"How did this happen?" Sid gulped, feeling a lump in his throat as he found himself lying beneath a beautiful woman. He felt awkward as he remembered that he had simply gone with the moment when one of the waitresses who confessed her admiration for him. He was only fourteen years old, but males at this age could already marry someone.

Sid felt his face flush as he gazed at the woman's red hair and brown eyes. Her body was curvy and alluring, perfectly complementing her cute and tempting face. He couldn't deny that he felt attracted to her, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel guilty for being so young and inexperienced.

"Um, excuse me," he stuttered, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Is something wrong?" the woman asked, noticing his hesitation.

"I'm sorry," Sid replied, "I think we should stop. I'm not ready for this."

The woman's face fell. "Oh, I see. You're not interested in me, then."

"No, it's not that," Sid said quickly, "I just think we're moving too fast. I'm not sure if I'm ready for something like this yet."

There was a brief moment of silence. Then, the beautiful woman surprised him by doing something he hadn't anticipated.

Sid's heart raced as the woman's lips met his. He felt a flood of unfamiliar emotions and sensations surge through his body. He could feel her warmth against him, and her intoxicating scent filled his senses.

But then, a voice in his head reminded him that he needed to stop this. He pushed the woman away, feeling guilty and ashamed for allowing things to go this far.

"I'm sorry, we need to stop," Sid said, struggling to catch his breath.

The woman looked at him with a mixture of disappointment and understanding. "It's okay," she said softly. "I didn't mean to push myself on you."

"No, it's not okay," Sid replied, his voice trembling. "I should have stopped it before it went too far."

They sat in silence, both feeling awkward and embarrassed. Sid couldn't help but feel guilty for leading her on, even though he knew he had tried to resist.

"I think I should go," the woman said, standing up.

"Wait, what's your name?" he asked, his voice soft.

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The woman turned to face him, a small smile on her lips.

"My name is Emily," she replied.

"Emily," Sid repeated, savoring the name.

They stood in silence for a moment, looking at each other, as if they were trying to memorize each other's faces.

"Thank you for tonight," Emily said, breaking the silence. "I know it was wrong of me to push myself on you. I just couldn't resist your charm."

Sid felt a warmth spread through him at her words. He smiled at her, feeling a connection between them.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you wanted," Sid said.

"It's okay," Emily replied, her eyes shining. "I understand. You're still young, and you have a lot of time to figure things out."

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Sid to ponder on the events of the night.

***

Inside the Silver Hub Workshop.

"How was your night, young Casanova?" Ben nudged Sid's shoulder, noticing the exhaustion on his friend's face.

"Nothing happened," Sid replied with a sigh.

"What do you mean? You mean to tell me that nothing happened between you and that lovely waitress?" Ben laughed out loud.

"Why are you laughing?" Sid's tone was stern.

"Because you just rejected a beautiful woman like that," Ben chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Come on, Sid. What happened to the young man who swept the Blacksmith Exam and reached the One Star rank at the age of 14? The genius who only needed three months to become a blacksmith?" Ben teased.

"I just didn't feel right about it, okay?" Sid responded, trying to defend himself.

"Didn't feel right about it? What does that even mean?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, Ben. I just didn't want to take advantage of her or anything," Sid replied, feeling embarrassed.

Ben burst out laughing. "Oh, so you're a gentleman now, huh? Afraid you'll break her heart or something?"

Sid rolled his eyes. "It's not like that. I just didn't want to do something that I might regret later."

"Well, that's too bad. You missed out on a great opportunity," Ben said with a smirk.

"I don't need your sarcasm right now, Ben," Sid said, feeling annoyed.

"Hey, I'm just saying. You're young and single. You should be out there having fun," Ben replied.

Sid sighed. "Maybe you're right. But for now, I think I'll just focus on my work."

"If you can wait, my daughter is still 10 years old. You can marry her when she turns 18, " Ben joked with a chuckle.

Sid couldn't help but roll his eyes. "That's not funny, Ben. I'm not interested in getting married right now," he said.

"Suit yourself," Ben shrugged, taking a swig of his drink. "But you're going to regret it when you're old and alone."

Sid sighed. He knew Ben was just teasing him, but he couldn't help but feel a little bit embarrassed about what had happened the night before. He didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Can we talk about something else?" Sid asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure, sure," Ben said with a grin. "So, have you thought about what you're going to do now that you're a one-star blacksmith?"

Sid brightened up at the change of topic. "Well, I was thinking about trying to become a master blacksmith someday," he said.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "That's a lofty goal. But I think you can do it," he said, clapping a hand on Sid's shoulder. "You've got talent, kid."

"Oh,I almost forgot, Sid, the head blacksmith wants to speak with you," Ben said

"Really?" Sid asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, he wants to discuss some important matters with you. He said it's about your future as a blacksmith," Ben replied.

Sid's interest was piqued. He wondered what the head blacksmith wanted to talk to him about.

"When does he want to meet?" Sid asked.

"Today "