Before I knew it, it had been nearly two years since I arrived in Orario and joined the Hephaestus Familia.
A lot had happened in that time...
I'd made it as far as the eleventh floor, near the end of the Dungeon's upper levels. I was now familiar enough with the Hostess of Fertility to trade jokes with Mia Grand, and I was at the very end of Level 1, so reaching Level 2 was no longer just a dream if I could accomplish a great deed. I'd also gotten used to blunt weapons—bat-swinging, in other words—and now used a one-handed shield and bat together. Shield-and-bat fighting is the truth! (For the record, my current bat is Bat No. 5.) I'd tried handling all sorts of other weapons while swinging bats, but bladed weapons like swords and spears really didn't suit me. The one blade I was at least somewhat decent with was an axe, maybe?
My shop in Babel had become a place that people in the know recognized, at least. What did they say again? That it offered just the right quality and price for Level 1 adventurers?
I mean, me! When I use my [Noble Phantasm]! To make something! It's freaking amazing! That's what I'm saying!
But right now, I'm still a lowly Level 1 who has to hide the fact that I use [Noble Phantasm]... Sigh... I need to reach Level 2 already so I can use 'that magic' to make whatever I want... What kind of great deed do I need to be recognized for...?
"Hey, come eat! Dinner!"
"Yep, I'm coming."
Oops. I'd been so absorbed in thought that it was already dinnertime.
"Who's cooking today?"
"Who was it again... You know, that newbie who joined about a month ago. Her."
"How am I supposed to know who you mean when you put it like that...?"
"That Pallum girl you said was cute!"
"Oh, Jian? I hadn't heard she could cook. I wonder if it'll taste good."
"Come on, they wouldn't have told her to do it unless she was at least somewhat skilled."
Having spent two years in Orario, I'd become enough of a veteran that quite a few people had joined whom I could treat as juniors. Though I was still only Level 1, of course...
For the record, Jian—the girl I just mentioned—is a textbook Pallum. And by that, I mean...
"U-um... Is it g-good...? P-please don't hit me even if it tastes bad... Eek...!"
Her self-esteem was ridiculously low... She apologized over every little thing, and even when you asked her to run a simple errand, she would tremble and say she was going to mess it up... The one fortunate thing was that whenever she worked metal, she stopped talking and became increeeedibly calm. Like she entered a state of total concentration.
Because of that side of her, everyone around here commonly called her a puppy.
A puppy because she trembled all the time, then came to her senses only when it was time to hunt.
...Cute.
"It's good, it's good. It's good, so quit trembling like that... Anyone watching would think we were bullying you."
"See? Senior Bilbo is the weird one. Normally, nearly every Pallum is like this, right? Lethargy, fear, low self-esteem! Those three things all together are what Pallums are like these days. Who would look at Senior Bilbo and think he was a Pallum? They'd think he was a short Human or a beardless Dwarf."
"A beardless Dwarf is a bit of a stretch. Ha ha ha ha!"
"I agree. Ha ha ha! I seriously can't imagine a Dwarf without a beard! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"...H-hehe?"
"Oh, Jian!"
"Y-yes...! Ugh, I bit my tongue..."
"Another bowl of soup over here! It's delicious!"
"Th-thank youuu!"
Teasing the juniors a little and living an easygoing life like this wasn't bad, but...
"Hup..."
"What, you're getting up already? Dinner's good today. You're not having more?"
"Well... I think it's about time I started preparing to move on to [Next]."
"What are you tal... Don't tell me?"
"Two years is enough time to reach Level 2, isn't it?"
I smiled brightly at my senior.
"You'd better look forward to it—my final work as a Level 1."
"...Just try bringing back something too awful to look at. I'll kill you myself."
Let's see... What design should I imitate this time...?
Knight Run's AB Sword?
No, maybe this time I should go with a Holy Law Weapon or a Thought Weapon.
Something from Type-Moon wouldn't be bad either, but there aren't really any purely conventional weapons there. They're all loaded down with extra abilities, so if possible, I want to use magic and make one properly.
Hmm. In that case, weapons from Arknights would be good. Unless they're wielded by someone particularly bizarre, they're mostly straightforward weapons.
Ah, and weapons from Dark Souls are all ordinary weapons unless magic is infused into them, right? That's tempting too...?
Aaah, there are so, so, so many!
Blocking the deterioration of my memories really was the right choice! I can think about making such a wide variety of things!
Still, this will be the weapon that marks both my beginning and my end. I want to make something meaningful...
"Unassuming, but cool... A beginning, but also an end..."
What was there... what was it...?
"The Greatsword of the Firelinking Rite...?"
The first final boss of the Dark Souls series; the first king to kindle the First Flame, the last barrier testing the Chosen Undead who come to restore the dying fire, the first king who meets his final death within the Kiln of the First Flame...!
"I've decided... It's this one... It has to be this one...!"
First, I need to make a wooden mock-up and shape out the design.
I absolutely cannot make this carelessly. My life as a blacksmith rests on completing this weapon...!
O great Lord of Cinder,
Bestow your blessing upon this place.
Grant a sacred blessing to your blade,
That it may hunt monsters untouched by sunlight.
Glory to the sun; radiance to the lightning!