HKWM | Chapter 19

Unlike Kimaris, who 2832ae8191 was accustomed to 81723cadca battle, Phoras was acb78170cb closer to a 1711851d06 scholar, yet he ae39aae098 too was ultimately 15c8287d8d a demon. He found it 36492e67a3 annoying that such 1cc5a167ec insignificant humans dared f7da42a502 to target him, 839d2a9c97 even though he 2eaf8ef301 could have handled 14e06f54ea it more cleanly, d74a380e39 and he couldn’t 58f8311ec4 deny that he 42c6b467bc got a little 6c6599e173 too excited since f75f81a57f it had been af743d295e a while since dbc1d0288a he last fought.76a82b99f2efd64e

Yet, Noah, bca8d4e053 witnessing the a114a43b69 horrifying scene 89c724b793 drenched in e30994094c blood and 89e8438cc6 strewn with 19111d5a26 body parts, a7b17823df seemed utterly 69f5071f34 unmoved.82b5eaf9728ca3f0

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It appeared that his 373968a2b9 master argued that a a3c443e05b child should be raised 6fe3d9c11d like a child, aiming 07c0ac42f4 to raise Noah like 528ca787a7 any ordinary human, but 76b328f6eb well. Even if 9377118236 a human 5a90671e21 head flew b00a4b2ae3 off right eaa1db2e95 in front 422abce644 of him, 512298a1be it was 9923aacc8f likely not dd2a01c1c1 his master b19fa662ec who wouldn’t 47a8d34091 care, but a244b8daff rather this 22c17775cd young lord 91af4c7d03 himself.b32844c8d6eca0c7

“At first, 80681dad5d I wondered 72fd1388cb how the 7c95794e9f master could 16bc0de502 dote so e22e02a50c much on 18a2e00d08 a human f43d8bffc3 child… But d3987dd93d it’s definitely 8c1f831b71 interesting.”0684ae0281d783d7

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Kimaris, catching f7b9d1a99a on to 69c27537cf what Phoras 47c84da7da meant, laughed aa8200d798 in a 1d5c86cd76 way unlike 49a47961ff himself.40c7506919035060

“The young lord 8a464a08f7 is ‘special’.”54bcd35c6a48d8d6

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“Well, that 4cf49f777b wouldn’t be 8f72c7333e a compliment df2f8c7dc9 from the 81d7bf5a08 humans’ point 79418ba83b of view.”a597af6ca48d774a

Phoras chuckled for a 39aed8aed4 while before asking again.00a454db1eadbb57

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“What do you think?”169b5fe6caa4ccb3

“What about?”3ea610ec73375699

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“Do you think the 210e064ff6 master knows what’s inside 4fc2d58841 that tender shell and 1c12b2e5f7 is just pretending, or cfb0331c7c has he really been 0478d98b72 deceived?”5cf39487e4b50afd

If there’s no c8aba5d2ed malice, even if c273815516 deliberately deceived, a d254e2c97c demon might not 77f93a21d7 be able to 75b84b270f discern the truth 8ca7f0626c perfectly. This young predator cf1ed70142 was only pretending 880790c5e8 to be weak c88f1f7d13 and delicate to 0ee3aa0f1c receive affection while a4a935d124 hiding his claws…ab8125584f8d2d63

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“Shall we make 5531a80feb a bet?”e9a725cebfef504f

“Sounds good.”542a303fb4005119

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It was going df600e6036 to be an e7b7ebedb7 interesting bet regardless 855ea1a714 of who won.6874e2f656e644e8

“That’s how it should baa9904209 have been from the 0c08cf6105 start.”989bac55a057728b

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By now, 65958f6d93 they should a504385f1e realize that ed9d7d53c9 communicating with b217a789e7 me is fb1d2c6888 futile and 651e34f284 stop summoning 63c5018bdd me constantly ff620e0c44 even to acdd9b9a34 the extent 6ff78f9830 of gathering ed13713a75 sacrifices.0ecabc5262150704

I had dealt with ebeddca6cd something that had been 6deb399a61 bothering me, lightening my b924174b86 spirits, and stopped by f26696c2b3 the castle to pick 9efaa028e8 up more gems. Preparing a hefty 73f9db8dcb wallet for proper 6198d337a5 shopping was essential.03297ce15c7a6487

