In the Castle of the Ever-Burning Will, the people were active as always.

Some maids trained from daybreak to sundown in the field.

Some did so in the training room.

Others kept preparing the supplies they would need for the incoming battle and still others looked over their Master's curious child while fulfilling their responsibilities.

But there was no place more active than the smithy.

For no matter if it was day or night, one could hear the sound of metal being shaped.

It was an unending symphony that sang about the birth of tools that would be used to wage war.

Oh, and they were not some ordinary weapons. Not at all.

The Blacksmith Maid, Roxxy, and her helpers, Josie, Max, and Patricia, were making weapons that could clash against those who were the enemies of the world.

The Dragon Lords.

________________________________________________

Aye…

I knew that this was gonna be a challenge.

So much so, that if I was still the old me, I don’t think I would’ve been able to do it.

But I still accepted it.

After all, my friends needed better weapons, and Master went along with my request.

Giving up was not an option.

So, we spent day and night trying to come up

We had been up day and night trying to come up with alloys that would let us create durable weapons, ones that could endure our new strength, but also ones that were compatible with their user attributes.

Even more so than that...it was the curiosity of what the weapons would turn out to be what kept me up at night.

I wanted to see it...touch it...make it...that peak of forging!

I knew I could trust my friends in helping me with everything. Even if Max had to go to help in that newbie's training, she would just finish there and come back.

Aye, no matter how tired she already was, no matter how tired they all were. They stuck with me like the smell of this place.

But we were not alone in our task.

Heh, I dare say we had the best person we could've asked for help.

The Goddess herself.

Or…Miss Nerinne like we call her now.

She didn't actively do anything sides' giving me that lock of her hair, nor she directly told us how, but she gave small hints whenever she appeared in the smithy.

To be honest, she sometimes scared the shit out of us with her appearing so suddenly in the place...

Just like when the kiddo dipped her hands in molten metal and began using it as clay…

Thankfully, crazily, she was ok…but us…we were not ok…poor Josie even fainted…

Kiddo’s eager to learn though and I’ll gladly teach her everything I know, just like I taught Josie, Patricia and Max.

Still, the things the Goddess said…those things were burned into our minds after thinking so much of'em...

Things that sounded like nonsense to those uninitiated in the craft of forging and handling metals.

Things that sounded like less nonsense to those who were initiated in the craft of forging and handling metals.

Things that sounded like an itch to those much more experienced.

Aye, it felt like that itch that one can’t scratch, like a word that is on the tip of the tongue, one that I couldn't remember until I did, and everything was clear after that.

Nay, it was even better than that.

I was even able to see our destination.

With that, metal kept being fused with more metal until their proportions and their most compatible partners were found.

Then we prepared the crystal cores that would let enchantments and magic in general be used more efficiently with the weapons.

Next, I opened with the deepest care the bag that contained what Miss Nerinne gave to me, a lock of her hair, and I made sure to just take and use a single strand of it per weapon.

I even fashioned a set of gauntlets for this task alone, for I could not let my hands touch it directly and risk harming it.

Even if that was but impossible, I decided to take as many precautions as possible with it.

After all, it was a material that no one else had handled except in legends…if those are true.

And now I know they were...

Even if using it was as simple as just dropping it into the molten metal that would be poured into the mold where the crystal core rested.

Molten metal that obtained a faint blue glow after Miss Nerinne’s hair was mixed with it.

That was her way to impart her blessing to the weapons soon to be born.

It would also make said weapons grow with their users, just like the blessed weapons of the Knights of legend.

But to bring such weapons into reality, there was another step I needed to follow while I gave them shape with my hammer, and that was to think of the one who would become each weapon’s wielder.

I needed to visualize them as best as I could, their personalities, their ideals, their essence, and then I needed to pour all of that into the metal.

As I did that, I sometimes overheard Josie and Patricia say that the metal seemed to move on its own.

Like the weapons were helping me in giving'em their best form, moving past the basic shape the mold had given them and making themselves as unique as their wielders.

I say aye to all that.

I felt it too.

The weapons’ pulse...it was almost like they were alive...

Nay…perhaps…perhaps they are…

Still, even if it was a hard process, it also was beautiful, even moving with the warmth they gave off, and thanks to all of it I was able to finally understand the origin of what Pops and others call ‘the weapon’s voice’.

Even more so, I felt like I was in the middle of a concert given the sheer diversity of the weapons we had to make, each with their own tones and quirks.

After all, not everyone used a sword.

And I can safely say that everything has been going well this couple of days, most of the weapons have been finished and they have turned out to look as if they were the stuff of legends.

At least, that is what the child inside of my heart told me every time.

And every time I would tear up too, because it felt like I had reached that place...a place where I was now a part of those legends that I love so much...

