Welf then asked, "What was that?"
Hearing his question, Ethan replied, "It's a skill. It allows me to forge swords and other things much more easily. I can't really explain it very well." Although he had never tried forging anything besides swords, his skill would probably work for forging any kind of weapon or armor.
Welf listened to Ethan's words and said, "That's incredible. I've never met anyone with a blacksmithing-related skill like that. When did you receive this skill?"
"Not long ago."
"Does anyone else know about it? Did your Familia know?"
"No," Ethan replied.
'So that's why he was kicked out of his Familia. No one would throw away someone with talent like this.' Welf didn't know whether Ethan's former Familia specialized in blacksmithing, but if it didn't, they had made a truly terrible mistake.
"I see. It's an amazing skill." Welf let out a sigh before asking, looking Ethan straight in the eyes, "But why did you come here? Did you already know me?"
"Hm? Yeah, I've known you for a long time," Ethan said. "I bought a sword from you once, though you probably don't remember."
"I have a very good memory, but I don't remember that."
"That's not important. So, will you let me use your forge? I'll let you sell every sword I make. Wait... actually, I do need a little money since I'm staying at an inn."
Ethan didn't want to earn a salary, but he did want at least a portion of the profits.
He needed money to pay for his stay at the inn.
After thinking for a moment, Welf scratched his head and said, "Alright, I don't mind. I haven't been using my forge much these past few days anyway. Sales have been terrible."
"Isn't your shop famous?"
"Famous? Hahaha!" Welf burst into laughter at those words. "My shop doesn't sell anything, kid."
"I see," Ethan said. Then he asked, "Can I start working now?"
"Huh? Ah, sure," Welf agreed.
Ethan then looked at the sword he had just forged.
Sword (Gold) ★★★
Attack - 707
Magic Conductivity - 587
Skills - Piercing
It was a Gold-rank sword with extremely high Attack and Magic Conductivity. Ethan still didn't know exactly how the Magic Conductivity stat worked, since the swords he was forging weren't supposed to be magic swords.
Normally, magic swords were forged using monster materials and things like that. At least, that's what Ethan remembered.
However, the swords he was forging were already, theoretically, magical.
'Besides, they have skills. Sometimes several skills. My blacksmithing system is completely different from the normal smithing in this world,' Ethan thought with a sigh as he watched the metal heat up.
'I don't know if people will even know how to use the swords I forge.'
Ethan was certain of one thing:
From the perspective of most adventurers, his swords would look completely ordinary, and they wouldn't know how to use their abilities. But Ethan honestly didn't care much about that. In the end, the only thing that mattered was his own growth.
####
Welf left the forge and walked to the front of the shop. He could hear Ethan forging, the rapid and powerful strikes of his hammer echoing through the building. Listening to those sounds, Welf smiled.
'He's really fired up, huh?'
Welf had realized something:
Ethan genuinely loved blacksmithing.
At least, that was what he thought as he watched him work.
"Huff..."
Letting out a sigh, Welf sat down and waited for a customer to show up.
Time passed.
Ethan continued hammering away, forging one sword after another in the workshop behind the store, while Welf, bored out of his mind, stared at the ceiling.
"Excuse me?"
Then, a customer appeared.
"Huh?" Welf looked surprised. "Can I help you?"
Contrary to what Welf had expected, the hooded man standing before him wasn't there to buy anything. He placed a sheet of paper with a drawing on the counter.
"Have you seen this person? Long, dirty blond hair. Golden eyes. He looks like this."
The man stared at Welf with a serious expression.
Welf looked at the drawing for a few seconds before answering, "No. I've never seen this person before."
The very person in question was working only a few meters away, but Welf remained calm and didn't let his nervousness show.
The man didn't realize Welf was lying. He picked up the paper and, without another word, left the shop.
After the man disappeared, Welf let out a sigh.
'What did that kid do? Is it really a good idea to keep him here?'
####
As evening fell, Welf decided to close the shop. After locking up, he headed to the workshop to check on what Ethan was doing.
When he arrived, Ethan was sitting on the floor, staring at the swords lined up before him.
He had placed them neatly side by side.
"What are you doing?"
"Hm? Just looking at them, deciding which sword I'm going to take with me."
"I see."
Welf looked over the swords and noticed subtle differences between them. Some had brighter blades, while others seemed to have a slightly sharper edge. Other than that, there wasn't much distinction.
'Can he really tell which one is better just by looking at them?'
"You can tell which sword is better just by looking at them?"
"Yeah, but only the swords I forged. If I walked into a shop, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
At least, that's what Ethan believed.
Welf sighed before saying, "Someone came looking for you."
"Hm?"
Ethan stopped looking at the swords and turned to Welf, resting a hand on his chin.
"Someone was looking for me? What did you tell him?"
"He was a suspicious-looking guy. I told him I'd never seen you before. What did you do, Ethan?" Welf asked. "If you don't tell me what happened, I can't let you stay here. I don't know if I can trust you."
Ethan looked surprised before turning his gaze back to the swords.
Then he picked one up.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a second!"
"Hm? I'm not going to kill you, don't worry. This is the best sword, so I'm taking it."
Sword (Gold) ★★★
Attack - 731
Magic Conductivity - 602
Skills - Silence / Freezing / Weak Poison
"I'll tell you everything, don't worry."
Ethan lowered the sword and looked at Welf.
"Can we grab something to eat while we talk? I'm hungry."
"..."