Evan D. Sherden, Turning Fourteen (3)

Even though they had confirmed that they would enter the dungeon with Anastasia, it wouldn’t be possible to enter right away. They would need to enter tomorrow. Evan asked Anastasia to practice with the other knights, as he had other things he had to deal with.

“Follow me, Lua.”

“Yes, master.”

“I want to go!”

“Serena, this way.”

“Ahh, I hate Arisha! You interfere every time!”

“Practice together.”

Arisha firmly caught hold of Serena, who had been trying to cling to Evan. Evan felt grateful for her…although Arisha would do the same to him when her opportunity came.

“Where are you going, master?”

“Grandpa, Bernard. I need to talk about metal refining.”

Of course, he had talked to Bernard in advance. The very rare and high-quality magic metal had been coming in large quantities from the Leonine Duchy, given the Brotherhood Corporation’s exclusive contract with them.

“That was real?”

“It’s nothing new, Grandpa.”

“You didn’t even think about hiding your special abilities anymore.”

[That’s nothing new, Bernard.]

Evan showed the metal that had been mined to Bernard as they met in the medicine room as always. Bernard, looking at it closely with his alchemy-trained eye, was quick to draw conclusions about it.

“I’ve seen some artifacts containing this metal before, but I don’t know its name. This can be said to be the first time it has properly appeared in human history. Do you know what I mean? Boy, it means you are writing a new history.”

“Well, it’s not new.”

“…”

[You really are Bernard’s disciple.]

Bernard was staring right at him, but Rose was nodding her head in satisfaction. While Rose and Evan shook hands (although Rose’s hand was so small that he only held out one finger), Bernard continued to speak to Evan.

“Did you give it a name?”

“Uh…I don’t know.”

This metal first appeared in Yoma Great War 4. At the time, the pseudo-religious group that occupied the mines gave it a name related to the god they worshipped, but that didn’t fit now.

“Then, it will be called EB metal.”

“Isn’t it after the first letters of our names? Putting my initials there even though I had nothing to do with it…”

“in the future, I will acquire help from you in relation to the EB metal, and for that, I will pay you in advance.”

So, the name of the metal became EB metal. It was a name that had nothing to do with Anastasia or the Duchy of Leonine, where the metal was mined, but he didn’t care at all.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you before. This is great on its own, but in fact, it can be mixed with a few other common metals to make a better alloy. The name EB metal will be attached to the alloy.”

“Of course, you already know the ratio, right?”

“Yeah, but maybe you can improve it.”

As one of the main enemies of Yoma Great War 4 was the pseudo-religious group to which Rin and Lan belonged, the research on the metals used by their soldiers were actively conducted by the players. And…what’s to hide, because in his previous life he had learned a considerable level of alchemy even in that game, which he played for less than three weeks. He had succeeded in creating an alloy of magic metal in cooperation with other alchemist players. The recipe Evan knew now was from that time.

‘But with Bernard, the legendary alchemist, we can create more than that.’

Of course, Evan’s level was also higher than it was then. He vaguely recalled fragments of his previous life’s memories, but he had written down the types and proportions of the metals that went into the alloy on a piece of paper and presented it to Bernard.

“Let’s improve it a little bit more based on this. Still, if possible, I would like to produce results within the day. I have to enter the dungeon again tomorrow.”

“The dungeon at this time. Isn’t your birthday in a few days?”

“Yes, so I’m only going to clear up to the 30th floor before my birthday and come back.”

“Only up to the 30th floor.”

Bernard just laughed. As Evan and Rose had said, it wasn’t really new. If given enough time, this guy would be able to break through the 70th floor.

“Grandpa and your group also came out after clearing up to the 70th floor with the knight commander. The knight commander and the Ironwall knights were rather happy, as was my father.”

The Silk Line nobles, regardless of whether they were male or female, had the custom of calling their fathers ‘father’ at a young age, and now even Evan was doing so.

“It’s all thanks to you. Leo, Aria, and Iloin wouldn’t have been capable of such dramatic achievements at this age if it hadn’t been for the training you taught me.”

“Sometimes, a shortcut isn’t bad, no? because of that; this was attainable.”

“…Come on, you know.”

In fact, Bernard didn’t initially think that Evan’s training would be so expedient. The logic that governed this world had always been the rationality of irrationality. Ever since he saw the demon’s vision of the Demon King and the Rose Queen, he had always thought so.

“If there is a way to become strong, I can’t resist it. That is the reason for this world.”

“Right. Anyway, my grandpa got stronger, so I struggled.”

“Heh, if anyone heard, they’d think you were our guardian.”

It was truly cheeky; however, he couldn’t condemn Evan’s sincerity. His concern for Leo and Bernard weren’t so light. Every time he felt it, Bernard felt strangely embarrassed. It was like he had a son.

‘Leo probably feels like that…’

Not long ago, their party had safely reached the 70th floor with the knight commander. Bernard sighed as he recalled what Leo had said and quietly called out Evan’s name.

“Evan.”

“Yeah?”

“It seems that Leo prepared a pretty big present for your birthday.”

“Geh, is it another strange skill?”

On his thirteen birthday, Leo had tried to give him one of his own skills, a footwork technique that not only provided rapid movement but could also be ways in combat. The name of it was ‘Lion Run,’ a unique skill that not everyone could learn. It fit Leo’s fierce fighting style best. Evan’s technique had increased a lot in training, but in the end, he couldn’t learn the skill itself…

“Well…I don’t know that much.”

