The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 38

Hendrick stepped back. It wasn’t just fear of punishment that made him move.

Usually, Hendrick would argue if he believed he was right. But now, hearing Roman’s words, he knew he had made a big mistake.

“Hendrick, Hendrick, what have you done?” Roman’s voice echoed in his ears.

Suddenly, old memories rushed back to him.

Even Hendrick, known as Master Blacksmith, had once been an apprentice.

Back then, it was a job he had chosen for his livelihood rather than a sense of duty as a blacksmith. He did odd jobs day and night to become a proper blacksmith as quickly as possible.

Beatings were common.

Dmitry had stopped the old bad things, but in Hendrick’s time, there was never a day when his body wasn’t bruised.

One day.

A mercenary came to the smithy.

The mercenary, barely a young man, brought only one silver coin and asked to buy a sword.

“I know this isn’t enough to buy a good sword. But this is all the money I have, and if you sell me a sword, I’ll repay you many times over in the future. I have a family to support. All I have is a healthy body, and I really need a weapon to earn money.”

It was a common thing.

People who had no land to farm or any special skills relied on their bodies and became mercenaries.

He was one of them.

The master of the smithy wasn’t kind enough to give a sword to a stranger, so he insulted the mercenary and kicked him out.

The mercenary looked very sad as he left.

Seeing his slumped shoulders, carrying the weight of his family, Hendrick couldn’t just watch.

Secretly, without the master knowing.

Hendrick followed the mercenary.

And without getting paid, he gave him the first sword he had ever made, without the master’s knowledge.

He was happy.

Seeing the mercenary cry and thank him, Hendrick thought that this might be the real happiness of a blacksmith.

It was the first time he felt proud of his job, and when Hendrick returned to the smithy, he was excited to work and make even better swords.

But one month later.

Hendrick felt like his world was falling apart when he saw the mercenary’s dead body.

Behind the crying family, people told him why the mercenary had died.

“He died on an escort mission for a merchant group. Too bad for him. If his sword hadn’t broken while fighting the bandits, he could have come back alive like the others. That’s why you need to use good weapons.”

“Yeah. Everyone else is okay, but he’s the only one who died, they say?”

His heart sank.

His hands and feet shook.

His act of kindness, as he had thought, had led to the mercenary’s death.

He hated himself.

Only then did he understand why the master had said it was too early, but regret, no matter how fast, couldn’t change what had happened.

Hendrick was a mess for a while. If it hadn’t been for his friend, Baron Romero, he wouldn’t have been able to return to the smithy.

Hendrick promised himself never to do that again, and he overcame his painful past and became a Master Blacksmith.

But now.

He had made the same mistake again.

Just because he didn’t like Roman, thinking he wouldn’t be using it for war in the backwoods, Hendrick forgot his past mistake and repeated the mistake he had regretted many times.

‘How sad.’

Excuses didn’t matter.

For whatever reason, as Roman had said, an innocent person could have died because of the trash he had given.

He didn’t make excuses.

If Roman punished him.

Whether it was for disobeying or some other punishment, he was willing to accept it.

“I will pay for what I did.”

“Master!”

At Hendrick’s words, the blacksmiths looked confused and tried to stop him.

They couldn’t accept what was happening.

Hendrick was their leader, and they couldn’t let him be punished by Roman Dmitry, let alone Baron Romero.

Roman held the sword.

Hendrick looked up at Roman, waiting for his punishment.

At that moment.

He looked into Roman’s eyes.

“If you regret your mistake that much, I won’t make a big deal out of it. Let’s get back to the main point. I know that Master Hendrick is a great blacksmith. So, I would like to ask you to make weapons for 30 soldiers.”

Roman’s words.

Hendrick’s eyes widened at the unexpected comment.

He was a strange guy.

He had acted like he would punish him at any moment, but when he had the chance, he didn’t hold him responsible.

Roman knew.

Hendrick.

From his position.

How hard it was to admit his mistake in front of his followers.

‘Anyone can make a mistake. If that mistake can be fixed, you can get another chance by regretting what you did.’

Weeping and beheading Ma Su.

When he held back his sadness and beheaded his subordinate, it was because the mistake was completely unforgivable.

It was different now.

Hendrick was someone who didn’t like Roman, and he had only done a small act of revenge without thinking about the consequences.

If he hadn’t shown any regret, he might have thought it was done out of anger, but at least Hendrick knew what was right and wrong.

‘Rewards and punishments shouldn’t be based on feelings.’

