Published: March 21, 2026
"Choose. Make it a decorative sword, or make it usable in battle even if it's inconvenient."
I said that to Zeal-boy, who arrived with the sword broken clean in two, head bowed.
I'm not a mage, I'm a blacksmith. Sometimes fools bring me swords broken in two and beg me to restore them to fighting condition, but no matter how attached they are, all I can do is either reforge it into something new or simply bind it back together.
If I melted everything down and reforged it, I could make something very similar, but it would become a sword I forged. Most people think that defeats the point.
No matter how carefully you care for it, anyone who's fought knows a sword used in battle is a consumable.
If it had been anyone else, I'd have returned it without a word, without emotion. But this was Zeal-boy, someone who'd grown attached. And the broken sword apparently belonged to Saran, a memento of my old friend. I couldn't bring myself to be that heartless.
When Zeal-boy fell silent, unable to decide, I sighed heavily.
"All right. If you think for days and still can't decide, come back to me."
After confirming he nodded, I sent him off that day.
True to my word, when he spent several days brooding without deciding, I offered him another option.
"Come with me."
The airship was finished, and I left the loading and preparations to the young heroes. I took Zeal-boy to a room in a building I knew well. We were probably leaving today or tomorrow, so I intended to retrieve whatever I brought back soon.
The corner room had, upon closer inspection, a blank space in the wall about the size of a small closet. By pushing an inaccessible book on the shelf deeper, the shelf slid aside and revealed a hidden door. A common trick.
"This is...?"
Zeal-boy started back a half step at the sudden room. I felt along the wall and turned on the hidden room's light.
This building had originally been the safe house for our former hero party. My mother, who had taken up residence there, had remodeled parts of it to suit herself, but she never touched the truly important places. As much as I hate to admit it, her perception is remarkable.
The room, which could only be entered through the hidden door in the empty room, was covered in dust, frozen in the state from back then.
I pressed a button on a nearby device and in an instant the dust vanished, revealing swords, blades, bows, staffs and other weapons ready to use.
"This is the former hero party's armory. I forged all of it for myself and for those guys. And this room was made by the former hero in case of a surprise assault, and for the juniors who might one day fight the demon king."
I stroked the scabbard of a short dagger meant for self-defense. I remembered every weapon in this room.
Aoi Miyako, the first princess of the Human race's Yamato Country, used a single-edged blade specialized for cutting like the ones Akira and Kyosuke use now. So I made a sword whose blade vibrated at high speed so it could slice through even the hardest enemies.
For Luke Lapis Lazuli, the Elf race's best archer at the time, I made ten arrows that would always pierce the enemy and automatically return to the quiver. Even if they broke, a little magical power would fix them.
My childhood friend, Ritter Ganador of the Beastmen, already had the Holy Sword, so I forged a dagger that could take a mortal blow once in his stead.
I can wield any weapon. So I forged every weapon that exists in this world. Not just swords and daggers, but minor weapons like iron fans, battle axes, morning stars—everything.
It's a shame that more than half of them are rotting away in this room without ever being touched by their intended wielders.
"If they'd had the weapons from this room back then, they surely would have returned alive. But that didn't happen — only I survived, looking foolish. Honestly, it eats at me."
I said with a self-mocking laugh. I saw Zeal-boy's lips move as if to reply, but whatever he wanted to say vanished without sound.
"You — live. From here on, in Demon Clan territory, anyone could die at any time. So I want at least you to stay alive. That's my wish. This time, I don't want to be wrong."