In a dark old prison far underground the town of Windebenen, unknown and hidden to the public, there stood a man hitting the floor with a whip, shouting harsh words in an angry tone. The people he shouted at were a group of women and girls, wearing ruffled clothes and chained by their necks and feet. They huddled close, holding onto each other in cells, afraid of being punished by the man.

"All of you, shut your mouths and stay still!" he shouted.

"Eeeek!" they screamed, terrified.

The man smirked and slung his whip over his shoulder, satisfied. "Now then, the boss is going to come visit today. I don't want a single one of you to make any noise or give him any bad impression. Are we clear?"

They said nothing and only trembled in fear. Although there was no response, the man knew they understood him.

"Sir, the boss is here!" said one of the henchmen, opening the door.

"Let him in!"

A menacing bald man, having black eyes and black tattoos marked all over his body, stepped into the prison. He had on a black cloak with a white shirt underneath, along with leather pants and a belt that had multiple daggers. He gave off a sinister grin to those around him, showing off a few gold teeth.

"Welcome back, Klaus-sama," the man bowed, greeting him.

Klaus gave a whistle as he took a glance around the cells, looking at all the women and girls who were their slaves.

"He he he. They're all quite precious, aren't they?"

"Indeed, Klaus-sama."

"Have you been taking good care of them?" he asked the man.

"Of course! They're all well fed, cleaned up, and ready for sale! Our men are already stationed around town waiting for any potential customers!"

"Good work," he said to him, smiling. "Oh, right. If you don't mind, can you round up a few of them for a customer who's coming here soon?"

"May I ask when?"

"In a few days from now," Klaus replied. "Apparently, it's a noble coming to visit us from the Casasacra Kingdom to buy a few slaves. We're going to get rich off of this purchase, so prepare the finest ones we have for him."

"Of course," the man grinned.

Just then, the door suddenly slammed open. "B-Boss! We have bad news!"

"Fritz? What the hell is it?" Klaus asked.

"Anton's been arrested by the Windebenen guards!" he stated.

"What?! Anton?!"

Anton was one of Klaus' best men. He had talent and incredible skills, but he often had an arrogant and greedy personality. Perhaps it was because of his irritating attitude that got him arrested. But that didn't make sense. Someone like Anton could've easily escaped the guards, even their captain Clive.

"Was someone involved?" he asked Fritz.

He nodded. "Y-Yes! I believe it was a girl who put Anton in prison. A girl with white hair wearing a blue dress."

"A girl?" he repeated.

"Y-Yes..."

Klaus stared at them for a moment, then clenched his fists and punched the wall, startling everyone else in the room.

"Are you serious...?!"

"Y-Yes, boss!" he said, nodding nervously.

The room was quiet for a moment, then Klaus took a deep breath and placed his hand over his face.

"Fritz, prepare a group of our men to kill this girl. Make sure no one sees it. If there's people with her, kill them too."

"Yes, boss!" Fritz rushed out of the room.

"U-Um...Klaus-sama? Is there anything else you need from me?"

"No, that's all. Have them ready as soon as possible."

"Y-Yes, Klaus-sama!"

Klaus walked out the room and clicked his teeth, pissed at Anton's arrest.

A girl took him down? Honestly, it sounds like a joke. What kind of girl would be strong and stupid enough to touch Anton?

*****

The Blacksmith

I open my eyes and awake to the smell of something fragrant wafting in the air. I sat up from my bed, realizing that the smell was coming from outside my room.

It seems Celeste is cooking again.

I got up from bed and went across the hall to the bathroom. Using some cold water from a bucket, I washed my face until it was clean and fresh. Next, I gathered my hair together with my hands and tied it into my usual ponytail. I went back to my room and changed out of my pajamas, putting on my leather clothes and black cloak.

Now having prepared myself, I walked down the hallway into the kitchen. There, I saw Celeste in front of the stove wearing a white apron over her dark-blue dress, heating and stirring a pot with a wooden spoon.

There, I saw Celeste in front of the stove wearing a white apron over her dark-blue dress, heating and stirring a pot with a wooden spoon [https://img.wattpad.com/d61e9b8a400a01a78c13a97d052dda697fccdbd2/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f493033594776325f3562574f44513d3d2d313438303633333534312e313766643737663464666262303032663639363239303439323339332e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

"Good morning, Blacksmith-sama."

"Yeah. Good morning, Celeste."

After we came back from Windebenen the other night, I stayed up with Celeste to teach her how to cook. With some guidance from me, and multiple tries handling and replacing the cooking tools, she successfully made the sweet and spicy venison stew.

One interesting thing happened when she was cooking. Before serving the dish to me, she wanted to know for herself if it was good. She didn't want it to be too spicy, too sweet, or too salty in any way. So, Celeste, who was a puppet, decided to test a small spoonful of the stew. To our surprise, she found out she had a sense of taste. I tasted the final version of the dish, and found it to be good. One of the best meals I've had in a long time. Now that she knew how to cook, she was eager to make meals for me.

"More venison stew?" I asked.

She nodded. "Just a few more minutes until it's ready."

"I'll wait at the table then," I said.

As she cooked, I sat down in a chair and watched her. In only a few days, she's already learned many things. Speaking, fighting, reading, manners, and now cooking. Celeste was growing at an extraordinary fast rate.

Celeste prepares a bowl of warm stew and places it on my table. The venison meat was braised well and the vegetables glistened. The stew smelled great, being warm and aromatic from all of the herbs and spices.

"Thank you."

I grabbed a spoon and took some of the stew into my mouth. It was rich and flavorful, having a well balance of sweetness and heat.

"Is it still good?" she asked.

"Yeah."

I dug in for more stew. As I ate it, I sat back in my chair and stared at the ceiling of my house.

"Is there something on your mind?" she asked.

"Before you knew how to cook, all I had was mere vegetable soup and stale bread," I said. "Now, I'm having a dish that was more exquisite. It's good on its own, but I wonder if there should be more food to eat along with this."

