The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Reconciliation (2)

Here stood a man burning with vengeance.

The nightmare of that day replayed ceaselessly in his mind.

Fragments of a sword scattering like pristine snow.

Shephiirus, his beloved blade.

Its demise haunted him relentlessly.

“Revenge… I must have revenge.”

The man, Teddy, vowed retribution.

Against Arthas, the one who had shattered his cherished Shephiirus.

But then—

“Heard the fiancé-to-be is quite the figure. Word is, he’s reached at least the highest echelons of Sword Expert.”

“Aye, not just brute strength, it seems. They say he’s sharp of mind too. Master of both sword and scroll, quite the feat.”

“Honestly, even as a man, I must admit he’s handsome.”

“Not that Lady Asia isn’t worthy, but that fiancé candidate is something else.”

The knights of his age were all on Arthas’s side.

Not a single one shared Teddy’s anger, or his resentment.

There wasn’t a soul he could conspire with.

‘Even so, I believed the Commanders would join my cause…’

Teddy had hoped to rally the two Commanders, men who had suffered a similar loss, as allies.

Commander Bertnia, and Commander Panderth.

However—

“What strange talk is this? What is the significance of a mere broken sword?”

Commander Bertnia, who placed little value on blades.

“A sword breaks only because its wielder is weak. Had he been strong, it would not have shattered.”

Commander Panderth, who insisted on the strength of the user.

These two were beings unlike Teddy in their thoughts.

And so, he abandoned the idea of making them his comrades.

Teddy realized, from the start, that he and they were fundamentally different.

They were Commanders.

Paid handsomely, unlike the ordinary knights.

To such Commanders, a sword was simply a consumable item.

Something easily replaced with a fresh one at any time.

Teddy inwardly condemned the Commanders’ attitude, their treatment of swords as mere commodities.

‘Even a sword…! Even a sword has a life!’

And then, Teddy understood with painful clarity.

There would be no allies for him in the Messiah Estate.

Unless perhaps it was Count Messiah himself—

But he couldn’t very well ask the Count to join him in revenge.

He was merely a foot soldier, after all.

‘In the end, I must take my revenge alone.’

Of course, any revenge I considered wouldn’t be too severe.

I, too, was a member of the Messiah family.

So I wouldn’t do anything that would harm the family.

‘Maybe… if that guy buys a sword later… I could paint it with rust…?’

Teddy dreamed of such a minor vengeance.

As he schemed of revenge in thought alone, an opportunity arrived.

“Lady Asia is looking for someone knowledgeable about swords.”

“Someone knowledgeable about swords? Why suddenly?”

“Apparently, her fiancé candidate is buying a new sword.”

Teddy listened obediently to Commander Retidt’s words.

A thought flashed through his mind.

‘Instead of painting rust on the sword, how about guiding him to a place that sells cheap swords at exorbitant prices!’

A new method of revenge.

With such a devious purpose, Teddy volunteered for the task.

And, as if carried by the current, he naturally took on the assignment.

It was a natural outcome.

The fact that Teddy knew the details of swords was a widely known story among the unit members.

‘Kheheh… finally, my time for revenge has arrived!!!’

*

First, we headed to the magic stone vendor.

Teddy led the way, and I followed behind him.

Though we were clearly walking together, it felt as if I were alone.

With no conversation between us, it was to be expected.

Teddy’s attitude felt like a wall between us.

Why did Teddy dislike me so much?

Lost in thought, I realized we had arrived.

“…We’re here.”

Teddy spoke as we reached the magic stone vendor.

Teddy had finally opened his mouth.

And so, I sold off the magic stone and again followed Teddy, who was now guiding me to the sword seller.

Suddenly, I remembered a fact I had forgotten.

‘Come to think of it, I broke Teddy’s sword once.’

I checked Teddy’s waist.

Unlike before, there was only one sword.

He probably hadn’t been able to buy a new one yet.

‘Well… it must have been a good sword.’

The sword I had broken back then was definitely better than ordinary swords.

Of course, it couldn’t withstand my unique mana and shattered.

‘It must have been expensive.’

Living in the Messiah estate, I had come to know the salary of a knight.

Knowing that, buying a blade of that caliber again would’ve been beyond his means.

‘Wait… so the reason he’s showing me such dislike… could it be…?’

Because I broke his sword?

He almost dismissed the thought.

The man leading him was a knight, after all.

A knight, considered the pinnacle of honorable professions.

Could such a man really harbor animosity simply over a broken sword?

Filled with uncertainty, he cautiously questioned Teddy.

“Come to think of it, I did damage your sword once, didn’t I?”

