Avac village - 3 weeks later - lunch time
Morning hours was the same as always, peaceful. Though nowadays it has becoming a little noisy, thanks to the aspiring adventurers that train themselves to the bone through the encouragement of their odd werewolf friend.
If we count the time that they been practicing from the beginning, it would be fair to assume that a few months has passed with great lengths of their bodies being stronger and more refined than what they were before.
Right at the moment, they were practicing with practice weapons to get a feel on them before moving to the real ones.
"Come on, you little grasshoppers! I can swing like that in my sleep!" Kenta laughed to himself, like he envisioned himself as one of those old stern masters he watched on the movies. He was floating in the middle of the air thanks to the [fly] spell that he was known of using it to not stand like a normal person, that and to make some of his famous antics on the village.
"Yes, sir!" They responded to him in unison as they resuming their previous trance with double the enthusiasm, specially Elizabeth, giving thrice more effort than the others.
"Hot damn, now they're picking up the pace." Kenta thought to himself, swelling his chest proud of them. He looked at each and everyone of them, analyzing the weapons that they now are practicing.
Andrew was using a halberd and a tower shield, practicing on how to wielding them effectively. The wolf was surprised by the choice of gear, he was certain that he would pick a sword or a bastard sword, but nevertheless it was a good thing. Now he could both attack and defend at a good pace, though the weight would certainly make him lose his breath very quickly, if he didn't commit to his training that is.
Next was Noel, that friend of Andrew wasn't really into close range, so he advised that maybe long range was for his fancy. How right on the money he was when he picked up a bow, but not wanting him to be left out on the close range, Kenta gave him a dagger for him to feel protected when the time calls. He can sometimes envision Noah as a ninja, if he gains the right skills.
After that one came Virgil, having seen the kid handle things so far with weights and how faithful he was due to his religion, it was hard to think of a good weapon for him to choose since he was also learning recovery magic. At the moment, he was practicing with a mace, gauging the weight and how practical it can be used in a battle. So far, he has no problems using it and is growing quite fond of it. Kenta wonders if he could also be good at summoning magic, like a tier two [Summon: Angel], with his faith and all.
Now that the guys are over with, now comes the girls. Let's start with the smallest of the bunch, Lil' Sue.
After Kenta got told by Chief Larson about how a person knowing [Fireball] is automatically a really big deal, he told the little girl another spell that she can use without drawing too suspicion towards her and only use [Fireball] when she really needs to. At the moment, she's practicing [Magic Arrow] and [Shock Wave]. Thankfully, she didn't sulk all that much, and was quite glad that she could use more spells, though she still liked her fire spell more. She says that it's cooler.
Grace was someone that surprised him with her choice. Normally, one would think that such a woman would utilize something that gave her mobility or that was practical to use, but instead she opted for something that gave a lot of damage and that it was relatively fast. Took a little thinking, but the end result was a little more than he thought she would take. A great curved blade.
Now the first thought of Kenta was, "What!?". The second one was, "Why!?". The third thought made things more sense, "Oh... Alright then. You wanted to be the powerhouse of the group, so you wanted something that gave big and that was somewhat easy to move."
And so, she is now using a blade that reached from her head to her knees, curving outwards. Now it was made out of wood, but still, it was weighted down thanks to some weights, making it closely resemble the real thing. Still, it was a odd pairing. He was not expecting that.
Finally it came for Elizabeth. She decided to try and copy Kenta, using only one sword as her means of attacking while having no shield or protection on her left hand. It was honestly a little heart warming for the werewolf to see someone take inspiration out of him. Though he didn't felt like she should just use a simple straight sword, so he made the extra step to give her something that was just a bit more powerful, but still light enough to not be overbearing. A broad sword would be enough for her to use.
The air whistled every time they swung or a breeze would pass with Sue practicing her [Shock Wave] spell from a few ways away. Despite not seeing the person next to him, he could feel the presence all too well.
"How's it going, wind spirit? You lookin' at their work or are you here to chat for a bit?" He asked while stretching his body before taking a sitting position on the air.
"You still surprise me on how you can feel my presence." She spoke feeling a bit unnerved about his heightened sense.
"Meh, it's a guessing game. Well, that and because you let a breeze pass by where you go." He replied back as he slowly floated down onto the ground and continued to look at them. "So, what's up?"
