Chapter 42

One of the problems with my fire resistance was I was only immune to the damage. I was not, in any way, immune to the side effects. A few minutes into starting, both the wagon's mini furnace and the workshops larger brick forge creeping their ways up to about 1600c or so, there was no way I could wear my armour unless I wanted to sweat to death.

Tetsu on the other hand was loving it. Being mostly cold blooded, she was reluctant to step away from the orange/grey heat sources.

Then there was the Shield. Being unable to take it off meant unless I hid it under something, there was no way to hide who I was to the first person who had a clue about the legendary weapons. Not really. So, I took a page from a friend from Orario, and ran 'distraction'.

"Wow, you look kinda like me now." Tetsu said, doing a curious little orbit of me as I re-entered the shop from a quick trip to the wagon. "But why are you wearing bandages?"

After putting my magic black house robe away, I got myself into a pair of Raphtalia's spare pants (a little tight on the thighs, good space in the rear, perfectly sized hole for my tails), and bound my breasts like Tsubaki the Cyclops, the Hephaestus Familia Captain. Even with 'growing' into a new body, I kept up the exercise and was a slightly more busty version of 'the Amazon beauty' from back home.

As for the Shield, I'd set it to the Book Shield, and chained it to my belt, covering it with a bit of leather to keep the embers from the forge off it. If anyone asked, it was my 'sacred book'. And thanks to the most wonderful Raccoon Girl I never knew I needed, I could speak the local language and pretend the book wasn't auto-translating everything I heard and said.

Oh, and I looked pretty good, so most eyes wouldn't be looking in that direction anyhow, especially when I got to hammering.

"If you ever get to be this size, you'll know why." I said, giving her a headpat, then tugging her closer for an actual hug. "Now, from what I can tell," I had to pause as she returned the hug, my ribs creaking since her small body did not change her dragon strength, "Gently you."

Her eyes crossed at the nose boop, but she relaxed a little.

"From what I can tell, dragon teeth and scales are going to be very difficult to work with at my current strength." I let myself enjoy her cooler body just a moment longer, then stepped back. I still kept a hand on her head though, "So, I'm going to need you to be my second. So I'm going to need you to be as clever as possible, and follow my instructions."

"And I am a clever girl!" She stated proudly, puffing out a little and grinning, "Um... Though... you still haven't..."

I thought for a moment about what she was on about, then remembered, "Aha, that will be tonight for sure. I promise." I took my hand away, "Now, just like before, we're going to hit it a little harder each time until I say okay..."

To start, as most weapon makers do, I made a dagger. It was a quick, simple project that let me get a good idea on how well these teeth took to being forged. I was no where near Welf's level of instinctual 'feeling' for materials, my mind still too set on 'science' when it came to this kind of thing, but I wasn't bad. I was sure I could use the broken bits of tooth for something anyhow, and hoped they'd melt down and alloy with other metals while I tried making a second dagger.

Our first customer came in almost exactly when I said we'd be ready too.

Big, mean looking, covered in scars, he reminded me of 'Conan son of Tank' from Freya Familia. Oh, except for the metal arm, since this guy had both flesh arms still.

"Heard a new smith was setting up shop here. You do more than just tack and harness then?" He grunted, not caring that I was in the middle of hammering, but patient to wait until I was done before expecting a reply.

"Take a moment, lemme know when that pot stops making 'bloop' noises." I said to Tetsu before turning to look up at the man. It was obvious he was giving me 'the eye'. But that was okay, being underestimated was useful. "If it's metal, I can work it. Even if its not, there's a good chance I can anyhow."

He looked doubtful, but shrugged before pulling a 'well loved' blade from its sheath. "Can you fix her? Been my friend for years, but well..."

I accepted the blade and knew at a glace this thing was on its last legs. Even without the (stupid unneeded status screen that was telling me things I already knew) Shield's input, I knew this wouldn't survive another fight. But, I could also tell he had indeed cared for it. I could respect that.

So, with the pommel over one palm, the end of the blade over the other, I said seriously, "I can keep the hilt and balance, but would have to melt down the blade to reforge it. I could sharpen it, smooth out the edge again, but it would likely be the last time you survived using her." I made sure to keep my tone reverent, like I was talking about a sick family member, not an over-sharpened and notched piece of steel.

