Chapter 74
If I had to describe the character known as Ashié Grasis in one phrase, I would say this:
‘A royal who is not like a royal.’
He treats those below him with kindness, while maintaining enough dignity so as not to appear weak.
He keeps his grace so he’s never looked down upon, yet refrains from indulging in extravagance.
In both the arts of learning and martial prowess, he never neglected either and always honed himself, bowing down to look after those of lesser status.
Most of the relief policies carried out by the royal family likely came from his mind, right?
If you only hear this much, you’d probably think:
“Eh? Isn’t that ideal? Why do you say he’s not like a royal?”
A frugal, clean-living royal who cares for the people.
He’s the very model of an ideal royal, isn’t he?
But the royal family I knew in Grasis wasn’t like that at all.
To me, the term ‘royal’ referred to human scum who squandered the national treasury on luxuries and indulgence while draining the people dry to fill their own bellies.
Saying it like this makes me feel like a revolutionary who shouts for the guillotine.
“…Um, Kana. Is it really okay to say such things? He’s still a member of the royal family…”
“So what? I’m sure he thinks the same way.”
“Hmm. It stings a little, but she’s not wrong.”
“R-Really?”
Da-eun, who had been glancing nervously at Ashié’s reaction, let out a breath—whether of relief or something else, I wasn’t sure.
Did she think she’d be dragged away for lèse-majesté?
Even if Ashié really had such a temperament, with the fall of Grasis, there’s no way anyone could prosecute for lèse-majesté anymore.
“I told you, didn’t I? He’s a royal who’s not like a royal.”
“Yeah… I see that now.”
Seeing her nod, I could tell she finally understood what I meant.
Because of Ashié’s personality—no, his peculiar traits—he was treated as an outcast or a heretic within the royal family.
Simply put, he was like a ‘swan mistaken for a duckling’ among the clumsy ducks.
Even so, they didn’t cast him out. Why?
Was it because of his remarkable skills? Or perhaps a last shred of familial affection? Or maybe for some other reason?
Whatever the reason was, I wasn’t particularly interested in finding out.
And there’s no need for me to know now, anyway.
What I’m truly curious about is something else.
“How are you still alive?”
“…When you say it like that, it almost feels like I shouldn’t be. I know that’s not what you meant, though.”
Ashié muttered bitterly.
“Isn’t it obvious? I was just lucky. As you know, I wasn’t one to stay holed up in the royal palace. On the day of the kingdom’s downfall, I happened to be outside the capital, so I was able to avoid disaster… That’s the story. I could give you a touching tale about how knights sacrificed their lives to buy me time, allowing me to escape safely from the palace, but sorry to disappoint.”
“I wasn’t expecting that.”
If they were the knights personally selected by Ashié, perhaps, but not the royal knights.
Those guys didn’t join the royal guard out of concern for the royal family’s safety, but for their own gain. Would those selfish jerks really do something so noble?
“…So, why are you suddenly pretending to be a blacksmith?”
“I’m not pretending. I’m still an apprentice.”
“Whatever.”
“…You really haven’t changed.”
His voice carried a sense of longing.
I pretended not to notice the emotion in his tone and simply shrugged.
Ashié hesitated for a long moment, his expression pained yet filled with nostalgia as he recalled the past.
Everyone, caught up in the mood, quietly waited for him to speak.
“…After you rejected me.”
“Eh?! Ah, no… Please, continue.”
“—After being rejected by you, I kept thinking. What was I lacking? What was it that made you not see me as attractive? My looks? Wealth? Personality? I pondered deeply, but none of them seemed to be the answer.”
“…Well, the first two aside, I think personality might be it.”
But my words were lightly ignored.
“Then, one day, I came to a realization. Women are drawn to a man’s masculinity.”
“Wha?”
“…What?”
Both Da-eun and I questioned in unison at the conclusion he reached after skipping several steps in logic.