"Are you sure that it's wise to train them? I know that they've already shown perseverance on your irregular training, but wouldn't it be better for them to stay in the village and serve as a guard order?" She questioned towards him, sitting beside him despite Kenta not seeing her doing this action.
"If you want a guard, then the giant can handle the heavy work and the light work can be given to the village guards." He responded while pointing towards the giant that was sitting down and letting the children play on his lap, or watching them play. "If I want to guess anything, then I'd say you don't want them and me to leave here because of Sue, right?"
No response, but it was enough of an answer for him. If those five were to leave the village then Sue would be sad that they left her. Despite Sue having her parents back again, she still feels attached to the people training alongside her, the feeling of camaraderie had made her feel apart of something. Then came the day where the werewolf would leave, how he affected her life more than anyone in the village could.
"It's understandable. I mean, even though I've been here for a few months at the very least, I could scope out things more than enough on what the kids and the villagers were feeling. Lack of food, lack of protection, lack of a good tools, lack of a good life... It was obvious that they needed help and not the kind of help that it would be over in a full day. Nah, that would be too much for anyone to handle." He explained as he decided to lay down to his left side, just in front of the wind spirit.
"Then, you stayed behind for that purpose? To help them?" She asked incredulously of his words.
"Nobody asked me nor nobody told me to. It's just... how can I say this without being cheesy..." Murmured to himself before taking a pause and thinking for a bit.
"To help a village, you have to consider it as a person. It takes time to heal, to recover. Spending some time with it to become better never hurt no one, heck it helps create a bond with everyone! Kids, teenagers, adults, elders, everyone needs help with something, make it humans, make it demi humans, or even spirits.
I don't mind spending some time to get to know people. Don't mind trying to understand them either. Don't mind give a helping hand for them to have a better standing in life or even mind trying to bond them.
If I want people to smile, then I gotta put some effort forward, while having fun. If you have fun and share it with people, then sooner or later they'll start to accept it, slowly but surely. I wanted to help, because I want to help. No strings attached, no alternative motives. Just the kindness of my own heart. Damn that sounded cheesy still!" He chuckled at that while watching them continue to train.
Hearing those words, the wind spirit was baffled to the point of not knowing how to respond. It was just surreal for someone, especially for a werewolf to have that mindset. They usually are beast like in nature, yet his was more humane than what she had encountered so far. Much more human than most. More kinder and understandable than... her own kind.
She hovered her hand over the top of his head, yet hesitated. She wanted to show herself, now more than ever towards him, to let him see her. But the rule of the spirits are to only reveal themselves to magic casters, the only time warriors are supposed to see them are when they fulfilled certain requirements or when they have done the trial of the spirits. He has not done the trial, but he is getting her respect, possibly more out of her.
"I'm not supposed to say this, but if you promise not to tell to Sue or the others, I'd really appreciate it." His voice was the same, but the tone seemed sad.
"I'll keep it shut tight." She responded to which he gave her a thumbs up to her.
"The festival a couple of days from now, after it's over, the next morning or the day after I'm taking those five out of the village towards the nearest town with a guild and make them adventurers." This made her freeze. He just announced to her that their time here was coming to an end, but he put a hand up and continued. "After three assignments, or missions or whatever they are called, I'm leaving the group to themselves."
"P-Pardon?" She stuttered at the revelation. He would leave them after three whole quests? "Why? Why would you leave them?" She asked with still a surprised tone. He simply waved his hand with a chuckle.
"If you want someone to grow, then they have to learn the world by themselves. Me being with them, will make them have a crutch with me bailing them out when things get too dicey. So, I'm just going to watch on those three missions. If their lives become in danger, then I'll step in, but only for a moment. They can't have a guardian over their heads all the time, a safe line as I call it. They have to see, to feel what it truly means to be an adventurer. Me being there will take away that feeling, how the real world really is." He explained in a mature manner, uncommon by his standards.
However, it was the truth, they truly needed to learn things by themselves and not by second hand. First hand will make them fall, but if they have the resolve as they have so far in training to stand up again, then they'll learn and become even stronger.
"That's... really mature of you, Kenta. I'm impressed." She responded back while still feeling a bit shaken. That was a lot to take in for a simple conversation.