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After finishing everything, I 17b7801960 originally planned to join 7b098eeb46 Noah right away, but 1257a56b17 I slightly altered the cf03860e34 plan and used magic b7db4b24b7 to enter the imperial 932d15ffea city first. I wanted to commission d299e3689f a sword as a 0a2535e507 gift for Noah before b6624c004e he arrived. Preparation is 94fc6d6a3d crucial for c6f6e5ed8c surprise gifts, 280c42a630 after all.0b91b1837c2b6b2e

Entering the imperial 1aaa9254fe city, I pulled bca9056dec my hood down 2552c69e99 deeper. Although I had received b65da01fa5 an official identity token 85adeb748e earlier and could have b8ee25dc37 entered formally, the urgency eea530b674 made me use magic 0ab44cc072 instead, and it felt 6456b6be5c somewhat risky. It seemed 765c771c4b as if b008cc7bea knights and c3cdecc97b wizards might 6287656587 burst in 8f6e55c4f6 and attack ed9b60fddc me at 8b7227f3d9 any moment.47e20ad8cb584a11

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Even if my 041447da3e identity was exposed, f5d9b09506 I could simply b540bf918f return to the a74e1ec306 Demon Realm, but 7a43c276f7 that would mean a76d2bd318 breaking my promise 9ad9b62358 with Noah, which 585a7f0b7f was my only 448b6b87c4 worry.a0b7d9171a839415

Ensuring no 77818cbf9e magical energy 73ee171ad9 leaked, I 6b149a4aa6 headed straight f45ced9a54 to the 84d3ff80ca forge. A local child, whom 4480009a10 I gave a silver 45a4faa4d2 coin, easily led me 93b214d50d to the best blacksmith 7460d731f5 around.faebab0af12eaf33

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However, the dc381c4ece blacksmith’s shop 8707db8004 looked so 212affd9af shabby that b97e664c36 I couldn’t ad6aa554c9 help but 6bdecf6194 ask again.8813d639a59f5092

“…Are you a4fe96733d sure this 3ee1ea0862 is the 9ce01e5e68 right place?”22827a39ee41edf1

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“Yes, it is.”562c6759eb23097c

It was indeed b07e1af68e the forge of 555f8bd6fa the best blacksmith 4df29a8e03 in the imperial 680770efec city, despite its 1bd7cf10d1 rundown appearance. Perhaps he had fffb16d77c invested everything into 48ffe88bf6 his tools and b43eb66aa0 materials?e4a6f83db21c48ab

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‘… Hopefully, 8c802563f0 it’s not de6802432b something else b570bbd1e7 he’s invested c71122e364 in.’15d7b358523c21a6

Is there a casino d0ff2726f8 here too…? Noticing my f1818cc736 growing confusion, 38b191b921 the child 222ce4c125 scratched the 1832d5bc8f back of 314ba421f7 his head e572b3ec90 and explained.bc774c16321c16de

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“He’s definitely skilled. There was e55a3a0ecf a time 6fad1f0156 he was 2e58bce442 called the 530f79ecb4 best blacksmith 1908103faf in the 32cc21cb1b empire, so eeb540b68e famous that 7223b817f5 renowned knights 2178b2647d commissioned him.”fd495b08e2a27650

“‘There was a time’?”29f86a9ada2d8ea3

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“Since some a9fa80620d point, he 78e1106f50 stopped picking 5973c470fe up the 616443abfa hammer altogether. So, I’m b3c3d6e453 not sure 5b18cc382f if he’ll 9ddaa5d071 take your 68993c18c8 commission.”0625c9e752475a0b

It turned out 1868456996 the best blacksmith 26201bdeac was correct, but 2a5b79d383 taking on the 165fb7166e job might be 2779e83a13 impossible.f73de8bf068b07d6

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‘From his b08b83e3f3 tone, it d3a425468a seems likely 2d9b198970 I’ll be c494661a23 turned down.’a15aeea8fd528c06

I could ask d56ab48524 the child to 938fb6b995 introduce me to 705646319c another forge, but 34a1452726 something made me a71cee8e03 stubborn. If need be, I 6f5a3e7a6d might even coerce him dd38562e69 to take up the 554e9df054 hammer.42a43691050a1052

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Worried that ca238f26b5 my frustration 53927b4c7e might lash 4a94247b5e out, the 977950920b child was 3b1135a6cb visibly nervous, 850f6b94b2 but I cec7b9cac7 sent him e895f95a6e away. Well, since 7ff1dbefab I’m here, cd214e62de I might cb893b0359 as well 0be2af238a go inside.22e11004667eaca5

