Editor : Amethyst00



Kaang-! Kaang-!

Drianna was hammering away.

Dweno silently watched her.

"Come to think of it, I've never actually seen Drianna making weapons before."

Enniha mumbled as she stroked her chin, watching the serious-looking Drianna.

"How skilled is Drianna?"

In one corner of Dweno's workshop, standing in front of a bubbling alchemy cauldron, Carl stirred the contents and replied.

"You'll probably be shocked when you see."

"Well, considering how clumsy she seems with her hands, I was pretty worried."

Enniha's expression turned grave as she recalled Drianna, who proudly called herself an artist yet only ever made bizarre paintings and sculptures.

Deet, standing beside Enniha, clenched his fists tightly.

"Let's see just how good she really is."

Deet, a smith apprentice under Ivaldi.

He had worked hard, hoping to become Dweno's disciple.

But that dream was shattered when Drianna, an outsider, was chosen as Dweno's disciple instead.

To test her skills, Deet had shown Drianna a weapon he had made.

And Drianna had thoroughly picked apart its flaws, leaving Deet feeling defeated.

Now it was Deet's turn to evaluate a sword made by Drianna.

Enniha tilted her head curiously as she watched Deet.

"She seems to have a good eye, at least when it comes to evaluating weapons."

Hearing this, Eliana leaned toward Carl and whispered.

"She's just being petty because he insulted her drawings, right?"

"Of course."

Carl recalled Drianna's expression when she had assessed Deet's sword earlier.

"What is this pathetic finish?! The blade will dull way too quickly like this!"

"And what's with this sound? You messed up the fire control, didn't you?"

"Are you kidding me?! You think you can be Lord Dweno's disciple with work like this?! Give it up! Even I wouldn't teach someone like you!"

She had completely ditched her usual tone, going out of her way to tear down Deet's sword.

Normally, she never criticized someone else's work so harshly—but this time, her eyes were practically blazing.

"She's a dwarf as petty as her height."

Sitting in a chair in the workshop, Aru looked at her with a mixture of pity and disdain.

Kaang-! Fwoosh—!

Drianna finished hammering.

Then, the blazing red-hot blade sucked in the surrounding flames.

"Phew."

Drianna took a deep breath and plunged the sword into water.

Ssshhhh—

A violent hiss echoed as steam rose around her.

She pulled the blade out, wiped it with a cloth, and placed it on the worktable.

Seeing this, Enniha gasped in awe.

"Wow… it's beautiful."

The blade Drianna had made was practically a piece of art.

The pattern on the blade seemed to blaze like fire.

Its surface was so polished, it reflected one's face like a mirror.

Deet, too, stared at it, completely captivated.

Carl clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Of course. She's a genius even Leo acknowledges."

Even if they were imitations, Drianna had been copying Dweno's works since her first year.

Naturally, Dweno's weapons weren't something one could reproduce just by mimicking the appearance.

But Drianna had the skills to create convincing fakes.

During the campaign to conquer Dweno's world alongside Leo's party, Dweno had personally passed down smithing techniques to Drianna.

In that process, he even gave her his hammer.

A simple but powerful gesture—acknowledging her as his disciple as a blacksmith.

"According to Leo, Dweno never taught anyone during the Age of Calamity."

Though he made many weapons, he had never passed his skills to another.

Rather, no one had the ability to learn his techniques.

That's why being acknowledged by Dweno alone proved how exceptionally talented Drianna was as a smith.

Since then, she had spent a whole year diligently honing her smithing skills.

"Her current training with Dweno is probably just preparation to ascend to even greater heights."

"This alone is already a work of art."

As Eliana muttered absentmindedly, Drianna waved a finger.

"Not yet. From here on, I'm going to make this sword into a real piece of art."

At that, Deet freaked out.

"Hey! What more are you going to do here?!"

"First, I'll carve a pattern into the blade! Watch! I'll show you how I transform this plain-looking sword!"

As Drianna confidently reached out toward the sword—

Thud—!

Dweno's fist landed squarely on top of her head.

Drianna fell to the floor, clutching her head and rolling around.

Ignoring her, Dweno picked up the sword she had made.

"Excellent."

Everyone was shocked by his brief praise.

"Deet."

"Yes, sir."

"Take a look for yourself."

At Dweno's instruction, Deet received the sword with trembling hands.

He bit his lip.

"It's far beyond anything I could ever make…"

"Right?! I'm way better than you!"

Drianna jumped up and teased Deet beside Dweno.

"You said my hands were clumsy and all that. Well, this is what I can do even when I just whip something up."

"Yeah… you're really amazing."

"You finally realize it?"

Watching Drianna show off, Aru muttered, "She poured her soul into that thing, though."

"Seriously. Why's she going so hard on someone younger than her? It's embarrassing to watch."

"Right? Why are we the ones who feel ashamed?"

