Editor : Amethyst00



Gerwin, the Principal of Damien, was sipping his tea.

In front of him, a beastkin and a dwarf were seated, engaged in conversation.

Knock knock—

A moment later, a soft knock was followed by the door opening.

A professor from Damien entered and greeted Gerwin.

"Principal. The people from Lumene have arrived."

"Let them in."

At Gerwin's words, setting down his teacup, the door opened and seven people entered.

A petite woman standing at the front bowed.

"Hello, Mr. Gerwin. I'm Artienne Niere, a professor from Lumene's Summoning Department."

"Welcome, Professor Artienne."

Gerwin rose from his seat, chuckling warmly as he greeted Artienne.

After exchanging greetings, Gerwin's gaze naturally moved to the people standing behind Artienne.

"Good to see you, Leo Plov. And…"

His eyes rested on Carl.

"The Herald of Beginning."

"Um, Principal Gerwin."

"Why do you call, Herald of Beginning?"

"Well… why do you refer to me by my epithet and not my name?"

Artienne gave a soft smile as Carl cautiously asked.

"Because heroes deserve respect. The epithets recorded in the Hero Records are literally the proof of being a hero. As such, it's proper etiquette to use the recorded title in official settings. In Leo's case, it's unfortunate, but he doesn't have an epithet, so he's addressed by name."

"You didn't know that?"

Eliana spoke in a tone of disbelief, and Carl clicked his tongue.

“It’s not like I ever had a chance to meet a hero at an official setting, did I?”

"Heh heh. Everyone finds it awkward at first. But you'll get used to it in time."

"Grandpa, but Aru doesn't seem the least bit awkward?"

As Drianna, who had been watching, interjected, Aru crossed her arms and proudly raised her tail.

"Hoo-hoo-hoo! A student of Azonia is always prepared! And to be the Heiress of the Brave's Will! What a grand title that is!"

Aru murmured her epithet again with admiration.

"Isn't it just perfect for me?"

"I sometimes envy your endless confidence."

Being the successor to someone who achieved great deeds is usually a heavy burden.

Whatever one does, the predecessor naturally becomes the standard of comparison.

And Aru's predecessor was none other than the Great Hero Brave, Aaron himself.

Even Drianna, though not officially acknowledged as Dweno's successor like Aru, felt an immense pressure.

Of course, she wasn't crushed by it, but seeing Aru overflowing with confidence always left her amazed.

"Is it her mental strength?"

"Drianna, are you mentally weak? Learn a bit from your big sister."

As Aru laughed and patted her own head, Drianna muttered seriously.

"Hmm. Maybe it's because she's a beast with no thoughts?"

"What?!"

Aru's eyes widened, but Drianna paid no mind.

"Even the Black Rabbit, Kyle's successor, doesn't intimidated at all! So, you're the one who mentally weak!"

Aru pointed at Leo as she spoke.

Carl and Chelsea muttered silently at her words.

'Well, that's because Leo-oppa is—'

'Kyle himself.'

“It’s lively. I like it.”

Gerwin laughed heartily and offered those from Lumene to sit.

Leo and his group sat on the same sofa where Aru and Drianna had been sitting.

Then they noticed an object on the table and paused.

"Isn't this… Brave. Isn't it?"

Duran recognized the broken sword and marveled.

Gerwin nodded.

"That's right. The sword inherited from Lord Aaron by the Heiress of Brave's Will."

Gerwin spoke with a slightly serious expression.

At his reaction, Leo examined the sword more closely and commented.

"It's breaking down."

Aru's ears drooped at those words.

"Yes, Black Rabbit."

The current state of Brave was as it had been right after the battle with Erebos.

It was from just before Aaron passed away.

Since Aaron had returned to the world in his dying moments, it couldn't be helped.

Even after receiving the sword, Aru had used Brave in several battles.

It was a sword that had already exhausted its life.

So, even though it was a masterpiece made by Dweno, it was naturally deteriorating little by little.

"We were discussing whether the sword could be repaired."

Gerwin was one of the greatest living mastersmiths of armament.

That's why Aru had asked him to repair Brave.

To get straight to the point…

"It's not possible."

"Indeed."

Gerwin sighed deeply.

"To restore a weapon, the exact same materials must be used. Most of the weapons Lord Dweno made used special metals he personally crafted. Without recreating that metal, repairs are impossible. Even if we repaired it, it would only look the same. It wouldn't be Brave anymore."

As Gerwin wore a regretful expression, Eliza asked, "Carl, isn't there a metal alchemy formula in the alchemy book you inherited from Lord Dweno?"

Everyone immediately turned to Carl with hopeful eyes.

"Now that you mention it, I also meant to ask about that. Herald of Beginning."

Gerwin's eyes sparkled.

"Carl, does the book contain metal forging techniques from Lord Dweno?"

Artienne asked eagerly.

"Unfortunately, the only metals recorded in Lord Dweno's book were ones used to make statues."

