My Ultimate Blacksmith System

I told Tyrah and Tierra to wait for me outside the castle, and that's what they did. I snuck the princess out without anyone seeing us. The twins looked confused when they saw her, but they didn't utter a word. I had them bring a cloak, which I used to cover the princess.

I used the small allowance I received after closing the gate to rent a room for the three of us. The inn was crowded, as if they were having some kind of party. There were men and women singing and drinking.

"What's happening?" I asked Tyrah.

"It's because of the dungeon breaks. More dungeon breaks mean more money for the adventurers. It looks like a guild is using this inn."

Oh, so that's what this is. This world had a group with magical powers that sometimes fought against monsters in exchange for cash. They called themselves adventurers.

"Are you looking to create a party, my lord?" Tierra spoke. I was surprised to hear her speak since she was normally the quiet one.

"A party?"

"Yes, sometimes when heroes come here, they form their own party of adventurers. It makes things easier since there are usually not enough heroes to go around."

The princess was looking around uncomfortably, hiding her face so they didn't recognize her. I was holding her hand to prevent her from trying to escape.

We then made our way through the sea of people until we reached the reception desk. The receptionist was a woman with long brown hair, and she greeted us with a smile.

"Good evening! How may I help you?"

"Good evening. My sisters and I are looking to rent a room."

Unfortunately, I only had enough money for one room, and it came with a single bed, so I had the girls take the bed while I slept on the floor. I positioned myself close to the door to ensure no one could leave or enter our room.

As the sun rose, we prepared to leave the inn, but just as we were about to go, we overheard a conversation. A woman was arguing with a man about not having enough adventurers to save a village overrun by monsters.

"I'm sorry, but there is nothing we can do; we are overworked as it is," the man told the woman.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, holding onto his shirt in desperation.

"Please, you have to do something! This is all the money I have. We are a poor village; this is all we could scrounge up."

"Look, we are swamped. A lot of villages are overrun by monsters, so we have to give priority to the ones who are paying the most."

The woman was holding a small bag of coins, desperately offering it to the man.

"You have to understand," tears streamed down her face. "My son! He's…"

The princess was watching the scene, and I could see her anger rising. She was staring daggers at the man denying the woman. She looked like she wanted to strangle him.

"Something the matter, princess?" I asked.

"Tsk!" she scowled at me. "If you want to kidnap me, it's not wise to keep calling me princess, you idiot."

"Well, I don't know your name."

Instead of answering, she folded her arms and looked away, intending to spite me.

"The princess's real name is Isabella," Tyrah informed me.

"Isabella, huh?" I repeated the name, and the princess looked ready to slap me but held herself back as not to cause a scene.

By now, the man had completely left the woman. She was crying, her hand grasping her chest. Dragging the princess along with me, I approached her and offered a handkerchief.

She graciously accepted it and wiped her face while looking a little flustered.

"Thank you," she said, her voice weak as if straining to speak.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you said about needing adventurers."

Her hand tightened on the handkerchief as she stared downwards, unable to bear looking at us.

"Yes, my village was attacked by monsters, but none of the guilds I went to seem to want to help, and for some reason, those heroes aren't doing anything," she said. "We are a poor village; most of us are farmers, and we can't afford to pay the high prices they are asking for. If they don't do something, everyone will…"

"My friends and I are adventurers," I said, and for the first time during our conversation, she looked up at me. The princess was also eyeing me from the sidelines. "We are willing to help for whatever you have."

"You're adventurers… and you said you're willing to help?" Her face lit up as if she couldn't believe what I had said. "Thank you! Thank you so very much!"

The woman, whose name was Myrah, told us that the village was half a day's ride from where we were. Luckily, she mentioned that she already had a carriage ready.

"She didn't even ask for proof," the princess mumbled as we rode in the back of the carriage.

"What was that?" I asked.

She sighed exhaustedly before answering, "Adventurers normally have a card to prove that they are adventurers and indicate their rank. She was so excited when you said you would help that she didn't even ask for proof." She looked at me curiously. "Why did you agree to help her? If this is a ploy to steal her money, then I swear I'll—"

"Relax, I do plan on helping her. This was only to get my foot out the door. I must start somewhere, after all."

My plan is to figure out what is going on and find a way to return home. The easiest way I can think of to do that is to see as much of this world as possible. There are many things I still do not understand. Hopefully, doing this will help me understand things a little better.

As the woman said, it took a day and a half for us to reach her village. What she didn't tell us was that we would travel the entire journey without stopping. They claimed that if we stopped, we would run the risk of being attacked by bandits and that her village couldn't spare another second without our help.

The carriage stopped a good distance away from the village, as the driver said he wouldn't go any further. As we got closer to the village, we saw smoke rising in the distance.

"What kind of monsters exactly attacked your village?" I asked the woman.

"The men who encountered them said they were Orcs."

An Orc? So, a C-ranked monster. Myrah didn't lead us directly to the village; instead, she took us to a spot in the woods—a place where some of the people from her village were hidden.

I was at a loss for words when I saw her hugging a woman—a woman with cat ears on her head and a fluffy tail behind her. In fact, most of the people from her village had similar features; they exhibited characteristics of different animals.

"Demi-Humans," the princess whispered to me.

"Demi-humans?"

"They are a race similar to humans, except they have animal characteristics. This village is the only one where they can live freely and not be targeted as slaves."

The villagers looked at me warily.

"It's nice to meet you all," one of the elders said. "Myrah told us you are going to save our village." She took hold of my hand. "Please, some of our children are still back there; you have to save them."

"I will, ma'am."

She gave me a kind smile. I told the twins to stay behind while the princess and I headed for the village. When we arrived, it was in ruins; half the houses were burned to the ground.

I handed the princess her sword before we entered the village.

"What about your weapon?" she asked.

"I already have it."

It wasn't long before we encountered the first of the Orcs. It resembled a boar and stood roughly seven feet tall, brandishing a huge battleaxe. It released a loud roar before charging at us. I stepped up to face it.

"Are you crazy?" the princess shouted. "You don't even have a weapon!"

The Orc charged like a beast on steroids. I dodged its blade and simultaneously pulled the Middle Finger from my inventory. I sliced the beast in half from its bottom half.

"Tsk!"

The princess ran past me toward another Orc that had appeared. She dodged its attack with speed and skill, and with one swift movement, she plunged the sword into the beast's heart.

The two of us continued on, killing Orcs as we came across them, making our way deeper into the village. Strangely, we hadn't encountered any of the villagers who were supposed to be trapped here so far.

I looked at the princess, and she was pale in the face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I-I… Orcs are one of the only monsters that use humans as a food source. I hate to say it, but those villagers are most likely dead."