I defeated a single monster, and Paldomihov seemed satisfied, so we returned to the town without further ado. Sid, who had been chatty on the way there, now followed along with few words.
Upon reaching the town, I returned the Sebek I had borrowed and since it was okay to disband for the day, I decided to return to the dormitory where I was staying.
…Are they not here?
I thought maybe the students would be around, but I couldn’t find them. Honestly, there isn’t much entertainment in this town. Thinking I might as well take a leisurely stroll and then relax in the communal bath, I prepared for bathing and set out.
As I was about to leave, I hesitated a bit.
…Maybe I should carry a small sword.
Upon reflection, I had been quite careless. I had been carrying weapons in my backpack for the sake of convenience, but if I were to be attacked in that state, I wouldn’t stand a chance. While carrying a sword might be cumbersome in the town, a small blade would do. I took out a small sword and sheathed it at my waist.
Listening to various conversations, I realized that living in this world is far from the laid-back life I had in Japan. Without something like this at my waist… perhaps because I am a Celestial… I’ve made a mistake.
I trudged through the town.
The town was still far from being fully rebuilt. The number of ordinary people living their lives was still small. Nevertheless, there were scenes where families work in the fields, clearing away debris to make room for farming, scattered throughout the town.
The vegetables served in the cafeteria were mostly produced by farmers in this town. To live in such a remote town, there were probably only people involved in primary industries.
Even the state army we’re part of, if you think about it, makes a profit by hunting monsters like adventurers and taking their materials and meat, so you could say it’s a similar primary industry.
Today, I still had time, and being alone suited me, so I took a walk while observing the town’s scenery, walking along roads I didn’t usually take. The state army’s barracks and dormitories were all concentrated on the north side of the town, towards Galal Blue, which had been overrun by monsters. Come to think of it, this might have been the first time I had properly looked at the south side.
There were houses where people seemed to live, but they were probably mostly families of state soldiers. There were no shopping streets, just a lonely townscape. Amidst that, there was a building where the sound of metal being struck could be heard.
The building was open like a garage, with glimpses of red fire in the back. And in front of it, two sweaty men were hammering away like mad on what looked like small barrels.
A blacksmith, huh…
Curious, I called out, “Excuse me,” while peering inside.
Huh?
To my surprise, the two were familiar faces. They were the twins, Chiron and Panon.
“Huh? You two…”
“Oh? Shigeto-sensei, isn’t it? What’s up? Do you need something forged?”
“Huh? No, Chiron-san. Wait, both of you. What are you doing here, at a blacksmith’s?”
“Haha, I’m Panon, and this is Chiron. Well, you don’t have to remember. This is actually our main job.”
“Huh?”
Despite that, the two were still official state soldiers. But just as in a regular army where there are combatants, signalmen, engineers, and technical officers, it turned out that maintaining weapons used by Dudur Valley soldiers was the original job of the two.
They seemed to be repairing damaged weapons even now.
“Well, Sensei, if your weapon breaks, just let us know anytime.”
“Thank you very much… Ah.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Then, I remembered the spearhead we found in the shelter when Kimishima and I were escaping together. I took it out and showed it to Panon.
“Could you fix this so Kimishima can use it?”
“Hmm… What’s this…?”
“Well, we found it when we were escaping from Galal Blue.”
“Hmm… This might be… Kanesada?”
The words that casually slipped out of Panon’s mouth surprised me. Kanesada… sounded like the name of a renowned swordsmith. There were many swordsmiths who used the name Kanesada, so it was hard to tell if it was genuine or if they were taught the techniques of that school. But there was no doubt they were transmigrants from Japan.
“Kanesada? Could it be from the same world as us? Is it famous?”
“Famous? Well, it should be. If this is genuine… it’s a national treasure level, you know?”
“…Seriously?”
“Mithril is layered so beautifully, with various alloy compositions… We can only sharpen it and make a handle, but that should suffice.”
“Oh, can I use it?”
“No problem. Will Sensei be using it?”
“No, it’s for Kimishima.”
“I see, for the young lady with the short spear…”
After that, we discussed the length of the handle and other details, then placed the order. They said if there were no particular preferences for the handle material, the state army would cover it, which was a relief.
I thanked them and started walking again.
I took a detour, circling around the town, and as I approached the southern gate, there were fewer buildings and more agricultural land. There were crops like pumpkins that had been there before, when the farmland was under the control of monsters. Additionally, there were areas where varieties similar to rice were neatly planted… But was this really rice? It felt unfamiliar to see rice growing in a regular field rather than a paddy.
In any case, it was deeply moving to think that places like this were supporting our food.
As I continued walking, I noticed a child on the roof of a large house. It seemed like roof repair, as the child walked timidly on the roof, seemingly searching for damaged areas.
…That’s dangerous. Letting a child do such work, where are the parents?
I looked around, but I couldn’t see anyone who looked like a parent. Rather, as I looked closely at the child on the roof, I remembered. He was the boy from the state army cafeteria and the communal bath. The boy who had been working.
Was he living alone in such a large house? I looked up from below with that thought in mind, and suddenly the boy’s eyes met mine.
“Ah…”
“Hey! Be careful!”
Perhaps startled by seeing me, the boy lost his balance on the slanted roof. I hurriedly ran towards him, but the boy managed to reach out for a protrusion on the roof and avoid falling.
Phew… That was close. Was it because of me?
Feeling somewhat responsible, I waited below as the boy descended using a ladder.
Perhaps this place used to be a restaurant. The building had a large entrance that seemed inviting, and from the open interior, I could see remnants of tables and chairs scattered around…
I vaguely remembered him saying something about relying on his grandfather’s house. Was this it? Or did he take on roof repairs as a job? As the child descended and headed towards me, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.
