Pandit was his best friend, and he had not thought twice before coming to the Witch’s place with him in the middle of the night. How could he forget about him! Mannat felt ashamed to call himself a friend.

Raesh understood his mood and ruffled his hair. “He woke up this morning, but couldn’t get up from bed. He said his vision was swimming.”

He saw Mannat’s face losing blood and added, “The doctor said it was weakness and nothing serious. He should be up and active in a day or two.”

Mannat raised his head and their eyes met. He was relieved; his gaze softened and his jaw slacked. His nostrils flared, but it was easy to see the complications driving his thoughts.

“I think it’s done.” Raesh suddenly said.

Mannat tilted his head in confusion, causing Raesh to smile. He motioned with his chin at the space behind Mannat and tersely said, “The pot is boiling. We better take a look before it erupts.”

Mannat looked over his shoulder and noticed the white smoke clouds rising from the fire pit. He could faintly hear the sound of water bubbling and boiling over the soft wind.

“You want to eat?” Mannat licked his lips. Would his father join him? The pounding of his heart was back. It was shallow, but there. He was excited.

“Sure,” Raesh shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t ask if he could go near the Witch’s hut or not, but slowly and calmly followed behind Mannat. Once Mannat was looking away his expressions hardened and he swallowed a tough gulp. He blinked fast to get the bitterness out of his eyes. He kept his eyes on the hut and got ready to confront the malicious witch. He hadn’t forgotten her words and demands before she agreed to help them conceive a child. He didn’t know her ambitions, but she had already achieved half of it by taking the boy.

He was already thinking about how to deal with the consequence of the promise he had made and fate had fulfilled. He had been thinking about looking for help from his past. He was sure they would help their daughter, but whether they would help his family was another thing altogether. However, if it meant saving his wife and son, then—

“Here,” The sweet and young voice pulled him back to reality. The redness receded from his eyes and he saw Mannat holding a steaming boiled potato for him with eager eyes. He frowned. The boy noticed and misunderstood.

“Sorry, there are no plates to serve them. I only have this pot and the bucket.”Mannat told him.

Raesh took the potato but didn’t peel it. He looked at the utensils, then asked, “Where do you get the water from? I don’t see a well around.”

“Oh, yes,” Mannat’s voice rose by a few octaves. “Come,” He stood up, forgetting about hunger and the cooked roots. “Let me show you something. There is an amazing artifact at the back of the house. It can pull water from the ground. Do you understand? It can entirely get rid of wells! Won't that be great?

Goosebumps rose up Raesh's arms when he saw the dazzling smile grow on Mannat's face. He thought the boy would be despondent, frail, and on the verge of breaking at the clearing, but never thought he would be excited. Turned out, not only was the boy not having any trouble, but he seemed to have found a place where he could be himself. Raesh didn’t know what to think about it. Perhaps, the Witch was not so bad. No, no. Raesh shook his head. Though he wanted to see what it was that had enamored his son, he controlled himself still. He wouldn’t let any Witch magic take his breath away. At least one of them needed to be sane and untouched by the Witch’s sorcery to deal with her.

“Let’s eat first. Potatoes become hard to eat when they get cold.”

“You are right.”

Mannat pulled one from the bucket of cold water, hurriedly peeled its skin, and took a bite. Then he groaned… he was eating a potato that hadn’t even been seasoned. Did he find it good because of his garden workout? He knew that kind of sensation, and the two sensations were completely different from one another.

Could it be the potato in his hand? Mannat took another bite of the still steaming oblong root, then another, one more, and then put the rest of it in his mouth, chewed and swallowed it without any reservations.

“Whoa,” He mumbled faintly and picked another potato floating in the bucket. Thankfully, it was his father sitting opposite him. His mother would have had many things to say about his manners or lack thereof.

Raesh was watching him and frowning. It was just a potato. Could it really be so great? He also had reservations, but he still followed his son and took a bite of the potato. God forgives, his eyes opened wide in astonishment.

He subconsciously jerked his hand away from the root, glared, and uttered. “What in the gods name is this…” He was stupefied.

“Tastes good right?” Mannat was asking. “I felt the same the first time I ate one.”

“Is this thing really a potato?”

“Wait until you try the carrot. It’s sweet and filling—“

Raesh hurriedly finished the potato then beaconed the boy for a carrot. “Give me one.” His worry for the Witch could wait until he had eaten. Maybe, this was how the Witch expected to tear their defenses.

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Looking at the two hungrily devouring the vegetables, perhaps, she already had.

Mannat was all too happy to accompany his father’s wish. He also finished his potato and shared a carrot with his father. It wasn’t much later that a grunt escaped through Raesh’s lips. He couldn’t believe what he had eaten.

“Are you sure this is safe?” He asked after eating five baby carrots. Finally, he remembered that the Witch grew the vegetables.

