7th Demon Prince Jilbagias’ Chronicle of Demon Kingdom Toppling

60.1 Magic Smithy

『Handle it with care dammit!』

When I returned from the battlefield and showed my sword, my dwarf blacksmith acquaintance said so with a dumbfounded face.

『I always did. Otherwise, this sword would have long since been broken.』

I replied with an equally dumbfounded face.

『I’ve used it to cut apart countless goblins and orcs, fighting against demon race’s spear, clashing with devil’s claw… And still not broken. Praise my skills for being able to pull that stunt off.』

Both the dwarven blacksmith and I looked down at the sword on the anvil.

The sword’s blade was tattered, it was more like a saw than a sword. It also bent due to numerous clashes with the demon race’s spears, and since I sheathed it as it was, the bend turned into a distortion. Now I couldn’t even keep it in its sheath.

Alas, it wasn’t broken. If I had to say, I should be praised for my skill which managed to prevent it from breaking.

『…』

The dwarven blacksmith took his hammer in silence, loaded a bit of his magical power into his hammer and struck lightly at the base of the sword.

The blade broke along with a crisp sound.

『… Saved by the skin of your neck.』

Muttered the dwarven blacksmith.

『…』

Unlike before, an awkward silence enveloped the smithy.

『… Enough already.』

『Eh?』

『I said! I’ve had enough of this!!』

He started pulling his bushy beard, threw his bandana, pulling his hair with bloodshot eyes as he raised such a scream.

『I’ve fixed it again and again… Too many times till I’ve lost count! Yet this muscle brain keeps wasting it every time he returns from the frontline!』

『It can’t be helped alright! I’ve been swinging it really carefully so this sorry of a sword won’t be damaged!!』

We butted heads against each other as we shouted our frustration.

『… Okay, I got it already!! How much can pay me, shi*tty brat!?』

『Eh!? What are you talking about!?』

『I’m a dwarf! I can’t just make something for free due to law! We have to receive appropriate compensation! We won’t be able to work unless we received appropriate compensation!!』

Said the dwarven blacksmith annoyingly.

『For you human race, it will be in the form of money! Especially YOU! It won’t be on the level of true strike but, I’ll forge you a demon sword, or what you call a holy sword that won’t break.』

The dwarven blacksmith brought his face closer as he shouted like that at me.

『That’s why gimme all of your money!!』

『… Sure, I’ll even give you all of my savings!!』

Unwilling to lose, I shouted back at him.

Since I’ve almost never used my money, I’ve had quite a lot of savings at this point.

『In exchange, make a fuc*king tough blade that won’t bend or break!』

『I’ll forge a damn blade that will be even more stubborn than your damn head!! I’ll shave my beard and dance naked in the middle of the plaza if it breaks!!』

We were literally shouting at each other at this point.

And then, I threw in everything I had to his workshop――

And he forged an extremely durable sword that wouldn’t break with blood curdling vigor.

Well I had to say that the sword he forged was definitely an extremely durable one. He didn’t lie when he said it was even more stubborn than me.

Even the demon king’s spear that punched through the shield that was loaded with numerous miracles and defensive prayer like they were nothing more than pieces of paper couldn’t break that sword――

That sword really fought with me till the bitter end, heck, it really was even more stubborn than me since I simply died first.

†††

Sofia, Garounya, and of course the doggy Liliana who followed for some reason was walking in the perimeter of the southern side of the demon king castle.

The dwarven workshop is located around this perimeter. By the way, the northern side was the night elves’ residence. There was a saying that elves and dwarves were like oil and water after all.

「Forest elf and dwarf have a really shi*tty relationship though.」

That was what I said as I looked at Liliana who was walking happily, on all fours. In fact, I wanted to leave her in my room but she suddenly barked sadly like a real dog upon knowing that I was about to leave without her.

Now I’m a bit scared of how she would react when she saw a dwarf. Had she remembered how she acted like a dog in front of dwarves, she might have flipped in rage once her ego returned…

「How’s the relationship between night elf and dwarf?」

The dwarves who reside in the demon king castle were those who got captured by the demon kingdom for one or another reason. It seems that even the demon kingdom had no choice but to value the dwarven’s smithing skill and give them special treatment, as long as they were working properly that is.

