Chapter 1027: Planting a Seed
Chapter 1027: Planting a Seed
Meltierre Empire.
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
Within the confines of a large smithy, a silver-haired man was hard at work, his expression serious as he focused all of his attention on the item he was making.
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
Looking to be in his early thirties, the man exuded a professional air about him, which easily melded with the work he was doing to bring about a sight that was mesmerizing to the eyes.
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
Then again, not many people usually entered the man's smithy, considering that he was forging equipment that would mostly be given to the royalty of the Meltierre Empire.
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
"And... done." Keeping his concentration at its maximum even up to his final hammer strike, Byron let out a wide sigh of relief after seeing that the weapon he was forging had reached the quality he intended it to.
Utilizing his identification skill on it, the man had a pleased smile on his face when he took a look at its properties.
After that, he wielded the weapon as if he were on the battlefield, pushing it to its very limits as the sound of the weapon cutting air echoed throughout the smithy for a few moments.
Nodding in satisfaction, Byron then put the weapon alongside the other items he'd forged so far, letting out an inward sigh of relief soon after.
"With that, I've fulfilled the quota they've asked me."
"I can finally get a bit of rest." Stretching out his muscles that have been taut all this time, Byron began to make his way out of the smithy, smiling as he thought about the things he'd do while no new quota had been given to him.
Though, just as he was about to step foot outside, the man had received a notification from who knows where, causing him to frown as a couple of people came to mind.
"Already?" Byron let out a faint sigh as he opened up his notification screen. "Those weapons would serve better purpose in the battlefield rather than in the hands of those in the Heavenly Court."
"Those ministers should really learn to... huh?"
Expecting the notification to be a message from the one that gave him the quota he finished
just now, it went without saying that Byron became somewhat speechless when he found out that the one who messaged him was someone else.
"Julian?"
Opening up a chat screen in front of him, Byron took the time to calm himself as he read through the message his friend sent him.
Seeing as Julian was asking him for a favor, asking him if it was possible for one of his blacksmiths to have a meeting with the Imperial Alchemist, the frown that disappeared from his face earlier soon crept up onto his lips once more as he rubbed his chin.
"That'll be hard," replied Byron to Julian's request after some time. "After all, we both know that she's incredibly busy due to her position."
As he responded back to Julian's message, the man began to ponder over why the man had brought up such a request in the first place.
Fortunately, it did not take long for that question to be solved, with Julian's response to his message being the answer to that specific question.
"Well... what if I told you that Ylvar wants to meet up with her?"
"Ylvar..." Continuing to rub his chin as he looked at the most recent message, Byron soon began to rummage through his memories, eventually recalling the forging duel he'd attended back in Algerie Kingdom.
With that, it did not take long for him to recall Julian's daughter, as well as the prodigy that Julian chose to represent the Blacksmith Guild in the Four Pillars' Inheritance.
"It's already been over 10 months since then," murmured the man to himself, faintly smiling as he recalled the superb talent the young man named Ylvar had shown during that duel.
"Forging an artifact at the peak of Rank 2," said Byron to himself soon after, eventually remembering everything he knew about Ylvar.
Even the time the Imperial Alchemist asked Julian about the young man.
'I should probably check with her first before I respond back to Julian's message.' With that thought in mind, Byron pushed the screen containing Julian's messages to the side before bringing up a screen to talk to Mystia.
Sending a few cordial greetings to Mystia, as well as a small apology, it did not take long for the two to start talking, with Byron using the pretext of having cooperated before to initiate the conversation.
Of course, with their cooperation having ended months ago, it did not take long for Mystia to see through the man's lies, prompting her to send a message that sounded harsher than usual. "Sir Byron, you and I both know we're busy with what the Heavenly Court has us do."
"It would be great if you could get straight to the point."
"...My apologies." With Mystia's words making him realize that he'd beaten around the bush for far too long, Byron went ahead and gave her a brief explanation of the favor Julian asked from him.
Naturally, he also brought up the name Ylvar, even going so far as to mention the feats he'd done in the past to help her remember.
Because of that, Mystia went silent for quite some time, causing Byron to briefly feel some nervousness as he immediately thought about the worst-case scenario.
Thankfully, none of the pessimistic thoughts in his mind came to fruition, with the response Mystia gave him being the exact opposite instead.
