Upon arriving at the ercial district, the vice-captain and I had to be especially careful not to get swept up in the crowd.

  On the wide street in the ter, numerous wagons were moving around, and on the sidewalks on both sides, various races that were not usually seen were walking around.

  Only carriages with prior permission were allowed to pass through the ercial district, so we had no choice but to leave the carriages behind and walk. This was an imperial edict, so even the nobles were no exception.

  "Kreuk... What kind of human race has that kind of energy..."

  "The smell of blood ah vibrates from a human who has not even lived a hundred years. What kind of life have you lived?"

  As I passed by, several races with sensitive senses openly looked oh wariness, but as long as I did not cause trouble, it didn't matter.

  "This pce is truly amazing! The scale itself is overwhelming."

  The vice-captain was looking around, looking at the strange-looking fn races and the rge buildings as if they were o her.

  Her i try girl-like rea that didn’t match her dignified appearance was quite unfamiliar.

  Well, after leaving home, she lived an ascetic life, never leaving the knights’ quarters and only repeating work and training.

  Then it was uandable that she would react like that. Even I, who visit here often, am amazed by the new sights I see every time I e here.

  “I agree. Listening to you, it feels a bit like a battlefield. It’s like a battlefield where people fight while scattering gold instead of g swords.”

  “Your words sound meaningful…”

  While chatting with the vice-captain, we arrived at our destination before we k.

  A giant furanding tall in the middle of the ercial district.

  It looked extremely dangerous, but because it was imbued with a special mystery, the tremendous heat never escaped outside.

  —Thump, thump!

  The ceaseless hammering noise ing from the fe built uhe bst furnace was already irritating to the ears.

  As I approached closer, the thick smell of bitumen wafted in.

  "Well, we've arrived. Didn't you and I both have our armors torn apart i battle? Let's get new armor here."

  "Yes. Of course, that's fine, but there's a warning sign written right there. we e in?"

  [No visitors allowed! No orders for ons!]

  "The owner is very pyful and is doing this on purpose, so don't worry about it too much."

  "It's not a joke... The door seems to be firmly locked."

  Old Mari, your bad taste is still there.

  You set up a fe in the middle of a ercial district where tless people e and go. That was just written to fool the guests.

  It must mean that they won't accept guests uhey know them.

  Even the master, and the long-lived monks who have lived for quite some time, sometimes act like children because they are too old.

  "Old man, you hear me? I'm ing in! I'm going in!"

  "Where are you ing from! You devilish disciple of a bastard! I'm w, so don't disturb me!"

  That meant that it was o see them again after such a long time.

  As I opehe door a ihe eyes of tless bcksmiths of various races were all focused on me.

  It was rger than ten bcksmith shops bihe inside was filled with hot air and the smell of iron.

  The vice-chief hesitated for a moment at the magnifit appearahat was different from ordinary bcksmith shops, but then followed me obediently.

  As I went further inside, I heard a loud voice that sounded like thunder.

  "How! Master and disciple are t this old man! What have you e to see me for this time! Did you break my armain because you couldn't handle my strength? You damn monster!"

  "It's o see you again, Elder Eitri."

  —Shoot!

  An old dwarf who was sitting on a tall workben the ter of the bzing fmes and hammering away jumped straight in front of me.

  The dwarf's characteristic short stature, his bald head without a single hair, and his long, braided white beard were impressive.

  "You! Yant little brat! This time, you're carrying an ice block beside you, not to mention a witch hag!"

  "I apologize for ing so suddenly, Elder. I have important work ahead of me with my precious subordinate."

  "Aww, shoo!"

  Aitri looked at me and the vice-captain with a displeased look befuiding us to his office/warehouse.

  "He seems to be relut to me. I wonder if I came to a pce I shouldn't be…"

  "It's okay as long as you don't show your true colors. The elder may have a rough way of speaking, but he's a erson on the inside, so don't worry too much."

  "Stop talking nonsense and follow me!"

  The vice-captain seemed quite flustered, having a hard time adjusting to the umosphere here.

  Wheually arrived at the warehouse, her expression, which had been filled with fusion and bewilderment, soon turned into pure amazement. The warehouse was no different from a treasure trove.

