Chapter 149
Chapter 149 – It seems to also be Equipment Strengthening
Lightning descended, seemingly within the city of Klinge although it could also be said that it was far away .
Feeling as if she had heard a noise resembling the scream of a little girl at the same time, Emil looks out the window .
The sky has cleared up . And no matter how you look at it, it’s no weather where lightning would strike .
Emil wondered whether someone had used sorcery, but since she felt it didn’t have a power output that would kill people, she lost interest after deciding that it had probably been a sorcerer who fired off a spell as a joke .
If she had known what actually happened, she would probably have rushed on-site, laying aside everything else .
After all she could have seen the very funny spectacle of the burned Frau and Croire, laying on the ground .
When she asked Renya about it later on, Croire grabbed Frau’s nape, who tried to get away, and released a
Those, who watched it from close-by, were simply shaken up, unable to judge whether it was fine to save them or whether it was better just to leave them alone .
If a similar story had happened in another city, it would have become a situation where they would have probably been carried away by the soldiers, who would have immediately rushed over after being notified by the guards, but the city’s residents, who know that Croire and Frau are people related to Renya, ignored it with comments such as “Ah, again?” That part might be called very Klinge-like .
Having no idea of that, Emil, who lost interest in what was happening outside, turns her eyes back inside the room .
She felt like the outer wall, which she could see in the distance as she turned her gaze, seemed to be somewhat greener than she remembered, but something at the level of a wall’s color changing didn’t attract Emil’s interest .
Since she had been asked by Frau a little while ago whether there was anything, but not a medicine, that can make a plant grow quickly, Emil did mix some nutrients together, but she certainly didn’t expect that to be related to the events going on outside .
“Anyway, leaving that aside . Are you alright Renya?” (Emil)
The questioned party looks completely exhausted while sitting on the seat set up in the middle of the room .
In front of him, there’s a tattered anvil . Next to him are ten-odd, brilliantly shining longswords that have been tossed aside without scabbard .
A furnace had been installed inside the room . A rumbling, crimson flame that burns brightly can be seen in there .
Owed to the heat released by the furnace, the temperature inside the room has gone beyond being humid and entered the range of being close to boiling point, and yet Emil dons a refreshing expression without a single visible drop of sweat .
“Yeah, as expected, forging this many swords in one go was impossible after all… Putting aside my physical strength, I was an idiot to believe that it would work out just because I have more stamina than before…” (Renya)
Passing next to Renya who’s staying still with his whole body having become flaccid because he used up all his stamina and grip strength, Emil picks up one of the longswords scattered on the floor .
It has been finished more or less up to the handle part . Emil brought her face close to the sword’s blade, which could be used right away, and leaked a small breath of admiration .
Once she looks very closely, Emil realizes that the blade, which has such smooth finish that it completely reflects her face, casts a faint light .
That is proof that the blade itself is tinged with mana .
Weapons, which are commonly called magic swords, normally have troublesome magic tampering applied to them while still just being raw materials, then again after shaping them, then once more before polishing them and lastly once again while doing the finishing touch . They are items that require such a troublesome process, take a huge amount of time and moreover are prone to failure .
Emil feels slightly dizzy due to the fact that Renya finished several tens of these swords in such a short amount of time and furthermore only using a hammer and an anvil that seem to have been sold by a general store in the city .
If Renya had forged the swords by properly going through the required steps while applying the magic tampering, he should have been capable of creating magic swords with a far greater performance than the ones scattered on the floor right now, but Emil decided to pretend to be ignorant of those matters, even if someone asked her .
Of course, Emil, who is a researcher, owns quite the detailed information regarding these forging procedures .
If she were to make a magic sword, she would have a near 100% success rate .
However, even if she, a demon, created a sword while following the proper steps, the most she would be able to create would be swords of the same quality as those lying on the floor right now . Moreover she would likely need 2~3 days to make just one sword .
Although it would be understandable if this was the production of katana, the fact that it’s the work of a human, who suitably hit some metals while griping about how to make a sword or something like that, was unbelievable for Emil .
“Renya, how many ended up as failures?” (Emil)
“Let’s see…I don’t really remember the precise number as I melted down the failures and beat them back into shape, but I think it should be around twice the number of those that were finished?” (Renya)
If that’s true, it means that Renya has created dozens of them without stopping .
