1.
Why the hell would he bring that out?!
Now that I was looking at it again, it was unbelievably embarrassing. I had eyes now, and I could see exactly how lacking my past self had been.
It felt like rereading a paper I had edited a year ago.
Every single sentence you pass makes you feel how amateurish it is.
And on top of that, there was a sheet of paper placed beneath each piece of equipment.
I had seen those in the Imperial Palace before.
Those were appraisal reports.
Since this was a Sun Dwarf, and the workshop of the Heirs of Fire at that, of course even the appraisal reports would be top-grade.
"These are the traces you have left behind. In such a short time, you really made quite a lot."
After murmuring that, the dwarf slowly examined them with a grave expression.
Tap.
He lightly touched the greasy gloves.
"...As a first step, this is the most ideal kind of thing."
With a faint smirk, he read the appraisal report beneath it.
I hurried over.
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【No one gets full from the first spoonful.】
『Throw it away, throw it away. No, wait. Give it to Eric, Eric.』
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"Yes, no one gets full from the first spoonful. I don't know who Eric is, but do pass on my congratulations. It is rare to see an item ruined this honestly."
"......"
My ancestor's merciless evaluation came down hard.
Sorry, Eric. Someday, let's meet.
I had always felt guilty about that.
Next came the [Apprentice Blacksmith's Warming Gloves].
"Warming gloves are the most suitable thing to begin with. To make gloves like these after only a single failure... impressive."
He skimmed the appraisal report beneath the gloves and let out a small laugh.
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『Because I made them carefully while thinking of Dolores....』
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"Thinking of Dolores... is she your lover?"
He looked at me as he asked, but I awkwardly averted my gaze.
"......"
She wasn't my lover.
She was my mom, though.
"Though if she were your lover, this is hardly a size a thirteen-year-old child would wear. I do not know who she is, but she must have been pleased."
With a faint smile, he quickly moved on to the next piece of equipment.
It didn't quite suit his somewhat fierce-looking face, but he definitely seemed excited.
No Sun Dwarf had awakened him for ninety-one years, so he had probably been itching badly for something to do.
Next was the [Apprentice Blacksmith's Warming Oversocks].
The one born while I was trying to make Dolores's stockings.
"...The idea was good. Your skill was good too."
"......"
"However, your choice of materials was not particularly excellent, so they must have turned into stiff and heavy oversocks."
After saying that, he looked at the appraisal report.
He flinched.
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『If shoes turn out like this, how am I supposed to make underwear?』
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Fuck.
"Un-underwear?"
"Haha...."
"I-it is admittedly not really within a blacksmith's domain. However, your foresight in looking toward the future is outstanding."
That was obviously praise he had squeezed out by force.
Before long, the very next piece of equipment appeared.
It was [Frostless Spring].
My masterpiece and my ambitious work.
"Huh...?"
The dwarf took one look at the exterior and his eyes widened.
Then he looked at the oversocks he had just seen, turned his head back, and stared at [Frostless Spring] again.
Oversocks.
[Frostless Spring].
Then the oversocks again.
"T-this piece of equipment came out after only a single failure?"
As he unconsciously started to reach out his hand—
Wait.
I instinctively blocked him.
"I'm sorry, sir dwarf, but this is something a woman wears."
More specifically, the woman Dolores.
Sure, it was probably just a copy, but I still didn't really want someone else touching it.
"...... I-I understand. I was not trying to put it on."
When I blocked his hand with a face that allowed not even an inch of compromise, he looked slightly flustered. Without touching it, he brought his eyes right up close to the stockings.
"Where in the world did this fabric come from? Did such a material truly exist in this world? This is not craftsmanship of the Heirs of Fire...."
"...Ahem."
Well, you see.
"That's...."
I slowly explained it to him.
The craftsmanship of the Heirs of Fire was a little... old-fashioned.
And there just happened to be elven knowledge right beside me. Literally right beside me.
I told him I had only borrowed the thermal shock separation process from there and used it to draw out fibers into cloth.
"It's a kind of... yes, collaboration."
"......"
Lionel's illegal collab. Something like that.
When he heard that, his eyes slowly widened.
"...Hah."
Thud.
He dropped straight into the chair in front of the sorting table.
"Are you all right?"
"......"
No answer came.
He wasn't smiling, and he wasn't angry either.
He only stared silently down at [Frostless Spring] with an expression I couldn't put a name to.
"...Four hundred and twenty years ago."
"Pardon?"
"The inter-floor war between the elves and the Sun Dwarves."
Suddenly, I was getting a lecture on the history of the Tower.
"Its stated purpose was to seize each other's techniques."
He looked down at his own hand.
"They crossed floors coveting each other's hands."
"......"
"Over several years, many died, many artisans died, and many people's hands were cut off as well. Do you know what was gained from that?"
"...I don't know."
"Nothing. Neither they nor we managed to bring back even a handful of each other's knowledge."
He lifted his head.
"And yet."
"......"
"You brought it here without bloodshed."
Fwoosh...
The brazier, which had been quietly burning, suddenly flared up a little.
