The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All

The Smith of Yado.

Among craftsmen who forged weapons and armor, it was already a name on par with legend.

In the original work, his name had come up more than a few times.

Both the Silent Daggers I'd put to good use—now all destroyed—and the Yado dagger Jin Ye-seul had given me had been deeply tied to the Smith of Yado.

[Silent Dagger (Rare)]

A dagger forged with no restraint by the head disciple of the master craftsman and legendary Smith of Yado, showcasing his full skill.

[Yado's Dagger — Black Bird's Beak (Rare)]

A mid-period form in a dagger series painstakingly forged by the legendary craftsman, the Smith of Yado.

But to think he was actually a spirit—and an acquaintance of Belluna Hunt's, no less.

"He's a high-ranking fire spirit. A being similar to that… wind spirit you met before. He's hardly going to lie about something like this. To spirits, lying is a grave taboo."

"I'm honored to hear you say so, Lady Minerva."

"I haven't given you leave to use my name."

He bowed his head at her cold reply.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Minerva said nothing more.

She just let out a small, displeased snort through her nose.

Between this and the way she'd been with Belluna before, she really didn't seem to get along with spirits.

"…"

Rauné, too, kept casting wary glances at the Smith of Yado as it shuffled closer to my side.

It still had my scale clutched in one hand.

"Then let's skip the small talk and get to the point."

He turned those burning eyes on me as he spoke.

"Before that—mind if I take a seat?"

"Ah, yes. Of course. I'm sorry, I should have offered earlier."

"Thanks."

He sat down with a tired-sounding sigh.

Then, in that same slow, deliberate manner, he looked at me and laced his fingers together.

"I'd hoped you'd take the hint from my name… but just in case, I'll spell it out. Belluna asked me to come help you. To be precise, I'm here to work the dragon scales you have."

"The scales…"

"It's awkward to say it myself, but I'm a fairly skilled smith, if I do say so. More importantly, dragon scales aren't something most humans can even handle."

"So you're saying you'll make me weapons or armor."

"That's right."

He nodded.

He kept staring at a corner of the table with what looked like a hint of regret, and I caught on, jumped up, and said, "I'm sorry, you've come all this way and I haven't even offered you tea. What would you like? Green tea? Coffee?"

"…Coffee, please."

"Minerva, what about you?"

"Hm?"

Minerva looked startled, as if she hadn't expected me to ask her.

"I-I'll have the same as you, my dear."

"Sure."

A short while later, I came back to the table with three coffees and a glass of sugar water.

I set the coffee in front of him, the sugar water in front of Rauné, then sat down.

Minerva held the coffee cup in both hands and sipped at it.

"……!"

Rauné brightened up too, set the scale aside, and dunked its roots into the sugar water.

It had once climbed in like it was taking a bath and ended up sticky all over.

"My thanks for the drink."

With that, he drained the hot coffee in a single swallow.

He smacked his lips, and—maybe I was imagining it—but the flames in his eyes seemed to burn fiercer than before.

"In any case, I'll make you whatever weapons or armor you'd like."

He let out a languid sigh and murmured, "As I said, Belluna's already covered the payment. As for any shortfall… well, I'll have her clean the workshop later."

I figured I might as well ask him, just in case.

A chance like this would never come around again.

"Could you do it for some other people besides me?"

"…I've no objection. But I was asked to outfit you, so don't expect me to do full weapon-and-armor sets for them the way I will for you."

"That's more than enough."

"…Then lean your head over to me for a moment."

The Smith of Yado held out his fingers as if it were nothing.

"I need to know everything—their habits, the way they walk, their build, the length of their arms, their fingers, their grip, their breathing, their disposition, the feel of their mana. To ask in a situation like this, they have to be acquaintances you know fairly well. Just share your memories of them with me for a moment."

I quietly stepped over and leaned my head toward him.

He took hold of my head as if he were about to crush it, and said in that same tired voice, "Now picture the people you want me to do this for. Slowly, clearly, one at a time."

I called up the faces of Han Su-yeong, Choi Hyun-woo, Jin Ye-seul, Lee Ye-eun, Lee Yu-na, and finally Ivan Hunt.

