Volume 3 Chapter 12 Workshop
"How's it going, Mr. Fran? Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes. I think I can work well enough with this."
Fran and I are currently in a blacksmith workshop.
Since it hadn't been used for a while, various pieces of equipment were covered in dust.
One by one, Fran carefully checked each item.
Eventually, when he realized that they were usable, he smiled and ran over to me.
More precisely, he stood next to the person who had let us into the workshop.
"Um, thank you so much for letting us use the workshop, Lady Nemophila."
"Sure, no problem..."
The tall woman with blue hair responded in a flat, emotionless voice.
She is Ms. Nemophila, the third princess and first in line to be the next king of the Compost Kingdom.
She is the one who lent us the "in-castle workshop" located within the royal castle of Chernozem.
"Once again, thank you very much, Ms. Nemophila. I know it was a sudden request..."
"I told you that you could come by anytime. Plus, I'm happy that you're relying on me."
Ms. Nemophila's expression softened slightly, though she still appeared emotionless.
The workshop I was referring to was indeed this royal castle where Ms. Nemophila resides.
To be honest, I thought it would be difficult to get permission to enter the castle during such a busy time, but Ms. Nemophila graciously agreed.
"But how did you know we had a blacksmith workshop here?"
"When I visited before, I got to walk around a bit inside the castle, and I noticed what looked like a workshop at that time."
I've heard that many castles are equipped with blacksmith facilities.
In the past, weapons were produced solely in the castle's workshop, and generally, ordinary citizens were prohibited from manufacturing weapons.
It was said to be for the sake of national control, but at some point, due to the increased activity of monsters, the production of weapons by citizens was allowed.
Since then, the existence of craftsmen known as weapon smiths began to emerge, leading us to the present day.
I heard that there are still some places in the castle that have workshop facilities and are being used, so it makes sense that the current king of the Compost Kingdom lives in the royal castle.
Apparently, until just a few years ago, the royal castle of Ms. Nemophila was producing weapons for the kingdom's army, but now they've left that to a big blacksmith shop in the capital.
"But, is it really okay? You've lent us the workshop for over two weeks."
"My father said it's fine to lend out the workshop in the castle, even though it was a bit difficult to let you stay at our place. It seems like it hasn't been used for a while, so I'm not sure if everything still works."
When Ms. Nemophila said this anxiously, Fran, looking around the workshop, replied, "I think it's a very nice workshop.
It has all the necessary tools, so we can definitely make weapons here."
"That's good to hear."
Fran bowed his head slightly to Ms. Nemophila and started preparing for work.
I thought about helping out but quickly realized it might just mess things up, so I decided to quietly watch alongside Ms. Nemophila.
"Rose and Cosmos are coming later, right?"
"Yes. I asked them to gather materials, so they're probably fighting a wyvern in the northern mountains right now."
"Wyvern?"
The two of them, who I parted ways with four days ago in Hyamars town, headed to the northern mountains instead of coming to the capital with us.
It seems they can get minerals useful for blacksmithing from the wyverns lurking there, and lately, those creatures have been causing trouble for nearby villages, which is why I sent Rose and the others to deal with them.
If Rose is as fast as I think, they should be fighting the wyverns by now.
It took us four days to reach the capital, but with her superhuman speed and stamina, they might arrive tomorrow or the day after.
It feels like Rose's speed is so incredible that it messes with my sense of time.
"Oh, by the way, Elder Sister Clematis wants to talk to Roezé later."
"I was also thinking of greeting you, so please, go ahead."
At that moment, I suddenly remembered a story I had heard before.
Currently, Lady Clematis, who has transferred her claim to the throne to Ms. Nemophila, is investigating the misdeeds of the first prince, Crocus, who committed fraud during the succession war.
Due to a curse from a monster that has shortened her destiny, she is said to have a limited time left, and she intends to make this her final task.
"How is Lady Clematis doing?"
"She's as lively as ever. Honestly, it's hard to believe she has so little time left. She's already dealt with Elder Brother Crocus."
"What will happen to Prince Crocus in the end?"
When I cautiously asked, Ms. Nemophila lowered her voice slightly to respond.
"I think the public announcement will be a while yet, but for now, it's decided that he will be sentenced to 'life imprisonment.' However, if anything else comes to light, the punishment could become even harsher."
"Well, I suppose it's better that he hasn't received the death penalty at this point."
To be honest, I had expected a heavier sentence.
But what happens next is uncertain.
There's always a possibility that more of his wrongdoings could be revealed, leading to a death sentence after all.
In any case, it seems there may still be developments regarding Crocus.
Once that topic reached a pause, Ms. Nemophila suddenly turned her gaze forward and said, "Roezé is always helping someone, isn't he?"
"Huh?"
"You made me a queen, and you helped Kikrys too. And now you're helping that child, right?"
"..."
As Ms. Nemophila watched Fran organizing the workshop, she turned to me with her question.
I nodded quietly in response, and she tilted her head again.
"Is helping others Roezé's hobby?"
"I don't think I have such an eccentric hobby... Helping Ms. Nemophila and Ms. Kikrys felt more like a job than a hobby. I was just fulfilling a request as a Nurturer and completed it."
Given my role as a Nurturer, it's only natural that I seem to be helping people regularly.
So, I don't really consider it a hobby.
"Besides, this time it's also for our benefit. We need powerful weapons for Rose and Cosmos, who have become too strong, so I'm thinking of asking Blacksmith Fran to make them for us. In the end, that just means I ended up helping him, but it's not really about helping others..."
"But that's not really true, is it? It's for Rose and Cosmos, right?"
"Huh?"
"It's for Rose and Cosmos, isn't it?"
"...Well, when you put it that way, I guess it is."
The benefits I gain from helping Fran might be minimal, so it's understandable if it seems like just helping others...
"Still, I have something I want to ask, so even without those two, I think I would have ended up helping Fran anyway. Plus, I plan to rely on Rose and Cosmos for various things in the future, so I thought I might as well build some goodwill now..."
"...That sounds a bit like an excuse."
"Ugh...!"
Maybe I spoke too quickly, and that made it sound like I was making excuses.
But I'm not lying.
I'm not just helping Fran out of goodwill; I genuinely believe there's something to gain from it, and I'm lending a hand for that reason.
I really don't want to be seen as someone who's just overly nice for no reason.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)