The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 66

A sword made by Roman, you say.

He didn’t believe it.

No, he couldn’t believe it.

“Are you serious? Roman? I am the Master Blacksmith of the Dimitri family. I have worked with iron here my whole life. I know a craftsman when I see one, without even checking! Are you making fun of me? People say Roman Dimitri has changed, but it’s all lies!” His voice was full of anger.

He didn’t even need to check if it was true. He remembered the past. Roman had come to the smithy to learn how to be the family leader. But Roman was terrible at everything, even hammering. He didn’t even seem to want to learn! This made Hendrik very angry. After that day, Roman never came back to the smithy.

Even though the Dimitri family had their own smithy right here, Hendrik could not believe that Roman Dimitri, who seemed to only care about fun and not his family duties, could become a great craftsman.

He looked at the sword. It was amazing. Hendrik didn’t know about working with iron, but he knew how mana was used in swords. This sword was made by someone even better than him! It couldn’t be Roman. The metal gleamed, and strange patterns seemed to move within it. This sword was so different from the Roman he remembered. This made Hendrik even angrier.

“But then,” Roman said calmly. “Master Hendrik.”

He seemed to understand why Hendrik was so angry. Roman looked right at Hendrik and said in a clear voice, “I know why you are reacting like this, Master. Blacksmith skills, like aura power, take a long time to learn. You would believe me if you had seen me working hard in the smithy before. But I am telling you the truth. This sword is called Salamander, after the continent. I made it. It’s the only one like it in the world.”

“This little…!”

Hendrik’s face flushed red. He was about to slap Roman’s cheek to cool him down for mocking him, but he was startled by the words that followed.

“I will show you! I will show you how I made the sword. You are the Master Blacksmith of the Dimitri family, right? Seeing is believing. Wouldn’t seeing me work be better than just hearing my words?”

“…?!”

Seeing is believing.

At Roman’s words.

Hendrik’s face was stained with bewilderment.

They went to the smithy inside the castle. As they walked, Roman said to Hendrik, “I make my own swords for big battles, swords I can trust with my life. I make them to fit my body and my aura power perfectly. That’s how Salamander was made. When I was getting ready for the war with Barco, I knew I needed a new sword. I hit the steel again and again in front of the hot furnace. The smithy becomes a special place then. Nothing else matters, and I can’t stop until the sword is finished. I think you understand that feeling, Master Hendrik.”

“…”

He was silent.

His face was full of dissatisfaction. He followed along because he said he would show him, but he didn’t like the attitude of sympathizing with the blacksmith’s feelings.

Roman.

He is not a blacksmith.

He never showed an attitude of trying, so how can I believe it just by looking at the results?

No matter how Hendrik felt, Roman kept talking. “I have to fight for our country soon. And I, Roman Dimitri, have been getting stronger. So, I started making a new sword to replace Salamander. I want to show you how I make this new sword, Master Hendrik. If you still don’t believe me after seeing it, then I will tell my father and accept whatever punishment he gives me.”

Thud. They arrived at the smithy. It was a large room, filled with the smell of hot metal and coal. Tools hung on the walls, and the furnace glowed red in the center. Roman got ready to work. He didn’t need to do much to prepare. He was in the smithy every evening, so everything was already set up for him.

Whoosh. He took off his shirt. He was going to work in just his bare chest, right in front of the hot furnace. Hendrik looked shocked. This was not how a normal blacksmith would act. Hendrik’s face twisted in disgust.

‘He doesn’t even know the basics as a blacksmith.’

If he had his way.

He wanted to turn back right away.

There was no need to see more.

A craftsman who doesn’t even wear safety equipment can be regarded as not having the attitude to treat iron with sincerity.

But then, flames shot up from the furnace. And then, just once, Roman hit the steel with the hammer. *Clang!* A strong, clear sound rang out. Hendrik’s face changed completely. Roman’s muscles stood out as he started to hammer the steel seriously. He didn’t even notice Hendrik watching him anymore.

Roman thought about how blacksmithing was different here than in his past life. He knew how to make swords that were special and powerful in a different way.

Clang! Clang! He hammered the steel again and again. Flames danced around him, and his skin turned red from the heat. He felt the heat, but he ignored it. For Roman, making a sword was like training himself. He was becoming one with the sword, making it a part of him.

In the future.

As he told Hendrik, he had to go to the battlefield.

There was not much time.

He didn’t know what would happen on the battlefield, but there was one fact that Roman could be sure of in his life.

‘I will reign and live there as well.’

He would spend at least three months making this new sword. When it was finished, he would go to the battlefield for the Dimitri family. He was lost in his work, forgetting everything else. He only focused on the sword. Roman was completely absorbed in making it.

