Chapter 23


“Uncle~ We’re here~”

After taking care of the pig, it was evening, and I headed straight for the blacksmith.

As usual, I called out for Uncle, and he popped out from the back door.

His head was shining with sweat, likely from just finishing up weapon crafting.

“Did the little brat come? You timed it just right.”

Since he mentioned that I timed it right, it seems the weapon was just completed.

“Ooooh…! Where’s the sword?!”

“Just wait a moment.”

Uncle went through the back door and came back holding a huge greatsword wrapped in bandages.

The size was unlike anything I’d seen since arriving in this world, so it must be the Dragon Slayer I’d requested.

Wrapping it up in bandages to avoid spoiling the surprise? This uncle knows his stuff.

“What? You were saying it wouldn’t work and now you made this perfectly?”

“If I couldn’t make something like this, I wouldn’t be a blacksmith.”

True, even if no one uses Rhino Horn material, there are plenty of tougher materials than this.

If I get stuck here, I’ll have to find another blacksmith.

“Here, take a look.”

“Uwooo━! Uwooo━!”

It’s so big that it requires two hands to wield.

I received the sword while making monkey sounds.

That large, sturdy, and magnificent sword has a charm that could turn any man into a babbling fool.

Can you say there’s an aura to it?

When I took the sword, my first thought was that it wasn’t as heavy as I expected.

In terms of weight alone, it wasn’t light, but compared to its size, it felt surprisingly manageable.

It stood taller than my chin when placed on the ground.

“Uncle, how long is this?”

“With the handle, it’s 170 centimeters.”

The width looked about 20 cm and thickness around 3 cm, but there’s no nothing like a Dragon Slayer around.

I brought my hand to the end of the bandage to commit some ocular harassment.

As I tugged the bandage lightly, it unwound with a soft sound, revealing its beautiful form.

The overall blade looked rough as if carved straight from stone with a dark gray hue, and the iron horn material wrapping the blade seemed to absorb even light.

The handle was integral, not separately attached, and wrapped to prevent slipping.

Unwrapping the sword at this moment felt even naughtier than a naked woman.

“Hah! Hah!”

I licked the side of the sword.

“This taste doesn’t lie!”

So honest!

“Alright. Your name is Dragon Slayer.”

As I declared the sword’s name, a blue window appeared before me.

◈ Item Information

Name: Dragon Slayer

Rank: B+

Description: A greatsword crafted by the empire’s blacksmith, Smith. The materials are from the herbivorous monster Rhino Horn and the named entity Iron Horn. It’s light yet sturdy. Contrary to its ostentatious name, it cannot actually slay dragons.

This bastard? How dare the system poke its nose where the master likes it?

If I ever meet the author, I’ll give them a good smack on the butt.

“I’ve never seen someone name a weapon before…”

“Leave it be. There are occasionally such oddballs.”

“Hah… Uncle, would it be alright if I danced as a gesture of gratitude?”

“No. Don’t do it.”

As soon as he said no, I began twerking.

“I said not to do it…!”

The more he said not to, the more I did.

If he wanted me to stop, he shouldn’t have asked in the first place.

Luna pretended not to watch while sneaking glances, and Uncle just turned his back.

Thirty minutes passed in that state.

“Ha! Thank you!”

“Hah… Is it finally over?”

“Would you like me to do more?”

“If you do, you can consider yourself never stepping foot here again.”

Oof.

“Oh right. Little brat. You haven’t reported catching the named monster to the Adventurer’s Guild, have you?”

“What the hell?!”

“Please say it so I can understand…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Named monsters have little information, so telling the Adventurer’s Guild can earn you a reward, just a heads up.”

I can’t resist money.

“I’ve given you all the info I have, so now go on and let me rest.”

“Ah, before I go, could you please help me with this?”

I pulled a safe out of my inventory.

“What’s this safe about…?”

Before coming to the blacksmith, I searched through the pig to see if there was anything valuable I could find.

It’s too hard to bust open with my fist and breaking it without knowing what’s inside isn’t wise either.

If there’s even a gold coin, then it would break apart with the safe.

“Someone gave it to me, but I don’t know how to open it.”

The pig promised to give everything before it got its beating, so that wasn’t a lie.

“Hah… Alright. I’ll see what I can do when I have time, so come back later.”

Uncle, you’re really the best. There isn’t anything you can’t do.

“Well then, we’ll take our leave now~”

*

The day after the incident.

The Empire was swept up in a huge wave.

“Luke-sama, here’s today’s newspaper.”

“There’s a newspaper too?”

There’s no TV or phone, yet there are newspapers.

If that’s the case, why not just go for modern fantasy instead of tagging it medieval?

I took the newspaper from Luna.

Since I had kept my distance from newspapers and news my entire life, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t bother reading it, but today was an exception.

