Whenever Surtr had gotten drunk, he had always said that he regretted not being able to finish the two swords. That had been his last work.

-It looks finished to me…

“No, it’s not.” Davey calmly reached into the safe and squinted at the two swords, which were placed on top of an antique cloth which lined the bottom of the inside of the safe. These guys were probably the ones that warned him to not come any closer a little while ago. In fact, an evil desire of strong rejection flowed out when he touched the sword’s surface, but perhaps because of the long period of time that had passed or because it wasn’t finished, it couldn’t push him away and just became silent. “The finishing touches aren’t done.”

It was exactly as Davey had said. Surtr had imbued will in each of the two swords. ‘A blacksmith who could make a soul enter a sword by creating a sword with a will. If craftsmen who had pride in their skills heard this, it would have put them all to shame.’

Weirdly, the design of the twin swords looked similar to the ring pommel sword that Davey used to use. It was an enormous sword with a relatively unknown design in the Tionis continent, where long swords weren’t very popular. These two swords didn’t even have a properly constructed grip and looked like an incomplete blade made of iron, but Davey felt like he could see the power and Surtr’s desires contained within the sword.

[The Unnamed Red Sword that Cuts the Living]

[The Unnamed Blue Sword that Cuts the Dead]

That’s what Surtr had called the two twin swords. They did not have a name, since he had been the type to only name a piece after he was finished with it. As a result, he hadn’t been able to name them, and the swords probably spent thousands of years trapped inside this safe being nameless.

Caldeiras was the best sword Surtr had made in his entire life, but he had confessed that he had crafted it for Ares while keeping his swordsmanship and physique in mind. However, these two swords were different; they were the only pieces of Surtr that were created solely for his own enjoyment.

These were the only pieces of the genius craftsman, who had been able to make a weapon with ‘Ego’ by using his soul, that had been made for no one else but himself. They weren’t crafted for one specific person, but were made so that they could find their master… Perhaps it was a coincidence, but it was surprising that the two swords were a perfect fit for Davey.

It was one of Surtr’s best works; it had been crafted however he had wanted without anyone’s influence. He had crafted numerous pieces of armor in the Hall of Heroes as well, but he had often remarked that he had never crafted a sword as outstanding as Caldeiras or these twin swords. Although the plain efficacy of these swords wasn’t as exceptional as Caldeiras due to the difference in material…

‘That alone shows that these are about the same level as a divine sword.’

These were definitely a different type of sword than Caldeiras. Just like when numerous countries had attacked the Pallan Empire to obtain Caldeiras, the divine sword which gave one power just by possessing it, people would probably go nuts at these swords, too. It might even be more than that because it was two swords.

The swords were eighty centimeters long and six centimeters wide. They seemed more compatible for a flowy and delicate swordsmanship rather than a destructive one.

Without a word, Davey took the cloth-wrapped swords out from the safe and held them. The evil desires, which were watchful of him until a little while ago, slowly became quiet and fully disappeared as they felt his delicate touch. However, their sharpness remained.

‘I guess they are still weapons.’ With this sword, one wrong move could cut Davey or even sever his finger without him noticing. It wasn’t a sharpness that just came from sharpening the blade, but the sword itself had an inherent acuity to it. It was enough for the sword to be used as a weapon right now, but from the eyes of a craftsman, these two swords were still clearly incomplete.

“We have to find fire,” Davey murmured in a quiet voice as he stared at the blade, which he had picked up with the cloth.

-Fire?

“Yeah. Not a regular furnace, but a dwarves’ furnace that can heat up to a much higher temperature.”

-To put a blade that has already been sharpened into fire…

“I told you. It’s unfinished.” Davey brushed the side of the blade as if he was holding a precious treasure. He could feel the blade’s rather dull surface.

Surtr hadn’t been able to finish this because he had passed while waiting for the right time. When he had worked, his last step had probably been to incorporate mana into the surface of the sword: a mana that would become more concentrated as time passed. There was no way of telling what kind of mana that was just by hearing the name, but as it had been thousands of years after Surtr’s death, it was safe to say that the sword absorbed the highest concentration of mana.

‘It should have been plenty of time, right?’

As a sword got better with time, these might be far greater than Surtr would have imagined. This was the last unfinished work of the ‘Thousand-day Blacksmith’. Although it was something that normal craftsmen wouldn’t dare to fix because of the pressure, all Davey wanted to do was hammer it.

‘Failure? How could I fail after laying my eyes on something like this?’

Surtr had been confident that Davey would not mess up, and at this point, Davey slowly began to understand why Surtr had thought that way.

23. Take This!

“What a catch!”

It was more of a retrieval than an accidental gain, since Surtr had actually given Davey ownership of the two swords. Since these were undiscovered swords, no one could say anything to him for having them.

