, knock.

I rapped on the office door.

"Come in."

She told me to come straight in.

- Creak.

I opened the door.

In the middle of the office, a crystal sitting on the desk was glowing.

- Fzzt, fzzt.

Yeah, the picture quality's garbage as always.

Still, up close, I could at least make out a face and expressions.

Yustia was sitting there on the crystal's screen.

- Ah! Master Craftsman Lionel!

Master Craftsman.

Now that's a title that never gets old to hear.

"Good day, Your Highness."

I answered simply and started to move.

Except there was nowhere to sit.

I circled around the desk toward that side of the room, but...

- Pat, pat.

She gave her own lap a light tap,

and, still seated behind the desk, spread her arms open.

'Come here.'

She mouthed it silently, and the moment I got close...

Dolores, as if she'd been waiting for exactly this, caught me by the waist and pulled me right onto her lap.

The crystal was probably showing the two of us side by side now.

"Your Highness. Lionel is still too short to fit into the crystal's frame on his own, so I'm afraid I'll have to hold him like this. I hope you'll forgive the discourtesy."

- ......... Of course.

And so, held in her arms,

I ended up taking the call with Yustia.

- Ahem, Master Craftsman Lionel! It's nothing serious, it's just... something's changed with the earrings...!

"Yes, I was expecting as much. There's no need to worry, though, since..."

I folded my hands on the desk and rested my chin on them, trying to strike a pose.

Never mind that the chair I happened to be sitting on was Dolores, which somewhat ruined the effect.

"To cut to the point, nothing's gone wrong. If anything, the performance should be better than before."

- Oh, I see...

Yustia, crackling faintly on the far side of the screen, nodded over and over.

"Yes, so please feel free to keep wearing them without any worry. They suit you well."

- ...Yes! I will!

She smiled brightly and let her lips part, then hesitate, a few times.

She seemed to be debating whether to say something.

- And... congratulations on becoming a Skilled Blacksmith from a Certified Blacksmith.

"......?"

How did she find out about that?

'Ah, the Origin Script.'

Must have changed there too, then.

Sounds like she called in an appraiser in a hurry to check on the earrings.

"Thank you."

- Of course...

That covered the business at hand.

But Yustia didn't end the call.

- Fidget, fidget.

I felt Dolores's fingers idly stroking my thigh,

and wondered if there was something else she wanted to say.

I kept going through the formal after-sales-service checkup a maker was supposed to do.

"By any chance, has there been any discomfort while wearing the earrings?"

- None at all! I'm always so grateful. My brother and I both feel that way...

"That's a relief to hear. If any problem does come up later, please reach out anytime."

- Yes, I certainly will.

"......."

And still, the call didn't end.

Hm... if she's lingering like this, she must have something on her mind.

- Fidget, fidget, fidget.

Just as Dolores's hand started stroking my thigh a little more often,

Yustia's lips parted a few more times.

Then, finally.

- Um...!

"Yes?"

- There's going to be a New Year's Grand Banquet at the imperial palace early next year.

The New Year's Grand Banquet.

I think I'd heard something about that before.

I'd heard it was a social event attended by most of the Empire's high nobility, on top of the imperial family itself.

- Would Master Craftsman Lionel be attending, by any chance?

"Well..."

I hesitated over the answer.

Honestly, I had zero desire to go.

Just thinking about it exhausted me.

But I did technically belong to a ducal house, and Dolores and Ruby would probably be attending, so...

Dolores would know better about something like this than I would.

I lowered my hand under the desk

and, onto the thigh of the woman I was sitting on,

- Slide, sk.

traced a single question mark with my index finger.

'Am I going or not?'

Dolores, catching my meaning right away, immediately drew something back on my own thigh with her finger.

- Sk, sk.

Two crossing lines.

An X. Meaning no.

"It looks like only Ruby will be attending, most likely."

- Pat, pat.

Dolores stroked my thigh as if praising me for doing well,

and I felt her arms tighten faintly around me.

By contrast.

- Oh...

Yustia's expression visibly drooped.

- I see...

"Yes."

There didn't seem to be anything left to say,

and I felt like it was time to wrap the call up.

"If any issue does come up while you're wearing them, please don't hesitate to contact me."

- ...Yes, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day. Congratulations again on becoming a Skilled Craftsman.

Yustia smiled and nodded.

"Not at all, Your Highness. Thank you as well."

- Yes. Then I'll see you again next ti...

- Fzzt.

Right along with Yustia's words, the light from the crystal dimmed.

Then the screen went out completely.

"...I think the call just dropped?"

Man, this thing is really garbage. The crystal, I mean.

"Yes, it seems so."

