Hard Work Will Never Betray Me

""It's done  !"

Apparently, it was finished. For the first time in her life, a girl has forged her own blade!"

"Congratulations!"

"Well, that's pretty good for a first time. You'll be making the same thing every day from now on ,  so you'd better remember how it feels.

"Yes!"

It was already dimly lit. There was almost no daylight in the workshop, so the fire of the furnace was vaguely visible in the darkness.

In the midst of all this, the finished product in the girl's hand - a knife with a blade about 20 centimeters long - reflected the slight sunlight and shone silver.

............" is beautiful."

The girl muttered. I felt exactly the same way.

"Oh, . I'm sorry I made you spend the whole day with me after all. I'm sorry for my daughter's sake.

The master approached and spoke to me. He seems to be more friendly than I expected.

No, it's nothing. I'm the one who insisted on seeing it. I'm sorry to bother you so suddenly.

"Don't worry about it. You gave my daughter a push. You're welcome to join us, but we can't ignore you. That's right, .as a thanks , you can pick any weapon you want and bring it  with you ."

"Oh, you don't mind?　"

It's for sale."

"The ones we have here are not that expensive. The expensive ones are basically custom-made. If it's ready-made, it won't cost you much. Don't hesitate to take it."

"Well, I'll take your word for it. ......"

I pointed to a throwing knife with a blade of about five centimeters that was displayed on a shelf by the wall.

"Can I have some of these?"

"Are you sure that's enough?　There are more magnificent swords and such.'

The master asked me with a look as if he thought a boy would choose something like that.

It's not that I don't want a sword or something, but with my current muscle strength, I just can't hold it. 

"No, I like this one. It seems to work pretty well."

"I see. I've got a lot in stock in the back, so I'll give you about 20 of them for now."

"Oh, you'll give me that many?"

What, you don't want it?"

"No, thank you very much!"

"Thank you, I'll use them to practice my magic. I've just recently come up with a new way to apply magic, although it's still in the conceptual stage."

While the master and I were making such a deal, I must have come to my senses. A girl walks up to me. She was very dirty with soot and sweat, but her face was radiant and beautiful.

"Thank you for today," she said. "Thanks to you, I was able to take a step forward."

"I didn't do anything. . You did  it on your own "

No, I still want to do it.

The girl then holds out the knife in her hand to me.

"You did a beautiful job.'

"I want you to take this."

"You want me to take this?　Are you sure?　It's the first thing you ever made."

"Without you, this knife would never have come into this world. That's why I want you to have this knife."

The girl who told me this seemed to be very nervous. I think she is thinking that I might not accept it.

...... 'If that's the case, I'll take it gratefully."

"Thank you very much!"

As soon as I said I would take it, the girl's face broke into a very happy smile. I'm going to take good care of this knife.

And speaking of which.

"What's your name? 　My name is Eberhard."

Remembering that I hadn't heard the girl's name yet, I introduced myself.  The girl seemed to have forgotten her name as well, and introduced herself in a panic.

", I'm Meir , Meir Arendahl.

"So you're Meir. Can I call you Mei?"

When I asked her, she turned red and started to get flustered.

(...... is a nickname, I've been given a nickname!)

Her panic is amazing. This girl may have never had a friend before, just like me.

"Mei?"

"It's fine if you call me Mei. I'm ......, too."

"You can call me Hal."

"Okay, then. Hal, ......."

It was the first time for her to call her friends by their nicknames, and her first reaction was adorable. . Even though their first impressions are opposite, their actual personalities are like this.

"Oh, will you come again tomorrow?"

"Of course. I'll be here tomorrow and the day after. . We have a big yard so you can run around all you want.

"You have a garden?　You're rich, aren't you?"

"Do you think so?　Maybe so, hahaha!"

, watch out. I was about to be exposed as a sneak peek. I think that once  i invite  her ,   on  my own, but if they find out  my identity before  i  invite  her ,  she might not come to  my house.

Iwant to be as sure as possible that    I 've got a friend who's important to  me. Lily lives in the dukedom, and it's hard to lose a friend in the dukedom that  i can hang out with frequently.

The master gave me a lot of throwing knives, and together with Mei 's work, I had to take a lot of metal home with me. Mei  and the master saw me off, and I walked home through the city after , shuffling my clothes and bag.

When I returned home, my mother asked me where I got the large number of knives, and when I told her that I had befriended the daughter of a forger,  i replied.

"I told her that I had made friends with the daughter of a forger."

I thought there was something a little off about that.