Carl and Aru grumbled.

Just then, Eliana brought something over from the corner of the workshop.

"Let's see. This is the drawing that Deet made, right?"

"Huh? What are you doing?!"

Deet panicked.

"I was just curious how good you are."

A few days ago, during an argument, Deet had claimed that even if he drew with his feet, he'd be better than Drianna—and promised to bring a drawing.

Now, that drawing was in Eliana's hand.

Avoiding Deet's grasp with a quick move, Eliana handed the drawing to Drianna with a sly grin.

"Ohh~ Honorable Drianna, disciple of Lord Dweno! I've brought this to you. In exchange, could you make me a sword someday…?"

"Hmph. I'll think about it."

Watching Eliana grovel like a snivelling lackey, Aru muttered, "She's acting like a sleazy villain."

Carl sighed.

Deet's face turned bright red with embarrassment.

Drianna proudly unfolded the drawing.

Then, she froze.

"Wow…"

Eliana gasped in awe before she even realized it.

"My god! Deet! Did you really draw this?"

Enniha asked in shock, and Deet nodded.

"Yes."

Even Dweno, who took the drawing from Drianna's hands, was surprised.

"Amazing! Deet, you're a genius!"

"Huh?"

"A painting of the night sky this beautiful! Have you ever painted before?"

"N-no, this was my first time."

"Incredible!"

Seeing the excited Dweno, Aru and Carl looked at the drawing as well.

As students of the Hero Academy, they also took cultural courses.

They often viewed art pieces.

Though they typically yawned through those classes—unlike Drianna—their standards had risen somewhat.

Even with their refined eyes, Deet's painting was truly stunning.

"How did you draw this?"

"Well… I remembered how I felt the first time I saw the night sky."

Watching the shy Deet, Dweno nodded and his face softened.

"What a shame. If only we'd known about this talent sooner…"

"It's not too late! Deet! Have you thought about becoming an artist?"

Enniha asked with a bright smile, but Deet replied firmly.

"I want to make weapons! I want to become a great smith, and help warriors who fight for this world—just like my late father did!"

"Unlike someone else, you have a noble mindset."

Aru smirked at Drianna, who flinched.

"Yeah. Unlike someone who went all out mocking a kid younger than them."

Carl added, and Drianna leapt at him with a red face.

"Why am I the only one getting blamed?!"

"That annoying cat dodges every time I try to hit her!"

As the workshop erupted into chaos, Eliana tilted her head.

"Still, if Drianna finds this painting beautiful, her artistic sense must be fine. So why are her own works always so terrible?"

"She says she wants to make things like this too, but as she works hard, it ends up a mess. She puts her all into making something beautiful, and to her, the result always looks good."

"…She's cursed."

Hearing Aru's explanation, Eliana looked at Drianna with pity.

After the ruckus calmed down—

Enniha smiled as she looked at Drianna gloomily gazing at Deet's painting in one corner, and Deet admiring Drianna's sword in the opposite corner.

"I have a good idea."

"What is it?"

"Drianna wants to learn to draw, and Deet wants to learn smithing, right? Why don't they teach each other? They're about the same age, and since they have different values, I think they could really inspire one another."

"Hmm. Not a bad idea."

Dweno crossed his arms and nodded.

"Yeah, Dweno. You'll still be teaching Drianna, of course."

"Enniha, shouldn't you be the one teaching her drawing?"

"Wouldn't it be more helpful for her to learn from Deet than from me?"

Hearing this, Carl tilted his head.

"Isn't that just dumping the job onto Deet…?"

"Hohohoho. I really don't like kids who are too perceptive, you know?"

"I'm sorry, miss."

"Shouldn't you be calling her 'ma'am,' not 'miss'?"

Dweno said coldly, and Enniha elbowed him in the head.

Then she fell to the ground clutching her elbow.

Ignoring her, Dweno called Drianna and Deet.

"So, what do you two think?"

"I'm in!"

Deet said enthusiastically, now fully acknowledging Drianna's skills.

"I'm in too."

Drianna, too, had been inspired by Deet's painting.

The two nodded and began chatting in a corner of the workshop.

Watching them, Enniha smiled.

"It's wonderful to see new possibilities."

The sun had set, and stars filled the night sky.

The despair of the day gave way to the hope of night.

"How long has it been since I've seen a view like this?"

A sight they couldn't afford during the desperate days of mere survival.

bl

CRASH—!

The massive head of Gigantes Lord was smashed to pieces.

BOOM—!

Leo looked up at the sky as the beheaded Gigantes Lord collapsed.

A week had passed since the exploration began.

Flames swirled around Gigantes Lord's body.

Whoosh—

Leo, burning the monster with Zerdinger's aura, sheathed his sword.

'That takes care of the entire area around the fortress.'

As he headed back to his party, Leo narrowed his eyes.

'But why can't I find the entrance?'