Read Novel Full Bonus Chapter 4
Bonus Chapter 4
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Side Story: Myrril and Her Paradise
My name is Myrril. I am an independent master of my own domain.
On the outskirts of the commoner’s quarter of the kingdom, just before the slums, there is a dilapidated workshop. I have named the ramshackle shed that serves as my residence Casemaian.
One day, with my own hands, I will restore the glory of the Blacksmith King and return to my rightful place. One day, you will see. My road to supremacy begins here.
“Hey, shorty, get rid of the ashes quickly!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Hey, shorty, I told you to pick up the steel materials!”
“I put yesterday’s in the warehouse.”
“We’ll get more today, you idiot!”
“Take care of it right now!”
It’s unreasonable to be told to take care of something that wasn’t even on the schedule. But he’s a senior worker, so complaining won’t get us anywhere. Still, I’ve been trained as a descendant of dwarves. I’m proud of my strength and skills, but I still have to respect the order of seniority.
I understand that, but no matter how hard I try or how much I achieve, the difference in treatment won’t go away. On the contrary, I’ve started to notice that the wind is getting stronger and stronger. I’ve heard that as long as you’re a skilled craftsman, there’s no discrimination based on race.
In the end, I have to realize that it’s just a front for the lowly.
“That shorty’s making something again, huh?”
“She’s made all kinds of things out of junk before. That device she stole from me was pretty useful. Is it that again?”
“No, it’s a bow. A bow with a mechanical release. Apparently, the foreman has seen it and is trying to sell it to some nobleman for a small fortune.”
“Really? Is it worth the money? That old crank has done well for himself.”
“Yeah, I hope there’s something left for us. That greedy old man would never give us a cent.”
As I restacked the steel materials in the warehouse, I could hear the other workers laughing in a low voice.
I thought I couldn’t find some of them, but now I know. This used to be a storage room, but now it’s my room. I can’t believe they would take things other people made without permission. What’s more, the foreman is a terrible, shameless person for selling things without the owner’s permission. He’s a stingy old man who’s even called a gold digger by his own wife and the workers he employs.
Well, never mind. This is a prototype I made from scrap wood I had lying around to test the operation. When I’ve saved up enough money, I’ll make a fully functional one and try to sell it to a trading company or a local nobleman.
A small hand-held model for hunting birds and small animals, and a large stationary model for hunting big game. If it were a little lighter, it would be portable, but as it is, it can only be used for drive hunting…
“Myril!”
The workshop foreman came running in and kicked open the warehouse door. I’ve never seen him run before; he’s always sitting around with his pot belly sticking out.
“Come with me right now!”
“Where to?”
“Just come!”
I was pulled by the arm and taken to the mansion of a great noble.
“Master, where are we?”
“This is the Duke’s mansion. Be careful not to be rude.”
Speaking of a duke, he is a descendant of royalty, isn’t he? I, with my work clothes stained with gold dust and ashes, am rude in my very existence. No matter how you look at it, we are uninvited guests, but the butlers and maids smile eerily and invite us further into the mansion.
As we were led into a large room that seemed to be a reception room, we saw a man who looked like a decrepit scarecrow sitting at the back of a long table.
My first impression of the Duke was that he was simply “suspicious.” His eyes were clouded, and his mouth was loose. His fingers fidgeted restlessly, and his eyes darted about. Unless he was going crazy, he probably had a twisted personality.
“Ah, a dwarf. I see. Now it makes sense.”
“Duke Torais, please, with this…”
“I understand. You wanted to take credit for their work and line your own pockets, didn’t you? Hans…”
“Huh?”
The foreman began to tremble as the butler took his arm and tried to drag him out of the room.
“Th-That’s not right. You said you’d give me a fair reward if I brought you the creator.”
“Ah, I’ll give a fair reward to the right person. And you must also receive a just reward.”
When the butler and the foreman left, only the duke and I remained. In the old man’s hand was the mechanical bow I had made. For some reason, a shiver ran down my spine. It wasn’t fear or disgust. It was a strong feeling of unease. I didn’t know what it was.
“Well, your name is Myrril, I see. I’ve seen that bow. You’re young but have a great idea and a brilliant skill.”
“This is a prototype. It is not yet ready for practical use.”
“I see. How long would it take to make something that is ready for practical use?”
“That depends on what you mean by ‘practical use.’ If it’s just for target practice, it would take a day, but if it’s for hunting, it would take three days…”
“No, no, no. There seems to be some misunderstanding. Let me rephrase my question.”
I also realized what the strange feeling I had was.
There is someone in the room. I can faintly sense the presence of seven people. I can smell the metallic smell of weapons and the sweat of murderous intent. If this man gives the order, I will be killed, just like the greedy master craftsman who was taken away somewhere.
“How do you use it in battle?”
So that’s what he meant. This guy will turn my weapon into a tool to kill people. Of course, I should have thought about that possibility.
“I won’t let you kill people with something I made.”
The old man’s face changed color at the words that came out without thinking.
“You have no right to choose. Everything born in the royal capital belongs to the royal family.”
“If that’s the case, you should order your lackeys to use it. I won’t help you.”
Although I tried to brush him off, it was nothing more than a bluff. Even though it was a prototype, most of the mechanisms were already in place. Even if it was a crude imitation, mass production would be possible, and even if it was poorly made, it would still serve its purpose of killing people.
“If you go against the Torais family, you won’t be able to live in the royal capital.”
“What inconvenience is there for me? As you can see from the head of the workshop, you know what I have achieved and how I have been treated, don’t you?”
“Hmph, you’re just an imitation of a human being.”
The old man snapped his fingers, and a dagger flew out from behind the cabinet. I quickly deflected it with a chair and then stepped forward to strike the man. The delicate chair and the man were shattered, but the legs remained in my hands. It looked like he was about to attack again, but that opportunity would never come again. His neck was broken and twisted, and he wasn’t moving at all.
Two new men sneak up from the other side of the window. In each hand is a short sword and a hatchet. I use the chair leg to block them and kick the dagger with my toes on the floor. It doesn’t stick, but I don’t want it to. I twist my body to get out of the way and then jab the chair leg into the man’s eye, who lets out a scream and falls back. I grab the hatchet that fell from his hand and strike the man holding the short sword on the wrist, cutting it off. The man staggered, covered in blood, and I kicked him away. The big man who had run out stumbled, and his body fell. I made a horizontal cut with my hatchet. The hatchet split the big man’s head and then slipped through, grazing the old man’s head and sticking into the wall behind him.
There were three more enemies. I jumped out of the window where the two men had appeared, jumped onto a tree, and rolled to the ground. The pursuers immediately jumped down. Three are on the second floor, and two are new ones on the first.
Casemaians. That was the name that crossed my mind as I started running. It was not a dirty warehouse but a paradise for the subhuman race—the ideal my parents told me about, the ideal I should really strive for.
I climbed over the wall and ran on without a destination. I thought that the day I could get there would never come.
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