For someone who looked like he could wrestle and eat a bear while its family watched, he looked stricken. Zeltobe was so much different it seemed when it came to 'attitude' towards demi-humans. "How much?" He asked.

I told him my price, using the Ringmaster's rough tutorial for such things, then adding a tiny bit to either get more money, or encourage barter (for that guilty pleasure I had for being a merchant). "Return a little before lunch." I said, "If you wished for something past the magic steel and blood coating, I can accommodate, but..."

He looked hopeful, but again he surprised me. Instead of asking for something outlandish, he took a ruby about the size of a robin's egg from a pouch, and put it in my palm, "Can you set this back in the pommel? Nothing else."

The size of the gem was a bit surprising, and what I thought was a 'skull crusher' pommel that had seen one too many skulls, was really an abused three prong setting for the gem. "I'll have her looking her best a little after lunch then."

And he left, pausing only long enough to hand half my payment to my apprentice Tetsu (who gave the sad consumer of bear families a cheerful wave, oblivious of his pain).

"Wow... this is a lot of shiny coins..." She commented as I carefully took the blade apart, "Oh oh! Is this our first... um... commission?"

"It is. But it will be a little longer before I can work on it, since I have to melt this part here down, add in a bit of new metal, and then start hammering it. Let's get back to this stuff. I'm getting an idea on how to work it." I put the coins away, applied a headpat to the near endless fountain of cheer that was Tetsu, and felt better about the world after seeing someone who reminded me of just about every serious adventurer back home (except the bear eating part).

(Melty and Kunshu)

Melty, in an effort to be less 'noble looking', had changed her appearance a little. There wasn't much she could do to change her height, being human and not quite a teenager yet. But she'd pulled her hair back into a single long braid, polished the leather and metal of her 'protect the squishy bits' armour that Kodori insisted she wear (with good reason considering the fight with the Tyrant), and wore her weapons openly.

Confidence. She had that, but needed to look like she had that, in a city of mercenaries and gladiators.

Kunshu, her 'store security' however... Well, she liked the tall mildly female looking insect. But only so much as one could when looking at someone who only looked humanoid but was clearly not human at all. She didn't mind her clinging to her back, since for all her size she didn't seem to weigh much, but being alone with her made her feel... odd.

However, past all the unfamiliar feelings for the nearly alien creature that was Kunshu, Melty very much appreciated that the customers she did get were even more unnerved by her than she was. Being royalty, she was used to having guards around. They were kind of like furniture that you could talk to about any number of things, while being dangerous to things you didn't want around.

But while the Empress Bee filled the position of 'guard', and her customers recognized this instantly when they entered the shop, she did not give off the impression of 'furniture'. Unreadable face, sharp and well made spear, and not needing to move her head to make you feel like you were being watched...

Even if the giant Bee was wearing an apron with a fox logo on it (the same one on the shop sign just outside the door), she was so alien and different, that only the bravest would think of testing her skills to deter shoplifters or trouble makers.

Oh, Melty also appreciated that Kunshu could reach the top shelves of the store without issue.

(Usa and Clive)

"AND OUR NEW DUO TAKE THEIR FIRST VICTORY!" An enthusiastic voice roared into a magic based megaphone.

Usa and Clive had started their day with a basic 'do and do not' tutorial for the arena. Ten minutes later, they were fighting their first doubles battle. As per the Ringmaster's advice, they had started with 'the rookie' arena. Low pay, low bets, but a good warm up for those new to the fighting pits. It was, in the Ringmaster's words, "A good way to start a legend! Yes Sir!"

Usa, being unfamiliar with just about everything but the fighting part, asked, "We are strong enough for something bigger, aren't we?"

"Of course! But if you did that, you might be mistaken for a 'ringer'! The betting pools would be hopelessly lost on the odds to give you! You might also attract the attention of the champions early." The Ringmaster said ominously. "You are not ready for them, no sir."

And so, the two locked their weapons away, were given reasonable equivalents that had a special enchantment on them that all but prevented them from being lethal (but felt like they really wounded you), and sent into the ring. They would start here, fight once every half hour to an hour, and tomorrow, if they still had the stomach for it, they would move to more... dangerous arenas.

