Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thors Stone

Following the map I got from the castle, I managed to arrive at the workshop after a thirty-minute walk. It wasnt as noisy as a blacksmiths workshop and specialized in delicately made articles.

Good day. Is the master in?

Ah. Master! Theres a guest lookin fer ya.

A guest lookin fer me? Does that mean

A rugged-looking large man stepped out from the back of the workshop. This man seems to be the master of this particular workshop.

Good day. I came here to

Its about the design of your leaders coat of arms, right!? Hurry and bring it out!

Ah, here it is.

The heck is this!? This is gonna be yer coat of arms? Oi, you didnt make a mistake, right? Is this really the barons coat of arms design?

Yes, theres no mistake.

This things amazin. Its my first time seein such a bizarre design. I already thought the Dragon Slayer should be one unusual fellow, but hes more unusual than I expected. Your leaders one heck of a guy huh.

Ah, it looks like theyve completely mistaken me for an attendant. Should I correct them? I might need to ask them to do something for me in the future again, so I guess I better do so.

Its nice to meet you. By the way, my name is Alan, the Clan leader of Shining Star.

The workshop master, who was busy checking out my drawing, suddenly froze up.

Ya mean youre? I mean, is it really you, sir?

Thats right.

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Please excuse my rudeness!

The four craftsmen, including the workshop master, all kneeled on the spot.

Ah, theres no need to do that, gentlemen. Im still not a noble after all, and Im not good with things being all formal.

Does that mean you forgive us, sir?

Of course. Leave the formal stuff for when Ive become a noble. Right now, Im just a mere adventurer.

Really?

Yes, really.

I see. Dont mind if I do then. What the heck? That really scared me. I didnt think the famed Dragon Slayer would be so young. Why didnt ya bring any escorts with ya?

Like I said, Im not a noble yet, and its not like my comrades arent busy.

No, ya really need an escort, I tell ya! Well, I guess yer the Dragon Slayer after all. Maybe ya really dont need em? My names Cruz by the way. Its nice to meet ya.

Likewise. Sorry about the strange design. Its a crest thats been passed down my family for generations.

Nah. It certainly is strange fer an emblem design, but it looks well thought out dependin on how ya look at it. Sorry fer sayin its weird.

Its fine. Its true that its peculiar after all. I dont really mind.

Oops. Standin around here is no good. Sorry, but Id like to start workin on it straight away. Id have to deliver it to the castle in four days after all.

Um, what about the fee for making the coat of arms?

Ya dont need to worry about that fer now. I already received a deposit from the castle. Theyd pay the remainin balance after Ive delivered it to the castle.

Whoah. So the castle was paying for the cost of producing the coat of arms huh. Im surprised. I completely thought wed have to shoulder the fee ourselves.

Would you mind showing me around your workshop for a bit? I promise I wont get in the way.

Sure ya can. I aint gonna be able ta keep ya company later on, but I dont mind ya lookin around.

I followed the workshop master inside the building as he headed for the studio. There, I saw a wide variety of tools and materials used for craftsmanship lying around.

This is what we use fer makin coats of arms.

What the master showed me was what appeared to be a mithril board. They probably carved boards like this in order to produce coats of arms for their clients.

By the way, how do you process mithril boards? Ive been told theyre very hard and tough.

Yeah. But the ones we use here are unbaked mithril. Its the baked mithril thats really hard. These are a lot easier ta work with.

I see. Apparently, mithril hardens exponentially when baked in high temperatures. But carving boards like this should still be pretty tough work.

Now then, I have ta finish carvin this pattern before the day ends.

The master placed the pattern I drew on top of the mithril board and began transferring it by hitting the lines with a tool that resembled a sharp ice pick, one prick at a time.

I see. So this is how they would copy the pattern huh. It looks like their work requires a considerable amount of effort and skill.

If its alright, shall I draw the pattern for you?

Nn? Whaddya mean?

If its alright with you, Ill be the one to transfer the pattern onto the board.

Can ya really do somethin like that?

Please let me try.

Well, its yer coat of arms anyway. Do what ya want.

(Nanom, display the imperial insignia pattern I used last night over the board.)

Roger.

I took the icepick from the workshop master and started hitting the board with it. Its harder than drawing stuff with a pen since you had to put a lot more effort into it, but it was still fairly simple to trace the lines that were displayed in red.

Whoah!?

It looks like the trick is to make sure your wrist is steady while applying only a certain amount of force to draw the pattern on the board. Hm. It wasnt so different from drawing on paper after all. I was able to finish copying down the whole pattern in about ten minutes.

Well, how is it? Did I manage to do an acceptable job?

The workshop master put the paper with the pattern I drew last night on top of the mithril board again to check if it really was the same as the one I carved on the board directly.

There aint even a single deviation. Just howd you do that?

Im really good at drawing stuff.

Really good, ya say? No, I guess this just means the Dragon Slayer really aint ordinary huh. Honestly, I thought that bit with slayin a dragon was just a big fat lie, but now Im convinced.

Haha, is that so? Thank you then.

Youve got one hell of a knack fer craftsmanship even though yer about ta become a noble. Its a bit of a waste, really. If ya give up on bein an aristocrat, Id hire ya in a heartbeat. Ill pay ya however much ya want.

Ill keep that in mind.

I stayed to observe how the workshop master works on the coat of arms for a while, but since it was bad to disturb him for too long, I finally decided to leave the workshop and return to the inn.

After I got back, I went to check up on Elna and the others who were probably still training in the courtyard.

Ah, Alan, what good timing. I want to practice the technique I learned from Selena, so please accompany me for a spar. Id like to test my moves out on an able-bodied man after all. Youd be fine even if I used the techniques on you, right, Alan?

Okay, sure. Which techniques did you girls teach her anyway?

I tried to confirm it with Selena and Sharon, but they quickly turned away when I asked. Afterward, Elna grinned teasingly. Oh boy. I have a really bad feeling about this.

Thats a secret. Its fine if you just avoid it, right?

No, even I wont be able to react at once if I dont know whats coming

Here I go!

Elna rushed in without even letting me finish.

Man, I really had a hard time back there. Sharon and Selena taught her all the techniques that were normally forbidden in usual sparring sessions. They all aimed at vulnerable areas of the human body without restraint after all. If I wasnt her opponent, Elna would have landed all her moves and subjected the one on the receiving end to a world of hurt.

Some of the other Clan members watched our practice match. But after seeing Elnas unrestrained attacks, they all scattered about like frightened puppies. It looks like they really wanted to avoid getting picked as her next sparring partner.

Elna was really enthusiastic about the upcoming rescue mission, and she continued to train until evening without even having lunch.

Elnas aptitude for combat arts wasnt bad at all. She was able to improve her skills to a point that would allow her to employ some of the moves she learned in actual combat already, just after a day of training.

I finally managed to get a good grasp of the techniques. Alan, please accompany me for training every day until the rescue mission.

Alright, I understand.