“He’s trying to give me another weird skill! He really doesn’t have time for anything other than practice, and he’s dying to torment me again…”

“But not this time. I think he did a lot of research on his own based on his last failure.”

“No.”

If Bernard said that, it made it seem like Leo was working hard. In the end, he had examined why Evan didn’t receive his skill…Evan smiled bitterly, recalling Leo’s expression at that time.

“I’m no genius like my grandpa.”

“Yes, you’re always like that.”

“Going forward, let’s focus on our alloy.”

Evan urged Bernard as he lined up the materials on the table. Bernard reached out and gently ruffled Evan’s hair.

“…Evan, be nice to Leo.”

“There’s no need to say it.”

“Yes.”

Evan replied without hesitation, and Bernard nodded. Evan tilted his head, wondering if something had happened to him.

***

Five hours passed, and Evan finally acquired an alloy he liked. His level was different from when he made it with the players of Yoma Great War 4, and now there was the legendary alchemist Bernard with him. There may be some room for improvement in the future, but at the moment, they had succeeded in creating the strongest magical metal possible.

“Then I’ll take this to Horta. Actually, as a part of the transaction, I decided to make an armament for Princess Anastasia first.”

“Won’t the other guys complain?”

“As long as we can acquire a supply of magic metal bases, we can make it bit by bit with materials from the dungeon. But for now, Princess Anastasia’s work is urgent.”

“Not that…won’t you get a birthday present from Leo this time? Would you like to take one to him as well?”

“Ah…”

Evan stopped and thought of Bernard’s words. Then he remembered that Leo had been complaining a lot about his favorite greatsword.

“I did take care of my grandpa’s birthday, but…that’s right, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea to make him a greatsword.”

“Right?”

“By the way, Grandpa Bernard.”

“Huh?”

Evan held Bernard’s gaze and looked at him sternly.

“What happened to Grandpa Leo? Does Grandpa Leo have an anklet that calls out for the Demon King or something like that too?”

“It’s not like that, boy! For more details, you can listen to Leo directly!”

[There’s no way an ignorant person like him can use a complex magic trick like me! Hahahahaha!]

Bernard shouted at Evan, while Rose rolled around and laughed happily without knowing what was funny. From the reaction, it seemed that it wasn’t a crisis related to Leo’s life. But the next moment, Evan had a flash of intuition.

“…Is Grandpa Leo going to leave the dungeon city?”

“That…”

Bernard was speechless, so it seemed to be the correct answer. Evan nodded, remembering that Leo had been oddly quiet recently. He was hoping that he would settle down in the dungeon city like this…after all, things didn’t seem to work that easily. Evan pouted slightly.

“…I shouldn’t just go into the dungeon.”

“If you postpone going into the dungeon for that reason, Leo will be angry.”

“No.”

Evan groaned and soon picked up the metal bar that had been perfectly alloyed. He realized he couldn’t solve this through thinking alone.

“Before Princess Anastasia, let’s make Grandpa Leo’s greatsword first…as a bonus, I’ll make something for Aria as well.”

“Aria will be thrilled. Then, I’ll diligently focus on alloying.”

“Please, Grandpa.”

“With that, extracting the Devil Rune and making the Elixir, rest still seems far away.”

“It’s far. This Grandpa shouldn’t leave me anytime soon…you still have 45 more years left.”

“You’re noisy, boy. I know the arrangement…what?”

Evan hugged Bernard, who responded bluntly and then fell off him. At that moment, Iloin, having just finished training, entered the medicine room alone.

“I’m back, Bernard!”

“Wow.”

“Whoo, smells good.”

“Boo, act a little shy. Don’t lick it!”

[That annoying elf is back.]

Iloin hugged Bernard tightly and sniffed him, burying her face into his neck. Then, she started making noises as she kissed his neck. What a lewd elf…Evan nodded, remembering what Rose had once said. Bernard’s cheeks turned red.

“Oh my god, Evan. You’re here?”

“No, let’s go now. Iloin’s training lasted a while.”

“Because I’m in charge of all of Jin’s education except for the morning joint session, his growth is clear.”

“It must be. I’m going to take him into the dungeon this time.”

“That’s right.”

Iloin smiled brightly as she hugged Bernard.

“Jin must be happy.”

“Thank you for teaching him, Iloin. Please look forward to his growth in the future.”

“Sure. It’s hard to find a child that is so rewarding to teach, even among the elves.”

“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Evan waved goodbye and left the room. Hannah, standing behind the counter, greeted him.

“Oh, it’s been a while, master.”

“Huh? You weren’t here before. I heard you and Serpina entered the dungeon.”

“We just came out a while ago, and I went back to work after a bath.”

“For reference, which floor?”

Hannah held up two fingers in response. It meant they had cleared up to the 20th floor. She had a proud expression on her face, having apparently overcome her dungeon phobia. Evan smiled.

“This time, I’m trying to have all of our kids clear the 20th floor.”

“Oh, why?!”

“I have to work hard not to fall behind. Still, don’t work too hard.”

“Ah, really!”

Evan left the pharmacy with Belois after successfully disheartening Hannah.

Horta was very burdened with the fact that he had to make the hero’s armament, but eventually, he ended up accepting Evan’s request.