Tina's Workshop Story: The Blacksmith Girl with Sake and War Hammer
Tina, a former gold-ranked heavy warrior dwarf, runs the Hammer Song smithy in Crossguard. Every day, her shop is packed with retired adventurers who use it as a drinking den, downing cheap booze in raucous chaos. One day, three rookies—Leon, Rina, and Millia—visit. Theyre stone-ranked fledglings who beg Tina to help them find the right weapons. She reluctantly agrees to assess their aptitudes.
Suddenly, a new law is posted: a total ban on distilled liquor. The whimsical stewards decree makes r
Tina's Workshop Story: The Blacksmith Girl with Sake and War Hammer - Great Sake Parade and Victory Toast
The morning in Kromgard was wrapped in a heavy, oppressive air.
Across the cobblestones of the central square, the carriage carrying the inspection delegation from the royal capital creaked its way forward. Two royal guard knights clad in silver-white armor led the procession. Behind them followed two ornate box carriages, lavishly decorated. Only the sound of wheels biting into stone cut through the silence.
From the windows of shops lining the street, residents watched the delegation with tense, rigid faces.
Three months ago, Magistrate Friedrich had issued the distilled liquor prohibition. That ordinance—banning the production, sale, and possession of any alcohol exceeding twenty-five percent—struck at the very root of dwarven culture. But thanks to Tina's underground machinations, the ban had been rendered a dead letter over these past three months.
Even this morning, beneath the cobblestones of Market Street, casks of illicitly brewed Wildfire Rum lay holding their breath.
"...Looks like they're here."
On the second floor of the Hammer Tone Inn, Milia stood by the window and murmured quietly. Her short, pale blue hair swayed as her intelligent, light blue eyes fixed upon the delegation's carriage. In her hand, she clutched a parchment detailing the entirety of the communication network she had woven over the last three months.
"Heh, finally showed their faces, huh. Took 'em long enough."
Tina plopped herself down in front of the forge with a broad grin. Her tiny frame of a hundred and thirty-eight centimeters bore muscular arms tempered by smithing and adventure. Her short orange hair was tied back, and her small, four-cornered eyes gleamed. In her hand, she gripped the haft of her war hammer, Donnergram.
Upon the head of the eighteen-kilogram hammer, ancient dwarven script proclaimed: "Carve the Thunder."
"Boss! Can we give the signal yet?!"
Leena rushed over. Her red side-tail bounced, and her greenish eyes, harboring a challenging light, sparkled with excitement. Her ever-present bow was slung across her back.
"Don't be so hasty, Leena. I told you, we wait until the delegation enters the magistrate's office."
"But Boss, I can't hold back any longer! Three months, it's been three months! Do you have any idea how much we've prepared for this day?!"
"...Leena, your voice is too loud. You'll give away the plan."
Leon chided her gently. With his brown, curly hair and kind, slightly drooping dark brown eyes, the hundred-and-seventy-two-centimeter man stared out at the street, a tense expression on his face despite the shield on his back. His ears were faintly red—his usual nervous habit.
"Milia, final check on the communication network?"
"Yes, Master. All twenty-eight major breweries and twelve underground storehouses in the city have been contacted. Upon the third toll of the bell tower's bell, they are all set to unseal their casks simultaneously."
Milia spread out the parchment in her hands and reported calmly. Building this communication network had been her primary focus over the past three months. Her analytical prowess, which had discovered the legal loopholes in the prohibition, had now been sublimated into a meticulous network connecting every brewery and underground storehouse in the city.
"That's just like you, handling all that fiddly stuff. Impressive as always."
"...Being praised by you, Master, is a little embarrassing."
Unconsciously, Milia began tracing a circle on the floor with the tip of her staff. It was a habit of hers that surfaced when she was happy.
"Now then—it's about time."
Tina hoisted her war hammer and stood up. A hundred and thirty-eight centimeters tall, with an eighteen-kilogram war hammer. Yet the overwhelming presence she radiated was less that of a workshop master and more that of the Gold-rank adventurer once known as "Thundering Tina."
"Leon, Leena, Milia—listen up. Today, we settle everything. To hell with this prohibition. Booze is the blood and soul of us dwarves. They tried to take that from us, so they're gonna get what's coming to them."
"...Understood, Master."
Leon clenched his fist.
"Let's do this, Boss!"
Leena beamed.
"Everything is going according to plan. Just as calculated."
Milia nodded quietly.
—It was then.
The heavy gates of the magistrate's office slowly swung open. From within emerged a thin, nervous-looking man. It was Magistrate Friedrich. A man in his forties, he had personally come to stand before the gates to greet the inspection delegation from the royal capital.
Friedrich's face was taut with tension. For three months, frustrated by the prohibition's lack of effectiveness, he had repeatedly attempted to obstruct Tina. But each time, he had been thwarted by Milia's legal expertise and the city-wide underground network.
"...This is the end. You will explain yourself properly before the delegation, Magistrate."
Sweating coldly, Friedrich welcomed the chief inspector as he descended from the carriage.
The chief inspector was one of the council lords dispatched from the royal capital. With a stern face streaked with gray hair, he stopped before the magistrate's office.
"Magistrate Friedrich, we have come to inspect the enforcement status of the prohibition. First, we wish to see the state of the city."
"Y-yes... of course. This way."
At that moment—
GOOOOONG...
A deep, heavy bell tone resonated through the city of Kromgard.
The bell tower in the central square. On its top floor stood Tina, brandishing her war hammer.
GOOOOONG...
The second toll.
All across the city, residents lifted their heads in unison. Some opened windows, some rushed into the streets, some climbed onto roofs—everyone looked up at the bell tower.
