I Became a Righteous Knight in a Game

Chapter 88

The blacksmith Hasker was dead.

Reinhardt was quite flustered by this fact.

‘He wasn’t supposed to die yet, was he?’

There was no foul play.

Hasker passed away peacefully in his sleep.

The people who had been with him his whole life were by his side.

‘He was alive in the original game. Why would someone like that die already?’

Moreover, Hasker seemed to have known his end was coming.

His attitude towards Reinhardt alone was proof of that.

A feeling of concluding his life.

Didn't he exude an atmosphere of having resolved his lifelong regret and finally passing away without any lingering attachments?

‘……Wait a minute. Is that really why?’

Lifelong regret.

The sword he had personally crafted had broken, and because of that, the hero who used it had died.

Since the person in question was dead, there was no next chance.

It meant he couldn't say something like, "If only I could make it again, I'll do better next time."

‘But I brought a new Magic Stone. Allowing him to try again. I unintentionally gave him a second chance. Moreover…….’

His attitude, as if he had foreseen his own death.

After mulling over a distant memory for a moment, Reinhardt nodded.

‘He passed it on. To Ria. He passed on the power to control fire.’

What was the reason Hasker's Smithy could grow so large?

Naturally, it was thanks to his outstanding skill as a blacksmith.

And the foundation of that skill was his ability to control fire.

His near-perfect control of fire was a power he had inherited from his predecessor.

It didn't mean he was born with it in his bloodline, but that he had literally inherited it.

Through something like a ritual.

‘He performed that ritual while crafting this sword. Ria probably doesn't know. He wouldn't have told her.’

That's why such a magnificent result was produced.

Reinhardt looked down at the sword in his right hand.

A crude, yet masterfully crafted piece.

“Excuse me.”

Reinhardt entered the smithy.

The inside was filled with mourners.

Even the blacksmiths who usually swung their hammers without rest had lightened their hands for today, seeing off the master of the smithy.

“Come this way.”

At that moment, blacksmith Kron called out to Reinhardt.

His expression was dark, but not as much as the others.

Inside the smithy.

Only in a relatively quiet place did Kron open his mouth.

“I've heard the rumors. They say you are a great knight.”

“Rumors are always exaggerated.”

“It didn't seem so. In any case, I apologize for my rudeness. And thank you for your help. I'm just grateful that the master seemed to have passed on satisfied, thanks to you, Sir Knight.”

“I'm glad.”

Kron smacked his lips bitterly.

“You must have come to see Ria, right?”

“That was my intention. But I have one more thing to do.”

“Over there, if you go forward, there will be an anvil. Along with a portrait of the master's likeness from when he was alive.”

“Yes.”

“Our way is to strike the anvil twice with a hammer.”

Saying so, Kron handed over his own hammer.

Reinhardt took it, nodded, and made his way through the crowd to the center of the smithy.

A murmur rippled through the surroundings for a moment, then quickly subsided.

Reinhardt stood before the anvil.

In the picture frame, a robust middle-aged man was smiling, showing his teeth.

It was clearly Hasker from decades ago.

Then.

Thump- Thump-

Reinhardt struck the anvil.

Not hastily, but with appropriate force and certainty.

It was their way of mourning the departed blacksmith.

Feeling the passing glances, Reinhardt returned to Kron.

“The master would be pleased too.”

“I hope so.”

“Ria is inside. Follow me.”

***

She was still too young to accept someone's death.

Ria looked up at the empty air with hollow eyes.

She didn't want to do anything.

Hasker was her family, her teacher, and ultimately, her spiritual pillar.

“……Do you like the sword?”

“More than I expected.”

“That's good.”

Even the sudden guest failed to evoke much of a reaction from Ria.

Normally, she would have asked in detail what he liked about the sword and endlessly poured out the efforts she had put into it.

But to her now, such things were of no concern.

“He said it himself. That the last ember he leaves behind is Ria.”

“……Who did? Hasker?”

“Yes.”

“It probably means I was his cherished disciple.”

“You should know better than anyone that that's not all it means.”

Ria didn't answer.

In truth, she knew. Just as Hasker was a precious person to her, Hasker felt the same way about Ria.

“What good is knowing? He's already gone.”

“Did you not feel any change while crafting this sword?”

“The work went unusually well. It was as if the fire was reading my mind.”

“It will be like that from now on.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means it's a gift Hasker left for you.”

Ria's eyes widened.

It was because she understood Reinhardt's words a moment too late.

“Then it wasn't just that my condition was good that day……”

“He passed on the ability he possessed to you.”

“Hasker did.”

“Yes.”

“……Don't tell me this happened because of that?”

“In terms of results, that would be it. But Hasker chose his own end.”

“That!”

Ria shouted abruptly. Tears welled up in her large eyes.

“……How do you know that!”

“It wasn't intentional, but in the process of crafting this sword, Hasker was said to have resolved a lifelong regret.”

Reinhardt relayed the story he had heard from Hasker.

The incident he had experienced in the distant past, the burden he had to carry for his entire life as a result, and.

“He can finally rest in peace now. Hasker.”

The way he looked so peaceful.

And the atmosphere he had, as if not a single lingering attachment remained.

Ria was now sobbing.

She shed tears endlessly without making a sound.

It was as if the dam of restraint had broken. Wiping away the uncontrollably flowing tears, Ria cried out.

