Bang, bang, bang

Aye, the sound of colliding metal. It was music to the ears of a blacksmith.

“Master Grimnir!”

I stopped my hammering and placed the orange glowing piece of metal back into the furnace, causing hair-frying air to blast at my sweat-drenched forehead. I turned around to that young man’s voice, raising my head as I saw him running up to me.

“The fingers are done. How far are you with the shoulder plate?” this boy, Daichi, asked me.

As I inspected his craft, I noted how much smaller and fragile the metal fingers looked in contrast to my large, fat ones, a trait most taz dwarves shared. It was why we made terrible artisans for detail-focused crafts. If I were to use these metal fingers for a gauntlet, most beastmen women or some human men could probably wear it without an issue, but in my palm, I would crush them with my grip.

Still, even though it felt awkward for me to create them, I still treated them like the delicate creation that they were. Like a hawk, my eyes inspected every small crevice, looking for any malformation or bad heat treatment that could compromise the defensive stat of the end product. Even though I had rejected [Blacksmith’s Eyes] from Bleidla, I had gotten too accustomed to working with “naked” sight that it felt more natural for me to inspect equipment this way..

“Don’t forget, if you're making a commission for a specific person, you need to ensure the armor isn’t neither too large nor too tight. Armor that rattles around makes it uncomfortable to wear and risks loosening joints. Armor that is too tight to wear loses its effectiveness against blunt attacks. The shockwave will send damage to the chainmail underneath,” I gave my criticism to my second apprentice. “I know we’re working with somebody without an arm, but don’t let bad habits grow!”

“Yes, Master!” the young man replied, but the fire in his eyes suggested he was ready to defend his work. “However, considering the situation, I expected larger fingers would be better for this use-case. It will look asymmetrical when worn, but the larger grip will help one wield physical weapons better. I accounted for that when I made them.”

“Good!” I nodded, smiling at his answer. It wasn’t the perfect answer, nor did I like him speaking up like this, but I was fond of him thinking like a journeyman instead of an apprentice. “Sometimes the client is wrong, or your initial plans put you on the wrong path, but this is exactly what you have to do. Think outside the box! As blacksmiths, our duty is to create gear that assures they live! No shame is tougher than our efforts resulting in their death.”

“Yes, Master!”

This snot-nosed brat had been nothing more than a rude rat when I first met him. His excessive ass-kissing, like I usually saw from those damn Bleidla fanatics always looking to find some excuse for their god, struck a nerve with me. I preferred blunt people, those who wore their emotions and thoughts on their sleeves. Makes them easier to drink with.

Still … when I saw him beg me to become an apprentice, I couldn’t help but accept him. I had told the boy I hadn’t remembered him in an attempt to distance myself from him, but that look in his eyes still remained in my mind. A seeker who did not know what he was looking for. Somebody who required guidance before his flame died out.

‘My name is Daichi Mikami! I am a nobody who has lost his way! I am a worthless little pawn, unable to think by himself! But, looking at you right here, has awakened something in my heart! My desire to create! So, please, teach me! I will do anything to learn from you! Teach me how to love creating again!’

What an idiot …

“However, listen to this.” I pulled up my metal file and rubbed it against two fingers, letting the lad listen to the two different sounds. One sounded dull—full—while the other felt slightly light, as if the file was folding against the metal. “You hear that?”

Daichi’s face paled, grimacing. “… I fucked up the heat treatment.”

“You damn did.” I broke the light sounding finger in half using my hammer, revealing the metal inside before pointing at the discoloration of the metal. One was lighter than the other. “You see this? Lad, when you infuse monster materials into metal, you gotta remember the material will raise the necessary temperature before a quench. You don’t heat up a blade made with the lass’s scale with your usual flames, you throw in some of her scale-dust and let it scorch your hair! Stop wasting the materials we painstakingly got from the Event! Reforge this one!”

“Yes, Master! I will do better!”

“Bladdarg! Turn the metal around! Don’t let it sit all the time. You need to keep the heat even! Feel the fire, watch the color!” I reiterated to this numbskull. “Don’t fuck up the second time!”

“Never!”

He rushed away, back to his anvil while my mouth wrinkled into a smile.

