Chapter 16 – The Dwarf Blacksmith

[Ahh…why am I so busy….]

Kaijin, a dwarf man, was grumbling to himself.

He furiously thought inside, ‘Geez, the Empire in the east, might make a move? What kind of idiocy is that!?’.

Indeed, for the past 300 years it had remained a peaceful era.

Kaijin couldn’t understand. Why would the Empire, which was plenty rich enough as it was, go through the trouble of invading other lands?

Although for this dwarf, who made a living through creating weapons, the beginning of the war should have been a really good chance to make huge profits…

‘But still! Why did my workload have to increase so suddenly!!!’, was all that ran through the dwarf’s head.

Moreover, there was one thing that he was greatly worried about…

Even as he cursed and fantasized about beating up a certain government Minister, the dwarf was in deep consideration regarding another matter.

[What should I do…]

He breathed a tired sigh as he continued to think.

There was almost no time remaining for him to complete his work orders. Missing the deadline would be a huge blow to his reputation.

Saying ‘I couldn’t do it!’, was simply not an option.

Right now, his future depended on whether he would receive contact from the friends he had sent word for.

He was well known for his skill as a blacksmith, but there were still some things he couldn’t do.

What was troubling him so much, was the lack of materials to create weapons with!

And then the people he had been waiting for finally appeared before him.

[Sorry…we should have made it by yesterday, but there was a matter beyond our control…!]

Saying that, the three men entered Kaijin’s shop.

There were three of them, all siblings, and also of the dwarven race. All of them were in the business of mining.

The eldest son Garm. He was a skilled armorsmith.

The second son Dold. He was for known his first-­rate craftsmanship.

The third son Mild. Though he was a dwarf of few words, he was an expert at what he did. Having knowledge in construction, and well-versed in the arts, he was a one of a kind genius.

By all rights, these three outstanding talents should have been the owners of their own shops, but unfortunately, they were all rather clumsy in regards to general living.

Blessed only in their respective specializations, they were hopeless when it came to planning things or business trades, which was why they were frequently taken advantage of by the people around them.

And so, their shop was taken over by a person they had trusted in, and what was more, they even fell into a trap laid by a fellow apprentice who was jealous of their talents, and ended up literally kicking an officer of the king and was now under watch by the country…

Having nowhere else to go to, they chose to rely on Kaijin, who was their childhood friend as well as the big brother of the group.

Although he ruefully thought to himself, ‘You should have depended on me sooner!’, he was aware that it was already far too late to say that.

He had decided to shelter three brothers into his shop and hire them to work for him. However, there was no work to entrust to them.

While Kaijin’s shop mainly sold weapons, his other goods were bought from other suppliers.

Since he personally made his weapons, there would be no problem in receiving assistance in regards to that, however…he feared that unnecessary troubles would occur if his shop suddenly stopped trading with the other suppliers and began self­-producing armors and crafts.

There was a need to continue business operations as usual until the three settled down. This was why he had tasked the three brothers with overseeing laborers in the gathering of ores and raw materials.

After hearing their circumstances, he found out that they had encountered a demon. Kaijin was greatly perplexed at this. Nevertheless, their safety was something to be happy about.

Thinking of how fortunate the three were to avoid any injuries, he voiced his relief.

[Well, it’s good that you guys are safe! You must have done well in running away. It’s great that none of you were hurt!]

Indeed, as long as they were safe, it was always possible to go back to gathering the needed ores.

But while he was thinking to himself, ‘The safety of my friends are much more important!’, the three brothers exchanged awkward looks with each other.

They said,

[No…it’s not like we managed to get away in time.]

[Mhm. To tell you the truth, even now I still can’t come to terms with what happened yesterday…]

[…….]

*Third bro is silent

From then on, he listened as they explained what happened in detail.

They claimed, ‘A mysterious slime gave us medicine that brought us back to life!’.

Normally, he would have laughingly replied, ‘I don’t believe that!’, but he knew that the brothers were never the kind to lie. Or rather, they just weren’t skillful enough in telling lies. Which meant that what they said was true…

However, seeing as it was only yesterday that a demon attack had resulted in casualties, hiring new miners would most likely be impossible.

Due to yesterday’s events, the men he had employed were resigning one after another. Since they also incurred considerable injuries themselves, he could not really complain.

In regular circumstances, this would precisely be the time to go to the Freedom Association with a request, but that was not an option.

He had already issued a request for the gathering of ores, but there was yet to be a reply. It was the same situation for every other workshop, and so the stocks of goods in the market were deteriorating.

In the case of commissioning guards, not only would the fee be comparatively high, they would only work within the extent of the request. If you asked for escorts, they would do just that and no more…

And when it came to the price of adventurers capable of defeating a B ­rank demon…it wouldn’t do any good. Far from making a profit, he would go bankrupt instead.

He thought to himself, ‘Tsk! Why did such a strong demon have to come out in the outer zone of the mines!’.

Kaijin sighed heavily.

He contemplated on what he should do.

The deadline was drawing nearer. He even considered going so far as to personally gather all the ores with his own hands

But no good ideas popped into his head, and time was running short…

The four dwarves were all lost in thought as they looked at one another.