It was Baek Jung-hyuk’s rule, and he always followed it.

Roman said.

“Like I said before, I don’t think Master Hendrick was trying to disobey me on purpose. It’s probably because he doesn’t like me, and I understand that. So, I hope we can forget about both of our mistakes. All I want is a sword and armor that will protect my soldiers.”

It was a mix of kindness and strength.

After using the whip so hard that his skin turned red, Roman offered a carrot with clever words.

Roman’s attitude.

Hendrick was impressed by it.

‘Roman has changed.’

He had heard rumors.

Especially because of this private soldier recruitment, he knew from the rumors that he had really changed.

But seeing it in person was different.

Hendrick, who had been trying to ignore the truth, now saw Roman’s true colors.

It was different from before.

Roman, who had been lazy and had blurry eyes, had become a strong man, and the charisma coming from his sharp eyes made his heart flutter.

It wasn’t just about his looks.

Roman was different from his past self in every way, to the point where he seemed like a completely different person.

How could this be?

There were definitely traces of Roman Dmitry, who was called the fool of Dmitry, but he couldn’t be called the Roman of that time.

A layer of prejudice was removed.

He admitted it.

Roman had changed, and today’s events were his fault.

He couldn’t accept the fact that he, who had regretted the past many times, had handed over trash because of his personal feelings.

Hendrick said.

“…I apologize again for what happened. I will never do this again, no matter what happens in the future. And as an apology, I will prepare the weapons and armor for your soldiers with the best iron that Dmitry has.”

After a commotion.

Roman decided to get the goods later and left the smithy.

On the way, he heard about Hendrick’s situation from another blacksmith.

“The sword that Young Master Roman stole that day was Master Hendrick’s best work. It took six months just to plan, and he spent three months living in the smithy to finish it. But he sold it to a street vendor for a cheap price, so it’s natural that he was angry. Master Hendrick was really angry because his best work couldn’t find its owner and was sold for almost nothing.”

He understood.

Why Hendrick was angry.

Why he threw trash at Roman, even though he knew it was against his principles as a craftsman.

Roman in his past life had gone too far.

It was an unforgivable mistake.

Maybe that’s why, before leaving, Hendrick said this to Roman.

“I haven’t completely forgiven you for what happened. I will do what you asked because I was wrong, but I still can’t accept that the eldest son of the Dmitry family is ignoring the smithy. Remember that the smithy is the foundation of Dmitry. If you ever make a bad sword with your own hands, then I might see you in a new light.”

Hendrick was stubborn.

Even though he had removed some of his prejudice because of this incident, he didn’t see Roman as the successor of Dmitry.

But now.

There was one thing that Hendrick didn’t understand.

‘The Roman Dmitry that Hendrick remembers must have been a fool who didn’t care about the smithy. A piece of trash who ignores the family’s foundation and only enjoys himself. I understand why the people of Dmitry hate him. But.’

Baek Jung-hyuk.

He was different.

“Shall we start getting ready for the expedition now?”

He started walking.

There was one more thing he wanted to do on this trip.

The place Roman went to.

It was the workshop where he had trained alone.

The workshop, which was old and run-down before, was now neatly organized so he could start working right away.

Right after deciding on the war.

Roman had asked Hans to make this place available again.

“It’s been a while.”

He walked inside and looked around.

It was a good place.

The ceiling was high, so the ventilation was good, and the lighting was good in both the bright and dark areas.

Ventilation is important for a smithy.

Since the smoke and dust from the coal fire block the view, ventilation is always the first thing to check in a smithy.

After that.

He saw familiar things.

A hearth that would burn hot.

An anvil that looked cold and heavy, and an oak stand that held it up.

And hammers and tongs, and so on.

He had seen them in Hendrick’s workspace, but this moment felt special for Roman.

‘I remember the first day.’

The first time.

The day he started his life as Roman.

Listening to the history of Dmitry in a small shack, Roman thought that this might be his destiny.

Cheonma Baek Jung-hyuk.

In the history of the Murim, he is known as the greatest in the world, but those who are interested in him could see other sides of Baek Jung-hyuk.

That was his appearance in this smithy.

Right after deciding to go to war, Baek Jung-hyuk always visited the smithy and did his own ritual.

A life of struggle.

To survive.

To win.

And to rule.

Baek Jung-hyuk showed his soul in front of the burning fire.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

He lit the fire in the hearth.

From now on.

It was time to make a sword just for himself, to prepare for the upcoming war.