Just then.

"By the way, Lionel?"

"Yes?"

"You said something about becoming a Skilled Blacksmith. What did you mean by that?"

Come to think of it, I never actually explained it to Dolores.

"After I finished the hammer last night, it seems I became a Skilled Blacksmith."

"Oh my."

She looked genuinely surprised.

"Congratulations, Lionel."

"It's nothing much."

I shrugged like it was no big deal.

"After all, it's me."

A man's gotta show off in front of his woman, right?

Not that I'm calling Dolores my woman or anything, but anyway.

A small laugh sounded from above my head.

"Heh."

- Pat, pat.

Dolores's hand stroked my hair.

"That's right, of course it is. It's our Lionel."

Exactly.

She really did know how to size a person up.

I stayed there in her arms like that for a few minutes.

* * *

The call with the princess ended,

and another day began.

Today was for catching up on all the tasks I'd let slide while making the hammer and running back and forth to the Tower.

One of those was a promise I'd made to a certain little brat.

"Well?"

- Clank...

First, I built Ruby a Smith machine.

It wasn't especially hard. After doing things like thermal shock delamination, something like a piece of exercise equipment was nothing.

It could do bench press, squats, pretty much anything.

To begin with, this world doesn't even have the concept of dumbbells or weight plates.

In the end, I built the whole thing off Yuna's blueprints.

"...It doesn't move."

Ruby muttered, dissatisfied, gripping the bar.

"You want a scolding?"

Where'd she even learn about free weights already?

Ruby's still a kid, so this is the right way to do it.

"...How does it work?"

Up until now, Ruby had only done push-ups.

Planks, sit-ups, and so on.

Just the simple moves I'd taught her.

"...I'll show you."

Ugh, guess I have to demonstrate this one too.

"...Whew."

I pulled out as many weight plates as I could. Taking them all off would've been way too embarrassing.

I'd taken the plates off, but the bar's own weight wasn't something my ancestors were going to lift for me, so this wasn't going to be easy.

Not sure if I can even do it right now, but...

"Hff...!"

I lay down on the bench I'd set up and pushed with everything I had...

"Ngghhh."

Whoa, what is this thing.

This is way too hard!!

My arms shook, but the bar didn't budge an inch.

Argh, I should've pulled one more plate off!!!

Just then.

- Thmp.

- Creak...

It's going up!

"Haaah!"

I pushed with every ounce of strength I had left and hooked the bar back onto the rack.

"Phew... phew... s-so? How'd that look..."

But,

when I turned around to look,

"......."

Ruby was standing there holding the bar up with one hand.

Which meant the bar hadn't just gone up because of my strength, she'd lifted it from behind me.

- Clink. Whrr.

- Clink. Whrr.

She moved the bar up and down several times with just one hand.

She did it over and over, and her expression never changed once.

Then.

"......."

She stared down at me lying on the bench.

- Smirk.

Hey!!!

What the hell is that smile supposed to mean!!

"I think I roughly... get it."

Ruby nodded like she'd figured something out.

My pride took a small hit for a second, but...

'Well, an Iron Body can't be helped.'

Different from birth, what can you do.

I just stepped aside like it was nothing.

"Here."

- Pat, pat.

I brushed off the spot with my hand and offered it to Ruby.

"Go ahead."

Right as a bit of bitterness started creeping up on me,

- Hug.

Ruby gently wrapped her arms around me.

"......?"

Out of nowhere?

She's not usually like this at all.

I figured, now that she'd noticed I was weak, she'd at least mock me for it,

hold it against me for all the times I'd been rough on her.

But instead, contrary to what I expected...

"...Th-thanks... thank you."

"...Uh, yeah."

Caught off guard by the sudden thanks

and the hug, so unlike her usual bratty self, I stood there stiffly after pulling back.

Ruby looked at my expression...

and made a face like something was deeply unsatisfying.

"...When Teacher hugs you, you always go all melty."

"Ah, my bad."

Can't really help that.

You're still a kid, after all.

"...Ngh."

In the end, Ruby couldn't say anything more and just lay back down on the bench.

"Work hard."

- Pat, pat.

I gave her shoulder a couple of taps and left.

- Creak...

"Phew..."

- Creak...

"Phew..."

Listening to the steady rhythm behind me,

I headed for the workshop.

Time to actually get to the backlog.

There's a fair bit of it piled up.

Things I hadn't touched at all from running back and forth to the Tower.

Tidying up the workshop, sorting the mana stones,

and since I hadn't cleaned up at all after finishing the hammer yesterday...

- Creak.

I opened the workshop door, and a somewhat messy scene greeted me.

"...Right."

