My nose itched.
I was about to sneeze but stopped midway, so I rubbed my nose for no reason and tilted my head.
‘Is someone talking about me?’
I didn’t do anything to be badmouthed for.
Ah, is Seon-ah cursing me?
Or maybe someone is gossiping about the Demon King and the Hero again.
I scratched my head and soon greeted Gomgom, who was waddling toward me.
His paws were full of World Tree mushrooms.
“Wow, as expected, Gomgom is the best at gathering World Tree mushrooms!”
– Krung.
He put on an arrogant expression, acting as if it were only natural, and it was just too cute.
Gomgom placed the mushrooms into a basket and went off again to gather more.
Nearby, Ara, Cheong, and the Kkumuris were scattered around, collecting mushrooms.
‘Well, more like playing than gathering.’
Ara’s laughter rang pleasantly as she climbed the trees.
A cool breeze wrapped around the World Tree forest, adding a refreshing fragrance.
I leaned against one of the World Tree’s roots and blankly admired the peaceful scenery.
Flap, flap.
“Overlord!”
“Oh, Frey! What brings you here?”
Frey, having seemingly figured out where we were, flew toward me.
Behind her, fairies were flapping their wings desperately, dripping with sweat as they tried to keep up.
-( >_<)/
– \” (。>m<o)/”
‘They look pitiful but also adorable!’
The sight of those tiny bodies chasing after Frey was too cute.
Meanwhile, Frey fluttered above my head, her voice brimming with excitement.
“Bell! That lazy cat finally woke up!”
“Oh, really?”
The Nyang tribe had built a temporary shelter near the mines.
Their village location was still undecided.
That was because, as soon as Bell arrived here, he spent entire days dozing off.
He only woke up briefly to eat, demanded to be fed, and then went right back to sleep.
Since this cycle repeated, I hadn’t even had the chance to talk to him.
“Maybe I should go have a chat with him.”
“Great idea! He’s fully awake now! It’s the first time since he hammered metal!”
Since Frey had visited the Dungeon of Sloth with us, she had also witnessed Bell’s passionate blacksmithing.
Hearing that Bell was showing signs of energy again piqued my curiosity.
Did he get enough sleep?
Or did he find something interesting?
Pausing our mushroom gathering, we headed toward the mines.
Now that I thought about it, Gomgom had probably only ever seen Bell sleeping.
It was time they finally greeted each other.
Soo had been busy gathering his own army lately, dreaming of rebellion, so he was hard to find.
He occasionally visited my parents, acting playful before leaving, but I chalked it up to a rebellious teenage phase.
‘I should sneak up on him later and surprise him.’
I chuckled to myself and followed Frey as she flew ahead.
The kids followed along, hand in hand, making it feel like a picnic.
I suddenly wanted to capture the moment, so I snapped several photos while walking.
These pictures would surely end up in Seon-ah’s hands.
Before I knew it, we had arrived at the mines.
Since we had been gathering mushrooms nearby, it wasn’t far.
“Hey, guys.”
Goblins, gnolls, and cats together—it was a strange yet oddly fitting sight.
The children gestured for me to come closer.
Some Nyang tribe members snuggled up to Ara, Cheong, and Gomgom, rubbing against them.
Laughter erupted, echoing through the area.
“Is he inside?”
Frey tilted her head, flapping her wings.
The children around us nodded and led us into the mine.
As we went deeper, the interior became more spacious and well-lit.
It didn’t feel like a mine but more like an indoor space with exposed concrete walls.
– Myang.
The Nyang pointed toward a small tunnel.
It was too low—I would have to crouch to enter.
I sent the kids in first, then crawled in after them.
My knees hurt a bit, but it was manageable.
Thankfully, the tunnel widened as we moved further inside.
And finally, we found Bell and the other Nyang gathered together.
“It’s Bell!”
– Meow.
Instead of a greeting, Bell let out a cat’s cry.
Proudly, he held up a rock in one paw.
“Hey, Bell? You’re awake today.”
– Meow.
“What’s that?”
At my question, Bell approached and handed me the rock.
Not just the one in his paw—there were piles of similar-looking stones all around.
“What is this?”
It wasn’t metal.
Its texture was just like an ordinary rock.
I had no idea what it was.
Then, Bell finally spoke.
“It’s excellent firewood, Butler.”
“Firewood?”
This? Firewood?
Was it like coal?
It didn’t look like it at all.
Well, if Bell said so, I’d trust him.
He was an expert, after all.
“Is it edible?”
“You can eat anything, so try it.”
Really?
Before I could stop her, Ara quickly snatched up a rock and swallowed it.
She chewed for a moment, then suddenly breathed fire.
“Whoaa!”
“W-what was that?!”
Fire!
Ara then happily chomped down the flames she had just exhaled.
“Mmm! A delicacy!”
Unpredictable as ever.
But Bell’s claim that it was good firewood had just been proven.
The Nyang could use this to smelt metals.
I had been wondering whether we’d have to burn World Tree wood for that, but now we had a solution.
As we dug deeper, more of the firewood-like stones emerged.
It looked just like a coal mine.
The goblins soon started laying down rails, preparing for full-scale mining.
“What should we call this stuff?”
“Excellent firewood, Nyang.”
“Nyangwood!”
So we shortened it to Nyangwood.
The name reminded me of fruit, but whatever.
The more we dug, the more Nyangwood we found.
