I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 10. blacksmith (1)

In the morning when my head started to get complicated, I woke up early, picked up the slingshot, and went out to the nearby creek to wash my face in cold water.

Looking up at my wet face, I see fish jumping up and down on the surface of the water below, and beyond that, birds skim across the grass.

Like a well-groomed golf course, green meadows spread out in all directions.

It is peaceful.

I can’t believe it happened just a few days ago.

A strange person appeared in the village, the cave collapsed, and he barely survived.

In addition, the facts learned at the festival have already occupied my head for weeks.

A world where you might be arrested for treason if you drink alcohol.

Besides, the village I lived in was a frenzy of murder rituals…

“You don’t date any girls, do you actually like boys?”

“It can’t be. It’s because there are no kids approaching me.”

“Hey, don’t be ridiculous. It must be because of you that other young people can’t find a mate… If you’re unmarried, the whole village will be a nuisance.”

“···brother?”

The shadows were setting, so I turned around and saw old men like Theo, Philippos, and Yorgos. Judging by the fact that he brought several goats by the leash, it seemed that he had come here to feed them.

“No, it’s nothing. To calm down…”

As I was talking, I remembered something. Mr. Yorgos is about the same age as my father… He looks roughly the same…

“…Yorgos, have you heard of those who touched the sacrifices to Pan and went to the goal?”

“Everyone knows.”

The uncle answers my question right away, just in case. Seeing that the topic I was asking about was a topic, the men’s expressions hardened, and there was a look of doubt in their eyes.

“Did you hear that from your parents? It’s not a story to tell a child…”

“Did Mr. Yorgos hear what the adults said at the time?”

“My grandfather was a village elder back then.”

“···yes?”

“I don’t want to remember… don’t ask me more. Just thinking about that scene makes me shudder.

. . . I saw it with my own two eyes.”

···Theo should have asked you when he was alone.

In fact, I wondered if these men were also victims of the violence in this village, and when I looked into it, the worst quality key collaborators were among them.

Uncle Phillipos next to him seemed to have a dumbfounded expression, so he didn’t seem to know the details, but Mr. Yorgos, who was laughing kindly next to him…

Being directly involved in a blood relationship and directly participating in a crime is a very bad crime.

What kind of crazy town is this?

“Could it be that people were sacrificed at that time…”

“A person was torn from the inside out. Bloody deer roamed beside it, and the sacrifices were gone.

No, this is not something to talk about in front of a child… Really, have you eaten? Would you like some bread?”

“Oh, no.”

I don’t think Bob will go over after talking like this.

I am the only normal person in town.

My parents, who thought I was kind, said, ‘Tsk tsk, I deserved to die because I touched the offering of God.’ The old man who said the same thing and always looked good on him was the one who stood at the core of this evil pseudo-cult.

At this point [Quest: Reveal the harsh truth of the town. Reward: 500 Silver Drachma and 1000 EXP] I think I need to give something like that, but seeing that there is no news about it, I don’t think it’s something to dig into.

I put on the expression of understanding as much as I could to the darkened men and backed out.

Get out of this f*cking town.

bounces somehow

Of course I know. Even if a seven-year-old child leaves the village, there is no way he can survive.

Still, it’s a pseudo human sacrifice village, isn’t it too difficult?

After that, I looked for an opportunity. He worked as a shepherd whenever he had a chance, learning the topography of places he hadn’t been to before, and examining places that could be used as shelters or escape routes.

I know I won’t be using this knowledge…but still for my mental health.

‘If possible, bring your parents and run around together. Still, there is something called grace that nurtured, and there is something called family affection…’

‘No, but my parents inform me and say, ‘This blasphemous son cuts his hair!’ What if I do it?’

I have no one to trust, and even in the city I am a traitor and blasphemer.

···My country life? What is a comfortable farm life?

Didn’t the guy who dropped me here also have an idea? Even if I just accidentally fell, shouldn’t there be something like a reincarnation perk in my conscience?

After that, for a while, I felt sad and unfair that the status window didn’t open, so I just stared at the wall and shouted “status, status, status…” like a madman. My parents finally thought I was crazy and stopped me from dragging me to the temple of Asclepius.

“A method… a method is needed…”

Of course, if you ask me what that method is, I don’t know what it is. There were far fewer things a seven-year-old could do than I thought. I just go about my daily life with anxiety.

In fact, nothing seemed to change.

***

-Yikes!

“Ahh! no! Because it doesn’t work!! That goat head!!”

“Meée eh!”

In anger, he kicks off a stone beak, and the goat spits it out, demonstrating the magic of avoiding three stone fragments at the same time with agile maneuvers.

As if declaring victory in Nawavari.

“…Dad, have you ever seen a goat pulled out alive? I think father and son can show it to you.”

“son! son! That’s not our goat!! The owner is different!!”

When I take out the catapult and start spinning it around, my father jumps up in amazement and rips it off.

