The Price of a New Weapon

Gwen’s head hung low, the sound of the crowd doing nothing to ease her headache. The guild issue had been resolved easily. The guards arrested Stone and fined him for all the damage. Despite the good news, her eyes kept drifting to Kosuke, who was behind them.

A sudden arm draped across her neck, making her look up.

Chris gave her a reassuring grin. “Don’t worry about Kosuke following us. Once he pays for your staff, I’ll force him to leave.”

Gwen gave him a small nod but remained quiet.

Apparently, Kosuke got caught sneaking out of Stone’s house while he was on a job. If she had known prior, she wouldn’t have helped Kosuke. Not like it matters anyway; what’s done is done, she thought.

While she found him annoying, at least she got a new staff out of it.

“So Gwen,” Kosuke started, breaking the silence as they pushed through the crowd. “How long have you been an adventurer?”

“Not interested…” Gwen replied icily, walking closer to Chris.

Kosuke let out a sigh, but went quiet.

The group had been walking for thirty minutes. The south, also known as the slums, was where the poor lived near the sewers. A few souls who couldn’t survive the army or make it as adventurers remained among the ruined houses.

“Are you sure you’re leading us to the right place?” Kosuke muttered.

“This blacksmith is very… peculiar,” Chris admitted, scratching his chin. “He stays in the slums for privacy, despite being offered better places.”

“Well, the smith better be worth all of this walking.”

“No one asked you to come with us,” Gwen interrupted.

“I-I couldn’t very well not pay back the adventurer who saved me.”

“Maybe don’t sleep around with people’s wives while they’re working.”

“I did no such thing!” Kosuke growled.

Gwen ignored him, forcing back the smirk threatening to grow on her face at Chris’s snickering.

The sound of metal being pounded drowned out Kosuke's grumbling. The closer the group grew to the noise, the hotter the air became. Eventually, rounding a corner, they found a man standing over an anvil.

Sweat poured down his face as he lifted glowing metal with his bare hand and plunged it into water. A loud hiss followed as steam filled the air.

The man was shorter than Gwen, with enormous arms and brown matted hair. He had a huge beard and dark eyes that glanced over the group before ignoring them, opting to move around his workshop.

A dwarf. Very rare to see outside the country.

The workshop, if one could call it that, was out in the open. A simple roof covered the forge, with tools hung from the sides. Unfinished weapons and pieces of metal lay scattered around. A small bed was in the corner, along with a few other simple belongings.

Chris stepped forward and gave a simple bow. “Greetings, Master Blacksmith, I—”

“What the hell do you want?” The blacksmith growled, interrupting Chris before he could finish speaking.

“I don’t know if you remember I’m—”

“I remember your name, lad, Chris. The adventurer who caught those bandits stealing mee supplies.”

“Glad you remember me.”

The blacksmith turned to face him. “Hurry up and tell me what you want,” he growled in impatience. “I find all of this talking pointless.”

Such a blunt person—though I don’t remember him from the anime. Gwen thought. With all the new people and changes, it’s been hard for me to keep up.

The blacksmith probably was a background character never mentioned because the Prince and the Heroine never set foot in the slums.

“I’d like to commission a mage's staff for my companion,” Chris continued, gesturing towards Gwen.

“A staff, huh?” The blacksmith mumbled, rubbing his beard. He looked around the workshop and shook his head. “If you give me a couple of days, I can have a fresh shipment of strong cores and wood brought here.”

Kosuke snorted and approached one weapon. “This is a third-rate blacksmith… just look at the way he keeps his workshop.” He paused and turned to Gwen. “I can take you to a blacksmith better than this rundown excuse for one.”

The blacksmith spoke up before she did. “Aye, pretty boy. Get the fuck out of my shop before yee gets a scar to go along with that swollen face.”

Kosuke’s face turned red, and he pulled his sword out.

Before he could swing, the blacksmith covered the distance. The blade he had been working on was now in his hand. He swung the unfinished weapon—easily cutting through Kosuke's sword.

Holshit. Gwen’s eyes widened in shock.

Kosuke glanced down at the broken end of his sword and back at the blacksmith, who was standing in front of him. He quickly dropped his sword and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry for the disrespect I’ve caused today, Master Blacksmith.”

The blacksmith narrowed his eyes, then turned, placing the unfinished blade back in the bucket. “It’ll take about a week before I can finish the staff for the lady,” he said, ignoring Kosuke and turning his attention back to Chris.

Chris frowned and looked at Gwen. “Would you be interested in using another weapon in the meantime while waiting for the staff to be made?”

Gwen snapped out of her thoughts at being addressed. “Hmm, Sir Blacksmith—”

“Garrick.”

“He never gave me his name,” Chris grumbled.

The silver-haired mage ignored him and continued. “Um, Garrick… do you have another catalyst I can use to channel magic? Something lighter that I can use up close?”

Garrick tilted his head to the side. “I have some of that magic metal, but that’s going to cost yee a pretty penny.”

Gwen flicked a finger toward Kosuke. “I’m not the one paying the bill; he is.”

A flicker of light shone across Garrick’s face. “Let’s see, pretty boy. For me to make something using the metal, it’ll cost you at least two gold coins. And because I like the lass over here, I’ll give her a discount on the staff, so let’s just say it’s another gold coin.

Kosuke’s face grew dark, his eyes clouding over at hearing the prices. “T-three gold coins. That’s so expensive.”

Garrick shrugged. “It’d be more if you went to another blacksmith.”

Kosuke gulped and looked at Gwen. “Could we maybe go with something a little cheaper?”

Gwen shook her head. “But I’m a poor whittle D-Rank that saved your life, and in the process broke my only staff,” she said in a mocking baby tone.

Chris nodded. “You did say you’d pay for her new weapon. Plus, her shield needs to be fixed as well,” he added, pulling off the shield from his back and holding it up to Garrick.

Garrick took the shield and threw it away. “I’ll have to forge yee a new shield, lass. It’ll bring the total to four gold coins.”

“F-four gold coins,” Kosuke whispered, his face ashen. He reached for the pouch on his side, a small bag that jingled slightly.

“Oh, thank you so much, Sir Kosuke… after this, we should talk about what you wanted with me,” Gwen gushed, doing her best to hold back her giggles.

“Y-yeah, let’s do that,” he replied, moving like a zombie as he pulled out the three gold coins and handed them over to Garrick. “I-I’ll see you guys around.” He stumbled out of the slums sluggishly.

Once he disappeared, Gwen couldn’t hold back and bent over laughing.

“Serves the jerk right,” Chris chuckled.

“Alright, enough with the drama. What kind of weapon would you like for the mana metal?”

Gwen chuckled while standing up straight. She thought over the various options, such as a spear or a bow. She knew for a fact she didn’t want a sword, but still wanted something that could work at close range.

With her magic, distance wouldn’t matter.

After a moment, Garrick and Gwen started listing out what exactly she wanted while he measured her hands and took notes on the designs.