"I'm not really worried about them." He spoke with a smile as he laid down on his back and looked at the blue sky, not seeing the invisible spirit looking at him straight on with her amber eyes. "I'll put my trust on them being okay, that's the best a trainer like me can do for now. Having faith that they'll make through thick and thin together."
She didn't responded, but it was difficult for her to believe that they'd do well. They were merely villagers that had no prior training, training that needed years to perfect yet they were ready in a mere few months? That was irresponsible, too rash on getting them on track of their dream. Too reckless to let them loose with only 3 quests.
"I guess I should start making their gear tonight and making a new sword for me as well. Thanks to chief Larson, now I know that my katana is an eye candy for warriors that are first rate and I don't wanna get attention to me so early in the game!" He spoke with a grunt to his predicament. "The rules here are weird, but hey I can't complain to no one, since they are already established." He stood up from his resting spot and did a few stretches, taking in a deep breath from the breeze flowing before exhaling in a confident grin.
"Alright, I'm good now! Yo! Got an announcement for you lot!" He shouted to them as he walked towards them. They stopped their training, resting their training weapons on the ground, sweat dripping down their face.
"What is it, Kenta? Is it about the skill training book?" Andrew asked, his tone towards the werewolf toned down quite a bit as they were tested on what kind of weapons they should take.
"Well, that too." He spoke as he looked at each one of them, they were tired from practicing the entire morning. Six long hours, their focus was tremendous and his cheering only added more fuel to their will.
"Is it another level of training? Because if it is, I'm seriously going to aim my bow towards you." Noel spoke a little annoyed, yet there wasn't any seriousness in his statement.
"I want to see if you could actually hit me, tough guy. But nah, not that either." He replied as he patted the guy on the shoulder with a toothy grin. "Just came here to tell you guys two important things. Number one! Tonight I'm going to start crafting your gear."
"You serious!? Heck yeah!" Andrew yelled in excitement as he was waiting for those words to come out. "You remember what I told you right? I want something that gives me some good protection! I'm going to be their shield after all!"
"Don't worry, I got everything..." He grabbed a notebook he had inside his vest and showed him. "Noted down right here. From you all the way to Elizabeth. In two days it should be ready for you guys to test it out and to make some changes to see if it fits nicely."
"Awesome! Can't wait to see what you'll think about making for us! By the way, what happened to the weapons that you sold?" Andrew asked curious to know what happened afterwards.
"Ah... Well that's a funny story actually. You see, a week ago the towns blacksmith came towards my place. He came screaming, nay demanding to know who in the village made such weapons, while holding onto one of my iron swords. Now at the time, I was behind the counter telling Lea and Tin that their next work would need a bit more tempering if they wanted to have a good product to sell. The blacksmith, later introduced himself as Fados, thought that I was one of the helpers and asked if I could bring in the master of the shop.
Lea and Tin were just looking at me with the obvious answer, but me? I had another idea, I told the two workers that I had to fetch 'the master blacksmith' of the shop with a wink. They immediately got the message and went out of my place for a bit, while I decided to talk with Fados. Biggest mistake I ever made.
He talked on and on about the blade being refined at such a point where the weight was decreased, yet the sturdiness and sharpness of the blade had become thrice as much stronger than anything he had saw in his entire life and how simple iron had become what he viewed on his eyes a master piece of a weapon. He asked me many things, like how long did the master took to craft such an exquisite weapon, what kind of technique did he use, the timing of each swing, the kind of coal he used on his furnace, what odd tools did he had to make it, what kind of oil had he used.
All of this was the span of 10 full minutes, to which I told him back that everything here was the same as any other blacksmith shop, apart from the coal, that was a trade secret. As if I was gonna tell him that, the nerve of him asking this to just copy it later I bet!
Anyways, Lea and Tin than arrived back on the shop and Fados immediately asked them if they had found the master. They smiled before pointing towards me, which I had a toothy grin on me before flat out saying 'You've been talkin' to him, chum!'
Never have I seen a persons expression change in the span of a few seconds before bowing down to me. Obviously, I didn't know how to react as he did it all of a sudden! There I was dumbfounded at the scenario, while this grown man, on his mid thirties or forties, bowing down to me like I was the second coming of the god of blacksmithing!
