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Chapter 199: Assassin’s Legacy

This was a hut that could be called a 500-year-old historic ruin. Surprisingly enough, it had no signs of corrosion despite that. Perhaps one reason was that the wood it was made of was properly fire-hardened and improved to defend against corrosion.

We descended indoors that was miraculously still in one piece, and descended to the first floor. That floor was somewhat destroyed, having lost to the pressure of the surrounding earth. But even there, there was miraculously low corrosion, perhaps due to having a roof above that defended from the rain.

“Due to the roof being above ground and the surroundings covered by earth, the water didn’t get close and it avoided oxidation. Quite miraculous indeed.”

Aste frankly analyzed the inside scenery. As expected of a master craftsman, he was able to easily see through it.

“Yeah, that fact’s been a lifesaver for me too.”

We needed to head to the kitchen, and then down. In other words, to the basement.

It was the most airflow-isolated part in an already isolated house. It was exactly what you’d wish from a place to hide things.

However, these two got to know about it, I might have to rethink its use for the future.

While I was thinking about that, I reached out towards the liftable door installed on the kitchen floor, trying to open the path to the stairs that lead downwards, however…

“Hnnnn…!” “I knew this would happen.”

As expected, my strength wasn’t enough to lift up the door. Maxwell looked at the situation with lukewarm eyes, as if he never even doubted that this would happen.

In the end, I had Aste open it for me, after which we safely managed to get downstairs.

Apparently, this place was originally for charcoal burning, so even the basement had fire-hardened walls prepared against erosion. Thanks to that, I was able to use it as my hidden room.

As we headed down, there were a lot of valuable things just left there, from gold coins to gems, and even weapons and materials.

Since this place was in a mountain where getting to the city proved quite inconvenient, it was probably built to preserve food and such. It was quite a large underground space.

“Oho? Now, this is what I would call the den of a Dragon.” “Indeed… Quite a lot of things you got here, eh? Maybe I should raise my repair fees?” “Please don’t!”

This was the place where I accumulated the riches from my past life. The moment these two saw them, they instantly started working their abacuses.

Though in reality, I was currently under Lyell’s care, so I could live even without these treasures, but the thought of seeing the fruit of my past hardships disappear just like that made me sad.

Aste ignored my complaint and quickly made his way towards the corner where the Evil Dragon’s materials were kept. Maxwell, on the other hand, was absorbed in inspecting the weapons that I had gathered during my lifetime.

“So this is the Evil Dragon Colchis’ skin. I see, this should work well… Oh, Maxwell. The magic power bestowed on that sword isn’t that good.” “Really? It looks quite good to my eyes.” “Something like that can’t even match up to the items I have displayed in the cave. If you want, I can give you one.” “That would be great!” “Hey, why are you giving him a freebie while you’re raising my repair fees!”

I whined at the unfair favoritism between us. Looking closely, Aste was reaching out to not just the skin, but even fangs and scales.

“Hey, now, I’m not about to give those, okay? They are far too valuable to just hand over!”

No matter what, it was an Evil Dragon. Just its scales and fangs would sell for astronomical prices. Giving them as repair expenses for repairing my gauntlets, with my own materials at that, was just too one-sided.

“Uh, no… I just saw some rare materials so my hand moved by itself. I would need about this much skin for the exterior, and some of these bones and fangs for strengthening the interior. Do you mind?” “Even the bones and fangs? That’s not what you initially said, is it?” “Well, yes, but seeing so many materials before me, I wanted to put in some more work.” “…Oh well, as long as you aren’t going to pocket them, fine. But make sure I can use it well, okay?” “Leave it to me. Since you are in your growth period, you’d need to come every year to make minor adjustments, anyway. We can take our time finetuning it during that time.”

As Aste said, I was growing taller quite fast. It’s been about 30 cm in the past three years. I was still on the smaller side compared to the other kids, however.

“That means I have to have Maxwell take me here every year, huh?” “You said you live in Raum, right? I can come to visit you if you want. Travel expenses would be on you, though.” “You know you are awfully stingy, aren’t you!”

He could make such amazing magic tools, so he should be able to make as much money as he wants. Still, abstaining from having his goods circulate in the market is what allowed him to remain as a hidden blacksmith.

If his items showed up on the market, his name would spread throughout the world in a flash. When that happened, he would no longer be able to live a reclusive life on this mountain. Customers would incessantly flood him, and he would have to work without a break.

He is probably fed up with such a lifestyle. That’s why he lives on this mountain while hiding his name.

“Hehehe… If I have these fangs, I can turn them into a close combat hook and… No, maybe I should instead equip a wire hook with a separate claw?” “Please, make sure it’s usable for me…” “Attaching claws on the wrist part for hand-to-hand combat doesn’t sound bad either. Hooking onto the opponent’s clothes would allow you to catch them easily.” “As I said…” “Actually, the armor that I could only use as a crumple zone previously due to the relation of mass and strength can be turned into a fine shield now, so maybe I should raise its strength? But if I do that, the shock transmitted to the body would be… Then what if I add a shock resisting mechanism inside and…” “…He’s not even listening anymore.”

Aste was looking at the items in his hands with a dangerous light in his eyes, devising new ideas again and again. He probably forgot about my existence, even.

After all this time, I finally realized the true reason why he retired.

“Ah, I see. He was just mad…”

Unable to keep their ideas as ideas. Not caring about the user, and just wanting to cram as many functions as they could and make items full of ups and downs. They were eccentric people that found joy in those actions.

Aste seemed to have heard my mutter and retorted.

“Don’t be so rude. When you live a reclusive life, you have no choice but to kill your boredom through your hobbies. That or, flirt with my wife whenever she comes home.” “Oh, so your wife is running away from you?” “Haah?”

My careless comment made his eyes turn into a sharp glare. And then, his expression changed into an evil smirk.

“Now that I look at you, Reid. You look quite similar to my wife now, you know?”

Perhaps intentionally, he said those with a lascivious smile. That smile made goosebumps run all over my body.

“Please, save me from such jokes! I’m sorry for calling you mad, okay!?” “As long as you understand.”

His smile quickly faded and he returned back to being expressionless.

That moment made me fully realize that I was still a man in my heart.