HKWM | Chapter 19

Unlike Kimaris, who was 8c95efdf0e accustomed to battle, Phoras a91a4c24b0 was closer to a f0546a8986 scholar, yet he too 71a752fd51 was ultimately a demon. He found efd4c9f25d it annoying 6d7c1ecaa0 that such 06831c0420 insignificant humans 035c884078 dared to b7a22b3cc9 target him, 7e35cb35af even though b695534fda he could 5cf124b517 have handled 3447a7d8e2 it more 8e0f810e3a cleanly, and 3c62a48714 he couldn’t ad36cab452 deny that 12eea90761 he got c1fa9b67ef a little 9d1b890e32 too excited ed03fc00b6 since it e26c85ff3d had been 279bc0e93e a while 215af597cd since he 8b3ad9382f last fought.8173812b1fed08a2

Yet, Noah, 4d0298d532 witnessing the 12ae99423f horrifying scene a597e8538c drenched in a9e3a62b3d blood and 1f409ca8e8 strewn with c932523143 body parts, 55848a5a2f seemed utterly 59a5ac743e unmoved.496698bb540bf0d9

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It appeared that 6863b7a899 his master argued 4240853bbe that a child 07a0419759 should be raised 756d98dc17 like a child, 180a5cdb4f aiming to raise 7ede2d4078 Noah like any 5d44558412 ordinary human, but 1ac44d46f7 well. Even if a 90ef1f7e93 human head flew df9845f2b5 off right in a91624424d front of him, 9e0904f377 it was likely b25f72383f not his master 037811a98e who wouldn’t care, a93e017087 but rather this 41c8112e25 young lord himself.a3801f0adb79471e

“At first, I wondered 7042faeb2c how the master could f880fed4b7 dote so much on 9f5e94bd24 a human child… But 86bf9944cb it’s definitely interesting.”cbfb5f8cf45ca05e

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Kimaris, catching on 931e086ff9 to what Phoras b74eb3d193 meant, laughed in 74d8e0cb9a a way unlike 930a7d05a1 himself.0e5b19b415f093a1

“The young lord 840b25ec26 is ‘special’.”5e1627f67fb212ca

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“Well, that wouldn’t ea0407035c be a compliment ed6c347c53 from the humans’ 61143e2c38 point of view.”f1a710cec4ffd18e

Phoras chuckled for d1656a78d1 a while before 788b7e6de3 asking again.8a81d8ba0db9e588

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“What do you f7fe1debab think?”e25a52b6e8c88df0

“What about?”ce432f7999993ac7

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“Do you c1e19ec7e3 think the 1f606aeb62 master knows 091ce41c71 what’s inside 8012de8d82 that tender 56d8da1bfc shell and c359fc9419 is just 73f595bdca pretending, or 648d6a7c99 has he 4c028dcabe really been fb8cdb3b9d deceived?”f1bef6654f880031

If there’s no 6c929acdc8 malice, even if 3d47bcfd11 deliberately deceived, a 81231933b0 demon might not 7ac771902c be able to a426495e3b discern the truth 5dc7b3b096 perfectly. This young predator 23dfb054bf was only pretending 4764eaa01c to be weak 8fad64a7a3 and delicate to eaae9837de receive affection while bbe3f3f3d6 hiding his claws…42ede6e57113b771

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“Shall we f8dfb0adf1 make a a883c0d9ee bet?”753fd69fff21415f

“Sounds good.”3c67fa513971e1f5

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It was 0fbe119d10 going to 571d5421ef be an b489789c15 interesting bet 56d2869814 regardless of ea1cabd6a2 who won.95b97205f4174927

“That’s how e090c3a1a5 it should afa21a0fcf have been c7af0123b1 from the 71ee7957d3 start.”39e2a2febb5e3e31

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By now, they 46ad4c73f1 should realize that 1f3c3ddc08 communicating with me b3948994d7 is futile and a0668fa3b5 stop summoning me bda9a3609f constantly even to 7937839cd6 the extent of dd6c11a6f0 gathering sacrifices.0281ec421663026c

I had dealt with 22fc91c807 something that had been 3e45096f11 bothering me, lightening my f0438fc224 spirits, and stopped by c4e7b54c9d the castle to pick 6852299e2b up more gems. Preparing a hefty 5d7d2d7b82 wallet for proper 595df1361a shopping was essential.d679c5456ab83a71