After all that fuss, all that was left was the footprints of a baby goat that had run away into the herd…

Broken copper bell.

“I can’t use this anymore. It’s completely broken.”

“How precious is this…”

“It’s not ours either, so don’t worry.”

“It’s a pity, though. Also, it’s obvious that the elderly are going to bite us.”

A bell is a necessity for shepherds, who control dogs from a distance and lead sheep. Even if we go back about 2,000 years, the rattle in the hands of the shepherds will not cease.

But the problem is that this is an ancient era, and metal products are very precious.

It is quite expensive for slaves to prepare individually, so if you can afford it, stock up on only the essentials and share them as a village unit.

Of course, it’s not ours, it’s our owner’s.

“Well, I won’t take the price of breaking it. It’s slowly getting rusty and getting old… isn’t it something you’ve been using since your father’s generation?”

“Thank you, old man. thank you···.”

“Instead, can you leave the broken iron from other families all at once? I hear Theo broke his hair clipper not too long ago.”

“And shouldn’t I tell the prince in the city!”

“···Oh yeah. I forgot. While you’re at the smithy, deliver some to the city. It might be expensive to remake the old metal fittings this time.”

Surprisingly, it was a generous measure unlike the managers of the pseudo-village.

No, originally, they had to be benevolent and familiar grandfathers. It’s just that the world seems ‘right’ since I took the red pill of truth.

It was like taking on a tedious task, but my father whistled as he packed his bags as if he was happy that he had to go to the city again after the festival. It would have taken half a day, so I packed bread and a simple meal and left the house.

I’m tying up the tips of my shoes to follow suit…

“What are you doing?”

“yes? I want to follow my father…”

“Not this time. Last time I was afraid that Pan would curse me, but now there’s no particular reason, right?”

“Ah…that’s it… Will Hephaestus be offended?”

“Can you? Come back immediately and wipe your feet and wash the sheep.”

I thought for a moment and chewed my lips.

“Are you going to just leave?”

In ancient times, metals were precious, blacksmiths were precious, and meeting a blacksmith was even more precious.

Of course, the one that broke was also the sheep shearing blade, so if it wasn’t this time, there wouldn’t be much chance.

As someone who had gone through hardships while shearing sheep for a while, I was thinking about the second invention I would bring to this world, following the candle.

But since I can’t remodel the blade myself… I have to see a blacksmith.

I looked at my mother My eyes, which had been watching me for a while as I headed for the fence with the sheep, turned to the leather that needed to be trimmed before I knew it.

When I turned my head, my father, who was heading towards the city, was not yet completely out of sight.

is it a chance

I hurriedly pulled down my hat and threw down my staff. Then, after bending down, kill the presence.

It’s tailing.

A father who doesn’t notice probably won’t know.

Although it is a city, it was not going to the downtown with squares and public buildings like it was heading for the festival.

The crowd was smaller than expected, so every time my father turned around, he had to duck down and hide behind a nearby wooden barrel or wall.

In particular, after walking for a long time past the entrance of the city, the salty smell mixed in the air intensifies and a sour wind blows into your face.

Houses, shops, and the noise of everyday life are gradually diminishing, and the brick buildings that were built between the checkerboard-like roads are scattered behind them little by little.

It’s definitely inside the city, but it’s a secluded place that seems to be outside the city.

Now, when you think it’s about time to get caught…

-bang!

In an instant, the fishy smell of fish on the beach and the chatter of the city in the distance disappear. I couldn’t help but frown.

Burnt and beefy.

-bang! bang! bang! bang!

The sound of metal rubbing and clashing, the sound of footsteps running in haste, the sound of blazing sparks cracking firewood, the screaming desperately to avoid being buried in all the mess.

Black clouds like poisonous mushrooms rising over the pure white city made of marble.

Beneath them, men and women pounding hammers among fire and iron.

It was a forge.

Perhaps finding my father inside, the hammer knocking stopped for a moment, and then a middle-aged man walked out wandering around.

“Is it you? Long time no see.”

“hello?”

“Look at me. Probably copper paper trouble. And the knife that old Theo was using must have gone.”

“That’s right.”

“By now, it’s rusted out, and it’s about to become a piece of junk that can break even if you tap it with your fingers… It will have my father’s name engraved on it.”

Eyes that had a habit of staring at the flames for a long time to see if their eyesight had deteriorated, arm muscles that were disproportionately developed on the left and right sides, and a beard with scorched marks here and there.

“… is that your son?”

Even the sharp eyes that noticed me secretly glancing from afar. These were all physical characteristics of blacksmiths.

My father looked back at me in surprise and cursed me all over the place. I ignored it and naturally stood next to my father and lowered my head.

The man smiled and looked down at me. As I nod my head, the corners of his mouth rise higher.

“Ha, there was a time when my son was so young and cute. These days, hanging out with strange guys… Big, can you give me the things to be repaired? Whether it should be repaired or rebuilt, I’ll draw up an estimate, so just give the news to your owner’s agent.”