Since something happened yesterday, today’s newspaper couldn’t help but be interesting.

[ Count Buckley found half-naked at the main square. ]

The title gracing the front page of the newspaper read so.

Was there no technology for capturing photos with magic? There were no pictures, but even if there were, they’d likely be too dirty to publish.

I read the body just below the title.

[ Early this morning, Count Buckley was reported to be hanging half-naked in front of the fountain at the Empire’s square. He appeared to have been beaten numerous times, and beneath him lay a list written as a slave trade contract. This leads to the assumption that Count Buckley has been faced with revenge. ]

“These journalists are on point.”

Last evening.

Luna’s suggestion to save me from killing him was this.

– “Let’s tie him up naked and hang him in the most crowded square.”

Even a demon god would waggle their head at that.

I didn’t know Luna had such a side to her, but it seems she couldn’t help it in front of the sweet fruit of revenge.

She’s usually the one who throws around weird comments towards me.

Ordinarily, upper management should prevent such information from leaking, but with him hung in a bustling square, how could it not get out?

If they were to silence all witnesses, they would have had to kill a third of the Empire’s citizens.

“Well, now that we’ve seen everything, shall we get back to work?”

Yesterday, I only got the sword and had dinner, so I hadn’t had a chance to try it out yet.

Thus, I wanted to swing it around quickly. Anyone or monster, I didn’t mind.

“Luna! Hurry up and get ready!”

“…As always, just prepare yourself, Luke-sama.”

“Hehe.”

*

Stepping into the Adventurer’s Guild, things felt unusually chaotic.

“Did an S-Rank Adventurer come or something?”

“Adela, why’s the guild so messy today?”

“The news that a noble from the empire committed a crime is spreading.”

“Wow! You know about that!”

“Is it possible that Luke-san did something…?”

I’m involved, but I didn’t create that situation.

I smiled mischievously at Luna.

Upon following my gaze, Adela looked at Luna with an expression of horror.

“Could it be Luna-san…?”

“…Ahem.”

“That can’t be…”

Luna-san is now next to Luke-san, so she got infected.

Adela said with a face full of despair.

Why are you blaming me for something I didn’t do?

“Adela, you’re going to regret saying that to me.”

“…I’m regretting it right now.”

Meeting you.

Let’s pretend I didn’t hear the rest.

If she saw what I caught in a day, she’d be shocked.

“Whoa! You caught such a terrifying monster! Truly, Luke-sama!” then she’d look at me differently.

And then I’d go, “Who are you?” and she’d panic, “Aah! Please don’t abandon me!” with a regrettable clinginess.

I slapped Iron Horn’s head down onto the reception desk from my inventory.

“…What is this?!”

“It’s a Named Monster. Any problem?”

“Please explain in detail!”

“The receptionist… Command!?”

“…Please.”

That’s how a request should be made.

“Luna. Explain.”

“…?”

But I’m bad at talking since I’m in the science track?

Not that I’m good at math either.

I stepped back while listening to Luna explain.

About its ferocity, carnivorous nature, and symptoms resembling a red-eyed rampage.

“You caught a Named Monster…?”

What do you think, Adela? Are you starting to feel some respect?

“This is…”

Adela mumbled to herself.

How flustered would one have to be to mutter to themselves?

“Luke-san, would you have any interest in taking the quest to eradicate Giant Ants? Completing the quest will allow you to rank up to D-Rank.”

“We’re leaving right now!”

“Wait a moment! You need to listen to the explanation first!”

“Oh, right.”

“First off, Luke-san, you are currently an E-Rank Adventurer, so you can’t accept the quest to eradicate Giant Ants.”

Then why mention it, you jerk?

Is this some form of cruel amusement?

“Listen to the whole thing…”

“I am listening.”

“You seem to be heavily dissatisfied by your expression.”

Am I?

“Luna, how’s my face looking?”

“It seems to be a face as if you’re saying, ‘Why’d you even tell me this, jerk?’”

Wow, that’s brutally accurate! You could totally be a translator!

“Anyway, the Giant Ants themselves are E-Rank monsters, but this time it’s a den-clearing quest. Therefore, it’s classified as a D-Rank mission. Also, since you caught a Named Monster, I thought you’d be fine to participate. If you agree, you can go with a D-Rank Adventurer.”

“Do I get to choose the Adventurer?”

If I could, I’d definitely want a beauty.

“No, there’s already a D-Rank Adventurer who accepted the quest, so you’ll be with them. Ah, there they are!”

Following Adela’s words, I turned to look.

“What’s up, kid? You still haven’t gone back to the academy?”

A bald man with a massive two-headed axe on his back stood there.

“Alright. Let’s kill him.”

“Luke-sama, no!”