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After finishing everything, I cf955445d6 originally planned to join 50fff9e488 Noah right away, but 8ee18f54ca I slightly altered the 6b6a9d5e48 plan and used magic 5531db65ef to enter the imperial 36278ff175 city first. I wanted to commission 3c80975bb1 a sword as a bd32c65ef5 gift for Noah before 1b2e7d081d he arrived. Preparation is crucial 109d0e8a3c for surprise gifts, 08b5949668 after all.7b1da5846f19a4d3

Entering the bdd80e1265 imperial city, 5a2acc9a5b I pulled 9686201064 my hood c75830dca8 down deeper. Although I had received b8f2d265c0 an official identity token 458a60a0b1 earlier and could have b760613e65 entered formally, the urgency 062f7d1639 made me use magic c8f6eeda8a instead, and it felt 0f6d386373 somewhat risky. It seemed 7a75e5eb48 as if 379c3903d1 knights and b18b0e4e50 wizards might b0dcf61bb5 burst in 0ac17f7df8 and attack 37916f77b6 me at b1bdd0ddcd any moment.399294fe6b12ad0d

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Even if 2d279bb0b4 my identity 236d0b1f5e was exposed, 5618cb114e I could 456b95bec8 simply return a311026c28 to the 1810884094 Demon Realm, 9a851fc0ea but that 7567c049d2 would mean c94351f068 breaking my 2e796d2dc9 promise with 8d8a482704 Noah, which 412d941e0e was my ce44ec9cc3 only worry.ffde914bbbd54ddc

Ensuring no magical energy b05fb23096 leaked, I headed straight 16aa300b43 to the forge. A local child, a9165cb5ed whom I gave c8a0c144b3 a silver coin, 936321ac99 easily led me 601d4476be to the best 46ae664767 blacksmith around.95608d61a7e68184

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However, the blacksmith’s shop 72176920fe looked so shabby that 1e95cc2151 I couldn’t help but 3c9b70597f ask again.f25b39219bc3a066

“…Are you 0d4147e8f5 sure this ef294c39bb is the a7c500a552 right place?”6317ca49ffe551f0

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“Yes, it is.”dc72926e84965bf9

It was indeed 375e6e4e35 the forge of b8d1a238ab the best blacksmith 55444924b0 in the imperial 55029c9659 city, despite its da7f8dbc56 rundown appearance. Perhaps he had invested bf96a81913 everything into his tools b6df129631 and materials?1f5c883503a89fcd

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‘… Hopefully, it’s f7f27583dc not something else 68b446329b he’s invested in.’462cb11f72f8a7b6

Is there dd0511bf42 a casino 5982cfaa8e here too…? Noticing my growing confusion, a61ada52a8 the child scratched the 34ae878842 back of his head be367cc9e6 and explained.54382a56c5991da5

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“He’s definitely skilled. There was 9ee171cbb6 a time 9993a2296d he was e8364ee646 called the a5716ac7ff best blacksmith 28e413c2ab in the b7b03e733f empire, so a53180cb13 famous that 2ecab4ad27 renowned knights 7900afaef3 commissioned him.”2d1b4207276e5c89

“‘There was a time’?”7d04d0c21997fec7

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“Since some point, he 83d6645c8e stopped picking up the 9c53e20f6d hammer altogether. So, I’m not d57c5627ec sure if he’ll e471571418 take your commission.”1628b273ac4477df

It turned out 7d4ce68ee2 the best blacksmith 269c894a0a was correct, but 9e0f1f6f1e taking on the 0c9e8d0a3b job might be 068bf637c2 impossible.e0b8a7f67b76ef31

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‘From his tone, 71e07df0f5 it seems likely 632c2b272b I’ll be turned b523d74f9c down.’d432cb759b3fb8d6

I could ask beefa37c51 the child to d453c70e43 introduce me to 5e419b9b11 another forge, but 0464eae419 something made me e813ed757c stubborn. If need ce297c0449 be, I 6c95ca5d62 might even 7685015c5c coerce him bc264a76f6 to take d0d0d69eb7 up the a5e72183e3 hammer.f83bcf5cf7f5972c

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Worried that my frustration ffaea8ff9f might lash out, the b9abcc9928 child was visibly nervous, fd7f68a562 but I sent him 3d965e9f92 away. Well, since I’m 30f272e7a8 here, I might a6432c131a as well go f782493db4 inside.3e522f416f4c099e