“See! I wasn't that important!”

“I don't think that's the way to look at it.”

“I still had so much to learn! I'm not old enough to be left alone! I still needed Hasker!”

“Ria.”

It was like soothing a whining child.

What was I supposed to do in times like these? What advice had that doctor, who was treated like a god of early childhood education on TV, given?

While Reinhardt was thinking, Ria opened her mouth with a much calmer voice.

“……I know, too.”

It was the voice of someone who had poured out all their energy.

Reinhardt listened quietly.

“I know Hasker adored me, and I know he couldn't have resisted as a blacksmith. He would have wanted to resolve his regret. But Hasker was too old.”

Ria was a smart kid.

“He wouldn't have been able to do it on his own. He would have wanted to do it himself, but he probably thought he might make the same mistake again. That's why he passed that power on to me. Right?”

“My thoughts are the same.”

“No wonder the work went so well. No wonder the flames listened to me so well today.”

Hasker was an aged blacksmith.

An opportunity to fulfill his long-cherished wish had come, but it was something he could not accomplish himself.

Thus, he borrowed the hand of his most precious disciple.

By passing on everything he had, he was finally able to face the result he had desired his entire life.

“……Then it's as if I resolved Hasker's regret.”

“Yes.”

“He must have been happy, right?”

“More than any other moment.”

“All blacksmiths are like that, but Hasker was particularly severe. It's natural that he was happy. Because he created such a masterpiece.”

“It wasn't just the sword.”

Reinhardt knew what kind of person Hasker was.

And what Ria meant to him.

“Hasker ignited a flame hotter than anyone else here, and the ember he left in those ashes was you, Ria.”

“That……”

“It means that you are the masterpiece he dedicated his life to creating.”

Ria was at a loss for words.

The tears that had stopped for a moment burst forth again. This time, she cried out loud.

Reinhardt gave her some space.

***

The funeral was over.

The smithy began to return to normal.

Elmore, which had been in an uproar due to the presence of warlocks, also regained its daily routine.

“Good job, Bitdori.”

“Piit.”

Having completed its mission, Bitdori was once again perched on Reinhardt’s shoulder.

The cold was no obstacle to the creature.

In fact, the same was true for the heat.

Whether in a blizzard or in a blazing fire, Bitdori could fly freely without any hindrance.

‘I should ask them to send some people here too.’

Reinhardt added Elmore to his ‘List of Cities to Protect’.

The reason, of course, was Ria's smithy.

It wouldn't be right away, but one day she would be the talent who would craft the equipment of many heroes with her delicate touch.

‘If need be, I’ll have to call Miya. Miya will take care of it.’

Miya Luxpenber was like an appraiser of human value.

She would spare no support for Ria.

It was time to leave.

Reinhardt visited the smithy one last time.

Ria was engrossed in her work. The flames of the furnace were reflected in her eyes. The flames flickered as if dancing to the rhythm of her hands.

“Isn't it Sir Fermil? Have you come to see Ria?”

“Yes. I have to leave soon.”

“Thanks to you, Ria has regained her strength. Thank you so much. Oh, you don't have to wait like that. Even when she's working these days, Ria hears when her name is called.”

“It's fine. I'll wait.”

It wasn't a matter of urgency anyway.

It was more important to properly punctuate his relationship with Ria than to return in a hurry.

The work continued for a long time.

Reinhardt sat patiently and waited for nearly two hours.

Since there was the [Community], there was no chance of being bored.

“……Huh? Sir Knight. How long have you been waiting?”

“I just got here.”

“Really? That's a relief. Then wait just a little longer. I've prepared a gift.”

Sizzzzle-

Ria plunged the red-hot metal into the water.

It vaguely looked like the shape of a sword.

After a few more hammer strikes, the quenching continued.

The finished product was a sword.

“You said there was another knight with you, right? I heard they protected our smithy.”

“Yes.”

“I didn't know. When I'm focused on work, I can't hear anything around me.”

“It's not something I can't understand.”

“Here. It's a gift for your colleague.”

Ria handed the sword to Reinhardt.

Its color was white.

If it were thrown in a snowy field, it would surely take a while to find.

[Sword of Chilling Frost]

A masterpiece meticulously crafted by a master.

Additional effects will be granted when equipped by Evangeline.

Frost attribute has been granted.

Attack Power +110

‘This one too… is better.’

Not as good as Reinhardt's sword.

But it was of much better quality than the weapon Evangeline used in the original game.

It even had an option that specialized in handling the [Frost] attribute.

‘She could craft a weapon like this from ordinary materials?’

It would be understandable if it were the result of processing a Magic Stone like Reinhardt's sword, but for something made from ordinary iron, its performance was excessively good.

“You really know your stuff. There are times when even you can't control your expression, Sir Knight?”

“……This is a really good sword.”

“It should be. You said your colleague handled cold energy, right? I thought this was it and raided Hasker's warehouse. It's made by smelting iron that can only be mined in the north.”

Only then did Reinhardt realize.

Millennium Cold Iron. A crafting material with a name that sounded like it belonged in a martial arts novel definitely existed.

The only problem was.

‘Why is that coming out already.’

It was the fact that it wasn't yet time for Millennium Cold Iron to appear.

Even in the original game, Millennium Cold Iron was a crafting material that appeared only after the story had progressed to a certain point.