「The night elf said 『Couldn’t hit it off』.」

According to Sofia, though the night elf highly valued the dwarven’s craftsmanship and even vouched for them, both sides didn’t seem to be able to get along with each other.

That’s… Only natural I guess. It would be even stranger if the fussy night elf could get along with stubborn dwarven craftsmen.

By the way, the dwarves and the forest elves might be fighting shoulder-to-shoulder in the alliance right now but their opinions tend to clash due to their long-standing feud.

Needless to say that the reason was that the forest elves were naturalists. Dwarfs on the other hand had to cut down trees as fuel to forge their axes or hammers.

There was even a saying that the first charcoal maker was actually a dwarf, thus making both the forest elves and the dwarves often argue about the resources of the forest. Their conflict had abated somewhat after the dwarves invented coal, alas, it doesn’t mean that they forgot their long history of conflict, they still threw a jab at each other whenever they met in one place.

But then, the conflict wasn’t as bad as the conflict between the night elf and the forest elf.

「… Wau?」

Liliana tilted her head curiously seeing me unable to say anything.

The sound of a hammer hitting the anvil became louder and louder as we approached the dwarves’ workshop. Even the temperature in the air was a bit higher than normal, the sign that we were about to arrive at the blacksmith――

「That’s the place huh.」

How dwarves-like, the gate was made from splendid metal. Modest yet imposing, the dwarves’ armor, hammer, or their mountain village were treated with care.

And then―― They were physically strong in nature, and that wasn’t because of magic.

Maybe because they were captured, the dwarven’s craftsmen were obviously less spirited.

Two stout and short dwarves gatekeepers stood by the sides of the gate, armed with a sorry excuse of a warhammer.

「This one is his highness 7th demon king’s child, Jilbagias. He has business with the backsmith.」

After Sofia said so, both gatekeepers bowed bluntly and opened the gate.

That moment, the hot air inside the smithy blew out.

Honestly it didn’t seem like the area in the demon king castle at all. The hearth was in full operation, there was lighting high up and a ventilation hole… And naturally, lattice to prevent the dwarves from escaping.

Any dwarven craftman could easily get out from the lattice, in short, their status as captives were just for show.

The dwarven craftmans kept swinging their hammer non-stop even in that kind of environment. From the one who made simple adjustments in the equipment till the one who loads their magical power into each hit of their hammer to somehow create enchanted armor.

「What a sweltering place.」

Even when we entered the workshop, no one turned around to see us. Every single one of them was completely devoted to the job before their eyes. They seem to be… Working willingly.

But then, from the fact that some of them wore an eyepatch or dragging their feet, it made it even more obvious that they were used to being a warrior.

And the one who happened to have some free time looked at Liliana who was whining miserably due to the sweltering air with a dumbfounded look on their face.

As expected, Liliana was… Really stood out eh?

「Ku~n.」

She might have felt displeased since some dwarven craftmen were passing by us while muttering 「What… In the world is that?」 while looking at Liliana.

「Welcome to the demon king castle’s dwarven workshop branch, His Highness Jilbagias.」

A hoarse voice greeted me from the side.

It was a dwarf with white beard and aloof face. He gave off the air of a cunning old man. He narrowed his eyes, observing me without letting his guard down.

「… My name is 『Ficelle』, the appointed chief of this workshop. It’s pleasure to make your acquaintance.」

And he―― Lost his right arm.

「Due to my condition, I can’t do anything but to work as spokesperson for my brethren.」

Said Ficelle with a hint of sarcasm while tapping his empty right sleeve with his left hand upon noticing my line of sight.

I just shut my mouth since I had no idea what to say to him.

「… Everyone seems to be full of spirit. Doesn’t feel like a captive at all.」

I forcefully changed the topic while looking around to avoid awkward situations.

「Because it’s our creed to avoid cutting corners when we do our job.」

Said Ficelle aloofly.

「Even if were taken captive, even if our family were taken hostage―― We will make something equal with the compensation we received.」

… Quite brave of him for saying that to me, a prince. And none of those dwarves who listened to our conversation reprimanded him either.

This might be their consensus. That is just how much they took pride in their 『Value』.

「Your artisan’s spirit is truly praiseworthy.」

I grinned pridefully, literally ear to ear befitting of a demon prince as I spoke to him.

「So, Your Highness. What business do you have with us today?」

「I want you to take a look at this.」