  "Wow… All these swords and armors are incredible masterpieces. I've heard that dwarves are good with their hands, but this is beyond my imagination."

  "Ha! You have eyes for a block of ice. If you don't mind carrying around a piece of crappy metal as a sword, you have a much more desirable attitude than that arrogant little brat."

  As the vice-captain said, there were a lot of high-quality cold ons and armors on dispy here.

  However, those were just the tip of the iceberg, and the real masterpieces that the old man boasted about were stored in the underground cave hidden below.

  I thought that the vice-captain, who was visiting for the first time today, would never reveal that much.

  "You, block of ice! If you don't like the sight of you carrying that sword, e over here!"

  "Huh? Isn't that just a dirt floor?"

  —Kugu-kung!

  He seemed to be in a good mood after hearing the pliment.

  As expected, he was a bit blunt in his words, but he was a very easy-going and affeate old man. I guess he was being siderate of me because I called him my subordinate.

  In addition, the sight of her using a mass-produced on after her sword broke i battle seemed to have stimuted her unique craftsmanship.

  Eitri, who had gone down to the underground armory and quickly came up, hahe vice-captain a rapier that had a cool chill to it.

  "This is…?"

  "Here! This is the perfect sword for you. It's something I put a lot of work into, but sihat damned brat is my favorite subordinate, I'll show you a special one. You swing it once."

  Her hands trembled several times as she accepted the sword. She immediately realized that it was no ordinary object.

  Eitri was a master craftsman who had been hammering away for hundreds of years, making tens of thousands of ons and serving tless celebrities as his ts.

  —Gooooo…

  A sight that gave off an unusual chill. Perhaps no on would suit the vice-captaier than that.

  “What do you think? Just right? Even the ice block that was either a knight ander eneral really liked that guy’s brother sword. Would you like to buy it?”

  As if to prove my predi, the vice-captain’s eyes instantly turned passionate as soon as she grabbed the sword hilt. She would never want to miss this opportunity.

  “Of course I will buy it. But, how much should I pay?”

  “1500 gold! I should charge several times more, but I’ll just charge the material cost.”

  —Hiccup!

  The vice-captain’s expression instantly hardened upon hearing the price. It certainly wasn’t cheap.

  However, in my opinion, it seemed like the old man had really show generosity. Let alone 1500 gold, in my opinion, that was a rare item that should easily be worth 10,000 gold.

  Perhaps it was the old craftsman’s strange philosophy that a on should find a suitable owner, so he was selling it for nothing.

  After mulling it over for a while, the vice-captain finally made a difficult decision.

  "Uood. I will pay 1500 gold."

  "Yes, you made a good choice. Ask any of your disciples outside to write the traow it's yours."

  "Thank you. But... is it possible to pay in installments?"

  “What?"

  Eitri nodded his head in disbelief. Then the vice-captain looked at me and smiled brightly like a child.

  "Captain. This is the first time I've seen su excellent sword in my life... It seems like something worth iing all my savings in."

  "gratutions. It's all your luck to have such a good on."

  I told the elder why I came here, leaving the vice-captain behind, who was carefully sweeping the bde and making a mysterious expression that was half joy and half worry.

  "Sir, I wo det suits of armor. I'd like it to be pleted in a week if possible."

  "A week? That's enough! O for you and the other for him?"

  "Yes. That's right."

  "Got it. You take care of the small stuff with the guys outside."

  That was the end of the armor order.

  We'd already had many dealings with Eitri, so there wasn't mueed for a lot of versatioween us.

  "I'll go to work now, so you guys e out after I finish measuring your body measurements."

  "Thank you, sir!"

  "Damn it. I already have a lot of work to do, and you've made it even more of a hassle. Master or disciple, anyway..."

  He muttered something as if he didn't like it, ahe vice-captain and me in the warehouse befoing outside.

  Rather than being genuinely dissatisfied, he seemed embarrassed by his etric personality.

  As soon as the old man disappeared, several measuring tapes flew in and began to around our bodies.

  I don't know what it's called, but it's something that's often used in high-end clothing stores because it prevents you from having to make unfortable tact while measuring your body.