"Do you want me to try making more dishes for you?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to," I said, smiling at her.

"I want to," she said. "After all, cooking meals is one of the things I can do for you."

I nodded. "By the way, how's my food supply?"

"You don't have much left," she replied. "Only frozen vegetable soup, some bread, and some frozen vegetables. And there's the stew I made as well.

"Hm. In that case, I'll probably have to go back to Windebenen to buy more food."

I finished my stew and stood up. As I was about to leave for town, I noticed Celeste standing in the back.

"Are you not coming along?" I asked.

She tilted her head. "Is it really alright for me to come?" I nodded. "Hm. I'll come along then."

*****

Using my magic, I shrunk the house to its tiny size and put it inside my magic pouch. All ready, the two of us started walking out of the forest to head to Windebenen, but then we suddenly heard the sound of battle.

"Hah!"

"Blacksmith-sama, I think it's coming from over there," Celeste said, pointing to the forest.

"Let's go and check it out." Celeste nodded.

We walked deeper into the forest to find out what it was. Moving past the many trees and bushes, Celeste and I found two adventurers fighting off a group of goblins, goblin riders, and a few hobgoblins.

One adventurer was a young man and the other was a young woman. Both had identical red hair and red eyes, and the two wore steel armor over brown leather clothes. The man wielded a steel sword in his hand while the woman wielded a large double-headed steel battle axe. In addition to that, they appeared to be proficient in fire magic.

"Fireball!" the man shouted.

He cast the spell and launched a fireball towards the goblins, hitting and burning them to a crisp.

"Flame Edge!" the woman shouted.

Her battle axe ignited into flames and she swung her axe at the goblins, cutting and burning them one by one.

"Adventurers..." I muttered.

"Should we help them?" asked Celeste.

"Let's watch for now," I said. "If they need help, we'll go in." Celeste nodded.

"Graaaaaagh!"

A hobgoblin let out a loud roar and advanced towards the woman. It raised its wooden club and swung down at her.

"Tch!"

The woman quickly moved her axe in front of her and blocked the attack.

"Hey Hitze! You mind hurrying it up over there and help me?!" she shouted.

"I wish I could Feuer, but I'm busy with all of these annoying goblins!"

Feuer, frustrated to hear that, grits her teeth. Mustering her strength, she pushed the wooden club away from her.

"Graaaagh!"

The hobgoblin swung its club again, but Feuer quickly rolled out of the way and avoided its attack. It follows it up with more swings with its club, only for each to be perfectly parried by her.

"Graaaaaagh!"

The hobgoblin swung its club down again and Feuer moved her axe in front of her to block it. In doing so, she was left wide open. The hobgoblin used its other hand and punched her in the side of her chest, knocking her crashing into a tree.

"Aagh...!"

"Feuer!" Hitze shouted. "Flame Edge!"

His sword ignited and he struck the ground, sending flames around him and burning the goblins. Hitze turned and rushed towards her, but as Feuer was still recovering from the attack, the hobgoblin was already in front of her.

"Feuer!"

"Ugh..."

As the hobgoblin prepared to swing its club down to deliver the blow, Celeste dashed towards it and leapt up, kicking it in the face and knocking it to the ground.

"Graaaaaagh...!" the hobgoblin screamed in pain.

Witnessing what she did, the two stared at her, surprised. Celeste gracefully landed on her feet and all of the goblins turned their attention towards her.

"Are you alright?" I asked Feuer, approaching her.

"Y-Yeah. Thank you."

I raised my hand over her body. "Heal."

I cast the spell, and a white light surrounded my hand and her body. In an instant, the injuries she received were healed.

"T-Thank you," she said.

"You saved her," said Hitze. "Thank you."

Hitze lent her his hand and she took it, standing back up. The three of us turned around to look at Celeste.

"Kah..." the hobgoblin groaned. "Graaaaaagh!"

Enraged, the hobgoblin charged towards Celeste. The hobgoblin swung its club down, but Celeste caught it with her bare hand.

"Kah?"

Celeste easily pushed the club away, making the hobgoblin stumble. She clenched her fist and lunged forward, punching its right knee, shattering it and knocking the goblin down.

"Graaaaaagh!" it screamed in pain.

Celeste swung her arm and punched it hard in the face, causing the hobgoblin to spit out blood. Stunned, Celeste grabbed the hobgoblin by its body and threw it towards a group of goblins, crushing them.

"A-Amazing..." Hitze and Feuer both said simultaneously.

"Kaaaaah!" a group of goblin riders shouted and charged towards her.

Celeste raised her foot upwards, then stomped hard on the ground, smashing it. In doing so, the goblin riders stumbled and lost their footing.

"Fireball!" I shouted.

Using this chance, I cast the spell and launched multiple fireballs towards the goblins, burning them all. Their charred bodies all fell to the ground and smoke rose from their corpses.

Seeing this, the other goblins were terrified and retreated. Celeste prepared herself to go after them, but I placed my hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Don't follow them," I said.

"Very well, Blacksmith-sama."

The two adventurers we saved stared at Celeste in awe, shocked and eyes widened.

"She's so strong...so powerful..." said Feuer. "She didn't even use any weapons or magic..."

Hitze shook his head and returned to his senses. "U-Um, thank you for helping us! And for saving us too!"

"It was nothing," I said, raising my hand.

"It was nothing," Celeste repeated my words.

"R-Right. We haven't introduced ourselves, have we? I'm Hitze. Hitze Flammenvogel. This is my sister, Feuer. We're silver-ranked adventurers from Windebenen. You may also know us as Dual Ignis."

"You can call me Blacksmith [https://img.wattpad.com/87f0eb7eaf52dee0ca45351fe6c4fe990efa5269/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f676a574c703768565555304b43413d3d2d313438303633333534312e313766643737666364353330653034623432323038393530393332312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

"You can call me Blacksmith. This is Celeste."

