How To Subdue a Masochist Princess

Upon arriving at the commercial district, the vice-captain and I had to be especially careful not to get swept up in the crowd.

On the wide street in the center, numerous wagons were moving around, and on the sidewalks on both sides, various races that were not usually seen were walking around.

Only carriages with prior permission were allowed to pass through the commercial district, so we had no choice but to leave the carriages behind and walk. This was an imperial edict, so even the nobles were no exception.

"Kreuk... What kind of human race has that kind of energy..."

"The smell of blood and death vibrates from a human who has not even lived a hundred years. What kind of life have you lived?"

As I passed by, several races with sensitive senses openly looked on me with wariness, but as long as I did not cause trouble, it didn't matter.

"This place is truly amazing! The scale itself is overwhelming."

The vice-captain was looking around, looking at the strange-looking foreign races and the large buildings as if they were new to her.

Her innocent country girl-like reaction that didn't match her dignified appearance was quite unfamiliar.

Well, after leaving home, she lived an ascetic life, never leaving the knights' quarters and only repeating work and training.

Then it was understandable that she would react like that. Even I, who visit here often, am amazed by the new sights I see every time I come here.

"I agree. Listening to you, it feels a bit like a battlefield. It's like a battlefield where people fight while scattering gold instead of clashing swords."

"Your words sound meaningful…"

While chatting with the vice-captain, we arrived at our destination before we knew it.

A giant furnace standing tall in the middle of the commercial district.

It looked extremely dangerous, but because it was imbued with a special mystery, the tremendous heat never escaped outside.

—Thump, thump!

The ceaseless hammering noise coming from the forge built under the blast furnace was already irritating to the ears.

As I approached closer, the thick smell of bitumen wafted in.

"Well, we've arrived. Didn't you and I both have our armors torn apart in the last battle? Let's get new armor here."

"Yes. Of course, that's fine, but there's a warning sign written right there. Can we come in?"

[No visitors allowed! No orders for weapons!]

"The owner is very playful and is doing this on purpose, so don't worry about it too much."

"It's not a joke... The door seems to be firmly locked."

Old Man Eitri, your bad taste is still there.

You set up a forge in the middle of a commercial district where countless people come and go. That was just written to fool the guests.

It must mean that they won't accept guests unless they know them.

Even the master, and the long-lived monks who have lived for quite some time, sometimes act like children because they are too old.

"Old man, can you hear me? I'm coming in! I'm going in!"

"Where are you coming from! You devilish disciple of a bastard! I'm working, so don't disturb me!"

That meant that it was nice to see them again after such a long time.

As I opened the door and went inside, the eyes of countless blacksmiths of various races were all focused on me.

It was larger than ten blacksmith shops combined. The inside was filled with hot air and the smell of iron.

The vice-chief hesitated for a moment at the magnificent appearance that was different from ordinary blacksmith shops, but then followed me obediently.

As I went further inside, I heard a loud voice that sounded like thunder.

"How! Master and disciple are torturing this old man! What have you come to see me for this time! Did you break my armor again because you couldn't handle my strength? You damn monster!"

"It's nice to see you again, Elder Eitri."

—Shoot!

An old dwarf who was sitting on a tall workbench in the center of the blazing flames and hammering away jumped straight in front of me.

The dwarf's characteristic short stature, his bald head without a single hair, and his long, braided white beard were impressive.

"You! You arrogant little brat! This time, you're carrying an ice block beside you, not to mention a witch hag!"

"I apologize for coming so suddenly, Elder. I have important work ahead of me with my precious subordinate."

"Aww, shoo!"

Aitri looked at me and the vice-captain with a displeased look before guiding us to his office/warehouse.

"He seems to be reluctant to me. I wonder if I came to a place I shouldn't be…"

"It's okay as long as you don't show your true colors. The elder may have a rough way of speaking, but he's a warm person on the inside, so don't worry too much."

"Stop talking nonsense and follow me!"

The vice-captain seemed quite flustered, having a hard time adjusting to the unique atmosphere here.