For me this was enough...I can confidently say that I can trust the lives of my friends to these weapons.

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Not only that, but their power is also something that can truly be felt by only looking at them.

A power similar to our Master's weapon but different in magnitude.

In any case, the order is almost finished.

We only need to forge Leader's sword and shield, but we must wait until tonight’s new moon to do that, given the nature of moon tears.

Because weapons made from moon tears can only be forged under a new moon.

Many blacksmiths and scholars have come up with theories about why that is, but regardless of them, it is a fact.

Still there is someone else that doesn’t have a weapon already made.

One of the newbies, not the village girl, but the other one.

Sylvie's weapons have already been made and will remain in storage until she becomes a full-fledged member of our Order.

That is until our Leader gives her the pass, our Master makes the pact with her and most importantly, until the Goddess considers her worthy.

Still, we all agree that it is a matter of time more than anything else.

She just gives off that feeling.

In Sophie's case, the Goddess has told me to wait until she said so.

She even asked for me to put certain words in my report that gave me shivers with what she was hinting at...

'Challenge' that is the word that made me swallow my all after hearing her say it.

Was all this not a challenge for her?

Because it was for me…ahaha…

And so, I waited.

That is...until today.

I am now facing Miss Nerinne, who has come to the smithy once again.

"Good afternoon, Roxxy. I hope I am not being a bother."

"Nay, Miss Nerinne. It is never a bother; ye have helped us in many ways."

"Oh, but I only said some little things. You were the ones who did all the work."

"Aye, but those words were enough to put us on the right path. I thank ye from the bottom of my heart."

"Oh my, Roxxy, you will make me blush! But there is still something I need to apologize for and that is for making you wait. I myself was waiting for her to reclaim it and store it before bringing it here. And…here it is."

Miss Nerinne is holding something in her hand, something cylindrical or like a stick covered in a beige cloth and secured with a golden string.

Nay...the more I focus on it, the more I can feel it...

Aye...these shivers in my hands...it is the same as the weapons we just made...

But...it is deeper...older...much older…a great elder compared to the newborns we made...what could it be? A weapon? An artifact?

"It is time, Roxxy. Inside of this cloth lies Sophie's weapon. I would not have asked you to wait if I thought she was not ready to even take it out of its sheath, but that girl has taken some good steps forward during these days. And I think that she will now be able to make her ancestor proud."

"Huh…? A-ancestor…? Miss Nerinne..."

That is so much information for me...I was right about that thing inside being old, but Miss Nerinne is talking about worthiness too...

That has a deeper meaning...even for someone that prefers to be in the smithy than the library...the legends I love speak of it...the church too...and she is speaking about an ancestor of Sophie...so is that like my mithril tools?! Sophie had something like that as her family heirloom?!

"Ah...but the poor thing has not even seen the light of day nor been caressed by fresh air in such a long time...so much that it has deteriorated. May I use this table, Roxxy?"

"Eh? Ah! Aye! Of course, Miss Roxxy! I-I mean, Miss Nerinne!"

"Fufufu~~, I am sure you are overwhelmed by all of the things I have said. But do not worry, what I am about to show you will be in your language and all those questions will be answered. So, come now, let us see what is inside, Roxxy. I know that you are curious~~."

"A-aye...I am, Miss Nerinne. Ye have let me see things that I have only dreamt of...and no Blacksmith on Arte would deny this feeling..."

Indeed...it is that strong of a feeling that I’m already moving towards the table without noticing it.

And so, I see how Miss Nerinne pulls on the golden string, opening what now I know to be a bag and pulls out something that is no stick.

It is a sword hidden within its sheath.

It is…beautiful.

To the point that no Blacksmith would be able to add anything to it and that is because anyone would know that it has reached its peak.

Whoever made it...aye...whoever made this was one who could be considered at the top...that place any Blacksmith aspires.

And I’m such an idiot for thinking I had reached that place after forging those weapons...I still have much more to learn before thinking of that!

"Fu~~, such a nostalgic feeling...seeing it again...that person truly surprised me when they showed it to me."

Miss Nerinne is looking at it as if it was an old friend. Not only that, but she is also tracing her fingers on it with the same loving care...

I…I want to touch it too. I want to study it and try to find even a speck of its creator's technique...

"You want to touch it too, right?"

"...!"

"No need to be so surprised, Roxxy. It is all in your eyes and hands fufufu~~. Do not worry, you will have plenty of time to touch it. After all, you will be giving it it's overdue maintenance."

"Wha—?! Miss Nerinne are ye sure?! I might've been able to make those blessed weapons with the help of Josie and the rest, but I'm not sure if my skill is enough to try something like that! I am already entranced by its sheath! I can't even imagine its blade!"

How could I face its creator if I somehow ruined it?!

