Two days ago, Haeli and Yeona walked around Sangwon-dong holding hands, looking for residents to give them personally crafted opening ceremony invitations.
Everyone who received an invitation attended the opening ceremony without exception.
Residents who had put their livelihoods aside and rushed here didn’t just do it because of their connection with the Dok Brothers. The reason for their visit was…
“Hmm. I brought every single knife I have, but there are too many people. I wonder if there will be enough room.”
“Yeah, you’re right. They’ll probably prioritize the Hunters first, won’t they? Did we make a fuss for no reason?”
“Oh! Who said Trigo would do that? No, who said a Dwarf would do that? He said he’d prioritize those he asked to come first!”
“Although he speaks informally, he’s not a Dwarf who talks nonsense. Well, whatever.”
It was because of the wording on the invitations.
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[Invitation to the Dok Trigo Forge Opening Ceremony.]
Uncle Trigo is opening his forge!
To commemorate the opening, we offer a free inspection of guests’ knives. Knife sharpening is also available.
Uncle Jong-pal will also provide delicious food! So come to Uncle’s restaurant. (Presumably written by Dok Haeli, judging by the crooked handwriting)
We understand that everyone is busy, but we would appreciate it if you could attend and liven up the place.
Please also give warm support and encouragement to Uncle Trigo!
– From Haeli and Yeona –
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Thanks to this, the forge was bustling with people.
Especially for merchants in the food industry, they couldn’t afford to miss such an opportunity.
To them, a knife is like a lifelong companion that they must handle with care unless they want to give up their business.
So don’t they visit famous knife sharpeners across the country every week?
But today, they didn’t have to go far.
However, some still had doubts about Trigo’s skills.
“But wait. Can we really trust Trigo with our knives?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, come to think of it, have you ever seen Trigo handling knives?”
“Really?”
“Am I just saying this for no reason? I’ve lost thousands of dollars just believing rumors and leaving my knives with him!”
The famous knife sharpener on TV. The master knife sharpener featured in magazines. The fifth-generation knife artisan.
All rumors, and when he visited them, they were all amateurs.
As a result, only expensive knives ended up ruined.
Jang, the owner of a sushi restaurant, worried that Trigo might be the same. There must be a reason for such rumors.
He came to a famous feast and found nothing to eat.
“Then why did you bring knives with you again?”
“I have many knives to sharpen, but I felt uneasy and only brought one. But why do I feel hesitant about leaving it with him? It’s frustrating…”
“Jang, wake up and smell the coffee! Don’t you see the guy over there? The artisan, Jang Mi-hae.”
“Who? Jang Mi-hae? The one considered the best in Korea?”
“Yes! Even her is bowing to Trigo! Why do you think that is?”
“…Because he’s from a different dimension?”
“Gosh! It’s because Trigo is exceptionally talented! He’s even going to work on building a shelter this time. Haven’t you heard? And Trigo is just from another dimension? He’s not just any blacksmith from another dimension! Have you ever seen a blacksmith who can’t handle a single knife?”
“I know. I know but…”
“If you’re so uneasy, Jang, then leave.”
“What’s this guy talking about now? Who’s leaving? It’s just that I feel a bit uneasy, that’s all!”
“Change your attitude a bit. Now that you see Jang Mi-hae, suddenly you have faith? I’ll tell Trigo everything…”
“Oh? Is it starting?”
Suddenly, Jang, the sushi restaurant owner, pointed ahead. There stood today’s protagonists, the Dok family, standing in a row, holding a long line.
It was just before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the highlight of the grand opening.
“Alright, on the count of three, we’ll cut it. Everyone, look this way. Hey, Mr. Dok, smile a little brighter.”
A photographer from Sangwon-dong’s photo studio shouted loudly.
Jong-sik awkwardly smiled and looked towards the camera angle. Soon, the photographer began counting, “One, two….”
“One, two, three—!”
As the countdown reached its climax, Jong-sik shouted, “Kimchi!” Kimchi was the best for lifting the corners of his mouth.
“Kimchi!”
“Kimchi—!”
Jong-pal and Yeona also followed suit, shouting “Kimchi,” while Haeli and Trigo exclaimed,
“Kimchi? I want kimchi!”
“Why kimchi all of a sudden? Oh my!”
They closed their eyes as the flash flashed.
That was their first family photo.
***
After finishing the ribbon-cutting ceremony and playing games, the Dok family members finished the grand opening smoothly.
Now, all that was left was eating and having fun. The grand opening quickly turned into a neighborhood party.
Those who didn’t have knives to be sharpened gathered in makeshift tents to share food.
The rest of the people headed to the inner workshop. It was to have their knives inspected by Trigo.
Among them was Jong-sik.
Of course, he didn’t have any knives to leave. Jong-sik himself was a weapon. He was just there to watch.
Seated in a work chair, Trigo held up a kitchen knife and opened his mouth.
“Alright, let’s see. Whose is this?”
Then, the owner of the kimbap restaurant quietly raised his hand.
“It’s mine!”
“Oh, it’s the kimbap restaurant owner’s? It’s a new knife, huh?”
Trigo instantly recognized it as a new knife.
“The old knife broke, so I bought a new one this time.”
“Hmm. So you just threw away the previous knife?”
“Yes.”
“Tsk! Next time, just bring it. Knives are meant to be used until you die after buying them once, you know. Anyway, you’re going to use this one for cutting kimbap?”
“Yes. But if you want to inspect other people’s knives first, it’s okay…?”
“Huh? That’s what I said. I’ll inspect them in the order they were handed over. Why suddenly take it out? Are you doubting my skills?”
He came quickly, but he didn’t expect to be the first in line.
