‘…What, what does that mean?’
Seeing this, Histori silently opened her mouth.
‘So what you’re saying is that Amir, as the deity-chosen Hero, not only has the power to kill the Demon King with one strike, but can even touch a damaged Sacred Artifact and restore it to its original state?’
‘Having high stats is one thing, but why is her ability so broken? Can the Demon Race even play like this?’
“…”
At the same time, Baron and Yorike, who were closer to the Sacred Artifact than Histori, were even more excited.
“…It’s glowing, it’s glowing! After all this time, the Anvil of Thunder has responded again!”
Baron’s face turned purple with excitement.
He lunged forward, hugging the Anvil of Thunder, tears and snot smearing all over his face.
“Gods, two months! Do you know how I’ve been getting through these two months? I’ve been so anxious that I can only drink two or three barrels of alcohol a day!”
He turned around, glanced at Amir, then nodded in sudden realization.
“So that’s it! I never thought the method to reawaken the Anvil of Thunder would be to possess a pure, untainted heart of a child that has never touched forging!”
“…”
Hearing Baron’s words—whether it was praise or insult—Amir shrugged nonchalantly and casually tossed the hammer in her hand into Baron’s arms.
Baron fumbled to catch the hammer, took a deep breath, and full of anticipation, swung it down at the Mithril Ore before him.
crack
“…”
No reaction.
The Dwarf Race’s Sacred Artifact seemed to have turned back into an ordinary lump of scrap metal.
“Why, why!? Could it be that my stance just now was wrong?”
Baron frowned in confusion.
He turned, glanced again at the Hero with the pure heart, then faced the Anvil of Thunder once more and took a deep breath.
“…Huff, pure heart, pure heart… I’ve never forged before, this is my first attempt…”
While trying to hypnotize himself, he slammed the hammer down with both hands.
As expected, the Anvil of Thunder showed no response.
Only the Mithril Ore flew backward due to inertia.
“Um, Chieftain, please calm down. Maybe that spark was just our imagination, or maybe it was static electricity! That happens all the time when forging in a wool sweater!”
“Bullshit! Do you think I’m senile?! After all these years as the chief blacksmith, you think I can’t tell the difference between a Sacred Artifact’s reaction and static electricity!?”
Baron barked at Yorike, then scratched his big nose and forced a fawning smile at Amir.
“Um, Lady Hero, no, Lady Savior!”
He held out the hammer, presenting it to Amir.
“Could you please try once more? Perhaps… perhaps the deity sensed your unique, noble soul and specially manifested its power for you!”
However, faced with Baron’s groveling request, Amir, who had been actively engaging with the Sacred Artifact, suddenly did a complete one-eighty in attitude.
“I’m sorry, Chieftain.”
Amir crossed her arms.
Instead of taking the hammer, she even took half a step back, wearing an expression that kept him at arm’s length.
“If I can awaken your race’s Sacred Artifact, that would naturally be a good thing, however…”
She looked down at her palm, frowned, and added a hint of well-measured reluctance to her tone.
“That one swing just now somehow drained a lot of my energy. It’s as if the Anvil of Thunder was absorbing my power.”
“…”
Baron silently stroked his beard, then awkwardly rubbed his hands together as he smiled at Amir.
“Then… please try for five more minutes? No, even three minutes is fine! If you can truly reawaken it, whatever you desire, the Dwarf Race will do everything in their power to fulfill your wish!”
“No.”
Without a second of hesitation, Amir firmly shook her head.
“Based on what I felt just now, even if I used my power to nurture it every day, it would probably take over ten years to restore it to its original state.”
“…Ten years!?”
Yorike, standing nearby, gasped.
“Ten, ten years, so what?! Ten years is but a brief moment, you know!?”
Chieftain Baron turned around and angrily tapped Yorike on the forehead.
“It’s just the downtime of half a Great Forging Festival! As long as we can repair the Sacred Artifact, never mind ten years, we can wait thirty!”
With that, Baron turned back to Amir and spoke fawningly.
“Um, great Lady Hero, I swear in the name of Baron Graymane, head of the Dwarf Elder Council and chief blacksmith of the Great Forging Assembly: if you are willing to stay in Vulcania and spend some time nurturing the Anvil of Thunder, all resources of the Great Forging Assembly are at your disposal! Whether it’s the finest wine, the best equipment, or…”
“That’s impossible.”
Amir ruthlessly cut off Baron’s unrealistic fantasy.
“Chieftain Baron, you yourself said it: I am the Hero of the United Kingdom, not a babysitter for the Dwarf Race. I cannot stay here for over ten years just to repair your anvil.”
Having said that, Amir turned around and beckoned to Histori who was standing in the corner.
“Let’s go, Histori. Since we’ve already given Chieftain Baron and the others a solution, our crime of breaking into the Great Forging Assembly should be considered settled.”
“Now then, I wish you a smooth performance at next month’s Great Forging Festival.”
“…Wait, wait a moment!”
Seeing that Amir was really about to leave the Great Forging Assembly like this, Baron bounced up from the ground like a bear that had its tail stepped on.
He stumbled to the entrance of the Sacred Chamber and spread his arms, blocking Amir’s way.
“Lady Hero, let’s talk this over! You can’t just leave the Anvil of Thunder like this! There’s no other way to save the Dwarf Race except for you!”
“…”
Amir sighed helplessly and gently rubbed her forehead with her fingertip.
“Chieftain, I’ve already said that this is a very heavy burden for me. Not to mention using my power to nourish it every day, just staying in Vulcania alone…”
“No, you don’t need to! I’ve thought of something—you don’t actually need to stay here at all.”
Thinking of the words he was about to say, Baron silently gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he closed his eyes, then extended his arm and pointed his finger straight at the Dwarf Sacred Artifact in the center of the Sacred Chamber.
“Lady Hero, please… just take it away. Take our Dwarf Race’s Sacred Artifact with you!”