Chapter 297 : Ophosis

"You son of a bitch. I told you to move, so why didn't you move? Are you deaf? Fuck, should I dig them out for you?"

"..."

I compared the ruffian in front of me with Joy's kind father.

They said he was called a prodigal son in his youth, and he looked like a completely different person.

As I stared blankly at Hans, who was like a wild boar, I felt a strange sense of kinship.

Would I also change like Hans someday?

If I got married and had children like rabbits.

Would I also turn into such a nice old man?

[Disciple.]

"Yes, Master."

The Heavenly Demon eased my worries.

[I can assure you, that will never happen to you, so you don't need to worry about such useless things.]

"..."

Thank you very much, Master.

Anyway, I was happy to see my life's savior and future acquaintance.

But if I acted like I knew him now, a mishap might occur where the future Hans would recognize me, so I gave him something like an apology and then sent him on his way.

"Get lost. If you don't want to die."

"No..."

Fortunately, Hans, who was in a hurry, muttered something and then pushed his cart and quickly disappeared.

I watched Hans's receding back and fiddled with the necklace that Scarlet had introduced as my guide for this journey.

Woong…

As soon as Hans left, the vibrating necklace stopped crying.

The more I talked to Hans, the more the necklace hummed and trembled, so I had a rough idea of what it meant, but this made it certain.

This necklace had the function of telling me the degree of distortion in time and space.

So, if the situation was dangerous, the vibration would get stronger, and if not, it would be quiet.

From now on, I could decide whether to advance or retreat based on this.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

I put the necklace inside my clothes and then cast my gaze in the direction where the clear sound of metal was coming from.

It was the same direction that Hans had gone with his cart.

What was my mission here?

Why did the flow of time and space stop here of all places?

First, I had a feeling that I had to meet Ophosis.

There must be a reason why I was dropped off at this place, at this moment.

I decided to follow my intuition.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

I headed towards the place where the sound of metal being hammered was coming from.

* * *

"Don't push!"

"You bastard. I was here first!"

"Where are you cutting in line!"

"You insolent... do you know who I am?"

"And who do you think you are, raising your voice at me?"

"I am a messenger sent by the great Count Darion of the Itra Kingdom! Show some respect!"

"Oh yeah, I am the representative of the delegation sent by Marquis Lias of the Keiln Duchy! You show some respect!"

The front of the blacksmith's shop was crowded with people.

People were lined up in a long line, and it was noisy as all sorts of people had come.

Most of them seemed to have come to buy a sword.

"It's a huge hit."

I muttered and looked around.

In front of the blacksmith's shop, there were people lined up, and there were also people gathered in one place, as if they were watching something.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The clear sound of metal being hammered that flowed through the various noises was comforting.

It was as if it brought peace to my mind and body.

I savored the clear sound of metal and thought about my first mission here.

In order to investigate the forgotten god of the past, I would have to go to a much more distant past...

The place I had stopped was only 40 to 50 years ago.

Of course, it was a time before I was even born, but it was true that it seemed unlikely that I would find any information about the dead Demon God here.

They said he was a god who had been forgotten a long time ago.

What would be different just 40 to 50 years ago?

I scratched my forehead and took in the scene of the blacksmith's shop.

Was Ophosis related to the forgotten Demon God?

I wandered around here and there like a loafer, and then I went to the place where people were gathered.

I was curious about what they were looking at, so I stood on my tiptoes and peeked, and I saw a dagger displayed in a transparent glass case.

"...Huh?"

It was a very familiar fellow.

Because I had once been its owner.

The path and key to Ophosis's legacy.

The light embedded like a constellation on the black blade.

It was Ophosis's Dagger.

Come to think of it, didn't they say it was made from a meteorite that he had received from the king?

They said it had been displayed in front of the blacksmith's shop.

It seemed that was now.

I was looking at the dagger, as if it were something new...

And a thought came to me.

This was a time before misfortune had swept through this place.

If I just put my mind to it here, couldn't I prevent the misfortune that would befall Ophosis and his disciples?

Woong!

As soon as I thought that, the necklace trembled and vibrated.

"Aha."

Only then could I get a rough idea.

'So this is what a situation that could distort time and space is like.'

If I told Ophosis and his disciples about the future events, and somehow convinced them to avoid the impending disaster.

I would definitely be trapped in this time period.

If that happened, I would not be able to return to my original time, and Miho and Big Sister would continue to guard the magic circle that I would not return to.

...It was an unbearably lonely thing.

The misfortune that would befall Ophosis and his disciples was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do for them.

Because it was something that had already happened, and something that had to happen.

Was this what they called fate?

"Hmm."

Then what was it that I had to do here?

"It's clear that I have to do something at the blacksmith's shop..."

By the way, I could roughly guess the time period, but I didn't know what the current situation was.

'How many of the nine famous swords have been made?'

According to what I had heard from Shushuruta.

The nine famous swords of different colors.

The order in which they were made resembled a rainbow.

Black and white were the first.

And then purple, turquoise, blue, indigo, yellow, orange, and finally, red.

