'Oh dear, I'm sorry. I'm so distraught.

　Having regained his composure, Alan and I finally got down to business.

'I understand your request was for a single custom-made sword and the regular purchase of weapons from our workshop.
'Yes. Our current purchasing channels are numerous and inexpensive, but high quality weapons are hard to come by.
''The price tag is perfect. And if we can supply weapons to the front line of the defeat of the Demon King, it will add to the reputation of our workshop. By the way, I have one question: ......

　For some reason, Alan began to speak in hushed tones as he leaned forward at the common room table.

'Will the weapons we supplied you with still be mithril-engineered?
I will, sir, but what's the harm in that?
'No way!　If I could, I would buy one of these in my workshop and display it in the hall for all my guests to see!　It's just like a dream!

　Alan's strange switch seems to have been flipped again.

　Garnett's face is contorted again, disgusted.
　Alan would never dream that this awful-looking person would be a beautiful girl instead of a beautiful boy.

　In our employees, Noir is sometimes like Alan, but if that's the reason why Garnet and Noir's horses don't match up, could it be because of that?

I'd like to process it in our workshop, but ...... unfortunately we don't have permission to do so, so ...... or rather, none of the members of the blacksmith's union here are allowed to handle mithril. There is none!

　The daily dealings in the white wolf store almost numb my senses, but originally mithril was a rare metal that was rare to even see in the flesh.

　It is considered impossible to mine it on the ground, and the only way to obtain it is through a very limited number of dungeons.

　Because of its scarcity, mining, processing, and sales require approval from the royal court, and violations can result in the death penalty.

　This request is also limited to the purchase of weapons, and the mithril processing must be done entirely on my side.

''...... kohon. Excuse me, let's get back to the subject at hand. I have no objection to the terms of the deal. I will be sending you the design for the custom-made product as soon as it is completed.

　Apart from the occasional stagnation in excitement, the discussion of the deal continued to make good progress.

　Eventually, the consultation on the weapon stocking was over and they were about to change places to prepare in advance for the custom-made sword strike when Alan brought up another subject.

'You're an old acquaintance of Mr. Travis's, aren't you, Luke? From what I've heard, he was a party member at one time.
'That was a long time ago. We haven't seen each other very often in the last few years.
'I guess I was an adventurer at Mr. Travis' place for probably a couple of those years. It wasn't very long, you know.

　After all this time, I've never met Alan in person before.

　Because Travis' party has a policy of actively accepting newcomers and encouraging them to stand on their own, there is a relatively high turnover of members.

　Most of the current members didn't even know my face, so it was no surprise that Alan had never visited Travis during his time with the party.

'I come from a family that has been blacksmiths for generations, and I became an adventurer because I rebelled against my parents who wanted me to take over the family.

　As they left the Blacksmith's Guild building and made their way to the workshop, Alan began to talk about his past, perhaps to connect the scene.

　The cloud cover in the sky was a bit dubious, but the rain would have to hold off until they got back to Green Hollow.

'But as I watched the other adventurers put their lives into weapons to fight, I was reminded of the importance of making weapons. I decided to return to my hometown of Tri-Brook and take over the blacksmithing business.
...... You had a good experience.
'Yes. Yes, everything was a great experience. I also got to experience firsthand what kind of weapons adventurers are looking for.

　While Alan and I were engaged in a conversation between those who were close to our circumstances, Garnett was walking a little behind me in silence.

　Have I bored you by any chance?
　So I turned around and met eyes with Garnett, who was looking at me and smiling.

　Then Garnett's smile instantly disappeared and he looked away from me, looking deeply unhappy.

''We're here. This is my workshop.''
Ah, we've arrived. We're getting very long in line.

　As soon as he was invited into Alan's blacksmithing workshop, Garnett took a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to Alan.

'I want the sword to be engraved with the same markings as this diagram.
'Is this ...... a magic pattern?　I can't accept your request to grant magical effects (enchantments). I don't have those skills.
It's enough that you only need the Mark. Our wizard is supposed to use the Mark as a base for the spellcasting tool to create the effect later.
Okay, so that shouldn't be a problem.

　The content of their exchange was completely new to me.

　Imprint?　A wizard?　What the hell is Garnett talking about?

'Hey, Garnett. By wizard, you don't mean Noir, do you?
'There's no one else in Green Hollow who can [make magic tools]. When we were talking about making a sword, I asked him to help me. I thought I'd make it an incredibly powerful weapon anyway.

　I was amazed. I was truly surprised from the bottom of my heart.

　I didn't think that I had established a friendly relationship with Noir to the extent of making such a request in person.

　The fact that Noir and Erika have become close without realizing it is one thing, but it seems that the relationships between the people at the White Wolf Store are deepening even without my knowledge.

　And at the same time, my heart aches when I remember Garnett's statement the other day.

　-- you should trust Noir. It's a good idea to be suspicious and wary. It's easier for both of us to feel comfortable that way...

　I wasn't the only one who had a hard time doubting while believing.
　Garnett would have felt much better if he could have doubted Noir on the pretense of 'being a role player', too.

　But as soon as Garnett checked my expression, he raised his eyebrows and lightly poked me in the chest.

''Don't give me that weird look,'' she said. It's just that he'll do anything to get the job done. If that guy says he's going to betray you, he's going to cut you in half from the brain at any time.
"You don't have ...... mind-reading skills or anything, do you?
You know what? You're just being facetious.

　And so the meeting to create the Garnett weapon proceeds.

　Length, shape, weight. Every element would be designed in such a way that the garnet would be easy to use.
　Of course, it was necessary to keep in mind the [Synthesis] with Mithril in mind, and it seemed to be a very difficult process, but surprisingly, it seemed to be coming together smoothly.

　It's natural if you think about it.
　Garnett is a knight, an 'expert in using weapons', and Alan is a blacksmith, an 'expert in making weapons'.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time in the city.

　I went to the front door to check on the situation, but what I found there was a depressing scene.

'It's raining so hard at a time like this ...... I wonder if it will stop by the time I get home.

　My hopes were dashed, and the rain showed no signs of abating as we left Tri-Brook by the time we had to leave.

　If we tried to leave now, we'd be stuck in this downpour for five hours at the worst.

'What do we do now, Garnett?'
You can't do anything about it. You're going to have to give up on going back to Green Hollow today, aren't you?
All right. All right, I'll find a place to stay.

　We asked Alan for the location of the nearest inn and then ran as fast as we could through the pouring rain.