Reincarnated as an SSS-Ranked Blacksmith Who Refuses to Forge Weapons Chapter 5. The Arrival of Lylia The Retired Swordswoman

The noble’s carriage turned out to be a false alarm. It belonged to a rchant who had heard about Greg’s "revolutionary farming equipnt" and wanted to talk about making a lot of it. Greg politely turned him down five tis before the man finally gave up.

It was easier to deal with the three adventurers because they only wanted basic camping gear. However, Greg made sure to keep any magic to a minimum after the dancing vest incident.

He had just finished a very normal set of tent stakes when soone knocked on the door of his workshop with the poml of a sword. Not banging or hamring, but a precise, steady knock that showed military training and discipline.

Greg opened the door and saw a woman who looked like she had co straight out of a story. She was probably in her late twenties. She stood tall with her blonde hair tied back in a useful ponytail.

She wore simple clothes for traveling that couldn’t hide the fact that she had been training with weapons for years. She had a broken sword at her hip, making Greg know what was coming after the introduction.

"Are you Greg Greyson, the blacksmith?" Her voice was calm and steady, with a hint of an accent that Greg couldn’t quite place.

"That’s ," Greg said.

"Let guess, you want to fix your sword."

The woman’s lips curled up into a small smile. "Perceptive. Yes, I was hoping you could fix or reforge this blade."

"It’s been with for eight years, and I’d rather not have to replace it." She drew the broken sword and held it as if it were a close friend.

"I’m Lylia Goldenwind, and I used to be a mber of the Royal Knight Order."

"Forrly?" Greg asked reluctantly, despite his desire to remain silent.

"I quit three months ago because I was tired of politics and war." Lylia looked at the broken blade with a hint of regret.

"This happened on my last mission. A rock troll that wouldn’t give up and a commanding officer who wouldn’t let us wait for backup."

At least Greg could understand that feeling. He looked at the broken sword. The craftsmanship was good, but not great. It was clear that it had been well cared for and valued. It was a clean break, so he could probably fix it if he wanted to.

And of course. He didn’t want to.

Greg gave the sword back and said, "I don’t fix weapons. Or do them."

"I quit that job myself."

Lylia’s eyebrows went up a little. "The famous blacksmith who won’t work with weapons."

"I’d heard the rumors, but I thought they were probably blown out of proportion." She looked at him with sharp golden eyes.

"Can I ask why?"

Greg said, "It’s a long story."

"The short version is that I spent my whole last life making weapons, saw people dying because of that, and then I was done."

"But now I make cursed clothes that make people dance, as well as exotic farming tools and cookware."

"I heard about that vest," Lylia said, and for the first ti, her face showed real amusent.

"Everyone in the area is talking about it. So nobles are even trying to get similar things made for their ballrooms."

Greg made a noise of pain. "Please tell you’re kidding."

"I wish I could. There’s a bidding war." Lylia put her broken sword away and crossed her arms.

"But back to my problem. What do you think I should do if you won’t fix my blade?"

"I still need sothing to protect myself. Just because I’m retired doesn’t an the world is suddenly safe."

Greg took a mont to think. She made a good point, and unlike the adventurers who ca looking for weapons to make money or gain fa, Lylia seed to be really practical about it. He thought that was cool. But he still wasn’t making her a sword.

Greg asked, "What do you think about cooking tools?"

Lylia blinked. "Excuse , what?"

"Really, I made a frying pan that can kill wyverns."

"One of my custors killed a young wyvern with one hit." Greg walked back into his workshop and motioned for her to follow.

"I can help you with that if you need sothing for self-defense that isn’t really a weapon."

"You want , a forr Royal Knight, to defend myself with cookware." Lylia’s voice was flat, but Greg could tell she was curious.

"Not just pots and pans. I’m thinking of sothing that can do more." Greg took out a piece of iron and so oak wood.

"How about a ladle? A big one that can hold enough stew for a whole family. It’s strong, useful, and definitely not a weapon."

"A ladle," Lylia said again slowly.

Greg said, "A very good ladle."

"Okay, I’ll make it for you right now. If you don’t like it, you can take it to another blacksmith to fix your sword. Deal?"

Lylia looked like she was torn between disbelief and laughter. She finally agreed. "Okay."

"Make your famous ladle, but I have the right to laugh if this is stupid."

Greg muttered, "Oh, it’ll be stupid alright," as he turned on his forge.

"That’s how they always are."

...

..

He worked quickly, making the iron into a wide bowl with a long, strong handle. He thought about what Lylia needed as he hit the tal with his hamr.

She wanted sothing to protect her, sothing that could stop attacks and maybe scare off attackers without killing them. She was retired and wanted to live in peace, but the world didn’t always let her.

The spells ca easily. Of course, durability. The weight was lowered to make it easy to use. She ntioned that magic was sotis problematic in her old job, so perhaps sothing could be done to address that issue.

