“Then the new sword should be Petel’s, of course.”

Petel’s sword.

That blade would surely provide excellent nourishment. It would hold the years of a swordsman who had reached the rank of 「sword walker」 and a seasoned knight. But Liam snorted.

「Ridiculous. Young descendant, you are not yet ready to eat that sword.」

“... Not ready?”

「That sickly knight’s sword is far too large and heavy for you as you are now. It would take far too long to digest. More importantly, wouldn’t that leave you with a whole month to fill?」

I stared blankly at Liam as I answered.

“Now that I’ve become a sword beginner, I assumed I would spend that month doing some intensive training.”

「Intensive training?」

“Yes. I’ve developed enough flexibility and stamina, so I thought I would start the strength training swordsmen usually do, or that you would teach me swordsmanship yourself, Master...”

「Ho ho. You’re still thinking like an ordinary man.」

Liam burst into a chuckle and continued.

「Haven’t I told you time and again? The Caravans are special. We are different from everyone else.」

“...”

「We who have the blood of steel flowing through our veins have no need for mindless training. Caravans achieve greatness in battle. Like a sword that grows harder with every hammer blow.」

Liam regarded me with cold eyes.

“But fighting the unwelcome visitors who come here no longer gives me anything worthwhile.”

「Indeed. You would be better off fighting wild beasts.」

“Then...?”

「Fortunately, this utterly broken Iron Kingdom has no shortage of people who hunger for combat.」

Liam’s eyes softened with emotion, as though he were remembering the past.

「I wonder whether that tradition still survives in the Iron Kingdom.」

“...?”

「A place where people gather, regardless of birth or station, wanting nothing but blood and battle. A place more than capable of hardening you.」

A bloodthirsty smile spread over Liam’s face.

「In my time, we called it the fighting pit.」

* * *

The 「fighting pit」.

A vast circular stadium in the heart of 「Perma」, the steel city in the eastern Iron Kingdom. There was always an interesting fight taking place there. “Racial Duels” brought together fighters from various races. “Beast Duels” pitted notoriously ferocious beasts against one another to determine which was strongest. “Wild Duels” matched humans against beasts...

I didn’t know who had first designed it, but whoever it was must have understood the human animal well. Determining what was stronger, or who was superior, was a primal human instinct. Thus, this enormous circular stadium had endured for centuries, hosting all manner of duels even today.

The most popular of these was the “Combat Duel.” Fighters of all kinds rolled across the dirt and fought like dogs, while spectators gambled on the fighters they supported.

“I asked around, and apparently it’s still doing a thriving business.”

「I thought as much. Human instinct never changes. That clown who designed it must have been a genius.」

“Though they apparently call it the Arena now, rather than the fighting pit.”

「Well, it has been a long time. The name could have changed.」

The fighting pit of Liam’s era still existed, with only its name changed.

「You’ll find new experiences there. Few places on the entire continent offer such dirty fighting or bring together such a variety of fighters.」

“... Is it that big?”

「Yes. You wouldn’t know, having spent your entire life in this musty little backwater.」

“No, I’ve heard the name before. I just didn’t recognize it because you called it the fighting pit.”

Liam smirked at my reply.

「The very fact that you asked whether it was big proves you’re a country bumpkin, young descendant.」

“...?”

「That stadium is the very thing that allowed Perma to become known as the steel city and rise to prominence as one of the Iron Kingdom’s great cities.」

Well, it was hard to appreciate its scale from words alone.

Perhaps Liam knew that, because he offered no further explanation. Instead, he simply repeated his usual advice.

「Better to see it yourself than hear me explain. Look with your own eyes and judge for yourself.」

* * *

There were two reasons I had stayed in this deserted village and silent manor until reaching the rank of 「sword beginner」. First, I hadn’t felt much need to leave. Second, I hated the thought of unwelcome visitors sullying the place I cherished.

「You needn’t worry anymore. You now have a dependable neighbor.」

As Liam said, the second problem had been resolved.

“Sir Petel, something has come up that requires me to leave for a while. I would like you to protect the village until I return, so that unwelcome visitors cannot defile it.”

“I would gladly do that for you.”

As befitted an honorable knight, Petel agreed to my request.

“I shall guard the unoccupied cottages in this village. And I shall keep everyone out of that splendid manor, where you must have so many precious memories, young lord. On my honor.”

Hearing that rigidly principled knight pledge his honor was immensely reassuring.

It was good to have a neighbor I could trust.

Watching Petel give me his firm promise, Liam spoke.

「To fulfill your desires, you will need to grow stronger yourself, but you will also need dependable allies. You cannot protect everything alone. Unless you are as great as I am, of course.」

“... You could have left out that last part.”

「Ho ho. If the records had survived, I wouldn’t have to go out of my way to say such things. How irritating.」

Joking aside, Liam wasn’t wrong.

I had a long road ahead of me, and I couldn’t reach the ends of the sky while shut away in this tiny domain. Eventually, I would have to travel the wider world.

To do that, I needed neighbors who would protect my precious domain. People who were trustworthy, strong, and able to get along with me.

「Well, don’t worry too much.」

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”

「Once you become strong enough, people will gather around you of their own accord. That is the way of the world.」

It sounded rather vague, but as always, Liam was probably right. I nodded and left the village for the first time in a long while. Never in my life had I set out on such a long journey.

The steel city of Perma was unquestionably one of the largest cities in the Iron Kingdom, and lay quite far from this remote little village. But I couldn’t fear the journey. As I had seen in the swordswoman Mary’s memories, encountering the wider world would be of tremendous help to me.