(Raphtalia)

Raphtalia was conflicted. It was embarrassingly obvious, now that she had been given the proverbial splash of water in the face, that she was all but pining for Kodori. But, she had been given that cold sprinkle of water, and could at least look at her feelings with a little more of a clear head.

She was a little bitter over it all. But she'd at least been let down gently. That much she could sort out on her own. But now, she had this weird void in her chest about what to do about it.

So, she threw herself into her 'work', just to get her mind off it for the moment. Her work though, was kind of nebulous. She had three Occulus on her person right now, one for each of the other teams. So if they had a problem that needed an extra pair of hands, or all hands, she could make it happen. But until then, she had no 'work' to do with the party.

So, she was in the Ringmaster's tent, feeling a little anxious as she toured the rows and rows of slave cages. Beside her was one of the huge Metallica (she had no idea why Kodori called them this) clowns, who was dutifully marking down cage numbers as she spotted people who looked familiar. As with the slaves from Melromarc, they couldn't speak, and Raphtalia didn't dare speak to them and potentially give them false hope.

But there was one thing Raphtalia wasn't conflicted about with Kodori. She said she would help her free the people of her home, and so far her... little sister(?) had never lied to her. She kept secrets, that much was obvious, but when it came to putting 'word' to 'deed'...

And so she walked the rows of cages, hoping to find more of her village, while hoping she stopped finding more of them here...

(Kodori)

I never got his name, so I'll call him 'Bear' (short for 'bear eater'). Bear's sword was essentially a lost cause. For the blade, I snapped it into small palm length fragments, added some thin bars of steel I already had heating up, wired it together, added clay, and tossed it into the furnace to get to temperature.

Between heats, I worked on 'store pieces'. Dragon tooth knives mostly.

With Tetsu's help as my second, we hammered Bear's sword shards into a 'sword shaped object'. Folding it a couple of times, twisting it a couple of times, then folding it again just to be sure it had all mixed well and there were no cracks in the steel. Once that was done, I put the blade-like object into an oven above the furnace (like a small pizza oven) and closed the little metal door.

Whomever this Bear person was, he did his training seriously. The hilt of the blade was really well worn. A mix of leather and wire, it was basically glass smooth from use. Having shaken his hand, I had an idea of the original shape of the grip, and used some nice tough alligator leather (something we'd killed in the swamps near Riyute) and wire.

The pommel was pretty simple, though since he'd used the thing as a weapon, I actually heated it up in the furnace and smoothed it out over the ruby. It was here I noticed that the ruby held a fire enchantment. Okay, so he was a Fire Bear?

Finally, I took the blade out of the oven, and quenched it into a special oil. It was one of two ways this world did a 'blood coating'. The other was a flat 'enchantment'. But I was bonding the oil and steel together, making it something that would last until the blade shattered again.

"So... like this?" Tetsu asked, setting down her very first dragon tooth dagger.

To be fair, I made the dagger, but she'd put together the handle! It was a 'stacked leather' handle, made with a bunch of corner bits I had laying about in the Shield's storage. She'd taken the tang (bit of the blade that extended into the handle) and layered the leather, mostly by stabbing the pointy tang into the material and cutting it like I showed her.

"Just like that." I nodded, "Now, I want you to dip it up to here in that pot of boiling balloon skin, let most of it drip back into the pot, and then set it down over the mesh over there."

"Okay!" Because what kid didn't like playing with sticky stuff that got everywhere? Once it was mostly dry, I'd squeeze it into shape properly, then sand it down into a proper handle. In this case the balloon sap(skin? Blood? What do you even call this stuff?) was basically glue.

Moments later, Bear opened the door of the workshop. For a moment, I thought he was early, but then my stomach reminded me I had yet to eat lunch.

"You've returned." I greeted him, squinting at the furnaces I had going, nodding to myself that they'd be okay for a few minutes, then standing. "I think you'll like what I've done."

"Hello Sir!" Tetsu greeted with her usual cheer, "oh right... not supposed to drip on my clothing..."

He gave a nod to Tetsu, then followed me to the side of the workshop where I had my 'finished work' resting for its final touches before I sent it to Melty. "I've only made two changes." I said up front, "First, I had to add a little more steel. Long use had worn away so much, that you'd be left with a knife instead of a sword."