Pushing through the 7b49ba2b2d nearly decaying wooden b2104789bd door, the inside 1e4e4ef7f7 was even more dfbde16f55 dismal than the 9f1bc5cc34 outside. The dust f014f70a1e was thickly 92bbe26626 layered on 18cbe81d81 all the a1405eab86 neglected furniture e3d343d6bb and utensils, 08f5a7735d and the 31731ce101 owner, a ab80b64eec man resembling 482e58d028 a derelict, e83e2aea4d was sipping 3dec22b83d alcohol on ab60660a07 a chair 3ccad59a57 that looked 75a0dfdc3d about to dd72b1bcf8 collapse.d3df552069c49e91

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He didn’t even look 9bc1d7736a at me as he cd6cc77ba3 said,45a74d0f51939179

“Tom has brought another 2fe67c38cf guest, I see. I’m no longer taking be4af7e590 commissions, please leave.”73d204d90560ba38

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More polite 9e3f1fe9bd than I 1fc7fa9dfa expected? Certainly, a gentler attitude fdb328373d than the abrasive rejection 2672738db2 I had imagined.a3e8b3c521f3f62f

Although I didn’t 625514ca09 know the full 7ad8af7bde situation, it seemed f27e3b7d45 the child had ecd248f263 repeatedly brought guests 368585551e hoping this man 39c8d044f6 would somehow recover 31038abad0 and return to 308cba116f a normal life. I was 41ca186ac2 one of b382ec2f9a those guests.b8e9d0351794f8ee

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I strode over to 9ad6e182ca sit opposite the man, 2edfd0902f cautiously lowering myself onto 149f05557a the rickety chair, tensing 42e0010ca4 my thighs just in adb22d7a9c case it couldn’t support 7dfc2d8dc7 my weight. Relieved to find it 53f353441c sturdier than it looked, c1846025e2 I relaxed into the 6d48fd283e seat.c8bfe09c968f1e97

“Can you tell me 771912eb60 why?”95f6e7c6eef8ad62

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The smell of 2b2c4bbdab alcohol was stronger da69a9618f inside than at a2c7ba1d88 the entrance, so c637a6cb3a I wrapped magical 2cb397255a energy around my 79a1a70751 nostrils to guard 9ccca8d145 against it. How much had c4957ca4c8 he drunk…?829a3e7d6058f977

“…You’re not angry.”bf8e9e0e251ed757

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Of course. It would b8fb0ebfa2 be understandable 92f8c461d0 to be e64e51e02d angry if 193fbaeefb someone, having fc224b87b8 paid for b48d42c7c6 their errands, 575e4c1abd was abruptly 53167e9335 told to 7acf49df43 leave. I, however, f9aa368085 didn’t mind 352ff5efa8 much, as a729757a2e I came 12aeeba2f3 from a 8969274006 capitalist world 37636dda0f where it’s a34ce4b8ed entirely up a8301d0858 to the 4da17e705a owner whether 9a4bac8f88 to conduct af9bc384be business or 2538b78119 not, and 71c09359c0 more than bcc753754e anything, I 645805e3d3 wanted to 48188edbd1 obtain a 6984511e8a sword for cb7f9b787e Noah from 095c74f21c this man.dec5bce25169a1bf

The various weapons 7f6d5d4cb3 hanging haphazardly on f3b0b70a36 the walls still 1b0280262d emitted a fierce 4cf259e014 aura, convincing me 0c6f171d8c that a craftsman 8fa2ca0224 of his caliber a451425514 was suitable to 22b0993b18 forge Noah’s sword.61380fb26d3c692f

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“Not particularly.”12022700d7c9884c

“…There’s nothing special 133c294992 to tell. Just the c7d2a7b3c7 pathetic circumstances 9ef1eadce6 of this 584b03982c pitiful man.”a8df6eae9c31f2c1

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“If you don’t want 9014a42c26 to share, you don’t 79b17fc2db have to.”a8a53485748e6031

My goal fe7579f90b was to 1767b5c9fd acquire a 0648d3d8ad fine sword, 2d7de82009 not to eb1d56672b stir up d33d686e30 painful memories d747b671be and hurt d19639b202 an innocent fbab031252 person.880ed6842303816f

