[The place where I was made?]
“Yeah. You’re a sword, right? So there must be a blacksmith who made you. The original is probably long dead, but we can hear secrets about the dragon-slaying sword from his descendant.”
[So, that means this descendant is at our destination?]
“Of course. It’s a place called the artisans’ village, ‘Grand Valley.'”
[…I don’t remember well, but I think I’ve heard of it somewhere long ago.]
Personally, Grand Valley was a place I wanted to visit as soon as possible. But it’s a village teeming with national-treasure-level artisans, so it’s heavily guarded, and just getting entry permission took ages.
The force managing the artisans’ village of Grand Valley was none other than the Alpanium Library.
And while Chesa and I were away at the Sun Cathedral, Clan Master Arent had already negotiated with the library side and secured entry permission to Grand Valley.
Arent grinned and said.
“Those arrogant alchemists—I thought negotiations would be tough, but as you said, the moment I mentioned that Abyssal Black Tome (S) or whatever, their eyes completely changed.”
The Abyssal Black Tome.
Putting that grimoire, contracted to one of the Five Heroes, Zirqal, on the negotiation table made things extraordinarily smooth.
It was an item that any scholar interested in ancient magic or history would go crazy for, so it was the perfect card for negotiating with the library.
“So what specifically did the alchemists say?”
“The library side wanted immediate transfer of ownership of the grimoire, but as you instructed, I drew a firm line that it wasn’t possible. Just promising to renegotiate soon was enough to get the entry permission. They were really fired up about it.”
That meant we could collect the value of the Abyssal Black Tome later. Essentially, we got the pass to Grand Valley for nothing.
“They said they’d tip off the gatekeepers of Grand Valley, so come whenever you like. The Seal of Struggle will prove your identity.”
“Understood.”
I nodded in satisfaction.
Arent cleared his throat subtly.
“You’re planning to recruit an exclusive blacksmith there, right? Just bring back one outstanding talent like our finance guy Camillo. The forges around here are completely choked by the Caracol Clan—feels like we’re suffocating.”
“With about a year left until the Glicia civil war, it’s indeed time to get serious about producing magical equipment for the Caracol clansmen.”
“From what you said last time, it’s way worse than I expected. A week ago, the edge on my axe went dull, so I checked out the forges—looked like even simple maintenance was hard to get.”
Arent grumbled.
I hardened my expression.
Actually, the forges in Elanore weren’t completely without capacity for other work.
They were just following orders from their key client, the Caracol Clan, and refusing customers outside Caracol and their subordinate clans.
Equipment condition directly tied to combat power.
If clan members’ combat power suffered, it would cause issues with quest fulfillment or subjugation missions.
Word would spread that to get proper maintenance around here, you’d have to join under Caracol, and then it was only a matter of time before Caracol fully dominated Elanore, following the original history.
Of course, that’s the story if I didn’t get involved.
It wouldn’t flow that smoothly.
Without time to enjoy sweet rest, as the de facto power in Blispiel, the sub-master, I had to check the clan’s development status.
First, I met with Camillo to discuss clan operations. After reviewing financial results so far and setting future policies, we decided to hold interviews to bring in new clerks as needed.
We advertised big with high pay, and a considerable number of intellectuals from around Elanore bit.
“Look over there, it’s Blispiel’s sub-master.”
“…Not only from the same bloodline as one of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes, Ebel Stroke, but he has deep ties with Quentaltin’s Kubri too?”
The applicants buzzed upon seeing me.
…A bit sorry, but the interviews were just for show.
There was a better selection method.
I silently scanned their faces.
Using my character sheet viewing ability, I prioritized those with C-grade or higher relevant traits, and if there were no major flaws, hired them immediately.
<Luca Kesada>
[Level: 16/19]
[Description: Age 29, human race. Learned various tax skills under the Caracol Clan, a talent who even received specialized espionage training.]
Of course, I found landmines in the process.
“That applicant Luca—something feels off, so do a background check.”
“Yes?”
Camillo looked dumbfounded right after hearing that, but after investigation revealed the target was a Caracol spy, he stared at me with eyes like he’d seen a ghost.
“Seems like sending just one or two spies means they don’t see us as a big threat yet.”
“…Regardless of the improved reputation after the Giant’s Sword, with active members under 10, they probably think our substance isn’t that great. More importantly, how did you know Luca was a spy?”
“Just his physiognomy looked like it.”
“Physiognomy? I’ve heard there’s such a study originating from the Ciencia Continent….”
I threw it out casually, but Camillo sank into serious thought. If I left him, he might actually dive into physiognomy, so I quickly spoke up.
“For now, hire that Luca guy too.”
“You’re planning to use the spy against them. Understood.”
As expected, he got it right away.
Befitting a wheeler-dealer who became one of the continent’s top riches from nothing.
“Oh right, did you place those items I mentioned last time inside the clan house?”
“You mean the typewriters? I bought a bunch from the alchemists who came to negotiate last time. Placement is done too. Tried it myself—it’s a big help for work.”
“Good.”
I roughly finished admin duties and returned.
But there was something on my private room desk.
Letterhead from the Stroke Principality.
“Father seems healthy.”