Lad is growing …

He found his passion. No longer trapped in the need to constantly prove himself, he could learn and do what he needed to. No distractions. Even if I was his master, I didn’t think I was the only cause; I was not arrogant enough to think I could change other’s lives. Just like Broggi and I, you needed the will, ambition, and strength to work on your craft everyday without rest. That couldn’t be given or learned, that could only be earned through effort.

I turned back to my own work, taking the heated metal out, but shook my head when I saw it wasn’t even pink enough for me to consider hammering it. Using the leftover adamantoise shell for it made it so this metal required extreme heat to have it glow yellow. I needed more heat.

I took a deep breath before throwing some coal into the furnace. Using the air blower, I fed the fire air before unleashing a flame breath, growing the inferno until some of the flames touched my face. The sizzling of my sweat could be heard as I cleaned my face with a rag, before putting the piece of metal back into the fire.

I am Grimnir Luedbrumdar, the imperial blacksmith of the third dragon princess of Kargryx, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. This is my passion. This is my life and duty. In honor of Goddess Chihiro, I am her [Grand Arcanatechnician], her Saint to teach the word of what the Goddess of Change, Ingenuity, and Ambition! To assure my party, Aurora, will survive anything, I dedicate every sweat and hammer swing to my craft!

Still …

“Watch me shine!” My mistress, my princess, and my party leader reached out her arm into the air, before the music began once again along with the booming roars of the audience inside this giant dragon nest—the Obsidian Orchestra.

I was no longer swinging my hammer; instead, I and my two apprentices had laid down our tools to watch our dragon lass perform on stage.

To be frank, I wasn’t particularly a big fan of her more “cutesy” songs, as they always felt lacking in substance. Those love songs she sometimes sang felt so … shallow, like the ones the damn bards always played whenever they had nothing else to sing. That was my true feeling about them, but considering how much I know Hestia loved them, I couldn’t say anything to her. I was her friend and this was just an issue with my music taste.

… But that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy her concerts.

“If you asked me if I remembered that day ♫

I would say, yes, for it was the day that we met ♫

The hope and warmth that I felt, the memories that we made ♫

So I smiled. Together. ♫

With every day that passed, I just want to wonder ♫

Will this all last ♫

The peace we have is so fleeting ♫

I worry about what could happen, I don’t want all to be gone ♫

But you smiled. ♫

You say, “Don’t worry, so don’t stop moving” ♫

“Life is all about cherishing the present” ♫

So, I kept my head up, and moved forward ♫

Even if you aren’t there ♫

I can’t stop now, stop now, I will grasp my chance ♫

Leaving behind my sad self now ♫

No way, no way, no way, I will not become that weak me again ♫

Stand proud, stand proud, to live my life to the fullest ♫

There is so much that I’ve given up ♫

No way, no way, no way, those memories give me strength ♫”

Guurrgk … Argh, always my damn damp eyes. Bladdarg.

Some of them did open my heart up. The same could be said about the kids around me.

“You’re doing amazingly, Hesti-chan!” Kohaku shouted.

“Woo!” Kyouya cheered, releasing one of the light bulbs to celebrate the concert.

No matter if I was working or not, I would do my best to always attend the lass’s performances, as I knew this was her love. How much she would gush about standing on the stage and living the life of an idol when I first joined the party surprised me at first, but I guess I got used to it. Listening to her was Far better than to just wallow in my sorrow and drink myself to forget about all the sins I committed in the past.

My cousin’s death had sent me into a spiral of depression, but when Hestia and Tasianna approached me on that day to create something for them, I couldn’t help but feel motivated. It was such a small job, but I took the chance when the light shone in the darkness. I had us charge into a dungeon just to find that one ore I needed to forge my new hammer. To our surprise and chagrin, that whole accident with those cultists from the Church of Danterno happened.

But, I didn’t care. My life was in the lass’s hands now. I owed her for saving me and dragging me screaming out of my pit, and this is where everything led me to. I found the truth behind Broggi’s thoughts towards me, I found out about his father’s plots, and, somehow, I even “redeemed” myself after everything I did.

