Chapter 40: Tail Catching (2)

Earlier, I hinted at the possibility of Sophia being a spy, but the fact that she has been quiet until now means she

hasn’t discovered any suspicious people.

Or, perhaps, I’m certain of the spy’s existence, but she doesn’t know about it, so there was no need for her to conduct

a thorough investigation.

But then again, I can’t enter the Iceflower Tower and directly conduct a search, nor can I actively manipulate Sophia.

Just shouting “I can’t find it!” won’t make the spy remove their mask and reveal their identity.

Therefore, the actions I’ve taken within my abilities are as follows:

During the preparation for the second examination, one day after the Four’s training ended, I stopped by Bill’s

weapon shop.

“Long time no see, Bill. How have you been?”

“Welcome, my brother!”

As soon as I entered, Bill spread his arms wide and greeted me.

It was the first time I received such a friendly welcome, so I took a step back and asked.

“Why suddenly ‘brother’?”

“Hehe, don’t pretend like you don’t know. The mineral Bingjeong, you found it, right? You little treasure.”

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t find it alone.”

Seeing him constantly grinning, it seemed like Bingjeong really pleased him. Even when we worked together before,

he wasn’t this enthusiastic. Bingjeong certainly lived up to its name.

“What did His Excellency the Duke say about it?”

“He showed me the Bingjeong and asked if it could be made into a weapon. Wow, it’s quite something. It won’t be

easy to handle.”

“Really?”

“Yes! He handed me a small piece, and while I was inspecting it, I accidentally cracked it. You can imagine how

startled I was! I thought my heart was going to fall out.”

When I imagined Bill, an ordinary citizen, looking shocked, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, did he say it wasn’t possible?”

“No, it looked tricky, but I think if you play around with it a little, it could be made into a weapon.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not like iron or stone, this Bingjeong. It should be handled like those ceremonial weapons with gems embedded

in them, not like regular tools.”

I hadn’t thought of that approach. As expected, the blacksmith’s eye for detail was different.

I recalled seeing ceremonial weapons adorned with gems in a museum in my past life.

But didn’t I hear that the crystal sword was supposed to be a combat weapon?

“Then, won’t the Bingjeong break while swinging it?”

“When I mentioned that, they took me to the Iceflower Tower. With this amount of Bingjeong, they asked if I could

make a sword. Ha ha, I’ve never been to the Iceflower Tower before.”

“Ah, so you decided to make a weapon out of Bingjeong?”

“Hahaha! Of course. A man who carries a hammer instead of a sword and drinks molten metal instead of wine won’t

miss this chance!”

As the story went, Grace had asked Bill to create a weapon using Bingjeong, and Bill accepted the task.

The blacksmith recommended by trusted individuals confidently took on the sword-making task, which even the

mages were hesitant about, and Grace must have been excited.

Liking confident people, she was interested in Bill and intended to make him the exclusive maker of Bingjeong weapons.

“So, are you making the Bingjeong weapon right now?”

“No, not yet. I consider myself the best blacksmith in the north, but from the Duke’s perspective, that might not be

the case. Before officially assigning me the task of making the Bingjeong weapon, they asked me to make a test

weapon to evaluate my skills.”

Hmm, Grace is naturally cautious, so this makes sense.

In the novel, the situation was urgent, and despite other blacksmiths giving up, Bill accepted the challenge and was

entrusted with the task. Now, Grace has time to thoroughly evaluate his skills.

I don’t know exactly what kind of task Grace gave him, but Bill will easily pass it.

Once he passes Grace’s test, Bill will become a member of the Bingjeong research team and, as the head of a contract

firm, gain VIP access to the Iceflower Tower.

“It’s not just that.”

“What else?”

“Actually, you see, the method of making weapons from Bingjeong alone is to break the large mineral, just like

creating a statue from a rock. Even then, it can’t be used for swinging.”

“The mages at the Iceflower Tower said the same thing.”

“But when I thought about it carefully, using the mineral combination you told me about, it seems like it could be

used not to break the ice crystals or embed them like jewels, but to make a sword itself. By mixing the ice crystal with

solid steel and infusing its power!”

Bill, excited, explained while spitting out words, but since I wasn’t a blacksmith, I couldn’t understand most of what

he was saying.

