Chapter 35
“I have come to request the crafting of a weapon from you, Master.”
Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.
The moment I entered Jackson’s workshop, I stated my business.
The answer that came back was:
“I’m sorry, but I cannot accept that request. I truly am sorry, benefactor.”
“……?”
To my surprise, it was a refusal.
What?
In the game, Jackson never refused a request. This scenario didn’t exist.
The completely unexpected flow left me momentarily speechless.
An awkward silence flowed between us. I could feel Nora, sitting beside Jackson, carefully watching my reaction.
That made sense. On the day I saved her from the evil god worshippers,
She had definitely told me this:
-“If I ever find the successor of the <Black Radiance Divine Sword> during my travels, Grandfather told me to bring them to the workshop without fail.”-
-“Even if our family’s honor has fallen, he said he would stake his pride as a blacksmith and create his greatest masterpiece as repayment……”-
Yet now that I had come to the workshop, the words that came out of Jackson’s mouth were a refusal.
Could Nora have lied to me?
No. That couldn’t be it.
In the game, once the event triggered and you followed her, Jackson really would craft a weapon to repay the favor.
‘Then why?’
Why was he refusing the request here?
Could it be another one of those damn variables—wait, hold on.
I asked, just in case.
“Has your granddaughter manifested the ‘Soul Brand’?”
“H-how did you— hup!”
Jackson reflexively answered before urgently covering his mouth, but it was already too late.
I had asked on a hunch, but it turned out to be true.
If Nora had manifested the ‘Soul Brand’, then it couldn’t be helped.
“There’s no need to hide it in front of me. Whether you carry the brand or not doesn’t matter to me.”
“…….”
“It’s the truth.”
When I hardened my expression seriously, Jackson finally lowered his hands from his mouth and asked.
“Did you learn about the brand from the person who passed on the <Black Radiance Divine Sword> to you, benefactor?”
“Yes.”
In reality there was no such person and I simply knew it from the game setting, but I nodded calmly.
“Haa…… Then there’s no point in hiding it now. Nora. Show him.”
“……Yes, Grandfather.”
Slide—.
Nora suddenly rolled up her right sleeve, revealing her bare arm.
On the slender right arm of the girl, who had no visible muscle, was a dark tattoo.
A single sword piercing through a white skull—a tattoo that gave off an unmistakably ominous feeling.
I knew exactly what that tattoo meant.
“The brand manifests around adolescence. In Nora’s case, it appeared on her 15th birthday not long ago.”
<What is that?>
‘Soul Brand. It’s literally a brand permanently engraved on a human’s soul and body.’
I briefly answered Entur’s question.
‘It’s usually a mark given as punishment to criminals who have committed high treason. Humans with that brand are unwelcome wherever they go and are followed by misfortune.’
<Then did these scrawny ones commit some great sin?>
‘No. They are innocent.’
However,
‘The ones who committed the crime and received the brand were their ancestors, and it has been passed down through the generations to their descendants.’
<Hoo…… In short, it is inherited. Since it is a brand engraved not only on the body but on the spirit itself.>
‘Exactly.’
<I prided myself as an ancient dragon who has mastered all the magic in the world, yet this is the first time I’ve seen such a novel curse. You humans can be truly wicked at times.>
‘Mm.’
Anyway.
The reason a master blacksmith like Jackson, unrivaled in his craft, was struggling in a slum like this was entirely because of the <Soul Brand>.
If it were Earth, it would be like an electronic ankle monitor.
It was impossible for someone branded with it to live in a place with many watchful eyes, like a big city.
‘After being driven from place to place, they must have ended up in Riter Slum.’
Riter was a place where many people with tragic fates or unclean pasts drifted in.
“Long ago, our ancestor once crafted a weapon for a certain man. Unaware that he was actually a demon disguised as a human.”
“You unknowingly committed a grave sin. Whether you knew or not, you ended up aiding a demon.”
“Yes. Because of the weapon our ancestor made, countless people met tragic ends. In the end, the Rommus Empire held our ancestor accountable and branded him with the <Soul Brand>. And so…….”
Perhaps it was too painful to continue, Jackson stopped speaking.
He simply lowered Nora’s sleeve again with a sorrowful expression.