  But the vice-captain looked quite flustered. It seemed like this robably the first time he'd experienced something like this.

  "Chief? What the hell is this?" "I'm going to measure your body measurements. Spread your arms and stay still."

  "Oh, I see... You've had a lot of really strange experieoday."

  —Whoa!

  But while he was measuring his body, aremely embarrassing se occurred.

  "Ugh, ahem…"

  Because the tape measure that was measuring the vice-captain's chest almost dug inte chest.

  Not only that, the tape measure that seemed extremely difficult to measure failed to measure her entire chest ao the floor helplessly.

  The two of us who saw that sight were both speechless.

  After a quice, the tape measure was cut off at the tter half of 90cm.

  It was broken from the beginning, but it must have been doing its job without any problems until now. Most of these knights have slim bodies.

  In the end, after measuring all body measurements except for one area, the tape measure that had dos job fell to the floor all at once.

  The vice-captain quietly picked up the tape measure that was measuring her height and ha to me.

  "…There's nothing we do. Would you like me to measure it for you, Captain?"

  "Me? Are you really okay with it?"

  "Well, of course it's embarrassing, but… Captain, it's okay."

  I approached her with a two-meter tape measure.

  Being behind the small woman, ing a long rope-like object around my chest, I somehow felt like I was itting a great sin.

  "Ugh...!" "Don't make such strange noises. It seems like you're doing something harsh."

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

  The vice-captain's chest circumference was ihree digits.

  I felt like I had e across some forbidden knowledge that I shouldn't know.

  After finishing my work at the bcksmith shop, the vice-captain and I sat side by side in the carriage again.

  We were going home anyway.

  Since I only had to move a little more, I decided to take her to the dormitory for single female knights where she was staying.

  "Captain. Thank you so much today. Thanks to you introdug me to a good bcksmith, I was able to obtain a famous sword. How I repay this favor…?"

  "What favor? Elder Eitri never sells swords to just a was meant to be yours from the start."

  "I'm grateful that you say that. It really feels like a dream."

  The vice-captaihe newly acquired sword in his arms with a happy smile on his face.

  I watched her quietly with a smirk. As for me, I just hope that she fights better in the important mission that will e.

  After enjoying the happiness for a while, the vice-captain opened his mouth cautiously as if he had made up his mind.

  "Captain. I paid for the sword, but I remember not paying for the armor yet. If the bill es, please show it to me. I will definitely pay the full price."

  I wondered why he was so worried, but it was because of that.

  “You don’t have to pay. Didn’t I destroy your perfectly good armor when I erf emergency treatment? I guess this is pensation.”

  “Huh? That’s ridiculous! Asking the person who saved your life to pay for the damages incurred during the rescue? That’s against the w!”

  I quietly watched her, looking pletely flustered.

  I realized once again that the vice-captain was a very upright person.

  Armor is a able item anyway, and it would cost only a few thousand gold at most. That amount wasn’t a burdensome amount if you were giving it to a precious subordinate as a gift. However, it didn’t seem to be the case for her.

  Seeing the vice-captain, who was from a noble family, tremble at the mere 1,500 gold, there must have been some circumstahat made her financially difficult.

  “Please, don’t ge your mind.”

  Eventually, she bowed her head to me.

  How oh could I say this so that she would feel less burdened?

  "Vice-captain. I told you this m that I had something important to tell you, didn't I?"

  "Yes. That's right. Well, then, really?"

  I found the vice-captain's unnecessarily serious appearah admirable and cute, so I ended up caressing her head without thinking.

  "It's really okay. You're my most important subordinate, so if you're really feeling uneasy, wear good armor and try your best not to get hurt. That's enough. I don't need anything else."

  "Ah, ahh..."

  I was feeling proud that I had bee a good boss, but the vice-captain's dition suddenly became a little strange.

  Her face was extremely red, and her breathing was extremely rough. If I looked closely, even her pupils were loose.

  "Vice-captain, Vice-captain Agnes! Are you okay?"

  What the hell.

  It was the aftereffects of the mana explosion.

  --------------------------------------------------

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