……What, what does that mean?
Seeing this, Histori silently opened her mouth wide.
‘So, you’re saying that Amir, as the Hero chosen by the Deity, not only has the strength to cut down the Demon King in one blow, but can also touch a damaged Sacred Artifact and restore it to its original state?’
‘It’s one thing to have those stats! But why does her ability have to be this broken? How are the Demon Race supposed to compete?’
‘…’
Meanwhile, Baron and Yorike, who were closer to the Sacred Artifact than Histori, were even more agitated.
‘…It’s lit, it’s lit! After all this time, the Anvil of Thunder has finally responded again!!’
Baron’s face flushed purple with excitement as he lunged forward, hugging the Anvil of Thunder in front of him.
Tears and snot smeared across his face.
“Deity, two months—do you have any idea how I’ve been getting through these two months? I’ve been so anxious that I could only drink two or three kegs of booze a day!”
He turned, glanced briefly at Amir, and then nodded with sudden realization.
“I see… So the way to reawaken the Anvil of Thunder is to possess an innocent heart, pure and untouched by the art of forging!”
‘…’
Hearing Baron’s words—whether they were praise or insult—Amir shrugged nonchalantly and tossed the hammer in her hand into Baron’s arms.
Baron fumbled to catch the hammer, took a deep breath, and swung it down at the Mithril ore before him with great anticipation.
“Crack.”
‘…’
Nothing happened.
The Dwarf Race’s Sacred Artifact seemed to have turned back into an ordinary piece of scrap metal.
“Wh-why!? Was it because my posture was wrong?”
Baron frowned in confusion.
He turned, glanced again at the Hero with the innocent heart, then faced the Anvil of Thunder and took another deep breath.
“…Hah, innocent heart, innocent heart. I’ve never forged before—this is my first attempt…”
As he hypnotized himself, he slammed the hammer down with both hands.
Naturally, the Anvil of Thunder remained unresponsive.
The Mithril ore simply flew backward from the momentum.
“Uh, Chief, please calm down. Maybe that flash of electricity was just an illusion, or perhaps just static electricity! Doesn’t that happen all the time when you forge wearing a sweater?”
“Bullshit! Do you think I’m senile?! I’ve been the chief blacksmith for years—do you think I can’t tell the difference between a Sacred Artifact’s reaction and static electricity!?”
Baron yelled at Yorike, then scratched his large nose and forced a fawning smile toward Amir.
“Um, Hero—no, Savior!”
He held out the hammer and offered it back to Amir.
“Could you, please give it another try? Maybe… maybe the Deity sensed your unique, noble soul and chose to manifest divine power for you!”
But faced with Baron’s groveling request, Amir—who had been so keen on the Sacred Artifact—did a complete one-eighty in attitude.
“Sorry, Chief.”
Amir crossed her arms. Instead of taking the hammer, she even took a half-step back, wearing an expression that pushed him away.
“If I can awaken your race’s Sacred Artifact, that’s naturally a good thing. However…”
She looked down at her palm, frowned, and added a touch of appropriate reluctance to her tone.
“That single swing of the hammer somehow drained a lot of my energy, as if the Anvil of Thunder was absorbing my power.”
‘…’
Baron silently stroked his beard, then clasped his hands together with an ingratiating smile.
“Th-then how about five more minutes? No, even three minutes would do! If you can truly reawaken it, the Dwarf Race will do everything in its power to grant whatever you desire!”
“No.”
Without even a second of hesitation, Amir shook her head firmly.
“Based on what I felt just now, even if I were to use my power to nurture it every day, it would take over ten years to fully restore it.”
“Ten years?!”
Yorike, standing nearby, gasped.
“What’s wrong with ten years?! Ten years is just a blink of an eye, alright!?”
Chief Baron turned and angrily knocked on Yorike’s forehead.
“It’s just half a Great Forging Festival’s downtime. As long as we can fix the Sacred Artifact, we can wait not just ten years, but even thirty!”
With that, Baron turned back to Amir and said fawningly,
“Um, great Hero, I swear in the name of Baron Graymane, Head of the Dwarf Elder Council and Chief Blacksmith of the Great Forging Assembly, that if you are willing to stay in Vulcania and spend some time nurturing the Anvil of Thunder, all the resources of the Great Forging Assembly will be at your disposal! Whether it’s the finest ale, top-tier equipment, or…”
“Impossible.”
Amir cut off Baron’s unrealistic fantasies without mercy.
“Chief Baron, you yourself said it—I am the Hero of the United Kingdom, not a babysitter for the Dwarf Race. I cannot spend over a decade here just to repair your anvil.”
With that, Amir turned and waved at Histori, who was standing in the corner.
“Let’s go, Histori. Since we’ve already provided Chief Baron and his people with 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.”
“…W-wait!”
Seeing that Amir was really about to leave the Great Forging Assembly, Baron bounced up like a bear whose tail had been stepped on.
He stumbled to the entrance of the Sacred Chamber, spread his arms, and blocked Amir’s way.
“Hero, let’s talk this over. You can’t just leave the Anvil of Thunder like this! Aside from you, there’s no other way to save the Dwarf Race!”
‘…’
Amir sighed helplessly and rubbed her forehead with her fingertip.
“Chief, I’ve already told you—this is a serious burden for me. Not to mention using my power to nurture it every day, just the fact that I have to stay in Vulcania…”
“No, that’s not necessary. I’ve figured it out—you don’t actually need to stay here at all.”
Thinking of what he was about to say, Baron gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly.
After a few seconds of hesitation, he closed his eyes, straightened his arm, and pointed his finger straight at the Dwarf Race’s Sacred Artifact in the center of the Sacred Chamber.
“Hero, please… take it—take our Dwarf Race’s Sacred Artifact with you!”
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