"It's nice to meet you, Hitze-san, Feuer-san," Celeste greeted them, bowing.

"W-Wait, you two are..."

"You're the ones the Guild Master talked about," said Feuer.

"You've heard of us from him?" I asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, Celeste-san was the one who knocked a rude adventurer into the wall at the guild, right? Sounds rough..." Feuer pinched his ear tightly with her hand. "Ow ow ow...!"

"Don't say such rude and embarrassing things in front of people, Hitze," she said. "I'm so sorry if he offended you in any way."

"S-Sorry..."

"No, it's fine."

"If I may ask, why do you two look identical?" Celeste asked.

"Ah, that's because we're twins," Hitze replied. "Have you not seen twins before?"

"No, I haven't. This is my first time."

"Ha ha ha ha! Yeah, I understand. Twins are rare in the world. It's not everyday you get to see them."

"What are you two doing here in the forest?"

"Ah. It was an urgent quest me and my sister took from the guild."

Apparently, the goblin population has been growing lately. It was affecting trade from places far from the forest, including Windebenen. Nobody wanted nor planned to take it, so they volunteered to help. Since it was just goblins, they thought they could handle it. They didn't expect something like a hobgoblin would get them.

"If only I was stronger, I could've taken it myself," Feuer said, clenching her fists. "But instead, I got distracted and injured."

"Don't blame yourself for that," Hitze said, comforting her. "We're still rookies compared to other adventurers. We have a long way to go."

I placed my hand to my chin. "The goblins have been growing in the forest...? I haven't noticed anything strange..."

"Are you familiar with this area, Blacksmith-san?"

"Yeah. Something like that," I said. "Hitze-san, Feuer-san. I understand it's your quest, but seeing what happened to you two today, is it alright if we take care of it? It looks like you've done a lot today and we don't want you to endanger yourselves. Of course, you're free with keeping all the drops to bring to the guild as proof."

"No no no, we're fine. Really! We can still keep going."

"Are you sure?" The twins nodded.

"Besides, it'd be bad for us if we left the two of you here to take care of it, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Even if we did leave them behind, I'm sure they'd be fine. Celeste-san is super powerful," said Feuer. "By the way, how are you so strong anyways? You're not even an adventurer."

"It's normal for me," said Celeste.

"Really?! Wow, that's even more incredible!"

"Ahem. If you two are planning to stay in the forest for the goblins, shall we go then?" The three of them nodded.

*****

Following the tracks left behind by the goblins from earlier, they made their way through the trees in hopes of finding where they were hiding. We kept an eye around for any monsters that could ambush us, but there were only a few stray rabbits and deers running around so far.

"Hm?"

The twins stopped in front of us and looked around, having confused looks on their faces.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, it's just...the tracks just disappeared..." said Hitze.

I stepped forward and took a look at the ground. They were right. The tracks ended right where we were. From the looks of it, they covered their tracks using the soil from the ground. Although vicious and aggressive, goblins were quite smart.

"Was there anything else your quest said?" I asked.

"Aside from what we told you guys, there was something that talked about where people saw the most sightings." Hitze pulled out a map and pointed to the north. "Goblins are apparently around this area."

"I see. If that's the case, we should be close. Just turn a little to the right and head in that direction."

We continued and pushed past a few more trees, stepping on some fallen branches and moving over a few wooden logs in the way. It wasn't long before Feuer stopped and raised her hand, gesturing to us to be quiet.

She quietly sneaked around the bushes, moving a few leaves out of the way. There, in front of us, we saw a cave. Coming in and out of the cave were a group of goblins.

"A den," I said.

"What's a den?" Celeste asked.

"It's where monsters like goblins live. A den to monsters is like a house to us."

"I see. If we go inside, we'll find more of them," she said, understanding it now.

Feuer squinted her eyes, examining the goblins outside the cave. "There's not many. We could probably take them out quickly and sneak in there without disturbing the others."

"Alright. What about inside then?" Hitze asked.

"We want to take out the goblins, but we don't know anything about what's in their den," I said. "There could be hundreds of goblins, hobgoblins, or even a goblin king or queen."

"Could there really be a king or queen in there?"

I shrugged. "I can't say, but it's best to assume the worst."

"So, what's the plan?" Feuer asked, looking back at us.

"Like you said, we can take out the ones outside and sneak in, but once we do, we need to be careful. Anything can happen." Hitze and Feuer nodded, agreeing with me.

Just then, the bushes rustled and something appeared in front of us. We turned and looked to see Celeste out in the open.

"Hello."

"W-What are you doing...?!" the twins sharply whispered.

"I've already finished all the goblins while you three were still hiding and talking," she said.

The three of us looked past her and saw all the goblins on the ground, twitching and groaning in pain. Surprised, we came out from hiding and looked around us.

"You did all of this on your own...?" Feuer asked.

"Yes."

"Ha ha ha...wow. Even me and my sister wouldn't have been able to pull this off as quick and well as you did," Hitze said, nervously laughing and scratching his head.

I crouched down and took a look at one of the goblins. "Unlike the ones we faced last time, you did well taking these ones down."

Celeste nodded. "I made sure I held back and was as quiet as possible for this."

"H-Held back?"

"Ahem. Well, since it's taken care of, let's go inside." Celeste nodded.

The twins sighed, then the four of us walked into the goblin den.

*****

Celeste

"It's dark," said Hitze. "Hold on."

He pulled out a bone and wrapped it in some cloth. Using some fire magic, he lit it up and created a torch, illuminating the path in front of us.

The den was large and cavernous, dark and humid. The ground was rocky, and we could hear the sound of our footsteps echoing throughout the den. As we went deeper, the den grew larger and dark, and more difficult to traverse.

I took a step back to walk alongside Blacksmith. "Blacksmith-sama," I said. "The two of us are helping Hitze and Feuer with their quest, but for what purpose?"