"Metal for statues, huh…"

“Then that wouldn’t be it.”

"Right. The metals used for statues must be different from those used in weapons."

Gerwin and Artienne both looked disappointed.

“……What kind of metal did you say?”

But Drianna's eyes sparkled.

"Metal used for making statues."

"That might be it!"

Drianna exclaimed excitedly.

"Don't you remember what Lord Dweno was before becoming a blacksmith?!"

"Unlike you, he was a great artist."

“What do you mean unlike me! I’m also a proper grea—”

"You're not."

"Don't insult art."

Carl and Aru both interrupted Drianna simultaneously.

Drianna pouted.

"There's definitely a chance…"

Carl crossed his arms and glanced at Leo.

Their eyes met, and Leo gave a subtle nod.

'Whoa! Are you serious?!'

That meant it really was a big deal.

'Why didn't you say anything sooner?'

Carl's shocked expression turned to realization.

'It would be dangerous if this got out to public.'

And indeed, Karl was right.

Leo had realized, upon reading Dweno's alchemy book, that the metal for statues was the same metal Dweno used for crafting weapons.

But he hadn't told Carl, because it might put him in danger.

'It's the basic recipe for Dweno's weapon-making, after all.'

Dweno's weapons are called divine relics.

Of course, using that metal alone wouldn't recreate the exact same weapons.

But it could create ones far stronger weapon than existing ones.

'And the ones after Carl wouldn't just be groups wanting powerful weapons.'

Some might not want to kidnap Carl and some might want him dead.

'Tartaros.'

They would see Dweno's weapon-forging knowledge as the tech that killed a god.

They'd stop at nothing to eliminate Carl.

Gerwin, possibly following the same train of thought, wore a grave expression.

"Let's keep this to ourselves for the time being."

Everyone in the Principal's office nodded.

"So? Since we have the recipe, can we make it?"

Gerwin asked. Carl scratched his cheek.

"Actually, making it won't be easy."

"Why not?"

"You need Lord Dweno's flame to forge it."

"Then Leo could do it, right?"

Drianna's eyes sparkled as she looked at Leo.

Leo replied, "My body probably can't withstand Dweno's flame."

He could produce the same heat that Dweno wielded his hammer with, but he couldn't endure that same heat himself.

"And most importantly, I'm no good at hammering."

Leo looked over at Drianna.

"…? Why are you looking at me?"

"Want to try handling Dweno's flame?"

"What? That's even possible?!"

Drianna's eyes widened.

"I think I could serve as the furnace. But handling and enduring the flame is entirely up to you."

"I'll do it! That's an incredible honor for a dwarf!"

"You're in?"

"Of course!"

"Good. Then we'll start training today."

"Yes! Let's do it!"

Drianna beamed brightly.

She was so excited, she spoke in her normal tone, forgetting to mimic Dweno's speech.

"Alright, then let's wrap up the discussion on restoring Brave here. After a break, we'll talk about the mission."

"Ah, then Carl and I will return to the students."

Artienne and Carl had come to report their arrival, so there was no further reason to stay.

"Heh heh. At least have a cup of tea before you go."

"In that case, I'll have one before I leave."

Artienne nodded.

And so began a short tea time.

"Hey, Leo."

"What."

"You're getting better at pulling cons."

At Carl's words, Leo smiled faintly.

"I'm still a long way from that scammer lizard."

'How good must Lady Lysinas be at lying, if Leo's like this?'

Carl wondered to himself, then looked at Drianna with pity.

"By the way, I saw the second-years hop on a warp gate as soon as they arrived at Damien. Where did they go?"

Chelsea asked with a puzzled look.

She had gone through a Smith contract at Damien last year, so she was curious about their sudden disappearance.

"That?"

Carl sipped his tea and grinned.

"I sent them to a mine."

"Huh? A mine?"

"Yup."

bl

"No!"

Clang!

"Why on earth!"

Clang! Clang!

"Do I, a mage, have to—"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Be swinging a pickaxe in a mine?!"

Clang!

"Whoaaa! Amazing!"

"Is she really a mage?"

"Such brute strength!"

"Who just called me brute strength?! I'll bash your head with this pickaxe!"

Juen glared and swung her pickaxe wildly toward the Damien students.

Luke said calmly, "It can't be helped, Juen. You have to procure the material for your Smith exclusive weapon contract yourself."

"Still!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Look at Aina!"

"She's dual-wielding pickaxes!"

"I won't lose!"

"Gasp! Even Haviden is joining!"

"Knight department… You guys are loving this, huh?"

Juen looked aghast.

"Juen. Please stop slacking and keep working."

"Wait! And why are you, a princess, so pumped about this?!"

"I'm discovering the nobility of labor. I consider this a valuable learning experience in understanding the lives of my future subjects."

"Seriously?! You don't question why we're doing this kind of manual labor?"

"…? Not really."

As Shasha tilted her head, Juen looked grave.

'…Am I the weird one?'