No, I mean, it’s not entirely wrong, but… wasn’t that a bit too sudden?
While we stood there flabbergasted, his words continued.
“So then, what does it mean to be masculine?”
Masculinity means being different from femininity.
Ashié began his argument with this rather obvious statement.
This and that, blah blah…
Honestly, it wasn’t a very interesting topic, so I ended up letting his words in one ear and out the other after a while.
Even Da-eun, who had been translating for the viewers occasionally, fell silent at some point.
The long-winded speech of Ashié came to a sudden halt—
Not because he wanted to, but because I decided it had to.
If I let him go on, there’d be no end to it, so I put a stop to the endless flow of words.
“…I get it. So, what you’re saying is, if it’s a job typically done by men and not women, then it’s considered masculine?”
“Yes. There are plenty of male blacksmiths, but female blacksmiths are rare, aren’t they? You’d be lucky to find one among dozens.”
“Hmmm…”
Da-eun’s expression was twisted beyond recognition at this point.
I nudged her side when she murmured, “Is this guy really a prince?”
Well… when you think about how some men build their bodies through exercise to look good for women, it’s not entirely wrong, I suppose.
But still, becoming a blacksmith for such a reason, when he used to be a prince, is a bit odd.
Can love really drive people to go that far?
While I found it impressive in a way, remembering that the object of his love was me made me feel uncomfortable.
“Don’t tell me you walk around half-naked for that reason, too?”
“It’s part of doing things only men can do.”
“No. Most men don’t want to walk around half-naked.”
Even though Ashié acted nonchalant, it was clear that the downfall of Grasis had dealt a heavy blow to him.
He used to be a decent guy, apart from his obsession with me… What a pity.
I guess it’s not surprising. Whether he liked them or not, he lost all his blood relatives and even his country, so it’s understandable that he wouldn’t be fine.
If Ashié had been born twenty years earlier—no, even ten years earlier and taken the throne, maybe Grasis wouldn’t have been destroyed.
The guy’s pretty pitiful in that regard.
“So, Kana, I’ll ask you again. Won’t you become my partner?”
“Get lost.”
…Except for this part.
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—Ashié is a total creep…
—Is he seriously confessing right now, lololol
—From a fantasy perspective, it might not be that weird? Don’t they usually get engaged and married young in those settings?
—I’m from Silia, and I agree.
—No, Silia folks don’t talk like that…
—No matter how you look at it, isn’t Kana way too young? I can’t imagine seeing her as a romantic partner.
—But there are a lot of people who think like that, though?
With his flashy record of a second confession and second rejection, Ashié was gloriously…? given the title of “Pedo” by Da-eun’s viewers.
Of course, there was no way Ashié would know this, but he did notice that Da-eun’s gaze on him felt uncomfortable for some reason.
However, he didn’t have the time to nurse his heartbreak.
They had the serious matter of solving the “Dragon Orb Theft” incident.
Ashié received a rundown of the situation from Brondin and Da-eun.
Unlike others, despite being a royal of Grasis, he could speak Arkish fluently, so there were no communication issues.
“Does anything come to mind?”
“Hmm.”
Ashié seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head.
“No, not really.”
“Do you have any idea when it might have gone missing?”
“After receiving it yesterday and handing it over to my master, I haven’t touched the box since. There’s no way I’d handle my master’s possessions without permission.”
“Hmm!”
Brondin nodded, arms crossed.
It was an excellent answer as a disciple—one that could earn a perfect score—but it wasn’t exactly helpful for solving the case.
“Ugh…”
Even though Ashié had returned after completing his errand, the situation wasn’t making any progress, and Da-eun groaned.
What does Kana think of all this?
I glanced at Kana, who was simply watching them with blank eyes.
Just like how Brondin observed us when the three of us were talking.
Seeing Kana’s expressionless face, Da-eun thought:
‘…So cute.’
No, that’s not it…!
