25-177

EP.177 [The Secret of the Barbarian Woman Mina.] 

“Ajossi~! Today was so fun and happy~!” 

Under a sky tinged red by the sunset, Margaret waved her hand at Eugene Schneider. She was seeing him off after he had finished showing the children around the mercenary village and brought them back to the slum. 

“Yeah! I was really happy today too, kids! If you wait just a bit longer, we’ll all be able to live together in the place you saw today! We’ll eat lots of delicious food and play lots of fun games there, kids!” 

Eugene waved back at the children. 

He truly felt proud and happy. The children, who hadn’t lost their brightness despite the harsh conditions of the slum, moved him deeply. Eugene Schneider had vaguely promised to stay with them to the end. Now, that promise was coming into view. Seeing the children so happy about this future, Eugene himself felt comforted and healed. 

“That’s great! Even the other blacksmiths from the Black-Haired Forge! Maybe we can move the children into the mercenary village even sooner!” 

After seeing the children off, Eugene returned to Pangaea with Marie and Mina. Marie parted ways mid-journey to head to her own lodging, while Eugene and Mina headed to the Black-Haired Forge. Along the way, Eugene was amazed to hear that the other blacksmiths at the forge had decided to join Mina in her plans. 

“Yes, actually, before you arrived this morning, I discussed it with Captain Jeanne. Personally, I really want to get the kids moved in as soon as possible.” 

Mina affirmed Eugene’s words. She had started quickly organizing the Black-Haired Forge to focus on moving the slum children into the mercenary village. She worked hard to assign excellent new head blacksmiths to the forge’s staff. But the blacksmiths told Mina they wanted to join her as technicians for the Red Fox Mercenary Village. 

This meant more new residents for the village. So even though the village wasn’t finished, Mina thought they might be able to bring the kids from the slum to live there soon. 

“Honestly, seeing how happy the kids were today, I wanted to get them out of the slum right away. But I thought it would be difficult since the Red Fox Mercenary Band will be away for the special quest. But if you and your colleagues join in, Mina, that changes everything.” 

Eugene also expressed a positive outlook on Mina’s hope. He too wanted to get the children out of the dangerous slum as soon as possible. Right now, only Mina and the Red Fox Mercenary Band could act as guardians, but the mercenary band would be away for a long time on the Drake special quest. So he thought they’d have to wait until autumn, but the addition of trustworthy people could definitely speed things up. 

“Thank you for seeing it that way, Eugene. I was worried I might be overstepping as a blacksmith in a mercenary village...” 

“What are you talking about! It’s called a mercenary village, but we’re a community! Mina, you and the kids are rightful members of our community!” 

Mina was grateful that Eugene immediately understood her thoughts and feelings. For her, this had been a long-cherished dream. Now that it was so close, she felt anxious, but Eugene only wanted to help more, not less. So Mina ended up feeling guilty for acting so impulsively. 

“And you’re the one who said you wanted to give me a present, Mina! We’re already giving and receiving with each other!” 

Perhaps it was because Mina’s life had always been about giving, not mutual exchange. Eugene, knowing this, made a joke to emphasize that he and Mina were friends who could ask and be asked for things without hesitation. 

“I’m really glad I can give you the present before you leave for the quest. Please, come in, Eugene.” 

“It’s something from the forge, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, that’s right.” 

Soon, Eugene and Mina arrived at the Black-Haired Forge. The present Marie had spoiled was clearly something Mina wanted to give him in person at the forge. 

“Oh! This is-!” 

Entering Mina’s head blacksmith office, Eugene immediately saw the present Mina had prepared. His eyes widened, like a child seeing a toy they really wanted. 

“It’s armor, Mina!!” 

The gift Mina had prepared for Eugene was a new greatsword armor. 

“Yes. I thought there was a limit to just reinforcing and patching up your old armor. It would be hard to keep up with your ever-improving condition, Captain Eugene. So I made a brand new set. It’s greatsword armor made from a special metal called Baramion steel.” 