"None," he replied.

"None?"

Blacksmith nodded. "This is merely an act of kindness we're doing for them."

"Kindness..."

I recalled Rockwood's words back then about how you should be kind to others who are good. This must be what he meant.

Hitze stopped and gestured to us. "Wait."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"What is it?" Feuer asked, concerned.

"Do you guys hear that?"

We all went quiet and focused on listening. From the distance, we heard growls and hints of laughter, echoing through the den.

"Hmph!"

Hitze moved his arm back and threw the torch forward. As it flew, it gave us all a brief glimpse of multiple goblins hiding in the shadows. Upon being found, the goblins came charging towards us with spears and clubs in their hands.

"Fireball!" Hitze shouted, casting the spell and launching multiple fireballs, hitting a few of the goblins.

"Flamenought!" Feuer shouted, casting a mid-tier fire spell and summoning a large vortex of fire around the group of goblins, burning them all.

"Kah kah kah!"

However, it was futile. More goblins, along with a few hobgoblins and some archers, appeared around us. Blacksmith pulled out his sword and the twins pulled out their weapons. I clenched my fists and readied myself to fight.

"Kah!"

"Hmph!"

The twins lunged forward and swung their weapons, cutting down a few goblins in front. Archers rushed up to the higher levels of the cave and started shooting arrows down on us.

Blacksmith stepped forward and placed his hand on the ground. "Stone Wall!"

Casting a mid-tier earth spell, he creates a large wall of stone in front of us, blocking the arrows.

"Celeste, take care of those archers!" he shouted.

"Hm."

I immediately sprinted and leapt up, running on the walls of the cave. The goblin archers, noticing me coming closer to them, turned their attention and aimed their bows. However, by the time they prepared their arrows to shoot, I was already in front of them.

"Hmph!"

I punched the ground beneath them with my fist, smashing the earth and knocking them over the cliff. Rubble and rocks fell down along with them, crushing the goblins in front of Blacksmith and the twins.

"Alright!" Hitze shouted.

"Nice job, Celeste!" Feuer shouted.

"Graaaaaagh!"

Just then, a loud and powerful roar echoed throughout the cave. The four of us, along with the goblins, all turned to look. Pushing the goblins off to the side, a giant goblin wearing a gray ragged cloak and old gold crown came out from deep within the cave. In its hand, it wielded a large steel greatsword.

"A goblin king actually appeared..." said Blacksmith.

I jumped down and the four of us all focused our attention on the king. It snarled, then it grabbed a few of the goblin corpses on the ground and launched them at us.

"Fireball!"

Hitze quickly cast the spell and launched fireballs at the corpses being thrown, burning them instantly.

The goblin king grunted, then held its greatsword tight in its hand and threw it directly at us.

"Move!" Hitze shouted.

Listening to his words, the four of us stepped out of the way, splitting up on each side. The greatsword spun, cutting a few goblins in its trajectory and ending up striking the cave wall.

"Graagh...!" the goblin king snarled, directing its attention solely on the twins.

"Tch..."

The twins prepared themselves to face the king. However, there was also the matter of the goblins to their right.

"Kah!" the goblins screeched, charging towards them in an effort to pin them for their king.

"Fireball!"

"Hmph!"

Blacksmith cast the spell and launched a fireball. I leapt upwards and came down with a drop kick, shattering the earth. In an instant, all of the goblins were taken down.

"You guys..."

"We'll take care of them! You two focus on the goblin king!" Blacksmith shouted.

The twins nodded, then turned their attention to the king.

"Kah..." The goblin king pulled out its greatsword out of the wall and glared at the twins with its malicious eyes.

"Fireball!"

Hitze and Feuer both cast the spell simultaneously, launching fireballs towards it. But by swinging its sword, the king easily deflected their attack.

"Graaaaaagh!"

The king lunged forward and swung its sword at Hitze and Feuer. By rolling away in time, the twins managed to dodge it. The king swung it again, aiming at Hitze, but he quickly moved his sword in front of him and blocked it.

"Ggh..."

"Blaze Shot!"

Feuer casts a mid-tier fire spell, shooting a quick straight projectile, striking the goblin by the shoulder and penetrating its body.

"Graagh...!" it groaned.

"Flame Edge!" Hitze shouted.

Hitze's sword ignites into flames and he pushes away the king's greatsword. He drops down and slides past it, striking one of its legs and knocking it down.

"Gah...!"

"Now, Feuer!"

"Right!"

"Flamenought!" the twins both shouted.

The two of them both cast the spell and summoned a large vortex of flames from underneath the goblin king, engulfing it in powerful flames. With it subdued, it was now only the small goblins we had to focus.

"Kah kah kah!"

Our attacks were futile against their numbers. The more we slayed, the more came out from deep within the den. It was almost never ending.

"Blacksmith-sama," I said. "What do we do?"

"There's too many of them for us to deal with. We can't keep killing them." Blacksmith looked at the entrance where the goblins were coming from. "But if we do that..."

"Kah!"

I kicked a goblin, sending it back and hitting the others. "Do what?" I asked.

"Celeste," he said. "When I give the signal, smash the entrance!"

Although I didn't know what he had planned in mind, I nodded.

Blacksmith charged forward, striking the goblins in front of him and cutting them all down. Blacksmith raised his hands forward towards the entrance.

"Gale Blast!"

He casts a mid-tier wind spell and launches a powerful gust of wind, blowing away the other goblins back to where they came from.

"Now!"

I quickly leapt upwards and punched the top of the entrance, smashing it. The entire den shook and the walls came crumbling down on the goblins, crushing them and sealing off the entrance.

"Good job, Celeste!" shouted the twins.

"Graaaaaagh!"

"...!"

Just then, a loud roar came from the fire vortex. With a swing of its arm, the goblin king instantly dispelled Flamenought.

"No way..."

"It's still alive...?!"