Kath Ryle and Ahn Do-hun crossed my mind for a moment too… but I wasn't close enough with either of them to be gifting weapons or armor, so the artifacts I'd asked Evangelline for would be plenty.

To begin with, Kath Ryle wasn't the type to fuss over weapons or armor, and Ahn Do-hun could get his hands on as much fine equipment as he liked.

"Quite a few of them."

He muttered with a small sniff.

It sounded almost like a complaint, and I felt awkward—then he suddenly let go of my head.

"I've got enough of a read on them. A bit thin, but… fine. More importantly, do I have free rein on what to make for them, or have you got something in mind already?"

"I'll go with the expert's judgment."

"Then I'll put my whole heart into it. Next is your own gear—what's your main weapon?"

"I don't really have a main one… I use swords, spears, bows, daggers—the whole spread."

"Quite the order."

He muttered, still in that indifferent voice.

I gestured to Minerva, who was still beside me, holding her coffee in both hands and blowing on it with little puffs.

"While you're filling such a big order anyway—could you make one for Minerva too?"

"Hm?"

Minerva let out an odd sound and raised her head.

"M-mine too?"

"Yeah. Oh—or do you not want one? Did I overstep?"

I gave her an awkward smile, and Minerva's eyes met mine as her lips moved in a kind of mumble.

"M-mm…"

"Minerva?"

She let her words trail off and then looked away.

She kept both hands clamped tightly around her coffee.

The Smith of Yado, who'd been watching the two of us as if enjoying the show, smacked his lips.

"That was good entertainment. I'll knock a bit off the price for it."

He said it so casually it took me a second to figure out what he meant.

He tapped the table calmly with one finger and said, "Your gear, the items for the humans you pictured, and… for Lady Minerva—what would you like me to make?"

Minerva answered.

"A glaive."

She added in a mumble, "…If possible, with the same carvings and decorations as the ones on his weapon."

The Smith of Yado nodded as if he understood and rose from his seat.

I stood up with him, and he murmured in a glum voice, "Consultation's over. It won't take long. I'll have them made and brought to you soon… ah, right. Hand me the scales I'll be using as material."

At that, I pulled out the scales I'd stashed in the shadow and dumped them onto the table.

By the time I'd poured out a pile close to my own body weight, he waved a hand to say that was enough.

"This should do."

Then, without warning, he scooped the scales up and began sweeping them into his mouth.

I flinched in surprise, and he gave a small shrug.

"Ordinary fire isn't going to do anything to dragon scales. So I put them in my body and melt them down—work them into ingots, in a manner of speaking."

"Wow…"

By the time he'd finally swallowed the entire mountain of scales, he was smacking his lips.

Then he looked at me with an expression as if weighing something for a moment.

"I'll come back within half a month at the latest."

With those last words, his whole body burned away like a flame and he vanished on the spot.

I was staring at the place where not even ash remained when one of my arms was gently tugged back.

Minerva was pulling on my sleeve.

She hesitated, then said, "Thank you, my dear."

"What's there to thank? Honestly, Minerva, a weapon would make things easier for you too. And rather than carrying around something half-made, you'd be better off with nothing at all."

"Well… true. Anything flimsy wouldn't even survive my grip."

That was where Minerva's words abruptly stopped.

The atmosphere went a little awkward, and she fidgeted with her fingers as she quietly murmured, "…I really am grateful, my dear."

"It's nothing, I told you."

"No, I'm not just thanking you for getting my weapon made. Yes…"

She nodded quietly as she looked at me.

Her eyes were shimmering—slowly, faintly, but unmistakably.

"It's that you trust me. That's what I'm grateful for."

"…"

I shut my mouth too at her words.

She was right—I'd opened my heart to her to a strange degree.

Strictly speaking, just a few days ago we'd been fighting each other to the death, and even setting that aside, she'd been a Seven Calamity, humanity's enemy, and a being I'd had to defeat in order to go home.

When I thought about it, even I couldn't quite understand how she and I had ended up with this kind of relationship.

…Maybe, just as she'd said, there really was something I didn't remember.

"That said, my dear."

She gave a little cough, as if to clear the awkward mood that had settled between us.

"It's embarrassing to admit, but there's one more thing I'd like to ask of you."

The earlier version of her was nowhere to be seen; her easy poise was back in an instant as she blinked at me.

