Volume 8, Chapter 9 – The Stubborn Blacksmith

“I’m sorry, Master Avis is about to go out and is not seeing any visitors right now.”

When Cynthia brought Yisi to the second floor of the Blacksmiths’ Association, a guard from the association informed her of this.

The Blacksmiths’ Association was a much cleaner place than Yisi had imagined. Originally, Yisi had thought it would be like a steel mill from the industrial world, not only reeking of a pungent smell but also having a terrifyingly high temperature. But after seeing it with her own eyes, she found that its cleanliness was not much different from that of the Magic Chanters’ Association. The ceiling of the main hall was over ten meters from the floor, and coupled with the soft sofas casually placed against the walls, the magnificent magic crystal chandeliers, and the gleaming floor decorated with a mosaic of aquamarine and alabaster, it made Yisi feel as if she had entered a ballroom.

“Not even me?”

A hint of displeasure appeared on Cynthia’s face. Even so, her naturally gentle features were still beautiful.

“Yes. The master specifically instructed that even if His Majesty the King himself were to visit, he would have to wait until he returned.”

“Tsk.”

“Miss Cynthia, let’s come back later. I’d like to take a look at the weapons hanging on the walls on the first floor.”

“Those are all weapons that are for show, not for use. If we just wait a little longer, we’ll surely be able to see Master Avis today.”

Looking as if she were determined to butt heads with the guard, Cynthia did not agree to Yisi’s suggestion of wandering around. Although there was nothing wrong with waiting at the door with Cynthia, as she had said, it was a rare opportunity to visit the Blacksmiths’ Association, and it wouldn’t hurt to look at other people’s work. She had always relied on the cheating tool of the Foundry Platform to forge magic weapons, and her actual forging skills were inferior to even some novice blacksmiths. For a beginner like her, observing the work of those who were slightly better than her could often lead to great improvement.

Yisi could only let Cynthia do as she pleased and walked down the spiral staircase, which was covered with a purple carpet, with Laxy to the first-floor hall.

Just as she had seen from the second floor, there were few customers in the clean and bright hall. The sound of crystal shoes on the stone floor would even produce a clacking echo.

“What a waste…”

Yisi couldn’t help but murmur under her breath.

“Is it just average? Although the area is indeed large, the decorations can only be compared to an ordinary family in the Land of the Gods.”

“The Land of the Gods is really extravagant.”

With a wry smile, Yisi observed the customers who had come to the Blacksmiths’ Association. Apart from the brightly dressed nobles, the rest were blacksmiths with calloused hands, lost in thought. The levels of these people were generally high, and the hall had a very studious atmosphere.

Of course, there was no shortage of insects attracted to flowers. Some of the younger nobles were first drawn by the pure white wings behind Laxy, then followed her to see Yisi. Like vicious dogs that had spotted their prey, their gazes could no longer be torn away from Yisi’s face and Laxy’s chest, staring intently at the two of them.

If they continued to walk slowly, those young nobles would surely surround them. Refusing them one by one would be troublesome. Yisi quickened her pace and walked to the counter directly opposite the main entrance.

“Welcome to the Blacksmiths’ Association. What can I do for you two young… ladies?”

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The female clerk’s gaze paused on Laxy for a moment. Angels were always a very eye-catching existence. With a wry smile in her heart, Yisi waved her hand.

“I’d like to ask if you have any trigger-activated magic items here?”

“Trigger-activated magic items?” The female clerk, who had thought the two of them would only buy some decorative weapons, raised her voice a pitch. “Trigger-activated magic items are very expensive. Each time they are demonstrated, someone needs to inject magic power into them—er, I mean, just taking them out for you to see will cost one silver coin, and that’s one silver coin per item. Are you sure you want to see them? This is the list.”

It had probably been a long time since anyone had bought a trigger-activated magic item. The female clerk stood on a stool and, on her tiptoes, pulled out a piece of paper from the top shelf of the bookcase behind her. After dusting it off with a brush, she carefully handed it to Yisi. Yisi chose two relatively practical items from the list.

“Let me see these two.”

“The ‘Barrier Necklace’ and the ‘Fire Nullification Ring’? I understand. However, the price of these two items is very high. If you don’t have that much money on you…”

“A hundred gold coins and sixty gold coins.”

They sound impressive just from their names.

Considering that trigger-activated magic items were life-saving items in times of crisis, the price was actually not particularly expensive. Yisi had initially thought that such items would start at least a hundred gold coins.

“Bring these two over for now.”

