Days flow away.

As the days passed, Raft's forging skills improved day by day, yet the more he felt his progress, the more he understood the distance between himself and Dubil, the master.

"Young ones who seem to have put their heart into it yesterday and today are catching up, can't stand it," Dubil said with a laugh.

He had swung a hammer since before he could remember, learning blacksmithing from almost everyone around him. He had spent his childhood as if he himself were the iron being forged.

Why he had become a slave of a major tribe in the demon realm was not explained, so Raft had no way of knowing, but at least Dubil seemed reasonably content now.

While teaching Raft the art of armor forging, Dubil also engaged in creating various 'components' suggested by Euphemia. It was more like development work than blacksmithing. Raft had no idea what they were making, and it seemed Dubil himself didn't fully understand either.

For instance, by extruding molten iron through a small hole without forging it, one could create thin, long iron wires. The trick was to cool it slowly without sudden cooling, resulting in soft iron wires.

What are they for? The answer was "they can be used for various things."

One might think that bark ropes would suffice for tying things, but these iron wires could bind much more strongly.

Dubil continued to develop various other things, most of whose purposes Raft couldn't understand at all.

"What does the master think of... Lady Euphemia?"

This dwarf, unlike the Grimoire tribe or the orcs, shouldn't have much interaction with Euphemia Grimwood. The rocky mountain area where the forge was located was neither close to Sutin Village nor to the demon territory, so it wasn't a place of much use to Euphemia.

"The young miss, huh...," Dubil mused, pinching his beard with his rough fingers and gazing at the various metal parts he had made.

"That brat said it. What I want is not a slave, but a respected neighbor. Swung the hammer at me. Forged axes for me. For anything else she wanted, I forged it. Then that girl brought people over. Food, unknown techniques, even demon apprentices... being a blacksmith is quite the all-encompassing thing."

With a grin, he added, "As long as there's booze."

It was a modest way of laughing for Dubil, who typically laughed with a loud "hahaha."

---

Days flowed away.

Without notice, Junos was no longer part of the exploration team, and Katarina and Kirina began to dive into the labyrinth separately rather than together.

With the increase in exploration teams, more ore was being brought to the forge.

Euphemia's message to never push too hard was strictly adhered to, and it seemed they weren't attempting exploration on impossible schedules, but their growth was remarkable nonetheless.

Raft could tell they were growing stronger day by day.

Conversely, Raft himself no longer felt the sensation of his own growth.

What had his growth been up until now? He couldn't feel his own progress anymore.

Before he knew it, he had become capable of forging magic iron containing demon ore. He tried forging two short swords and handed them to Katarina and Kirina, but he wasn't quite confident whether they were powerful weapons.

Of course, since they were forged from magic iron, they were much tougher than ordinary short swords. Dubil assured him they were practical.

But...

How much was he really contributing?

He didn't know. And come to think of it, Raft didn't necessarily want to "be useful." He just knew that if he wasn't useful, he wouldn't have a place.

Maybe this wasn't a problem to be solved by asking someone. Because no matter whom he asked, he would surely receive a kind answer.

Despite such concerns, he continued to work with his hands, forging iron with a feeling of hoping for growth that he couldn't feel.

And then, that day arrived.

---

A maze appeared in the rocky mountain area, and it became commonplace for people to come to the forge, but there were still unusual visitors.

On that afternoon, Montego, who was already recognized by everyone as the representative of the orcs, arrived with a carriage.

Riding in the carriage were Junos first, then the traveling merchant Leaf Liza, and Kobold Pookie Shamal, who was supposed to have headed to the Beast King's capital along with Euphemia.

"Euphemia is calling. You guys are coming too," Junos said.

In this case, "you guys" certainly didn't include Raft.

What happened in the Beast King's capital?

Pookie Shamal provided an explanation about this. Everyone gathered in front of the forge, sitting cross-legged, ready to listen with serious expressions.