How many swords have been forged so far?

"Hey."

I approached the people who were lined up and spoke to them.

One of them turned to me with a frown.

"What do you...!"

It seemed he was about to pour out a bucket of curses, but he quickly swallowed them.

I tilted my head and asked.

"Why? Go on."

"N-nothing."

He flinched at my eyes and tried to avoid my gaze.

I stared blankly at the man who was fidgeting with his eyes fixed on the ground.

"W-what is it..."

"It's nothing. What is the most recent famous sword that Master Ophosis has forged?"

The man looked at me with a strange expression.

"? You don't even know that?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"N-of course not."

The man looked down at the ground again and explained.

"Last year, he reforged the Blue Sword, Frost, into a famous sword and presented it to the king. I heard that His Majesty was very pleased and gave him a meteorite that had fallen from the sky as a gift. The dagger over there is made from that meteorite."

"Aha."

So that was then.

The Blue Sword, Frost, of the Knight of Frost was the fifth sword.

Then... in order, it was time for the sixth sword, the Indigo Sword, to come out...

Suddenly, the voice of the Pure White Sword, the second sword and the Holy Sword, flashed through my mind.

—Do you know the fact that one of the nine swords that my father forged has been lost?

—The Indigo Sword has been lost. It met a storm while crossing the sea on a ship. It must be stuck at the very bottom of the sea.

—It's not impossible. Because there is a simple solution.

—You just have to go back in time to before the Indigo Sword was lost.

—I am not kidding, time traveler. It is written in the prophecy.

—The prophecy is true.

"...!"

A flash of light went off in my head.

The pieces fit together perfectly.

"So that was it."

I realized my first mission.

I had come here to hold the sixth famous sword of Ophosis, the Indigo Sword, before it was stuck at the bottom of the sea.

* * *

Clang! Clang! Clang!

My job was clear.

To wait for the Indigo Sword to be made, and then to secretly hold it.

But the Indigo Sword had not been made yet, and I didn't know when it would be made.

Furthermore, I couldn't carelessly interfere in this situation.

There wasn't much I could do.

I just had to wander around the blacksmith's shop like a dog that needed to poop and wait.

I wandered around the blacksmith's shop until the sun set, and then I met a boy who was grunting and moving something out of the blacksmith's shop.

"You! You're that guy from before, right?"

Hans recognized me.

It was a short meeting, but it seemed I had made a deep impression.

Hans came up to me, panting.

I habitually touched my necklace.

I felt a gentle vibration.

It was okay for now, but I couldn't talk for long.

"That's right."

"You crazy bastard. What are you doing here? Get lost."

The Heavenly Demon was impressed.

[He has no fear. To talk so carelessly even after seeing your eyes.]

"That's our Uncle Hans. He's worthy of being called the ruffian Hans."

"What are you talking about, you crazy bastard?"

Hans glared at me.

I looked at the large anvil that Hans was rolling and moving.

"It looks heavy."

"Because it is heavy, you idiot."

"Where do you have to move it to?"

"Over there."

When I looked where Hans was pointing, there was a sunken pit a little distance away.

And there, various metal scraps that looked like waste were piled up.

"Move."

"What?"

I waved Hans away from the anvil and then grabbed it with both hands.

Hans snorted.

"Do you even know how much that weighs? It's at least..."

"Heave-ho."

Hans's words did not continue.

Because I had lifted the anvil.

"...!"

The little Hans stared at me with wide eyes, at a loss for words.

I threw the heavy anvil into the pit and came back.

I dusted off my palms and asked.

"Let's call it even. How about it?"

Hans, who had been gaping, stuttered in surprise.

"W-what? Are you a knight?"

Woong—

I fiddled with the necklace, which was vibrating strongly, and clicked my tongue.

'Damn it. I can't talk for long.'

"Let me ask you one thing. Is the sixth famous sword not ready yet?"

"Answer my question first. You, are you a knight?"

I nodded.

I was a free sword that had been knighted by the king of Blake.

"That's right."

Hans narrowed his eyes.

"You, you came to get a sword that fits your hand."

"You could say that."

"The old man doesn't sell swords to just anyone. He decides whether to sell it or not after seeing the owner in person."

"And what about me?"

Hans looked me up and down.

"You're definitely not ordinary."

"Am I qualified enough?"

"Just wait. I'll go and ask the old man."

Hans immediately went into the blacksmith's shop, and after a while, the clanging sound of metal stopped.

Hans came back out and beckoned to me.

"Follow me."

I followed the little Hans and asked.

"You said the sixth famous sword wasn't ready yet?"

Hans glanced at me and then muttered to himself.

"You don't know. The sixth famous sword is already complete."

"...What?"

I looked at the back of Hans's head, who was walking ahead, with slightly surprised eyes.

"What color is it?"

"Indigo."

* * *

When I followed Hans into a workshop,

"Welcome."

An old man with white hair greeted me, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"I am Ophosis."

I stared at him blankly and then took his hand.

"I am Banshua."

His hand was hot and hard.

Woong—

The necklace trembled slightly.

(End of Chapter)