Chapter 43: The Sword That Chose Its wielder

Vitus approached the first sword.

He lifted it high with one hand.

“This feels quite heavy when held.”

Whoosh whoosh—

He swung it this way and that.

“But the center of gravity is biased to one side, so it requires unnecessary strength to handle.”

The participant’s face stiffened at the harsh criticism of the first sword.

The judging continued.

“You added detailed engravings to make it stylish. Especially this bumpy decoration on the handle—it’s gorgeous.”

He didn’t even pick up the second sword.

“But this suits a decorative sword. For a user, it’s just cumbersome. It’s not practical.”

With that one comment, numerous swords were eliminated in an instant.

“By my standards, the clean and decent swords are these two.”

One was a rough sword with no embellishments, and the other was simple yet elegant.

“Visually, both swords have well-balanced weight and are very practical. There’s nothing obstructive on the handles either.”

Vitus examined the two swords carefully.

“Ahem… Both are so well-made that it’s hard to decide superiority.”

His deliberation deepened, and the judging time stretched.

“If I absolutely must choose one, to fit the purpose of the competition~”

Vitus lifted one sword.

“I will select this one with higher completion as the final choice.”

“The final winner has been decided! Winner, please come up to the stage.”

The host looked toward where the apprentices were standing.

Step step.

I moved my feet.

To make way for the protagonist of this competition.

The dwarf beside me climbed onto the stage with a bright face.

I clapped for him while watching.

Honestly, it’s a bit disappointing.  

If there had been more time, I could have finished it better.

“Congratulations. Next, we will award the runner-up. Winner, please come up to the stage.”

Finally, my turn.

I jumped onto the stage.

In that instant.

“That sword was made by the human apprentice?”

“Beating out the competitive dwarf apprentices to take runner-up.”

Gasps erupted from the audience seats. 

Vitus’s mouth also fell open at the unexpected situation.

“How is a human here? Could it be that you made this sword?”

As if in disbelief, he double-checked with the host.

“Congratulations.”

The moment I received the runner-up trophy from the host.

“Applause for the runner-up!”

“Amazing!”

“Cool!”

Clap clap clap.

Fierce cheers poured out.

Flash.

I raised the trophy high above my head.  

A huge wave of emotion overwhelmed me.

A sense of achievement and pride surged wildly.

“With this, the competition concludes. Everyone, please enjoy the banquet.”

The competition ended, and the banquet began immediately after.

“You did great! Runner-up in your first competition! I’m truly proud of you.”

Kadu beamed with a wide smile.

At that moment.

“Congratulations on runner-up.”

Someone spoke to me from behind.

It was Vitus.

“The sword was attractive without any excess. As a fellow human, I’m really proud.”

“Thank you for viewing my sword favorably.”

“But I’m curious about one thing. I definitely felt the blade length and handle position were unusual.”

“You noticed?”

“Is there a reason you made it that way? If not, you could have scored higher.”

“I made it with a specific user in mind.”

“With a user in mind?”

Vitus nodded as if he finally understood.

“I see… You must have considered the individual’s body or habits.”

Vitus slapped his palm with his fist.

“To not recognize such an excellent sword! My insight was lacking.”

“No, it’s not that. For a competition, I should have made a sword for the masses, but I couldn’t bend my stubbornness.”

“Whoever receives that sword, they’ll definitely love it.”

After that, I chatted with Vitus about various things.

He seemed quite well-known in the kingdom even among advanced adventurers.

“You do business in Alburton too? May I visit sometime?”

“Anytime.”

***

As soon as I returned to the Floating Island, Elenia flew over like an arrow.

“How was the competition?”

“Ta-da! Runner-up trophy!”

“Wow! I knew you could do it!”

“Piiit!”

“Mooouuu!”

I held Elenia’s hands and danced around joyfully.

“This calls for celebration. I should bring out the honey I’ve been saving!”

“Then I’ll prepare pancakes to eat with it.”

A pancake party to celebrate!

I mixed flour and eggs in a pot for the batter.  

I added milk and cooking oil to adjust the consistency.

Once the batter was the right thickness, I lightly oiled the pan and poured it in.

When bubbles formed on the batter, I flipped it whoosh without hesitation.  

One side was cooked to a soft brown, perfectly golden.