Restaurant knife vs. Hunter weapon
In terms of importance, he naturally thought the latter was more important.
So, he was more careful.
The owner of the kimbap restaurant waved his hands and murmured.
“I mean, I realized that since my knife is new, I don’t necessarily need to sharpen it, and also the hunters are waiting…”
“I can’t hear a thing you’re saying! Hunters what? If they come late, it’s natural to wait as long as they were late! And you say you don’t necessarily need to sharpen a new knife? You should sharpen it even more if it’s new! Now that I see it, it seems like the owner of the kimbap restaurant doesn’t care much about knives.”
After the upheaval, society revolved around hunters. Civilians and hunters. They were clearly the same people, but they weren’t seen as the same. There was a clearly existing invisible class.
But Trigo responded with, “What does that have to do with anything?”
Did he realize something with those words? The owner of the kimbap restaurant swallowed hard and shouted loudly.
“Oh, no. The knife is important to me too! As important as the hunters’ weapons! He’s the one who’s going to be responsible for our livelihood from now on, so there’s no reason for it not to be important.”
“That’s right. But still, are you going to yield to the person behind you? If so, then there’s nothing we can do.”
“I misspoke. Please inspect my knife first in order.”
“Well then, let me take a look.”
Seeing Trigo like that, Jong-sik smirked. It reminded him of his old colleague, Kujta.
He was just like that. Saying that a knight’s sword and a farmer’s hoe were the same. He said he would inspect them in the order they came.
“I want to see him more today.”
While Jong-sik was lost in thought,
Trigo flipped the knife he held with a swift motion.
Perhaps because it was a new knife, the blade was dull.
It needed sharpening.
Swoosh, swoosh.
With a few strokes of the whetstone, Trigo sharpened the dull blade to a fine point.
“Whoa. That thing could cut through a cutting board.”
“It hasn’t been sharpened many times, but the edge is already so sharp?”
“It’s like the knife and my hand have become one.”
“Are you going to sharpen it even more?”
People marveled at this.
The result was impressive, but what amazed them more was the process. It was too fast, even for speed.
“To achieve such results in just a few seconds…”
“He’s not sharpening it carelessly. There’s no empty space between the whetstone and the knife. It’s going at the perfect angle.”
“How can this be considered a knife from a kimbap restaurant?”
After a moment,
Trigo signaled the end of the task.
“I think this should do. Kimbap Restaurant, your knives are all done, so take them.”
“T-Thank you!”
After the first customer’s knife sharpening was done,
People looked at Trigo again.
Especially Mr. Jang from the seafood restaurant.
Mr. Jang, who had doubted Trigo’s skills, lowered his shoulders and reflected on his actions.
“If I had known, I would have brought all the knives. Ugh. This suspicion of mine is really something!”
He had hit the nail on the head.
At that moment,
“This one looks narrow and thin, so it seems like it’s a knife for filleting fish. Is it from the seafood restaurant?”
Trigo called out to him. Mr. Jang nodded cautiously and replied.
“Trigo, that one’s mine. But you know, I forgot to bring a few knives from home. Can I quickly go and get them?”
“Hehehe. Why bother asking? Of course not.”
“…Darn.”
Whether he pouted or not, Trigo began his work.
Before long, sharp fish knives were being honed skillfully.
Trigo sharpened people’s knives for quite a while.
Meanwhile, Jong-sik asked Kang Chang-soo, who was standing next to him, “Is that the weapon you lost?”
Kang Chang-soo was holding a broken spear.
“Yes. It’s like a lifesaver. Even though it looks pathetic like this now…”
It was a spear made by ‘Michelangelo,’ a member of the World Artisan Union.
“It may look pathetic, but you can tell it’s a fine spear at a glance. Since Kang the Hunter knows about it, you’ve been keeping it until now, right?”
“I kept it just in case. Hoping that someone might show up who could fix this thing.”
Kang Chang-soo, who had coincidentally saved Michelangelo’s life, received a gift of Michelangelo’s last work, ‘Odin’s Spear.’
Since it was Michelangelo’s final weapon, its value was beyond imagination. And yet, that spear was now broken.
“It was three years ago, when we faced Leviathan.”
It was a risky strategy, one that could be counted on one hand. But Leviathan was a formidable opponent. If it hadn’t been for Odin’s Spear, they might not be standing here now.
Kang Chang-soo reminisced about the past as he spoke.
“Even if it can’t be fixed, I plan to keep it for the rest of my life.”
“It can be fixed. Didn’t Trigo say so? Bring anything you have. That means he’s confident he can fix it, no matter what.”
Jong-sik asserted. But Kang Chang-soo didn’t hold high expectations.
The more one expects, the greater the disappointment. That was the lesson he learned from traveling around to various blacksmiths in the past.
“I wish I could believe that.”
“Hmm. You seem skeptical, don’t you?”
“Heheh. I’ve been disappointed more than once by expecting too much. Of course, it would be great if it could be fixed, but even if it can’t, I’ll just shrug it off.”
“You can really have high expectations this time.”
“….”
There was a moment of silence.
And it was Kang Chang-soo, the hunter, who broke that silence.
“If it can be fixed as Master Trigo said.”
“Yes.”
“Could you spar with me?”
“Suddenly?”
“As I mentioned earlier, it’s a spear I really cherish. So when the repair is done, I feel it’s only right to seek out the best opponent.”
“And that best opponent is me?”
Nodding.
“Yes. Also, I want to learn from Master Dok’s teachings.”
“It shouldn’t be too difficult. Let’s do it as soon as the spear is repaired. Sparring.”
With Jong-sik’s calm response, Kang Chang-soo unexpectedly felt a sense of anticipation.
“…Can it really be fixed?”