And it was then that a strange group came into sight.

*Returning to slime perspective

[Hey! Big bro, you there?]

While calling out to someone inside, Captain­-san, now known as Kaidou-­san, entered the shop.

In the midst of our conversations, we had become much more open and friendly towards each other, and were now on a first name basis. I was told that the owner of the shop , the one he wanted to introduce me to, was his actual elder brother.

From the outside, it looked like the kind of small shop run by a stubborn old uncle.

[Sorry to intrude~!]

*Rimuru greets

[How do you do!]

*Gobuta-kun greets

Saying our greetings, we followed Kaidou­-san inside the shop.

The moment we entered, we saw that many eyes were focused on us.

[Ah!]

All three dwarf brothers had exclaimed at the same time

The three dwarfs I saw yesterday had all raised their voices in surprise and were looking over here. They were looking healthy now. Although for some reason they were making depressed faces…

And then surely, as expected, there was a grim looking uncle whose face didn’t lose one bit to those of the scary town construction old men. He was the owner of this shop.

Honestly, he didn’t resemble Kaidou­-san at all.

[What’s this? They friends of yours?]

[Kaijin-­san! It’s this slime!!! The one that saved us yesterday!!!]

[Yeah, that’s right! So the Captain-­san was the younger brother of our shop owner!]

[…….]

*Third bro is silent

[Ohh…! So that’s the slime you were talking about! I’ve heard you were the one who saved these guys. You have my gratitude!]

[Not at all! I don’t feel as if I’ve done that much, or perhaps I might have? Ha­ha­ha­ha­ha~~!!!]

For one such as I, who easily gets carried away and goes too far, words of praise is taboo…because I wouldn’t be able to calm down for the next long while.

[So, why have you come here today?]

After slightly regaining his composure, Uncle-san asked a question.

All of us had moved further inside of the shop to talk. And then, Kaidou-­san began briefly explaining my situation. I also chipped into the conversation, when needed, to help move it along smoothly.

But I must say, this third dwarf brother called Mild-­san, he never says a single thing! I mean, how did he still manage to actually communicate? It was mysterious.

[I understand what you want now. But I’m sorry. I don’t think I can be of any help…. The thing is, we’ve already received a request from a certain country….]

He told us that it was a secret, and explained what was happening worldwide while withholding the important information.

It appeared that many countries were feeling pressured by the fear of a war occurring because of ‘A certain fool somewhere!’, and that was why craft orders for weapons and armors were being issued everywhere. Putting this information into consideration, it made sense that the medicines and other goods were out of stock yesterday.

[And so, about the request I received. Although I did manage to make 200 steel spears overnight…but on the other hand, regarding the main order of 20 swords, not even a single one has been made yet. I don’t have the materials, you see…]

Despite hanging his head low, Uncle­-san still grumbled.

[If it can’t be done, isn’t it fine to cancel the order?]

It was a reasonable question, asked by Kaidou­-san.

[You idiot! Even I told them from the beginning that it was unreasonable!…but then that sh*tty government Minister Bester butted in and said…

『Famed throughout our kingdom for your skills, can not a man of your caliber, Kaijin, complete a small task of this degree?』

…is the kind of drivel he prattled on to me!!! Not to mention, this was said in front of the king! Would you forgive him? That sh*tty bastard!!!]

He was furious the whole time he talked.

As we continued to converse, I learned that in the past, the third dwarf brother Mild­-san had rejected a request from Minister Bester to build a house that he wanted. Bearing a grudge from that incident, the Minister had repeatedly harassed Mild-­san to the point where he was starting to think about escaping from the country. And I was told that the one who took him in at that time was Kaijin-san.

However you looked at it, it was definitely an unjustified resentment towards Mild-­san.

Then I thought to myself, ‘Wasn’t it likely that the Minister bought up all the materials to obstruct Kaijin-san’s work?’.

[If you couldn’t make the swords due to the lack of materials, does that mean that spears require different materials?]

And to my question Kajin-­san replied,

[Yeah. The swords require a special material called “magic ore”. The spears only needed to be made out of steel.]

He had replied in a very tired manner

Without the materials, even a master blacksmith was just an ordinary person. It must be so frustrating for him.

But when you think about it, wasn’t it possible that the Minister was waiting for Kaijin-san to come to him begging for help?

[To top it off…it takes a whole day to complete one sword. Even by using the assembly -line system for efficient production, it would still take 2 weeks to make 20 of them….]

I was about to ask about the time limit, but then decided not to. The despair on his face told me everything I needed to know.

But he told me anyway.

[The deadline is by this weekend…. On the first day of next week, I have to deliver it all to the King. This job is something that is assigned to each and every craftsman, commissioned by the country…if you can’t complete it, it is possible to have your qualifications as a craftsman revoked…]

In other words, only 5 or so days left to complete the order. Or rather, since any progress couldn’t be made today, then only 4 days until the deadline?

I got the feeling like the talk was getting serious. I had nothing to do with this, so why was I here?

Just wait a moment, I can’t seem to understand what’s going on~?