He nodded, "It's been a... oh..." He paused as I lifted up the leather cloth away from the sword.

"The second, is I put my mark on it, instead of the original smith's mark." I said, feeling a little pride at his reaction. "I will leave it to you to put the final edge on it, since it was obvious you kept it sharp before."

His serious bear devouring expression softened, then shifted to a smile as he picked up the blade and held it. He shifted his arm around a few times, testing balance, then held it, point down, to look along the edge. "It's almost like the first day I picked her up." He said with a grin, "Oh! You noticed!"

"Please refrain from testing its enchantment in my shop." I said with a smile, holding up a hand to stop him, "And unless you snap the pommel off in someone's skull, you won't have the gem come loose again."

His grin faded just a little, but he nodded and gave his blade one last look, "Huh... interesting mark, never seen it before. Work like this would get a reputation quick." He squinted at my 'maker's mark', a very small Hestia Familia emblem, the fox curled up under a flaming cup.

I shrugged, not wanting to comment and give up information about myself. "I will be here a few days before moving on." I said, "I've also set up a small shop, where a companion of mine is selling potions and enchanted items."

"I'd heard about that. But wanted to see-"

"I understand good sir." I again waved away the potentially negative comment, "If you do visit my shop, try not to loom over the one behind the counter."

Considering he was already looming over me, I felt kind of bad for Melty already.

"No promises." He said, his face serious, "But I'll let a couple friends know about you. Maybe send enough business your way to keep you in town a little longer."

He put his sword back into the empty sheath at his side, then upended his coin pouch onto the cloth his blade had been resting on. A moment later, he had picked up his change, gotten a nod from me, and we shook hands again.

"The name is Frost." He said.

"Kodori." I replied, glad he wasn't one of those 'hand crushing' types considering his hand almost made mine vanish in his grip.

And he left, the workshop feeling bigger with his absence. "Hey boss?" Tetsu started quietly, "Why you smiling?"

"It feels good to get a thank you." I replied, "Lemme see? Oh, not bad. Let's get these two knives hammered out, then have lunch."

(Raphtalia)

"Miss Raphtalia?" Usa's voice spoke from one of the Raccoon girl's pockets.

She stopped, the Metallica Clown halting as well, and fished around in one of her pouches. A moment later, she had an Occulus in her hand, "Usa? Is something wrong?" A pause, "Move your hand a little back? I can see up your nose."

There was a quiet click in the background as Usa made an embarrassed noise and moved his end of the Occulus away from his face, "Sorry... these are very..." He shook his head side to side, "Have you eaten yet?"

Raphtalia blushed a little, not because the reminder made her stomach growl, but because the Big Sister had just been Big Brother'ed. "Not yet. I've been finding more of the people from home... And before that, I was making deliveries for Kodori to Melty."

Usa nodded, "Be sure to eat." He insisted, "Otherwise, we are just checking in. We have been doing well here... I think?" He looked to the side 'off camera'.

"grr." Clive agreed.

"And we were asked if you wished to enter as well." He finished.

Raphtalia considered that, her free hand going to the pommel of her sword. "I will ask if I can." She said.

Usa, in a rare instance of 'back talk', replied with, "You know you can. But if you do, you have to talk to the Master of wagers."

His tone, as usual, was polite. But to Raphtalia it felt like a challenge. "Tomorrow then. Let the Master know I'll be visiting before dinner."

"We'll let him know." He said, suddenly looking away.

Raphtalia's Occulus went dark, and before it went silent, she heard a door with squeaky hinges open up, "Almost time for the next fight!"

(Kodori)

Dinner was, again, an overt show of wealth by the Ringmaster. It wasn't overdone, or excessive. But to someone like me, a cook of some skill, I could tell that the ingredients and the cook were above the usual we'd gotten while in other towns. This told me, just as much as the Ringmaster himself had, we were good for business.

But, after the plates were cleared, we got settled into an 'after dungeon' meeting over dessert (some kind of fruit jello(?)).

"We have been doing well in the arena." Usa said with an unusual hint of real confidence. "Though... I do not like the rookie weapons." He shivered a little. "They remind me of Idol's whip."

Clive nodded agreement, while Raphtalia frowned. I however said, "It keeps the new talent from seriously harming other new talent. Some kind of pain enchantment?"

Clive and Usa nodded.