“If I pick up the hammer, a curse will be inflicted on everyone who carries the brand, shortening their lifespan. Not only me, but my granddaughter will also be harmed.”
The <Soul Brand> was not a simple mark. It was a type of curse magic passed down through bloodlines.
The brand engraved on the two of them most likely……
Contained a curse that prevented the Steel & Anvil bloodline from ever practicing blacksmithing again.
“Lifespan shortens? Is that true, Grandfather?”
Nora, who had been quietly listening, turned deathly pale as she stared at Jackson.
It seemed this was the first time she had heard that using blacksmithing would shorten his lifespan.
Well, if she had known, she wouldn’t have tried to bring me to Jackson during our first meeting.
When she asked if it was true, Jackson answered by averting his gaze and remaining silent.
“Why… why didn’t you tell me this until now— Wait, hold on. Grandfather?”
“…….”
“Before I manifested the brand, you accepted weapon commissions from outsiders several times, didn’t you?”
“I had no choice if I wanted to gather the protection fee for your share as well.”
“Have you lost your mind, Grandfather?!”
Nora was horrified to learn that he had been secretly sacrificing his lifespan to earn money.
Her emotions ran so high that her eyes welled up with tears.
She soon grabbed Jackson’s drooping shoulders and shook him.
“That means— That means!! Every time you picked up the hammer, your lifespan was decreasing! No matter the reason, how could you do that?!”
“I’m sorry, child…….”
“T-this… this is… Then, from now on, the time left for Grandfather is……?”
As if a cruel realization had suddenly flashed through her mind, tears began filling Nora’s trembling eyes.
Her hands, which had been shaking his shoulders, slid down limply, and she collapsed to the floor.
Jackson kept his eyes tightly shut for a while before opening them again and looking at me.
“……If Nora had not yet manifested the brand, I would have gladly picked up the hammer for you, benefactor.”
Nora, who had been sobbing beside him, muttered that it absolutely couldn’t happen.
“You have given us so much, yet things have turned out this way… I am truly ashamed…….”
“I see.”
“Instead, if it’s ‘crafting’ rather than weapon forging, it falls outside the brand’s influence. If you want any accessories, I will do my best to…….”
“What I want is a weapon personally crafted by you, Master.”
“…….”
The moment I said that,
I didn’t miss the tiny flash of disappointment that crossed Jackson’s eyes.
Even Nora, who had been endlessly shedding tears, turned to me with a face that seemed to doubt her own ears.
“Are you seriously telling me to forge a weapon even if it means sacrificing my granddaughter’s lifespan?”
“…….”
“T-this cannot be! I would do anything else to repay you, but picking up the hammer again is absolutely impossible! No matter what, this is too unreasonable—.”
“That brand of yours.”
To Entur, who had been watching, it must have been puzzling.
My goal of obtaining the strongest weapon was about to fall apart, yet why was her master remaining so calm?
But for me, staying calm was only natural. This wasn’t something to get flustered or panicked about.
Because.
“I will erase it for you right here and now.”
It wasn’t even a problem, so there was no need to be flustered.
***
Jackson froze as if struck by lightning while walking.
Even Nora, who had been starting to feel some resentment toward me, widened her eyes and stiffened.
It was a natural reaction.
The boy before them had boldly declared that he would remove the nightmare-like yoke that had been passed down through their family for generations.
“W-what did you just……?”
“I said I will erase the brand. Then there won’t be any problem, right?”
“B-benefactor… are you perhaps a Saint from some order?”
The reason Jackson suddenly mentioned a Saint was simple.
To erase the <Soul Brand>, one had to receive an ‘indulgence’ from a specific order,
Or receive ‘divine power’ from those called Saints.
Of course, both options were things Jackson could never dream of.
The former was a benefit he could never receive unless he achieved a feat on the level of single-handedly annihilating an entire demon legion.
The latter……
‘Lending sacred power recklessly to someone branded with the mark is tantamount to turning one’s back on the gods.’
In short, it meant giving up being a Saint.
And above all, there was no way the boy in front of them was a Saint.
The title of Saint was only given to those who had devoted themselves to an order for at least twenty years.
Yet this boy didn’t even look twenty years old.
“I am not a Saint. Do I look like one to you?”
“…….”