"Oh, but you will need to, Roxxy. If you are not able to, then you will not be able to forge that sword and shield that are tied to the moon. You should already know that that metal is quite...tricky. But I will not leave you with this outrageous task without something to start with. So, just use what I gave you and wake it up. I know that you can do it."

"...!"

Wake it up? What…what does that mean?!

That sound…! The Goddess is unsheathing the sword!

She has stopped halfway and…!!

"This is the...!"

_______________________________________________

Meanwhile, inside one of the private rooms of a luxurious restaurant near the royal palace, Prince Licht was finishing drinking a freshly made tea.

And in front of him was his attendant, Mary.

She was looking down at the floor while clenching her fists in clear frustration and anger.

"You failed, Mary. The plan was to take Lady Argento off the board before the ball and until the rest of the plan was enacted. Her presence truly brings an unexpected element, one that we do not need. You know that, right?"

Said the Prince as he rested his cup on the table.

All while his androgynous voice had a certain tinge of intensity to it.

Nothing related to Lady Argento had worked. His spies had failed disastrously not once, but twice now after their retreat from the cathedral. And that is not counting his other operatives, casters specialized in information gathering from afar, casters who remain unconscious after receiving a strange shock in the middle of their efforts to ascertain Lady Argento’s power.

The last words they uttered being 'static...too much...static...'.

And now not even Mary was able to succeed.

Thus, it was obvious that he was also clenching his fists in frustration.

This stranger had entered the Capital of the Kingdom, received guest treatment by the Head of the Church herself, and they were even invited publicly to her private chapel. A place that not even he had seen in his conscious life. After all, being there as a baby didn’t count.

He did not know if that woman was aware of what that meant, but she was being treated as a Regent, a Queen, and yet she found no problem in walking casually through the merchant district or gifting flowers to children that approached her.

There was not a single level of caution coming from her.

Yes…she was strange in all manner of ways.

Even her very appearance gave Licht a strange feeling.

"I-I did not fail...all was meaningless from the start. The poison did not work on her...at all. Then she...then she..."

Mary stopped herself as she bit her lip, clenched her fist even further and her legs trembled.

"I would say that I find that difficult to believe. After all, that was a big dose of sleep-inducing poison left over by Meister Allegro in the academy's laboratory. But after everything that has happened...beating you and leaving undetected...I no longer know what to believe."

Said Prince Licht while remembering how he found Mary. She was unconscious but without a single injury, not even a scratch. Right in the same room they currently found themselves in. Furthermore, there were no traces of a fight, which meant that she had beaten Mary in one swift and precise movement, something that spoke of that woman's strength.

But there was something he was still curious about.

So curious that he could not help but ask again.

"How did she actually beat you, Mary?"

Indeed, the Prince had asked before, right after finding her and trying to help her stand up, but she ignored him and rejected his hand.

She had been dodging the question ever since.

"Ask again and I will crush them."

"...!"

The prince felt a shiver go down his spine as he heard Mary’s response, one that was full of anger, just like her eyes.

He wasn't easy to scare, but the fear he was feeling there was an instinctual one.

One that all men would feel after hearing those words, which were followed by the crushing motion that Mary did with one of her hands.

He did not notice it, but he had already closed his legs even more than he already was as per proper sitting manners.

As if he was protecting that which Mary was referring to.

"*ahem*Moving on, we have to think of her and her maids as people that are not only strong, but irregular. After all, for them to guard someone like that, they must be strong too. And if we say that, then their country must be powerful too. Just how did they stay hidden from the rest of the world for this long?"

Said the Prince completely abandoning the subject of Mary's defeat, not wanting to be turned into a Princess because of it.

"Worst of all, but not surprising, we just gave her confirmation to all the suspicions of us that she already had. Furthermore, with her leaving you here instead of taking you, it speaks of her not needing whatever information you could have given her. That in and of itself is dangerous, for it speaks a lot. There is nothing here for us other than to rethink our strategy involving her. Which also means that we will need to handle our interactions with her at the ball with great care. But on the bright side, this incident in particular can stay a secret."

At that moment he thought something else.

'Could she be involved with my dear elder brother? And if so…in what manner?'

________________________________________________

"Purrr...Master seems stressed...purrrrr..."

Says Lyra who was coincidentally already in the suite when I teleported in.

Also…of course, I am stressed! Those needles were scary!!!

That is why I need healing!

"Hmph. It is nothing."

I say so while fluffing her ears.

Still…I can't shake off the feeling that I'm in the closing scene of an anime episode after not appearing in most of it.

Hmmm...

Oh well, let’s keep fluffing these ears.

To be continued...(cue illustration of the prince and Mary! Cue bonus illustration of Ilya dipping her hands on molten metal and giving everyone a heart attack!)

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