Then he told me that after all his years on the job, he saw a couple of people outshine him, but that my work, those weapons that I made? It went beyond their previous works, heck just one of the daggers that were in the box had more pristine than one of their master blacksmiths!
Now, I'm no cocky bastard, it's not in my nature to openly say my mind on how he considered my work beyond a master smith, but I felt proud of it. Though I had him show me his work or one of theirs if he could, he gladly showed me a small straight sword that he had made for protection and I looked at it.
Immediately I saw flaws here and there, it wasn't tempered enough, not enough treatment on it either, or even hammered to an optimal point. I told Lea to bring the sword that she made to show him. She's my pupil and there was a clear enough distinction between both blades.
He was baffled! He was beaten by a girl so young and he asked her how she became so good. I answered for Lea the best way I could towards a fellow artisan. 'Because she values quality than quantity. If you make a weapon or a piece of armor, you can't just make a regular sword and call it there. Each item we create, it needs to be made to last, to not overburden the user, to show them that the owner is wielding a piece of work that took time and care to be made. A blacksmith can only create and improve his craft, so that his next work has a higher chance to save a life, even if it's by the sliver of their hair.'
Once he heard those words, he slowly nodded and told the girl that she has the luck of the world on her being a pupil with a real master smith. He nearly left with a saddened look, until I told him, that 'no matter how skillful or how good I might be, I can still learn something new from someone. You have experience, don't you? Then what's the problem of improving what you have right now?'
And boy when he looked at me, it was light a flame was rekindled on his spirit, it wasn't the good ol' I'll do my best kind, it was of competition. Guess my work and words inspired him or somethin'. I was gonna ask him about the newby smith that sold this village some poor excuse for farming tools, but I didn't want to ruin the moment."
"Why am I not surprised that you outshine the blacksmith... You are just too much, Kenta!" Andrew said chuckling a bit at the explanation, one where it was joined by the werewolf as well.
"What can I say? I'm good! A good bastard, that is!" He replied back as he stretched himself before putting two fingers up. "The second announcement is the following, three days before the festival, the training will be on hold until after the festival."
The moment he spoke those words, they cheered in delight, since they wanted to go there and have fun, however the smile on his face was a bit odd.
"I guess you can consider this as a farewell party from the village." He spoke aloud as they looked at him with a slight pause.
"A... farewell party? Who's leavin'?" Noel asked with some uncertainty, but more than anything curious to know who.
"Hmm... I could tell you, but where's the fun in that? Nah, you'll have to wrap your heads on it!" He replied back with a grin and having his hands behind his head. They thought about it, but got squat from him. Except from Elizabeth, she seemed more shocked than anything. "Tomorrow we'll train your skills, using the book similar to lil' Sue's. After using it, you'll practice yourselves the skill until a day before your vacation of training! Let me warn you, your final test is gonna be me, I gotta see if everything is in order to let you bastards out there to kick some ass and take some names under your belt!"
"Ah man, I'm getting excited! Skills, gear, a test, a leave of training for the festival! This is definitely the best thing this month, hands down!" Andrew cheered as he was getting pumped up with energy.
"I agree! If we pass the test, then we can start earning our own money and support the village by ourselves. My parents are gonna be thrilled once I tell them the news!" Virgil said with his spirits high. Wanting to do his contribution as well than to simply praying, he enjoyed it but it didn't bring any bread onto the table.
"What are you gonna do, Grace? I bet you have it planned out." Noel asked, a slip of his own when she clapped her hands together and gave a cute twirl.
"What else, Noel? I'm going to enjoy myself to the fullest! Isn't that right, ken-ta~!" She said in such a seductive tone while reinforcing her cute factor in, that the training guys winced before looking at the werewolf where he had a very stoic expression.
"Okay." That was enough for the guys to have a giggle fit as the blond pouted at the lack of emotion from him, while Sue was looking at them confusedly. Elizabeth clenched her hand a bit too tightly on her practice sword, making it tremble a bit.
"Besides that comment Grace, today's training has ended. You're free to do what you want the rest of the day." He announced to them with a smile, to which most answered with glee and relief. They rolled their shoulders as to somehow massage their stiff shoulders.
"Hey, do you mind if we have lunch together?" Elizabeth asked the werewolf out of nowhere. Kenta blinked twice before thinking to himself.
