I Became a Righteous Knight in a Game

Chapter 87

Ria was a blacksmith born with talent.

She saw the grain of the metal, and it wasn't something she had particularly worked for, but something she could do naturally since she was a child.

Even with the same hammer strike, the efficiency was different.

The equipment born from her touch was sturdier, sharper, and also smoother than anyone else's results.

“Well done.”

“I did well, right?”

“Yes. You did well.”

Hasker had recognized Ria's talent early on.

He brought Ria, who had collapsed and was covered in snow on the street, to the smithy, and three days later, he announced to everyone that she was his successor.

Naturally, there was opposition.

What silenced everyone's complaints was Ria's skill.

Just a few days after she arrived, Ria produced results better than what other blacksmiths had painstakingly crafted.

“Do you think the client will like it?”

“He will.”

“This was the most enjoyable work I've ever had. Ah, thinking about it again makes me sad. I should have handled that other one too. Did those people go back? I wonder if they'll entrust it to me again?”

“I don't think that will happen.”

“Really? They're people who give up very quickly.”

Hasker just laughed at Ria's cheerful tone.

Ria, engrossed in her work, did not know what was happening outside.

Even if the earth split open and the sky fell, she was a person who would only focus on her work on the anvil.

“Even I think I did a good job. How did I create something like this? With a material I'm handling for the first time.”

Ria turned her attention back to the anvil.

There lay the newly crafted sword.

Its color was a glossy silver.

There were no fancy decorations. In fact, it had a simple design that might even look crude.

If an uninformed person were to judge it, they might think it was a simple longsword.

Only that it was a sword that exuded an inexplicable elegance.

“He didn't seem like a person who cared about appearances, right?”

“You know better than anyone, Ria.”

“That's right. He didn't seem like that kind of person.”

Just as she saw the grain of the metal, Ria would also see through what the client wanted.

“You didn't hear what he does, did you? I thought this might be what it feels like to actually see a knight.”

“I did not.”

“I don't know why everyone is so secretive. Is it because he's that kind of person that he can obtain such materials? Anyway, it was really fun. Really… it was fuuuun……”

Thump.

Ria collapsed.

Hasker, as if he had expected it, smiled gently and called another blacksmith.

It was the result of working for days without a wink of sleep.

Blacksmith Kron took the lead, moved her to a bed, and returned.

“Wow, this is……”

“It's a great piece.”

“Isn't Ria, who created something like this, even more amazing?”

“Heh heh.”

Blacksmith Kron examined the sword with a complex and subtle expression.

There was no excess.

The expression 'drew out the material's potential to the fullest' was a perfect fit for this sword.

“Master, have you seen a material like this before?”

“Of course I have.”

“When was it? Who brought it?”

“Well, I don't remember, maybe because I'm old. It's so blurry.”

“Just say it's a secret. I won't pry.”

“It is a secret.”

“Oh, come on.”

Hasker was always like this.

Knowing this, Kron suppressed the urge to ask more.

“The person who was a knight of Paganoa has left. He said he killed them all. The City Hall is in an uproar too. Saying a warlock has appeared.”

“I see.”

“The item that was brought to us. It seems it was a very dangerous item. They say just looking at it makes you lose your mind.”

“Was it?”

“Yes. That's why Ria's personality seemed to have changed for a bit, didn't it?”

“It did.”

“But I don't think it was to the point of being called insane. Was that also because it was Ria… Anyway, you knew everything, didn't you, master?”

“Well, perhaps.”

Kron let out a deep sigh.

“I don't know if you have no sense of crisis, or if you knew it would be okay. I think it's the latter? In my opinion.”

“Kron.”

“Yes, master.”

“Take care of Ria.”

“What's this all of a sudden? As if you're about to leave.”

Kron asked back with a reluctant look. But Hasker just laughed, “Heh heh,” and said no more.

“Hasker! We have a visitor!”

Another blacksmith shouted at that moment.

To the extent that they would inform the master of the smithy directly, it was obvious what kind of guest it was.

“A precious guest has arrived. Go and see to your work.”

“Understood. I'll do some work, and if Ria wakes up in the meantime, I'll let you know. If there's anything wrong with her condition, be sure to tell me.”

“Alright. Nothing to worry about.”

Kron moved away with a very reluctant expression.

Hasker began to wrap the sword.

He placed it in the scabbard that was made with it, and then carefully put it in a box of the perfect size.

For the past hundred years.

The most enjoyable time as a blacksmith was waiting for him.

Hasker, with steps as light as to belie his age, sought out the reception room.

The guest was the person he had expected.

The knight who belonged to the Taton Knights, of a city called Serigel.

“Did you achieve what you desired?”

Hasker asked as he entered with a smile.

“I will soon.”

The knight's answer pleased him.

Hasker, with a polite posture, handed the box to its owner.

“Please open it.”

***

Sword of Pure Light.

Only Ria, who was called the Iron Hand, could craft it, and whether Reinhardt possessed this equipment or not would change his growth limit.

That was why he had gone to the trouble of coming all the way to the northern part of the Empire.

He risked being noticed by the demons, and in the process, he even found and eliminated a warlock.