“Of course. Please wait a moment.”

As if afraid that Yisi would just walk away, the female clerk hurried off. About ten minutes later, she returned, drenched in sweat, with a man dressed as a scholar, a monocle pinned to his chest.

“It’s these two young ladies.”

“I see.” Unlike the female clerk’s trepidation, the young man did not seem to take Yisi and Laxy seriously, wearing an impatient look as he casually tossed the magic-infused necklace and ring onto the table. “These are the best quality Barrier Necklace and Fire Nullification Ring. If you want to buy them, hurry up. I have to go to an auction with my master soon.”

“Are these really the best quality?”

The items on the table made Yisi unable to resist asking. When she saw the names “Barrier” and “Fire Nullification,” she had thought they were quite powerful items. But judging from the amount of magic power they emitted, they could only be described as shabby, at most capable of withstanding a second-tier magic.

“Huh? You think I’d lie to you?” The young man’s face was instantly filled with anger. “This is a magic defensive item I crafted with my own hands. You won’t find a similar item of higher quality in the entire association. You must be a country bumpkin from outside to not even be able to tell—er?”

Before he could finish, the young man made a strange, inarticulate sound in his throat, as if he were a chick being strangled. Of course, it wasn’t that Yisi had actually strangled him. Rather, to test the strength of the magic item, she had lightly poked the “Barrier Necklace” with her index finger. Although the necklace had promptly generated a magic shield, it shattered in an instant. The shield’s thickness was even less than the lowest-level defensive magic Yisi could cast casually. To describe it, its strength was probably equivalent to a wooden door covered with a layer of iron sheet.

I overestimated the necklace’s ability. This level can at most withstand no more than three ‘Fireballs.’

As for the Fire Nullification Ring, Yisi also tested it. The so-called “fire nullification” turned out to be just the ring spraying water to extinguish flames when they appeared nearby. It wasn’t at all what Yisi had imagined, that she could walk through fire with it—no, considering the water-spraying feature, it couldn’t be said that it couldn’t let one walk through fire, but Yisi just felt that it lacked a certain something, very subtle.

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“You broke through the Barrier Ring’s defense so easily?! You didn’t secretly swap the ring with something else, did you?”

His widened eyes were filled with disbelief. The young man snatched the necklace from the table and checked it again and again. Laxy couldn’t help but sigh.

“A thousand years have passed, and human technology has regressed to this extent. As the Angel of Guidance, this feeling is truly hard to describe.”

Laxy’s turning motion as she sighed exposed the red and white rapier at her waist to the young man. With just one glance, the young man was as if struck by lightning. Forgetting the hundred-gold-coin item in his hand, he suddenly tossed it aside and, with an exaggerated display that neither Yisi nor Laxy had expected, knelt down before Laxy with a thud.

It was not to kowtow to Laxy, nor was it to ask for a favor. The man had focused all his attention on the sword at Laxy’s waist. His enraptured gaze reminded Yisi of lovers in the throes of passion.

“Sir Jeff, what are you doing?”

The female clerk hurried to the young man’s side, looking as if she wanted to pull him up but was afraid of offending him. The difference in their status was clear at a glance.

The young man’s body jolted. His eyes gradually regained their clarity. Although his face was filled with embarrassment, his gaze still couldn’t be torn away from the sword at Laxy’s waist. The impatience from before seemed to have never existed. Now, standing here was just a shy young man in the midst of a secret crush.

“I-I’m sorry… I lost my composure. When I saw this weapon, I felt as if my soul had been struck by lightning, and my body acted on its own. This beautiful angel, may I ask you to draw this sword and let me have a look? If I can’t see the full view of this sword today, I’m sure I won’t be able to sleep for several days, no, for the rest of my life… Ah, what a beautiful pattern…”

He soon fell into a trance-like state again.

And because of the young man’s actions, the other blacksmiths in the hall also turned their gazes over. Yisi and Laxy temporarily became the focus of the hall.

It felt like being hit by a spotlight.

“My lord, may I?”

“It’s just drawing the sword. If you want to, Laxy, go ahead.”

“Yes.”

When the red rapier, adorned with golden petals, appeared in the hall, a collective gasp was heard throughout the quiet hall. Everyone, including the blacksmiths standing far away, could not take their eyes off Laxy’s rapier.

The young man closest to them even let out a dazed “ah,” as if a person searching for the elixir of life had finally found the treasure at the end of their life. His lips quivered, and his whole body trembled with excitement.