No longer was I a “zuekluk,” even if I thought it was all worthless anyways. I couldn't care less if people thought of me fondly or not. At the end of the day, I would continue working under the lass’s banner, and I would continue adapting her, Daichi’s, and everybody else’s ideas into actual items.

I guess another important thing about this concert too; there was the fact it was done a day after celebrating Origdiviel Arashan. What more appropriate way could I thank the gods than to be at this party? Celebrating it with everybody, raising our cups as we drank and ate was something I fondly remembered during my childhood. I was no longer in contact with my parents, but being here with my new family was good enough.

“Wruf!” The sound of wolves once again filled the inside of the [Room] subspace.

And I guess another reason to celebrate it was the fact Saori had finally returned after such a long trip, in addition to the week it took her, the lass, Tasianna, Asaka, and the twins to bring the beastmen back to their home by train. It didn’t change much aside from having one of my drinking buddies back, but it was still nice to have her back. Well, I guess I have more people wanting equipment now.

Now that all of that was handled, the lass was now going on a “tour” or whatever she called it, wanting to travel from one city to the next to perform, spreading her music to everybody. So, Aurora was back on the road, traveling inside our “RV”—my wagon, honestly—on our way to the capital of the Groushia Duchy, Gia-Mara.

“How are you doing? Comfortable?” The lass spoke to a giant white-black virgarcuga, checking over the harness equipped on him.

[“All good, Master!”] Rajah, that little rascal, answered Hestia, wagging his tail around to the point I thought he would destroy our newly rebuilt RV.

The entire motor idea the lass had prior was, sadly, a long term idea, as it would take a while for the railroad guild to build it, in addition to the fact we had to pay for it. It wasn’t my place to say, considering I spent a sizable amount of our funds on ore and blood for runecrafting, but we were pretty deep in debt. We had no money for something extravagant.

As such, our RV had to be pulled like always. Saori’s wolves used to do it, but Rajah decided that he would do it from now on, as he was large enough. Slightly to the fenrir’s chagrin as they did think of pulling the wagon as an honor.

Now on the road, the otherworldly kids decided to renovate the place, as we’ve moved Tasianna’s indoor garden into the subspace. As they did so, I returned to my workshop.

“Master, it’s done,” Ellaine stated as she showed me an octagon-shaped blue crystal. Metal fittings were attached to its side, making it feel smooth on the edge and perfect to be inserted into a magic item.

This was one of my arcane crystals, created through [Core of the Mechanoid]. Ellaine had turned it into an actual mana battery, although slightly fancier due to the fact it wasn’t an industrial one. Technically, we were breaking the rules as only certified dwarves were allowed to make batteries, no matter with what ingredient, but were exempted mostly as long as we documented the batteries and handed them to the artificer guild.

Thank Goddess Chihiro for making me her Saint. That extra religious influence allowed Ellaine to make them, although the poor girl did complain she disliked having to go through all of this. In my opinion? Pah! Who cared? We got equipment to forge.

Inspecting this new mana battery, I patted my first apprentice’s shoulders, proud of her. Although she was more Broggi’s apprentice since she learned from his scrolls and books, I still couldn’t help but enjoy this light feeling in my chest whenever I saw her improve. If she wasn’t such a wine drinker, I probably would have invited her to a bar!

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Good, now it’s time for Tasianna to fix it up, give it some skills and imbue it like a catalyst,” I stated. “Don’t forget to remove the metal fittings.”

Ellaine nodded and went on her way, while Daichi and I returned to our work.

The trip down to Gia-Mara took us a day. Hestia and Saori went to greet Duke Groushia with some of the kids while I stayed inside, already having seen this city far too often before my exile. Two days passed before the promotion and concert preparations were finished, and a third passed before Hestia got on stage to perform her concert here. Ha, even after that pretty exhausting concert, and the later “fan meeting” where a few of her Firwood fans went crazy from excitement, she still told us the tour had to continue. We were back on the road almost immediately.

We ended up passing through a number of towns and villages, where Hestia would perform quick concerts for people’s enjoyment while allowing our bistro and restaurant some time to function. More money in the bank. I probably would have joined in earning us some money if I wasn’t already fully occupied with our party’s needs.