Actually, if it’s “magic ores”, don’t I have some? Well, it’s not like it was my business…

I didn’t know if they were misunderstanding something or not, but everyone was looking towards me. Being stared at by men doesn’t make me happy!

Their eyes seemed to be telling me, ‘Hey you! Can’t you do something about this?’.

These people…what did they think a slime was capable of?

Guess I’ve got no choice.

For now, I should magnanimously lend my help them…And while I’m at that, I’ll have them assist me with the revival of our goblin village!

[Fu­fu­fu. Ha­ha­ha. Ha~~~ha­ha­ha!!! Hey now, isn’t this talk just too insignificant? Uncle! This thing, can you use it?]

With a loud thud, I placed before their very eyes, a fully extracted ore on the work table. And then I went to lay down on the sofa with my legs outstretched! (That was how I imagined it!)

[…He­, hey! Heeeey!!! Thi­-, isn’t this “magic ore”!? Moreover, its of unbelievably high purity!!!]

Heh. Actually, that wasn’t “magic ore”.

It was a premade “magic steel ingot”~!!!.

[Hey now, uncle, are your eyes just for show?]

If he wasn’t even capable of identifying this, I doubted he would be of any use to me.

I would sell the material to him at a suitable price, but wouldn’t further involve myself!

[What…? …You don’t mean…no, that’s ridiculous! Are you saying that the whole of this ingot is “magic steel”!?]

As expected, Uncle-­san saw through it! But still, like how he was astonished, I was pleasantly surprised as well!

[Wi­-, will you turn this over to me? Of course, I’ll pay the asking price!]

Fufufu. I caught him!

[Well now, how should I go about this~]

[Argh. What is it you want? I’ll do anything that is within my ability!]

[I was waiting for those words! You’ve already heard of our circumstances, yes? Among uncle-san’s acquaintances, I want you to find someone capable of teaching crafting techniques.]

[What did you say? You’re okay with just that?]

[Hmph. Our first priority is to secure the life necessities, clothing and housing! And also from now on, I want to request an intermediary for supplying clothes, and someone capable of making weapons.]

[If that’s all you need, there’ll be no problem at all!]

With this agreement, I handed over the “magic steel ingot” to Uncle­-san, Kaijin, and in return I gained a promise.

We planned to go over the smaller details after he completed his work orders.

From the response he showed, it would have most likely been fine to request a little more, but wanting too much wasn’t good.

After all…greed was always the cause of my failures!

I’ve learned from my past mistakes.

The very same day, after everyone had dinner, Kaidou-san left us and returned to his post.

Even though he was captain of the guards, it wasn’t a good example he was setting by skipping his work from noon. But well, it was for the sake of guiding me around. I have nothing to say about that!

And then, the three dwarf brothers had excessively expressed their thanks to me.

It appeared, that because they thought it was their fault that Uncle-­san (Kaijin) was under supervision of the country, they felt very grateful that I helped out.

When I asked, ‘If you like, why don’t you three join us?’, their eyes went wide with surprise, and then they began a discussion among themselves. Well, I was sure they would arrive to some sort of conclusion.

But it was about time to ask the most important question.

[Uncle-­san, there are 4 remaining days. Including today, that makes it 4.5 days. Will it be enough time to finish your work?]

[…. To be honest, I don’t think it can be done. Even so, I’ve no choice but to do it!]

So he was planning on going ahead with only fighting spirit….

However, I know this. What can’t be done, can’t be done!

To be successful in something, all the components that makes it possible must be assembled.

There was nothing to be done about it…since I started this, I’ll see it through to the end!

[I understand. I have a plan! For the time being, wait until tomorrow. I need you to calm down and make me one sword that is of the finest quality possible!]

[What are you saying? Aren’t you an amateur in this? What can you do to help?]

[It’s a secret. Believe in me! If you can’t, then do as you like. However, I’m sure that you won’t be able to fulfill the request!]

[… It’s okay to trust in you, right? In the case that you can’t make this succeed, I won’t be paying you for the “magic steel”. Well, it wouldn’t make a difference to me either way, since I wouldn’t be able to pay anyway!

But, if you manage to keep your promise…I swear to keep my side of the promise as well! I’ll prepare for you the best workers there is!!!]

We’ve made our promises!

And a promise made was something to be kept!

Status

Name: Rimuru Tempest

Species: Slime

Divine Protection: Crest of Storm

Titles: “One Who Controls Demons”

Magic:

None

Skills:

Unique Skill 『Great Sage』

Unique Skill 『Predator』

Slime Inherent Skills 『Dissolution, Absorption, Self-Regeneration』

Extra Skill 『Water Manipulation』

Extra Skill 『Magic Perception』

Acquired Skills:

Black Snake 『Heat Perception, Poison Mist Breath』

Centipede 『Paralysis Breath』

Spider 『Sticky Thread, Steel Thread』

Bat 『Ultrasonic Waves』

Lizard 『Body Armor』

Black Wolf 『Super Olfaction, Thought Transmission, Intimidation, Shadow Movement, Black Lightning』

Resistances:

Heat Fluctuation Resistance EX

Physical Attack Resistance

Pain Immunity

Electrical Resistance

Paralysis Resistance