I resolved to clean up.

Cleaning up the workshop took a few hours.

Like tidying up always does, there's a benefit to it in that it clears your head while you work.

In that spirit, I went ahead and sorted through the things I needed to do going forward, one by one.

First.

What it meant that my gear had grown.

This was the thing I was most curious about.

"Is it possible I actually have some crazy high potential?"

The moment I became a Skilled Craftsman, my existing gear rose in rank right along with me, as if it had been waiting.

Which meant the reasonable suspicion right now was that the gear had held that much potential from the very start,

and it just hadn't been able to fully reveal itself because I was too young and my own rank was too low.

Proving that point, the appraisers had said more than once that my gear ranked above its stars.

Of course...

I couldn't say for certain that every single piece of gear would grow along with me.

"Well, that's not something I can actually confirm one way or the other."

Guess I'll just have to work as hard as I can.

Whichever way it turns out, I've got no choice but to try harder anyway.

Whether there's a hidden star buried in there, or my gear's just naturally superior to everyone else's.

Once I finished cleaning up,

my eyes fell on the hammer sitting neatly on the anvil.

Dawn Bringer.

I wonder what the first piece of gear I make with this thing will end up being.

"...Right."

If I'm going to make gear for someone,

it should obviously be for that person.

Late that night, I left the workshop and headed straight for Dolores's office.

- Creak... creak.

- Hmmm...

While walking down the hallway, I heard the sound of metal moving from the parlor.

Ruby, don't tell me you've been working out all day.

Floored, I peeked through the gap in the parlor door,

and the weight plates loaded onto the bar,

one, two, three...

What in the actual hell.

'I raised a monster.'

With that thought running through my head, I kept walking

and before I knew it, I'd arrived in front of the office.

- Knock, knock.

- Lionel?

"Yes."

The really strange part was,

she could tell it was me just from the sound of footsteps outside the office.

- Creak...

I carefully opened the office door.

Dolores was sitting at her desk, going over some paperwork.

"Good evening."

"Yes, come in."

She looked up from the papers and turned to me.

"You finished early today? What brings you here at this hour?"

Then her gaze shifted to my left hand, to the hammer I was carrying.

More precisely, to Dawn Bringer.

"There's something I wanted to say."

I grabbed the chair across from her desk, pulled it over,

and sat down in it.

Dolores watched me quietly.

"Heh, what is it, Lionel?"

She gave a small laugh and closed her paperwork.

"...I was thinking of making a new piece of gear with this hammer."

"I see... I'll always root for you."

"I want to make something for you, Dolores."

"......."

Dolores blinked for a moment.

The way I am now,

leaving aside gear that carries magic, which I'm still a novice at,

I feel like I could make just about anything.

Which is why, this time, I didn't want to decide on my own.

The opinion of the person who's actually going to wear it matters more than anything.

So.

Tell me yourself, Dolores.

"...So, what I wanted to ask is."

"...Yes."

"What kind of gear do you need most right now...?"

I asked carefully.

I have no idea.

Why my heart's racing.

If she just tells me to make something, I make it, that should be the end of it.

But maybe I'm hoping for a certain kind of answer.

Dolores didn't answer right away.

She looked back and forth between me and the hammer... thought it over for a moment, then said,

"I could use a pauldron."

"A pauldron."

Not hard.

That, I can do without any trouble.

"......."

Dolores quietly studied my expression.

"I might need a pair of shoes too."

"Shoes."

Right, I made her footwraps before, so...

I should probably make shoes too.

A faint smile touched the corner of Dolores's mouth.

"But..."

"......."

"Heh."

She lightly covered her lips with her fingertips.

Under the soft lamplight,

Dolores's cheeks looked flushed.

"Still..."

She lowered her gaze slightly.

"If you asked me to pick just one thing I need most right now..."

"......."

- Grip...

Without meaning to, my grip tightened around the hammer.

Dolores looked straight at me and said,

"Underwear."

"......."

"It's a little embarrassing, but... underwear, I suppose."

In the end, she said it.

I know. I knew it too.

That was the answer I'd been waiting for.

The corners of her eyes curved softly.

"Lionel."

"Yes."

"Then... could I ask you again, this time as well?"

"Of course."

My answer came just as fast this time too,

"Make it the most beautiful thing in the world."

I still don't know exactly what would count as the most beautiful.

I don't really know,

just, make it suit her perfectly.

"I'll make it for you."

I added, full of confidence.

"Pfft."

Her face flushed, and she broke into a bright smile.

"...Looking forward to it."

And so.

The first piece of gear to be made with Dawn Bringer was decided.

Of course, of course it was.

It was her underwear.

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