In fact, I had to occasionally return to Inkoran-Tazul through the nexus to speak with the railroad and artificer guild about the war. Since I was Goddess’s Chihiro’s Saint, both guilds were interested in my arcane crystal creation and what they could do with it to improve the current state of mana batteries. This was why they allowed Ellaine to create her own, as long as they were made from my crystals. Those freeloaders wanted to steal my apprentice’s ideas! The nerve!

Ahem, in any case, after lending Duke Groushia a set of [Room] stones for us to fast travel to, it also meant I had to make some more with the lass. We were running out of them, to be honest, and it took a day minimum to make since I had to prepare the forge in advance and then spend the rest of the day in a strenuous crafting session where the lass was obligated to join. She was the only one with [Room], after all.

“More heat, lass!” I shouted as she sprayed some blood on the rune I was creating.

“Get ready!” she replied before snapping her fingers, creating a fire to grow the inferno inside my furnace. “Sheesh, sorry for not doing this enough and having to do this on short-notice!”

“Always glad to do it with you! Hahaha, don’t tug your tail in between your legs, let’s just enjoy this!” I slammed my hammer down. “Back to singing!”

“Ahaha, you got it! As I open my hand, releasing the sound of searing hot metal. ♫

But I tighten my grip, the pain that follows me with every single thought. ♫

Regretting it all would only taint my efforts, or the dream that we hold. ♫

Of course, brush it aside! ♫

These tears will dry, and this rage will cool ♫

As I realized that the world ain’t stopping for me. ♫”

<[Musical Resonation (Minor)] inflicted on [Taz Dwarf, Grimnir Luedbrumdar]>

We didn’t stop until in the middle of the night, fully exhausted from creating three new sets of [Room] runes. Seeing Tasianna having to drag the lass’s sleepy body back into the hot spring for a shower before she went to sleep made me feel a bit guilty, but who cared? Haha … I was just glad to work.

Broggi … I bet you would have loved being with us. You’ll just be like a fly, annoying the Earthlings for ideas, hehe.

I never told this to the others, but I took up the hammer because of my parents. It was just how dwarven boys were raised. You had to take up some craft; it didn’t matter what but you had to make sure you dedicated yourself to it. Even if you were a soldier or king, dwarves of every birth were expected to contribute to society with works of war, art, or entertainment.

Our patron goddess was Goddess Crustacia, after all, the Goddess of Craftsmanship, Minerals, and Creation. Well, it wasn’t like our culture changed much since the time the Origin Gods descended to our world.

And by her twin-tails, I would make that change happen.

Through Rajah’s speed, the RV could make it to our next destination in a day’s time if he wanted to push it, but since Hestia wanted to spend some time singing in villages like a wandering troupe, our sidetracking made us reach the capital of the Equevanna duchy in three days instead. Thankfully, we didn’t need to promote the concert here, as the current Duke Equevanna did it for us; not to mention, Hestia repeatedly shouted, “My next concert is in Equevanna!” on our way here.

As such, the moment we reached the city, the concert began. The time we needed to get here was supposed to be the promotion time, but no matter. A good concert, filled to the brim with people once again. Even after so many, enough people still wanted to listen to Hestia sing. It also helped that the entry was free for the masses.

“We’re finally back in the green!” Haruka shouted once morning came, looking like she hadn’t gone to sleep.

No matter. Our finances weren’t my problem, so I just continued smithing.

For our next destination, we separated the party. We had Tatsuya and Kyouya drive the carriage with some loaned equerochsen down south to the Myrrdin duchy, while Hestia would fast travel to Estralia for her next concert. After three days of promotion, and mostly training as Kushlek’zar and Belzac forced Hestia and Saori respectively through their schedules, the carriage reached Myrrdin and the next concert could begin.

I once again attended it, but this time, I felt too nervous to listen to more than one song.

Damn these hands!

I couldn’t control myself. I had to finish my work! I was so close to finishing the next item!

The flame of a smith burned in my chest as I rushed back into the workshop and worked through the night, doing the finishing touches and also preparing the forge for runecrafting. Once a day had passed, I added everything together and allowed Ellaine to add the mana wiring, which required another day to finish. Hahaha, it was finally done.

“No.”

… But the damn recipient was being a bladdarg stubborn brat!