The goblin king, charred and burned, grabbed its greatsword and swung it at Hitze. He successfully parries it with his sword, but the king swung its greatsword again and again in effort to hit him.

"Tch...!"

"Fireball!"

From behind, Feuer launched a fireball at the goblin king's back, hoping to damage it and grab its attention. However, it did nothing.

"What...?" she said. "Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!"

Feuer continued to launch more fireballs, but it only angered and annoyed the goblin king. Her attacks were not working.

"Graaaaaagh!" the goblin king roared and swung its left arm, sending Hitze crashing into the cave wall.

"Aagh!"

"Hitze!"

The goblin king raised its greatsword upwards, prepared to cut him down. Hitze, who was injured, looked up at the goblin.

"Hitze!!!"

Her words meant nothing as the king's sword came in close on him.

"Celeste!"

Hearing Blacksmith call my name, I dashed towards the two and appeared in front of Hitze. With just my bare hand, I caught the sword by its blade.

"C-Celeste..." said Hitze.

I turned to him. "It's best if you get away."

Hitze returned to his senses and nodded, then moved out of the way to safety.

"Grrgh..."

The goblin king mustered its strength to push forward with its greatsword, but to no avail. As it struggled, the blade of the sword slowly started to crack from my grip. I pushed the sword away and knocked back the goblin king, making it stumble.

"K-Kah..."

I placed my foot back and clenched my fist. Mustering strength into my foot, I smashed the ground and launched myself towards the goblin king, striking it in the chest and sending it crashing into the wall.

"Kah...!" it groaned, coughing up blood.

The greatsword slips from the goblin king's hand, dropping to the ground. Then, the king slowly fell down from the wall to the ground.

Hitze and Feuer stared at it, shocked with their eyes widened and jaws dropped.

I looked at myself and went over to Blacksmith. "My clothes seem to be a little dirty..."

"Here."

Blacksmith raised his hand and cast Cleanse on me. The spell cleaned me up and left me refreshed.

Hitze and Feuer slowly turned their heads to look at me. "How...?" they both said simultaneously. "How are you this strong?!!"

"Hm?" I tilted my head, confused by their reactions.

"One punch," they both said simultaneously again. "One punch, and you took it down easily in an instant! We both fought it with all our strength and we couldn't even do that!"

I was amazed. To think that twins could talk word for word, almost as if they were connected. That must be a special gift.

"Ahem. Please, can you two calm down?" Blacksmith said, stepping in. "I know you're surprised at Celeste, but we should focus on the goblin king for a moment." Hitze and Feuer looked at each other, then nodded.

We went over to the king's corpse and examined it. There was no doubt it was dead. After all, it took powerful fire magic from both Hitze and Feuer, and a powerful punch to the chest from me.

Blacksmith used his sword and cut off both its ears. He grabs its greatsword and casts Repair on it, restoring it to its original condition. He takes them along with the crown from its head and hands it to the twins.

"Here," he said. "For you two."

Hitze and Feuer were surprised. "No no no, we can't! You guys were the ones to take it down, you should take it."

"It was a collective effort. Celeste and I don't really need anything from this quest, so it's free for you to take."

Hitze and Feuer stared at him for a moment, then looked at each other. They smiled, then took the drops from the goblin king from him.

"Thank you, Blacksmith-san!" the twins said with gratitude.

As we all took in this warm moment, the goblin den suddenly began to tremble.

"Wh-What is happening now?!" asked Feuer.

"Celeste's attack must've caused the den to finally collapse," Blacksmith explained.

"We should hurry on out!" We nodded, then the four of us sprinted towards the exit.

*****

In the nick of time, we managed to safely make it outside the cave. Behind us, the entrance was sealed as rubble and rocks came crumbling down. Hitze and Feuer panted from exhaustion while Blacksmith and I were calm and collected.

"Honestly...that was something else..." Hitze said, trying to catch his breath.

"Was the den any important?" I asked.

"Not that I know of," said Blacksmith.

"Then it's fine that it's down, right?"

Blacksmith nodded. "The goblins are dead or trapped inside. Either way, it's fine. The population will be lowered, and you two can get the rewards for completing this quest."

"That's true, but what about you guys? You've done so much with us that it feels wrong if the two of you don't receive anything."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not!" they both said simultaneously. "We want to pay you back!"

Blacksmith sighed. "If that's the case, then whenever we need a favor, we'll ask you." Hitze and Feuer nodded.

Feuer came over to me and grabbed my hands. "Thank you for helping us today, Celeste. Um...is it alright for us to be friends?"

"Friends?" I repeated.

"Yeah, that'd be great!" Hitze said, pumping his fist.

I looked at Blacksmith and he shrugged. "Hm. Alright. We can be friends." Feuer and Hitze smiled, happy to hear that.

"So now that we're done, what are you two going to do?" Hitze asked.

"Well, we were originally planning to head to Windebenen," Blacksmith replied.

"I see. Then why not go together with us?"

"I appreciate it, but it's fine. We don't want to intrude any longer."

"No no no, we insist!"

"Blacksmith-sama, I don't think they're going to take no for an answer," I said.

Blacksmith sighed. "Yeah...I can see that..."

****

The Blacksmith

After walking through the forest, the four of us arrived in Windebenen. The twins went first, showing the guards their Adventurer's Guild cards and entering town. I showed my card and gave them a few words, then we followed behind.

"When I came here on my own, I had to pay a fee to get into town," said Celeste. "Blacksmith-sama, what exactly is your card that allows you to pass?"

I handed the card to Celeste for her to see. "It's just a normal Adventurer's Guild card, similar to Hitze and Feuer," I explained. "I'm not an adventurer, but I had the guild make me a card for identification, making travel easier."

"I see."

"Now that you mention it," I said, "if you're coming along with me, you're going to need a card yourself."

Celeste tilted her head. "I do?"

I nodded. "The story we tell people is that you're from 'overseas.' Windebenen isn't the same as every other place, so I can't always say that you're with me like I did with the guards earlier. Besides, if you came to Windebenen or any other town, all the money I have would be gone."

