Arwin watched with trepidation as Madiv and Esmerelda sized each other up. It didn’t look like the elderly woman had been too poorly affected by her sudden fit of unconsciousness, but that didn’t make him any less worried for her.

She’d definitely been taken by a lot more surprise than Arwin had expected. Lillia’s disguise had worked pretty effectively thus far entirely due to how ridiculous the concept of the demon queen sitting around and running a tavern was.

This was the first time her arguments looked like they might not have worked. Fortunately, Esmerelda seemed to have realized her thoughts — correct as they were — were taking her down a path simply too ludicrous to believe.

That result had a chance of changing if she had time to think anything through too thoroughly. Fortunately for all of them, Madiv seemed to have absolutely no plans of letting such a thing happen.

“I find myself in the pressing need of a supplier,” Madiv said as he adjusted the hems of his sleeves and straightened his lapels. “Are you capable of fulfilling that role?”

“Lad, your wildest dreams wouldn’t be so much as scratching the extent of my repertoire. If something exists in this world, I can get it at the right price,” Esmerelda said with a confident smile. “What is it you want?”

“I am currently unaware of what I need,” Madiv said. “The requirement changes depending on demand. As it generally does.”

Esmerelda’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. “Well, yes. But I’m not talking generalities here. You want something from me, do you not? An artifact, perhaps?”

She’s really caught up on the whole artifact stuff, isn’t she? I can’t blame her. Shiny things are pretty cool. But as far as artifacts go… I’ve seen the inside of her shop. I think I’ve got a pretty good guess as to what her idea of an artifact is. Especially given how impressed she expected us to be with that strikingly mediocre magic item… I’ll stick with some metal.

“No,” Madiv said. “I have not received a request from anyone to acquire an artifact. I have no need for something like that.”

Esmerelda’s eye twitched. “Everyone has need for power. That’s the purpose of existence. To grow stronger. Don’t try to deny it to my face. Strength begets strength. Anything you want can be yours with sufficient power… or sacrifice.”

“Is there anything you need right now?” Madiv asked Arwin.

“I could always use some more metal, I suppose.”

“I need metal.” The merchant looked to Esmerelda. Then he glanced back to Arwin. “You did not specify the type of metal. Is there a certain one you want?”

“Brightsteel would probably be best. I go through a lot of it.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Esmerelda said irritably. “I think you lot have all entirely missed the point of a supplier. Why would you even need to involve a merchant if you could just get what you want directly from me?”

Arwin tilted his head to the side. That was a pretty good point. He would have considered it for a little longer if not for the stricken look on Madiv’s face. The idea of becoming useless to his queen was probably more painful than a lightning bolt straight to his heart.

“I suggest you retract that implication,” Madiv said, his features going flat.

“Deals are best done with the person who seeks them,” Esmerelda continued, interlacing her fingers in front of her stomach. “What metal do you desire, Ifrit? I can get it for you. Ancient magical ingots, long forgotten in this area of the kingdom. Raw ore refined in the blood of great monsters and left to fester.”

Arwin repressed a grimace. Trying to get something that fancy to do what he wanted at his current level… the chances were probably zero. Awaken would turn the damn thing into a bratty child that refused to do anything he wanted. Making Prism’s Reach had already been at the absolute limits of his strength. If he tried to toss some fancy magical metal with evil bloodthirsty urges into the mix, there was absolutely no chance everything didn’t come crashing down on his head.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Maybe when I’m stronger.

“I’d prefer some normal Brightsteel,” Arwin said.

“Brightsteel? Bah. I’ve got blends that makes Brightsteel look worthless. Fragments of old weapons made from the stars themselves. You don’t know what you desire, but I can—”

“We desire Brightsteel,” Madiv said, cutting Esmerelda off and stepping between her and Arwin. He crossed his arms behind his back. “Do you possess it?”

Esmerelda let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yes. I have it. Probably. Brightsteel. Bah. Who comes to me for Brightsteel? No matter. I can get you all the Brightsteel you could possibly use in a lifetime, all for a mere price—”

“Too much. Ten bars will be sufficient,” Madiv said. “We will give you five gold for them.”

