Chapter 1

On a sunny day with a gentle breeze brushing against my cheeks, I stood in the middle of a bustling market, dragging a sword the size of my body. I looked around at the busy crowd.

‘Hmm, perfect weather.’

The kind of weather perfect for causing some disruption.

Sweat soaked my palms from dragging the huge sword, and I rubbed them together with a mischievous grin. Then…

Thud!

I suddenly dropped to the ground in the middle of the market and pulled out a bundle of radishes I had prepared earlier. The merchants selling goods in the market stared at me with familiar gazes.

Among them, Uncle Allen, who sold swords right next to me, greeted my arrival with a warm smile.

“Wow, Eve! You came to do that again, huh? That?”

Yes, Uncle, I’m here to do that.

I gave a half-hearted nod and scanned the passing people with sparkling eyes.

The people who had come to shop in the market seemed very curious about the sword I was carrying.

After all, it’s not every day you see a little kid, probably around eight years old, sitting in the middle of a market holding a sword the size of their body.

At that moment, an elderly woman wearing a shawl made of expensive fabric, along with an elderly man who seemed to be her husband, approached and asked.

“Child, are you planning to sell that?”

It seemed they thought I had brought the sword here to sell.

I flashed them a bright smile and answered confidently.

“No! I’m not selling it!”

“Then why bring it out?”

Well, let me show you right now.

I raised the sword high.

“…!”

When I lifted the huge sword, the elderly couple’s eyes grew wide in shock. It was understandable—an eight-year-old lifting such a heavy sword was bound to be surprising.

But here’s the secret:

This magnificent Excalibur had a magical ability to change weight depending on the strength of the user. Because of this, even a tiny child like me could easily lift the sword.

‘Ahem, of course. This was made by the world’s best master, after all.’

I proudly patted the sword a few times, internally bragging about my father’s extraordinary craftsmanship.

Although the sword was far too big and dangerous for a child, I had been handling swords for as long as I could remember and knew exactly how to wield it safely without injury.

“Wow-!!”

As I raised the sword, the crowd that had gathered to watch burst into cheers.

They probably thought I was trying to put on some kind of strength show, lifting a sword as big as my body.

Haha, but the real fun starts now!

I held the sword high and then, with all my might, pretended to strike the radish with the sword.

“…!”

With the crowd’s expectations and cheers, the tip of the sword stopped just before it touched the radish. I made a cute fist and tapped my own head, pretending I couldn’t cut the radish.

“That’s strange… This is a sword made by ‘Royce,’ the world’s greatest weapon maker, so why isn’t it cutting this radish~?”

“…”

I subtly made it clear to everyone that the sword, which looked capable of slicing through dragon scales, couldn’t even cut a radish. I made sure to let them know that this “subpar” sword was made by none other than Royce.

The people stared at me in disbelief when they saw a sword that looked like it could cut through anything fail to cut even a piece of radish.

I raised my voice even more to cement the impression.

“This is a sword made by Royce!! It can’t possibly be defective~! Why can’t it even cut this radish?”

“…”

“Just a radish!!”

“…Let’s go. A sword that can’t even cut a radish… Looks like a toy for kids.”

“No, it looks fine, but still… Let’s go. Did that kid just say it was made by Royce? I guess we shouldn’t buy swords from him. What a waste… tch…”

The crowd, which had gathered in a large cluster, scattered in an instant.

I was left alone in the middle of the market, clenching my fists tightly.

‘Perfect, just as expected.’

At least now, those people won’t buy swords from Royce. And if they spread the word…

Heh heh, my dad will be unemployed!

I grinned wickedly, collecting my Excalibur and the untouched radish.

Uncle Allen, who was selling swords next door, gave me a thumbs-up as he said, “Good work again today, Eve!”

Uncle was selling swords to the elderly couple who had shown interest in my sword earlier.

‘Hmph, I’m not doing this for Uncle’s sake.’

I stuck out my tongue at him and happily left the market.

Sorry, Dad, but…

Once again, I successfully disrupted your business!

Introduction of Eve Royce:

My name is Eve Royce.

I wasn’t born as the daughter who ruins her father’s business from the start.

I only began to truly sabotage my dad’s work about six months ago.

It all started after I realized that the world I was born into was the same as the fantasy novel I had read in my previous life.

I still clearly remember that day.

The day the heroes in silver armor broke through the pouring rain and came to our house!

“We would like to commission you, Mr. Royce, to make some swords.”

When I heard that voice, I realized that I was living in a fantasy novel, and that my father was just a side character who dies a ridiculous death in the story.

And then I passed out.

“Eve!!”

My last memory was of my dad catching me as I collapsed.

‘No… this doesn’t make sense.’

My dad is a side character who dies in the most pointless way in the story.

Even though he’s a side character, he was one of the more prominent ones. But so what?!

His role was to work himself to death making swords for the hero party!

My father, Neil Royce, the greatest weapon smith in the story, was commissioned by the heroes to make fourteen swords: seven for fighting dragons, seven for backup. He died of exhaustion.

The reason he died was because of the arrogant heroes who ordered a total of fourteen swords, but the real reason was a bit more tragic.

The iron he used to forge the swords was made from iron ore that drained the life energy of the smith.

Of course, my father in the novel doesn’t know this.

So he stupidly forged fourteen swords at once and died.

And that idiot was my dad.

When I found this out, I lay in bed, moaning as if I was about to die, before suddenly sitting up and shouting.

“Ugh, I can’t let that happen!”

“Eve? Are you okay?”

This man!

Even though he’s a little foolish! He doesn’t know anything except weapons and his daughter! He’s the world’s best weapon smith, and he’s my dad!

I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing him die that way.

Those heroes—what kind of backup swords are they making? Don’t even think about using a backup sword to fight. If the sword breaks, fight with whatever’s left!

When I was fuming, my dad hurriedly brought me a cup of warm milk.

“Here, drink this and calm down. Huh? What’s going on with you, all of a sudden…”

I took the milk from him and drank it all in one go.

Crash-!

Then, I slammed the empty cup back onto the table and turned to look at my dad.