The color drained from Friedrich's face.
GOOOOONG!!
The third toll.
And then—
"To hell with this damn prohibition!!"
Tina's furious roar thundered across the city from atop the bell tower.
"Today, I'm serving up freshly brewed Wildfire Rum by the barrel! If you wanna drink, grab your mugs and get over here!!"
At that instant, the sound of cask lids being popped open echoed from all over the city.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
From beneath the cobblestones of Market Street, from the basement of the general store, from the inn's warehouse, from breweries that were supposed to be closed—hundreds of hidden casks of distilled liquor were carried out into the streets one after another.
"Here it comes, here it comes!!"
"We've been waiting! For this day!!"
Magus Oren, the owner of the "Copper Cup" tavern, shook his portly body and raised an oversized mug.
"Come on, come on! Drink up! That's three months' worth of Wildfire Rum, aged to perfection!"
The residents surged forward like a tidal wave. Men and women, young and old, dwarf and human—everyone grabbed a mug and dove into the sea of alcohol.
"W-what is the meaning of this?!"
The chief inspector's eyes widened.
Before his very eyes, the quiet city had transformed in an instant into a sea of liquor. Amber rum overflowed from casks, wetting the cobblestones, and the air filled with a sweet, alcoholic aroma.
"Guards! Guards!! Quickly, arrest these rioters—"
Friedrich shrieked.
A squad of twelve guards burst from the magistrate's office and headed for the square. At their head was Gustav, the guard captain known for being stricter than anyone. A stern-faced man in his fifties, he had burned with zeal for cracking down on illegal liquor since the prohibition began.
"You lot! What do you think you're doing! Dump that liquor! Immediately—"
But.
A mug thrust out from the crowd was shoved right in front of Gustav's face.
"Captain, sir, just one sip... just one sip, please."
Gustav's face twitched.
Three months of prohibition. Not just the dwarves, but the human guards had also been cut off from alcohol. He had told himself it was his duty, suppressing his withdrawal symptoms.
But—.
The rich aroma of rum tickled his nose.
Gustav's hand, moving independently of his will, slowly reached for the mug.
"...Just one sip."
With a trembling hand, he accepted the mug and gently brought it to his lips.
At that moment—.
"So good..."
Tears.
Tears streamed from the eyes of the stern guard captain. He tore off his helmet and downed the mug in one gulp.
"To hell with it! I don't care anymore! Give me booze! Booze!!"
"The captain's fallen!!"
"Me too! I'm drinking too!"
"I don't care anymore! To hell with duty!"
One after another, the guards laid down their weapons and raised their mugs. In the blink of an eye, far from making arrests, the guards were singing in chorus with the citizens, arms around each other's shoulders.
"Ahahahaha! Did you see that?! The guard captain was the first to crack! His withdrawal symptoms must've been brutal!"
Leena clutched her stomach, laughing uproariously.
"...Master, did you orchestrate all of this?"
Leon looked up at Tina as she descended from the bell tower, utterly dumbfounded.
"Of course I did. What do you think we've been preparing for these last three months? I calculated everything, right down to the timing of when the guards' withdrawal symptoms would peak."
Tina readjusted Donnergram on her shoulder and grinned.
"...Your strategic genius truly sends a chill down my spine, Master."
Milia let out an admiring sigh.
—It was then.
Surveying the square, now transformed into a sea of liquor, the chief inspector quietly spoke.
"...Magistrate Friedrich."
"Y-yes...!"
"What is the meaning of this? What is the status of compliance with the prohibition?"
Friedrich's face turned deathly pale. He looked around frantically. Even if he wanted to order a crackdown, the very guards meant to do it were all guzzling booze and singing at the top of their lungs.
"H-hey! You lot! Get back to your duties! Arrest these insolent—"
"Magistrate, how about a drink?!"
Just then, a drunken Gustav, mug raised high, shouted right in front of the chief inspector.
It was a fatal scene.
The chief inspector's expression froze over.
"...The guard captain, abandoning his post and drinking alcohol, I see."
"N-no! This is some kind of mistake—"
"Please wait, Chief Inspector."
At that moment, it was Milia who pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. In her hands, she clutched a thick bundle of documents.
"My name is Milia. I am a Vandor-registered adventurer who has been investigating the legal issues surrounding the prohibition."
"...You're the one who wrote that paper."
The attendant looked at Milia with surprise.
"Yes. This is the analytical report on the volume of illicit liquor distribution and guard bribery under the prohibition, which was also submitted to Vandor Headquarters. Here are the evidentiary documents."
The documents Milia presented contained a vast amount of evidence, secretly gathered over the past three months, detailing Friedrich's corruption and lack of governing ability.
"...Friedrich. What is the meaning of this?"
"Th-this is... a fabrication! All of it, that dwarf woman—"
"Enough."
The chief inspector's voice rang out coldly.
"It is also the capital's responsibility for having entrusted governance to this man. The prohibition is hereby frozen as of today. Magistrate Friedrich will be brought before an inquiry committee in the capital."
"N-no...!!!"
All color drained completely from Friedrich's face. Pale as a ghost, he was seized by both arms by the attendant and led away to the carriage.
"Serves you right."
Leena muttered just loud enough to be heard.
"...Leena, your voice is too loud."
Leon chided her, but the corners of his mouth were smiling.
"Well done, Milia! All that fiddly work of yours paid off today!"
"...Thank you, Master. But this wasn't my achievement alone. It's because I had you, Master, and Leon, and Leena... and everyone in the city."
Milia's pale blue eyes glistened slightly.
One week later.
The Hammer Tone Inn was filled with bright laughter.
The forge fire b
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