"Well, I was gonna go home right away and start work on their gear, skipping lunch altogether. I mean, I've got to do five armor sets and weapons and a tower shield, which wasn't that difficult to me at least in the creation part. The drafting part though, that's the hard part since I want them to be unique." He thought to himself, before his stomach reminded him that food was important as well.
"Welp, that's my answer to that question. Alright Elizabeth, I'll take you on your offer!" He responded with a grin, to which her expression brightened significantly. As if she gotten the chance to show her cooking skills to him.
"Come to my place in half an hour, I'll cook up a feast for us!" She immediately began to run towards her place, sword in hand and with spirits as high as the clouds themselves, it was oddly satisfying to see her go so upbeat.
The guys and Grace, with the exception of Sue and Andrew since he was dense, chuckled with a grin on their faces as they looked at their trainer with a knowing look. One that made the werewolf annoyed.
"What? Got something to say to me?" He asked, despite fully knowing what they were doing. They waved at him, while giving the casual response of 'oh nothing, nothing.' While Grace added 'darling' at the end of hers. "Whatever, I gotta head to my workshop to start crafting the drafting of your weapons."
"Good work, mister Fluffy!" Sue hopped in place, looking almost like a bunny with her small hops, waving him goodbye with a cheerful smile. He waved at her back and once he was behind a house he put a hand over his chest and took deep breaths.
"God damn that child! That innocence and cute factor of hers is enough for even me to faint! How can she be so cute with her actions? Is it on purpose?" He mumbled to himself as he recomposed himself and made his way through the paved street of the village.
Nothing really changed on it, with the exception of some decorations that gave the feeling that festivities were getting close. The kids were running around, happily playing with each other while the adults were having a casual conversation with each other.
Thanks to the wall that was built and a literal giant overlooking their security, they felt reassured that they'd be able to breathe more easily than they ever could, not to mention their food supply has been dealt with and their tax collection as well. Better tools for day-to-day activities and even blacksmith apprentices that could now do maintenance over equipment and even a hot spring for everyone to relax their weary bodies.
"Hard to believe that this is the same Avac Village from a few months ago. I guess I made quite the impact here." He quietly stated as he casually walked, carefree of any problems.
"Ah Kenta, just the person I was looking for!" Chief Larson spoke up from his conversation with another person, making the werewolf turn his head in his direction. "Would you mind having a look at our list of attractions? They are mostly about family recipes and the odd sport."
"You sure about that? Pretty sure that, that is related to- Ah right, I forgot for a moment that right now I'm the head of the village, per se." He spoke before taking the list, there he saw a big problem on his part as he started to sweat a bit. "Umm... I, uh, can't read this language."
"Pardon? A-ah that's right, I forgot about the sign incident completely, with everything that happened so far." Larson scratched his right cheek embarrassingly, an action that was mimicked with Kenta.
"Nah is cool. I mean, I don't blame you for this! I've been far too busy to just sit down and actually ATTEMPT to learn your language. I guess I should've started a few months ago to somewhat get the gist of it." He shyly replied as he put himself next to the chief and hovered the paper so that both could see. "You mind telling me what's written here?"
"But of course! This column holds all the participants, as you can see, there are a total of 11 people that want to take part on the cooking section. They enjoy cooking and like to share it with the young lings and others, before we couldn't really put a festival in the village unless something really extraordinary happens, but this year with everything that has happened, it can't wait any longer." He informed with a faint smile on his lips.
"Heh, guess I'm responsible for those happenings, sorry for that!" He joked around with it, earning a small chuckle from the man himself, which took away some of the awkwardness from before.
"Then there's around 4 people that want to make a small exercise for everyone, except for infants and elderly. I'll be supervising to see if there are any problems. About 2 people want to try to paint for quick cash, I've already seen their paintings and they are decent. I'm still surprised that they were able to acquire pigments."
"Hey people got their ways of getting stuff. Look at me for example." He received a nod as the chief knew that better than anyone else. "So are these the only things that are gonna be on the festival?"
"Yes. Is there something wrong with it?" Larson inquired as the wolf seemed disappointed with the list, as if something was missing.
"Tell ya what. Add my name to the list, I'll make sure you guys get some sounds to go along." He gave his usual wolf grin to the chief, which meant another one of his projects.