"I am going to enter as well." Raphtalia said, "Though... I was thinking of skipping the trial arena."

I nodded, "I suggest at least one bout in the rookie arena." I said, "You'll do well no doubt, but it's much different when you're in front of spectators."

Clive and Usa nodded at that too.

"Do you like being watched?" Tetsu asked.

I ignored the other three as they tried not to choke on their jello. "Sometimes." I admitted, not helping the other three and their efforts to calm down again. "In light of us doing so well, and me being unable to reward you all with my cooking..."

A bit later, with Clive and Usa already dead to the world in their rooms, I was in Raphtalia's room, her body rendered immobile.

"everything feels happy." She mumbled.

Yes, my well practised back rubs had struck again, making that four of four worlds with humanoid species in it that were vulnerable to its effects. "Good." I said, taking mild advantage of Raphtalia's near liquid state to pet her ears, "Hmm, suppose I should make some nice soap next time I get a chance. Good work today."

"thank you. i found more people..."

"The Ringmaster has already given me that list, and put them in a... reserved status... Until we leave, they will be unavailable to anyone else." I said, my attention to her ears making her tail twitch.

"good. but what about... are we taking them over the border too?"

"It would be safest. If we sent them to Van without watching over them, they might get eaten, taken again, or just killed for what little valuables they might have." I said, "Now, get some sleep, I have two more stops to make."

Melty seemed to refuse to really relax. Unlike most people under my care, she kept the strength in her voice even though her body relaxed. She was clearly troubled. So, since I'd put Raphtalia to sleep, I took responsibility and flexed my Big Sister muscles.

"What's on your mind?" I asked, her back only a little larger than that of my children. That said, she was starting to gain that 'Amazon' tone already.

"Mother will likely be disappointed." She muttered, "If you were a man..." She trailed off.

"You told me she was a brilliant politician." I said, feeling a bit homesick while my mind overlaid Amani's back over Melty's. "She'd probably try and get us married or something, right?"

"Likely, but..." Aha, now she was relaxing properly, "it may or may not have been 'for show'. A status symbol of sorts to protect us both from other countries trying to sway you to their cause, or me away from you."

"Well, until we get to your father, with your mother at our side, I'd like to keep that a secret."

"Will you tell mother at least?"

"Yes. She sent you to help me. That kind of trust deserves trust in return." I covered her up with the bed sheet, then got a brush for her hair.

"This brings up a question." She mumbled, "What would you ask for? You don't need money, my hand in marriage is out of the question, and you can create wonders that I've only read about in story books."

I thought about it for a moment, but didn't instantly come up with an answer, "I'll have to think about it. Maybe ask the others. I'm not the only hero in this party after all." I put a fingertip on her nose when she opened her mouth, "No. I might have the fancy Shield, but without the support of my party, I'd be doing far far worse. I can make weapons, but can't use them. I can plan for almost anything, but need people who I can rely on to enact those plans."

She was too relaxed to argue the point. "Then think of what you would like, when we return my mother home. I'll do my best to convince her... if I... yawn need to."

Last, was Tetsu. Well, Kunshu too, but the Empress Bee had an exoskeleton, and thus would need to be brushed, not massaged, for a reward.

"So... I just lay here?" Tetsu asked as I worked my thumbs against her leg. "Kinda tingles..."

(a bit later)

I had to dodge a sudden lash of Tetsu's muscular tail, "eep! That tickles!" Moments later, after a little adjustment, "oooo there's that tingle again."

(a bit later)

"i wonder... if I can... fly..." Followed by a lazy twitch of one of her little wings, before it lay like limp cloth over her back. "meh try later..."

(a bit later)

She wasn't even complaining as I brushed her hair. She wasn't sleeping, I could see one of her eyes following my motions under a nearly closed eyelid. At this rate, I might even manage to get most of the tangles out!

But then she let out a small happy sigh, her body sinking into the fluffy mattress as if her being awake was all that kept her 'floating' on its surface, and mumbled a single word. "okay..."

Amused, I thought nothing of it as I continued brushing. It reminded me of Haruhime and her occasional sleepy mumbles.

Then I nearly dropped the brush when a voice that was clearly not hers quietly said, "I would like to talk with you, Shield Hero."