As the young girl was about to walk away, I grabbed her by her left arm and pulled her back. I pointed at her lost left arm. “Do not make me repeat myself, wrath lass, take the bladdarg help!”

I pushed the armguard into her arms. Composed out of the rerebrace, vambrace, and the gauntlet, this armor piece was constructed together into one, meaning it wasn’t meant to be worn by a normal person. It would be too cumbersome to put on. It was, however, made to act as a “prosthetic” for those who lost limbs in battle.

The first of its kind, actually. Daichi had that idea after we reforged the elemental armguard for Tatsuya, explaining to Ellaine and I about its functions back on Earth. Something about nerves and such; it took a long lecture coming from Hestia for us to understand the use of these nerves inside our bodies! Honestly, why do these otherworlders know so much, even about our own bodies? Here I thought only mana paths were invisible …

Haaa, this must be how people felt about you, right, my Goddess?

Which only made it more important that I, as her arcanatechnician, had to create the first of its kind—a manatech prosthetic! Which was why I was bloody annoyed that this girl just declined it so quickly! Did she not know just how much time and effort Daichi, Ellaine, Tasianna, and I had poured into this damn thing? Bladdarg! She better be prepared!

When I told her all of this, Vifi simply scowled at me. “Shadow’s veil, old man. As I said before, this is my scar to carry. A reminder for all of this. Ya don’t need to show me kindness, yer already done enough with the armor I’m wearing.”

The leather-metal chest piece, the steel arm guards and leggings, and the rapier she was currently carrying were all made by me. I personally disliked having this demonkin in the party, as I couldn’t trust her. She was only here because of Hestia’s human cousin’s interference, and it unnerved me what would happen if her demonkin friends were to appear and give her the chance to come back home without any issue, despite having deserted them.

If that were to happen, would she take the opportunity?

Regardless of my feelings, until that happened, she was still a member of the party. Her being able to fight meant she could potentially save somebody. That was why I was even making a crossbow for her; the thing would be finished if I hadn’t put so much time into this prosthetic.

The armor and weapons are minor. What’s important is the armguard … a leash for the mad dog.

“And what if you need the arm?” I prompted her.

“I’ve gotten used to it already. Don’t underestimate a Warbringer.” She pulled out her rapier almost too fast for me to keep up, swing and thrust it before casting a lightning spell almost as fast. A show of power. “Hestia’s long glaive? Ya saw me wield it with one arm without any issue. I have the strength and agility requirements for everything. I can even knock that crossbow with one arm.”

“You can, but there are faster methods,” I responded, slightly insinuating my plans with the type of crossbow I was planning on making.

She wrinkled an eyebrow, but shrugged and sheathed her blade. “Do what ya wish. I will be grateful either way, blacksmith. But, this? I ain’t needing it. I gave ya my commissions, no need for ex—”

“Take it.” I grabbed her arm, but the demonkin scoffed and overpowered me, releasing herself pretty easily. Curse my level!

“Old man, I really am no fan of this crap. Keeping my chill cuz yer Hestia’s friend, but I’m trying to live my life right now without causing any issues. For over two weeks now, nobody has complained. What’s your problem?”

“It’s Grimnir!” I shouted, having enough of her rarely calling others by their name, aside from Hestia and Fargryneill. “And I know this fact enough. I’ve seen you alone every single time. You bathe alone, you train alone or in the corner if others are around, and you never, ever join dinner at the same time as others. Either late or after everybody’s finished! You are avoiding us.”

“And all of ya do not want me here, the same wit Mistress Klea’Hatma. Ya think I’m daft?”

“And you think staying away helps!?”

Her eyes widened in bafflement before she pushed me back, shoving one of my horns to the side in anger. “This. Is. Actually. Braindead. I’m at my limit, old man. I can feel [Anger] actually reaching 2%, right now. Yer done it. I’m actually out of L.E.P. cuz of you!”

L.E.P., also known as low energy potential. Her depression mode, in other words. The default state of a wrath demonkin made them sound and act as if they hadn’t slept for days.

“What is the point of yer prattling? Help? You, the otherworlders, and especially those dragon sisters, I … We don’t need to be close. In an army, one must not love and be friendly with one another, all that matters is that we not backstab each other! Ya hear? You think I’m stupid? I have [Identify]. I can appraise yer arcane crystal in this thing; I know ya got something planned.”