As expected.
Ruth denied it as if asking what kind of question that even was.
“Then how exactly do you plan to erase the brand……?”
“From now on, I will bestow divine power upon both of you. Then the brand should disappear as well.”
“??”
They couldn’t understand what he was saying at all.
He had clearly said five seconds ago that he wasn’t a Saint, yet now he was saying he would grant divine power. What kind of nonsense was this?
Divine power was an extremely special and rare force that only Saints could awaken.
It wasn’t something like aura or mana that existed everywhere and could be awakened by just anyone.
“Please take my hands, both of you.”
At Ruth’s urging, Jackson and Nora hesitantly reached out with dazed expressions.
Even as they held Ruth’s hands, the two could not shake off their doubts.
How could a human who wasn’t a Saint possibly wield divine power?
Hwaaaaak—.
“……?!”
“?!”
That was what they had thought—until a platinum-colored radiance suddenly surged from their joined hands.
[Blood Link Skill, ‘Adversary’s Blessing’ is activated!]
[God’s grace that drives out evil dwells within your body!]
[Blood ki is consumed!]
It was the unique skill of the Paladin character, Bismarck.
<Adversary’s Blessing>.
While it was also widely used as a substitute for ‘Heal’, its most representative function was
Bestowing divine power upon a designated target.
‘However, when used on a target with the <Soul Brand> or high sin value, the character themselves takes damage for going against the will of the gods, but…….’
That was none of his concern.
Because Ruth believed in neither gods nor Constellations. And because he could use divine power even without believing.
Therefore, there was no problem at all.
Right then.
Crackle!
“Ah!”
“G-Grandfather……!”
As the platinum radiance enveloped Jackson and Nora, purple sparks began flying from their right arms.
It was the phenomenon that occurred as the divine power erased the <Soul Brand>.
In contrast to the excited pair, Ruth remained expressionless as he continued to focus and pour in divine power.
And finally.
Clang—!
Along with a sharp sound like shattering glass,
[<Adversary’s Blessing> has erased the brand on the designated targets!]
The <Soul Brand> disappeared simultaneously from Jackson’s and Nora’s arms.
“It is done.”
“Y-yes……?”
Ruth calmly released their hands and spoke.
Jackson stood there in a daze for a moment before hurriedly rolling up his and Nora’s right sleeves.
What entered his sight next was
“Ah…….”
A smooth arm with no pattern engraved on it whatsoever.
It was the moment they were freed from the shackles that had been passed down through their bloodline for hundreds of years.
And at the same time.
[You have dispelled a high-grade curse magic that had been maintained for hundreds of years!]
[Hidden conditions of the <Blood Link> system have been satisfied!]
[A new Paladin skill has been unlocked!]
“……What?”
It was also the moment when genuine surprise appeared on Ruth’s face, which had remained calm the entire time.
***
Not far from Riter, where Ruth currently was, there was a small mining village.
In reality, although it was called a village, this place served as the base for the Drekal branch of <White Sword>—also known as the <Silver Snake Group>.
And Bruno Kurt, the branch leader of that place, was currently
“……So.”
On the verge of losing his mind upon hearing the report.
Kugugu—.
The killing intent he emitted caused the shabby building to shake violently as if it would collapse at any moment.
It was the oppressive aura emitted by a man who was not some petty criminal, but the branch leader of one of the five major criminal organizations on the continent.
The subordinate who had brought the news wore an expression as if he were suffocating under the pressure that crushed his lungs.
“Some random kid beat all five of my precious subordinates to death with a club while they were out collecting fees?”
“T-that is what I confirmed while scouting…….”
“Keuk, kuhahahahaha!!”
Bruno burst into mad laughter.
The subordinate could easily tell that this laughter was not born of amusement or joy.
He knew well that when the branch leader’s rage reached its peak, he would laugh like this to suppress his emotions.
“The sewer scum must have finally lost their minds. I showed them mercy because they were a good source of money. Have I been too lenient lately?”
“H-how should we proceed? Just give the order.”
“Release the Fierce Dragon.”
The Fierce Dragon was the being the residents of Drekal and Riter called the ‘Monster of the Mountain.’
“Since they killed five of my subordinates, let’s return the favor exactly tenfold.”