Prospel is not only the name given to the capital of West Valier, but also to the entire south-central part of the kingdom.

Commoners fluent in West Valyer used different tones to distinguish between Prospel and the city, while merchants and nobles referred to it more according to the Lamanic custom of referring to it as "Boer" - meaning beautiful city.

After the fall of the Laman Empire, the nobles and nobles who were defeated in the civil war fled westward, leaving behind a lot of things along the way, and the precious imperial artifacts, scrolls that recorded history, and even various magical items that they took from Aurora kept selling along the way, sowing the seeds of many cultures.

Many historians believe that Sivaliers rose to become the strongest nation on the West Coast precisely because they were the first clan to come into contact with the great spark of civilization of the Lamanites. It is not difficult to understand why this country, which is thousands of miles apart, is so similar to the Lamanites in the way the language is pronounced, in some political structures, and even in the objects that the nobility and the people like.

There are still many words in modern Sivalyya that are common to Lamani - for example, the dagger that Henry now holds in his hand.

In the Lamani and Sivalier languages, it is also called "Graka." ”

Why Henry was holding a Graca will be explained later.

First of all, let's get acquainted with this weapon.

Graka is the name given to a typical Lamanic legion-style dagger. The standard form of Graka is shorter than today's common one-handed swords, but also wider, with a pointed design and a square shield for stabbing at close range, but the wider blade also makes it excellent for slashing.

Okay, now that we've got that, let's talk about why the sage holds it.

In a word, he is now on a mercenary mission.

Well, the task was to test the work of a blacksmith in a small village in the Prospel region.

Just like any other beginner class, junior mercenaries are often given strange tasks. Compared to tasks like helping such and such a man get flowers and give them to such and such a lady, what Henry and Mira are doing right now is actually ...... It's kind of related to the mercenary profession.

- If it hadn't been added to the strange comparison.

"Look, my work is even cooler, isn't it?!" the mercenary gentleman looked at my sword and loved it!" shouted the one with a large pile of shoes hanging from one of the two blacksmiths, in a thick Sivalier accent.

At about 25 years old, he had a shaved head and a white beard, but a thick pile of iron ash, and when he shouted, his spit splashed wildly, causing Henry, who was "in love", to avoid his body a little, which made Mira laugh secretly.

The girl had a similar weapon in her hand, and she chuckled lightly, as did the bald, bearded blacksmith twice the age of the farrier, and with a large pile of farm implements hanging from the shop.

"What is this! This little lady is, you see, how old she is to qualify as a mercenary, and she thinks my weapons are so cool that she can't keep smiling from ear to ear!" The blacksmiths went back and forth, arguing and changing to Sivalier, and Mila began to laugh as they murmured.

The girl ......was a little helpless, and Henry decided to take her out of the area near the more prosperous city-state of Prospel, partly because he wanted to stay away from the aristocrat with whom they had clashed - and for the rest it was, as Henry explained to Benois, that he wanted to train Mira.

It is true that various high-rated and well-paid guild quests can be obtained quickly closer to the Mercenary Guild's headquarters, but that is not something that Mira can accomplish at the moment.

If she wants to be a mercenary on her own, she must start with the smallest things.

The task of capturing wild boars that he took with Alain and them was also the same, and then he was forcibly recruited to suppress the bandits. Although she was a little complacent when she passed the mercenary test and obtained the brand, when she actually carried out activities as a mercenary, the girl only felt that she was a large vase.

Even the lowest-level of the real guild can't complete the real guild listing task as an effective combat force, so the two decided to do some tasks like assisting hunters in some smaller border villages first, which can basically be regarded as practice.

Gain experience, although the reward is not much, but you can make a living and learn gradually.

This kind of task is actually the most done by newly registered mercenaries and lower-level mercenaries, and the mercenary guild even regards it as a practice, and writes it on the wooden board at the guild headquarters for people to read as a teaching - in contrast, like Alain, who wants to take on more difficult and demanding guild tasks, they all have certain ambitions, or are simply young and have insufficient grasp of their own strength.

With that said, since so many people take it as a first step, it has become a routine. Naturally, the locals living in the Prospel region are familiar with these sign-bearing adventurers.

So when Henry and Mira, who had entered the village on horseback, came into the eyes of the two blacksmiths, who were arguing over whose work was better, they were naturally stopped.

A farrier and a farming blacksmith, both aspiring to be sword blacksmiths who can craft weapons and armor, make an agreement to build a Laman-style dagger of the West Valier folk for ten minutes, and then compete with each other.

And so so, so so.

In short, all in all.

In the scene above, the two blacksmiths chose Henry and Mira as their reviewers, but the criteria for evaluating weapons revealed the fact that they were not professional sword smiths.

-- Cool.

Yes, the criteria they use to evaluate the merits of weapons are cool.

The slender grips are intricately carved and finished with a sumptuous golden resin-dyed sword tail counterweight.

