After reading through the night, I learned some of this city’s history and how it came to be.

Saileda, a border city on the northeastern edge of the kingdom, came under the royal family’s attention after the Second Evil God Invasion. They’d originally planned to pour money into turning it into a fortress city. But with no demons or Evil Gods showing up to cause trouble, the city gradually lost the purpose it had been built for and became a trading hub instead.

Over the more than two hundred years since the Alliance was founded, the forests around Saileda had slowly become a paradise for monsters and a gathering place for cultists. In response, the Alliance Adventurers’ Guild established a Silvermoon-rank branch here—the second-highest rank. Many foreign trade caravans also passed through the city, and over time, Saileda had grown into a sprawling metropolis with a thriving economy.

And this city had been built atop the ruins of a place that had stood here more than two hundred years ago. During the Evil God Invasion, the Evil God drove an evil dragon to turn the surrounding lands and cities into a wasteland of ashes.

After the kingdom’s army defeated the Evil God and its monster army, they built this sturdy fortress city on top of the ruins, to hold off the next invasion or war that might come.

So a city with such a glorious history was bound to have a second-in-command who was bold! Strong! A real big shot with an iron grip on things!!

……

…

…That’s what I used to think.

“Th-this is the place…?”

I tilted my head as I looked at the building in front of me. Eileen copied me, tilting her little head too.

Ten in the morning, eastern Saileda—outside the blacksmith’s shop known as “Dad’s.”

It was a two-story building, with a smithy in the yard. The clang of hammering and the thick smoke pouring from the chimney gave the shop an unmistakable keep-out vibe. Its exterior walls were decorated with all kinds of weapons, while the battered walls made no attempt to hide the marks of age. From a distance, the whole place looked like a ruin on the verge of collapse.

“This looks like a blacksmith’s shop no matter how you look at it…”

And… it looks pretty shabby, too…

“What’s wrong with a blacksmith’s shop?! You looking down on smiths?!”

A gruff voice suddenly rang out behind me. Eileen and I nearly stumbled in fright, then hurriedly turned around.

But…

“Huh… Where is he…?”

I couldn’t see anyone.

“Mr. Ojer!! Down there! Down there! (whispering)”

Eileen frantically pointed at my feet. I had a bad feeling, so I looked down.

“…..”

Standing there was a dwarf only about 1.2 meters tall. He wore a grimy apron and had white hair and sharply angled brows. But judging by his deeply wrinkled face and outrageously muscular build, he was clearly an old man.

And…

He looked pretty angry… His grizzled beard was trembling.

“Um…” I gave him an awkward, apologetic smile.

“Get down on your knees!!!”

His voice was pure command.

“Ah! Yes, sir!”

I hurriedly did as I was told.

“How tall are you?!”

“Uh… 1.9 meters…”

His face twisted even more. His white mustache twitched, and a terrifying aura radiated from his whole body. He looked like he might leap up at any moment and smash my kneecaps.

I had no idea what I’d done wrong. I just crouched there, trembling, while Eileen hid off to the side without daring to make a sound.

The dwarf looked us over a few times. His gaze seemed able to see straight through our souls, leaving us at a complete loss.

“Hmph! What good is being so tall?! Is the air up there fresher or something?!”

Me: “……”

He really seemed to have a thing about my height…

It’s not my fault I’m tall…

“Forget it! Come inside! At your height, there probably won’t be anyone else! You’re Ojer, right? That little brat Ye told me about you! He said you’d definitely show up!”

With that, he wiped his hands on his apron, walked around me, and pushed the door open.

Ye?

A flash of fiery red hair and a mysterious smile that seemed to appear and disappear rose in my mind.

【That strange thaumaturge—or rather, the vice president of the Adventurers’ Guild】

[Oh, right, right. I almost forgot about him.]

But that wasn’t the point. One strange word had caught my attention.

“Little brat…?”

I followed him inside and silently thought, “Ascertain.”

【Beowulf】

【Race: Minerfolk】

【Age: 228】

【Class: Blacksmith, Unknown Class, Unknown Class】

【Level: 39 (can turn your head 3,600° with a single slap)】

【Combat Power: Unlock the [Combat Power Assessment] system to view】

【Current Status: No active buffs detected】

【Notes: Saileda’s weapons shop owner, a renowned dwarf blacksmith】

I stared at the string of stats, practically seeing sparks fly from my eyes!

Two hundred and twenty-eight years old!!

A long-lived race!!

And level 39!!

This guy’s the real deal!!

Damn, Brother Fa didn’t lie to me!! The real big shots really are all hiding in plain sight!!

But as surprised as I was, I couldn’t let it show. That’d be way too embarrassing!

“Whoa…”

Eileen’s gasp brought me back to my senses.

“This…”

I’d been too busy checking the information I’d obtained to notice that the inside of the shop was worlds apart from its exterior!

Weapons, armor, tools, and equipment of every kind filled the place. From light leather armor to fully decked-out heavy armor; white Milanese armor; asymmetrical black Gothic armor; longswords, greatswords, sabers, whips, round shields, tower shields, and all kinds of weapons and equipment I couldn’t even name. Everything was neatly arranged around the shop.

It was like a huge museum!

This place was a medieval enthusiast’s paradise!!!