「Get into the carriage, child.」

Listening to the clatter of hooves, the driver’s cries of “Hyah!” and the crack of his whip, I watched my domain recede into the distance. My hand stroked the new, long, slender Needle I had obtained to replace the broken one.

After five days of travel by carriage, I reached my destination.

* * *

「Perma」, the steel city.

One of the Iron Kingdom’s great cities, and a sanctuary of swords where steelworking had reached extraordinary heights. This was where all the Iron Kingdom’s arms and armor were made—and where all of them were put to use.

The 「Arena」, the enormous, magnificent circular stadium towering in the center of Perma, was the city’s very symbol. Its massive scale made it hard to believe human hands had built it. Screams and cheers rang out together from this splendid structure at all hours.

“... It really is absurdly big.”

「Don’t look so amazed. You look like a country bumpkin.」

The Arena’s overwhelming size left me stunned for a moment. And it wasn’t the only astonishing sight. The city itself, teeming with people and incomparably busier than my domain, was utterly unfamiliar. Merchants haggled over prices. Hawkers stopped passersby to solicit their business. People raised their voices over one another as they showed off their purchases.

Bards stood in the middle of the street with instruments in hand, singing at the tops of their voices. Gypsies danced and tempted people to spend the night with them. Drunks seized one another by the collars and brawled.

People of every description mingled in a dizzying jumble.

“Uh—that’s—”

While I was still half dazed, some small dwarves caught my eye. They were as short as children, but heavily built. Sporting thick beards and faces smeared with charcoal soot, they laid out blades on the ground and shouted in rough voices.

“Anyone who needs a weapon, come this way!”

It was the first time in my life I had seen another race in person.

Dwarves.

A race as numerous as humans in the Iron Kingdom, these short folk made their homes partway up the 「Sky Mountains」. They were born friends of fire and steel. So much so that people said the gods must have created their race specifically to make blacksmiths.

They were not easily burned even when touching heated iron, could craft anything superbly without being taught, and felt intense joy in making arms, armor, and tools.

Actually, though, calling them another race wasn’t quite right.

Because...

「It has been a long time since I saw my own kind.」

According to Liam, the Caravan family was of mixed dwarven ancestry.

In other words, half the blood flowing through my body was dwarven.

「Dwarves just entering boyhood, are they? It seems they worked up the courage to come here and show off the weapons they made.」

“... Those are boys? They look like men well past thirty.”

「Can’t you see how youthful their faces are? Now, if you look closely—」

They all looked like middle-aged men to me, but Liam evidently saw them differently.

He went on and on about how to tell a dwarf’s age, something I had no interest in whatsoever. Perhaps sensing my boredom, he soon changed the subject.

「Dwarves truly are dwarves. Even weapons made by youngsters are of overwhelmingly superior quality.」

“I would like to try using a dwarf-made sword someday.”

「And so you should. Though it is far too early for that yet.」

After all, I could barely manage to eat a sword found lying in a slum rubbish heap.

I gave a hollow laugh and looked away from the swords the dwarves were selling. At first, these new surroundings had fascinated me, but after a while, weariness began to replace wonder. As I searched for an inn to spend the night, I asked Liam a question.

“So I’m supposed to fight various fighters in the Arena, take all the swords of those I defeat, and eat them? That certainly would let me grow stronger quick—”

「No. You must not do that.」

No?

Duels in the Arena ended only when one fighter took the other’s life. The victor then had the right to claim the loser’s equipment as spoils. Naturally, I had assumed that was how this would go. Liam looked at me and shook his head.

「Not only would such poor-quality swords be of no use to you, indiscriminately swallowing swords that do not suit you would actually ruin you. If you could grow stronger that way, I would have told you to eat every blade in that slum rubbish heap in the first place.」

“Oh...”

「Do that, and you will fall under the swords’ sway and lose yourself. That must not happen. The swords must not control you. You must have complete control over them.」

Lose myself. Somehow, I understood what he meant.

Then what sort of sword was I supposed to eat?

I still lacked the ability to tell what a blade contained just by looking at it.

When I gave him a look that said as much, Liam spoke.

「Do not worry. Until you open your ‘eyes,’ I shall choose your swords myself.」

That was reassuring.

「So always express your gratitude for the assistance of someone as great as me, child.」

“Ah, yes...”

It would have been perfect if he hadn’t added that last part.

Anyway, after wandering around for a couple of hours, I found a suitable inn, paid in copper coins, and stayed the night. Being in a big city didn’t make the inn particularly good. If anything, they seemed to think they could get away with anything: the bed was garbage, and so was the dinner.

「Once you become a swordmaster, you should challenge that rude landlady to a duel of honor.」

“Agreed.”

Well, I was the one who needed a room, so there was nothing I could do.

After a dreadful night, I left early the next morning and headed straight for the Arena.

「Quite a few people are burning for a fight.」

Even at that early hour, a long line stretched out in front of the Arena. None of them were spectators. They were all fighters who had come to fill out applications to compete.

As I endured the tedious wait, Liam spoke.

「This will be exciting. Even I sometimes look back on those heated days in the fighting pit.」

Like the old man he was, Liam rambled about the past without being asked. Fortunately, it helped pass the time. The line soon dwindled, and when I entered at a guard’s direction, I found a friendly-faced receptionist.

Then...

“Have you come to compete?”

“Yes.”

“Then please show me your medal first.”

“...?”

A term no one had mentioned beforehand had just come up.

After a moment of stunned silence, I whipped my gaze toward Liam.

With a perfectly unabashed expression, he said:

「We didn’t have anything like that in my day.」

F*ck.