It was greatsword armor made from Baramion steel, sourced from Himena, a shop owner at the Sahara market. 

Mina had gone to the Sahara market over a month ago, but the armor production didn’t start right away. Just bringing Baramion steel to Pangaea was a challenge. Originally, she planned to make the armor on-site and bring it to Pangaea, but the mercenary village project got in the way. So the real work began when Eugene left for Helios, which allowed for perfect secrecy for the surprise. 

“I’ve heard of Baramion steel! When I was on the Pilgrim’s Road! I think it’s a rare metal from the Barbarian region?” 

Eugene reacted to the keyword. 

“Baramion steel has an excellent balance of mana conductivity and durability. It’s perfect for making greatsword or giant axe armor, where you need both physical and magical durability. The Baramion steel I personally sourced from the western desert is top-grade.” 

Mina explained the functionality of the Baramion steel armor. Even in the Empire’s black market, Baramion steel circulates, but most of it is mixed with impurities and not of high quality. Only experienced blacksmiths or industry insiders know this. Mina, as a greatsword armor specialist, naturally knew, so she went to the Sahara Desert herself to get pure Baramion steel. 

“Oh...! This is lighter than I expected! It looks really heavy, but it’s not.” 

Eugene tried on the new armor. With Mina’s help, he learned the new system, which was different from his old armor. He was amazed by the fit. 

“That’s the biggest difference between pure Baramion steel and the impure kind. That’s why heavy weapon classes get the most out of Baramion steel armor.” 

Mina explained why Baramion steel was so specialized for greatsword armor. Most greatsword users are big, and since melee combat is their main role, they need more steel for durability. Baramion steel perfectly offsets that downside. 

“Of course, there are reasons to mix in other metals. Pure Baramion steel is hard to work with. I only know how thanks to my master.” 

“Ohh...! I see, Mina!” 

Despite its many advantages, Baramion steel isn’t widely used, or is diluted with impurities, because it’s so hard to forge. It’s only mined and processed in certain areas, so few know how to handle it. 

“Wow... I was honestly a little nervous about fighting outlier monsters, but with this new armor, I feel a surge of confidence, Mina!” 

After fully putting on the Baramion armor and grabbing his greatsword, Eugene felt a rush of excitement. Getting a top-tier item before a huge mission-he couldn’t help but be thrilled. 

“By the way, I heard the Red Fox Mercenary Band will be facing an outlier monster in this quest... Is it hard to tell me what kind it is?” 

As she checked Eugene’s fit and looked for ways to improve the armor, Mina’s eyes lit up at the mention of an outlier monster. Now that she was half a member of the Red Fox Mercenary Band, Thomas and Marie had been sharing various things with her. 

“Hmmm... I thought about that too, and I heard that expert awakeners usually tell their exclusive blacksmiths everything, even if it’s supposed to be a secret. It’s an unspoken rule, right?” 

Eugene seemed to understand why Mina was asking. To buff a weapon or armor, the blacksmith needs to know what kind of quest and enemy their client will face. As quests got tougher, Eugene had learned that even the Imperial Knights’ expert awakeners would secretly tell their blacksmiths, even if it was officially confidential. He’d heard this during his time at the Imperial Knights’ arena. 

“We’ll be heading to the Enclema Cliffs in the western desert. The outlier monster is believed to be a top-class monster: a drake. No one’s seen it directly, but all the evidence points to a drake.” 

So Eugene told Mina both the location and the likely monster for the upcoming quest. 

“A drake???” 

When Eugene mentioned the drake, Mina’s eyes went wide. 

“Oh! So you know about drakes, Mina! I figured you’d know, with all your knowledge. Just mentioning the name would be enough.” 

To Eugene, Mina’s eyes didn’t just look surprised-she seemed to have deep knowledge about drakes. 

‘I know...’ 

Yes, Mina knew very well. 

‘Because it was a drake that destroyed the Mohican tribe.’ 

And that wasn’t just knowledge-it was something she had experienced firsthand.