The herbs I packed when leaving the family apparently worked well.
As I roughly checked the updates on other family members in Ridle’s letter, an unbelievable detail jumped out.
—Lastly, recently, our great-uncle has stepped down from his position as frontline commander of Reperta and returned to the principality’s capital, Rykrol. He lived practically in his personal training room for a while, then recently met with His Grace the Grand Duke. I hear he expressed a desire to visit the Blispiel Clan where you are soon.
“…Huh?”
Totally unexpected.
Wait, that old man is coming here?
Abandoning the Reperta frontline?
Clearly, in the original history, Ebel Stroke remained frontline commander of the principality even past age 70 in Part 2.
For him to retire voluntarily.
Hard to believe.
“…What? Did I overuse the seal too much? He’s not really coming to take it back, is he?”
I legitimately inherited the Seal of Struggle, but the original owner is still Ebel. So if he insists, it could get annoying. But I have no intention of returning the seal no matter what that old man does.
…Hm. Worrying now is pointless.
I neatly folded Ridle’s letter and put it in my private room drawer, then used the newly placed typewriter to write a reply.
Tadak tadak!
After that, I banged out several more letters on the typewriter.
Talents I’d considered recruiting since my time in the principality. The intent was to build connections in advance to approach each one.
“About 20 whose whereabouts are hard to track at this point? Of the remaining 80 or so candidates, about 30 are tricky enough to require groundwork…”
Yes.
The recruitment candidates numbered over 100.
Of course, I couldn’t recruit them all.
Many had personalities, backgrounds, or incompatibilities that would lead to inevitable conflicts if placed together.
So I had to consider not just their irreplaceable uniqueness or potential level, but also compatibility with other comrades.
“Let’s think about the current composition first.”
Tadak tadak!
I tapped the typewriter, exuding retro vibes. Doing this reminded me of computer time on modern Earth.
Me (jack-of-all-trades)
Linia (thief? spirit summoner?)
Epio (warrior/tank)
Clara (priest/healer)
Chesa (mage/ranged dealer)
Simplified game-style, it looked roughly like this.
“Excluding Amiel, who’s training hard away from the clan for now… In the current setup, I’d like to add a knight.”
Strictly speaking, current me is closest to the knight position, but with continued random draws, I’ll eventually become a jack-of-all-trades handling spirit summoner, mage, priest, everything.
So I need to balance excluding my presence for now.
Several talents come to mind for knight.
But if picking the absolute best…
“The ideal candidate is… Raycardi, I suppose?”
Female knight Raycardi Shafeck.
The main heroine of Reca Chronicles Part 3.
Her potential level exceeds 60.
Her traits are also excellent.
Though currently on the elite track in the prestigious ‘Order Knight Order,’ making her hard to recruit now, in the future she’ll leave the order voluntarily due to an incident. If the clan’s standing grows as is, pulling her into Blispiel shouldn’t be difficult.
But separate from her excellence,
I need to think carefully about making her a comrade.
Not just because, as a major heroine, she might threaten Clara and Epio’s relationship in Part 3—that selfish concern.
Really.
…Ahem.
No one around, but I cleared my throat anyway.
Anyway, Raycardi is among the top 10 of the 100 comrade candidates. Maybe even top 5 in specs.
But unfortunately, her personality has issues.
Not moral flaws.
Rather the opposite, which is the problem.
She’s a bit extreme, the type where preferences split sharply based on taste?
Her unique upright personality positively influenced protagonist Epio, as proven in the original, but considering other comrades’ recruitment, the options would narrow considerably.
“Since I don’t know what variables will arise, no harm in groundwork ahead.”
I sent letters stamped with the Seal of Struggle to a total of 11 forces, including the Order Knight Order.
They might be puzzled by the sudden contact, but objectively, building ties with me wouldn’t hurt them.
From a third-party view, my abilities and background look highly promising.
Finishing the work, I sighed.
“Hoo….”
The last item to handle was…
Regarding the Schnifelt family’s ‘heavenly punishment.’
“…Typewriter?”
Chesa stared intently at the strange machine in her private room.
Square metal base with round keys embedded, inscribed with Prima common characters.
According to the servant hired by Blispiel Clan, it was a recreation of a document tool from the Magitech Empire era, recently from the Alpanium Library.
Looks intriguing…
The side effect of Void, yin mana erosion.
The resulting finger pain was already gone.
Should be fine to test it.
She placed her fingers on the keys.
And absentmindedly input the word that crossed her mind.
—Chesa Stroke
“………”
She lifted the printed paper and stared for a while.
How long had she zoned out?
“Chesa?”
“…?!”
Hwaruk!
Startled, she unconsciously released flame attribute power and burned the paper.
“What was that just now? Trying the typewriter?”
“Ah, uh, that….”
“More importantly, Chesa, I want to check the Star Seeker page.”
Chesa soon regained composure and gestured to the Nano Eater.
The first spell page unfolded.
Aiden checked the yellow dot on the holographic map—the position of Dragon Horse Cult leader Hagel, aboard Machine God Tribe Melkina.
“Hm. Pretty close to Grand Valley.”
His mouth split into a wide grin.