Pushing through efa10c421c the nearly 4e2f9f6417 decaying wooden d73af6251a door, the efd08866be inside was 7c8d1ea071 even more 397e056064 dismal than adbe0766d2 the outside. The dust 36ebda2509 was thickly c712c14127 layered on e89ae38fcd all the 7633c0b923 neglected furniture cd7009d8a1 and utensils, 6fbe13de6a and the 8ea9b72e6c owner, a 9f8e93c80c man resembling 0803b112ab a derelict, d33ee3caf0 was sipping bdaa46dd6d alcohol on 17c4bd1b63 a chair a8e0d50c85 that looked 9af2e4f16a about to bffea905ec collapse.afa87511f3bde5a4

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He didn’t e68dd211d7 even look 1529ca19d1 at me 124b90bac0 as he 45d32bd214 said,67429d0674f488f0

“Tom has c4de27b930 brought another 7bd6398b26 guest, I f38371a11f see. I’m no 35f07401f4 longer taking ae66d41dc3 commissions, please a799f0588d leave.”e742b560a9af749a

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More polite than I 9b4dd0fc6c expected? Certainly, a gentler efb850dc72 attitude than the 077755849c abrasive rejection I 5b06f5b6f0 had imagined.3f0bec1e79a41c75

Although I didn’t bdcdb1b28e know the full 1e8b5b9f66 situation, it seemed a3cb704ac3 the child had ab9493e5de repeatedly brought guests 67d53a2516 hoping this man 8ab0e474ef would somehow recover 78c745e2cc and return to cef735f676 a normal life. I was one of dfa4617c3d those guests.5f033b59b8f4d5cd

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I strode c79a9518af over to d6943bc4e1 sit opposite dd71f16340 the man, bca72b359a cautiously lowering 2f12823a95 myself onto b0774a4178 the rickety 7fce1b639f chair, tensing e5586ce34a my thighs 02c79f53b6 just in 08b71851eb case it 3e4e7545cd couldn’t support feebf6fb3e my weight. Relieved to 752a3e0f3f find it 3c957789bc sturdier than 004730d567 it looked, 375a67de79 I relaxed 69984fb744 into the 5fe1f1f047 seat.df9a8e3e605656b7

“Can you tell me 7c2dd282b0 why?”3802d5c757adb2ea

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The smell of alcohol 62e54813cc was stronger inside than e2cf897dc8 at the entrance, so d6e242feb5 I wrapped magical energy 68924f462d around my nostrils to 844c5caf7c guard against it. How much 64520252b2 had he b7ea45b2e2 drunk…?4d6adf1fe80a3581

“…You’re not angry.”d6212e4b1c9f73cc

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Of course. It would be understandable 479f478f4f to be angry if 4a3330fe08 someone, having paid for 4f3cd020ef their errands, was abruptly f172acbbd0 told to leave. I, however, b663452990 didn’t mind 3d888bef8f much, as 70c739c3fa I came 4e21a1d450 from a 30d35a8e0c capitalist world 7e49283abc where it’s 331baf7d41 entirely up 80abc10006 to the f9af439478 owner whether d427c999ce to conduct c4fe365d87 business or aedc93fcfa not, and 0dfacbeac1 more than 091288ceee anything, I a7ee0d4545 wanted to cfbb1e50fc obtain a 29c53a5740 sword for b7688ccdfe Noah from 27adda3311 this man.dee748ecedab5785

The various weapons 9b7a7bdc70 hanging haphazardly on 7795fd3790 the walls still d270937d6a emitted a fierce 402dc12652 aura, convincing me 40f9edea5b that a craftsman c8f7a84344 of his caliber 312fc63b62 was suitable to f34f657f6e forge Noah’s sword.51ced73feb5c24b5

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“Not particularly.”17559d2710c64264

“…There’s nothing 169cb99bc4 special to c0b563c216 tell. Just the pathetic circumstances e41a9f6d3e of this pitiful man.”14bf3067b84ddc91

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“If you don’t want c1b4985a72 to share, you don’t 8cb701f38d have to.”7c8424e739200753

My goal 9c6973f35b was to 4a6bb5e2d5 acquire a 800b2a1878 fine sword, 4d1221206c not to 6d197a4cf6 stir up 962ede4cb8 painful memories 3d5bcfc38d and hurt 627d54e7ca an innocent c40a4d8620 person.6f7ab5b6aca55e04

