Esther's previous spell world was born from observing nature.
Esther originally lived in the mountains and wandered through the forest.
She killed monsters, faced magical beasts, and fought against wizards, not infrequently, but in the grand scheme of things, those were mere moments.
The majority of her life was spent with nature.
And now, Esther found an interest in observing people.
Even after parting ways with Encrid, Esther continued to explore the marketplace.
Bargaining people, porters carrying goods, noblewomen wearing wide-brimmed hats to shield themselves from the unpleasant sunlight, children playing joyfully under the sun, parents scolding those children, and a man tearing at his hair inside a new cafeteria selling various beverages.
It was observation. The process of gauging their thoughts and intentions.
'This is fun.'
Watching them turned out to be more enjoyable than she expected.
The journey to get here had also been quite interesting.
Esther knew that in order to buy anything in the market, one needed Krona.
She chose the most rational method to obtain Krona.
She persistently, oh so persistently, followed Krais around, staring at him.
"...Nurat, did I do something wrong?"
Krais whispered as he looked at Esther, and Nurat pondered what he could possibly do against a wizard, especially one with such exceptional skill.
As a woman, her unique intuition, as a warrior, her instinct, and as someone who knew Krais, her understanding of him.
Mixing all these factors, Nurat chose the best course of action he could think of.
"Beg for forgiveness."
"That would be quicker, wouldn't it?"
Krais nodded in agreement. First, apologize.
Even in another city, he could feel her gaze somewhere, like the eyes of a witch. It was perfect nightmare fuel.
To Krais, Esther was no longer a beautiful woman but a full-fledged witch.
Was she still holding a grudge from when he aimed for her claws back when she was in panther form?
"Yes, I apologize."
Krais spoke toward the gaze.
The head of the Construction Guild, who was seeking a favor from the man known as Graham's master, blinked in confusion and said,
"Pardon?"
"I'm not talking to you."
At Krais's words, Esther slid toward him as if gliding over the ground.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
The Construction Guild leader fell backward in shock, and though Krais's heart raced, he managed not to fall in a disgraceful way.
The time he spent with the Madmen Platoon had strengthened his nerves.
Esther only approached without saying a word, just staring at him.
Esther thought.
What would happen if she followed this man, who was slightly scared of her and had a large purse of Krona, and kept staring at him? Especially since this man was particularly sharp.
"...Why?"
Krais asked, thinking hard. Why was this crazy witch doing this?
Did she receive a bad influence from Encrid? The Captain had his good qualities, but there were bad ones too.
Sometimes Krais even wondered if Encrid wasn't truly insane.
Though some might find him deeply inspiring, Krais wasn't one of them.
"Do you need something?"
Krais asked calmly.
"Ghost!"
From beneath, the Construction Guild leader, still on the ground, shouted.
"No, she's not a madwoman… she's the Black Flower, directly under the Border Guard General."
At Krais's words, the guild leader blinked.
Only then did he notice Esther's beauty. Her pale skin, black hair, blue eyes, long legs, and subtly revealing attire.
A flower beside the Demon Slayer.
"Oh."
Ignoring the guild leader's surprise, Krais asked again.
"Do you need Krona?"
At those words, Esther held out her hand.
Krais looked at it and wondered what to do about these crazy people.
If she needed something, she could have asked the supply officer, and it would've been resolved.
But the thought of this witch going to the supply officer to ask for a few silver coins didn't seem fitting.
Krais handed over one of the pouches he had.
It was a pouch containing over a hundred silver coins. It should be more than enough.
But Esther didn't lower her hand.
"Give gold coins."
Nurat advised.
Krais followed the advice, and that day, Esther got three more pouches.
Reflecting on that moment, the wizard thought it was a fun experience. Both the reactions and her own actions were enjoyable.
'But why Enki?'
Thinking of Encrid, whom she had just passed, Esther felt her heart tighten.
It felt tense and constricted. That's what happens when emotions stir.
What was the source of this feeling? Why was her heart moved?
Should she have followed him? Was she worried about her carelessness in not bringing a single gold coin from the marketplace?
She didn't know. And perhaps it wasn't even important.
There probably wasn't even a right answer to it.
Was that why it bothered her?
No, even that was likely just a part of who she was.
So, just facing it head-on was enough.
Esther felt the tingling sensation spread from her heart to her whole body, realizing what this aching feeling was.
Whether it was love between a man and a woman or just simple friendship. Or even just a fleeting whim. Nothing would change.
The only thing that bothered her was:
'Eyebrows.'
Hadn't the front of Encrid's eyebrows lifted slightly?
Lately, her life had revolved around observation, so she noticed that Encrid's eyebrow position had changed slightly.
Somehow, they looked a little more weakened. His expression had slightly changed.
Why does someone's expression change? It's because of a change in mindset. That's what Esther thought.
Encrid's mindset had changed.
That's what she had learned through her observation.
Even knowing that, she had nothing particular to say. She saw Encrid's back as he moved through the market and disappeared.
For the time being, Esther would continue living like this.
And eventually, she would rebuild her spell world.
If that man wanted her help at that time, she would give it.
Not because he freed her from the curse, but simply because she wanted to.
Her heart told her to, and she did not ignore the voice of her heart.
Esther focused on her task.
Observing and rebuilding her spell world. Right now, that was enough for her.
* * *
"...You've come?"
The blacksmith, a master craftsman, recognized Encrid.
He had seen him from a distance before, and his appearance was striking.
The blacksmith shop was on the outskirts of the city.
