Published: January 13, 2026
When I told Apollo that we defeated the dragon with this ballista, he gave a strained smile, his face twitching uncomfortably.
“...I’ve never seen such a terrifying weapon even in other countries. Who exactly developed this?”
“I did.”
When I answered, Apollo’s expression tightened even more.
“This strange shape of the castle walls...”
“I deliberately made the corners. By doing this...”
As I explained about the castle walls, the watchtowers, and the materials used in the buildings, I then guided them toward the Bell Rango Trading Company.
I had expected Bell to join us along the way, but she still hadn’t shown up. She was probably busy checking the documents inside the trading company until the last minute.
Trying to appear calm despite some unease, I entered the store. Inside, it was bustling as usual, with the staff running around attending to customers.
“Is Bell here?” I asked a nearby female merchant who was a former slave.
She responded with a shriek-like sound, bowed her head, and hurried off to the back.
Diane and Rosalie seemed to understand the situation somewhat and gave a wry smile. We all stood there for a moment, and Diane and Rosalie looked surprised by the busy scene inside the shop.
“...There are more customers than I imagined.”
“It’s not just adventurers; there seem to be residents too. You wouldn’t see this kind of scene in a poor village.”
While listening to them talk, Apollo seemed to decide to browse the shop’s goods now that there was some free time before Bell arrived. The staff were fully occupied with the adventurers and residents, so naturally, it fell to me to explain the products.
“This magnificent sword...”
“I made it.”
“...This armor and shield are made of peculiar materials.”
“The raw material is wood, technically.”
With every answer, Apollo’s expression darkened further.
He obviously didn’t trust me.
Realizing this, I decided to show him how I actually made these items and began looking for the materials.
“Sorry to keep you waiting! I’m Bell from the Bell Rango Trading Company!”
At that moment, Bell appeared, sweat on her brow. She greeted us more politely than usual. After greeting Apollo and Diane, she exchanged a few words with Rosalie before turning to me.
“L-Lord Van, since you plan to review the documents tonight at the inn, let’s head to the warehouse together. I’m sorry, but it’s difficult to explain without you here...”
Apologetically, Bell led Apollo toward the demonic beast materials warehouse.
Following behind, Rosalie quietly spoke to Kamushin.
“...How’s life?”
Kamushin answered seriously and earnestly.
“Lord Van and everyone are kind, and I get to eat delicious meals every day. But, I train daily to protect Lord Van, and I’m still quite weak...”
For the first time in a while, Kamushin revealed a worry. It was unusual.
Watching out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rosalie gently stroke Kamushin’s head.
“You seem happy. Then give it your all and become stronger.”
Rosalie said this, and Kamushin nodded with a serious expression.
Hmm. If he has worries like that, I wish he would tell me first, but he probably can’t say it to the person he’s supposed to protect.
I lifted my gaze with mixed feelings and saw Til smiling at me like an older sister.
It was kind of embarrassing.
“This is the warehouse exclusively for demonic beast materials.”
While we were exchanging these words, Bell began explaining nervously as we arrived at our destination.
“Lord Van once defeated a forest dragon, so this warehouse is sized to store materials from two to three large dragons. But even so, the daily influx of demonic beast materials is close to exceeding capacity...”
With a tired smile and voice, Bell prefaced before opening the warehouse doors. She opened the large double doors built to accommodate materials from big demonic beasts and showed Apollo and the others inside.
The sight left not only Apollo but Diane and the others speechless.
In front of us was a narrow passage just wide enough for two adults to walk side by side, flanked on both sides by piles of materials stacked so high they looked like mountains. And all of them were rare demonic beast materials.