Anyway, the point was that, with his technique, he could create ice crystal weapons, so I responded with a smile.

“Then, what should we combine the ice crystals with?”

“Of course, it’s steel! Most regular steel would freeze because of the cold of the ice crystals. To hold that cold entirely

while maintaining the sword’s strength, it needs to be steel!”

Okay, once we’ve got that far, it’s settled.

“By the way, I remember I brought some steel before.”

“That’s right! I was just about to ask you that!”

“I got it from…”

I shared the information with Bill and began preparing for the steel mining.

Since I had also shared this information with Elaine, with her assistance, she would be able to catch Grace’s interest

like she did during the Snowflake Tower incident.

Back to the present.

As soon as the second trial ended, I visited Bill’s weapon shop again. From what I heard last time, the weapon would

be completed the day before my second trial, and Bill was supposed to submit it to Grace. By now, the result should

have come out.

Some are doing group assignments, some are submitting tasks. There’s no separate northern campus.

??

When I arrived at the weapon shop, it was closed, and there was a note on the door. The note stated that Bill was

away on business.

It shouldn’t be the task submission day today… so could it be?

I immediately headed for the Winter Palace.

Given Bill’s skill, there’s no way he would have failed Grace’s assignment, and even if he did, he’s not the type to go

off into the mountains just to train.

That means Bill passed Grace’s test and officially joined the ice crystal weapon production.

The note about being away on business was likely because of that.

Things were going as expected, but I still needed Bill’s help with more than just making the crystal sword.

I needed someone who could access the Snowflake Tower, who could give me information without suspicion, and

someone who could see the mages of the tower from a third-party perspective.

Bill fit all of those conditions, so that’s why I went to find him.

I ran, hoping Bill was still at the Winter Palace.

“Luke?”

Someone called me.

Though I was in a hurry, my feet stopped as soon as I heard the voice.

Because the person calling me was…

“Ah, Captain. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it really has.”

I hadn’t spoken to Elaine since the knight exam began. During the exam, I was exempt from the escort duty and

stayed outside, while she continued working as Grace’s escort.

It had been nine days since we last saw each other.

Since we started dating, we had never been apart for even a single day, whether for work or private matters. But now,

we were finally separated for nine days, and in this world, there were no smartphones or even phones to contact each

other.

‘Honestly, it was really tough.’

Even the place I stayed at during the exam was our home, with traces of her everywhere. Now, being there alone felt

unusually lonely.

Now I understood why couples don’t leave traces of each other when they break up.

Even if Mia, the housekeeper, stopped by, I’d be busy training the four of them until the afternoon, and in the

evening, I’d be investigating the Snowflake Tower incident, so there was no chance to see anyone except on the first

day.

And this was a secret just for me.

One night, I lay down to sleep, and faintly smelled Elaine’s scent from the blanket…

But I didn’t go to a tavern or anything; I dealt with it properly by myself.

Elaine, too, when we met after a long time, her eyes trembled slightly.

Now I understand why she came to see me even though she was busy during the second trial.

She was curious if I was doing well, worried about me, and missed me.

When I turned to leave after the trial, I could guess the expression under her helmet.

She must have been smiling, taking advantage of the opportunity to hide her expression behind the helmet.

So, seeing each other so closely now, I couldn’t help but feel like I wanted to run up and hug her, sharing the joy of the reunion.

But since we were outside, I desperately kept my composure.

Thud.

Elaine approached and lightly placed her hand on my shoulder, smiling faintly.

“I heard the final evaluation is coming up. You’ve done really well.”

Wow.

Something welled up in my chest, and I felt like I might cry. I never thought I was such an emotional person.

I forced myself to calm my pounding heart and, instead of showing my tears, I smiled brightly.

“Thank you. I’ll keep doing my best until the end.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”

Although we were outside, we faced each other and smiled.

There were no other eyes around, and it wasn’t uncommon for the captain of the guard and a member who had

performed well in the current knight exam to share this kind of interaction.

More than that…

Even though the touch wasn’t skin-to-skin but over gloves and clothing, when Elaine’s hand rested on my shoulder,

the loneliness that had built up seemed to melt away, and I felt a warm energy rising.

“Captain?”

But then, Elaine kept her hand on my shoulder as she looked around.

“Wouldn’t it be a normal thing for a captain to kiss their tired subordinate on the cheek?”