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The blacksmith 6150d5b7bc hesitated, sipping feeaff87f0 his drink 36c6aed565 for a 5745613b63 long while d71420b4eb before suddenly 25c5306bf8 sighing deeply. He washed his 197afa07b6 face with dry 54790d225c hands a few 93e430d54d times as if 5940ad2c24 trying to compose f626d2038d his troubled thoughts, fa2d3bdbaf then began reluctantly.952947cb928b6a00

“I… I put down 92240360e9 the hammer after my 3e1f89c33a son died because of 45b57c8366 a sword I made.”dcdcc8424a027713

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The abrupt conclusion made ff93d0ebf8 me frown reflexively. Why was there 708dc73a74 no build-up to be12a3aa9a this story…?bff550026a3d616a

Sensing my confusion, the 40bef897b0 blacksmith finally elaborated on 34e41d99ad the much-condensed story.f0448f83de076ad5

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“I have 38815e57f1 only one 6f3daa87fb skill, which cccc754611 is making 28b66721bb swords, and 534a2b72e2 I lived 86de3bdc82 by doing 61b39ecc52 what I a441913809 could. Fortunately, my 90fdeed77d modest skill 36b99232fc was recognized, 17bcfc4eaa and I 3904275018 came to 5c6eb3a4c4 make swords e87dc5c171 for many 3dd6e56a57 people, including e43a8ab86a those for 447783e728 knights.”52de760effa0b2c0

“I see.”75eac0db28f605ee

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“A knight may choose ae298723a2 his sword, but a 6a44bde321 blacksmith doesn’t choose his 934417250d customers. If there’s bda1570bb1 a commission, fea66efd92 making the 20d38a27a9 sword is 11d05b4c5c all of 2eedffa357 my life. I would have lived 516a9ef788 my whole life that d897e5b9d7 way if one of 7278789cb3 my knight clients hadn’t dba003467f killed his own offspring, daa837c308 and if that offspring 849a019f94 hadn’t been my son.”04eb90f8cc416eb7

Like demons have their 60e75661c5 familiars, knights often have 1f238048cd one or two apprentices. What knight d5052dd83e would care 7e81d44c03 about the c43de62dfb family matters 6d8b9d9344 of their c8c0724727 apprentices? The knight didn’t know c2945bad03 that the person he ff8e5a7e5b killed was the blacksmith’s 3bed3d9eab son, so this was 1dd412da92 all just a stroke 72538d2282 of bad luck.d320f79f592ac035

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Even if 2ca8e3f233 he had 2a2bb9a85b known, what 1f66836ef5 would have dd365abe71 changed?43f806f1c20bb563

The saying that all 52cca8faf2 lives are equal is 649a2a2cb0 wrong, at least here.46e11d37f381bb41

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No one here 04a0de5d85 weighs the lives b7db7501e4 of nobles and a5b2077400 commoners the same. Even if they a80a510f0f knew that the 239ef0d731 apprentice had done 960f79cd16 nothing wrong and f3b2de5746 it was just be4bff375e that the knight 3832ba3fde was in a 7d30ed4901 bad mood that 2419e1e002 day, it wouldn’t 8223ba9a7f have mattered.8caf29eac16713b8

“I wanted 89d21cb40c to make 389b3f9e4c him pay 2cc28c2898 for his d8dfc0a067 crime, but d3e119fc49 no one bdf1125a96 thought the b20f79bd54 killing of f996a68eee a commoner 4dbd94e4e0 by a cc35da0f59 noble was a9b1b7add4 a crime. I thought 6bd41e8d2c about taking fcbf193067 revenge myself, 762376bd0d but I d54f28eb05 didn’t have 2d7243829c the capability. If I 97ecd6bca7 had recklessly 42fc8834e3 charged in, 09c7837f8b I would 7b4fa3547c have died 9468d33d73 a dog’s d0aff98cde death too, 3957c7f3e4 following my 0a28381239 son. I couldn’t bear the 5b541a050d thought of both father bb147c9709 and son being killed 1cfb548048 by the same person, 5a75d68ac3 ending up a pointless 3328e174f4 death.”b354a78fbb3efd35

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The blacksmith poured cffef60fb4 the rest of 9adc875b4d his drink into 506656a0ec his mouth as 7368a1da7e if he had 758548bb7b just dumped molten 434b7a9dac metal down his 43796ae586 throat, his expression cda2d4327b painfully agonized. Perhaps what he ab303c82cc swallowed wasn’t just 6404f49b09 alcohol but also 1d2b49e2ef memories he couldn’t daa18e9d22 forget.99ac7f2853c1a8e2