When we actually arrived at the warehouse, her expression, which had been filled with confusion and bewilderment, soon turned into pure amazement. The warehouse was no different from a treasure trove.

"Wow… All these swords and armors are incredible masterpieces. I've heard that dwarves are good with their hands, but this is beyond my imagination."

"Ha! You have eyes for a block of ice. If you don't mind carrying around a piece of crappy metal as a sword, you have a much more desirable attitude than that arrogant little brat."

As the vice-captain said, there were a lot of high-quality cold weapons and armors on display here.

However, those were just the tip of the iceberg, and the real masterpieces that the old man boasted about were stored in the underground cave hidden below.

I thought that the vice-captain, who was visiting for the first time today, would never reveal that much.

"You, block of ice! If you don't like the sight of you carrying that sword, come over here!"

"Huh? Isn't that just a dirt floor?"

—Kugu-kung!

He seemed to be in a good mood after hearing the compliment.

As expected, he was a bit blunt in his words, but he was a very easy-going and affectionate old man. I guess he was being considerate of me because I called him my subordinate.

In addition, the sight of her using a mass-produced weapon after her sword broke in the last battle seemed to have stimulated her unique craftsmanship.

Eitri, who had gone down to the underground armory and quickly came up, handed the vice-captain a rapier that had a cool chill to it.

"This is…?"

"Here! This is the perfect sword for you. It's something I put a lot of work into, but since that damned brat is my favorite subordinate, I'll show you a special one. You can swing it once."

Her hands trembled several times as she accepted the sword. She immediately realized that it was no ordinary object.

Eitri was a master craftsman who had been hammering away for hundreds of years, making tens of thousands of weapons and serving countless celebrities as his clients.

—Gooooo…

A sight that gave off an unusual chill. Perhaps no weapon would suit the vice-captain better than that.

"What do you think? Just right? Even the ice block that was either a knight commander or a general really liked that guy's brother sword. Would you like to buy it?"

As if to prove my prediction, the vice-captain's eyes instantly turned passionate as soon as she grabbed the sword hilt. She would never want to miss this opportunity.

"Of course I will buy it. But, how much should I pay?"

"1500 gold! I should charge several times more, but I'll just charge the material cost."

—Hiccup!

The vice-captain's expression instantly hardened upon hearing the price. It certainly wasn't cheap.

However, in my opinion, it seemed like the old man had really shown great generosity. Let alone 1500 gold, in my opinion, that was a rare item that should easily be worth 10,000 gold.

Perhaps it was the old craftsman's strange philosophy that a weapon should find a suitable owner, so he was selling it for nothing.

After mulling it over for a while, the vice-captain finally made a difficult decision.

"Understood. I will pay 1500 gold."

"Yes, you made a good choice. Ask any of your disciples outside to write the contract. Now it's yours."

"Thank you. But... is it possible to pay in installments?"

"What?"

Eitri nodded his head in disbelief. Then the vice-captain looked at me and smiled brightly like a child.

"Captain. This is the first time I've seen such an excellent sword in my life... It seems like something worth investing all my savings in."

"Congratulations. It's all your luck to have such a good weapon."

I told the elder why I came here, leaving the vice-captain behind, who was carefully sweeping the blade and making a mysterious expression that was half joy and half worry.

"Sir, I need two decent suits of armor. I'd like it to be completed in a week if possible."

"A week? That's enough! One set for you and the other for him?"

"Yes. That's right."

"Got it. You take care of the small stuff with the guys outside."

That was the end of the armor order.

We'd already had many dealings with Eitri, so there wasn't much need for a lot of conversation between us.

"I'll go to work now, so you guys can come out after I finish measuring your body measurements."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Damn it. I already have a lot of work to do, and you've made it even more of a hassle. Master or disciple, anyway..."

He muttered something as if he didn't like it, and left the vice-captain and me in the warehouse before going outside.

Rather than being genuinely dissatisfied, he seemed embarrassed by his eccentric personality.

As soon as the old man disappeared, several measuring tapes flew in and began to wrap around our bodies.

