The Mob Noble Who Got Reincarnated in a World Where Men Are Naturally Protected—So I Trained Like Crazy to Protect Girls Instead, But Their Love Got Way Too Heavy - Chapter 03: Special Weapons

Chapter 03: Special Weapons

The person Mom introduced me to was the knight order’s personal blacksmith—a loli dwarf girl.

“Oh, long time no see, Tect! You’ve bulked up a lot since last time!”

“Right? I’ve been working hard at training, y’know. Check out these pecs—solid as a rock, right?”

“Oooh~♡ Yeah, I gotta admit, they’re pretty—”

“Stop sexually harassing my son.”

Whack! Mom smacked the dwarf blacksmith hard.

“Ow! C’mon, that was just a joke!” the teary-eyed blacksmith protested.

…Huh? Harassment? Wait, which part?

While I tilted my head in confusion, Mom spoke to the blacksmith.

“Like I mentioned before—he’s got a request.”

“Gotcha, gotcha. Well, if it’s my cute little Tect asking, I can’t say no. So? What d’you want me to make? A ring for your girlfriend, maybe?”

This blacksmith wasn’t a stranger—I’d known her for a while. At first glance, she looked like a loli.

I’d been shocked the first time I met her, but Mom explained back then: she was a dwarf. Apparently, dwarf women in this world naturally looked like lolis. Legal lolis, basically.

And that first time, I’d been completely thrown off—seeing a girl who looked like a living doll in a frilly dress instead standing half-naked in front of a blazing forge.

Even now, honestly, it was hard to look at her straight on. Her clothes were soaked through with sweat, practically see-through.

Trying not to stare too much at the loli dwarf blacksmith, I sat down in front of her and spoke.

“I want you to make me a weapon. Something… special.”

“Eh? What’s a guy gonna do with a weapon? You don’t even have the strength to swing one.”

“You’re right. I’m weak. That’s why I want a weapon that can make up for that weakness.”

“…Hmm? But y’know, if a man wants to actually compete with a woman, he’d need something like a magic sword. You got the money or materials for that?”

The blacksmith glanced at Mom, who shook her head.

So I spoke up.

“No—the foundation of the fight itself is different.”

“…Huh? What are you even talking about?”

“Just hear me out. Sure, in tournaments or duels, you start face-to-face, fair and square. But in real combat? That’s not how it works.”

For years, I’d been thinking about one thing—how a man, so much weaker in raw strength, could possibly fight on equal footing with women.

If I shared my theory and worked from there, it should be possible. A weapon that would let a man stand beside women… a weapon that could protect them.

With that determination burning inside me, I kept talking to the loli blacksmith.

“First off, there’s the stage before the actual clash. If you’re fighting in a forest, whoever spots the other first already has the advantage.”

“True. If you find them first, you can set up an ambush.”

“Exactly. Before the head-on clash, there’s already an information battle—basically hide-and-seek.”

The loli blacksmith paused, thinking it over, before saying, “…Go on.”

“So then. If an ambush works, the fight ends there. But if it fails, what happens? A battle doesn’t always break out right away, right?”

“Yeah, true. Sometimes the one who botched the ambush runs away. Sometimes the one who got ambushed runs away. Sometimes both sides run. Or sometimes they just fight anyway—it depends on how things flow.”

“Exactly. And who decides that flow? The one who’s fastest on their feet. If they don’t want to fight, they can run away. If they do want to fight, they can chase the other down.”

Which means—

“After the info war—the hide-and-seek—you get the mobility war: tag. And once that’s over, then you finally get the head-on clash.”

“…Hah. You know, Tect, you’re already good-looking, but it’s unfair how your brain’s interesting too.”

The loli blacksmith leaned forward with a bold grin, while Mom muttered, “Tect, you really are a smart one, aren’t you,” looking impressed.

“So? Tect. With all that in mind, what kind of weapon do you want?”

At her prompt, I answered.

“A pile bunker.”

“…A Bun…? Boobs? What’s this, Tect—are you saying you wanna grab some boobs?”

“No, that’s not—hey, don’t start pulling your shirt off! Put that back on! What the hell!”

“Geez, getting flustered just over boobs. Tect, you’re such a pure, cute boy~.”

The loli blacksmith joked and actually started tugging at her apron, and when I panicked, Mom immediately went all soft and doting—it was a sharp reminder of just how flipped this world’s gender roles were.

