“Here it is,” Iwa said after stopping in front of an old [blacksmith’s shop]. Compared to the other shops near it, for some reason, it looks like kind of…abandoned.

“So this is the place you’re talking about,” I said to Iwa.

Today, we are now out to buy an armor and ordinary weapon. It took quite a while but we finally saved enough money to buy both. Iwa said that she knows a good [blacksmith] here so we decided to pay him a visit but…

“Are you sure that this shop…is on business?” I asked while looking at the creaking wooden signboard at the top of the shop made out of stone.

“Yes. It’s already like this when I first went here,” Iwa responded with a smile.

“Then, let’s enter,” Ciana said and both of us followed Iwa. After Iwa opened the door, we found some [weapons] displayed at the wall.

“Even though the weapons here are not that many…I can see that all of them are well-made,” Ciana said while examining some swords displayed.

“Maybe he’s on the workshop again,” Iwa whispered and entered the door behind the counter. As for me, I decided to look around the shop like Ciana.

“But…he should at least clean. There are already webs in the ceiling,” I commented while roaming my eyes around.

*ruu!*

“Right?” I asked to Ruby who is currently on my right shoulder.

This might also be the reason why everyone avoids this shop.

“Since we’ve got a decent amount of money now, why won’t you order a custom weapon and armor? That way, it will really suit your built and fighting style.”

“Yeah. And because the money will come to us every month now that I’m an official soldier, I don’t need to worry about the food and shelter expenses. I can now even buy different items for emergencies,” I followed happily.

Suddenly, we heard Iwa’s scream coming from the room behind the shop.

“Iwa!” I reacted and both Ciana and I dashed towards the door. When we entered the workshop, we found her with a very shocked expression.

“Iwa, what happened?” I asked.

“Arjen is…” she said with a terrified expression and looked at a [Katzen] boy lying on the ground.

I immediately went before him and tried to wake him up.

“Hey, are you okay?” I shouted and tapped his cheeks.

“Aaaa...” he whispered weakly.

“What?” I asked and placed an ear near his mouth.

Suddenly, the boy bit my ear.

“Wha—” Ciana and Iwa reacted with a surprised expression.

“Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Suddenly, Iwa pulled me up and said,” Wh-wh-what are you doing Arjen?” with a flustered expression.

The boy then stood up and scratched his messy hair.

“I dunno. The last thing that I can remember is I was eating biscuits.”

“You fell asleep while eating again?” Iwa asked with a slight surprised look and sighed at the end.

When I looked at the table, there is indeed some biscuits in the table.

“Iwa…” the boy suddenly whispered in a poker face after stopping before Iwa.

“Ar—”

He then pinched Iwa’s cheeks and stretched it like dough.

“You’re much cuter now compared to your last visit,” he commented in a monotone voice.

“Hueee. Shop it Arren~” Iwa muttered as her cheeks got stretched in and out.

So this boy is Arjen, the [blacksmith] that Iwa mentioned to us. He is wearing a worn-out green long sleeve and brown short shorts. He is also wearing boots. I think he is also around Iwa’s age. For some reason, he’s like lifeless. His expressions are just monotone.

“Anyway, did you escape again?” he asked to Iwa.

“No. Master Dante is not my [wielder] anymore. Let me introduce you to my new [wielder]. This is Raiki,” Iwa introduced me with a smile.

“Uhmm…nice to meet you. My name is Raiki,” I followed with a bow.

“I see. My name is Arjen. Nice too meet you too, Mickey.”

“Huh? My name is Raiki,” I responded with a confused look.

“…”

“...”

“Sorry, sorry. Raikey, right?” he asked without his expression changing.

“Well…you can call me whatever you want,” I said and made a strained laugh.

This boy is quite weird.

“Arjen, we are here because Raiki wants a weapon,” Iwa said.

Suddenly, the Arjen guy looked at me with very serious eyes. He then examined me from top to bottom.

“You specialize in light, short-range weapon, right?” Arjen asked.

“!”

“With your build, I’m sure that you don’t have any experience in wielding any heavy weapons. As for the shape of your arms…I can see that you don’t rely on brute-strength when battling. Also, with the shape of your legs and how worn-out your shoes are, I’m sure that your best status is your [speed]. You always run around in battle so…I think a dagger is a good weapon for you. A short sword is not that bad too. What kind of [beast weapons] do you have right now?”

How cool!

“A sickle and a shield,” I replied.

“If it’s just a weapon for emergency use, I recommend you to use a similar short range one like your sickle but if you want to try something new, that’s a different story. What do you want me to make?”

