Chapter 28

“Antonio-!”

Isaac burst through the always-open door of the forge.

Antonio, who had been hammering away, suddenly stood up and shouted back.

“Didn’t I tell you not to call me like that when I have a hammer in my hand?!”

“Ah! Then I’m doomed! Because the sword you made for me broke, and I can’t block the hammer!”

Isaac waved the broken sword around, and Antonio’s anger momentarily softened.

But getting the old blacksmith to admit his mistake wasn’t easy.

“No, you brat!”

“What are you going to say this time? That I swung it wrong? That I faced the wrong opponent? That it’s part of the learning process? Then say that from the start! Why do you always say it’ll never break and put me in danger?!”

“Ahem, that’s the pride of a blacksmith.”

Antonio, holding the hilt of the sword, patted his belly and shouted.

“Oh! You took this one! This was just a test piece, a shoddy thing! Here, take this proper sword.”

“Wow, this excuse is fresh.”

“Ahem.”

It was absurd that he handed it over himself and now called it a test piece.

Antonio, who seemed to have anticipated it breaking, had already prepared a new sword.

He handed it over, looking a bit embarrassed.

“This one will absolutely not break.”

“Hold onto it for now.”

Isaac drew the sword, ready to clash with it immediately, but Antonio quickly snatched it back.

“Hey! If you clash with that monster, there’s no way this will hold!”

“Right. Got it. I’ll use it gently. I’m scared it might break again.”

“Ahem.”

Isaac sneered.

Eventually, Antonio put an arm around his shoulder and led him out of the forge.

“Want a smoke?”

“…I quit.”

Back when he was writing with a wooden sword, he had tried it out of frustration.

But it didn’t last long.

He had avoided it, thinking it might affect his stamina if he ever swung a sword again.

A pointless worry, really.

“You quit? Impressive.”

Antonio, with a cigarette in his mouth, lit it using the heat from the hammer.

Smoke scattered as the cigarette caught fire.

“Kid, this is harder than I thought.”

For the first time, Antonio’s voice sounded weak.

“Maintaining lightness while ensuring minimal strength… I’ve never made a sword like this before.”

“I didn’t expect it to work right away. But stop showing off.”

“Think about how ridiculous I’d look handing you a sword that breaks easily in front of my apprentices.”

“…”

Silence passed between the two.

It wasn’t a situation they couldn’t understand.

“If it’s the first sword of its kind, the craftsmanship will naturally be lacking. Then we’ll have to make up for it in other ways.”

“What do you mean?”

Antonio stomped out his cigarette and shouted at his apprentice to bring his thick coat.

“In the north, there’s a mineral called Frost Silver. It’s a precious material used to make the spears of the Caldias family.”

“…”

“It’s not exported. Except for what the border lord offers to the royal family, most of it is stored in Caldias’s vault.”

Isaac remembered Silbern mentioning her spear during a battle.

She said it was something she could never discard.

“If we use that, we can maintain strength while keeping it light. Of course, it’ll take some time.”

“Sounds precious. Will the border lord give it to us?”

From what he heard, Caldias probably didn’t have much to spare.

“He won’t. But we have to try anyway.”

The question of why Antonio was going this far for his sword reached the tip of his tongue.

He thought it was unnecessary to ask, but Antonio seemed to sense it and answered.

“I’ve seen you train.”

“…”

“You act like you’re holding an unfinished sword.”

“Ahem.”

“Your opponent is Helmunth, right?”

Isaac’s eyes widened.

He slowly turned to look at Antonio, who grinned like a kid caught playing a prank.

“Interesting, isn’t it? The sword of Helmunth, born to greatness. They’re literally born to wield swords.”

“Right.”

“Complete opposites, huh? Helmunth’s greatsword and your sword. Their magnificent physique and a commoner like you.”

He couldn’t deny it.

The wall of reality had always been cruel to Isaac.

“But still, seeing you genuinely try to overcome it—”

Antonio patted his back, as if cheering him on.

Isaac nodded slightly.

* * *

Isaac had been focusing on sparring with Sharen recently.

Clang!

Sharen’s greatsword roughly pushed aside Isaac’s sword.

Isaac felt the overwhelming difference in strength.

The problem was, Sharen was considered weak among the Helmunth direct lineage.

Except for the youngest, Edel, she was practically the weakest.

“Crimson Flame Slash!”

A mix of red and pink aura burst from her greatsword.

Isaac’s eyes widened as he tried to block with his sword.

But he was pushed back, lifted into the air, and fell to the ground.

“Ugh!”

He managed to break his fall and wasn’t seriously hurt, but Isaac frowned.

It wasn’t because of the pain.

It was because he faced the unbreakable wall of reality.

“Isaac, are you okay?!”

Sharen, startled, ran over.

She helped him up, looking worried.

