The royal messenger's report apparently caused quite a stir in the capital, because three days later, a full military delegation arrived at Ferndale with all the subtlety of a brick through a window. Greg saw twenty armored soldiers march into the village square from his workshop. Their captain carried a sealed scroll with the royal crest on it.
"Fucking hell... what is it now!? Goddammit, I fucking—" Greg starts to spam swear words again and again without stopping because it breaks to the point of him starting to crash out.
Lylia said, "This is bad," looking through the window next to him. "That's Captain Roderick."
"People know him for being stubborn and following the rules. If the crown sent him, they mean business with that letter."
Greg, who finally felt at ease, started to take deep breaths. "Okay... fuhhh... calm down... I would rather not grow a wrinkle that fast."
"Maybe they're just here to say sorry for the mix-up?" Greg said weakly.
"You don't send twenty armed men to say sorry," Seraphine said from her research corner. "The purpose of sending them is probably to scare people or make them do something."
Greg let out a groan. "I just wanted to be a bear where all they could do is hibernate."
"Master, they're coming this way," Elwen said in a shaky voice.
Captain Roderick was indeed walking purposefully toward the workshop, and his armor shone in the morning sun. His soldiers stood behind him in a loose semicircle, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords. This was probably meant to be a casual gesture, but it looked threatening.
Greg stepped outside before they could get into his office, crossing his arms as the captain came closer. "The workshop is closed today, unless you need assistance with daily life tools."
"Greg Greyson, the Blacksmith with the SSS Rank. Am I correct?" Captain Roderick's voice was clear and businesslike. "His Majesty, King Aldrich the Third, has sent me here with a direct order."
He opened the scroll and started to read. "The kingdom has received credible reports of dangerous alchemical experiments and the creation of unknown materials with unprecedented power, which could pose a threat to national security.
"...you are hereby ordered to give all samples of the substance known as Chaosweave Alloy to the royal government. You must also give the crown at least twelve weapons made from this material to protect the kingdom."
Greg said right away, "Fuck. No."
Captain Roderick blinked. "What did you say?"
"I said no with a fuck. I will not give you the materials, and I certainly will not create any weapons with them either. That's what I'm all about."
"Have you not heard about the blacksmith who refuses to forge weapons?"
Felix covers his mouth with a surprised face. "Ohh... that sounded like a good title for a novel."
The captain said stiffly, "I know how you feel about making weapons, but this is a royal order. Not following orders is considered treason."
"It's not the first time for me to hear that shit before, some kingdoms before yours had come and said the same thing, so I don't buy that shit anymore." Greg crossed his arms as he spoke.
Greg said flatly, "If all you can say is treason, then I guess I'm a traitor."
"Come back with an arrest warrant if you like, but I'm not making weapons."
The air was thick with tension, and the soldiers moved around, gripping their weapons more tightly. Captain Roderick's jaw was tight with barely contained anger, and that's when Felix chose that moment to come in.
"SENSEI! I finally found out how to turn on my Infinite Luck System!" Felix ran out of the workshop and waved his arms in the air. He didn't see the armed soldiers at all until he ran right into Captain Roderick, which made them both fall.
"Be careful where you're going, brat!" The captain steadied himself and glared at Felix.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Felix backed up and then saw the soldiers. "Whoa, what's up with the medieval SWAT team?"
"Medieval what?" one of the soldiers said under his breath.
"Don't worry about that!" Felix looked at Greg with bright eyes. "Sensei, my system finally gave me a task! It says that if I help you right now, I'll get my first summoning power!"
Greg replied, "Felix, not the best time."
"It's always the best time to grow as a person!"
"Have you forgotten our promises about the system snitch?! You dumb fuck...!"
"Oh shit, I forgot...!"
Bork was organizing tools in the workshop when he heard the noise. He looked out the window and saw armed soldiers surrounding Greg. He panicked right away, making his hands grab the closest thing, which happened to be one of Greg's practice hammers, without him even thinking about it.
"Greg is in danger!" Bork's instincts to stay alive were stronger than his usual dislike of hammers. He threw the hammer through the open window with surprising accuracy without even thinking about it.
The hammer flew through the air in a perfect arc, spinning end over end, and then it hit Captain Roderick's breastplate with a loud CLANG that could be heard all over the village square. The blow made the captain take three steps back.
There was a hammer-shaped dent in the middle of his chest, right in the middle of his armor, which was supposed to be a top-of-the-line military issue. The soldiers quickly pulled out their weapons.
"ASSAULT ON A ROYAL OFFICER!" one of them yelled.
Bork stumbled out of the workshop, looking sick but determined. "Don't you threaten my friends!"
Captain Roderick said, "Your friend just dented military armor with a thrown hammer." His voice was dangerously calm. "Are you aware of the punishment for that?!"
"Probably less than the punishment for threatening the person who saved an entire region from corruption with a holy farming tool," Marina said, appearing out of nowhere. "Do you remember that? The Church is still talking about whether or not he is a saint."
The captain was unsure. He clearly didn't expect any trouble, especially not from a dwarf who looked like he was going to throw up and a silver-ranked adventurer with a frying pan on her back.
That's when things really got out of hand. Felix, who was still high from activating his system and completely misunderstanding what was going on, saw one of Greg's creations sitting on a barrel nearby. Greg had been meaning to get rid of the Vest of Perpetual Motion, the dancing vest from months ago, but he kept forgetting to do so.
"Wow, is this one of those famous things?" Felix picked it up and looked at it with the excitement of a child in a candy store.
"Does it have any special qualities?"