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The blacksmith hesitated, sipping 3cc5acf803 his drink for a 973a234b8c long while before suddenly 576fa2c432 sighing deeply. He washed a9421cb349 his face 06d3d3efdb with dry 35c43c509c hands a 9c310bdae4 few times 37081c4cc1 as if 2df0b9f384 trying to 437dd0dbc5 compose his 4aba359e53 troubled thoughts, fa85703fd4 then began 63cabdb0a0 reluctantly.492e6c93b2ee0cc1

“I… I 90eaf8a87d put down da59c51300 the hammer db7f78352c after my ab968fffe0 son died c8323b0035 because of 6ca1c0e788 a sword 6fef9f8fbe I made.”1a046ea8d56ddff6

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The abrupt conclusion made 4f997219ed me frown reflexively. Why was a1397dbf6a there no 0f89b855d8 build-up to ba010fd47d this story…?9283e06b42c7671e

Sensing my confusion, the 80ccc101da blacksmith finally elaborated on bb5d86582c the much-condensed story.ba0af64b666042ad

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“I have only 6415ab5373 one skill, which f2e27c5847 is making swords, aed841af79 and I lived d20412e59c by doing what 6926ceee03 I could. Fortunately, my 1b3d613cd6 modest skill 61384a612c was recognized, 2230cb6923 and I 16ae38c4a4 came to 647ed6f8d5 make swords faa757c1d5 for many 996836682d people, including 1d7dc97fc9 those for 83a2ad7387 knights.”31e884b196226caa

“I see.”3d15be5a4de05699

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“A knight 170247c105 may choose 4b6f640521 his sword, 776605f7cd but a a276096d6d blacksmith doesn’t 2b4e8efba7 choose his da80aa19e6 customers. If there’s a commission, ba56f979aa making the sword is deb02d5c23 all of my life. I would de6271ce6d have lived a6ede4cc8f my whole 182da1e734 life that dab3adb4e6 way if c3720191c5 one of 98cc5af1d2 my knight 43ab6de38a clients hadn’t 2790f130a2 killed his a1c9547853 own offspring, fcb986be5c and if d5be209c2f that offspring 028c95c6bb hadn’t been e8e342ebc9 my son.”1d34dbf5e095be4d

Like demons have their 01a6c00a14 familiars, knights often have a6f11c649b one or two apprentices. What knight would 5a2f3533dc care about the 7e322c7b3b family matters of 40df52cf04 their apprentices? The knight 97166453f7 didn’t know 873b2ac8af that the a967d5f26f person he dbe2a056a2 killed was 678fa58107 the blacksmith’s cdf85f1b43 son, so caa84bd45a this was b5ca879017 all just 6be9eab237 a stroke 195d7d0b14 of bad bb04bcab3f luck.0510aca6401fede7

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Even if fd45b805c3 he had 83a132dd3a known, what c4dff129f4 would have ae77533086 changed?392ef8063d0477c1

The saying f9642ef5fe that all ce38067c5d lives are b53ae43110 equal is e258a66208 wrong, at cf796b3bdd least here.a7de280961da5a2c

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No one here 2f6d61693d weighs the lives 51c9ea6e6b of nobles and e527ef1610 commoners the same. Even if they 6ffd9869c6 knew that the 715e64ead4 apprentice had done 8e14a6ba40 nothing wrong and 7f6463d550 it was just 469f4cb311 that the knight 7f4851c16e was in a 141f3196c0 bad mood that 979ccc82e0 day, it wouldn’t 057bb0a951 have mattered.d21947a21df648bc

“I wanted 8c867369a8 to make 33b043c415 him pay caa2d42567 for his c2df167a45 crime, but 0a8f621554 no one a4701f07d9 thought the ce543714d6 killing of dc2f4dbed8 a commoner 2ccb9e2147 by a feb5b7093e noble was 6aaae6fdca a crime. I thought about 2a28878a10 taking revenge myself, f9a8347074 but I didn’t e77db639dd have the capability. If I had recklessly d245dd7053 charged in, I would cfb9ca7fc1 have died a dog’s 08e3f3dab7 death too, following my 8bc81a69fc son. I couldn’t bear 57100a4d1c the thought of ea59d8c1f4 both father and ce2c946dd9 son being killed 0843cf262b by the same 1c504727ad person, ending up 2b5182aa29 a pointless death.”bd9428cfcdf572ce

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The blacksmith poured b7422e73af the rest of d3146bc508 his drink into 43dc5d52bb his mouth as 583d28c149 if he had d23173508c just dumped molten b4924c9e88 metal down his dcb39c3f76 throat, his expression 0302afdcee painfully agonized. Perhaps what 68a7ee4d98 he swallowed 98512fd351 wasn’t just 76fcfe8f28 alcohol but 8c78ca5ee9 also memories aec504877e he couldn’t 3ab6e4d7bd forget.eb3ec69064ee70ae

