Eks led Viola into the blacksmith’s shop. The two girls walked across the shop’s gray stone floor, heading towards the marble counter. The walls of the shop were also constructed from gray stone. A few bits of equipment were set up for display along one of the walls, a sword, a spear, an axe, and a suit of heavy armor.

Behind the marble counter, the shop’s blacksmith waited. His name was Elron Ironstone. The 181cm tall human had short black hair, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. He was clad in a red shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Though Elron looked to be strong and imposing, he possessed a friendly demeanor as well. The good-natured blacksmith smiled as the girls approached.

“How are you doing, Ms. Fells?” Elron greeted as the two girls came to a stop at the counter. This wasn’t the first time he has met the cat girl.

“Just fine. You?”

“It is a splendid day. Who is this lovely lady accompanying you?”

“This is Viola Balewind. Say hi, Vi.”

“Eh… Hi…,” the bunny girl spoke.

“A pleasure to meet you Ms. Balewind,” Elron replied before taking her hand and gently kissing it.

Viola pulled back, turning quite red. “Relax! It’s just a kiss on the hand! Nothing to get worked up about! Just relax!”

“A-Are you OK, Ms. Balewind?” the blacksmith asked, a tad worried that he may have offended her.

“I-I’m good,” the bunny girl managed to stammer in response.

Eks was just watching the back and forth with interest. The blue-haired cat girl had a big smile plastered on her face, giggling occasionally. Apparently, she found the ongoing antics quite funny, but all good things must come to an end. Casually, she tapped on the marble counter top. As funny as this was, they came here to do business.

“What can I help you lovely ladies with?” Elron asked, turning to the red-eyed cat girl.

Eks grinned. “We’re here to get Vi equipped.”

“Ah… I see.” Elron turned back to Viola, looking her over. “Could I interest you in a pocket dagger?” the blacksmith added as he pulled out a small dagger. “It’s small enough to fit in a pocket.” He handed the tiny dagger to Viola.

The orange-haired bunny girl narrowed her emerald eyes as she looked over the ridiculously small weapon. Its blade was even retractable, probably so it would be safer to keep in a pocket. “Don’t you have anything that is a little more, I don’t know, weapony?” she said as she placed the pocket dagger onto the counter.

Elron shrunk back, muttering, “Why doesn’t anyone ever want a pocket dagger?” Sighing, he collected the pocket dagger from the counter before putting it away. “What type of weapon are you looking for? A sword? Or are you more of a war hammer kind of lady? I also have daggers, spears, and axes.”

“A war hammer?” Viola’s green eyes widened as thoughts of her holding it victoriously over fallen opponents flashed through her head. “That is so awesome! Wait a second! If I pick a war hammer, doesn’t that mean I’d have to be lugging a literal war hammer around?! Maybe not a war hammer. Maybe I should just go with a sword. I mean, it isn’t the awesomeness that is a war hammer, but swords are supposed to be good, aren’t they?”

“What swords do you have?” the bunny girl inquired.

“Swords are quite popular. Be right back.” Elron disappeared into the back of the shop. A few moments later, the emerged with three sheathed swords. After placing them on the marble counter, he gestured to the first sword as he continued, “This first one is called the Jewel Sword. It is pricey but more ornamental than practical.” The Jewel Sword had a diamond hilt, diamond handle, and platinum sheath. The blacksmith unsheathed it a bit to show its golden blade.

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“This second one is the Stone’s Bane Sword. It is attractive looking and particularly suited for rocky opponents,” the blacksmith went on, gesturing to the second sword. The Stone’s Bane Sword had a golden hilt and handle. Its sheath appeared to be made from a sturdy dark wood. Elron unsheathed an inch of its blade to show its silvery sheen.

“This third one is just a regular sword. Nothing special about it. It is the cheaper of the three though,” the blacksmith referred to the final sword. Its sheath, hilt, and handle were all black. A partial unsheathing by the blacksmith revealed its silver blade.

“This is so awesome! Three branches lay before me, but which should I choose? Actually, this isn’t much of a choice, is it? I mean, the Jewel Sword is pretty, but it sounds useless for adventuring. The regular sword is just a regular sword, nothing special about it. That just leaves the Stone’s Bane Sword, which actually looks like it was tailor made for the rock toad quest. It is quite clearly the better choice here. I also think it looks pretty nice. I mean, it doesn’t look as nice as the Jewel Sword, but it does look nice.”

“I’ll take the Stone’s Band Sword please,” Viola beamed.

“I’ll give it to you for two silver coins.”

“...but I don’t have any money.”

Eks giggled before handing two silver coins to Elron. “I’ll handle the cost. Got any armor for her?”

Elron brought his right hand to his chin in thought for a bit. “I do have some Salamander Skin. Would Salamander Skin Armor suffice?”

“Depends on the cost. That material can be pricey,” the cat girl countered.

“True. It usually goes for a platinum. What if I give it to you for a gold?”

“Deal!” Eks handed a gold coin to the blacksmith.

“Would you mind stepping behind the counter, Ms. Balewind? I need to take some measurements.”

Viola nodded before doing as asked. The next moment, the friendly blacksmith set to work, tape measure in hand, measuring her. The bunny girl found this to be quite embarrassing, a blush settling in on her face throughout the process. “A-Are we done yet?” she squeaked.

“Almost. Please bear with it a tad longer,” Elron replied, trying to quickly finish up the measurements before he got the girl any more flustered. “Done!”

Viola scampered out from behind the counter, her face approaching tomato again. She looked kind of shaky and took to leaning on the counter top for support. The world seemed to be spinning to her. “Just relax. He was just taking measurements for the armor, not trying to feel me up or anything. Nothing to get worked up about.” The world stopped spinning, and her color started to return to normal.

“All you alright, Ms. Balewind?” Elron asked.

“I’m good. Just a bit flustered. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll need some time to craft your armor. Would picking it up tomorrow morning work for you?”

“That’s fine.” Viola turned to Eks, the cat girl having a ridiculous smirk on her face. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re just too cute sometimes,” Eks laughed, causing Viola to go red again.

“L-Let’s just go already.”

“Wait, Ms. Balewind!” Elron interrupted, gesturing to the Stone’s Bane Sword. “You forgot your sword!”

“Oh… Right… How did I forget that?” Viola picked the weapon up. “Wait. How am I supposed to wear this?”

The brown-eyed blacksmith pulled a belt out from behind the counter. “I’ll throw in this belt for free. You attach the sword’s sheath here.”

The orange-haired bunny girl put the red belt on before attaching the weapon at her left hip. The action earned a thumbs up from the blacksmith and a smile from Eks. Truth be told, the Stone’s Bane Sword looked good on her. It also felt nice for her to finally have a weapon equipped. With a content smile, she waved bye to Elron before turning to leave with Eks.