“Then, a short sword please,” I answered with a smile.

“I see. Unfortunately, someone already bought the finest and last short sword I made so I have to make another one. What kind of short sword do you want?” he asked.

“What kind of short sword?” I repeated, wondering what he meant by kind.

“…”

He just continued staring at my eyes with a serious expression. What does he mean by that? Is he referring to the type of blade? Or is he talking about the materials that I want as the ingredients for my requested weapon? But what I really want is...

“I want…the best sword, something that won’t lose even to a [beast weapon],” I followed seriously.

He then made a wry smile and replied, “Then, come with me.”

“Huh?” I reacted, slightly surprised.

He then went before a cabinet and grabbed a blue dagger that is sheathed. Then, he threw it at me and I caught it with my two hands.

“We’re gonna go to [Harlequin Valley] and get some materials. You two girls stay here and manage the shop,” Arjen announced.

“I-I got it, Arjen,” Iwa replied.

“Come on Raikey, let’s go,” he said and yanked me.

“A…Iwa, Ciana, I’m going.”

“Take care, Raiki,” Iwa replied.

“Good luck,” Ciana followed with a smile.

“Ruby, you stay here too,” I said..

*ruu?*

“If something happens, you’re the only one that I can count on to protect Iwa and Ciana,” I said with a smile.

*ruu!*

“Then, I’ll be counting on you.”

We then exited the shop and started walking towards the [Harlequin Valley]. While we are walking on the streets, I decided to ask my question to Arjen.

“Arjen…this dagger…did you make it?”

“Yeah. That is my first piece so I decided to keep it.”

“I…see.”

“How did Iwa became your [weapon]?”

“About that…I battled Dante for her freedom. I managed to win so Iwa became free but she decided to accompany me in my journey so she became my [beast weapon].”

“[Trust is always stronger than Fear], huh. I guess that legend is true after all,” he whispered with a smile.

“Did you say something?”

“That girl…Iwa is a coward but she is kind-hearted. She doesn’t care what will happen to her as long as she can protect others so…please be the one to protect her,” he said and looked at me seriously.

“I promise. I’ll protect Iwa,” I responded with a serious face.

“Here we are.”

“Huh?”

Just after we exited the North Gate of [Sagittarius Empire], I immediately saw a signboard with some writings on it. Beyond the signboard is a land full of different plants and trees.

“Is this already the entrance to the [Harlequin Valley]?”

“Yeah. I’m counting on you. The monsters here are much stronger compared to the ones in [Crimson Forest] so you need to put extra effort to get certain [loots] from them.”

“Wait a minute. Are you saying that we’re gonna kill monsters just to get the materials to make my weapon?” I asked, surprised.

“That’s the reason why we’re here,” he responded with a poker face.

“But…” I whispered hesitantly.

“Are you…a [tamer] too? Now that I remembered it, you’ve got a tamed monster earlier.”

According to Ciana, a [tamer] is someone who fights using a [monster] and not a [beast weapon].

“I’m not but…I don’t want to kill monsters as much as possible so…” I muttered while looking on the ground with a sad face.

“You’re one strange person. Then, what are you planning to do?”

“…”

“If you have lots of money, you can buy the materials I need in a [loot shop] and give it to me. But that will cost you a lot given that you still have to pay me for my work.”

“I…don’t have that much yet,” I replied with a sad look. “We have some money saved but if we really need to pay a high price right now to get the weapon and armor, we can’t do it because I still have to wait for a month to receive my first pay.”

He then let out a deep sigh and whispered, “And here I thought I can finally make my masterpiece.”

“…”

“Let’s head back. I’ve got some spare materials in my shop. I can make you a good weapon using those so no need to worry.”

“But…that’s…not gonna be the best, right?”

“That goes without saying. You can’t get ‘the strongest weapon’ that easily. That is why we need to get the specific materials to make it but…with my strength, I can’t get it. Because you’ve defeated God [Sagittarius], I’m sure that you can kill that monster but…it looks like your strength is not the issue here.”

“…”

What should I do? I’m sure that someday, the time where I can’t use Ciana and Iwa will come. With my current strength, can I win with an ordinary weapon? Can I win against strong enemies without getting the ‘strongest weapon’? No. I need to become the strongest. And to do that…I need it. That’s why…I need to…

“I got it. I will…get the ingredients needed to make the ‘strongest weapon’,” I replied with a serious expression.

“That’s what I wanted to hear, Raiki,” Arjen replied with a smile.

And with that, we entered the [Harlequin Valley] together.