Switching the way you speak, huh? I noted. Usually informal when she was angered, but in that small moment she was formal, almost as if she was reading off a quote.

“Then we understand each other better than I thought of ye, lass,” I frowned. “But, you can already guess that I’m here to assure that my friends and family will live. I became a blacksmith because of my clan, but I’ve come to understand what I need to do.”

No longer for revenge. I would not raise my hammer to pay back Bleidla because of my false belief twisting my emotions into rage. I did not want to lie to myself again, to make up some excuse to work. When I heard Bleidla say I didn’t hate him any longer, it only caused me to be angry at myself.

However, it was all right. I understood my feelings now. Even if a part of me wanted to get revenge on the Demon Prince of Greed for what he did to my cousin, it was all right. Similar to how Tasianna felt for a long time. I only needed to remember my duty and that every blade and armor will assure my family’s smiles remain!

I need no praise, I need no recognition, I need not for the person accepting my gear to be friends with me. A blacksmith’s duty was none of them.

“This armguard—this prosthetics—is powered up by a mana battery turned catalyst. In addition, I engraved runes on it. The only thing missing is an enchantment, but its current state still fulfills my blessing’s requirement to increase its stats and mana conductivity. I’ve seen you and that other demonkin fight back in Estralia, so I know damn well how you fight. What you can do with your lightning.” I grabbed her hand again and handed her the armor before stepping back. “This is how you regain your lost power. A scar? That scar will remain until you can forgive yourself and accept Hestia’s offer to regrow it. But you are a soldier, and as a soldier, you must accept any help to achieve victory! Do I need to lecture you on this, ‘Warbringer?’”

She went silent, only sighing.

“You’re right, I had Tasianna rig the battery. This is my ‘leash’ on you,” I admitted. “But this is how I help my party members. Reluctant or not, I will give you the help as long as you do not hurt the people I cherish. This armguard is the proof for that. Do you understand, Vifi?”

She looked me straight in the eyes and then back to the prosthetics. As I noticed her eye the stump on her right shoulder, I took the armguard back and helped her place it on.

“Everything is controlled by the mana wires inside. Ellaine made sure to put extra effort into it, as it will connect with your nerves and mana paths, so make sure you put it on properly. You see these fittings and the arrows?” I pointed at two arrows inside of the armor, to which Vifi nodded. “The red is up, the yellow is down. You put the red on your shoulder and the yellow on your armpits. You then release mana around your arm, which agitates the armguard. If you feel like your mana is flowing into it, that’s when you tighten the strap. Your mana will then attach itself onto the prosthetics as if it’s an extension of your mana.”

“Like when you pour mana into a weapon.”

I nodded.

I then told her as long as kept feeding the armguard mana, she could move it like her old arm. She could move a finger but she expressed how unnatural it felt. I told her she needed practice. How long had it been since she lost her left arm? The phantom pain needed time to disappear.

Still, when it came to using her red lightning, she was a natural. Letting the lightning course through the armguard, the blue crystal lit up purple, finally showing Tasianna’s effort in turning it into a lightning elemental catalyst, perfect to reduce the mana cost of lightning spells and attacks.

As her lightning crackled around it, she tried turning it into a weapon but failed to do so. Still, using her left arm, she pushed her prosthetics up and aimed at a dummy inside the training room. Like a thunder, she shot out a bolt of voltaic electricity, destroying the head of a dummy before Gravy came waddling in to repair it with some rocks it had on hand.

Vifi did not say anything, but with how she stared at it, I couldn’t help but smile. She liked it.

“You a drinker?” I asked.

“Ya ever seen me drink?”

“The lasses tell me you’re always in the corner of the bath. That’s why I knew you avoid people even in the hot spring! You think I peeked? So, just answer the question. You drink?”

She shook her head. “Soldier’s don’t drink on duty … but, I liked the honey mead I found at an orphanage in Folschreck. The crap you drank back in Bole’Taria is shit. Don’t have proper bread, you can’t get proper drinks … that’s what my former comrades used to tell me.”

