Chapter 234: The Blacksmiths’ Guild
We arrived at the Blacksmiths’ Guild about 20 minutes after leaving The Dragon’s Table
Gamud had only told us its general location, but honestly, that was all we needed to locate it because it stood out from all the other buildings in its vicinity. It looked kinda of like a massive workshop. Smoke actively billowed out its chimney. The plot of land the building sat on was huge and all the people entering and leaving it were stern-looking n.
Though there was basically no way it wasn’t the Blacksmiths’ Guild, a part of hoped I was wrong. I really wanted to know what else it could’ve possibly been.
I tried imagining all the different possibilities, but my train of thought was cut short as we approached. I happened to see a crest with a pair of crossed hamrs on it mounted on the building’s door plate, which clearly denoted that the place was indeed the Blacksmiths’ Guild we’d been looking for.
A wave of pressure hit the mont we entered the building. The foyer’s ceiling was incredibly low. It was almost like the place had been constructed specifically to intimidate those that entered it. I felt like I’d entered a workplace ant solely for hardboiled n.
「Hmm? You have so business here?」
The Blacksmiths’ Guild’s receptionist was nothing like the type we’d typically had back at the Adventurers’ Guild. The buff dwarf that worked at the desk didn’t bother smiling. He instead spoke in a low voice and threw Fran a sharp glare, almost as if to threaten her.
「Looking for person.」
「Then you’ve co to the wrong place. Go talk to the Adventurers’ Guild instead.」
His cold response almost made him seem like a bartender that’d just rejected soone asking for milk.
「Looking for blacksmith. Gallus.」
「I don’t know who you’re talking about. You satisfied yet, girlie?」
「No. Need more inford person. Here, gift.」
「Oh?」
The receptionist’s tone changed the mont he laid hands on the booze we’d brought. Welp, that’s a dwarf for you.
「That’s a mighty fi-tsk.」
He began reaching towards the bottle of wine Fran had placed atop the counter, but she took it away right before he reached it. The act caused the dwarf to glare at her in a begrudging manner, but she didn’t mind him, and instead just chucked it back into her Dinsional Storage.
「Get person. Close to Gallus or know location.」
「…Wait here a bit.」
The dwarven receptionist left his desk and headed deeper inside the building. It took him about 10 minutes to finally return to his desk.
「Follow .」
「Nn.」
It seed that he’d found just the guy, as he finally began leading us through the guild. We ended up going underground and passing through a series of large doors only to end up finding ourselves inside a rather small room. Despite its size, it managed to co off as a luxurious office that clearly belonged to soone important given how gaudy the furniture was. However, it was dark. No direct light managed to reach any of the room’s four corners. The room’s owner was only capable of operating within it because he was a dwarf.
「I’ve brought her over, boss.」
「Good work.」
Apparently, we’d been brought straight to the guild’s top dog even though we hadn’t told the receptionist who we were. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason he ended up doing so, but I felt that it was likely either because we’d ntioned Gallus, shown him the booze we’d brought with us, or a combination of both.
Regardless, we ended up giving him a bottle of wine as he left.
「You sure?」
「Still have more.」
「Great. I’ll be happy to take it off your hands then.」
Surprisingly, the receptionist ended up flashing us a big smile. I knew that he was a dwarf and all, but god damn!
「Is that wine I see?」
「Nn. Gift.」
「I guess that ans I’ll have to take this seriously, not that I wouldn’t have to begin with. I’d rather not risk incurring the Black Lightning Princess’ wrath, after all.」
It turned out that the Blacksmiths’ Guild’s boss had already heard of Fran. He’d never actually t Fran and only knew that the Black Lightning Princess was a female Black Catkin, but he still managed to pinpoint the fact that she was the person that everyone was talking about. I wasn’t really surprised. It wasn’t really that difficult to deduce Fran’s identity.
There were two main reasons figuring out who Fran was had beco such a simple task. The first and foremost was because she had beco a hot topic as of late. Barbra’s people were already aware that she was in town, so they’d started to actively talk about her. The second was that Fran was strong. There weren’t many strong Black Catkin, and a single good look at her was more than enough for any skilled individual to figure out that she was a cut above the rest. Putting two and two together imdiately allowed one to conclude that Fran was indeed the rumoured Black Lightning Princess.
We promptly asked the Blacksmiths’ Guild’s boss for Gallus’ location, to which he responded by making a bit of a murky expression. His reaction didn’t seem quite positive, but it at least served to evidence that he knew who Gallus was.
「Does your na happen to be Fran?」
「Didn’t know?」
「Nope. The only thing we knew you by was your alias.」
「Nn. Nad Fran.」
「Then, am I right in assuming you used to be called the Magic Sword Girl?」
「Nn.」
I was a bit confused as to why he bothered confirming Fran’s old na and nickna.
「I see… To be honest, not even I know exactly where Gallus has gone.」
（Master?）
『He’s telling the truth.』
Not even the Blacksmiths’ Guild’s boss knew where we could find Gallus.
「I do at least have a bit of information. I don’t mind telling you, but only if you swear not to tell a soul. It’s highly confidential.」
「Nn. Won’t tell.」
「Good. Last I heard, Gallus had taken on a top secret request from a noble.」
「Top secret request?」
「Not even I know exactly what it entails. All I know was that it was sothing an influential noble personally asked him to do, and that he was against it. That’s it.」
It looked like not even Gallus was capable of turning down important nobles. If he did, the noble in question would probably end up causing trouble both for him and the Blacksmiths’ Guild as a whole.
「Basically ans abducted?」
「He definitely was being forced to do sothing against his will, but it isn’t really as bad as you’re making it out to be. They at least put in an official request.」
「Oh.」
The Blacksmiths’ Guild’s boss wasn’t lying, which ant the reason we hadn’t been able to find Gallus was because he got forced into doing sothing he couldn’t tell anyone about.
「Truth is, he actually left you a letter, told to give it to Fran, the Magic Sword Girl. I’d actually made a few arrangents so you’d be brought straight to if you ever showed up, but…」
Fran’s new nickna, the Black Lightning Princess, had beco much more widespread than her last. Gallus himself never suspected that she’d suddenly gain a new alias, and naturally, didn’t know what that new alias could’ve been, so his letter was still addressed to the Magic Sword Girl. The old na had just flat out poofed; it’d gone so quickly that I almost missed it; hearing it again filled with a sense of nostalgia.
「Here it is. I haven’t looked at it myself, so I’ve no idea what he’s written.」
「Nn.」
It seed that he was once again telling the truth.
「Oh yeah, do a favour and don’t read it here. I’d be put in a bad spot if it makes ntion of the request he’s gotten from the state. I’d rather not get any more involved in than I already am.」
Apparently, even just carrying the letter was already sothing the Blacksmiths’ Guild’s boss considered rather risky.
「Okay.」
And so, we took the letter, handed over the booze we brought, and went on our way.
We had no way of knowing the letter’s contents, so we ended up deciding that it’d be best for us to find a place without anyone around before actually opening it up.
『We’re going to have spend the night in town, so we might as well just rent a room sowhere and read it there.』
「Nn. Got it.」
Fran and I ended up deciding on a place right by the Adventurer’s Guild seeing as how we were going to have to head over to it the next day anyways.
「Nn. Nice room.」
『Goes to show you get what you pay for.』
The room was priced at 15k a night, mostly because we’d picked the best room with a bath we could find.
Though Fran herself had said that she’d be fine with a cheap room, I insisted otherwise, admittedly mostly for vanity’s sake. Fran had gotten a really aweso nickna. I really wanted to let her act in a manner that befitted it.
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