I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 13. Blacksmith (4)

Uncle Skleos, who was peering over my shoulder at the scene inside the unfamiliar door, threw away the rag he had been wiping on the shelf and strode in.

– Knocked up.

“What I just saw is really…”

“It is real.”

What you feel as soon as you enter the door is nothing else…

pure openness.

If you turn your head here and there in search of the heat source, you will naturally turn your head to the huge brazier placed on the left wall.

The flame of the brazier was the only source of heat and light source here, but as if it would not lose to the sunlight outside, the brazier poured soft light evenly throughout the forge, giving it a comfortable feeling.

If you look closely, the flame in the brazier burned without firewood. That alone is miraculous enough.

And beside it hung on silver nails a poker, pliers, hammer, ruler… and scissors, without any damage or any signs of use.

Uncle Skleos tapped them with his fingers and involuntarily exclaimed.

“This is… meteoric iron.”

“If it’s meteorite, is that the one you got from the meteorite?”

“okay. From the intensity and form… it is probably obvious.”

In the ancient world, meteorites were a means of obtaining some of the few pure iron.

Because it was in outer space without air, there was almost no oxidation, and there was no need to apply high heat separately.

In the ancient world, no matter how good a craftsman was, no matter how hard he tried, he could not overcome the iron smelted by the sky and gravity.

In addition, if the symbolic meaning of a precious metal fallen from the sky is added, there is no material that is more valuable than this.

A blacksmith who could use those materials to make pokers or something.

And a being with the power to light a blazing flame without burning anything, without needing to use such a poker.

It didn’t take much deduction to uncover the owner of this place.

“It’s all His grace…”

With my mouth wide open, I looked around the forge that Hephaestus had prepared for me, leaving Mr. Skleos smiling happily as if he had entered a paradise for blacksmiths.

‘…But, is it okay to receive God’s ‘grace’ like this?’

All of a sudden, when I think about it, I start to break out in a cold sweat.

In Greek mythology, there were a lot of humans and fairies who were favored by the gods.

Or Orion (killed by arrows or poison, depending on the lore).

Like Cassandra (the country is ruined, taken as a slave by the enemy, and then killed by the wife of the enemy’s enemy).

Hyacinth or something (died from a head broken by a discus).

Why are all the things that come to mind are people who gave up their lives voluntarily?

Still, the Hephaestus in the learning comics I read was relatively docile, and his personality… no, his divinity seemed fine, even if I just met him. He wasn’t the kind of god that was very sloppy.

I would have been relieved if whims had not been the racial trait of the Greek gods.

In other words, I don’t know when I will be sent to Tartarus because I touched the evil of Hephaestus.

And if you think about it, even though the gods loved Orion and Hyacinth, other gods killed them because of envy, jealousy, or slander.

No matter how nice Hephaestus is, the other psychopaths around him can be a problem.

Stifling alienation between me and Hephaestus, or causing Hephaestus to kill me by mistake… In the Greek world, where people’s lives are like worms, that kind of personality is ‘common sense’.

After trembling at the thought for a while, when I looked back, Mr. Skleos was still admiring and delighted at the heat and power of the flames rising from the furnace.

. . . Yes, even Tobeopgoro is a luxury. How many times can there be such a powerful spark in the ancient world? More than anything else, to Skleos, that flame itself would be the most precious gift from the gods.

No matter how you think about it, there is no answer.

Let’s enjoy it for now.

After making up my mind, I wandered around here and there again with a comfortable mind.

Just because it was a forge of God, it was basically not very different from other forges.

It’s just that the facilities and furnishings are prepared with extreme quality.

In addition, it’s not noticeable unless you look closely, but if you look closely at the meteorite furniture I just talked about, gold is applied to the handle, and there are spells written on it.

I don’t know exactly what is written and how it is written because I’m black-eyed.

“It was created by Hephaestus of Lemnos Island. Do not carelessly violate God’s utensils…”

Fortunately, the contents were read to me by my uncle. Then, looking at my eyes, I carefully took my luck.

“Don’t you know how to write?”