“Uh… I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

“Then what about the forehead?”

“Hmm, I guess that wouldn’t work either.”

“If you kissed a participant of the knight exam, you’d have to do the same for Senior Jimmy, wouldn’t you?” The

captain said, taking her hand off my shoulder and clicking her tongue in disappointment.

Her expression was the same as usual, so I didn’t notice. But now, hearing such nonsense from her, it seemed like

she had been holding back a lot lately.

I felt strangely happy at the thought that we had both been longing for each other.

“What brings you to the Winter Palace? You should be preparing for the final evaluation right now.”

Elaine, having regained her composure, switched back to work mode.

How should I respond? Explaining that I came to meet Bill would be complicated.

Ah, maybe it’s better here to say:

“I was looking for you, Captain.”

“For me?”

Elaine’s eyes widened slightly.

“Since the final evaluation is coming up, I wanted to report my progress to you, who has helped me so much in

maintaining my physical and mental preparation. If possible, I’d like to receive your support to boost my strength.

Haha.”

“Heh, is that so? How thoughtful of you.”

Elaine seemed pleased with my answer, and her lips curled into a slight smile as she muttered to herself, “A kiss on

the cheek might not be so bad…”

Seeing her so happy made me feel a little guilty, but it was true that I had wanted to meet Elaine.

If Bill was with Grace, then Elaine would also be with her, so I hadn’t expected to have a chance to meet her like this,

but…

Isn’t it better to take the good with the bad?

“Support, huh? There’s so much I want to do for you after all your hard work, but since this is the situation, I hope

you’ll accept this for now.”

As she said that, she patted my back.

This level of physical contact wasn’t unusual even before we started dating, but it really gave me strength, just like

when she tapped my shoulder earlier.

Could Elaine’s touch have a buff effect?

… Despite everything, the fact that I hadn’t received a kiss on the cheek was a bit disappointing. I guess I’m not

completely sane after all.

“I’ll be going now. The Duke has summoned me, and I was on my way to see him.”

“The Duke?”

“Well, it’s something related to you as well, so I should tell you. The Duke has commissioned Master Bill to make a

weapon using frozen steel. He plans to visit the Snowflake Tower later today to discuss the design details.”

“!”

Grace is visiting the Snowflake Tower herself?

Damn, for the first time, I regretted being caught up in the knight exam.

This might have been the perfect opportunity for me to enter the Snowflake Tower on my own.

‘Oh well, I guess there’s nothing to be done.’

There are no secrets that last forever.

Moreover, with Grace’s sharp intuition, it would be hard for Bill, an ordinary citizen, to keep the truth hidden until

the end.

If Grace were to notice any inconsistencies in the story or find a clue somewhere, Bill might panic, and that could put

Elaine in a difficult position as well.

Even though Bill was no fool, and I trusted Elaine to handle things wisely, there’s always a possibility.

I didn’t want to cause trouble for the two of them for my own safety, and honestly, it would be better to have two

assistants instead of just one.

“Can I join you?” I asked.

“You?”

“Yes. I once heard from Bill that frozen steel weapons require the use of spring steel. As someone who uses a spring

steel weapon, I thought it might be worth attending.”

Elaine looked surprised at my words.

I had kept the fact that I used spring steel weapons a secret until now, but by saying that, I was essentially revealing it.

“Are you sure? You’ve made quite an achievement with that weapon, so the Duke probably won’t scold you too much,

but it’ll be hard to avoid the questions.”

“I owe the Duke a debt of gratitude, so it feels wrong to keep hiding it. Besides, Captain, don’t you also feel guilty

about keeping secrets from the Duke?”

Although she had been considerate of me, Elaine’s strong loyalty to the Duke probably made her feel guilty about

hiding the truth regarding the spring steel weapons.

She was a person with a strong sense of responsibility, and I believed she would shoulder everything if necessary.

Even though I knew that, I still felt guilty about having her keep this secret.

“Don’t worry about it. Your knight exam is more important right now.”

“Isn’t the future of the North more important than one soldier’s exam?”

Elaine stared at my eyes for a moment, then nodded and gave her consent.

“Let’s go together. I’ll be by your side.”

Good.

With that, I was able to enter the Snowflake Tower myself.

By visiting beforehand, I might be able to find something useful.