The old woman’s composure finally cracked. Her eyes widened and she thrust a finger into Madiv’s chest. “Ten bars? Five gold? Petulant child. I will make no such deal. Do you think me a mere alley broker? Some tart wandering around with scraps? My stock is—”

“Brightsteel,” Madiv finished. “Your stock is Brightsteel. A common metal.”

Esmerelda’s fingers twitched at her sides. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly to keep herself from blowing a gasket. She and Madiv glared at each other with such intensity that Arwin could have sworn the temperature in the room started to rise.

“Hey, maybe we should cool—” Rodrick started.

“Be silent,” Esmerelda and Madiv snapped in unison.

Rodrick’s teeth clacked as he shut his mouth. He wisely edged toward the door, and the others followed his lead in slowly making an escape. Esmerelda was clearly doing okay. Interfering with her and Madiv again probably wouldn’t be too great for anyone’s prolonged health.

“The reason my stock is Brightsteel is because you have the taste of a daft river troll with a pile of rocks where its brain should be,” Esmerelda said. “I came to you with gold and you asked me for manure!”

“Then manure you should give me,” Madiv countered. “The purpose of a supplier is not to question my requests. It is to provide me the materials I desire. You have them. Sell them to me.”

“Who would pay anything of worth for ten gods forsaken Brightsteel Bars?” Esmerelda exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air.

“We will pay gold. Five of it per bar, to be precise.”

“I said of worth. And five gold per bar is ludicrous. Even if I had any desire to scrape the dredges of my self-worth and stoop to such a level at which I would put in effort selling you common scrap, five gold wouldn’t even be enough for me to glance in your direction.”

Lillia snagged Arwin by the arm as Esmerelda and Madiv’s argument started to escalate. The rest of the guild had already wisely made their escape, and now it looked like it was their turn. Arwin threw one last glance at the arguing duo before following Lillia back into the kitchen.

“Well, that’s going great,” Lillia said under her breath, raising a hand to cover a laugh. “They’re getting on like an old married couple.”

“Madiv won’t kill her, will he?” Arwin asked as he dismissed his armor and stretched his arms over his head. “Actually, I think I know him well enough to realize he won’t. I can’t say the same for a stress-related heart attack.”

“She’ll be fine. I’ve seen women like her before in the horde.” Lillia waved her hand dismissively. “Old she may be, but there’s no natural force in the world that’s going to take her out. She and Madiv will be fine.”

She headed toward her room, leaving the light of the tavern behind, and Arwin followed after her. It wasn’t long before he completely lost his sight. That wasn’t really a problem. At this point, he knew the layout of Lillia’s room well enough to move around it with any trouble.

But, despite that, Arwin paused at the entrance of the room near the doorway. He waited until Lillia found his arm. A smile crossed his face as he followed her in and the shadows swallowed the rest of the noise coming from the common room.

“Don’t think I can’t see that smug little grin of yours,” Lillia said in a low tone.

“I wasn’t trying to hide it.”

Lillia let out a small laugh and they sat down on her bed. She leaned against his shoulder. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a little while to actually sit and talk. I wanted to take the moment. I’ve missed it.”

“Me too,” Arwin said. He hesitated for a second before moving his arm up and behind Lillia. She leaned into him and he pulled her against himself as they both settled in. “It’s been a busy few days. I managed to make the gauntlets I was working on. I can show you some other time.”

“I’m happy for you. Sounds like you had more success than I did today. I did a lot more of what I was doing before, but no giant leaps.”

“Didn’t you just have a giant one?” Arwin asked, a smile tugging at his lips. “You can’t just get huge advances every day, you know.”

Lillia let out a reluctant grumble. “I know, I know. But the more I learn, the more I want to learn. You know?”

That rang true enough that it took Arwin a few moments to reply. “Yeah. I do. But that can come tomorrow. You helped me last time, so now it’s my turn. Maybe I’ll have some nugget of sage wisdom to share.”

“Tomorrow,” Lillia agreed, her tone growing even softer. Arwin didn’t even remember exactly what time it was outside. He was pretty sure it wasn’t all that late, but in the darkness of Lillia’s room, all time was night time.

Neither of them said anything else. They fell silent, content in each other’s company, and did nothing but enjoy some much-needed rest.