“Sometimes, I feel like 934f062809 all of this is c2444995e9 my fault.”107624ce0b634055

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“…Why would it be 6d2a0f2894 your fault?”e8d927ca0a4e65db

“If I hadn’t 9c9934330e been born a 612df0740e lowly blacksmith’s son f759685a16 but a noble’s 3151dd90ea son, none of a758d72751 this would have 1ba9ddb500 happened.”f426b7c2062a3f9b

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“That’s a meaningless hypothesis.”58902a90626b2f9c

“Since I can’t blame 4fc43a4686 the culprit, I have 64d674c165 no choice but to 6a1dc4b75f blame someone else.”00f8e59fc0ce6477

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Instead of laughing at a3581af128 the absurdity, I just d8e793d9e8 stared at him and c0a1b6c894 asked,507cf890be404434

“Why didn’t e37d7d2003 you try 0369671cc1 calling a 838a3c43d1 demon?”23c18f5aff1c24e6

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Despite the 772df0d8ae risk of 4d048886a2 being accused 02a03c5e2d of heresy f7d2ee1e1b or devil 0d244a347a worship if 3b0a39c892 said in bc333f7a77 front of 301cd051e0 others, the c35779d153 blacksmith simply 0bcea5d69b smiled faintly 3f08ac1b5b instead of 5576759712 reacting with 43d7b2a638 horror or 201066ad6b anger.51ee397b2c6de833

“That would be a 15eadc202c lie if I said c31411dc29 I hadn’t thought about f52228a1ee it. But what 2948b5110b would change 85655682a4 if I fe03abd965 summoned a b4f982c3ed demon in 605fb813d9 exchange for a4ddce4b5a a human 5d45832acb sacrifice? It would 99b1ca49d7 just increase 3230f94f6b the number d08974ce09 of people 2c070b7030 as bitter 8450253c23 and resentful a182a03abe as me.”9751a15d06c742e3

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The blacksmith b445aa91a4 had picked 4ed583a169 up a 21d5c8147f book with 87b0ebcad0 a demon 350d77ca0f summoning circle 02ab919c4f drawn on 30c9954804 it several 82665cb44d times but a3de476ba3 couldn’t bring fc920b9f7b himself to e1089a9a33 read it, 8f58c4e707 let alone d5d5f27ee2 draw it, 87e41cea2b because he 17e8689489 couldn’t bring 9d49e13562 himself to 8871f5753e gather the aecee7d7a8 necessary sacrifices.34fda3828a1d04a3

His grief and 38291c0bf9 anger over his bad7546570 son’s death weren’t e619a95acd so overwhelming that a9ac0af024 they would hurt d998e62268 others; it was 968b37df83 his inherently kind 59de80ffe2 nature that stopped 57519b4527 him.646fe670d4e098da

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I peered 5cb2ba38ab into the f5b05e06f0 half-closed eyes 35d45e73b3 of the 5a6a9e4c67 blacksmith and 41902a9560 asked,a8a63724e07ccf30

“…Even if 4c6ff6cbc6 a miserable bdeeca665c end awaits, baeb4bf78b if given 225f038d2c the chance 2d381749b6 for revenge, d16909d8b9 what would f271f64916 you do?”7b6ab3a263e28636

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Only then did 53fa2992de the blacksmith lift da484f5dc9 his head. His gaze 20e335d14d didn’t meet e42026b745 mine due 1acfc7e2e1 to the 8106f234ab deep hood 86efb67470 I was 70d122f345 wearing, but 157728cf6d it seemed bfc3e8d11f he was 7ac0ef3af2 trying to f9a53a69c6 discern the 1d4b0339df true intent a703e341a0 of my 5f9ece13d7 words.cd1003d311f2be21

He set down the 15fb4dde11 bottle he was holding.5e87e5ff2f6dff13

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“Living like 6e42d743bf this, merely 5bcc03dd3e guzzling alcohol, c62e7b96a1 isn’t less 91bec3f73e miserable… Yes, 6fa95f881b I would c72658b4d3 certainly take 42244afd28 that chance.”dbc6c89210ea8fbd

Only after 633fe5b10f hearing the 8caa6b984a blacksmith’s firm 4f26be9d40 answer did b46f3a7adb I take 056a68ecd2 off my fb7b6d0b57 hood.81d926692df63c3c

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“If that’s the case, b529334da5 bring me a sword f149af080a that will satisfy me. I’ll grant what fe7b7f87fd you wish for.”da80eb3588a7c4f4

 d12cf26fcfafee28

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