“Who knows what kind of sorcery she has done to them?” Raesh said crunching down another baby carrot. He then proceeded to lick his fingers and searched the mud-colored pit for another.

Mannat shook his head while peeling a potato. “It’s fine. Believe me. It’s not sorcery, but the tree.” He pointed to the side drawing Raesh’s gaze toward it, and continued, “It releases mana at night and I believe the crops in the gardens grow absorbing it and that’s why they are slightly more…

“Addicting,” Raesh supplied. He was still trying to wrap his head around this topic when Mannat said something dumbfounding. “At least I believe so.”

Raesh was speechless.

“How do you know?”

“About that...” suddenly Mannat sat up straight. Raesh knew the boy was going to talk about something serious, and reluctantly put the carrot down. He loved the potato, but he had always had a different relationship with carrots. They were his lifeblood.

Raesh looked around just to make sure the Witch wasn’t nearby. He didn’t find her and put his attention on Mannat.

“Father,” Mannat started. “The witch told me something about attributes that I think you should hear. I believe they will help you further improve your job.”

Raesh’s ears perked up at the mention of attributes. Mannat told him everything he understood, and every word he spoke made Raesh’s eyes shine.

Finally, after half an hour Mannat stopped talking and Raesh exhaled a large breath of air. It was too much information to learn in a single sitting. Raesh didn’t get all of it but understood the core theory.

“That’s a different train of thought. Scholars have wondered about these things.” He paused, wondering if he should lie, but decided not to confuse the boy with lies. Mannat was a smart boy, too smart for his own good. He would not directly believe him in the first place, and one day when the boy finds the truth, although he might not hate Raesh, the lie would surely break the boy's trust in him.

Raesh clenched his fists and laid bare his thoughts. “If even a little of what the Witch told you is correct then you have profited a lot.”

“Not only me, father,” Mannat said abruptly. “Think about yourself! Haven’t you always wondered how to improve your job? I think you should try to use ‘Inspect’ more. I believe it has more uses than simply inspecting the durability of a forged tool. Why don’t you try to use it at different stages of forging? The skill will definitely not show internal stresses, but it should highlight the surface problems. Perhaps, it is what you need to master blacksmithing? “

“That’s alright, son.” Raesh ruffled Mannat’s hair, his eyes looking far away. “I… am thinking of taking a break from blacksmithing for a while, and help you.”

Mannat grew horrified. His eyes nearly bulged out of the socket from shock. “No, Father!” he screamed in panic. “You can’t do that. Impossible.”

No wonder his father had looked so lost and distant. The man had nearly lost his beloved! How could he possibly not be depressed? He would have fought the world to save her was that option available. Unfortunately, the reality was cruel and it had made him utterly and thoroughly helpless.

Mannat could see his father’s unwillingness but continued unabated. He would not let his father spend his days and nights cooped up in the empty home. “Let’s not forget there is no other blacksmith in the village, but there is no one as good as you in the nearby villages, either. Whether they will help our villagers is a different matter altogether. Moreover, what about the loan you took from the count and the pending order?”

“Don’t think—“

Raesh tried to explain, but Mannat wasn’t listening.

“Not to say you can’t help me” Mannat laid bare. He was ruthless. “Only I can help mother this time.”

Raesh glared at him first and then snorted. “You are still as arrogant as ever.”

“It’s only been a day.”

“Has it? Then I must be getting old.” Raesh smiled. However, Mannat didn’t let him off so easily. His father had the ability to get away from burdensome things. He had seen it happen too many times.

“Father,” Mannat said. “Promise me you won’t stop working.” Mannat knew how much the man loved shaping metal. The heat of the furnace, the sharpness of a blade, the sound that the hammer makes upon impact; he felt pride in being a blacksmith. Mannat had felt it too. He didn’t know what he would say if his father still disagreed. Thankfully, the crease in Raesh’s forehead flattened.

“Alright,” Raesh said dejectedly. “You have changed my mind. I won’t take a break.” He sounded tired and helpless.

“You promise?”

Raesh rubbed Mannat’s forehead and sighed. This boy…

“Yes, my dear son. I promise to keep working in the smithy till the end of time.” Mannat could finally breathe easily, but Raesh wasn’t finished yet. He said, “You also have to promise me something.”

Mannat’s ears perked up.

Raesh continued. “I don’t care what you learn from the Witch, but don’t you dare forget that you are a blacksmith first.”

Mannat’s heart skipped a beat before his eyes glittered and a smile grew on his face as dazzling and hot as furnace fire. He nodded.

“I won’t,” Mannat said.

“Good. Then what’s next?”

Mannat smiled brightly. He got on his knees, grabbed his father’s arm, and said, “Come, let me show you the hand pump.”