The ingenious hollowed-out Sivalier script carved into the blade reads "Born King" - as if it were the legendary Broken Steel Sword.

It's pretty cool on the outside, but it's hard to really get you to comment on which one is better or worse.

It's not the kind of difficulty that everyone is good and it's difficult, but because both swords are bad, you have to carefully study which one is worse.

The two blacksmiths were arguing louder and louder—the inhabitants of the village were going about their business as if they were accustomed to it, and the situation seemed quite tricky, but it was not bothering Henry.

The sage stepped forward and took the hollowed-out dagger in Mira's hand, and then turned to the two blacksmiths, "Hey." A sound caught their attention, and then, in the stunned eyes of the two of them, a sword slashed down the thick wooden mound beside them.

"Bang-bang-" The metal broke and twisted in a moment's mind, and the blacksmith's face suddenly distorted: "Oh my God. He looked at the weapon he had worked so hard to forge and the farrier laughed sinisterly, but Henry then lifted the short sword he had forged.

"No—" The expression on the farrier's face, whose smile had not yet fully bloomed, changed to panic for a moment, and he raised his hands and shouted loudly to try to stop Henry, but it was already too late, too late-

"Ding-Qiang-"

Sparks flew, this time breaking the hilt, the entire intact blade falling to the ground, and the farrier's face twisted.

"......" the sage smiled imperceptibly, and Mira glanced at him with disdain, but couldn't stop snickering.

"Weapons are more important than cool, and if you can work together, a short sword with your hilt and your blade will be a good short sword. Henry said this, while the two of them, looking at their work in distress, looked at him with demonic eyes.

The little leather pocket clanged and dragged on for a long time—mainly to listen to the two men quarrel—and the reward was only a pitiful ten iron coins, but the two weapons that were easily damaged were also counted as compensation for their ears in another sense.

After such a small episode, after the unnamed village had been restocked, Henry and Mira once again headed for the western part of Prospel. Their goal is the hunting town of Pan-Rusian, which is listed on a wooden board at the Mercenary Guild's headquarters, and is famous for producing all kinds of expensive fur ornaments, and the Mercenary Guild labels it as one of the best training places for novice mercenaries.

Ladies and lords and nobles often wore sumptuous suede capes as winter approached, and the soft and warm fur of the small local fox, known as the ring-tailed white fox, became the best material for making a cloak and neck.

The small size of the fox can be defeated even by Mira, so there is no real danger. But at the same time, its dexterous body and alert nature make it not so easy to get close and capture it.

There are no dangers that are excessive, but you can hone your skills and most importantly - make money.

Henry told Mila a few things on the way here, and the girl agreed that the two of them would stay here for a short time, sharpening and learning.

The horse's mobility is quite high, and although it is not possible to run at full speed because the reins of the other horse must be attached to the saddle of the horse in front of it, the horse trotting on a flat section is still very quick to reach its destination.

Let the horses go, register at the inn, and because it was still daytime, the two of them were not idle, and walked directly to the entrance and exit at the rear of the town that led to the plain.

It was quite far from the foothills of the Tambur Mountains, and some shrubs and sparse woods that were not part of the Monster Forest were scattered scattered throughout the view.

Autumn in Prospel is grayish-blue, and without the howling winds of Ecasta, it looks peaceful and laid-back.

Busy mercenaries ran by, almost all of them wearing green cards. Most of them go it alone, but there are some young people who are with their friends like Alain before them.

Most of them walked away empty-handed with a tired face, and only a few of the older, more experienced ones carried one or two ring-tailed white foxes.

Henry noticed that a large percentage of those who were successful in hunting were untagged, and with their clothing, they were more like full-time hunters than mercenaries.

The difference between the two is fairly simple, mercenaries are equipped with main combat weapons, such as one-handed swords or axes, as are archers. Hunters, on the other hand, usually carry only a skinning knife in addition to the longbow and short bow for hunting, and they do not wear armor.

From these distinctions in clothing, the status of the lower-level mercenaries in society can be seen to a large extent.

A grueling profession that has a little to do with fighting people, occasionally goes to suppress bandits, and most of the time is forced to hunt because of livelihood.

The vast majority of low-level mercenaries don't have any real reputation in their lives, and their weapons and armor cost money, and if they are damaged in battle or hunting, they may lose money after a hard trip.

In this place where they are standing now, these busy young or not young junior mercenaries who come in and out, how many of them will spend their lives in idleness after this.

Henry pondered leisurely, and looked at the notice written on parchment on the wooden board at the entrance of the town.

"The Anse Air Chamber of Commerce buys ring-tailed white foxes, each for 60 dennos, the more the better. Mira was illiterate, Henry read, and then tilted his head to look down at her.

"Not a bad pay, go try your luck?" he said, and the white-haired Lo An nodded earnestly.