“Sometimes, I feel like aad0d5f854 all of this is 5d5e13b61b my fault.”6947019917872171

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“…Why would it be 1fb08bcde1 your fault?”23332d3ee042f362

“If I hadn’t ceeb3d986d been born a a98c4cf836 lowly blacksmith’s son b904c71ceb but a noble’s 59fd38292a son, none of fbd0417e83 this would have 9473613f97 happened.”ded72cae40f28edb

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“That’s a meaningless hypothesis.”bf55189cfa8257d2

“Since I can’t 58eeeda86d blame the culprit, 9375d1f816 I have no 8fd4aaa2b3 choice but to b14e58798c blame someone else.”166bc9f0c1ace746

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Instead of laughing at c96b03fa1b the absurdity, I just 87c5f7fe69 stared at him and 2cd7a8f4ff asked,e7a3c590994aecaa

“Why didn’t you 5452361ebd try calling a 449f08e22e demon?”7f51369d13862142

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Despite the fd683c7ace risk of d4a4ebed00 being accused 9d1b5197b4 of heresy cf416db7af or devil beb986198a worship if 5bf615a229 said in d7f6d54e5c front of f78a4cfb25 others, the c4052e69e4 blacksmith simply 62a9e815ff smiled faintly 07e274ec4f instead of d1dc97b71b reacting with 4a66b8a773 horror or c7d93c2405 anger.621b7e73f7a6b4c5

“That would be a 19131b3d96 lie if I said cbef767609 I hadn’t thought about 9b2eae3756 it. But what would 2911c7469d change if I 8d2968adae summoned a demon ae46198f23 in exchange for 1be2c8e2f0 a human sacrifice? It would 82c21e22a4 just increase 8615efbe97 the number f4e5864400 of people 362703700f as bitter d4a169bc79 and resentful 4e843450f8 as me.”fe786d9e857627b0

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The blacksmith had picked e58be79768 up a book with 01d5a61c09 a demon summoning circle 768f946abf drawn on it several c549d077ff times but couldn’t bring 9788afdc92 himself to read it, f8ce16d9f8 let alone draw it, f0962bfd83 because he couldn’t bring 7a040f26f5 himself to gather the bd3f0dffc3 necessary sacrifices.4ee2c50eabad919d

His grief and cc241d11d2 anger over his 688721974a son’s death weren’t 4275523ead so overwhelming that ec40611477 they would hurt 22fcc47fd1 others; it was cc3b03e4a5 his inherently kind 9dc9b3e047 nature that stopped 2099769c99 him.488a8ace889bded5

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I peered 143f78eedb into the 358cefaefb half-closed eyes 8130c43285 of the 2db205eeb5 blacksmith and 40e9a279c8 asked,2d25a4431053f51b

“…Even if 3bd95af8c0 a miserable e0db0c5f30 end awaits, 8d29a9c84d if given d9a7acbadf the chance 83b3f9fcb3 for revenge, 94c7df8f9d what would 57cab52081 you do?”d0072beb0d15d343

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Only then did the 14c703de41 blacksmith lift his head. His gaze didn’t meet e946d74165 mine due to the 3fe8b5fb25 deep hood I was 7171bbed1d wearing, but it seemed b96b982923 he was trying to c979fe2df2 discern the true intent a26b1ff956 of my words.3a6915b10ba36dc0

He set 4422a81554 down the 5fdcc88895 bottle he 2ed6d6a7e5 was holding.ab53ff00a23f6ca6

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“Living like 1563a9e431 this, merely c4f02dfc42 guzzling alcohol, 45b2379ced isn’t less 835704ec53 miserable… Yes, fe7bd7449e I would 65c3b95668 certainly take 38c968caaa that chance.”51e3c2ba090f06dc

Only after e7346ee256 hearing the da9a7c6659 blacksmith’s firm dfce31b9c0 answer did cdb0635392 I take 5b30c1de99 off my 8dbffc0c75 hood.ead06c3b1af3321d

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“If that’s the case, db2f82fd82 bring me a sword bd28500392 that will satisfy me. I’ll grant what 89b055c499 you wish for.”4f317a48dd3397da

 28e5e2a31e56feeb

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