The runes were all over the tal in patterns that looked like steam rising from a pot. Greg tried to keep them low-key, but by now he knew better than to fight the system’s tendency to make things sound bigger than they are.

[Crafting Complete!]

[Item Created: Magical Dispersion Ladle]

[Quality Level: SSS]

[Special Properties: Can’t be broken, can block and absorb magic, sends spells back to sender with 50% power, and is great for serving soup]

[Achievent Unlocked: Master of Ho Defense]

[Note: This is getting strange even for you]

"Yea, yea, yeah," Greg said, showing off the finished ladle.

The forge light made it shine, and the bowl was big enough to hold a lot of stew. The handle was long enough for a short staff. The tal had a faint blue sheen that wasn’t normal at all.

Lylia took the ladle and tested its weight and balance like soone who had used many weapons before. She opened her eyes a little. "This is very well-balanced. The work is also excellent."

Greg said, "Try it against sothing magical."

"We could ask the mage in the village to cast a spell on it. He owes a favor."

"Or," Lylia said, putting the ladle down and taking a small crystal out of her pocket, "we could use this practice ward."

"It’s not dangerous, but it will be a good test."

She turned on the crystal, and a glowing wall appeared between them. Thereafter, she tapped the barrier lightly with the bowl of the ladle.

The barrier broke apart like glass, and the magical energy flowed into the ladle, spiraled around its surface, and then shot back at the crystal. The crystal broke and went dark.

"That was a ward crystal for the military," Lylia said in a low voice.

"Those are supposed to be able to handle magic from cannons."

Greg asked nervously, "Is that good or bad?"

"Good if you’re using the ladle. Terrifying if you’re on the receiving end." Lylia looked at the utensil in her hand with sothing like awe.

"This isn’t just anti-magic. This is a magical black hole that looks like serving ware."

"So you like it?"

Lylia laughed, and it was a real laugh that changed her serious face. "Do you like it? you say. Greg, this is crazy, impractical, and goes against every rule I know for weapons."

"It’s perfect." She held the ladle like a warrior looking at a new sword.

"I can defend myself without carrying a real weapon. People will think I’m weak, but I can still use it for what it’s ant for."

Greg stressed, "Which is serving soup."

"Which is serving soup," Lylia said with a smile.

"Though I think that if I hit soone with this, they would have a terrible day."

[New Achievent: Turned a Warrior into a Cookware Combat]

[Title Unlocked: The Peaceful Armorer]

[Lylia Silverwind is now much more popular]

[The gods are writing down ideas for future romantic codies]

Greg decided to ignore that last ssage. "So we’re all set? You’re okay with a ladle instead of a sword repair?"

"More than happy." Lylia put the ladle in her belt, where her sword usually hung. It looked silly, but she sohow made it work.

"That does make wonder. If all your things are so powerful and strange, why stay in a small village like Ferndale? You could make a lot of money in the capital."

Greg simply said, "Because the capital would want weapons."

"People here want plows and pots for cooking. That’s exactly what I’m looking for."

Lylia nodded slowly, and her face showed that she understood. "A life of peace after years of violence."

"I can relate to that." She looked around the workshop and saw the tools and half-finished projects. "I was going to go through Ferndale on my way to the coast, but I think I’ll stay for a while."

"This village could use soone with combat experience, even if it’s just as a retiree. I’m also interested in seeing what other ’peaceful’ things you make."

"You’re staying?" Greg wasn’t sure what to think about that. Having a forr Royal Knight around could bring in the wrong kind of people.

Lylia’s face twisted into a smile. "If the village has , I have savings and can help with security, training the local militia, and that sort of thing."

"Soone should probably watch you, though. Who knows what trouble you’ll cause next if you give out dragon-slaying pots and pans and magical ladles to anyone who asks?"

"I don’t make things worse," Greg said.

"I make useful things that have side effects that I didn’t expect."

"That’s just chaos with more steps," Lylia said as she walked to the door and stopped.

"Thanks, Greg, for not treating like just another soldier looking for a better weapon. And for making sothing that lets stay retired without being helpless."

...

...

Greg sat down at his workbench and looked at his hands after she left. A magical ladle had brought an ex-Royal Knight to Ferndale.

Greg still had a line of people waiting for commissions tomorrow. His new life was getting less and less peaceful, and for so reason, soup ladles and farming tools were to bla.

[Quest Complete: Make Cookware That Doesn’t Work]

[Reward: 4 Skill Points, Recipe: Cutlery of Chaos]

[New Quest Available: Handle Your Growing Fa]

[Warning: More interesting people are on their way to you]

"I should have beco a baker," Greg said quietly, but he was already thinking about the jobs he had to do tomorrow. He might be able to get that opera-singing broom to work after all.