TOPWL 61

“It’s just because you startled me, alright? A young brat suddenly hugging someone like that.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Really gave me a fright. Damn.”

Yudit pulled him into a tighter hug and gave his back a firm pat. Yudit waited calmly until the man had settled down. After a while, the man spoke in a hoarse voice.

“That’s enough. Let go.”

Yudit slowly released him. The man wiped his puffy eyes with his sleeve. But something felt off. The place where his hand and wrist should’ve been was completely empty. Only then did Yudit realize part of his right arm was missing.

“What are you looking at? Never seen a crippled arm before?”

“H-Hey, that’s enough.”

“What’s so special about this brat that everyone’s making a fuss over him? What, is he some kind of prince?”

The man turned out to have sharper instincts than expected. Before anyone else could step in, Yudit quickly took the lead.

“What prince would I be? I’m just a traveler. I arrived last night and was looking for a guide to show me around today.”

“Hmph. Must be nice. Some folks are starving all winter after a failed harvest, and others get to go on trips. If you’re traveling, why not go to the capital or a resort? Why come here?”

“I’ve always had an interest in smithies. I heard this place is also known as a village of blacksmiths, so I thought I’d come see for myself.”

“…Yeah, this place is known for that too. My son’s one of the top blacksmiths.”

“Is that so? That’s impressive.”

Yudit gave him a light compliment, and perhaps pleased by the flattery, the man asked,

“So, if I guide you, will you pay me?”

“I was planning to offer a small reward.”

Apparently satisfied with that answer, the man stroked his chin and said,

“A runt like you would probably get torn apart by a monster within two hours of wandering around. Alright then. I’ll guide you.”

“Would you? Thank you.”

Yudit readily accepted the offer. Shane gave him a look of disbelief.

“I can handle most things on my own. There’s no need to accept a guide from that man.”

Shane whispered quietly into Yudit’s ear. The man was already outside, urging Yudit to hurry. Yudit shrugged.

“He offered to guide us—no reason to turn him down. Being a local, he might know things we couldn’t find out otherwise.”

At that, Shane let out a sigh, seemingly out of arguments. The innkeeper crept over to Yudit, watching him nervously.

“Your Highness, that fellow’s just ignorant. He may talk like that, but he’s a good person at heart. Please, just this once, forgive his rudeness…”

He seemed about to ask for forgiveness but hesitated, probably thinking the man had been too rude to excuse. With eyes tightly shut, he forced himself to continue.

“Would you be willing to forgive him…? He used to be a good man, but three years ago he lost his arm to a monster, and after losing his job and his wife, his temper’s turned for the worse.”

So that was why he was missing an arm. What must it be like, to live after losing the very hand you depended on to make a living?

“I’m not angry. I have no intention of punishing him. If there’s any fault, it lies with me for not revealing my identity sooner. I’ll do so later, but for now, I ask that you keep it a secret.”

“B-But he might continue to be rude…”

“It’s fine. This much is nothing.”

After a moment of hesitation, the innkeeper whispered to Yudit.

“Then please say something to your escort. Just earlier, the way he looked at Brown like he was about to kill him—my knees almost gave out.”

“Leave it to me.”

As the innkeeper looked up at Shane, their eyes almost met and he quickly lowered his gaze in panic.

“What’s taking so long? Aren’t we going to look around the village?”

“We’re coming.”

Yudit drank the goat milk in one go and grabbed the remaining bread before heading out.

“Hurry up, da—”

Brown, who had started to snap impatiently, closed his mouth. It seemed to be because of Shane.

“You’re… taller than I thought. What did you eat growing up to end up like that?”

“…”

Shane gave no reply. Yudit began walking alongside Brown.

“Do we need a carriage?”

“In a village this tiny? What for? You can just walk. Carriages are only for hauling iron ore.”

Brown frowned as he glanced at the bread Yudit was holding.

“Why’d you bring that tasteless lump of bread?”

“It’s a bit hard, but I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“Not that bad, my ass. Some guy broke his front tooth on that thing. Tch. We’d better head to the market first. I’ll get you something actually decent to eat.”

As if he’d finally found something he could take pride in, Brown strode off ahead. Just as he said, the village was on the smaller side. After a short walk, they reached the marketplace. There, fruits, vegetables, fish, and other daily goods were being sold. Since it was early winter, the variety of ingredients wasn’t great.

Catching a strong fishy smell wafting from the stalls, Yudit asked,

“Is there a sea nearby?”

“They haul that in from around the capital. Tasteless and overpriced.”

Brown spat on the ground as he spoke. Yudit carefully observed the prices on display.

“The vegetables are more expensive than I expected.”

Despite the mediocre quality, the prices were steep.

“They get ‘em from the capital. There’s only one road outta here, and it doesn’t connect to any other village. That road’s rough too. There’s no real profit to be made anywhere else, so prices are what they are.”

Brown seemed to have a realistic grasp on the situation. He stopped in front of a stall selling bread. It must’ve been popular—three or four people were already waiting in line for fresh bread.

Yudit bought generously, enough for Brown as well. The warm bread had a sweet, fragrant jam filling. The three of them stood on the street, slowly enjoying the treat.

“This is good.”

“Right? It’s tasty and filling for the price. I always get my breakfast here.”

Brown looked pleased, as though someone had praised his own shop. As they ate, Brown rambled on about various things—mostly bragging about his son, and complaining about taxes and monsters.

“My boy takes after me—works like a damn machine. Pulls double the workload of anyone else, and he’s raking it in. Since you live in the capital, if you know any pretty young ladies, introduce one to him, would ya?”

“But if your son makes good money, why are you still trying to farm?”

“Huh? What kinda question is that?”

“You said he earns a lot. So why not lean on him a little and take it easy, instead of pushing yourself with farming?”

“Tch. That’s what I’d expect from a young pup like you. You’ll get it when you have kids of your own.”

Brown crossed his arms and clicked his tongue.

“My son’s money is his own. He already went through hell taking care of me. Can’t keep burdening him. And just so you know, he plans to move out before getting married—so make sure to mention that when you talk to any capital girls.”

He was clearly proud of his son, but afraid of becoming a weight on him. As Yudit responded with a lukewarm expression, Brown suddenly grabbed him by the arm, almost desperately.

“No good. I gotta introduce you to him so you’ll see what a fine lad he is.”

Shane frowned and moved to stop him, but Yudit shook his head. He’d wanted to see the forge anyway.

Fortunately, the smithy wasn’t far. The rhythmic clang of hammers had been audible from a distance. It wasn’t just one forge—several were clustered together. Brown pointed toward the third one.

“There. That’s where my boy works.”

A man with a towel around his neck stepped out, wiping sweat from his brow. Yudit thought it might be the son, but apparently not.

“Mister, what brings you here this early?”

“Came to see Jay for a bit. He inside?”

“He is. Want me to call him?”

“If he’s busy, forget it. If he’s free, ask him to come out a minute.”

“Alright.”

The man ducked back into the heat. Though the day was chilly, this place felt like summer. Yudit gazed inside, almost entranced. A woman worked the bellows with a steady shhh shhh, a man hammered something again and again, the furnace blazed, and others tended to the flames. If he’d seen this as a child, he might’ve mistaken them for sorcerers.

Even just standing outside, Yudit started to sweat. He stepped back and began fanning himself with one hand—just as a man with the same sharp eyes and strong jawline as Brown emerged from the forge.