“A shepherd doesn’t have to read and write poetry.”

I shrugged my shoulders pretending to be nothing, and Skleos smiled knowingly at my reaction.

“But the blacksmith is a different story. Please teach me from time to time. It’s good that there are many textbooks here.”

“A textbook?”

“Look at the floor.”

Upon closer inspection, even the floor was made of marble and had relief-engraved tiles in it. I looked at it to see what kind of painting it was, and there were countless names engraved on it.

“It is the name of those who serve Hephaestus.”

Even though it was a forge, Skleos read the writing while sweeping his hand across the dust-free floor.

“’Call out my name before striking the hammer, and all smiths who serve me are honored to have their name engraved there.’ What is this?”

“Then is there a name for me somewhere here?”

“Maybe. Maybe it will be engraved in the future. But there must be tens of thousands of names written here, and it must be hard to find. I’d rather see some other places I haven’t explored yet.”

As Skleos said, he pointed to the other doors in the right corner of the forge.

When I opened it, on one side, the meteorite tools I had seen before were piled up in a bundle. All of them are of the same quality as elaborate handicrafts, rather than equipment that blacksmiths will use carelessly.

As he picked up some of them and stuffed them into his pocket, Mr. Skleos smiled broadly.

“You are very blessed. I learned by being beaten by my father, who received such good equipment and a workshop from God. Thanks to that, I also look strong.”

To me, who is unfamiliar with hagiisa metallurgy, each one is a national treasure, but how precious they must be in the eyes of the man.

The man, whose eyes were filled with anticipation, opened the second door with a triumphant attitude. A huge amount of iron, gold, and silver ingots were piled up there.

“…you can arm dozens of men.”

“We can’t take it…”

“There will be none.”

As a test, the man picked up a heavy iron ingot and threw it over the door. With a bang, the iron ingot bounced back into the god’s forge as if blocked by an invisible wall.

“…I guess it was only given out for practice. Besides, if you suddenly grabbed that kind of money, both you and I would be suspicious.”

···it’s a shame.

The genre of my life was about to change from ‘slave to tycoon’ or ‘my 999,999,999 gold bars’.

I couldn’t take my feet off the second room for a while.

The last thing left is the third door.

The first was God’s work tools that could not be obtained anywhere, and the second was a huge amount of precious metals.

What is the third…

– Kiki profit.

“I don’t have anything?”

“No, there is a lathe and a hammer over there.”

A little disappointed, the two of us approached the ledge. Even after searching all over, there is nothing but an ignorantly large hammer in front of my eyes.

The hammer, like all of Hephaestus’ other instruments, was made of meteorite, and the handle was wrapped in reptile skin, which gave it a cool texture.

“You are ignorantly big. I can’t even hear this right?”

It was as Uncle Skleos said.

Aside from being taller than me, the head of the hammer is as big as some kind of computer body.

If it’s all steel… is that a hammer? It’s a metal tool for fitness enthusiasts.

Neither me nor the uncle can even dare to touch this mysterious hammer…

[Listen.]

A familiar voice rang in my head.

It is the call of Hephaestus.

‘Hold something with a handle thicker than my forearm? To a seven-year-old?”

Still, deep down I thought that if God told me, there must be a reason, so I put both hands on the handle. Tighten your arms, close your eyes, and raise your spirits…

– Poof.

···light.

I lifted my eyelids slightly and looked to the side to see that the uncle’s face was so devastated that he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. I followed Uncle Skleos’ gaze and slowly turned to the hammer.

The size of the hammer was decreasing.

As if measuring my height and muscle strength, the weight increased and decreased, and then it slowly adjusted to the right size and weight for my body.

“…”

“…”

I’m speechless.

Of course, Uncle Skleos was also at a loss for words.

This… is nonsense.

Is it okay for me to have it? You only developed one pair of scissors?

When the old man lifted the hammer I had put down, it didn’t budge this time. Even though the uncle’s face is flushed and the veins are standing up from his bulging muscles, the hammer just stands still.

“Uhh, heuhuhhhhh”

“What is this?”