Davey quickly got out of Surtr’s underground workshop and went back to the territory, which was in a state of disorder. He borrowed a horse and went straight to the path leading to the royal palace. Although he had killed Viscount Guerta, the man’s crimes were clear, and no one really had the right to condemn Davey for it. At times like this, he felt that the system of rank and status was unjustly convenient. This was probably why the nobility enjoyed it so much.

Bleep! The description of the sword, which Surtr had called [The Unnamed Red Sword that Cuts the Living], came up.

-Name: Currently none.

-Status: Unfinished.

-Completion Level: 90%

-Details: The first sword of the final work created by the great blacksmith, who had used mana in refining his crafts, by pouring out all his strength before passing; power has not yet manifested due to its incompletion; ego exists, but is still asleep.

Because of that last 10%, the sword had been sealed for thousands of years without a name. It also wasn’t surprising that it had an ego, since the low, watchful growl of a beast was heard even before entering the underground workshop and opening the safe. That was probably part of the subconscious of the ego within the sword.

“The other one is the same as well…”

Davey had taken two swords from the underground workshop. As they were called twin swords, they had the same design but different colors. Also… Their current situation and completion level were the same.

[The Unnamed Red Sword that Cuts the Living] was first, and [The Unnamed Blue Sword that Cuts the Dead] was second; after all, one of them had to be made first even if they were twins. And as it had been Surtr’s own weapon and had been made with more effort than Caldeiras, there was affection and passion in the way he had crafted the sword.

“You have arrived. I hope you enjoy your time at the capital.”

Davey arrived at the large city near the capital and entered the mana gate, which quickly brought him to the capital of the kingdom. As Davey was still disguised as a commoner, the low-rank mage managing the mana gate did not recognize him. This was normal, since the media hadn’t developed that well here. He should have arrived a little later with a carriage and his party, but he had no reason to stay at the royal palace for a long time now that his territory was up and running.

“Why do you think the royal palace summoned me?”

-Well, publicly, you accomplished a great achievement. It’s probably to reward you for your outstanding service.

“Though, it’s money that I earned.”

-Income tax isn’t for nothing. You have a bad habit of asking questions when you already know the answer.

It was an outstanding service. Most countries, including the Rowane Kingdom, asked for a portion of an individual or group’s income as an income tax. Currently, the Rowane Kingdom’s income tax ranged from 5% to 30%; it seemed like a high percentage, but it wasn’t any different from Earth. Of course, most of the ruling nobility easily evaded this income tax and lived luxuriously. However, seeing those who chose to do that getting their heads cut off because of it, it didn’t really seem like a wise choice.

-That’s probably what the normal expectation is.

“And the real reason?”

-Isn’t it obvious? The moon grass you are growing is the golden egg; did you not earn far more than the kingdom’s annual budget in just one quarter?

Since the Rowane Kingdom’s annual budget was 100 thousand to 150 thousand gold, Davey had earned a lot.

-If they were to nationalize your business and make you act as they want, the Rowane Kingdom would become far richer.

‘Well, to be exact, the nobility would be the ones getting richer.’ 

The Heins Territory had become the only territory in the entire eastern continent that could ship out moon grass. To be honest, Davey was a little surprised that he had received the continent’s attention. It also meant that what he had done was a big deal. The harvesting of moon grass was something deemed impossible, even if one tried their best, after all.

After checking a few things while roaming the capital’s streets, Davey quickly headed into the royal palace. He was greeted with an unusual disorder in the palace. As many of the servants were killed after being swept up in the fight between the political enemies, it seemed like the entire group of servants was completely switched up. Perhaps because of that, most of the servants who looked down on him weren’t here anymore. Of course, even if they were, they couldn’t mistreat him since he wasn’t regarded the same as before.

“Welcome, Your Highness.” It was none other than Royal Attendant Bespard who greeted Davey. He was the older brother of Royal Attendant Bernile, the attendant that had followed Davey to the Heins Territory, and also the right hand of the king who the nobility couldn’t mess with. As such, Bespard was a person Davey could trust.

“It’s been a while, Royal Attendant Bespard.”

“You look much stronger now, Your Highness.”

“I’m still stick-like on the outside.”

“It seems you are joking more than last year.”

Royal Attendant Bernile sometimes showed a smile, but his expression never changed. He seemed almost like the Terminator. Because of that, a younger Davey had used to joke around, calling him the Terminator and asking him where John Connor was.

“I see that you have made a very successful business in your territory.” It wasn’t something that a royal attendant should ask, but Bespard was capable of asking even more.

“Well… It seems that the heavens were pleased. I was just given a nice gift, that’s all.”

As Davey grinned while shrugging it off as a joke, Bespard quietly closed his eyes like he was satisfied with that.