"Must I use this again?" Theo asked while holding the clothes he wore during the ceremony. The Chamberlain had given it to him as a gift. At first, he thought that it would be the best to sell it for extra money. But after thinking again, in the future, he might need it for some official business.

"Yes, you have to. You're going to meet the princess." Vivi said. She seemed lated after she woke up. It was most likely because of the night before. It was rare for him to put so much effort into pleasuring a woman, but a promise was a promise, and he had to make amend. And he enjoyed it too, it was a win-win situation."I'll help you with it Theo-Sama, don't worry."

He looked at Lyana, who also seemed happy. Of course, she would be happy. Theo gave her money so that she could rent her own room.

He let out a disappointed sigh as he wore the uncomfortable attire. He gave Vivi and Lyana a little bit of gold because he suspected that he's only going to return at night. If not in the morning.

Before meeting the princess, Theo has something to do first.

One of the rewards he asked the Chamberlain was a sword made by the royal blacksmith, which apparently was a woman. Though he didn't know for sure. Everyone called the blacksmith 'her' so he also called her 'her'. In truth, she always wore a thick uniform that covered her whole body from head to toe. Her voice didn't help either. Her voice was deep and since her helmet distorted her voice, it became unclear. Not that it matter to him. He didn't expect a blacksmith to have a decent look.

He had given her the diagram and Panes a few days prior, and now he wanted to check her progress.

He easily passed the guard to the castle. They were already instructed to let him in. His destination, however, wasn't the castle but a small workshop next to it.

Before he even reached the workshop, something caught his attention. Next to the workshop was an anvil. Surrounding it was the blacksmith he searched and three mages, one of which was the court mage.

"Three! Two! One!" The mages yelled together. As they counted to one, the air filled with magical blue light. Even Theo, who wasn't that sensitive to mana could feel the dense mana in the air because of the three mages' magic.

The blacksmith hammered the sword on the anvil as soon as the air turned blue. She hammered it with such force that it sent a shockwave that Theo could felt. Even as he stood quite a distance away. It was the same feeling he felt when he saw Andre on the anvil. It was the feeling of true passion of craftsmanship.

Soon after, the blue light disappeared and the blacksmith stopped hammering. She raised the sword and dipped it in a pool of oil she prepared next to her. The moment the sword touched the oil, a great blue flame blazed the sky. The three mages took a step back from such a huge flame, but she didn't even move. Her arm still holding the blade even as it was consumed by the majestic blue flame. Only after the blue flame died down, she took the blade out.

The approached her. "What was that?" He asked. He startled the three mages by his question, they were too focused on the blue flame, they failed to notice him.

"Your sword, Panes." She answered. "Take a look." She held Panes in front of his eyes.

The steel itself have changed. The original was a normal albeit a very high-quality steel, but the blade she held before him, was different. The steel has a pattern of banding and mottling like that of a flowing water. "Draken steel." Said Theo in awe.

"So you know it," She said. To many people that name meant nothing. Most people on the continent wouldn't even know what that was. But for aspiring blacksmith and those interested in swords, that name meant a lot of things.

The sharpest, strongest, and most durable weapon made by people in the continent were all made using Draken steel. It was originally a dwarven creation that was later shared to other races. It was their best effort at replicating a Dragon-made material. "I thought no one is capable of making it anymore."

"True, but the same can't be said for reworking it. The Kingdom have a few Draken steel bars lying around. Rather than putting it on display, it's better to put it to good use. With a little bit of crafty work, I made your sword a Draken Steel." She said. "Where do you find that diagram?"

"My father gave it to me, why?" Theo asked, his eyes still fixed on Panes.

"It's an ancient diagram, not made by human or any known race as far as I know. The diagram showed a steel similar to Draken steel for the fourth part. Since I don't know what that steel is, I substitute it using Draken steel. And it is only the fourth of five part. I don't think it can be completed by anyone, maybe unless a Class 5 Blacksmith."

His eyes moved from the blade toward the blacksmith. "Any Idea where I could find one?"

"The last Class 5 Blacksmith Died 32 years ago in Nippon. If the trend stays true, the next one will appear in 78 years. Though the world has become strange in the recent years. There is a rumor about one in Ulster Isle, but I think it's just a rumor. There's nothing wrong with checking though." She pulled the sword back. "Just wait a few more minute for the finishing and it will be ready"

------------

Theo marveled the sword he held in his hand. The shape, the sharpness, the pattern. The blade Andre made was already near perfect in his eyes, and she improved it by a lot. He could only imagine what kind of sword it would be if it was ever completed to the fifth part.

[Panes, Blade of Theo]

[Unique longsword]

[Strength: A+ Dexterity: A+]

'The rarity raised to unique and the scaling improved by a lot.' He thought as a message popped up in his head.

"Try it." The blacksmith said. She prepared a log of hardwood in front of Theo. A normal steel sword won't even be able to cut it halfway.

"My pleasure." Theo brought down Panes and cleaved the log in two.

"Nice, that may be my best creation yet. Even better than Claw and Talon, shame both of it disappeared after Roderyk's death."

Theo giggled at her remark, remembering that both Claw and Talon sat inside the wardrobe in his room at the inn. "Thank you uhh..." Theo stopped, not knowing her name. Now that he think about it, it was awkward speaking with someone who wore a full helmet that covered her entire face.

"Melin." She answered.

"Thank you, Melin." Theo sheathed his sword. She even gave him a new sheath.

"I'm only doing my job. Seeing such an ancient diagram and creating a magnificent sword is always a pleasure. Say, who made that sword before?"

"Andre, a blacksmith in Aeston."

"Ahh, that old man. How is he doing?"

"He's fine. Still hammering and speaking with his strange accent." He answered with a little laugh. "Melin. If compared to other unique swords, how do my sword fare?"

"Hmmm. It would outclass most of them, with the exception of.... probably, Forlorn and Blood Rite if you only compared it to the one in this country."

"Forlorn and Blood Rite huh? That's impressive. Well, I'm going now, don't want the princess to wait."

As Theo walked to the castle, he walked with a skip in every few step, he couldn't hide his happiness. On his side was an improved Panes, a sword that according to Melin, was equal to Sir Arslan's sword.

As soon as he reached the castle, he returned to his normal cool attitude, he didn't want to be caught acting like a child. He headed toward Princess Aria's chamber, where she should already be waiting.