That whole vibe of a macho dude flexing his chest and saying “Go ahead, touch!”—training hard and expecting admiration—that was the mindset here. Just thinking about it made my cheeks burn.

Trying to clear my throat, I pushed past the awkwardness and continued.

“First off, I want a weapon that guarantees a win if I pull off an ambush. And when you think of a weapon that shines when you’ve got a time advantage, the pile bunker came to mind.”

“A what kind of weapon?”

“Simply put, it’s a stake you fire out with gunpowder. You fix the stake to a gauntlet, pack powder at the base—”

As I explained, the blacksmith’s eyes lit up.

“Tect! That’s an awesome idea! Yeah, it does take prep, but if it works, the ambushed side could be finished in one hit!”

“Right!? Cool, huh? And there’s more…”

I rattled off the other dream weapons I’d been imagining.

A grappling hook that could sling you straight to the high ground you aimed for.

A paraglider or wingsuit to soar through the air.

Night-vision goggles to spot enemies first.

All of them were cutting-edge—or downright impossible—ideas back in my old world. Dream gear, basically.

But this world had magic. With a bit of imagination, they could be made real.

Or so I thought—until th blacksmith said…

“But… maybe it’s impossible.”

“Eh?”

The blacksmith gave a dry laugh, and I froze.

“…Why?”

“Not enough materials. It’s not on the level of making a magic sword, but some of the stuff you’d need just isn’t available in this region.”

“Then what if I travel and get it myself?”

“It’s not like it couldn’t be done. But traveling’s dangerous even for women—bandits, monsters… And let’s be real, Garland here wouldn’t allow it.”

Garland—that was my family name. In this case, she meant Mom.

I looked at Mom, and she smiled sweetly.

“Of course not.”

“…Not allowed?”

“Not allowed.” 

“No matter what?”

“No matter what.”

Checkmate. My shoulders slumped in defeat.

The blacksmith burst out laughing.

“Ahahaha! Don’t look so down. You’ve got potential, Tect. For the next few years… let’s see, until you enroll at the noble academy, I can train you.”

“And what good does blacksmith training even do me…!?”

I groaned, but the loli blacksmith just tilted her head like I’d said something weird.

“Huh? You mean you don’t know? The Royal Noble Academy that every noble child in the Constantine Kingdom has to attend—it’s famous. The area around it has always been crawling with monsters and overflowing with ores.”

“…The noble academy…?”

I lifted my head. I’d heard of it before, but never really thought much about it.

The Noble Academy.

I was the son of a knight—a one-generation noble—but even so, I was set to enroll there.

It was tradition. Knight children might technically count as commoners, but they still entered the academy to prove themselves and earn noble status again.

At my reply, the blacksmith broke into a wide grin.

“Exactly! From now until you enter the academy, I’ll train you myself. Then, once you’re in, you’ll be able to make anything you want!”

“…Yeah.”

“And the area around the academy? It’s a dreamland packed with materials. Every kind you could ever need! Everything, Tect!”

“…Whoa.”

“So you get it, right? Use the smithing skills I’ll drill into you. Build weapons just the way you imagine them. Do that, and you’ll be unstoppable—women won’t even be competition anymore!”

“Hell yeahhh!!”

I couldn’t hold back the excitement bubbling up inside me.

Yeah… yeah, that made sense! If I could forge my own weapons, then all I had to do was gather the materials and craft them myself.

My mood soared, my eyes sparkling as I turned toward Mom.

“…That’s true. You can’t avoid enrolling in the academy anyway. If you want to study blacksmithing alongside your training until then, I won’t stop you.”

“Yesss! Thanks, both of you!”

I grinned from ear to ear, while both the blacksmith and Mom puffed up proudly.

“Well, this much is fine.”

“It’s a parent’s duty, after all.”

“Then—can I start learning tomorrow, Master!?”

“Master… ohhh, I like the sound of that~. Of course! Come by anytime!”

The loli blacksmith beamed, and I nodded furiously.

Seeing me like that, Mom muttered under her breath.

“…My son really is a scary lady-killer, huh. First the whole family, and now even the blacksmith…”

I didn’t catch what she said, but either way—
From that day forward, on top of Mom’s training, I also began learning the way of the forge.