“Hmph!”

Beowulf watched us stand there, too stunned to speak. He walked around the counter and sat on a tall stool, a bold, carefree smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Welcome to my weapons shop! My name’s Beowulf. From now on, just call me Dad!”

Dad!

So it really was him! Beowulf!

Back at the Guild, Paper-chan had told me that it had repeatedly filtered out the name “Dad” while sorting through the things I’d heard. Based on their casual conversation, it had figured this “Dad” was an influential local figure with a lot of sway—something like a country squire.

This was exactly what I’d been looking for: a figure with influence in the open.

Someone with official connections, who had a hand in Saileda’s public trade and information networks—and, more importantly, someone ordinary people could approach.

[This should take care of gathering and organizing information in the early stages. As long as I get on Dad’s good side and work with Nightingale to some extent, my plan can finally move on to the next stage.]

【What exactly is the next stage?】

I tugged at my chin, forcing a hideous grin even as fear and panic churned inside me.

Fear of the unknown.

[Find our enemies.]

【Enemies?】

【Aside from the monsters that attack us indiscriminately, this system has yet to detect anyone with clear hostile intent toward us or a grudge against us.】

[Heh. Paper-chan, you’re too naive.]

I gave a helpless smile, walked up to the counter, and took Dad’s hand.

[A Life-and-Death Spirit and a fairy—or, put another way, a mysterious man whose past and background are impossible to uncover, but who can produce rare ancient gold coins, and a half-elf who can cast magic. A team like ours is bound to make certain people curious.]

[And among those “certain people,” anyone who isn’t interested in doing business with us is a potential enemy.]

[They’re probably more interested in me than in what they could earn from me. People like that are the most dangerous, and the ones I least want to provoke.]

The mechanical voice paused for half a second, then recorded its reply.

【You make a good point, Ojer. From now on, this system will dedicate more resources to analyzing people like that.】

[Mm.]

With that, I lowered my eyes to the rough, cracked hand and felt its solid grip. Then I launched into the speech I’d prepared.

“I’ve heard a great deal about you, Dad. I’m Ojer, and I’m new in town. I hope you’ll look after me.”

“Mm, of course.”

Dad looked me over, then turned to Eileen. His sharp gaze startled her. Hugging her staff, she bowed deeply, her tongue tying itself in knots.

“H-hello! Um! My name’s Ailrinni! P-please look after me!”

“Mm…”

Seeing that things were going well, I brought out the gift I’d prepared: a rare mineral I’d traded an ancient gold coin for through the White Night Bank’s back office.

Blue Ice Crystal.

The mineral was ice-blue all the way through, a meter cubed, with clear, translucent facets. It was a marvel of craftsmanship, and I’d heard it had been imported from abroad.

Dad seemed to love it. His eyes widened as he stroked his beard and nodded again and again. After a long while, he finally turned to us, his eyes narrowed to slits between his wrinkles. His craggy face split into a grin.

“You’ve got a favor to ask me, don’t you, lad?”

I chuckled softly and lowered my head a little.

“You’ve seen right through me. I do have a favor to ask.”

“Go on, spit it out. No need to beat around the bush. This is quite a generous gift, after all. As long as it’s nothing illegal, I’m happy to help someone as well-mannered as you.”

Success!

I chuckled to myself, leaned forward, and rested my arms on the counter.

“Um, Dad, I heard you’re on good terms with the Guildmaster, Etecles.”

“That’s true. What about it?”

I put on a hesitant expression and spoke softly.

“Well, could you put in a word for us and help us skip White Porcelain and Black Obsidian, and go straight to Black Iron?”

Dad tilted his head slightly and repeated the question.

“You want to jump straight to Black Iron?”

“Yeah.”

The Adventurers’ Guild had ten ranks, from lowest to highest:

White Porcelain, Black Obsidian, Black Iron, Redstone, Blue Crystal, Crimson, Brass, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

The higher the rank, the stronger you were considered. The highest ranks, Gold and Platinum, could even receive direct commissions from the nation!

Different ranks could also take different jobs. At most, the Guild would allow you to take jobs one rank above or below your own. In other words, a Black Iron adventurer could only take jobs ranked Black Obsidian, Black Iron, or Redstone. White Porcelain jobs below them and Blue Crystal jobs above them were both off-limits.

More importantly, I needed a suitable identity for getting things done. Otherwise, one day when I was out doing business, someone might ask, “Hey, kid~ That’s some flashy armor you’ve got there. What rank are you? White Porcelain?!”

I’d never live down the humiliation.

Black Iron was the highest rank I was confident I could reach right now. Redstone was where people above level 30 started, and for now, that had nothing to do with me.

Dad narrowed one eye, sized me up, and let out two hearty laughs.

“Sure! You want to skip a rank? I’ll give you the chance!”

Overjoyed, I was just about to thank him when—

“But!” Beowulf changed tack and handed me a sheet of paper.

“If you want to use the back door, you still need the strength to back it up!”

“Complete the job on this sheet! Then I’ll recognize that you and this girl are qualified for Black Iron. Otherwise, you can show yourselves out!”

I accepted it with all due respect and read it carefully.

And then…

I was dumbfounded.

“Are you asking me to climb all the way to heaven or what?!!!”