After saying that, the man poured out the various metal utensils we had brought and examined them one by one.

Then he put them in different baskets according to the degree of damage or material, and then he calculated the amount and delivered it to his father.

“Haaa. Son, I’m waiting for you here. My father will be back in town, so if there’s something going on here or he has something to tell you, you should come to the location he told you earlier?”

“Sure.”

“… the answer is good. how can i trust you You came here secretly.”

“Leave the trivial past behind, and come home safely.”

After my father left with such trivial requests, I had the opportunity to visit the ancient forge for a while.

The man sits me down on a rugged chair he brought me from somewhere and puts roughly cut beef jerky into my mouth.

I looked around at the people pounding the red iron as they chewed the smelly meat with their molars.

The man seemed to go back to join them, probably thinking I had quieted down the jerky.

“mister.”

“Why?”

“While you are doing the repairs, can I ask you one favor? It’s a very simple thing.”

Holding on to the man with a puzzled expression, I took out the flax cloth I had secretly tucked away and spread it out. There was a clumsy picture painted with soot on top of it, but it was enough to convey the meaning.

It was time to unleash my ideas.

“Anyway, when shearing sheep, I use the two knives alternately, but I think it will last longer this way.”

The man, curiously, lowers his head and looks at the painting.

I explained it at length, like ‘Put the two blades face to face, overlap the two blades at an angle, fix them with nails, and attach a round handle…’ but the content was simple.

Do the people of this world not know? This is a thing called [scissors].

“Doesn’t this make it much easier to cut, and even if the blade gets dull, I think I can use it for a much longer time because I have less strength in my hand?”

this damn ancient. Does it make sense that I don’t have a pair of scissors?

It is terribly difficult to cut the wool as if it were combing with a knife rather than shaving it, and do the trick without hurting the sheep.

I wanted to take this opportunity to work more comfortably and also play the role of a reincarnated person. Even if I couldn’t hit the coin jackpot with any future knowledge, I enjoyed this small invention.

Well, it was such a light heart…

“It’s fun. Could you wait a minute?”

“As much as you like. But what happened?”

“Skeleos! Mr. Skleos, come here and see. Have you ever seen anything like this?”

things get bigger

From far away, a man with a more profound impression than the blacksmith he had just met walked by.

A little older, a little more burn marks, and a little more dignified behavior.

It seemed that he was probably in a position to supervise these blacksmiths.

He carefully strokes his beard and looks around at ‘this thing’.

“···no. It’s the first time.”

“This is me. If you put your finger in here and apply force, the blades will engage…”

“Interesting. Everyone come and see!”

As he claps his hands, other blacksmiths begin to flock to him.

“Yeah, uh… what is this? Ah… you’re cutting things. This part works like a lever…”

“What are you guys doing gathering there? Uh… Mr. Skleos?”

The artisans gathered around me with eyes full of interest threw out one word at a time.

“You’re smart.”

“You’re smart to be a slave.”

“It is extraordinary. Father, did you think of helping mother?”

“Ah, what’s wrong…”

I didn’t know that the story unfolded so quickly that the people of the other world were surprised by the genius that blasphemed God and flipped around.

When I was in trouble like that, my father, who had just returned, brought me out and I was able to get out of the middle of ‘Hey, you’re amazing.’

Seeing the artisans crowding around me, my father asked if something had happened, but I replied that nothing was wrong.

Didn’t you do something big?

‘Ah, it’s only a pair of scissors.’

What would change so drastically?

***

“Skeleos, what do you think?”

“That’s right, I think it’s fun.”

Skleos held up a simple prototype and showed it to his colleagues. As a test, I cut a nearby flax cloth and found that it was very convenient to split open.

“It’s not that difficult to make, but it will save you a lot of effort. Quite right.”

“But where are you going?”

“If you look at this broadly, isn’t this an achievement as a blacksmith? I was lucky enough to get some interesting furniture, so I have to repay him.”

Skleos wiped the sweat from his body with a towel and abluted by pouring hot water on his body in a nearby bath.

With a godly mindset, he purged his body with olive oil and trimmed his hair and beard like that. After returning to the smithy, buy a simple offering and go directly to the nearby temple.

There, they throw the offering they just obtained into the fire and pray.

“Master of the forge and the flames… I have a new relationship and a new inspiration because of your grace.”

For a while, the marble statue in front of him just stared at him in silence. Skleos slowly took out the prototype ‘scissors’ he had made earlier from his waist pocket and placed them on the altar.

Close your eyes and get down on one knee.

Sunlight streams in through the windows slowly turning at an angle.

A blazing flame in the bronze brazier on either side of the altar.

The priests quietly whisper in the distance.

And… it’s coming soon.

A feeling of suffocation.

A voice that sounded like a rock.

[Is this… that ‘new inspiration’?]

Skleos opened his eyes.

And face ‘him’.