"Alright... what are you going to do? Create something on live or is it a training session for everyone to see?" He asked as those were for now the only things that the wolf was proficient, apart from building.
"How about we make it a mystery? It'll be a surprise until I show up!" As he said that, the chief was a bit unsure if he should be worried or not. "Oh lighten up! I'm not gonna do anything dangerous, I'm just going to liven up the event. I'll use some magic, but don't worry, everything is under control." He assured him, which calmed his insecurities for now.
"Alright, I'll put you in. When do you think you should act?" He asked just in case he should push the acts forward.
"Last day of the festival. Last act." He grinned towards the man, to which that made him release a satisfying sigh.
"Alright, I'm fine with this. But... you do know that the final act will be when the sun is starting to set right? Everyone will feel spent from everything else." He informed to which the werewolf waved his hand dismissively.
"That's completely fine for me! Let's me have all the time in the world to relax and play around."
"You're name is in the list. Now I'm curious as to what you're going to do." Larson gave a small smile as the werewolf grinned at him while giving two thumbs up.
"Just imagine something entertaining! Because I'm going to make ya'll scream in excitement!" He responded while walking backwards. "I gotta go now, need to start drafting the equipment for our rising adventurers! And Elizabeth asked me to meet up with her at her home, I'm having good food today!"
"Elizabeth, well isn't that nice of her." He responded with a wry smile, as he and quite a few villagers found her crush on their new friend. By the looks of it, he hasn't caught wind of it yet.
Kenta went on his merry way, while waiving a goodbye to the village chief towards his shop. He still had time to spend to sketch the armor and weapons he had in mind before heading towards his feast of a lunch.
Once inside, he saw Lea and Tin having a break from their smithing exercise, which was to create new tools for them to use and a piece of shoulder armor, leather or iron would do just fine for them. Their skin glistered in the sun, due to the sweat they produce during their smithing. They were drinking cold water that Kenta always kept in a cooler nearby for them to drink, which can be considered a revolution in their eyes to preserve food and to keep things cool.
"Yo! How's your homework going?" He asked them in a bright mood as he grabbed his notebook and a pencil to start sketching the weapons first.
"So-so on my part. I'm having some difficult creating the pliers and my shoulder piece is basically finished, I just need to put my mark." Tin responded while taking a deep breath, he was clearly fatigued. He decided to have something simple for his mark, Taking inspiration from Kenta's own mark, he simply made a full moon with a big 'T' in the middle.
"I'm having difficult with the shoulder piece, but my tools aren't that great too, a little crooked if I'm being honest, but it fits me like a glove!" Lea responded to him while taking another sip from her cold beverage. Her mark was different from the both of them. Instead drawing inspiration from her master, she went ahead to put a sword in the middle with wings that stretch out, something that Kenta thought it was cool for her, openly voicing his mood towards her, which made her blush of embarrasement.
"I'd say to try to straighten the tools, even if they fit you like a glove. Other people don't have the same opinion when they hold tools that are crooked. Trust me, I made crooked tools too and experienced bad memories when I used them. Because I was so used to straight tools, I would hit myself countless times on my fingers and it would hurt like a mother trucker." He pointed his pencil at her while doing small circles with it, as to try to gesture her, before returning to his notebook.
"What are you drawing there?" She asked curiously, before scooting over to him and getting a better look at his drawing. On top she didn't understand the words written, but it said 'Andrew'. The page was filled with words with details and numbers, while the drawing was about a full plated armor with a helmet that covered the entire face, with the visor having a thin star shaped opening, allowing for the person to see well.
Looking a more closer detail, she saw that the plate armor was actually thin compared to the rest of the shop, yet it seemed much more refined. The places where movement would be restricted would be shaved off enough to move normally while still offering decent defense. Actually, in everything of the drawing, it looked like defense was the priority yet mobility was also part of the equation.
Next to the armor specifics, there was a long kite shield that would thin down as it reached the ground. In terms of the design of the shield, there was a curious circle in the middle with what looked like vines that went from the side before intercepting each other and reach the circle.
There was also a halberd next to the armor and by far it didn't look like any halberd that Lea ever saw in her life. Instead of the standard one composed of a long crescent blade, a spike at the top and a hammer on the back, this one had only a long crescent blade with a sturdy long pole that would be easy to grip with both hands, while with one hand would be difficult due to the weight that a halberd would be.