Teddy visibly flinched at his words.

A blatant reaction.

It seemed his conjecture was correct.

“Now that I’ve come into some coin, I’d like to compensate you with a better sword than the one I broke.”

An offering of apology.

Though he didn’t expect Teddy to simply forgive him.

“Y-you truly mean it?”

He had forgiven him.

Just moments before, Teddy was expressionless.

But at his words, his face brightened, even breaking into a wide smile.

Realizing how drastically his demeanor had changed, he cleared his throat.

“Ahem! Well… if you insist on repaying the debt, I won’t exactly refuse.”

Debt…

Well, technically, it was a debt.

He tried to recall the sword he had used back then.

Yes, mithril.

It was definitely a mithril sword.

“From what I remember, the sword you used to wield was a mithril blade.”

“…Are you perhaps trying to preemptively tell me that a similar mithril sword is out of the question?”

Mithril swords were indeed expensive.

But no.

He wasn’t that petty.

“Well, it’s not really my place to say, seeing as I was the one who broke it…”

He offered a small smile.

“But it seemed rather fragile, almost as if it contained only a small amount of mithril.”

“The more mithril, the lighter and less effective it becomes. That amount was just right…”

Teddy’s excuse about the appropriate weight.

But that was simply not true.

Mithril was certainly light.

However, when mana was infused into mithril, it became heavier.

Therefore, the sword’s weight was truly irrelevant.

And the reason I brought up such a thing?

It was but one.

“I shall gift you a sword forged purely of Mithril.”

If I were to compensate, it should be done properly.

I decided to give him a far superior sword than before.

Teddy’s reaction to my words was more amusing than I anticipated.

“Did you… did you just say what I think you said?”

Teddy’s voice trembled ever so slightly.

It seemed he couldn’t quite believe my words.

He must have thought he’d misheard.

To this, I affirmed he had heard correctly.

“I said I would compensate you with a sword crafted entirely from Mithril.”

“Y-you mean it, truly?”

“I have no reason to lie, do I?”

Indeed, I had no reason to lie.

I had sold the Mana Stone, after all, and quite a sum resided within my grasp.

Teddy knew this, and thus, he also knew I possessed the means to make such amends.

“T-thank you so much!!!”

Teddy, now realizing the truth of my words, bowed his head deeply, offering his gratitude.

Tears even welled in his eyes.

I felt a slight awkwardness from his overwhelming joy.

I urged Teddy, who had paused his stride, to hasten onward.

“Let’s hurry and purchase it.”

“Ah, yes!”

However.

Teddy turned his body from the direction we had been heading and began to walk the opposite way.

Teddy was retracing our steps.

“Huh? Why are we going back the way we came?”

“Ah… well… now that I think of it, a much better shop came to mind, so I was thinking we could go that way.”

I understood immediately.

‘…If I hadn’t offered compensation, he’d have taken me to some shady establishment.’

It was rather impudent, but I decided to forgive him, just this once.

It was partially my fault for the delayed compensation, after all.

*

“Ooh… from this day forth, your name shall be Shephearious.”

“Shephearious…?”

“Ah, are you not familiar? It is the name of a hero’s sword from a fairy tale.”

Ah….

It was only natural I wouldn’t know it.

Fairy tales are for children.

That I, a mere orphan who never knew a proper childhood, wouldn’t have read them should be no surprise.

I borrowed Sheffirius from Teddy for a moment.

“I have something to test.”

I poured mana into Sheffirius.

Slowly, so very slowly.

Sheffirius stubbornly withstood my mana.

But –.

*Crack-*

A strange sound began emanating from Sheffirius.

I immediately withdrew my mana.

‘Couldn’t very well ruin his new sword right away.’

Regardless, this experiment made one thing clear.

Even a sword forged entirely of mithril couldn’t withstand my mana.

And this place that Teddy led me to.

This was the finest weapon shop in the entire County.

The best product in this weapon shop was, once again, a sword purchased for Teddy.

“It seems there isn’t a single sword here suitable for me…”

There were plenty of swords that could be called masterpieces, but none that could be called true blades.

And so, I was about to buy a simple iron sword.

But then –.

“Then how about waiting a little before purchasing?”

Teddy offered me a new suggestion.

“The Count’s family is planning to travel to the Hoorn Kingdom this time.”

The Hoorn Kingdom?

I definitely remembered hearing that name before.

The Hoorn Kingdom, if I recall…

“Isn’t that the kingdom of the dwarves?”

The Hoorn Kingdom, built by the dwarves.

A place known as a sanctuary for artisans, brimming with every kind of craftsman imaginable.