“Alright, hold on a sec! Just listen to my story for a moment!”

Rob, realizing that the opponent before him was not someone he could easily defeat, shouted in desperation.

Lucy glanced at me, her eyes silently asking what we should do.

I hesitated for a moment… then nodded.

We had time for at least one excuse. I was curious to hear what he had to say.

“I know there’s a dragon there, but there’s also an ore vein!”

Rob exclaimed, the look on his face a mix of indignation and urgency.

“Adamantium is a mineral that forms from the mana flowing out of a high dragon!”

He thumped his chest, trying to express his frustration.

In this ridiculous moment, he was even making a mana oath to prove his innocence.

In light of the situation, I had only one thing to say:

“Well then. It seems I’ve misjudged a bit.”

Indeed.

I realized I had one misconception about Rob.

“Isn’t that right?”

Relief washed over Rob as he deactivated his defensive artifacts.

I smiled at him and added, “Your forging skills have certainly improved, but so has your skill in deception.”

Ten years ago, he was trying to squeeze customers dry, and based on how he looked now, he had only gotten better at it.

“If it weren’t for me, everyone would have fallen for your trick!”

There must be adamantium there.

He mentioned the mana oath, and it fit what I remembered from the settings, so I was certain of it.

However… just because it was there didn’t mean it could repair the Holy Sword—that was complete nonsense.

The Holy Sword is crafted purely of mysteries.

Mysteries you’d only find in artifacts.

No matter how good adamantium might be, it’d be nothing more than an impurity in a sword made solely of pure mystery.

And Rob definitely knew this fact, having made even a slight repair on the Holy Sword.

“Indeed, he’s a piece of work.”

The weight of the mana oath is anything but light.

In this world, the only people who know about the materials for the Holy Sword would be me and that dwarf.

If most people heard his tale, they’d probably fall for it hook, line, and sinker.

The lie was quite convincing.

If the requester became dragon food, well, he’d just claim the valuable sword for himself.

And if he somehow succeeded in bringing back the real adamantium? He could pocket the precious metal and wash his hands of the failed repair.

In either scenario, Rob would definitely profit.

He didn’t accumulate this wealth by accident.

“Customer… it seems there’s some misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?”

But unfortunately for Rob,

I had invested over 5000 hours in Blood And Bone, making me a genuine gamer.

The moment he tried to trick me with game knowledge, his defeat was already locked in.

I signaled to Lucy.

Immediately, she pulled her sword out with a fierce look targeting Rob.

“W-wait! I’m genuinely innocent! What’s your basis for calling me a scammer? Please, just spare my life!”

That dwarf was something else…

He even attempted to squeeze out fake tears.

Did he still have any hope left?

Well, considering the information I got from the previous works—that the Holy Sword cannot be repaired with adamantium and that Rob had quite the shady background—

It was hard to put those thoughts into words.

From Lucy and Rob’s perspective, I’d appear to be just a troublesome customer accusing someone of being a scam artist without any basis.

So he must think he could convince Lucy of his innocence.

But there was one misjudgment he made…

“Misunderstanding? Are you saying my lord lied?”

The girl in front of him was no run-of-the-mill girl; she was as scary as they come.

Lucy walked towards Rob, her eyes gleaming.

“How dare you doubt my lord’s noble will? It’s quite unpleasant.”

As she spoke, the atmosphere turned ominous.

Thank the heavens that her trait blocked any killing intent, or I would’ve collapsed like that dwarf.

“My lord, may I take it upon myself to ‘educate’ this blasphemer?”

Lucy asked me, indicating she didn’t want to see anything distasteful.

Rob looked at me, his eyes filled with despair.

He was sharp…

He likely realized that if I left, something horrifying would happen.

But…

I wasn’t some pushover.

I wasn’t going to insist on a humane treatment for someone trying to con me.

“If you didn’t want to be treated like this, you should’ve never scammed anyone in the first place.”

He hadn’t skimped on the payment; wanting a premium sword was where he started to go wrong.

I strolled out of the room at a leisurely pace.

Immediately, a chilling scream pierced the air.