I don't know what it's called, but it's something that's often used in high-end clothing stores because it prevents you from having to make uncomfortable contact while measuring your body.

But the vice-captain looked quite flustered. It seemed like this was probably the first time he'd experienced something like this.

"Chief? What the hell is this?" "I'm going to measure your body measurements. Spread your arms and stay still."

"Oh, I see... You've had a lot of really strange experiences today."

—Whoa!

But while he was measuring his body, an extremely embarrassing scene occurred.

"Ugh, ahem…"

Because the tape measure that was measuring the vice-captain's chest almost dug into her large chest.

Not only that, the tape measure that seemed extremely difficult to measure failed to measure her entire chest and fell to the floor helplessly.

The two of us who saw that sight were both speechless.

After a quick glance, the tape measure was cut off at the latter half of 90cm.

It was broken from the beginning, but it must have been doing its job without any problems until now. Most of these knights have slim bodies.

In the end, after measuring all body measurements except for one area, the tape measure that had done its job fell to the floor all at once.

The vice-captain quietly picked up the tape measure that was measuring her height and handed it to me.

"…There's nothing we can do. Would you like me to measure it for you, Captain?"

"Me? Are you really okay with it?"

"Well, of course it's embarrassing, but… Captain, it's okay."

I approached her with a two-meter tape measure.

Being behind the small woman, wrapping a long rope-like object around my chest, I somehow felt like I was committing a great sin.

"Ugh...!" "Don't make such strange noises. It seems like you're doing something harsh."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

The vice-captain's chest circumference was in the three digits.

I felt like I had come across some forbidden knowledge that I shouldn't know.

After finishing my work at the blacksmith shop, the vice-captain and I sat side by side in the carriage again.

We were going home anyway.

Since I only had to move a little more, I decided to take her to the dormitory for single female knights where she was staying.

"Captain. Thank you so much today. Thanks to you introducing me to a good blacksmith, I was able to obtain a famous sword. How can I repay this favor…?"

"What favor? Elder Eitri never sells swords to just anyone. It was meant to be yours from the start."

"I'm grateful that you say that. It really feels like a dream."

The vice-captain held the newly acquired sword in his arms with a happy smile on his face.

I watched her quietly with a smirk. As for me, I just hope that she fights better in the important mission that will come.

After enjoying the happiness for a while, the vice-captain opened his mouth cautiously as if he had made up his mind.

"Captain. I paid for the sword, but I remember not paying for the armor yet. If the bill comes, please show it to me. I will definitely pay the full price."

I wondered why he was so worried, but it was because of that.

"You don't have to pay. Didn't I destroy your perfectly good armor when I was performing emergency treatment? I guess this is compensation."

"Huh? That's ridiculous! Asking the person who saved your life to pay for the damages incurred during the rescue? That's against the law!"

I quietly watched her, looking completely flustered.

I realized once again that the vice-captain was a very upright person.

Armor is a consumable item anyway, and it would cost only a few thousand gold at most. That amount wasn't a burdensome amount if you were giving it to a precious subordinate as a gift. However, it didn't seem to be the case for her.

Seeing the vice-captain, who was from a noble family, tremble at the mere 1,500 gold, there must have been some circumstances that made her financially difficult.

"Please, don't change your mind."

Eventually, she bowed her head to me.

How on earth could I say this so that she would feel less burdened?

"Vice-captain. I told you this morning that I had something important to tell you, didn't I?"

"Yes. That's right. Well, then, really?"

I found the vice-captain's unnecessarily serious appearance both admirable and cute, so I ended up caressing her head without thinking.

"It's really okay. You're my most important subordinate, so if you're really feeling uneasy, wear good armor and try your best not to get hurt. That's enough. I don't need anything else."

"Ah, ahh..."

I was feeling proud that I had become a good boss, but the vice-captain's condition suddenly became a little strange.

Her face was extremely red, and her breathing was extremely rough. If I looked closely, even her pupils were loose.

"Vice-captain, Vice-captain Agnes! Are you okay?"

What the hell.

It was the aftereffects of the mana explosion.

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