“…It’s a gift from Hephaestus.”

Uncle Skleos looks down at me with eyes full of envy.

“Hammer seems to have already recognized you as its owner. If you just saw it, it will change in size as your body grows, so you can use it for the rest of your life.”

“…that’s nice, though. Wouldn’t it be difficult for me to carry this anywhere?”

Even if the size does not increase and decrease like a rubber band, the head is a hammer made entirely of meteorite. It is probably more valuable than my body as a slave.

No, even if all the villagers were combined, it would be worth less than this hammer.

You never know what might happen if you carelessly carry such a valuable item.

Skleos shook his head and said, as if he had read my thoughts.

“This is a vessel made by Hephaestus himself. It must have contained his power. You must have arranged that kind of problem somehow.”

Hephaestus’ authority?

I searched my memory and came to a conclusion.

“all right.”

Focusing on the memory of the moment Hephaestus summoned the scissors in front of me…

-widely.

snap your fingers

and slowly,

The space around the hammer distorts and it attacks the hammer.

Soon the shape of the hammer disappears before my eyes.

I groped for the place where the hammer had been, but I couldn’t touch anything.

After that, it’s good. If this really is a mythical world, this is not a big deal. Because I became a disciple of Hephaestus and received a workshop and tools as a gift from that god.

I snapped my fingers again as I barely came to my senses at the scene that made me stunned.

Then, slowly, a heavy feeling began to come into my right hand.

Looking down, the hammer was already in my hand.

“oh my god.”

“…All famous creatures have names. That’s a gift from God, so give it a try. When you become famous later, I will boast that I saw the process of finding the owner of such a weapon in front of my eyes.”

Saying that, Skleos pulled a nearby chair and sat down. Those curious eyes turned to me.

“…Mjolnir?”

After all, I can’t stand God’s hammer. and! Thor! and! Avenger’s! A hammer that only the noblest can lift!

“That sounds terrible. What is that… the language of the Barbarians?”

“Ah, that’s right. It is the language of the northern savages.”

Since it’s Northern Europe, it must be north. Thinking about that, he answered, but Skleos frowned and shook his head.

You should think of another name.

“If it’s not Mjolnir… I don’t know yet. I am not a great warrior or a famous blacksmith.”

“Are you just a shepherd?”

“What, is that so?”

When I shrugged, Uncle Skleos stared at me quietly and said,

“Then just call me a hammer.”

“Hmm, that’s not very cool.”

“So you don’t like it? Don’t worry, when you’re no longer ‘just a shepherd’, people will name your hammer.”

The old man looked around the smithy with me and continued talking.

“Keuheum, take that hammer and come out. I will take you home.”

Until I closed the door and left, it felt like I was dreaming.

The uncle moved a suitable piece of furniture nearby and covered the door to the smithy that Hephaestus had gifted him.

“The cleaning plan is cancelled. I’ll just leave this place in a shabby state, and if there’s something I need to teach, I’ll teach you from there. It might be safer that way.”

“all right.”

“Could you drop by here at least once in the next three days? I have to prepare for this and that, and I have a lot of work to do.”

“all right.”

After talking and walking, I found myself at the entrance of a familiar village. I have memorized the way to get here. If you don’t really need a companion, you can go there alone.

“son!”

And, my parents were there to meet me at the entrance of the village.

It was late at night now. It was already dark, so the man hurriedly made a perch at the forge, lit it, and set off.

“How did you know when I was coming out?”

“I didn’t know! Come on, let’s go, dinner is ready.”

“Would you like to take it with you? It’s late at night, so I think you should stay overnight…”

“It’s okay. Let’s go back.”

When his father literally suggests dinner as a courtesy, Skleos turns around with an embarrassed face. My father, who had been watching him leave for a long time, looked at me and wiped his heart.

“What happened?”

“I have a lot to explain. that is···”

“Let’s go home and talk. …look at how weak he is. What should I feed first?”

I found insect bites on my mother’s forearm and squeezed one of them. The trembling stopped in her mother’s trembling hands.

. . came home again.