This was after forming the knights division. 

“Are you talking about my armor?” Mercedes responded to Grid’s call and was confused. “Your Majesty will make armor for me?”

“Yes.” 

Mercedes’ reacted to Grid’s words like a bolt had come out of the blue, “That is ridiculous. Your Majesty can’t work for your subjects.”

Of course, Mercedes knew that Grid’s root was a blacksmith. However, she was currently talking common sense. Which king in the world would put in labor for their subjects? A king’s subjects couldn’t be given priority over a king’s convenience.

“Please reconsider.”

Grid shook his head at Mercedes’ concern. “In the end, it is for me. The stronger you are, the stronger I am. Don’t feel burdened.”

Mercedes’ main armor was heavy armor. It was right to say that she wasn’t complete when wearing leather armor. Nevertheless, she had competed with Piaro for a while in his field. She was a really lovely person. Grid wanted to make her complete as soon as possible. “Let’s go. There are many things I have to make in addition to your armor.”

“...I understand.” In the end, Mercedes was unable to break Grid’s determination and bowed deeply. Her liking toward Grid was growing day by day.

***

“Will your parents be happy if you die in a place like this?”

“You...! Don’t mention my parents!”

“I sincerely pity your parents. How sad would they be because their child committed a crime and ended up in prison?”

“...”

A terrible criminal was trapped in Reinhardt’s dungeon.

Reidorn—he was the worst criminal who had tried to assassinate Grid during the founding of the Overgeared Kingdom. They wanted to find out who was behind him. This was left to the 1st ranked orator, Huroi. Huroi’s daily routine began with him questioning Reidorn.

“If you want to see your parents again, then tell me! How dare a motherless person like you try to assassinate King Grid?!”

“Kuk! Kukuk! You stupid person. How many times do I have to tell you? It was my own plan. I didn’t receive instructions from anyone.”

“The king of a nation... It was your own idea to attempt assassinating a king on the day of the founding ceremony? Who would believe this obvious lie? Your parents won’t believe it!”

“You bastard!” Reidorn wanted to regain his composure, only to become agitated again. “I told you to stop bringing up my parents!”

“Why do you get angry every time I talk about your parents? Am I cursing your parents?”

That was right. Huroi wasn’t cursing Reidorn’s parents. He just frequently mentioned them. However, it was strange. Reidorn snapped every time Huroi mentioned his parents. This was the power of Huroi’s Taunt skill. Huroi used Taunt every time he mentioned Reidorn’s parents. So, why did he bother doing this? It was related to Huroi’s personal taste, not out of any particular efficiency.

“Hrmm... ” Huroi faced the growling Reidorn, who was tied up. He was forced to acknowledge Reidorn, who had been imprisoned for more than half a year and never opened his mouth. “I didn’t want to do this... Tsk.” A shadow fell over Huroi’s face. He looked reluctant.

Reidorn’s heart became anxious. ‘Did he prepare a terrible torture...?”

Gulp. Reidorn swallowed his saliva as his body shook. However, his mind became stronger. ‘I will never yield.’

Reidorn never intended to reveal that he was a Red Knight and also a solo number knight. No, he couldn’t say it. His attempt to assassinate Grid had been purely from his own thoughts. That’s right. He hadn’t received any commands. Reidorn had tried to assassinate Grid because he thought Grid would become a threat later. If Reidorn’s identity were revealed, a diplomatic problem could occur. It could even cause damage to the empire. After all, Grid’s power, which Reidorn had personally experienced, was a threat to the empire!

‘I would rather die!’ Reidorn pledged to keep his mouth shut.

Duguen! Duguen! His heart beat faster. In the midst of his growing fear...

“Bring it in,” Huroi ordered. 

Then guards entered while carrying a small box.

Gulp!

What was in this box? Was it a tool to dig out his eyeballs? Reidorn’s imagination was moving toward the negative things. His face paled as Huroi opened the box in front of him. In the box...

Chirp! Chirp!

There was a chick. It was a small, yellow, and cute chick.

“...?” Reidorn was confused. How did a chick pop out of a box that he thought would contain torture tools? Reidorn was puzzled as the chick moved toward him.

Chirp chirp! The chick’s little black eyes looked up at Reidorn. He seemed to mistake Reidorn as his mother. Reidorn had faced torture every day for a long time. Now that he saw a cute animal, he couldn’t help smiling. He felt a desire to touch the chick’s fur.