While having the urge to scream, That’s work impossible to accomplish even for a human master smith, Emil places a finger on the blade of the sword that’s her hand .
The sensation, which is transmitted through the pulp of her finger, is the feeling of a cold, sharp blade .
As a demon, Emil was confident that she could crush a sword with her bare hands, even without going out of her way to use defense sorcery, as long as it’s a dull, mass-produced sword, but she judged that this sword would likely be impossible for her .
In short, that impression means that it’s possible for the sword in Emil’s hand to injure a demon, who possesses strength comparable to Emil’s, if it’s wielded by a capable swordsman with considerable swordsmanship .
If seen from the demons’ standpoint, that’s quite the serious situation .
Once the information that there’s a craftsman who can mass produce swords at such level is leaked to the demons, they will likely rush in great numbers to erase said craftsman, putting everything else aside .
Having considered the current situation to such an extent, Emil looks at Renya, who still shows no sign of moving, and ponders further .
Then, in the case that Renya is that craftsman, are they going to be able to erase him?
She reached an answer unexpectedly quickly .
‘It would be a desperate bet but they could have a chance of killing him, if they make sacrifices worth dozens of times the damage that they will likely receive from now on with the swords scattered on the floor and the one in my hands right now .
There’s no way that she can allow her brethren to act while knowing that there would be such a price to pay, unless she had a suicide wish .
“You are tired, aren’t you Renya? Shall I help you a bit?” (Emil)
Emil’s intentions are to broach the topic as naturally as possible, but due to Renya’s suspicious gaze, which was immediately pointed at her, she panics, wondering whether she made a blunder somewhere .
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But, even Emil is a demon who has lived a considerable number of years .
Just because she was flustered, she won’t do something as stupid as showing it on her face .
“Is something wrong?” (Emil)
“No, it’s kind of odd that you’re the one offering your help rather than it being me who requests it . ” (Renya)
Even while agreeing that it’s certainly strange, Emil keeps on talking while frantically looking for words that won’t be considered suspicious .
“It’s just on a whim…although I might say that, you probably won’t understand . But, as a researcher, I want to do many different things, you know?” (Emil)
“It’s the first time I hear that a researcher is able to act as a sham blacksmith . ” (Renya)
Emil answers Renya, who doesn’t even try to hide his skepticism, while plastering a smile on her face,
“What are you saying, my dear master? Is there any reason why a researcher can’t do a blacksmith’s job?” (Emil)
“What are you planning to help me with then?” (Renya)
While demonstrating a somewhat haughty attitude in front of the glaring Renya, Emil picks up an iron ingot that hasn’t been worked on yet .
As if checking the weight of the ingot, Emil tossed it up once, high enough to graze the room’s ceiling, and tucked it between her hands the moment it passed in front of her eyes while falling .
The tucked iron ingot disappears between Emil’s palms while making a poofing noise . Instead a shape, which was surrounded by several spheres, manifested around her hands .
Emil explains to Renya, who has a surprised expression as he slowly raises his sluggish body, that it’s something called divine crest .
“Even a smith is unable to do something like this, Renya . Do you know alchemy? It basically consists of disassembly and construction . ” (Emil)
Emil thrusts the middle finger of her right hand into the divine crest floating in midair, and alters several parts .
In Renya’s eyes, who has absolutely no knowledge in this area, it looks like an operation, where he doesn’t have a clue as to what she’s doing, but after fiddling with the divine crest for a while, Emil finally nods once, pulls out her finger and then throws the divine crest towards the ground .
Upon impact it produces an instantaneous flash .
Renya squinted because of the brightness, but once the light vanished, he saw Emil smiling broadly while holding the blade of a longsword .
“What happened?” (Renya)
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“I disassembled the ingot, converted it into the shape of its divine crest, and formed it into a longsword by rewriting the divine crest . ” (Emil)
Being handed the blade with a “Here you go,” Renya receives it and stares at it closely .
From what Renya can see, its shape and quality isn’t inferior in any way to the longswords scattered at his feet .