Da-eun slapped her cheeks lightly, trying to pull herself together.
No matter how reliable and dependable Kana was in battles, she wouldn’t be of much help in a situation like this.
Kana caused the problem, and now Da-eun had to clean it up.
However, rather than feeling discouraged, Da-eun’s determination flared up even more.
‘This is my chance. A chance to prove my abilities to Kana. If I can solve this problem without Kana’s help…’
She imagined Kana looking up at her with sparkling eyes, saying, ‘Da-eun… You’re amazing,’ and grinned to herself.
But she still couldn’t come up with a good solution.
So, she made a choice.
“Help me, everyone!”
She decided to ask her viewers for help.
Humans are inherently social creatures.
We live in communities and societies because it’s impossible to do everything alone.
Therefore, Da-eun felt no shame at all in asking for help.
—You sure talk the talk, huh?
—Joanie for Congress!!
—Uh, is that even right?
—I think the culprit is the limping guy.
—Are you Korea’s Sherlock Holmes?
Not that the viewers were particularly helpful, though.
Da-eun, skimming through chats like, ‘I think the culprit is… [See More],’ clicked her tongue.
“I should’ve been reading more mystery novels or at least played some mystery games to improve my deduction skills!”
With her smooth deflection of responsibility, the chat window quickly filled up with hooks, as if ready to roast her alive.
“…Come to think of it…”
Ashié, as if he had just recalled something, opened his mouth.
“Master, there wasn’t anyone who visited the workshop yesterday, right?”
“Huh? Yeah, that’s right.”
There were no new requests, and no customers came to buy anything.
After all, he had hung a sign on the door saying, ‘Closed Today!’ in plain view, so there weren’t many people who would’ve bothered to knock.
This was Baltora, the city of Dwarves.
Even if one blacksmith closed their doors, there were countless other workshops willing to welcome potential buyers.
“And you always make sure to lock the door when you sleep, Master?”
“Of course, I do.”
The door of Brondin’s workshop was something he had crafted himself.
It was made of iron, sturdy, and had a meticulously crafted lock. No ordinary thief would dare try breaking in.
It wasn’t a door that could be picked with a cheap lockpick from some third-rate thief.
“But it was broken into.”
“….”
Brondin, who had been happily chatting away, was suddenly silenced by Da-eun’s single remark.
Considering she had just been admiring his craftsmanship, her blunt comment delivered a heavier blow.
Ashié cleared his throat, redirecting their attention.
“If a thief really did break in, then it must have happened between the time I left work and returned the next morning—in other words, it occurred at night. And like I said before, Master locked the door before going to bed.”
“Yes. I clearly remember locking it and double-checking it yesterday!”
“There are only two ways to open a locked door: someone opens it from the inside, or they use a key. Since there’s no way Master would’ve opened it for someone…”
“The culprit has the key, then?”
Ashié nodded at Da-eun’s final conclusion.
“The door made by Master is sturdy. If someone forced it open by unconventional means, there would surely be signs. This door isn’t one that could be breached without leaving a trace.”
Brondin quickly ran over to the door.
He examined the lock, looked at the doorknob, then checked the lock again before stepping back to inspect the door.
After fussing around with the door, his beard trembled.
“…There are no signs of forced entry! Could the thief’s skills really be better than mine?!”
“No, Master. There’s no way a thief could surpass your skills!”
“…My apprentice!”
“Master!”
‘…What a ridiculous scene.’
Da-eun wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of the two men embracing each other, drenched in sweat.
She took over, finishing the rest of Ashié’s statement that he hadn’t yet managed to say.
“We should find out who else has a key. Can you think of anyone?”
Brondin released Ashié from their embrace.
With a somewhat unwilling expression, Brondin hesitated, but couldn’t withstand Da-eun’s persistent prodding.
“There’s only one person aside from my apprentice.”
“Who is it?”
With a face full of reluctance, he finally opened his mouth to speak.
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