“Then you’re gonna join me, kid. Tasianna’s been brewing some good stuff, and we need to drink them, eh?” I smacked her back, smiling. “And, then next time Hestia announces a concert, you’re gonna join in, you hear?”

“… What is ya problem?”

“It’s what makes us a party, you idiot. Gotta support our biggest bread winner, no? Also, you’re in the party of Aurena’s first and only Idol blessed, so you gotta embrace the music, hahaha!”

“What a drag …”

Sometimes, you just needed somebody to bring you out of the pit you dug for yourself. Just like for me when Hestia asked me to help her or how Ellaine wanted to become my apprentice. I had to accept it if I wanted something to change. This made me accept Daichi, despite my grievances against him. This was why I decided to return to my home hold to repossess Broggi’s and my tools from our old workshops, meaning I had to face my past and sins.

Without that first step, nothing was possible.

So I pulled wrath lass into the dinner where I saw Saori, Yorshka, Farron, Shay, and Krim-Slak. They were laughing and cheering as Shay tried to drink some beer, only for him to gurgle in pain. Dragonkins just couldn’t drink, huh?

“Oh, oi, we’ve been waiting, Master Dwarf!” Krim-Slak waved his arm at us. “And, ah, that demonkin girl, right? If you want a drink too, get in here!”

Yorshka chortled, “Finally decided to break out of your damn shell, huh? Don’t worry, I get it. We’re all weird, so it must be hard. Nobody but Ellaine is in your age group, and those who are all came from Earth, so it’s a bit of a culture shock. Well, if you need some friends, get here and drink. You should be old enough!”

Shay and Farron, on the other hand, were less friendly, eying Vifi suspiciously. Meanwhile, Saori was inspecting us, but in the end decided to nod. That lass knew what I was doing.

“Wine, ale, or mead, Vifi? We got sake, too, if you want,” she offered.

We walked closer. For the rowdy attitude she would assume on the battlefield, this girl was quite sheepish when we walked.

“She had some honey mead in the past, and probably some crap you find at the bottom of the barrel back in her army days. Something easy for a beginner but with a ton of taste,” I said, sitting down.

“Fragassa ale, it is. Tasianna, for the love of all that is holy about alcohol, somehow managed to make that work! It is too sweet for me, though.” Saori walked into the kitchen to fetch a casket. “You are sixteen, right, Vifi?”

“… Yes.”

She poured the pale pink drink into a tankard and offered it to her. “When is your birthday? Also, sit, please.”

Vifi, though, frowned, looking about to run off. “What is this crap. Birthday? Ya don’t need to—”

“Oh, shut it!” Yorshka stood up and pushed Vifi down. As a level 137, she didn’t have any issue overpowering Vifi while she was unconcentrated. “We already have Asaka. We don’t need another standoffish girl in puberty!”

“Oi, fuck you!” Vifi screamed with a reddened face, all to the amusement of the two women and me.

Krim-Slak slapped the table, bursting out in laughter, making me think he was already tipsy. “Well, whatever, who cares about her birthday! 16 is plenty old enough for kids to start tasting. Right, Farron? You gonna teach your daughter what’s good when the time comes?”

Farron murmured “Sure, but I’m not letting Priscilla try anything hard when she gets old enough.”

“Oh, I agree.” Yorshka nodded, looking serious for a moment. “None of the experimental stuff. She already hates apple cider, so let’s hope this fraggasa ale will do the trick. It’ll get her tipsy within a cup.”

And that was when the conversation evolved. That small conversational point from the saurian enabled everything else to flow nicely. Seeing as the others weren’t paying attention to her, Vifi tried the drink, looking neither impressed or disappointed. I tried it myself, only to remind myself to tell Tasianna she needed to tweak the recipe a bit. It was good, as Saori said, but not good enough for my tongue.

“Haa …” Vifi sighed after a while, but it didn’t look like she wanted to leave. She was just watching as everything unfolded, and so did I.

I drank my ale, watching as Yorshka finally brought up the prosthetics. Hehe, the girl really couldn’t handle the attention.

Demonkins are just people like the rest of us. You’re right, lass. Only means we need to get this faith war plan working even more.

However, for tonight, my path to mastering my craft would take a break as I drank myself to sleep.