"I suppose that's true."

There in the streets, we saw Hitze and Feuer waiting and waving at us.

"We're going to head straight to the guild to give them our drops. Where are you guys going?"

"Shopping," I replied. "We may visit the guild later as well. Celeste will be needing a card for herself."

"I see. Then I guess this is goodbye. Until next time, Blacksmith-san, Celeste-san!" The twins waved goodbye and left.

We headed in a different direction and roamed through the streets of the town. As we walked past the stalls, I started to think about what to buy.

I usually just bought vegetables and bread, but now that Celeste knows how to cook, especially very exquisite dishes, I'll have to stock up with many ingredients.

"Blacksmith-sama," she called my name. "I think everyone's staring at us."

"Hm?"

I carefully took a glance around us and realized she was right. All of the people's eyes were on the two of us. Rather, many of their eyes were on Celeste alone.

"Perhaps it's because of what you did the other day," I said.

"Hm. I suppose that makes sense," she said. "But why? It was yesterday that I did that."

"People don't forget things too easily, Celeste."

"Hm. I see."

"Hey, Celeste-chan!"

Just then, we heard a voice. Turning to our right, we looked to see a woman at a stall, waving at us. Celeste waved back in return.

"Do you know her?" I asked.

"That's Claire-san. The woman who gave me the venison stew recipe," she replied.

The two of us walked over to her stall. "It's nice to see you again, Celeste-chan. I see you've brought him along with you this time. It's nice to meet you!"

"Celeste has told me much about you, Claire-san," I said. "So, you're the one who makes this wonderful stew. I've enjoyed having it from Celeste."

"Oh, you're too kind! By the way, Celeste-chan..." Claire gestured to her to come closer. "How was it? Did it go well?" she whispered.

"Hm."

"Good for you!"

I stared at the two of them, confused about what was happening. I heard my name in their conversation, but I didn't know what exactly they were talking about. Whatever it was, Claire seemed to be happy about it.

"Hm?"

For some reason, I suddenly sensed something amidst. I turned and carefully examined the entire area, but I found no one and nothing suspicious.

Strange... I thought. Is it me, or is it almost as if we're being watched?

"What's wrong, Blacksmith-sama?" asked Celeste.

I shook my head and smiled at her. "It's nothing." I turned to Claire. "I'm glad to have met you, Claire-san. Celeste and I have a shopping trip we need to do, so we'll be on our way now."

"I see. Goodbye then, you two. And good luck, Celeste-chan!" she said, waving us goodbye as we left.

"Claire is a kind woman," I said.

Celeste nodded. "Everyone here is."

"You seemed to have made a lot of friends when you were here the other day."

"A lot?" she repeated. "But I only have you, Hitze, and Feuer. I didn't ask anyone else to be my friend."

"You don't have to ask to make friends, Celeste," I explained. "Talking to them alone makes you and anyone else friends."

"Really?" I nodded. "If that's the case, then I really do have many friends here in Windebenen."

"Indeed."

"Blacksmith-sama," she said. "Can I ask a question?"

"What is it?"

"When you and Markus were talking to each other that time, he asked you if you had plans to stay. You didn't. You planned on traveling from place to place."

"That's right."

"This is just my opinion, but why can't we stay in the forest? Why can't we stay here in Windebenen? It is a nice place after all. Peaceful, quiet, and many kind people. Many who are our friends."

I stared at her for a moment in silence, then turned away. "Well, I'd love to stay, but..."

"But what?"

I looked up at the sky and sighed. "If I stayed...I'll never want to leave. By staying, it'll only go bad for me."

"Hm. I see."

*****

Celeste and I entered a bookstore in town. I walked around and browsed through the shelves in search of a book.

"What are we doing here?" Celeste asked.

"If we want to cook, we'll need a cookbook. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to cooking, so if we want to make good dishes, we'll need recipes like the one you had."

"I see."

I picked out one book from the shelf and opened it. I flipped through the pages and found multiple recipes for dishes local to the Northern Continent.

"Do you think you can cook some of these?" I asked, showing her the book.

"Hm. I can try."

I took the book, as well as two other different cookbooks from the shelf along with me. The two of us went over to the counter and paid for the three books with a few silver coins, getting some copper coins in exchange.

Having what we needed, the two of us left and returned to the streets. This time, we looked for ingredients. We walked around and visited a few of the stalls here in town, buying various kinds of meat, vegetables, fruit, and grains. Seeing I had plenty of money, we bought bags full of groceries to stock up. In a place where no one was looking, I used my magic pouch and stored all our groceries in it.

As we were walking, Celeste held one of the cookbooks and flipped through the pages, looking at the illustrations and recipes for each dish.

"What do you want to eat for dinner, Blacksmith-sama?" she asked.

"I'll let you decide," I replied. "I'm fine with anything."

Celeste flipped a few more pages, then pointed one out to show me. "Is this one good?"

It was fried pork chops. The pork chops are pounded into flat pieces of meat, breaded and seasoned, and then fried in oil.

I nodded. "That's fine with me."

Just then, I stopped in the streets. Celeste stopped as well and turned, looking back at me.

There's that bad feeling again-as if we're being watched.

I carefully looked around us, but like before, I saw no one and nothing strange. Everything was normal.

Just what is it...? I thought.

"Is there something wrong?" Celeste asked.

I shook my head. "No...it's nothing. Ah, right. We should probably visit the guild for your card." Celeste nodded.

*****

Celeste

Blacksmith and I entered the guild through the doors. Upon going inside, we were met with gazes from the adventurers around us. They were the same as the people outside. Although we both noticed this, we ignored them and moved towards the front desk where we saw Rayne.

"Oh, welcome Blacksmith-san, Celeste-san!" she greeted us.

"Hello, Rayne," I greeted her back.

"What are you two doing here today? Are you selling drops again?"