"A favor?"

"Don't you remember? Just now, you swore to me. You said you'd grant me one favor."

"Ah, that's right. Yeah, I did… but you're going to use it right now?"

"That kind of thing is best used at exactly the right moment, after all. Early or late doesn't really come into it."

With that, she picked up one of the potions sitting on the table.

A chill ran down my back.

"My dear."

Minerva slowly held it out to me.

"This Minerva… firmly believes you are not the kind of base man who would lightly cast aside an oath sworn on his own name."

She pressed the potion bottle into my hand with a smile.

"Surely that's so, isn't it?"

I couldn't smile back.

Lee Ye-eun was walking briskly toward the reception room.

She'd received the report that Evangelline had left a while ago, but for some reason no word had come that Yu Ji-hyeok had emerged, so she'd come looking herself.

She didn't want to leave him alone, normally.

But he'd pleaded so earnestly that the conversation was important that she'd had no choice but to agree.

The old her—the her famed for keeping her personal and professional matters strictly separate—would never have done something like that.

Returning quick greetings to people along the way, she kept hurrying her steps.

Various thoughts kept rising in her mind.

The repeated appearances of the Seven Calamities, as though someone were orchestrating them.

And Yu Ji-hyeok, who was always at the center of every incident.

The karma stacking on the soul that Minerva and Belluna Hunt had spoken of.

A matter so important it required a private meeting with Evangelline Loengreen, the Ten Powerhouse and Great Witch….

No matter how she turned it over, she couldn't make any of it add up.

…In the past she'd let things slide whenever he called her noona, sulked, or asked for something, but this time she steeled herself.

There were others who felt the same way she did, so if they all pressed him together—even forcibly—even he'd have to cough up a few more answers.

On top of that, Jin Ye-seul had the ability to tell truth from lie. The conditions couldn't be better.

With that firm resolve in place, Lee Ye-eun knocked on the door of the reception room.

"Ji-hyeok, it's me."

"…"

"Ji-hyeok?"

When no answer came after she'd called twice, Lee Ye-eun opened the door without hesitation.

Just in case, the World Tree's Branch wound quietly around her raised left hand.

And—

"…huh?"

Inside the room were Minerva and a young boy.

Minerva was tidying clothes scattered across the floor, and the boy, wearing a t-shirt that didn't fit his frame, sat there with a vacant look in his eyes before turning to her with a startled flinch.

The moment her eyes met the boy's, Lee Ye-eun realized who he was.

"Ah, ah—!"

Evangelline Loengreen.

Right—she'd just come and gone…!

She shuddered as if jolted by electricity, then stammered, "Ji-Ji-hyeok… right?"

The boy gave a silent nod with sunken, exhausted eyes.

He hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth in a careful voice.

"Um…"

It was a fragile little voice—not deep enough yet for puberty—that could easily be mistaken for a girl's at a glance.

Come to think of it, he looked even younger than the last time.

Lee Ye-eun nodded furiously, telling him to go ahead and say whatever it was.

"Some clothes to change into…"

"Huh?"

Only then did Lee Ye-eun realize the clothes Minerva had been gathering up were the ones Yu Ji-hyeok had been wearing.

Honestly, when she thought about it, that was the obvious conclusion.

"Y-yeah… I'll bring some right away."

Watching Yu Ji-hyeok ask with his face bright red, Lee Ye-eun nodded with a flushed face of her own.

A woman knelt before three graves, silently paying her respects.

Her hair was so white it could be mistaken for silver. She'd been on her knees for a long stretch, and behind her stood another woman wearing a bored expression.

"Are we done yet?"

Belluna, who'd waited for hours behind her, brightened as Nam Hyun-hwa finally got to her feet.

The hwatu cards in her pocket rattled noisily.

"Right—now it's time to keep your promise to a spirit."

At Belluna's words, Nam Hyun-hwa took one more look around the graves and gave a small smile.

"My apologies."

"…huh?"

"I'll keep my promise—but before that, could you give me a little more time?"

Nam Hyun-hwa gripped the sword's scabbard tightly as she spoke.

"There's still something I need to do."

There were three graves.

And one pit still left unfilled.

It was the place where the traitor was meant to go.

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