Mira and Arlon spent the night in Sentopolly, the only city in that trading country. The next morning they ate breakfast and went out to look for Gregor’s workshop.
The sword held by one of Chimera Clauzen’s heads had been made by that master blacksmith, so they wanted to inquire about its details.
Arlon had visited that workshop many times in the past, so Mira relied on his knowledge and just followed him through the city, constantly looking at all the buildings around them as they walked. She looked like a country girl visiting the city for the first time.
「Mira, be careful to not stay behind too much.」
Arlon stopped and turned around, warning Mira who had stopped to look at display windows.
Even though it was still early, or rather, because it was still morning, the streets were filled with people going from one place to another. So if they were separated, the crowd would make them lose sight of each other quickly.
Knowing that, Arlon constantly turned around to make sure Mira was following him, but even then he noticed an increasing gap between them. He even tried to match his pace to hers, but she kept stopping to look around. 「Oh, sorry sorry」 she said in a rushed tone, though she did not seem to say it seriously.
「I feel like you’ll get lost any moment now. Should I hold your hand just in case?」
As Mira trotted back to him, Arlon stretched his right hands towards her with a grin.
「Uh… I’m good. I won’t do that again.」
Mira shuddered at the prospect of having to hold hands to not get lost like a little child, so she made sure to stick right behind Arlon from then on.
The workshop was further into the city, on the side that faced the sea. As the two walked through the carefully planned city districts, they arrived at a cliff behind a tall metal fence.
Past the fence, was Sentopolly’s other face.
The western end of the continent was a three hundred meter tall cliff bordering the sea, against which the city had been built. But Mira saw that behind the fence, there were man made terraces on the cliffside, each about twenty meters tall all the way down to sea level. Those terraces were filled with smaller houses and shops.
Everything Mira had seen so far were the districts of the city built for outsiders and visiting adventurers. Past the fence was where the residents of Sentopolly lived.
「This is always a sight to behold, no matter how many times I come here.」
Arlon took a right turn and began walking along the fence, looking at the sea as he spoke.
「It’s really something else…」
Mira was astonished seeing that. Unlike the city behind them, the buildings on the terraces had a more calm and subdued feeling to them, looking more like an actual fantasy cityscape. The place that once was merely a cliff, was now lived in and even held spots of greenery. Mira had only known how the place used to look years before, so seeing such changes felt miraculous.
The lowest terrace was the widest, housing a large pier with many ships anchored, as well as countless warehouses and even a large wholesale market.
Looking to the sides, Mira noticed that where the buildings stopped, the terraces also ended abruptly and turned into a natural cliffside again. She could hardly imagine the technology used to terraform that place, but the scenery gave her a clear feeling that the city was still expanding.
She watched that incredible cityscape as they walked along the fence, eventually reaching a set of stairs that would take them down to that part of the city.
As they began descending the carefully carved stone stairs, Mira felt like the air itself changed abruptly, prompting her to stop and turn around while looking up. She could only see the blue sky and white clouds, the lively city she left behind no longer in sight.
Following Arlon’s guidance, they descended a fair amount of steps before walking a bit to the side where Gregor’s workshop was located. The magic swords crafted by Gregor had the reputation of having no equal, but in contrast with that fame, his workshop was rather small.
「I was expecting a large building like one of the Union’s offices, but this is rather compact.」
They stood in front of the building, the sound of a hammer and anvil rhythmically coming from inside while white smoke escaped through the chimney. It was built out of bricks, similarly to a regular house, and Mira voiced her thoughts.
「I can see why you’d think that, though I heard he has around a hundred similar workshops scattered throughout the continent.」
「Seriously?!」
According to Arlon, making magic swords required a large variety of ingredients, some of which could only be found in very specific locations. Gregor had visited most of them, getting a workshop in the place and researching everything before leaving to another place. At the same time, he always had disciples at hand, of which the best ones would take over the workshop after he left. Considering the number of disciples needed to keep his many workshops open, it was clear Gregor also excelled at teaching and imparting his knowledge.
He was now in Sentopolly, continuing with his work while also teaching to more disciples.
「I wish I could order something…」
Muttering that, Arlon waited for the hammer beats to stop before knocking on the door.
「Yes hello, do you need something?」
A few moments later a young Gardia man opened the door, his chest covered by a leather apron blackened with soot. Seeing him, Arlon peeked past his shoulder and asked 「Is master Gregor home?」
「Ah, sorry. He finally accepted an order a few days ago, so he’s gone somewhere and secluded himself to complete it.」
That man was one of Gregor’s disciples. Since Gregor would only rarely accept an order, and only from people he was close with, he would pull no stops to create a unique sword whenever he accepted one.
To accomplish that, he would first seclude himself in some secret spot, designing a sword that would fit perfectly in the hands of his client.
The location of that secret place was kept from his disciple, so all he knew was that it was somewhere outside the city, though not too far away. Apparently it was also a place with good scenery, since Gregor enjoyed feeling surrounded by nature when he worked. Still, none of his disciples ever got to find out where it was.
「I’m sorry I can’t be of much help, I don’t even know when he’ll come back.」