Soon, I gently rubbed butter on the browned side to let it soak in.  

Repeating this two or three times created moist pancakes infused with buttery aroma.

“Pour honey over it, and it’s pure bliss!”

“Looks delicious!”

“Piiit!”

“Mooouuu!”

“Let’s eat before it cools.”

The table was set with butter-scented pancakes and steaming hot milk.

“First, the warm milk.”

I lifted the cup, blew on the warm milk, and brought it to my mouth.

Slurp.

Boiling the milk doubled its savory fragrance.

“Try the pancakes too! They’re so good!”

“Really? I have to try right now.”

I cut a fluffy, butter-soaked pancake and put it in my mouth.

“This is plum honey? My mouth is full of plum fragrance!”

The honey-drenched pancake melted smoothly in my mouth.

“To celebrate Fabir’s runner-up—cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“Piiit!”

“Mooouuu!”

We clinked our milk cups and gulped it down.  

With every bite of pancake, I sank into sweetness.

After cleaning up the meal, I pondered for a while where to place the trophy.

“I’m thinking of making a display case next to the plum tree.”

“That sounds good.”

First, I placed the sword I brought along with the trophy on the table.

“If we’re storing the sword too, the display case will need to be quite large.”

“This is for Cayton. I promised to gift him a sword if I made one last time.”

“But isn’t it a shame for your first work?”

“Wouldn’t it be better for it to be used rather than stuck on a wall?”

A sword left alone will dull its edge.

Imagining Cayton’s happy face when he receives it made me smile automatically.

***

Giving a gift makes the receiver happy, but truthfully, the giver gets pretty excited too.

The next day, I headed to Alburton with a thrilled heart, carrying the sword.

But for some reason, the herb shop was bustling.

“Please, just consider it once.”

“This isn’t something I can decide alone.”

A man was pleading with Bernard.

“Bernard, what’s going on?”

“Ah, Fabir. Well—”

Before Bernard could finish, the man suddenly rushed over and greeted me.

“Fabir. Nice to meet you. I’m Logan, a newspaper reporter.”

“N-nice to meet you. But what’s this about?”

“We’re preparing a special feature to promote tourism this time.”

“A special feature?”

“It’s introducing famous spots. This is the only herb shop left in Alburton, so we wanted to cover—”

“Sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Huh?”

The reporter’s eyes widened.  

He was clearly flustered.

“If you’re worried about advertising costs, you don’t need to be.”

“It’s not that. If I wanted advertising, I would have paid for an article.”

“Then why decline?”

“Business is already good enough. We’re not ready to handle more customers yet.”

I gently persuaded him and sent him on his way.

But Logan’s retreating figure carried lingering regret.

“It was a good opportunity.”

Bernard felt the same.

“If an article came out, you wouldn’t have to bother promoting it yourself, Fabir?”

“Sure, a newspaper article would spread rumors beyond Alburton in the outskirts to the capital. But that’s the biggest problem.”

“Yes?”

“Nobles and merchants from the capital would smell money and flock here. Then… people trying to control this place their way would appear.”

Alburton was on the fringes even in the western continent, free from politics.  

But if nobles from the capital came, the story changes.

It’s not necessarily bad, but preparing for what might happen isn’t a bad idea either.

I like things as they are now.

“Hmm. That’s a plausible possibility.”

“We don’t yet have the strength to withstand such external pressure. When we expand and can handle any pressure, we’ll think about it again again.”

“You had it all thought out, Fabir? I’ll trust and follow you to the end!”

Bernard’s gaze felt a bit burdensome, so I quickly changed the topic.

“By the way, how’s the athlete’s foot?”

“Completely satisfied! My feet are clean, and the foot odor is gone. Not just tea tree soap—all the laundry soaps are sold out.”

“I was curious about the effects—glad it worked. I’ll make more when I get back.”

“And about the shop you mentioned before, I looked into it.”

We had talked about expanding the store last time.

“Any good properties nearby?”

“When I asked, the shop right next door said they’re willing to sell.”

“The next-door shop would be perfect.”

I had wanted the neighboring shop in my heart, and luckily, it came up for sale.

Opportunities like this are rare.  

When they arise, you have to seize them.

“But funding is the issue.”

“Don’t worry about that. I have a good method.”

Bernard tilted his head.