Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha

"You were pulling it out more than the others, but now you don't think a blacksmith is right for you?

When I ask, Crope snorts.

"Oh... to be exact, besides me, I was pulling out of the workshop I was training in at the time. There was another one. Hazara Favro. He walked into the workshop at the same time as me... and he was incisive."

"Heh... that means you're a competitor?

Everything needs a person like that.

Or the improvement is quicker when such a person is nearby.

Because you don't want to lose to them, and you start to overlap your efforts.

"Right. He was a competitor and... he was also my best friend. I've competed over which one of us would wear the new technology first, and I've pointed out to each other what we're not good at, or tried some interesting ideas... back then I really enjoyed it. Every day is progress."

It's fun to say that it's time to do more and more of what you can do.

I had fun when I started learning swordsmanship and witchcraft too.

Because it feels like a kind of almighty feeling.

Of course, in my case, that was a short time because my talent was quickly overwhelmed.

I guess it was a lot longer in the case of Crop.

But how could it have been like that...

"If you had someone like that, you wouldn't have had a reason to leave Wellphia on Crope."

"At that time. But... one day, Hazara and I were summoned by our parents in the workshop. We can both stand alone as blacksmiths in a few moments. When we were about that much arms... we both expected it. As a full blacksmith, I guess my parents will recognize me."

Remember then, Crope's eyes shine.

I guess I'm remembering how I felt at the time and I'm feeling my chest squeal.

But soon the colour disappears from the eyes, and instead the dark colour dwells.

I'll tell you how it goes.

"But it wasn't... you mean"

"It's a bit of an expectation. Me and Hazara were told by my parents." Next time there will be a blacksmith tournament in Wellphia. Both of you compete in it. I want to leave this workshop to whoever wins. "

"It's..."

"I'm surprised. My parents weren't old enough to retire yet. Of course, sooner or later, it was predictable that I was still talking a lot further than I was saying... but that's what I was talking about, still wanting to identify me and Hazara's talents here and decide which one they deserved right now. There were so many other brothers and sisters that both me and Hazara refused to give me a minute... until they told me that they were all convinced." Your talents are out there. than any other disciples. More than this me, of course '... If they say so, it'll be hard to say no. And... "

"And?"

"Me and Hazara, before the parents in the workshop say anything about it, have a heart for the fact that we can compete in a blacksmith tournament."

"... I don't know about the detailed appearance policy or anything, but is that something that's that hard to compete in?

I don't know anything about that at the Forge Games, either.

Generally speaking, it is well known that for the first time a blacksmith's division does not exceed ten years, and that the division is divided into more than one blacksmith's division, and the division is divided depending on what they make.

Crope explains it to me.

"No... it's not that hard. You're right, enough to be distinguished by your blacksmith history, and if you sign up, a blacksmith can basically compete with anyone. It's just that when you're training in a workshop like me and Hazara, you can't compete without parental permission. At the time, we were never allowed to. Some of them are allowed to synchronize with us..."

"Hmmm... did a talented apprentice compete like that and hate to be proud, or what? Even though I know that if Crope and Hazara compete, we can get to a pretty good place, so I thought it would be a problem if I was weirdly confident and shaded by growth..."

"Maybe that's what happened. Many of the guys whose parents had allowed them to appear were solid in that sense. Whatever the technology, you say you have a strong heart… whether you lose or win, there's a guy who can honestly accept the results and keep up the efforts he's made. But I... my parents' eyes were right."

"Is there something going on there?

"Oh. It's not that easy. Me and Hazara competed in a blacksmith tournament. And... Hazara won, I lost. That's all."

"It's..."

I would have regretted it quite a bit, I think.

I have just the same talent and don't go one step further into a rival who should have made the same effort.

I've never had a rival in that sense, but I can still imagine how it feels.

But Crope says something unexpected.

"... I didn't regret it. Rather, I thought it was a complete defeat. That's when I realized I couldn't reach this guy."

"... why? The blacksmith's arm... it wasn't open that far, was it?

"I thought so. I understood then that that was a fundamental mistake. Until the Blacksmith Games, Hazara and I worked hard. We tried not to step into each other's workplaces, not to say what we would make or what we would do. Because you're a rival. He wants to settle for the tournament... that's what he thinks."

I know how you feel.

In a way, it would be a terrible thing, but it would be fun at the same time, that time.

"So...?

"As I said earlier, we have a settlement by the time we have no skin. In the form of my total defeat. Hazara made the Devil's Sword. There's a kid who hasn't been a blacksmith in ten years... a demon sword, huh? Naturally, it was decided by Hazara's victory. I... well, it was a semi-finalist for once, but what I made was a mediocre sword. Of course, I poured in all of my technology at the time... but not on the day they built the Devil's Sword... I thought. He said he was a genius. I was gonna grow up with him, but he didn't, and I guess he was inhibiting this guy's growth while I pulled his leg. I guess that's why we made a difference as soon as we started training on our own."