"...It is not as though I still harbor ill feelings toward the elves at this point...."
"......"
"But now that we have finally obtained elven techniques, it only saddens me that my race has declined so far."
After saying that, he stood and looked at the appraisal report beneath [Frostless Spring].
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『Do not doubt the path you walk, but do not become drunk on the path you have already walked.
── That is the first pride of one who handles fire.』
- Praise sent by the sun to [Formal Blacksmith L] -
─────────────────
"Hah... honestly, in all my life—"
He stood there for a long while.
"This is the first time I have ever seen the sun send praise to a [Formal Blacksmith L]."
His hand rose over the paper, then he shook his head.
"Even I only received it after reaching elite rank."
Elite?
It was probably the stage above [Formal Blacksmith L].
So there really was more above it.
"Overall evaluation. Aesthetics, material, performance—everything is excellent."
Tap tap.
He tapped the stars on the appraisal report.
"The only unbelievable thing is this grade itself. Two stars."
Then he moved on to the next piece of equipment.
The next one was...
The long-awaited last one.
Hummm...
It was [The Cradle of Earth].
Apparently the divine species that received contact from a god was not equipment, so it had not been placed on the sorting table.
He looked at the earring glowing green.
"...A divine artifact?"
He murmured quietly.
The dwarf immediately looked at the appraisal report.
[Divine Artifact] [Target God: Gaia]
He flinched.
"Lady Gaia...? N-no, then what about Lady Ignia? To give your first divine artifact to Lady Gaia...."
He put a hand to his forehead as if agonizing over something.
"...Since you used elven techniques as well, it is not an incomprehensible choice for Lady Gaia. However, if you are one of the Heirs of Fire, then naturally Lady Ignia should—"
"Sir dwarf. It's fine."
I grabbed his hand tightly.
I knew what he was worried about.
Honestly, I had only learned it afterward too.
That if you were a Sun Dwarf of the Heirs of Fire, you were supposed to make Ignia's divine artifact first.
But what was I supposed to do now? Spilled water was already spilled.
I'd just make her something good later and apologize.
"I'm the only person who can make divine artifacts anyway."
Even if she got mad, what could she do?
If she wanted a divine artifact, she'd have to calm herself down somehow.
This was the downside of a monopoly. If you don't like it, make one yourself.
He quietly studied me.
"...If even the gods' footsteps have ceased, then no one has the right to complain anymore, no matter whom you choose."
With a bitter expression, he turned his eyes back to the earring.
Slide.
This time, he did not reach out his hand.
He could have touched this one since it wasn't Dolores's earring, but the Imperial Princess's.
Instead of picking it up, he tilted his head and changed the angle of the light falling on it.
"Even for me, this is an item I must be cautious about evaluating in too much detail."
"Pardon?"
"Because peak gemstone craftsmanship has been added to it."
Well, elven gemstone craftsmanship and Sun Dwarf metallurgy had been mixed together.
"To be honest, neither technique has fully ripened to perfection yet."
That evaluation stung a little.
But it was true.
"However."
He added slowly.
"The very act of trying to combine the two into one is something no one has managed in the last thousand years, so that alone is enough."
"......"
"In other words, it is an extremely excellent divine artifact that no one else in the world could make. And as for the aesthetic aspect... is this the kind of sense one is simply born with? Lady Gaia must have been pleased."
She really had liked it a lot. Enough to send me a long letter full of praise.
He took his eyes off [The Cradle of Earth].
With the evaluation of all the equipment complete, he slowly walked to the end of the sorting table.
Step.
On the sorting table where the traces of my journey were lined up—
starting from the greasy gloves, then the warming gloves, the oversocks, [Frostless Spring], and finally [The Cradle of Earth].
At the very end of that line—
"...Descendant."
There was one empty spot left.
He placed his hand on it.
"How does it feel to face the traces you have left behind?"
"......"
To be honest, at first it had been embarrassing.
Half of me felt nostalgic.
And the other half... thought I had done better than expected.
"It wasn't bad."
"......"
He nodded.
"Good."
A smile spread beneath his beard.
"That is enough."
He slowly put strength into the hand resting on the empty spot.
"Now the time has come."
"The time?"
"Descendant."
Flames slowly began to ripple behind the dwarf's back.
"In the name of Harngar, the 11th Workshop Master, I declare this."
Harngar, the 11th Workshop Master.
That was the name of the dwarf ancestor standing before me.
"Ask anything."
"......"
Rumble...
At the same time, the crucible furnace and the brazier both let out the sound of fire boiling up.
"What was the next piece of equipment you wished to make?"
And when I heard that, I had no choice but to agonize inwardly.
This was bad.
"A sword? A shield? Or perhaps... a hammer?"
He bared his teeth in a bright grin.
Wow, this was really bad.
Because the equipment I had wanted to make was...
Something that would fit Dolores's body perfectly without a single error.
Something aesthetically flawless. Something I'd want to see her wearing every single day.
Something breathable so sweat wouldn't build up, while also having excellent magical performance.
That kind of thing.
"If not those, then, Descendant! You mean armor?!"
"......"
Because it had been underwear.
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