From Ilus's smile, Shulim suddenly felt a sliver of an ill omen.
“Um, I think I explained what happened quite clearly just now...”
“Hehe~! Is that so~?”
Ilus smiled even more brightly.
“Actually~, out of curiosity, I went to check out the place before—”
“!!?”
Shulim roughly understood what that ill omen was.
“Water magic, Wind magic, Ice magic, Fire magic, Earth magic, Lightning magic...”
With every word Ilus uttered, Shulim felt as if her head had been struck with a hammer.
“...Dark magic, and, if I'm not mistaken, that legendary Nature magic!”
“Plus, looking at the traces of combat at the scene, you clearly used Non-Elemental status magic as well, didn't you? Considering how grueling that battle was, yet there wasn't a single trace of an injury on you... could it be that you even used Light healing magic~?”
“...”
“Hey, hey~, tell me, Shulim, can a single person really use magic of all elements~?”
“Fine... I admit it. In truth, I was actually with someone else...”
Stare—
Ilus watched Shulim talk nonsense with a look that desperately tried to suppress a laugh.
“...Enough! Ilus, you're teasing me again, aren't you? You guessed it long ago! It's been so long, yet you could still detect the mana traces. You definitely noticed that the source of the mana belonged to a single person!”
“Hahaha~! My apologies, my apologies! The way you tried to talk nonsense with a straight face was just too hilarious~!”
Ilus burst into delighted laughter.
Shulim felt a surge of annoyance in her heart, but right now, what she felt even more was a sense of urgency.
“Alright, alright~! Shulim, there's no need to be so guarded. I won't do anything. Though I really was shocked when I realized it that day—I never expected someone born with all-elemental aptitude to actually exist in this world!”
“Still, after thinking it over carefully, it doesn't seem like something to make such a big fuss about. After all, since you exist, it means it's possible. To this world, having all-elemental aptitude isn't unacceptable; it's just so exceedingly rare—so rare that you're the only one to ever appear—that people used to think it was impossible.”
“Besides, you have a very extraordinary master, don't you?”
“...”
Shulim nodded silently.
“It seems that person has already left... Still, since someone so powerful already knows about this and guided you, where is there any room for anyone else to step in? I assume you already have your own goal.”
“Ilus... you really are amazing. Aside from my master, you're the most impressive person I've ever met. It feels like nothing can be hidden from you.”
Shulim said sincerely.
“Eh? Well, I'll take that as a compliment for now...”
“Speaking of which, Shulim, have you decided where to get your mithril sword repaired?”
Shulim shook her head.
“I haven't decided yet. Why, is there a trick to it?”
“No special trick, but if you haven't decided where to repair your mithril sword yet, I do have a recommendation.”
“A shop recommended by you, Ilus? What kind of shop is it?”
“Hmm—that forge isn't too far from here. Head back along the street you came from until you hit the intersection. The one named Zargin's Forge is it!”
Shulim recalled based on Ilus's description.
Why did that forge sound so familiar...
“Right, let me write you a recommendation letter. That dwarf has quite a stubborn temper; if you want him to repair something for you, you might not even get an appointment.”
A forge requires an appointment? In Mente Town, you just walked into a forge, dropped off your stuff, and picked it up when it was done.
Should she expect any less from the royal capital? Everything really was different from the countryside.
Shulim felt a strange mix of awe and ignorance.
Just then, Ilus swiftly finished writing a recommendation letter, casually folded it, and handed it to Shulim.
“Hand this to that dwarf named Zargin Kalagon. Once he reads it, he'll repair your mithril sword for you. You don't have to worry about him kicking you out.”
He would actually kick people out?! Were the blacksmiths in the royal capital a bit too full of personality...
Having received Ilus's recommendation letter, Shulim didn't linger in her shop any longer. Holding her damaged mithril sword, she went looking for that forge.
...
“So it really is this one...”
The signboard above the forge's entrance confirmed that it was indeed her destination. Furthermore, it was precisely because a wagon in front of this forge had blocked her path earlier that she had chosen to take a different route—which was how she had ended up meeting Ilus...
“Excuse me, is Master Zargin here?”
Shulim walked inside and called out.
Clang! Clang! Clang...
Inside the forge, several people who looked like apprentices—both dwarfs and humans—were practicing smithing.
Hearing Shulim's voice, the apprentices stopped their work and looked up at her.
Then, they buried their heads back in their work, lost in hammering metal again.
Only one person asked indifferently, “What business do you have with the master?”
“If it's for forging, you can turn back now. The master is unavailable recently.”
They really do kick people out... and she hadn't even met this Zargin yet.
Shulim took out Ilus's recommendation letter.
Well, she might as well give it a shot.
“Um, I have a recommendation letter here. It's from Miss Ilus, the owner of the potion shop over there.”
Clang—!
Inside the forge, the hammering sounds abruptly ceased in unison.
Everyone raised their heads once more to look at Shulim.
It was the same person who had spoken earlier. “Who... did you say gave you that recommendation letter?”
“Miss Ilus Emeraldstar Phil, the elf owner of the potion shop.”
Clatter!
The man dropped the tool in his hand, grabbed a dirty, blackened rag beside him, and wiped the sweat off his face.
“Follow me.”
What a contrast before and after... Ilus's recommendation letter really was useful.
Shulim followed the apprentice toward the back of the forge. As soon as they stepped out of the outermost forging hall, the sound of hammering that had momentarily paused broke out once more.
Before long, Shulim arrived at the door of the innermost forging room of the smithy.
Without even knocking, the apprentice rudely pushed the door open and walked right in.
“You bastard, aren't you supposed to be forging?! What are you barging in for!”
Before Shulim even stepped inside, she heard roaring from within.
“Master, someone outside is looking for you.”
“Ah?! Did you forge your own brain in the furnace?! Didn't I say I'm crafting something very important recently and told you to turn everyone away?!”
“She said she was introduced by Miss Ilus.”
“I don't care who introduced her! Even if the Emperor himself introduced her, it won't do! Tell her to get the—”
“...Who did you say introduced her?”
“Miss Ilus.”
“...Let her in.”
The apprentice opened the door wider, gesturing for Shulim to enter.
Rate on N.U.