“See? I told you not to use Crimson Flame. It ruins the practice! I’m not like Jonathan, some random guy!”

“Yeah, you’re different.”

They were definitely different.

Against Jonathan, he had won with quick thinking and understanding of Helmunth swordsmanship.

But facing a direct lineage member wielding a sword was on a whole different level.

“I’m really worried. I’m just saying this because—”

“You even say the technique names while using them.”

Sharen shrugs.

It’s true that knowing in advance helps you prepare.

‘But it seems like she’s just enjoying it.’

I can’t help but feel like she’s getting a kick out of saying the technique names.

“Still, we have to keep going.”

Isaac, brushing dirt off his butt, demands they start again.

“……You didn’t spar with the other brothers like this, did you?”

“That wasn’t sparring back then.”

“Ahem!”

Sharen awkwardly clears her throat and returns to her spot.

I thought they’d just start again.

“Wait! Hold on! I need to go somewhere real quick!”

“Huh?”

After saying that, Sharen dashes off somewhere.

* * *

“Sis!”

Behind the dorm.

Lianna scolds Sharen for being loud when she comes looking for her.

Lianna hands her a towel and a water bottle.

The towel is warm, and the water bottle seems to have brewed tea, judging by the faint aroma.

“Wow, thanks! But I didn’t sweat much during training. It’s too cold here to sweat.”

Sharen laughs and thanks her, but Lianna frowns and corrects her.

“It’s for Isaac. Not for you.”

“…….”

Sharen, who was about to open the bottle to drink, quietly closes it again.

“I’m your younger sister.”

“More importantly, I saw your spar earlier.”

“Ah! How was it? My Crimson Flame Wave looked pretty cool, right—!”

“Honestly, I can’t really tell what Isaac’s intentions are. The way he uses Pearl Flash seems like—”

For the next 10 minutes, Lianna pours out her thoughts on the spar.

It’s all advice about Isaac’s sword, and Sharen’s expression grows increasingly annoyed as she listens.

“If you go and explain it like this, it should make sense. Got it?”

“Can’t you just go and tell him yourself?”

“That’s why I’m telling you.”

“…….”

Something feels seriously off.

Sharen tries to lighten the mood.

“But sis, doesn’t Isaac have this weird charm?”

“……What kind?”

Lianna, suddenly interested, bites. Sharen smiles brightly and explains what she feels.

“Like, a pitiful yet desperate vibe? He can’t actually beat the Fallen, right? But the way he keeps trying is kinda thrilling!”

“…….”

“How should I put it? It makes you want to take care of him? The way he’s determined to overcome everything is kinda… charming!”

“…….”

“Maybe you feel the same way—?”

*Thud!*

* * *

“What’s that on your head?”

“Sniff, I dunno!”

Isaac points at the lump on Sharen’s head, but she’s in a bad mood and snaps.

She left for a bit and came back with a lump on her head.

“Let’s start again.”

Isaac had been thinking about how to counter the Fallen while waiting for Sharen.

He was hoping his theory would work this time as they prepared to spar.

“Isaac, you’re pretending not to care, but you’re obsessed with Helmunth’s greatsword!”

“Huh?”

Sharen’s sudden accusation.

“You’re using Pearl Flash, but you don’t even have the strength to wield Helmunth’s greatsword. Why are you so fixated on it?”

“…….”

“Helmunth’s greatsword is all about overwhelming power. Without strength, there’s no Helmunth.”

“…….”

“Trying to embody Helmunth just makes your sword look sloppy.”

“…….”

“Forget Helmunth. Just wield your own sword. You’ve got more than enough talent for that!”

Sharen’s words flow like a book, and Isaac tilts his head, asking.

“Where did you get that from?”

“……Huh?”

“The part where you felt I was trying to borrow Helmunth’s sword. You must’ve noticed something.”

Isaac, surprised by Sharen’s depth, decides to be honest.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t like Helmunth, but I don’t hate their sword.”

In fact, it’s because he admires Helmunth’s sword that he’s so obsessed with it.

That’s why he wants to show them something.

“There’s definitely a part of me that admires it. I’m trying to make it my own… I’m curious where you saw that.”

He thought he hid it well.

How did she notice?

As he stares at Sharen, her eyes start to tremble.

Forcing herself to hold her head still, Sharen shouts.

“You can feel it when you swing the sword! This kind of thing isn’t felt with your head, but with your heart!”

Then she hands over the towel and water bottle.

“Don’t catch a cold!”

“Don’t catch a cold?”

“Ah, no! Be careful!”

“…….”

Sharen turns her back and runs off.

Isaac sighs, keeping the direction she came from in his sight.

“I had a feeling.”

When Sharen first came to the Malidan Wall.

He had a feeling but let it go.

The maid with her face tightly wrapped still lingers vividly in Isaac’s memory.