Was this… breathtaking?

Hendrik watched Roman work. He was stunned. *Clang! Clang!* ‘…This can’t be real,’ he thought.

He was the Master Blacksmith. He knew how to spot a real craftsman, like he told Roman. That’s why, watching Roman hammer the steel perfectly, without any wasted movement, Hendrik’s understanding of the world turned upside down. ‘Is that really Roman Dimitri?’ He couldn’t believe his eyes.

The Roman he knew had never cared about the smithy. But the way Roman treated the steel, the sounds of his hammer – it was clear this was the work of a true craftsman.

Not only that.

The point that completely fascinated Hendrik was the unwavering posture even when facing the heat of the furnace head-on. His skin flushed red. It was so hot that he clearly couldn’t stand it, but Roman didn’t take his eyes off the steel as if he was in love with it.

And then, he hammered the steel again. Once, twice, three times, four times. His muscles moved powerfully. He hammered with a steady rhythm, like a musician playing beautiful music.

“What is this?”

It was certain.

Roman was a craftsman.

Common sense clearly told him that it couldn’t be, but the scene unfolding right before his eyes was proving an undeniable reality.

If that kind of person is not a craftsman, then who can be called a craftsman?

If he initially showed an attitude of unconditionally denying Roman, he now fully accepted reality.

“‘With this skill,’ Hendrik thought, ‘he can make anything! The way he works with the steel, the speed of his hammer, the sound of metal hitting metal – it’s all perfect. And the way he stands in front of the furnace without fear, it reminds me of Baron Romero when he was young and strong. It seems blacksmithing is in their blood. Maybe not Rodwell Dimitri, but his oldest son, Roman, was born to be a blacksmith.’

Gulp.

Hendrik felt his mouth go dry. There must be a secret in Roman’s way of working, something that made the swords so powerful with mana. Hendrik was no longer judging Roman. He was just watching, like someone watching a great show. He had forgotten all his doubts.

Hours passed. Roman kept working, and working. He didn’t stop. Not until the sun had completely set. Roman was lost in his work, and Hendrik watched him like a statue, not moving at all.

They both knew.

Already.

The meaning of proof had been lost.

Hendrik believed that Roman’s words were true just by witnessing the work.

Thud.

Hendrik looked at Roman. Sweat poured down Roman’s face and body. Hendrik felt ashamed. He looked at the ground and said, “…I’m sorry. You really did make that sword.”

The apology was quick.

Hendrik is a craftsman. He had great pride because he had devoted his life to the smithy, and he had no choice but to get angry at the thought that Roman’s remarks were mocking him. But after confirming the truth, he changed his attitude. If Roman was truly the craftsman who made Salamander, Hendrik could not help but love him, no matter what his past with Roman was like.

Roman smiled. This moment was important. He wanted to end the bad feelings from the past. To truly become a Dimitri family member, he knew he needed to be friends with Hendrik.

Roman said.

“I will give you Salamander as a gift.”

“…?!”

“As you saw today, I am making a new sword. I once sold Master Hendrik’s sword without permission, so I don’t know if this will be compensation, but I hope you will accept Salamander as a gift.”

At Roman’s words.

Hendrik’s hands trembled.

In fact.

He wanted to have Salamander so much from the first time he saw it. It was a new type of sword, and he had a desire to analyze Salamander and make that technology his own. But he was going to give him the sword.

Hendrik cleared his throat. He couldn’t just be happy because he remembered being so angry, but he didn’t want to refuse either.

“…Cough, cough. Th, thank you.”

Hendrik stuttered. He didn’t even refuse in the first place.

Watching Hendrik cherish Salamander in his arms as if it were his own sword, Roman knew that he was not a bad person.

Hendrik and Roman. Roman had been the one to make their relationship bad. He had ignored his smithy duties, even though he was supposed to be the Dimitri family leader. He had even sold Hendrik’s best sword without asking! But Hendrik wasn’t a bad man. As soon as he saw that Roman was a true craftsman, like him, his anger melted away.

Roman knew this kind of person. In his past life, he had met many people who were completely focused on their work, so much that they forgot everything else. The best way to become friends with them was to respect what they did.

“And,” Roman said, “you can come and watch me work anytime you want.”

“…If you’re sure,” Hendrik said, smiling widely. His face was so happy, he looked like he could float away. He was excited to see Roman’s skills and to have Salamander.

Hendrik was a simple man. That day, the bad feelings between Hendrik and Roman ended. At that moment, a servant, sent by Baron Romero, was searching for Hendrik. Something important was happening.