Blacksmith shook his head, then pulled out his card. "Celeste doesn't have a card like I do. Seeing we're going to travel together, do you mind giving her a card? It'd be great for her to have one on her."

"Of course! Just to make sure, you're not applying to be an adventurer, are you?" she asked me.

"No, I'm not," I replied.

"Alright then." Rayne reached underneath the desk and handed out a piece of paper to me. "Just sign this with your signature. It could be your own name or an alias. If you want, you can also put your occupation."

I grabbed a pen and started writing my name in cursive. For my occupation, I wrote down that I was Blacksmith's assistant and bodyguard. Finished, I handed it back to Rayne. Upon taking a look at it, she was surprised.

"Incredible! Your writing is very unique. It's almost like you're a calligrapher."

"It was my first time writing something," I said.

"Really? That's even more impressive!" she said. "Well, now that you're done, I'll head on my way now to make the card for you. Please wait a moment." I nodded, then Rayne turned away and left the front.

I turned to my side to look at Blacksmith. Like before, he was taking a glance around us, almost searching for something. He seemed concerned in a way.

"Something is bothering you, isn't it, Blacksmith-sama?"

"You've noticed?" I nodded and he sighed. "I've been having a bad feeling lately. It's almost as if someone's watching us. It's been that way since we arrived in Windebenen."

I looked around the guild as well. "I don't notice anything or anyone strange."

"So it's the same for you too," he said.

"If there is someone or something bothering you, I'll take care of it when they show themselves."

"Please don't do anything rash again..." he begged me.

"I'm back!" said Rayne. "Here's your identification card, Celeste-san!" Rayne came up and handed me a copper card similar to Blacksmith's.

"Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it," said Blacksmith.

"Of course! Don't mention it!"

"Hey, Blacksmith-san, Celeste-san!"

Just then, we heard a familiar voice call out to us. From the stairs, we looked to see Markus.

"It's nice to see you again," said Blacksmith.

"Guild Master! What are you doing here?" Rayne asked him.

"I thought I'd take a stroll out of my office to take a look at all of these adventurers. That's when I saw the two of you. No one bothered you, did they?"

"No. Fortunately, they did not," Blacksmith said, looking at me.

"Ha ha ha ha! No need to be so tense!," he said with a smile on his face. "So, what are you doing here?"

"We came to get Celeste an identification card. We're going to be traveling a lot, so I thought she'd need one."

"I see, I see. You sure you don't just want to become adventurers? It'd be much easier, and you'd get a lot of perks."

"No thank you," Blacksmith rejected him.

"Ha ha ha ha! If you say so."

*****

The two of us said goodbye and left the guild. As we roamed through the streets of the town, I began to notice something. We weren't heading back to the entrance. We were heading in a different direction.

"Blacksmith-sama, where are we going?" I asked, confused.

"Just follow behind me. Don't say anything," he whispered. Although I didn't fully understand, I nodded.

We walked past crowds of people and multiple stalls, navigating through town. Upon finding an alleyway with a dead end and far from everyone's eyes, Blacksmith turned and I followed behind. After a brief moment, someone else came into the alleyway. Blacksmith quickly dashed past me and grabbed them by their arm, throwing them on the ground and pinning them.

"Ow ow ow! What the hell?!"

I took a glance at the person's face and I instantly recognized them. "Henry?"

"Wh-What's happening?!"

Just then, Carl and Noah appeared as well, surprised to see the scene. The two of them rushed over to Blacksmith and Henry.

"Hey, hey, calm down for a moment!" said Noah.

"We don't mean any harm!" said Carl.

"Why were you following us?" Blacksmith asked Henry, ignoring them.

"F-Following...?" Blacksmith tightened his grip to the point of almost breaking his arm. "T-Talk! I just wanted to talk! That's all! That's all!" he shouted in pain.

Blacksmith lets him go. "Talk? For what?"

Henry stood back up and grunted, grabbing his arm. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"U-Um...w-we came here to apologize for what we did to you two," said Noah.

"Apologize?" I repeated. "For what happened at the guild?" They nodded.

"I was planning to do that, but after what you did, I'm really considering not to," Henry said, glaring at Blacksmith.

"Don't say that," said Carl. "It was obviously a misunderstanding. They thought we were some suspicious people following them. Of course they'd be on guard."

"The reason why you've been following us since we've entered Windebenen was to apologize? A stretch, isn't it?"

The three of them looked up at us, puzzled. "Since you've entered Windebenen? What are you talking about?"

Blacksmith and I stared at them, puzzled as well. Both of our groups were honestly confused.

"Were you not following us all over town today?" Blacksmith asked again.

"N-No. We just followed you a few minutes ago here into this alleyway."

Blacksmith places his hand to his chin. "If it wasn't you, then..."

Someone else aside from Henry and his group was stalking us. A third party. But who else would want to chase after us?

Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind me.

"Celeste!"

A cloaked man lunged forward with a dagger. However, just as the tip of the dagger touched my chest, it snapped.

"Wh-What?!" the cloaked person, along with Henry and the others, were shocked.

"What are you doing?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Eek!" they shrieked, turning away to escape.

With a quick grab of their shoulder, I slammed the person into the ground, pinning him and breaking his bones.

"Aagh...!"

"You're not leaving."

Because of me, it brought the attention of people nearby. They all came and took a look in the alleyway where we were, seeing us and the cloaked man on the ground. Pushing past the crowd, a few Windebenen guards came through, one of them who happened to be the captain.

"Celeste-san? And Blacksmith-san?"

We all stared at each other, awkward from the situation. Henry and his two friends raised their hands into the air, surrendering themselves. Blacksmith and Clive both placed their hands to their faces and sighed.

*****

After we gave an explanation, the cloaked man, who was an assassin, was arrested by the guards. Apparently, he was sent to kill me for taking down Anton, the cloaked man who I slapped into the wall the other day. As for who sent them, they refused to say any more.