It seemed there was a vast deposit deeper inside.
Watching the Nyang joyfully dancing as the rocks poured out, Ara joined in for a dance battle.
After enjoying their performance for a while, we hauled a cart full of Nyangwood outside.
Next to the mine, a forge had been set up, which had been transported in its entirety via Bokkeum.
We had plans to build a larger and better forge later, but since the village site hadn’t been decided yet, construction was at a standstill.
“Bell, where do you want to build the village?”
“Closer to the mine would be best, but this place has a fire hazard. I’ll make a few things first and then look for a location.”
Bell seemed eager to test out the Nyangwood right away.
For now, he began working at the forge brought from the Dungeon of Sloth.
Whoosh!
Flames roared to life instantly.
The intense heat reached even me.
“Nyang, nyang!”
“Myang!”
The Nyang were delighted by the powerful fire.
Each of them picked up a hammer.
‘Huh? The other Nyang are blacksmiths too?’
Back when we made Emily’s sword, they had only assisted, so I assumed Bell worked alone.
But now, I saw that they were all prepared with hammers.
“Can we use the ore freely?”
“Of course.”
Even after setting aside the ore allocated to the goblins and gnolls, there were still five entire warehouses full of minerals.
We had been stockpiling them for so long—finally, it was time to use some.
Whoosh!
Clang! Clang!
The work began.
Since the forge was small, the Nyang had to take turns using their hammers.
‘Sigh.’
I really needed to build a bigger forge.
A massive one.
With multiple furnaces so they could work simultaneously.
Or maybe I should just build multiple forges.
But since that couldn’t happen overnight, I decided to observe for now.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Nyang worked diligently.
Bell efficiently moved between heating and cooling the metal while waiting for his turn.
For critical items, Bell handled everything himself.
Otherwise, they took turns and helped each other.
But even with 100 Nyang—including Bell—there weren’t enough workstations, so they had to wait.
Clang!
“Myang!”
“Oh? What is it?”
The first completed item was proudly raised by one of the Nyang.
It was something long.
It bent flexibly yet had an adjustable length.
It looked just like…
“A fishing rod?”
“Myang!”
The Nyang nodded enthusiastically.
I never expected their first creation to be a fishing rod.
It even had a hook for attaching a fishing line—just needed a reel, and it would be perfect.
Luckily, my father had bought dozens of reels for his hobby (with my money), so no problem there.
“Myang!”
“Nyaong.”
The Nyang who made the fishing rod, along with others looking at it eagerly, seemed excited to test it out.
To be honest, I was curious too.
Would my father approve of a fishing rod made by Nyang?
I picked it up and tested it.
It was flexible, had great elasticity, and the grip felt just right.
‘How is it so light?’
I tapped it lightly—it felt hollow.
Wait, not just hollow—it was hollow!
How did they make this without machinery, just with their tiny paws?
And this was only their first creation.
What about the ones still being made?
‘This is terrifying.’
Hold on.
If this is what they could do…
Emily’s sword—wasn’t it just a mystery-rank weapon?
Now, I wasn’t so sure.
Bell spent a week forging that sword.
Could it actually be a mythical-grade weapon?
No—almost certainly.
The fact that Bell could forge mythical-grade weapons was unbelievable.
At the same time, it confirmed that he was, indeed, an overpowered blacksmith of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Because he mostly slept, his skills hadn’t stood out much—but this changed everything.
And just then…
The second item was completed.
This time, it was Bell’s turn.
He had crafted a metallic cube.
It was roughly half my size.
“What is this?”
“Butler, I made this.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“A storage box. A subspace storage box.”
“…What?”
“If you insert a magic stone here, it activates. The stone’s grade determines the storage duration and weight capacity, but the size remains constant.”
A subspace storage box?!
Had Bell really created a subspace item?
I checked immediately.
[Subspace Storage Box (Rare)]
A storage box with an expansive internal space.
The inside maintains a constant temperature of 1°C.
The storage duration and weight limit depend on the attached magic stone.
It’s real.
A genuine subspace item.
With a built-in refrigerator function.
“……”
“Butler, since I made the box, give me Churu.”
“W-what? Oh. Churu? Yeah, of course.”
I was so shocked I couldn’t form words, but my hands instinctively pulled out a Churu treat.
Bell tapped the box.
“Give me a lot. I’m going to store them here.”
“W-wait. A lot? Yeah, of course.”
So that was why he made this box.
A place to store his Churu stash.
Then Bell asked for a magic stone.
Once attached, the lid started opening and closing properly.
Before that, it was just a solid cube.
Click.
A cool breeze emanated from inside.
Bell dumped a mountain of Churu into the box, grinning with satisfaction.
“This metal is excellent, Nyang.”
“Bell? Can you make more of these?”
“I can. Butler, do you want one?”
“Yeah. I want one, and I’d like to put some in the restaurant too.”
“The restaurant! I hadn’t thought of that. If it’s in the restaurant, they’ll make delicious food often!”
Bell nodded, accepting my request.
Wasn’t this difficult to make?
I asked just in case, but Bell shook his head.
“It depends on the materials. If I use ordinary metal, I can’t make something like this. But with high-quality metal, it’s easy.”
“Whoa!”
This is revolutionary!
I could outfit my entire house with appliances made by Bell.
“Bell… you’re a genius!”
“Nyang, I’m a genius?”
Yes!
You’re a Nyang-genius!
Cliche Novel 