It was said that Euphemia immediately met with Beast King Randall and was quickly acknowledged. Then Euphemia exchanged greetings with the Beast King's subordinates, and it seemed she was plotting something with Lex Asuka, but Pookie couldn't divulge the details of their plan.

Euphemia seemed to have been focusing on building relationships with the beastmen of the capital for a while, but suddenly she demanded, "Bring Junos and the others."

Why?

At least Pookie didn't know.

"I have no clue!" Leaf Liza said, stuffing her face with pizza while puffing out her chest, but no one said anything in response. Kirina quietly offered more pizza, but whether it was out of kindness or not, Raft couldn't quite tell.

"What do you guys think?" Junos asked with his usual expression.

Strangely, Raft was included in the "you guys" this time, but unfortunately, there were no answers to give.

Nothing but absence.

But within that absence, there was something.

"Didn't Lady Euphemia go to the Beast King's capital to decide whether to cooperate with Lex Asuka?" Katarina's puzzled response seemed more like a confirmation.

Trying to organize things in that way seemed like it might make sense, but upon closer inspection, it still didn't make any sense.

"Why didn't she tell us why she's calling us?" Kirina asked. But Pookie just shook his head, looking troubled.

"In short—" Maya spoke up. "Isn't it that they've decided to kill Randall? So they're gathering forces to their side."

"If that's the case, they should just say it," Jade retorted. He had been asked to forge a curved sword, but he hadn't been able to create a satisfactory one yet. Balancing a weapon like that was more difficult than a short sword.

"It's not Lady Euphemia's will we're understanding, it's Lex Asuka's. She finds Randall distasteful. It's not so much personal as it is her own sense of justice... well, something like justice," Jainos muttered.

In the absence of Junos from the exploration team, Raft had heard that Maya was wielding an axe in a different team. He claimed that he was more suited to slaying enemies than forging iron, which was his personal opinion, but that aside...

Certainly, he didn't sense any selfishness from that lioness woman.

She seemed to be doing what she felt she must do—it looked like that, at least.

"Montego, what do you think?" Junos asked.

Montego, whose sense of distance was clearly distorted—after all, orcs were too big—sat with a puzzled expression, arms crossed, tilting his head slowly as he answered.

"I don't know what Lady Euphemia is thinking. But, I can kinda tell what Lady Euphemia won't do. Lady Euphemia thinks you guys are important. So, Lady Euphemia prioritizes you guys over what she wants to do. So, if Lady Euphemia says 'come,' wouldn't it be that you guys won't be at a loss if you go? That's what I think."

When put that way, it seemed to make sense.

Of course, there was no evidence. But even so, it was persuasive.

"But—then, aren't we just burdens to Lady Euphemia!" Katarina said, gritting her teeth. Although she didn't say it aloud, Kirina next to her wore a similar expression.

But Montego remained unfazed.

"Is that so? Does Lady Euphemia think of you guys as 'burdens'? If she did, why did she seem so happy?"

Indeed—yes, that was certainly true.

Euphemia Grimwood seemed so joyful.

"But, I want to be useful! To Lady Euphemia!"

"If you think so, then you should do it. Lady Euphemia would probably be happy about it," Montego suggested.

Ah— Raft thought.

Indeed, Euphemia didn't necessarily want us to 'be useful.'

So, this was the problem for Katarina, Kirina, and himself.

"So, what are we going to do?" Junos asked cheerfully.

His unwavering demeanor probably came from his firm resolution.

What Euphemia Grimwood thinks, or wanting to be useful—those dimensions didn't matter anymore. That much should have been understood without even thinking about it.

Junos declared himself as 'Grimoire.'

And we—we're 'Grimoire.'

"We're definitely going!"

"We're definitely going!"

To the two who stood up, Junos showed a deeply satisfied smile.

"Then let's go. It's about time we started considering you guys as part of our force. Euphemia probably wouldn't want it, but oh well."