But the Sword of Pure Light was worth taking such a risk.

‘It’s perfect.’

Reinhardt first examined the exterior of the box Hasker handed him.

It was not a very fancy appearance.

Only Hasker's unique crest was faintly engraved on it.

‘He said he carves these boxes himself too. He didn't give them to just anyone.’

It was a gift that only those who had earned the recognition of blacksmith Hasker could receive.

The value of this box alone was considerable.

Click-

Reinhardt unlatched the lock and grasped both ends of the lid to open it.

‘This is… a little different from my memory?’

It was a different form from the Sword of Light in my memory.

The silver blade stretched out smoothly. The handle was also of a similar color to the blade.

This was not at the level of being crude.

It was so simple that it looked no different from a longsword with no adornments at all.

However, Reinhardt had a way to confirm the item's true value.

[Sword of Pure Light]

A masterpiece meticulously crafted by a master.

Additional effects will be granted when equipped by Reinhardt.

Light attribute has been granted.

Enhances the granted attribute.

Hidden additional effect (1)

Attack Power +150

Swoosh.

It was the information window that appeared when I grasped the handle and focused my mind.

It was the same as when I received the token of gratitude from the order.

When he obtained an item of a certain level or higher, Reinhardt could utilize the same interface he had seen in the game.

‘……It’s even better?’

Thanks to that, Reinhardt realized.

This was a superior item to the one used by the Knight of Light in the original game.

Not only were the overall options slightly better, but it even had an additional option that enhanced the effect of 'Attribute Granting'.

‘And this hidden additional effect is referring to Bitdori.’

It was certain.

This creation was an item that surpassed even what Reinhardt had expected.

“Was this crafted by Ria?”

“You like it?”

“Yes. I do. So much so that I couldn't expect a better item.”

“I’m sure. Thanks to you, Ria has also regained her motivation.”

But Ria's skills shouldn't have been this good.

No matter how talented she was, at this point, Ria was definitely still not fully grown.

‘What happened? Was it because of the Sealing Stone? Should I think that this result came out because of that?’

It was clear that he had unintentionally created some kind of change.

The identity of the change was difficult to grasp.

The present was the result of countless pasts intertwined.

“I, for one. Have been waiting all this time.”

Hasker spoke up at that moment.

His rough voice was filled with satisfaction.

“For what?”

“Was it about eighty years ago? When I was still young. I must have been around the same age as you, Sir Knight. There was a guest who came to see me back then.”

It was a story he was telling while rummaging through his past.

Reinhardt waited patiently without rushing him.

“That person handed me the same item as you, Sir Knight. He asked me to make a sword. I couldn't hide my excitement. That such a great person would come to see me. And that he would entrust such a precious material to me.”

80 years ago.

After thinking for a moment, Reinhardt cleared his mind.

That far back would be a time not mentioned in the game's settings.

“I was confident. In that neighborhood, I was the best. I worked for almost a week without sleeping properly, and I was quite pleased with the result. The guest was also satisfied. He laughed, saying he had found the right person.”

At that, Hasker looked directly at Reinhardt.

“For what does a sword exist?”

“Opinions are divided. To protect what is precious. To devote oneself as a sword of the Empire. Everyone has various thoughts, but in my opinion.”

Reinhardt answered as if it were obvious.

“A sword exists to cut down the enemy.”

The reason for a weapon's existence was to inflict wounds on the enemy.

Goals such as protecting what is precious or devoting oneself as a sword of the Empire were ultimately just the will of the human using the sword as a tool.

“This old man thinks the same.”

Hasker agreed with Reinhardt's opinion and smiled.

“That's right. The reason for making a sword is to cut down the enemy. The reason for needing a good sword is to cut down the enemy better.”

“Yes.”

“But the sword I made broke.”

The sword broke.

And.

“The hero who trusted me fell to the ground. In the end, the demon was slain by the hand of another hero, but the hero who had commissioned me died.”

Reinhardt kept his mouth shut.

Hasker's words were filled with remorse.

He had lived his entire life with regret. Why couldn't he have made it better? Why couldn't he have lived up to the trust? He had lived his whole life tormented by such thoughts.

“That sword will not break.”

“……Yes.”

“Ria is different from me.”

“……”

“Every blacksmith, when they wish, burns their final flame. In the coldest place, I ignited the hottest flame.”

For a moment, Hasker's eyes cleared.

It was not the gaze of an old man over a hundred years old.

“Ria is the last ember I leave behind in the name of Hasker, and one day, she will become a blazing flame and help you, Sir Knight.”

“Yes, I have no doubt that she will.”

“It was a pleasure, thanks to you. Ria will not wake up until tomorrow.”

With those words, the old man shot up from his seat and left the reception room.

Reinhardt fastened the sword to his waist and stored the box in his [Inventory].

He then spent the night at a lodging near the smithy.

With the thought of having one last conversation with Ria before leaving.

And.

When he visited the smithy the next day.

“No wonder he was so spry today! I wondered why that weak old man was drinking so much alcohol he never even touches!”

“Oh, my! Master!”

Hasker had left, leaving behind only a handful of ashes.

The ashes held the ember named Ria.