"Woah! That looks so cool! Is that our new project, Kenta?" She asked excitedly to him, thinking that this would be the biggest challenge that they would be doing. She was then hit on the forehead with a finger flick.
"Nah, this one's on me. After all, I'm in charge of creating the armors and weapons for our aspiring adventurers." He responded with a grin, but she pouted at his childish flick.
"Meanie... I really thought that it was our time to make stuff." She said sounding disappointed.
"Sorry, sorry. But you aren't ready yet to take on this challenge. You'll be ready soon, but not now. Not while you're having some trouble with your homework." He replied in a joking manner to her, making her pout even more, adorably might he add.
"Still, this is one hell of an order that I need to fill. It's not that I can't do it, it's just that I need a good amount of focus while doing it. Which means that we'll be sharing our tools with each other, since I'm joining the forge with you guys at the same time after I come back from lunch."
"Oh yeah, it's lunch time! Come on Tin, today's your turn to treat me."
"Again? I swear Lea, it almost feels like you enjoy my mother's stew a bit too much." Tin replied with some sweat dropping down his left cheek.
"I can't help it! It's just soooo~ good! I gotta learn the recipe one day for myself!" She said while already thinking ahead of the flavor on her taste buds.
"Hmm..." Kenta hummed to himself as the two kids talked with each other like always, except he was smiling, if anything he had this sense of longing on his expression. It was odd for the werewolf to have such a face before putting his attention back to his book, then an idea came to be in his head for a final test for them. "Alright, that seems good enough to ask. Lea, Tin. A moment, if you would!" His expression brightened, taking whatever he had in his mind and placing it elsewhere for the moment.
"Yeah? Did you suddenly thought that we can take the order!?" She asked excitedly, and Tin's eyes were glowing alongside her, meaning he wants to do it as well.
"Well you can't take their order, I ain't repeating myself on that account, buuuut~" He dragged out before he brought his thumb up and pointing at himself. "Ya boy needs it! Soon our adventuring friends are going out and about, but I don't have that good of an armor and clothes! I mean, I haven't changed clothes since I've arrived here! That's no good, not one bit! And the chief told me that my sword would draw a heck of a lot of attention towards me.
So Tin and Lea, I'm giving you both your final test with a time limit. Make me a blade and armor for me to use on my adventure before the festival is over, that is your test." He announced to them to which they took a moment to let the information sink in and almost in sync they mumbled 'Yes!' under their breaths multiple times before they shot their arms up and screamed: "We'll do it!" With much more passion in their eyes than they ever had, more towards Lea and Tin sounded tired yet with motivation.
"Leave it to us, Kenta! Your jaw will fall once we complete our job! You'll have the best darn' armor and sword that you'll ever use!" She proclaimed with confidence in her tone, clearly spending too much time with the wolf, if it was a given.
"I already have so many designs in my head! Should we give him plate armor? Chain mail? A mix? Or maybe leather?" Tin thought aloud to himself.
"Definitely leather!" Lea responded back quickly.
"Tough?"
"Yeah! Maybe we should dye it, just to make him look cool!"
"But what color would be good with him?"
"Kenta! What's your favorite color!?"
"Kid, I'm not giving you any hints. Surprise me!"
"Free reign on the colors! Free reign on the supplies! Free reign on the design! Aaaaaa!" She screamed in ecstasy towards the challenge, much more than her homework assignment. So many ideas are rushing in her head, so many materials for her to use. A scarlet flame was lit, and by god it was burning brighter than anything in the village has ever seen!
"I'll leave you guys alone then, don't forget to eat lunch and finish your tools and shoulder piece!" He warned them before putting his notebook back on his pocket, inside his leather vest and leaving his shop, since he didn't have that much time before meeting Elizabeth.
"We will Kenta! Have a nice lunch!" Tin replied while at the same time throwing his cup of tea into the fire of ideas of the youth in front of him. They were going to be busy for a good while with that challenge.
"Today looks like a good day to just laze around... wish I could lie down in the grasslands and just take in the peace of this place. But first comes food and second comes work!" He said to himself optimistically while walking towards his newest destination, Elizabeth's home.
