(MDITFB) Chapter 7

“Now, how did you find out about this place?”

“I heard a rumor that there was a master hiding down this street.”

“Master? I don’t know who said it, but they are right. What’s your business here?”

“Eun-hye and I, as I said before, are aspiring hunters. So…….”

“Ah, the both of you need a weapon. Alright. Come in.”

Kang Chul led them to the arsenal located inside the workshop.

Instead of the flashy weapons in the exhibition hall outside, there were slightly sturdier weapons.

Those were the weapons for real hunters. The display outside was more of a decoration for collectors.

Because people like those only paid attention to the appearance, they practically fell apart, and the materials were designed to only look pretty.

“Now, two weapons…… What kind of things do you have in mind?

“A spear. I’d like to entrust production to you, not purchase.”

“A spear. That’s a good choice. What about the lady?”

“Um. Would it be okay if I looked around a little more?”

Eun-hye frowned slightly and looked at the weapons. When she seemed uncertain, Kang Chul turned his head casually.

“Let’s do yours first.”

“Alright. I think 2 meters in length would be appropriate.”

“Just for the handle?”

“No. The length including the blade. Oh, can the spear hilt be made from iron instead of wood, please?”

“An iron spear…… It would be heavy and difficult to handle. Are you okay with that?”

“It will be fine.”

Kang Chul smiled and wrote down his requirements on a piece of paper. It seems like he was drawing the blueprint on the spot.

“Which materials?”

“I don’t know what materials you possess.”

“We have everything, except the ones that we don’t.”

“Then please use adamantium for the spear blade and mithril for the hilt.”

“What? Hahaha! That’s too bad! I don’t have those!”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Then I’ll leave it up to you to choose the material.”

He added some requirements.

The shape of the tip of the spear, the weight of the product, and the thickness of the handle were explained.

Kang Chul stroked his beard and looked at him with interest.

“Hey, did you say your name was Lee Seo-Jun?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Are you really an aspiring hunter?”

“Yes.”

“However, your skill of ordering weapons is that of a veteran.”

“It’s because I’ve heard a lot about it.”

He casually brushed it off. Taking care of the substance he needed, he secretly gave the blacksmith a choice. 

Not an unpleasant amount of pressure, but it’s a good one for trusting his skills.

It seemed that Kang Chul knew his intentions, but rather, it seemed that he liked them.

“Great. I got your order.”

“How long will it take?”

“Your weapons will take a few days. Leave your contact information and I’ll let you know when it’s complete.”

“Yes. All right.”

He couldn’t hide the corners of his lips rising in an arc.

No matter how obscure Kang Chul is at the moment, his skills are definitely still at the level of a master craftsman.

It was a simple task to build a weapon in a few hours. However, the fact that it would take several days was a declaration of considerable effort.

“Have you decided?”

“Um, I’m not sure. Can you recommend something for me?”

“It’s good for beginners to try different weapons. Generally speaking, you should try a sword first.”

“A sword…..”

Kang Chul spoke as if it was a passing remark, but it was extremely useful advice.

Beginners should not make hasty decisions until they find the right weapon.

Each person had their own style of fighting or weapons that suited their hands. It was foolish to decide their type of weapon in haste.

“Seo-jun. What do you think?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Eun-hye asked for his opinion.

It was a question not worth pondering.

“Mr. Kang Chul, by any chance, can you make a bow?”

“I’m not just a metal-tapping idiot. Of course I can.”

“Okay, how about a bow?”

“A bow?”

There was no bow on display, so she never had a thought about it. Eun-hye and Kang Chul both looked puzzled at the unexpected choice.

The reason for his choice was very simple.

‘Because Eun-hye is a natural archer.’

Before returning, Eun-hye, who entered the Knights Templar, used a sword according to the guild policy.

Eun-hye, when holding a sword, did not stand out. Out of 3 teams, she was team 2 at best.

But one day while carrying out the quest, Eun-hye lost her weapon.

‘When I saw her later in an interview, she said it was broken.’

Perhaps the guild’s blacksmith skills were bad.

She had no choice but to grab the bow lying on the ground without an owner. That alone gave Eun-hye wings.

Eun-hye, with the bow, showed her talent, and rose to the point of going to the forefront in an instant.

“Eun-hye, you’re focused, quick-witted, and you’re good at judging situations.”

“Really?”

“Because you have a lot of flexibility and strength, I wonder if a bow would be good.”

“Uhm. That seems plausible.”

She slowly fell into his words.

Kang Chul also listened to his explanation and nodded.

“Or there’s also a way to try and decide with a practice weapon.”

“……No. As Seo-jun said, I’ll use a bow.”

“You don’t mind that?”

“Yes. His secret knowledge is vast.”

Eun-hye accepted it surprisingly easily.

Whether a sword or a spear, it was ambiguous, so she certainly preferred the idea of a bow the most. 

On the other hand, Kang Chul expressed some negative opinions.

“It will take some time to get used to a bow. It is not a weapon I would recommend for beginners.”

“Eun-hye is a fast learner.”

“I don’t see it that way, but you, you’re a fool aren’t you? Then let’s do it.”

He started discussing the structure of the bow with Kang Chul. The first suggestion came from his side.

“Can you make compound bows too?”

“Who do you think I am? Of course.”

“The riser should be the universal standard, but the grip should be fitted.”

“What about the string?”

“I think three would be enough for now.”

“Because she is a beginner, I recommend that you have an adjustable cam rather than a replacement cam.”

“That’s right. I’d also like a guide.”