With it came sounds like something tearing, breaking, or ripping apart, creating a bizarre cacophony.

After just two hours of waiting…

“I-I was wrong! It was all my fault!”

When we met again, Rob had changed completely.

He was a blond dwarf, clinging to my pant leg, sobbing and snotting all over the place.

“I’ll give up all my artifacts and wealth if you just spare my life!”

He was on the floor, ugly-crying.

…The effectiveness was beyond my imagination.

What on earth happened? Curiously, I looked at Lucy.

“Don’t worry, my lord. I’ve healed his body completely and ensured his mind isn’t shattered beyond repair. He won’t have problems in his upcoming labors.”

Lucy confidently declared.

I thought it might be better not to ask what had gone on in there. I just congratulated her on a job well done.

Normally, Lucy doesn’t show much change in expression.

But hearing my praise, her face lit up instantly.

What to say…

She was terrifying yet easy to handle.

Sure, she often rampaged, but the results didn’t turn out too badly.

It’s a strange situation to call her competent.

Nonetheless, one thing was clear…

“Hand her an inquisitor’s role, and she’d certainly excel.”

There’s no one more specialized with such talent.

Though, I’m not exactly the leader of a colossal religious group, so there’s little chance I’d need an inquisitor.

*

After the ruckus settled down,

I left the blacksmith street.

“Is Lucy making her way back safely?”

I rode the train back to the mansion with over a hundred dwarves.

It was as if we had confessed to being the masterminds behind the mass dwarf disappearance case.

The dwarves were sent under Lucy’s guidance to the base of the Black Fangs, hoping they’d escape detection.

Even now, they were likely moving towards their destination while trying to avoid prying eyes.

I left everything but the Holy Sword to Lucy and wandered the street alone. My mind was spinning with all sorts of thoughts.

“…This is definitely not what I came for.”

Initially, my purpose was just to retrieve something I entrusted someone with.

Yet, before I knew it, I had a hundred dwarf slaves, a massive amount of gold coins, and three valuable artifacts in my possession.

This was an armed robbery…

No, not just ordinary robbery—I had practically stripped a whole village clean.

I had cleaned the residents out of their wealth and autonomy. It was theft of a grand scale.

Thinking about how it all happened by chance was enough to make my head spin.

With a complicated mix of feelings, I walked on, sighting the mana train station ahead.

“Come to think of it, this is a problem.”

Since noble Lucy had headed off to guide the dwarves, catching the mana train was impossible.

If I flew, I could reach the mansion quickly,

But if I drew attention, it’d only advertise my face to the Empire as wanted.

It was better to walk normally, even if it took longer. While I pondered this, something caught my attention.

“……?”

What should I say?

A strange instinct washed over me.

A bizarre feeling that I needed to get back to the mansion, that I had to do so. My whispering earrings activated.

I contemplated for a moment… then raced toward the mana train station.

In my luxurious outfit, it didn’t seem like anyone would stop me even as I wandered around the station.

Before long, I spotted that familiar face.

“Oh! It’s you. The one who handled that terrorist this morning…”

It was the conductor from before.

He remembered my face and had told me to come to him for help if ever needed.

I spun an appropriate tale and asked for help.

Fortunately, he wasn’t just talking empty words when he said to let him know if I needed something.

I was allowed to board the mana train as an employee.

“Is this really necessary?”

A question bubbled up.

Of course, taking the train was quicker than walking, but…

This was more dangerous than I had anticipated.

If the conductor hadn’t been a decent guy, I could’ve been thrown under the dungeon’s cold, hard gaze.

While it was just a gut feeling prompting all this madness, I realized it seemed excessive when viewed rationally.

But… I quickly pushed that thought aside.

The whispers from the earrings had always been uncertain, but aside from that, my instinct urged me.

Something felt ominous.

Something felt off.

Before long, the mana train arrived at its destination.

I thanked the conductor and stepped off the train.

I dashed towards the mansion, fervently wishing that, as always, my instincts were wrong.

And what greeted me was…

“……”

The entrance to Rubia’s mansion, shattered as if broken by someone, lay before me, half-destroyed.