The craftsman, who had once borrowed a forge here, now had his own bellows and equipment set up.
He should have returned to the Capital, but he stayed with the Border Guard, though Encrid didn't know the reason.
Well, there were probably no issues, so he stayed. That was his guess, and it was right.
The head of the Royal Smiths' Guild in the Capital was a little disappointed but accepted it.
Though skilled, this stubborn craftsman had little social skills and was considered awkward to deal with.
Thus, the craftsman found it more comfortable here.
All he had to do was hammer away in peace, and the Border Guard was a haven for merchants, bringing in all sorts of rare items.
The craftsman only made weapons, never anything else, and took on no additional apprentices.
If the guild master in the Capital saw him, he'd be amazed at the level of stubbornness.
It wasn't a large-scale operation, and he didn't make custom orders.
Normally, this would make it difficult to obtain rare materials, but the craftsman was not lacking in anything.
In fact, he was quite well off.
The Border Guard provided support for any shortages of Krona.
He supplied weapons to the barracks on Krais's request, and that alone kept him busy.
"Sometimes, I make what I want to make for myself."
Krais had accepted the craftsman's stubbornness as it was, and so it was possible.
This was the craftsman who had used Lewis Mountain steel and Black Gold to make weapons for Rem and Ragna, and Krais recognized his exceptional skill.
"Weapons are as good as the skill that makes them."
Krais had heard this often enough.
The weapons this craftsman made had impeccable finishes and a different level of quality.
That was why Krais chose this smithy, out of the seven smithies in the Border Guard.
More smiths had set up shop, and many stores had opened, so the smithy on the outskirts was relatively quiet.
No, it looked quiet because no one came here, though the work was busy.
In reality, this smithy was directly attached to the Border Guard barracks, where higher-ranking personnel didn't even have to pay for the weapons.
There was a human, a Frog, and a Dwarf present.
As the smith asked if he was here, Encrid looked at the three of them intently.
"I need a few things."
Encrid replied, and a young apprentice with a towel wrapped around his head emerged from the smithy.
"Oh? The Demon Slayer!"
He exclaimed.
"Yeah, nice to meet you."
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
The apprentice bowed. He seemed startled at having spoken so casually.
Encrid waved it off.
"So, what do you need?"
The smith asked, and Encrid began laying out his weapons one by one.
"This one's joint is loose, and I'm not sure if this one can be repaired. Could you also sharpen the blades?"
"Is this Aker?"
The sword hummed as the blacksmith released his grip from the hilt.
The blade quivered, surprising him.
He had once worked on royal swords and had seen Aker back then.
Just as a young man cannot forget the face of an extraordinary beauty even after ten years, the smith hadn't forgotten Aker.
"It is."
Encrid replied, still standing.
The apprentice, noticing the situation, brought over a short-legged stool.
There were no chairs for customers here, so he brought a work stool.
Encrid didn't mind and sat down.
"Why is a royal sword here?"
The smith asked in shock.
"They gave it to me."
"This?"
Encrid nodded.
People who knew about the sword understood, but those who didn't were, of course, the majority.
If Marquis Visar found out about this, he might confront Krang about it.
He wouldn't take it back or say it shouldn't have been given, but he would raise some objections.
Krang had discreetly handed over the sword without informing most people.
If it became an issue later, he could always deal with it then.
"This can't be touched. The fact that this sword retains its sharpness is itself a mystery. I don't know how to forge weapons using magic."
The smith spoke frankly, glancing at the Dwarf beside him before turning his gaze to the Gladius he held.
He grabbed the sword as if contemplating how to handle it, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Suddenly, his expression hardened, and he put the sword down.
"Introduce yourself. This is Argan."
The smith pointed to the Dwarf.
"Nice to meet you."
The Dwarf greeted him, and the smell of alcohol wafted from him.
"The Demon Slayer and General of the Border Guard? You've caught a stroke of luck."
The Dwarf continued. The scent of booze mixed with his breath.
Strangely enough, though the conversation was lively, the Frog sitting nearby didn't even glance this way.
Encrid, unfazed, asked calmly,
"What luck?"
"I'm going to work in this forge, handling fire and metal to create a masterpiece."
Encrid glanced at both the confident Dwarf and the human smith.
Understanding why the human smith had stepped back, Encrid asked him,
"Is he more skilled than you?"
"He is."
The smith nodded. He didn't seem offended.
"Seriously, is that even a question?"
The Dwarf said, burping.
"Oh, there are a few conditions. I need some good alcohol and a decent house. I'm from Martai, and I've got some outstanding debts there, so I'd appreciate it if you could settle that too."
Finishing his statement with another belch, the Dwarf smelled of pickled meat.
Dwarves are said to be children of fire and steel, with a natural ability to work with those elements.
Of course, not all dwarves are like that.
Just as not all giants sell goods, some dwarves might not be interested in working with metal.
Though that wasn't the case for this dwarf in front of him.
This dwarf was likely highly skilled at working with metal, beyond comparison with most human craftsmen.
"I can vouch for his skill."
The smith, still impressed by Aker, said.
Encrid nodded.
He handed his sword, the Gladius, to the human smith.
"I'd like you to work on it."
The dwarf extended his hand, then stopped. He had expected the sword to be handed to him.
"Whether you're a dwarf or not, no matter how skilled you are, I'm not giving my sword to someone with rotten eyes."
Encrid said.
Finally, the Frog seemed to finish what he was working on and looked up, rolling his eyes toward this direction.
The smith looked at the sword, while the dwarf blew air from his nose.
What did he just say?
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