"To think you actually managed to take down another one of them..." Clive said, baffled. "You're really popular, aren't you?"

"Thank you, Clive. For helping us," said Blacksmith.

Clive shook his head. "I didn't do anything much. It's all thanks to you guys that we caught another one. Still though, I doubt that'd be the end of it."

I tilted my head. "Why's that?"

"If one assassin came after you for taking down that guy Anton, others will as well. Especially now that they know they failed," he explained.

"That's true," Blacksmith agreed.

"Do you two need any help getting out of Windebenen?" Clive asked.

"No, we'll be fine on our own."

"Hm. Well, knowing what Celeste's capable of, I don't doubt that. Until next time then." Clive said his goodbyes and left with the other guards.

"I'm sorry, Blacksmith-sama. I did something you told me not to do," I apologized and bowed.

"No, it's fine. It was an assassin. Had you not done anything, he would've escaped or killed someone else in the process. I'm proud of what you did today."

"Hm. I see. Thank you."

"H-Hey..." We turned to Henry and the others who were behind us. "Just what was that...?"

"An assassin to kill Celeste. Have you heard what she did the other day?"

"If I remember right, something about a 'white haired girl slapping a cloaked man into the wall of a building and knocking him out'," Carl said, recalling the event. "The guards arrested the man because he was a wanted criminal and for harassing the vendors."

"That was her?" Noah asked.

"Apparently, it was. She's the only one we know who has white hair around here, and she's very powerful."

"That's true..."

"Heh. I kind of feel bad for the assassin," Henry said with a nervous smile. "To be the unluckiest person in the world and be taken down by Celeste of all people."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

Henry was startled and backed away from me. "N-Nothing! I didn't mean anything!" Carl and Noah laughed at him.

"Well, with that taken care of, we should go home." I nodded.

"Wait!" Just as we were about to leave, Henry shouted at us.

"Hm?"

The three of them bowed in front of us. "We sincerely apologize!"

Ah, that's right. They were going to apologize before we were interrupted.

"We're sorry for our rudeness and actions the other day. We hope you'll forgive us!"

I stared at them for a moment, then turned to Blacksmith. He tilted his head, gesturing to me to give them an answer.

"Hm. I accept your apology. So long as you don't bother Blacksmith-sama again."

"Of course!"

*****

With everything over, the two of us went through the entrance and walked on the dirt trail back to the forest. As we walked together, I stared at Blacksmith as he looked around us, checking our surroundings for any suspicious people.

The assassin from earlier was sent to kill me. That was because I took down one of their men. Blacksmith-sama told me what I did to that assassin was good, but was it really a wise choice? Clive-san said more may come after us, or rather me. And that meant Blacksmith-sama would be in danger.

"Blacksmith-"

As I was about to speak, out of nowhere, a group of five assassins suddenly appeared around us. Like the first, they all wore black cloaks and wielded daggers in their hands. All of them had sinister grins on their faces and I could see their clear intent to kill.

Blacksmith and I stood back to back. "An ambush..." he muttered.

One of them came forward and pointed a dagger at me. "To think Anton was defeated by someone like you, and for one assassin to fail at killing you too. You don't even look strong. You're just a pathetic girl who thinks she looks pretty!"

The other assassins laughed and walked closer to us. Blacksmith pulled out his sword, and they were all surprised to see it.

"I-Is that...mithril?! How does someone like you have it?!" said one assassin.

"No matter. Once we kill you, we'll take it for ourselves!" said another assassin.

I reached to grab my sword, but then I paused.

Do I really need to use Excalibur against them? I thought. Although they're cruel and malicious as monsters, these assassins were just mere humans. It's best I don't use a Divine Weapon here.

"What, not going to use your sword?" they said.

"I don't need it," I replied.

"Tch! Don't get cocky with me!"

An assassin dashed towards me and lunged forward to strike. As the dagger came close to my face, I quickly stepped to the side and avoided it.

"Wh-What?!"

The assassin swung their daggers in effort to hit me, but I managed to parry each attack with my bare hands. They lunged forward to strike, aiming at my face again, but I stepped to the side and grabbed their arm, swiftly throwing them on the ground on their back. I raised my foot and stomped down on the assassin, slamming them into the ground and breaking their ribs.

"Aagh...!" they let out a painful groan, coughing.

"N-No way..."

The other assassins took a careful step back, realizing the difference in our strength. Using this opportunity, Blacksmith placed his hands on the ground.

"Mud Bind!"

He casts a mid-tier earth spell on two assassins and the ground underneath their feet instantly turns into mud. Slowly, they began to sink into the earth.

"Wh-What is this?!"

"I-I can't get out!"

"Hmph!" Blacksmith dashed towards the last two assassins.

"...!"

Scared, they threw multiple daggers at him, only for them to be deflected by his sword. Blacksmith leapt upwards and came down, kicking one back while hitting the other in the head with the pommel of his sword.

"Aagh!"

"Ggh..." The assassin in front of me twitched and groaned in pain. "Who...who the hell are you...?"

"I'm Celeste. Blacksmith-sama's friend." I punched him in the face and knocked him out cold.

With the five assassins taken down, we gathered them together and tied them up using some rope from Blacksmith's magic pouch. Like the first, I knocked them all out with a punch to the face.

"What will we do with them, Blacksmith-sama?"

"Hm...we could hand them over to the guild and let them deal with it."

"Aagh..."

Just then, one of the assassins suddenly had foam coming from their mouth.

"Hm?"

"Aagh..."

The other four assassins soon followed suit, each of them having foam coming from their mouths as well.

"What happened to them...?" I asked.

"They died. From poison."

"But we didn't use any poison, did we?"

He shook his head. "In the case any assassin failed and was captured, they were to kill themselves in order to protect their allies. One tactic they use is a poison pill they'd take."

"I see. Now that they're dead, what do we do?"

"Burn their corpses," he replied.