"And here I thought that young man would never take the opportunity to contact me," wrote Mystia in her message, causing Byron to imagine her slightly chuckling as she sent it.
"So, would that be a yes?" asked Byron back, wanting to make sure.
"What else would it be, then?" replied Mystia back.
After that, Mystia sent a string of messages to the man, causing the latter to be left at a loss for words as he felt like he'd glimpsed into a side of Mystia he'd never seen before.
Seeing how Mystia was going out of her way to have someone escort Ylvar to where she was, as well as reserve accommodations if ever Ylvar planned on prolonging his stay, Byron briefly felt a hint of jealousy towards the young man.
Then again, that jealousy immediately disappeared, reminding himself of the many years he'd already devoted to get to where he currently was.
With Mystia agreeing to Ylvar's visit, it did not take long for the conversation between the two of them to end, prompting Byron to return his attention back to Julian. Surprisingly, while the man was chatting with Mystia, Julian sent a message that made it
seem like he knew what was going on.
"So, what did she say?"
"..." Becoming silent as he was slightly taken aback by the message, it did not take long for Byron to relay everything Mystia had told him to Julian, even the part where she said Ylvar would be treated well once in the empire.
"Ylvar would be glad to hear about that," replied Julian after some time, causing Byron to imagine his friend smiling as he sent the message. "Thanks for your help, Byron. I owe you
one."
Smiling at his friend's words of thanks, he replied back, "Don't worry about it. As long as you treat me to a meal in the future, then we can call it even."
Closing up his chat screen with Julian after saying farewell to each other, it was only then did Byron finally leave the smithy, making his way to the one of the many streets the empire had that was lined up with various food stalls.
Unfortunately, as if the heavens were making a mockery out of him, he received a notification from someone just as he'd bought some food for himself.
Ding!
||
[You have received a message from Julius Augustus Zeihardt.]
"Shit."
...
After arriving at Astarto's town hall, it went without saying that many of the staff were left at
a loss for words when they saw Valyr arrive with Damian beside him.
In fact, Alfaera's personal guard had even appeared before them, glancing at Valyr as she
asked him what he was doing.
In response, Valyr gave Damian the center stage, prompting the latter to look at Claire's eyes as he talked about how he wanted to make amends with everyone.
Naturally, Claire was skeptical at first, being reminded of Alfaera and Tristan's story regarding how the Damian they knew had changed these past few months.
Yet, as she looked into the man's eyes, her gaze slowly began to waver as she realized that the
Damian she looked from afar in the past... the Damian Alfaera and Tristan knew...
He'd finally returned.
With that, Claire shifted her gaze back at Valyr for a bit before sending out a few messages
through the system.
Not long after, Alfaera and Tristan appeared at the town hall, only to become immediately silent once they saw Damian standing beside Valyr.
Thankfully, the deafening silence in the atmosphere immediately disappeared once Damian
took the initiative to apologize to the two for his actions, laying out the reasons why he'd changed the way he interacted with them the past few months.
In response, it did not take long for the two to warm up to Damian once more, prompting Valyr to smile at them as he decided to leave the town hall to give them privacy.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
With Damian's mark still taking effect, Valyr took it upon himself to dispose all of the vermin that were heading the man's way, making use of his Prime Azure Energy once more. "Hmm..." Staring at the small bolt of Prime Azure Energy he conjured, the young man soon wondered whether he could still make use of mana and Void Energy, considering how his current species converted all of his energies to just pure Prime Azure Energy. Fortunately, a bit of experimentation with the vermin was enough to answer his questions, realizing that he could convert his Prime Azure Energy into the energy type he needed.
'Though, with how much Prime Azure Energy is needed to convert it into the energy I want, it'd be better to just stick with Prime Azure Energy in the first place.'
With one of his queries answered, Valyr faintly smiled as he sat down at the front of the town hall, continuing to glance at the trio inside from time to time. Seeing as their relationship was slowly returning to how it was in the past, the smile on Valyr's face deepened, soon shifting his gaze off into the distance as he sent a command to the
system.
"[Power Impartation]."
Ding!
With the system swiftly responding to his command, the young man immediately felt a hint
of excitement and expectation as he looked at the screen before him. After all, he was about to fulfill one of the dreams he had in his past life.
And that was to give someone else a class he made himself.