“Sir Jeff, Master Avis is ready to leave. If you don’t go now, you’ll miss tonight’s auction.”

A man dressed as a guard hurried to the young man’s side. The young man’s face was complex, as if he were making some sort of life or death decision. He gritted his teeth and hesitated for a long time before speaking in a grave tone.

“An invitation from two peerless beauties… If only I hadn’t promised my master. Beautiful angel, please tell me your address. I must pay you a visit.”

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“The Ymir Temple.”

“The Ymir Temple? Please be sure to wait for me. I will definitely come with a heavy gift to thank you.”

After saying this, the young man turned away with a tragic expression of parting, as if he were a walking corpse, and was dragged away by the guard.

He’s not in love with Laxy, but with her sword?

Yisi had a feeling of wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. This young man must be someone who was obsessed with weapons, just like the other blacksmiths in the hall. Although those blacksmiths had not lost their composure like the young man named Jeff, they were also staring intently at Laxy’s sword.

I probably won’t find what I’m looking for today.

Yisi had a premonition that if she stayed here any longer, she would face something even more troublesome than being hit on by young nobles.

She also wondered what would happen if she took out the Laevateinn, which Laxy called the “Sword of Ruin.” According to Laxy, it was originally the weapon of the strongest fallen angel, Azazel, who had used it to kill countless demons and angels.

Fortunately, Cynthia soon returned from the second floor.

“What happened? The atmosphere here feels different from before. I heard it was quite noisy just now.”

“Well… basically, Laxy’s sword attracted a lot of people.”

Yisi recounted the general events to Cynthia. Cynthia tilted her head in confusion.

“A sword? Those guys do freeze up when they see a weapon, but only a very good weapon would catch their eye. Is it that amazing?”

With Yisi’s permission, Laxy drew the red and white rapier and handed it to Cynthia. For some reason, after trying to infuse the rapier with magic power, Cynthia began to use various martial skills in the hall like a child who had gotten a new toy. Various colored magic lights and martial skills appeared one after another. Even without an opponent, Cynthia was enjoying herself. What left Yisi at a loss for words was that the blacksmiths in the hall not only did not stop Cynthia, but instead watched her with envious eyes, even shouting that it was art and preventing the guards from stepping forward to stop her.

“My lord, the number of onlookers is increasing.”

“Mm, I know. Cynthia, it’s time to go.”

Without answering Yisi, Cynthia, drenched in sweat, poured the last of her magic power into the rapier and swung a slash forward. However, probably due to the intense physical exertion, the rapier, imbued with a magic blade, did not slash at the intended target but instead flew out of her hand straight toward the counter where the female clerk was.

“Eek!”

“Oh no!”

Cynthia, who had been immersed in the handy weapon just a second before, quickly came to her senses. However, due to her exhaustion and the long skirt, she almost fell to the ground trying to catch the rapier.

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Although judging from its trajectory, it was unlikely to hit the female clerk, it would be bad if an accident were to happen. Yisi promptly took out Gungnir from her storage and knocked the flying rapier down.

“Er… huff… are you alright?”

Cynthia, who had hurried over, grabbed the female clerk’s shoulder and asked with concern.

“I-I’m fine… thanks to this young lady.”

“Ah, thanks,” Cynthia said, picking up the rapier from the ground and handing it back to Yisi, her eyes filled with reluctance. “…It’s a really good sword. Maybe even better than the one on display at tonight’s auction. Speaking of which, the auction is about to start. I need to go there—I might be able to get some Tears of God. Master Avis is there too. Do you want to go?”

The form of address changed from ‘Your Eminence’ to ‘you’?

Noticing this, Yisi tilted her head slightly. To outsiders, it might seem impolite, but as far as she was concerned, the change in address meant their relationship had become closer.

“It’s fine. I have nothing to do anyway. Hm?”

I have a feeling of being watched.

Yisi subconsciously looked up. On the high balcony of the second floor was a black-haired girl with a long scythe on her back, her head veiled in black.

Lin?

Did she see that? But I didn’t use ‘Spatial Lock.’ I used Gungnir to block the sword. It shouldn’t arouse suspicion.

Yisi gave a small wave to the other party as a friendly gesture. The girl with the long scythe nodded in acknowledgment, then turned and left.

“…”

I feel like she said something, but the distance was too great to hear clearly, and I couldn’t see her lips under the black veil.

Yisi shrugged and looked away, pretending nothing had happened.

Better focus on the matter at hand.

…

“…Beaten to it again. Interesting.”

A cold voice that no one heard dissolved into the air.