Eun-hye and Seol-ah made eye contact while listening to them talk.

Seol-ah tilted her head and asked a question.

“Mommy, what are they talking about?”

“Mom doesn’t know either.”

             *         *         *

“When you combine the two, this will be the price.”

Eun-hye’s eyes widened when she saw it. Considering their circumstances, it was an unbelievable price.

Eun-hye couldn’t answer and mumbled, while gripping him.

She whispered so that Seol-ah and Kang Chul could not hear her.

“That price is crazy, right?”

“Right. Honestly, it’s cheap.”

“Do you have money to buy that?”

“Yeah, I broke it out of my savings.”

At this time, fortunately, he had some money.

He even had a steady installment savings account, so when he woke up that morning, he took out the money for the price of the weapons.

Eun-hye shook her head.

“I can’t buy that.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have enough money. I don’t know if I’d even have enough for a downpayment.”

“But I got it out of my savings?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Eun-hye didn’t seem to understand what he meant. A confused gaze looked at him.

“I have enough money to buy those two.”

“Are you saying you’re going to buy mine? Why?”

“I said I would take care of you two.”

“l thought you meant Seol-ah when you said that.”

To be honest, if he becomes a hunter, he could recover that amount of money.

The weapon he is purchasing now meets the minimum conditions of his standards.

If everything goes according to his plan, he was thinking of refitting the weapon with a better material later on.

Eun-hye looked at him with confusion, then nodded her head after contemplating.

“Okay. I will pay you back.”

“You don’t have to pay it back.”

“I’ll pay it off, no matter how expensive it is.”

In the end, he decided to buy it.

After he and Eun-hye had finished discussing, they looked back. And met Seol-ah’s eyes.

“Mommy.”

“Yes, Seol-ah.”

“Is it very expensive……?”

He was a little perplexed. It seems that the last words of Eun-hye had been heard.

Seol-ah was a little down.

“Seol-ah, it’s not like that.”

“Seol-ah can only eat a small amount of ice cream……?”

Eun-hye bit her lower lip.

It reminded him of a story Eun-hye told him at the hospital.

A story about Eun-hye, who couldn’t buy her favorite ice cream when she was raising Seol-ah alone.

Most of the time, Seol-ah was told that it was too expensive, but it seems that it was still in her memory.

Seol-ah looked resigned, but nodded her head as if it was okay.

“It’s okay. Seol-ah ate a lot of ice cream at the hospital.”

“Seol-ah. You can eat a lot of ice cream.”

“But, you said that you had to pay it back.”

Eun-hye was greatly embarrassed. Paying back means personal debt. Somehow, there was a lot of room for misunderstanding.

As proof of that, Kang Chul was looking at Eun-hye with a very sad expression.

“Look.”

“Ye-yes?”

“I heard the situation, and it’s quite pitiful.”

Kang Chul, who came next to Seol-ah, stroked her hair as if to soothe Seol-ah.

And he wrote down what he said on the calculated price, and showed it to them again. Both Eun-hye and Seo-jun were surprised to see it.

“Mister.”

“This is it.”

“But, isn’t this a price that can barely meet the cost of materials?”

Seo-jun roughly knows the materials that will be used for him and Eun-hye’s weapon.

Usually materials with good cost performance were selected, but only fairly high-quality materials were selected.

So the price of the materials were high. Not to mention the labor costs of crafting them.

In addition, the touch of Kang Chul, who will become the world’s greatest blacksmith in the future, would be included.

This price was a total loss to him.

“You liked the weapons, and more than anything, the kid is cute. It’s a special discount.”

“Are you really okay with this?”

“You talk a lot. Are you going to buy it or not? Just choose.”

“I’ll buy it. I’ll buy it. Thank you very much.”

“If you understand, use it more often.”

“Of course. I will only come here in the future.”

Kang Chul smiled in satisfaction. He was the world’s best master, and had a lot of pride, but was also famous for being loyal.

Long-time trading regulars he was particularly fond of, and somehow Seo-jun felt like he had joined the ranks.

“Hey, can you see the weapons in the corner?”

“Yes. I see it.”

“It’s a test-made rubbish. You can take one.”

In addition, he even gave a test weapon so that they could practice while he was making the weapon.

Kang Chul had said it was rubbish, but the materials were common, and they were quite good weapons.

He said it as if it was nothing, but Seo-jun could feel the abundance of his goodwill.

‘I thought he was just a scary person.’

When he first met Kang Chul, he was already the number one blacksmith.

He thought he was a difficult person because of his stubborn face and quiet atmosphere.

But now that he has witnessed him, he was just a kind old man who wanted to take care of anything.

‘Hey, he wasn’t a bad person in the first place.’

Seo-jun thought he said he was nice to people he liked. Kang Chul seemed to like them quite a bit.

Seo-jun heard that he liked polite people, so it could have been valid. Or maybe Seol-ah’s cuteness was the cause.

Either way, it felt like a good relationship had begun.

“Kang Chul. Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you!”

Him and Eun-hye sincerely thanked Kang Chul. Seol-ah also thanked Kang Chul, and bowed her head.

He chuckled, stroked Seol-ah’s head once again, and gave a congratulatory order.

“I have to work now, so get out.”

“See you next time.”

Kang Chul rolled up his sleeves and had a serious expression on his face.

Seo-jun left the workshop with a warm heart.

“Seol-ah.”

“Yes. Daddy!”

“Let’s go get some ice cream.”

“Yes!”

Translator: Morgan

Proofreader: Cherise

QC: Morgan

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