Reincarnated as an SSS-Ranked Blacksmith Who Refuses to Forge Weapons-Chapter 201. The Peaceful Blacksmith’s Complicated Love

Chapter 201: 201. The Peaceful Blacksmith’s Complicated Love

The first hour of the trip back to Ferndale was surprisingly calm. It was too peaceful, which should have been Greg’s first sign that things were about to go very wrong, like always.

He sat in the carriage between Marina and Lylia, and both women leaned comfortably against him as the Eternal Engine hummed along the road. Felix was still asleep, but he kept mumbling about "grinding levels" and "legendary drops."

Seraphine was engrossed in a book about advanced ice magic theory, her nose deep in it. Elwen quietly drew in her journal, but Greg could tell she was looking at him with an unreadable look.

Mira and Donetta had become solid enough to curl up in the corner. Her spirit form was finally stable after the chaos of the Calamity battle.

Everything was okay, and it was going completely normal. A man was sitting between two women who both loved him.

He was going home after saving the world from an apocalypse caused by living weapons.

Greg’s head was screaming.

Suddenly, Marina broke the comfortable silence with a "Hey." "We should probably set some rules for this whole thing about dating two people."

Greg could feel Lylia stiffening up a little on the other side of him.

"Rules of the game?" Lylia asked with care.

"Yeah, you know... limits and stuff," Marina said as she sat up straighter and turned to face them both.

"Like, who gets what days? Do we switch? Is there a plan? Should we make a chart?"

"A chart? Greg said it again, this time with a higher voice. "Do you want to make a chart for dating?"

"Why not? You make charts for everything else in your workshop," Marina said.

"You have a whole system for organizing your tools, a way to rotate the ingredients for Lylia’s restaurant supplies, and a schedule for taking care of the Eternal Engine."

"Why not use the same reasoning here?"

Greg said, "Because relationships aren’t the same as taking care of tools!"

"Are you sure?" With a perfectly straight face, Marina asked. "To keep them in good shape, both need regular care, careful handling, and polishing every now and then."

Lylia made a noise that sounded like a laugh or a choke. "Marina, please don’t put us in the same group as tools that need polishing."

"But that’s what Greg does for a living," Marina said with all innocence. "All I’m doing is attempting to communicate with him in a way that can penetrate his dense mind."

Seraphine lowered her book just enough to look over the top from across the carriage. Her eyes sparkled with barely contained laughter.

"This is really interesting." Seraphine said while adjusting her glasses.

"Please go on."

Greg begged, "Don’t encourage her."

"Too late," Felix mumbled from where he was supposed to be sleeping, one eye opening. "I’m awake now and really into this drama."

"This is better than any anime I’ve seen about love."

Greg begged, "Go back to sleep, Felix."

"Not a chance, Sensei! This is high-quality content." Felix sat up straight, wearing a crazy smile.

"Tell me how you’re going to deal with having two girlfriends without getting too embarrassed or making things worse."

Greg said, "I’m going to deal with it like an adult," even though he wasn’t sure how.

"Oh, really?" Marina’s smile turned very evil. "Then, as an adult, answer this question..."

"Where will everyone sleep when we get back to Ferndale?"

It felt like the temperature in the carriage dropped a few degrees. Even though it was cool outside, Greg could feel sweat forming on his forehead.

"What do you mean?" Marina said slowly, as if she were talking to a child. "I mean that your workshop only has one place to sleep right now."

"The cot in the corner where you’ve been sleeping for months. There are now two women who probably want to be with you."

"So, a question about logistics... how is that going to work for both of us?"

Greg’s mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out. Lylia had turned completely red and was staring at the floor with great interest.

Greg finally said, "I’ll get another cot, and of course... it’s going to be two cots with different places to sleep."

"It’s very polite and respectable."

"Boo~! Boring~," Marina said. "But okay, let’s start with that."

"What about food? For months now, Lylia has been making you breakfast every morning."

"Should I just sit and watch?"

"Do I need to help? Do we take turns?"

Lylia said quietly, "I don’t mind if you join us," still not making eye contact.

"It’s really nice to have someone else there because there’s not as much pressure."

"Look!" Marina said. "Lylia gets it," and nodded in agreement.

"Talk to each other. That’s the secret to making this work."

Greg said, "This is so strange," as he ran his non-prosthetic hand through his hair.

"I went from having no romantic prospects to needing to make plans with two different women. How did this happen?

"You’re just that lovable, Sensei," Felix said. "Also hopelessly stupid, which somehow makes you more attractive."

"It’s like a protagonist aura or something."

Greg said, "I don’t have a protagonist aura."

