Tina's Workshop Story: The Blacksmith Girl with Sake and War Hammer - The Trap in the Square and the War Hammer of Revival

The forge fire flickered faintly. Two days had passed since that late-night intrusion. The destroyed furnace had somehow been repaired, but Milia's research notebook had not been returned. Tina gripped the furnace's temperature control valve, staring intently into the flames. Her short orange hair was more disheveled than usual, and dark circles hung heavily beneath her small, sharp eyes. Three days. She hadn't had a single proper drop of alcohol. She looked at her hands. Her fingertips were trembling faintly. (*So this... is what withdrawal feels like.*) To a dwarf's body, alcohol is blood and soul. Now, it felt as if it were draining from her entire body. Her head was heavy, her concentration wouldn't last. And most of all—this trembling in her hands was fatal for a blacksmith. "...Pathetic." She muttered quietly, staring down at her own hands. Just then, the bell at the shop entrance chimed. "Master! We're here!" Leena, her red hair tied in a side-tail, burst in with her usual energetic voice. Leon and Milia followed behind. Leon, his brown, curly hair swaying, bowed with a tense expression. "Good morning, Master." "Good morning. Today is... the day of the demonstration, isn't it." Milia's pale blue bob swayed as she gazed at Tina with her intelligent, light blue eyes. In her hands, instead of her usual staff, she clutched a thick bundle of documents. "Yeah. That's right." Tina released the valve and turned to face the three of them. She tightened her leather belt firmly. Her heavily exposed upper body—her ample chest and thick arms—was illuminated by the forge fire. "But you lot have a new job." She spread a map out on the workbench. It was a simple, hand-drawn sketch of the central plaza and its surroundings. "Here are the backup signature sheets for the demonstrators. Enough for five hundred people. You're going to take these—" Tina tapped a spot on the map with her finger. The area behind the magistrate's office, lined with old warehouses. "The three of you will hide them here. If I get captured, this will be our next move." The color drained from the three disciples' faces. "C-Captured...? No way!" Leon shouted. "Boss! I'm coming to the plaza too! I won't let you face danger alone like that—" Leena clenched her fists in protest. But Tina looked at the three of them with quiet eyes, not her usual boisterous grin. "Listen. This is an order." At the tone of her voice, the three fell silent. "Our opponent is the magistrate. The type who uses the law as a weapon. He's not someone we can beat in a head-on fight. So—we use our heads." She turned her gaze to Milia. "Milia, you monitor the guards' movements behind the magistrate's office. If that bastard magistrate is plotting something, there will definitely be activity. Don't miss it." "...Understood. But Master, just one thing." Milia stepped forward. The thick bundle of documents rustled in her hands. "Regarding last night's intrusion. The fact that my notebook was stolen means there's a high probability that the magistrate's side has completely grasped our movements—and the content of my analysis." "Yeah, I know." "Then! We should cancel the demonstration. This is a trap. It's meant to—" "Like hell I'm backing down." Tina's voice echoed through the workshop. She grabbed her war hammer, "Donnergram," and slammed it against the floor. The eighteen-kilogram lump of iron caused a small depression in the stone paving. "If we back down now, we're playing right into that bastard magistrate's hands. 'Give up drinking and stick to blacksmithing'—that's what he wants to say, right? Don't screw with me. Alcohol is a dwarf's soul. You think I can just shut up and back down after he tramples all over that?!" The intensity radiating from her small frame left the three speechless. But—it was different from her usual intimidating presence. It was a cry filled with anger, yet also with a deep sorrow. A shadow possessed only by an old veteran who had tasted her own powerlessness, unable to protect her comrades. "...Master." Leena whispered softly. Her greenish eyes were glistening. "Understood. We believe in you, Master." Leon bowed his head deeply and sincerely. "But please promise us. Absolutely no reckless actions." "Yeah. I know." Tina gave a small laugh. It was the first weak smile she had ever shown her disciples. (*I'm not young anymore, huh.*) She murmured that in her heart as she extinguished the forge fire. Over two hundred people had gathered in the central plaza. Dwarf miners, drunken former adventurers, and the portly figure of Magus Oren, the tavern keeper. Everyone held crude placards reading "Alcohol is Culture!" and "Oppose the Prohibition!" Under the cloudy sky, a restless heat enveloped the plaza. "Alcohol is culture! Taking it away is the same as stealing our souls!" Tina stood on the edge of the old fountain in the center of the plaza, raising her voice. A thunderous roar erupted from her small, 138-centimeter frame. "Alcohol is culture! It's our soul!" "Smash the Prohibition!" The crowd responded with chants. A peaceful, orderly march. Tina had strictly ordered the participants beforehand, "Absolutely no violence." —However. At the eastern edge of the plaza, in the shadow of an alley lined with greengrocer carts, five men moved. They weren't wearing guard uniforms. They were dressed in shabby civilian clothes, but their movements were efficient. Trained strides. Landing on the heel, pushing off with the toe—the same gait as the regular guards. "Let's go." The man who seemed to be the leader gave a small signal. The next moment— CRASH!! An empty bottle was hurled against the window of the Vandor branch. Glass shattered. Then a second, a third. CRASH, BANG!! A greengrocer's cart was overturned, apples and potatoes spilling across the cobblestones. "Wh-What the?!" "A riot! Someone's rampaging!" #TinaGuard CaptainTinaTinaTinaGuard CaptainTinaFeldrichTinaFeldrichTinaFeldrichFeldrichTinaFeldrichTinaLeenaLeenaTinaTinaLeenaLeenaTinaTinaLeenaLeonLeonMiliaMiliaTinaLeonTinaLeonLeonLeonLeenaMiliaTinaTinaLeonLeenaMiliaTinaTinaTinaThe ThreeMiliaMiliaMiliaMiliaMilia#### Staring at the candle flame, she quietly steeled her resolve. The next obstacle was accepting a high-value quest to obtain the funds to repay the fine. And—securing physical evidence of Feldrich's corruption. Two battles were about to begin simultaneously. A night wind blew through Hammer Sound Street. Riding on that wind, a faint sound echoed from afar. —*Clang, clang, clang.* The sound of Tina's forging hammer, playing its tune for the first time in fifteen years. It was the sound of resolve, resharpening a dulled war hammer.

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Episode 3

Name: Tina's Workshop Story: The Blacksmith Girl with Sake and War Hammer
Author: Novelia

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