I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 102

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (103)

Not only did he approach the metal, but he also reached out his hand, causing the dwarves around Popolence to widen their eyes.

The Ardan family.

They knew that they were a family that handled fire mana, but…

“They’re not affected by that temperature at all?”

They had never imagined that their skill could be so high.

The temperature rising as the top-grade flux began to boil was so high that even a knight known as a superhuman would have difficulty handling it.

It was even more so at such a close distance.

And yet.

Even in such a terrible temperature, the face of the Grand Duke, who was injecting mana, looked so calm.

“…What a monstrous human being.”

The hidden dragon of the west.

He is only nineteen years old. Yet he possesses such a high level of affinity with fire.

“…There was a reason why Lord Popolens rushed over immediately.”

Popolens’ loyalty was so high that he would even pretend to die if the duke ordered him to.

Now he thought he understood why.

To miss such a connection would be so foolish that a dwarf would be considered the most stupid creature in the world.

However.

He didn’t think that a single duke could melt metal that even the highest grade of flux couldn’t melt.

Poporen said urgently.

“This… This is not because I am incompetent! The highest-grade melting agent can reach temperatures more than twice that of the upper-grade melting agent…! It is strange that the alloy does not melt at this temperature! Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right! This is… a temperature that even the Kingdom of Amelia, famous for its blacksmithing, would find difficult to achieve. The quality of this alloy is so high…”

“If we use the kingdom’s special furnace, it might be possible… but otherwise, it will be difficult to refine the Menerian alloy in this product.”

The temperature of the special furnace was murderous. Only the furnace could melt metal that even the highest-grade melting agent couldn’t melt. ‘Even if the duke himself got involved.’

‘There’s no way to melt this.’

I understood that he wanted to try anything since he had purchased such expensive metal, but to the dwarves, it was a futile endeavor.

There was no way that a single person could melt metal that could only be melted in a special furnace.

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But what if, just what if?

What if the alloy melted in that pure white flame?

The only explanation was that the temperature inside the duke’s body was unimaginably high.

Even if it was a white flame from legend, he didn’t think it could reach such a high temperature.

As a skilled blacksmith who had handled countless weapons and flames,

this was a conclusion based on common sense.

He was sure of it.

“…Huh?”

“This… isn’t it melting?”

“It looks like it…”

Popolens and the other dwarves gaped in astonishment. The high-grade alloy that had seemed impossible to melt.

Less than a minute after being engulfed in white flames, it began to glow bright white.

Soon, it began to melt and drip.

The dwarves’ eyes turned toward the duke in shock.

“…What is this?”

“…Am I dreaming?”

Simply saying they were surprised was not enough to describe their feelings. The dwarves were in utter shock.

Soon, they remembered one of the incantations for the divine sword.

―Visit the land of fire and obtain the flame of the lord.

“The flame of the lord…!”

The flames that Ethan was displaying now were nothing less than the legendary flame of the lord.

That was when it happened.

“…Hoo. Ilia?”

“Did you call me?”

“Gather all the dragon slayers around the smithy.”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon, Ilia stepped outside the smithy. Ethan looked at the metal and gathered his thoughts.

“Hoo.”

A high-grade alloy.

The metal, strengthened with Melaycis’ raw materials, was so strong that it was a problem.

Even skilled dwarves couldn’t easily melt it.

Only after adding white salt to raise the temperature of the melting agent did the metal slowly begin to melt.

The problem was

that Ethan’s mana was beginning to run out.

Even after pouring out a tremendous amount of mana while releasing the spell, it still took more time for the metal to completely melt.

“Good.”

Even though he had used up almost all of his mana, a faint smile appeared on Ethan’s lips.

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That was because he had a way to replenish his mana.

“I should take this opportunity to check the performance of the handle.”

The handle of the new sword.

It could suck in not only the mana in the air, but also the mana of living creatures in the vicinity.

That was why he had summoned all the Dragon Slayers.

Soon, Ilia entered the smithy.

“All 100 remaining knights have gathered.”

There were nearly 400 knights.

After finishing their joint training, they moved toward their assigned areas. Only the 100 most skilled knights remained in Rondinium.

They included the 1st Division, which had been Cheiman’s secret knight corps, and those who had trained with Nerian in the use of dragon slayer swords.

Their presence could be felt vividly.

“Tell them not to resist.”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon, the pure white hilt hanging from Ethan’s waist began to tremble.

A massive wave of mana rushed toward the handle.

Whether the order had been conveyed properly, the knights willingly gave up their mana.

One hundred knights.

Each one may have been inferior to him in skill, but their mana reserves were not insignificant.

The handle greedily absorbed the mana.

The absorbed mana was piling up in Ethan’s body through the roots that had taken hold in his hands.

The white flames, which had been gradually diminishing, began to grow even more intense.

Whoosh!

The dwarves’ eyes lit up at the sight of the white flames rising once again.