Huroi’s cold voice entered his ears, “Something urgent happened. I won’t be back here for a while. Enjoy a few days of peace.”

“You, what are you planning? What is this chick?”

“You don’t know?”

Huroi didn’t answer and left with the guards.

Chirp chirp!

Reidorn was left alone with the chick and felt peace for the first time in ages. His heart was warmed. Meanwhile, the prison guards questioned Huroi.

“Can I ask what the meaning of that chick is?”

“Why are you giving the wicked criminal time to heal his heart?”

“Sigh...” Wanting to smoke a cigarette, Huroi gave a deep sigh before replying to the confused guards. “I will eat that chick when it is a bit older.”

“Yes...?”

“It will be in front of Reidorn.”

“...”

“The chick he shares a deep bond with...!”

“...”

“...I will put it in various vegetables and boil it.”

“T-That...!”

“You are worse than a great demon!”

The guards got goosebumps. The method of psychological torture that Huroi planned was so horrific that it was creepy. Of course, Huroi didn’t feel comfortable doing this. However, what could he do?

“He is the one who made me evil...”

“Ahhh...”

It would be a perfect scene if there was the sound effect of thunder, but today was a clear sky without any clouds.

***

“Where are you going?” Mercedes asked as she followed Grid. She thought Grid would go to the smithy, but he walked out of the castle instead.

‘Is there a smithy outside the castle?’

Grid explained to Mercedes, “Starting from today, I will do the work of a blacksmith more efficiently.”

He consumed a lot of time and effort whenever he made an item. Additionally, he had to maintain his concentration for several days. The result was often good, but there was a big problem with this method. There was no time to hunt. In the last few months, Grid had been in a stagnant position. He would soon be pushed out of the top 10 of the unified rankings. 

This was the limit of a non-combat class. Unlike the combat classes that could devote themselves to hunting, Grid also had to act as a blacksmith and had too little time to concentrate on leveling up. In this regard, Grid worked hard. The idea which came to mind was the portable furnace. Thanks to the white phosphorus wood, he could get the desired firepower whenever and wherever he wanted.

“In the future, I will make items at the hunting grounds.”

Grid had tried to challenge it in the past. He’d made items in the hunting area while Noe, Randy, and the God Hands hunted. However, it hadn’t been effective. At the time, he hadn’t had white phosphorus wood, so there was a limit to the firepower that a portable furnace could exert. He had only been able to produce low-level items.

‘But it is different now.’

Grid made a confident smile and pulled out the map. His destination was the new hunting ground Kraugel had given him—the Boundary Forest. Due to unknown wards, it was said that the deep parts of the forest were unable to be accessed.

“A forest with unusually sweet fruits...”

If Grid took out the ‘Media Mountains Honey’, a monster called ‘bear-wolf’ would appear. It was very powerful and took strong players a long time to hunt. However, Kraugel said the monster gave the experience of a field boss.

“Is the information reliable? How does Kraugel know the method to summon the bear-wolf?"

“He was taking a break and eating honey bread.”

It was valuable information that Kraugel had given Grid in return for the White Tiger Sword.

“In any case, he is a good friend.” Grid always felt proud when he thought about Kraugel.

Mercedes was filled with a strange jealousy when she saw Grid’s smile and gave negative feedback, “I am aware of the bear-wolves. They are monsters that combine the destructive power of a bear and the agility of a wolf. It will be stronger than Your Majesty anticipates.”

Yet Grid wanted to hunt these monsters while making armor? That was impossible to do. Grid made a confident expression as he looked at the worried Mercedes. “I have you by my side, so why do I need to be worried?”

“Don’t you need experience? If you don’t hunt the bear-wolves yourself, will you be able to grow?”

“No, you won’t be hunting. You just need to season them for me.”

“Season... what are you saying?”

Why was he suddenly talking about cooking? Grid explained to the baffled Mercedes, “You will hit the bear-wolf as hard as you can when it appears. Then won’t it be angry at you?”

“Yes, I see.”

“From then on, you just need to tank. While you tank, I will finish it off with my pets, the God Hands and the Overgeared Skeletons. Then I can get experience while sitting down and making armor, and my pets and the Overgeared Skeletons will grow as well.”

“I understand. I will do so,” Mercedes responded energetically! Despite being the strongest person, her role was to assist. This was the legendary knight bus, and Grid was the only passenger on the bus she was driving.