However, after he examined its blade carefully, Renya muttered to Emil,
“Isn’t this one falling behind the ones I made?” (Renya)
“Well, look at it this way, Renya . Isn’t that very natural, if you consider the time you spent on making a sword and the time used to make this one?” (Emil)
“That might be true, but…” (Renya)
“Renya, don’t you think that superior weapons, which will definitely be ready in time, are currently needed more than super, superior weapons that won’t be in time?” (Emil)
In order to persuade Renya, who looks somewhat unhappy, Emil piles up more words,
“Certainly, it’s not like I can’t understand your wish of wanting to give the soldiers the best items you can come up with . But, Renya, aren’t you forgetting that we have to go investigate the whereabouts of the dragonoid hero after finishing our work here?” (Emil)
“Y-Yeah…” (Renya)
“It’s not like I’m bragging, but I believe that even the sword created by me is of such a high quality that you won’t be able to readily find one like it in a human store . Moreover, if it’s me, I can create enough of these high quality weapons for all of your soldiers in the time you spent on creating the swords lying over there, so long as you replenish my mana, Renya, but what about you?” (Emil)
Hesitation appears on Renya’s face due to Emil’s words .
Properly reinforcing the soldiers with weapons like the ones at his feet was important as well, but there’s also the feeling of wanting to finish this bothersome matter as soon as possible .
“Can you make 500 complete sets of spear heads and longswords in total?” (Renya)
Emil firmly swallowed the words, “Hasn’t the number increased?” or “That’s too many . ”
If I show even the slightest reluctance on my face here, Renya might say that he will somehow do it himself .
And, even if it’s somewhat unreasonable, Renya would end up finishing the sets of swords and spears quite quickly .
Once she imagines the sight of 500 finished sets of magic swords and magic spears of the same quality as the swords lying on the floor, Emil shudders .
Moreover, the ones who would wield those weapons are Keith’s group, who were trained by Renya, and the soldiers who received training from Keith .
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“As long as you can arrange the materials and magic stones, you can leave it to me without any worry . ” (Emil)
Emil answers with a smile while frantically suppressing the unrest in her heart showing on her face .
“But Renya, didn’t you have 300 soldiers under you?” (Emil)
“They increased by 200 due to an emergency recruitment . I will have Keith train them from now on, but I don’t expect much . At most 3~4 will be able to handle Keith alone, I guess . ” (Renya)
“Wouldn’t it be fine to retrain the 1000 soldiers stationed outside?” (Emil)
The soldiers, who are stationed outside the city, should have a proper foundation . So far as it goes they are military personnel after all .
Emil thought that they would take less effort than training those who had been just recruited, but Renya denied that .
“That’s pointless . I don’t know what her Majesty the Archduchess is thinking either, but they are obeying military command . ” (Renya)
Military command literally means the people who bear the duty of controlling the army .
In this case the principality’s soldiers were dispatched in order to monitor that Renya doesn’t handle things as he pleases, but even though Renya, who is a Margrave, should be higher in rank – if you consider it as a person, who’s obsessed with the outdated belief that nobles are the chosen ones – this was no more than a greeting by the newcomer nobles, saying that they won’t lower their head towards Renya’s title .
If you consider it normally, it wouldn’t be weird for disrespectful conduct towards a superior noble to be punished, but the military command in this case bears the implication of being the archduchess’ representation, so Renya is unable to punish them easily, even as a Margrave .
Renya decided to completely forget about the soldiers outside the city before it turns into a troublesome matter .
Assuming that they are not present to begin with, he tried to succeed in the city’s defense with just his own soldiers .
“My condolences . Now then, I’m going to start with my work, but Renya, you are going to help me, right?” (Emil)
Emil has known from the beginning that it would be impossible to accomplish it by herself .
Even if it seemed that the processing of metal through alchemy doesn’t take that much time or effort, it’s actually quite a delicate process . Furthermore, it consumes a large amount of mana too .
Appealing with passion here, Emil was quite desperate in her mind not to show on her face that she will die unless she gets help from Renya .
“Well, that makes sense . It’s uncool to leave everything up to you . Also, I’m slightly curious about that alchemy of yours . ” (Renya)
“Since I’m going to produce 500 sets, I will be able to show it to you to your heart’s content . ” (Emil)
For the time being Emil had managed to get Renya to say the phrases that she wanted to hear, but once she considers the number of swords and spear heads she has to create from now on, she was unable to completely hide a feeling of boredom, and the corners of her mouth and her cheeks cramped up .