Chapter 4: Vito’s Inn
When we arrived in town, I thanked Pardomikhov and returned to the dormitory where I was staying. The students seemed to be out somewhere, so I decided to take a walk around the village alone.
As I was about to leave, I hesitated for a moment. ‘Should I carry a short sword with me?’
Thinking about it, I’ve been quite careless until now. I used to carry weapons in my backpack because it could hold anything, but if I were attacked in that state, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself. Carrying a full-sized sword in town would be cumbersome, so I decided to take a short sword and attach it to my waist.
After hearing various stories, I realized that this world is far too harsh to live in as carefreely as I did back in Japan. It seems necessary to carry a weapon at all times.
‘…Or is it just because I’m a Celestial?’ ‘…I messed up.’
I had heard that there was a blacksmith in this village who repaired weapons for the state military. I thought I’d have the spearhead I found in the shelter on my way back from Gallarblue repaired.
As I walked through the town, it was clear that the place was still far from being fully rebuilt. There weren’t many ordinary civilians, but I did see parents and children working hard in the fields. The vegetables served in the cafeteria mostly came from these local farms. In a remote town like this, primary industries like farming are likely the only way to survive.
While walking and gazing at the lonely streets, I arrived at a building where the clanging sound of metal being hammered echoed. This must be the blacksmith’s workshop.
The building was open like a garage, and I could see a faint red glow of fire in the back. Two short, barrel-shaped men were sweating profusely as they swung their hammers.
I recognized them. I had seen them a few times at the state military outpost.
“Oh, it’s Shigeto-sensei. What brings you here? Do you have something you need forged?”
“Ah, yes. So you two are the blacksmiths?”
“Hahaha! We fight too, but this is our main job.”
They were still officially state soldiers. Their primary role was to maintain the weapons used by the soldiers of Doodle Valley.
At the moment, they seemed to be repairing damaged weapons. I took out the spearhead and showed it to them.
“Can you fix this so Kimijima can use it?”
“Hmm… what’s this…?”
“Well, I picked it up while escaping from Gallarblue.”
“Hmm… Could this be… Kanesada?”
I was startled by the name that casually slipped out. ‘Kanesada.’ It sounded like the name of a renowned swordsmith. There were many swordsmiths who used the name Kanesada, so I couldn’t tell if this was the real deal or just someone who followed the same tradition. But if it was made by someone using that name, could they be a transfer from Japan like us?
“Kanesada? Could they be from the same world as us? Is it famous?”
“Famous? Of course it is. If this is the real thing, it’s a national treasure.”
“…Seriously?”
“Mithril and orichalcum, perhaps. I can’t even tell what the materials are, but the way they’ve been layered and alloyed is beautiful. We can only sharpen it and make a handle, but that should be enough.”
“Oh, so it’s usable?”
“No problem. Is it for that girl with the short spear?”
“Yes.”
After discussing the length of the handle and placing the order, they said they’d cover the cost of the handle materials under the state military’s budget, which was a relief.
I thanked them and started walking again.
It’s rare for me to stroll around Doodle Valley like this. As I wandered aimlessly, I noticed a child on the roof of a large house. Was he repairing the roof? The boy seemed nervous as he walked around, looking for damaged spots.
‘That’s dangerous. Why is a kid doing this? Where are his parents?’
I looked around but didn’t see anyone who looked like a parent. Upon closer inspection, I realized I recognized the boy. He was the kid who worked at the state military cafeteria.
As I looked up, the boy’s eyes suddenly met mine.
“Ah…”
“Hey! Be careful!”
Startled by my presence, the boy lost his balance on the slanted roof and slipped. I rushed toward him, but he managed to grab onto something and avoided falling.
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‘Phew… That was close. Was it my fault?’
From the looks of it, the building seemed to be an inn. I recalled him saying he had come here relying on his grandfather’s house. This must be it. As the boy climbed down and approached me, I felt a bit guilty.
“Sorry for startling you.”
“It’s okay… Celestial-sama, why are you here?”
“Just call me Shigeto. ‘Celestial-sama’ is a bit embarrassing.”
“Shigeto-sama.”
“You don’t need the ‘sama.’ I was just taking a walk around here.”
“A walk?”
“Yeah. I’ve been here for a while, but I’ve never really walked around town.”
‘A walk…’ A kid struggling to make ends like him probably doesn’t have such habits. He listened to me with a puzzled expression.
This house was once an inn run by Vito’s grandfather. It seemed he had no parents and, after struggling to find food, ended up here. Earlier, he had been trying to repair the roof because of severe leaks.
He showed me the second floor to see if I could figure out the cause of the leaks, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.
“I think there’s a carpenter in the state military. Should I ask them?”
“But I don’t have any money.”
“Hmm…”
Looking around, it was clear this was indeed an inn. As I examined the layout of the rooms, an idea struck me.
“Do you plan to run the inn?”
“I’m alone.”
“Right… Well, how about renting out some space to us?”
“Space?”
“Have you heard about us? Right now, the four of us are staying in the state military dormitory. There’s talk of fixing up an abandoned house for us to use…”
“Huh?”
“If you let the four of us stay here, we might be able to mobilize the state military carpenters.”
“Really? You can stay here. That’s fine.”
“Okay. I’m not sure how it’ll turn out, but I’ll ask them anyway.”
“Yeah, thank you.”
It might have been a presumptuous suggestion, but I couldn’t help but feel concerned about this boy living alone. If we could provide him with some income by renting the place, it might work out well for everyone.
With that thought in mind, I decided to act quickly and headed to the state military outpost.
When I arrived, Kimijima and the others were just settling accounts for the magic stones. It seemed they had been hunting monsters in the area with other state soldiers.
When I brought up the idea of moving to the inn, all three of them jumped at the opportunity. They had been wanting to move out of the cramped dormitory into a more spacious place. I then headed straight to Yarzak’s office.
“It’s true that I’ve been a bit hesitant about having you stay in that dormitory.”
“So?”
“I think it’s fine. I’ll arrange it right away.”
“Oh, that’s great. Thank you.”
“No problem. There’s talk of building a church in Doodle Valley soon, and when that starts, we’ll be a bit short-handed. Timing-wise, this is perfect.”
“A church?”
It’s true that every village has a church, but I didn’t realize plans were already in motion.
“Yes. Miree came here to apologize this time, but she’s also been tasked with selecting the location for the church.”
“I see.”
Once the church construction begins, the carpenters in the state military would likely be assigned to that project. It’s good that we made the request before that.
I thanked Yarzak and left his office.
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