"You do," Seraphine said, finally joining the conversation in a real way.

"You are the reincarnated legendary blacksmith who won’t make weapons, accidentally makes things that change the world from household tools, defeats world-ending threats with the power of friendship and creative problem-solving, and somehow gets romantic interests without even realizing it."

"Holy crap... calm down with that!" Greg was shocked hearing many words from Seraphine.

"That’s how a main character should act."

"Not you too," Greg groaned.

"I’m just making observations," Seraphine said in a stiff voice, but her lips were twitching with laughter. "Purely academic interest in how different types of relationships work."

"Are you writing anything down?" Greg asked with suspicion as he saw her quill moving across the page in her journal. "Just for research," Seraphine said, not looking up from her writing.

Finally, Elwen, who had been quiet this whole time, spoke up. "I think it’s sweet," she said in a soft voice.

"I think it’s sweet that all of you are working together to make this relationship successful instead of fighting or feeling jealous. It shows how much you love each other."

"Thank you, Elwen," Lylia said with thanks. "At least someone is being helpful instead of making fun of me."

Felix said, "Oh, I completely support it."

"I also think it’s funny and plan to enjoy every awkward moment. These things don’t have to be separate from each other."

Marina’s laugh was real, and it made Greg’s chest feel warm even though he was embarrassed. "Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing him for now."

She leaned back against Greg’s shoulder, and the teasing energy she had before turned into something softer. "But really, we need to talk about this in a serious way at some point."

"We shouldn’t discuss it right now, as everyone is listening and it feels awkward, but we will do so soon."

"Agreed," Lylia said, and she leaned back against Greg’s other side. "When we get home and have some time alone."

Greg said with great enthusiasm, "Privacy sounds great right now. It’s like the best thing in the world."

"Don’t expect it," Bork remarked from the front seat.

"Everyone in the village is going to want to know what happened in Meridian."

"If you three show up in a complicated love situation, it will be the talk of Ferndale for months."

Greg’s head hit the wall of the carriage with a thud. "I just want to live in peace."

"Is that too much to ask?"

Marina said, "You gave up on a peaceful life when you started making SSS-rank items out of kitchen tools."

"When you beat a lot of Calamities, you showed that the kingdom was corrupt and became the Champion of Peace."

"You were never going to be quiet."

"The only thing I could do is... sleep and dream," Greg said quietly.

After that, the conversation got easier. Felix began to tell a long story about a game he played in a past life that somehow involved dating more than one character at the same time.

This got him a few thrown cushions and a lecture from Donetta about what to talk about.

Seraphine and Elwen talked about how Thoughtforged techniques could be used in areas other than weapon making. Mira sometimes said things that made no sense at all, but she said them with such confidence that no one questioned them.

Bork said they were about halfway to Ferndale as the sun set and painted the sky in shades of orange and pink. "We’ll have to stop for the night soon."

"We can camp about an hour ahead at a good spot."

"Camp?" Marina perked up. "As in, sleeping outside and under the stars?"

Bork said, "The Eternal Engine can run forever, but I need to sleep."

"And I don’t trust any of you to drive without either crashing or finding some new magical property of the carriage that makes it a flying fortress."

Greg agreed, "That’s fair."

"I did accidentally make the workshop carriage grow defensive barriers that one time."

"That’s what I said," Bork said. "So we set up camp, get some sleep, and then move on in the morning."

"By tomorrow night, we’ll be in Ferndale."

They turned off the main road an hour later and drove into a clearing with tall trees all around it. The Eternal Engine settled down with a joyful hum, and its crystal power source dimmed to a soft glow.

The Brotherhood got out of the carriage and stretched their cramped limbs while breathing in the cool evening air. Felix offered to start the fire and was already gathering wood.

"I’ll help with the food," Lylia said as she walked to the storage compartments in the carriage where they had put their supplies.

"I’ll take care of the sleeping arrangements," Marina said, and then she winked at Greg.

"Don’t worry, Peace Champion. I’ll make sure that everything is very proper and respectable."

Greg didn’t know if he should be happy or scared.

Marina’s idea of "proper and respectable" was to set up three bedrolls in a triangle around the fire. Greg’s bedroll was between Marina’s and Lylia’s, but it was far enough away that it could be seen as either intimate or completely platonic, depending on how you looked at it.

Marina put her hands on her hips and looked over her work. "There," she said.

"Perfect setup, and it’s close enough to be comfortable but far enough away that you can deny it if anyone asks."

Greg wanted to know who would ask questions. "We’re in the middle of nowhere."

Marina said in a serious tone, "The trees might talk, though."

"And you may never know~!"