All that the blacksmiths could see were the hilt shaking violently and the flames burning brightly.

“…How can he maintain flames like that for so long?”

“…There’s no doubt that the Duke possesses tremendous mana!”

“No wonder he stood out at the coming-of-age ceremony!”

The dwarves uttered silent cries of astonishment mixed with misunderstanding.

Ilya nodded with satisfaction as he looked at the handle.

An item with the advantage of being able to freely draw out the mana of one’s opponent.

He had confirmed the true value of that item here today.

Ethan, the knight who demonstrated the most delicate mana control in this world.

Now that he had a stable source of mana, if someone were to be designated as his enemy…

“Hmm. I guess I should offer my condolences first.”

He couldn’t even imagine that this monstrous human would ever be defeated.

About three minutes passed.

Only then did the alloy completely turn into a liquid state.

“Where is the mold with the circuit engraved on it?”

“It’s… here!”

“Put it there.”

“Yes!”

Poporen placed the mold with the magic circuit engraved on it next to Ethan.

The metal mold had undergone special treatment so that it would not melt even at high temperatures.

The white-hot liquid was poured over it.

Ilia’s eyes lit up at the sight. The plan was to engrave the magical circuits necessary for artifactization during the metal casting process.

“Now it’s my turn.”

“Ilia, please come this way.”

“Yes.”

The dwarves and archmages with hammers gathered around the mold.

The eyes of the creators were all sparkling.

―The god of blacksmiths struck the hammer.

―The master of magic blessed the sword and engraved the circuits.

The restoration of the divine sword.

If the duke restored this divine sword and used it to perform many heroic deeds…

This time, instead of the blacksmith and the god of magic, their names could be engraved on that inscription.

A legend that would be remembered throughout history.

The current production process might be the beginning of that legend.

“Then I’ll be going!”

Kaang!

Kaang!

The dwarves holding hammers began to strike the metal with shining eyes.

* *

Restoring the divine sword.

For this task, ten dwarves worked tirelessly, taking turns with the hammers, and in just four days, they were able to create a sword blade that was nearly perfect. Ethan nodded his head when he saw the dark sword blade.

The sword blade, engraved with all kinds of magical patterns, was so magnificent that it reminded one of the divine sword from a previous life.

Of course, it wasn’t just the exterior that was magnificent.

This was because the magic that Ilia and Melaisis had engraved together were all extremely useful.

“Then let’s combine them!”

The white hilt and the black sword blade.

The moment the two were joined, the entire sword trembled.

Ethan grasped the sword and breathed his mana into it. The trembling sword gradually calmed down.

“It’s… complete! Perhaps because the Duke’s mana was infused from the beginning, the ritual to establish the sword’s master went well!”

The dwarves, with dark circles under their eyes, raised their thumbs in approval.

The new sword, Drainion.

It was not made from the metal of the gods as described in ancient texts, nor was it crafted with the help of the gods of magic and blacksmithing, nor was it forged in the land of fire.

“It fits my hand perfectly.”

At least the feeling of it fitting snugly in his hand seemed to rival that of previous divine swords.

Hwa-ryuk!

A white flame rose from the dark blade.

“Ooh!”

“It captures the white flame… very well!”

Like the divine sword of the first lord, which was said to contain his white flames, the current divine sword also accepted Ethan’s white flames without any damage.

If he ever had the chance to obtain the metal of the gods in the future.

“I can always modify it then.”

There was no other sword he could use right now.

*

A letter arrived at the Fractal Marquis’s residence. It was a letter bearing a seal known to be usable only by the head of the Ardan family.

Marquis Turian.

The letter was delivered directly to the most powerful spirit summoner in the Kingdom of Haidern.

Upon reading the contents of the letter, Turian sneered coldly.

“…What an arrogant bastard.”

Ethan Ardan.

Ever since he was the crown prince, and even after he became the temporary head of the family,

the seven families of the kingdom had been watching his every move.

They already knew that he was arrogant, stubborn, and acted as if he were a duke, but

they never imagined that he would use his title to treat them as his inferiors.

The marquis quietly tapped his desk.

“If all of this was part of the Duke’s plan to ignite the white flames…”

Those were the words he had heard from Count Marek at the last meeting of the Seven Houses.

Strangely, those words would not leave his mind. That was because the meaning behind them was so appealing.

“White flames.”

The pure white flame said to have been lit by the first duke.

Not only that, but he might even be able to find out about the special rituals and items of the duke’s family that “pass on memories and experiences.”

That was why he wanted to make contact with the duke.

In this situation.

“Pride…”

It didn’t matter.

The marquis summoned his eldest son.

“Father. Did you call me?”

“There is a place I must visit quietly. Take care of the family affairs.”

“…I understand.”

Even if it was temporary, he was still a duke.

He was a man with a nose in the air, so he felt he had to take matters into his own hands to bring him down.

The marquis’s figure vanished in an instant.