"Gaelion?" I asked, recovering my grip on the brush and continuing my attempts to tame Tetsu's hair. "I'm guessing you asked first?"

Still very quietly, the slightly deeper voice replied, "You made it clear how much you value my successor." The serious tone was ruined by a goofy smile from the dragon girl, "By word and deed. So, as a guest, I asked permission."

"I approve." I replied, looking into the still mostly closed eye, "So what can I do for you?"

"You've things in reverse. It is what I can do for you." The mostly closed eye blinked, "You are aware of why ma'am Ragnarok was critical of your... what did you call it?"

I was too immersed in caring for my second favourite dragon girl to rile at the thought of the old lady. "Senjitsu. It's rough translation is 'spirit art'. I use my inner flow of energy to connect to the elements around me, and shape them. I can't make something from nothing, like magic, so it's usually less powerful."

"Interesting. I think I see why she misunderstood." A pause, "Can you cover her back? It is a little chilly." I paused my hair wrangling efforts to pull the sheet over her, "Thank you. Now... The art she uses is... similar to what we monsters do."

"Monsters?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Dragons, exceptional filolial, beasts who use 'magic' like breath weapons, electric skin, fast regenerating spines... the list is long, and by now I am sure you've encountered much of it already." Tetsu's one eye squinted a tiny bit into an impatient glare.

So I waved a hand for him to continue. "Humans lack the innate functions for this. But some have learned to use the same kind of energy, to do something similar to what you do, and what Ma'am Ragnarok does."

That... made sense. Oddly, it made more sense than a lot of things in this world did. "Back home, I think I did something like she does. Except, back home, we only had magic and spirit. For me, I used magic for physical ability. I can't do that here..."

"You can." He replied simply, "but... hmm... she's falling asleep completely. Unless you wished to wa-"

I waited for a moment, but instead of the slightly deeper, wiser voice, Tetsu started to make little mouse snores. On the one hand, I'd been given a clue on how to, maybe, get back some of my old strength. On the other, Tetsu was sleeping like a rock and I was almost done brushing her hair into something resembling order.

Of course, I let her sleep and finished my task, no, duty, of rewarding her amazing efforts to be a clever dragon.

Kunshu's reward was... less dramatic. She was already in my room, and when I arrived, she uncurled from the surprisingly small 'fuzzy ball with wings' on the fluffy bed, and just... lay there so I could brush all the pollen catching fuzz over her limbs. Once done, she curled back up, waited until I lay down, then wiggled about until she had found the most comfortable spot behind my knees.

Yes, like a cat. Though, before I fell asleep, one of her hands captured my tails and flopped them over her side.

I wasn't going to complain... I missed being able to summon a fox to cuddle, and I hadn't found the time to make myself a stuffed Hagane doll yet.

Day two of our 'instant reputation that led to gaining the notice of the ruling merchants of Zeltobe so we could buy a class up at the hourglass'... Hmm, even Welf could come up with a better name for this plan...

Breakfast, simple yet delicious. Oatmeal and fruit mostly, but with various other easy to digest and energy giving staples that were the same in every world so far.

I hit the workshop as before, and with Tetsu's raw power helping me hammer the dragon teeth into something properly weapon shaped, and a sudden delivery from one of the Metallica Clowns, I had more than enough material to overturn the entire market... if I chose to. The delivery? Broken weapons. Chipped and cracked mace heads, shattered swords, crushed armour... All formerly good quality stuff that had finally given up. And judging by some of the stains on the metal, the owner may or may not have handed them in under their own power...

However, this much stuff meant I needed extra hands or I'd never get it done. I had my own party and myself to worry about too.

"Keep an eye on that." I pointed to one of the many crucibles I had going, "when it starts making bloop noises..."

"Pick it up carefully with these and pour it super carefully into these!" Tetsu replied, waving a set of big iron tongs, then pointing at a sand filled box with various shapes carved into the dirt.

I made note to apply a headpat later, then took out an Occulus. "Melty?"

A pause, then a sudden brightening of the glass in my hand as Melty's face appeared in it, "Ah! Yes Ma'am?"

"Everything going well?"

"The recovery potions of all kinds are... really popular. I've had several people come in from yesterday again today commenting on them. The daggers... not so much. We sold one, but even with the appraisal glass to prove its worth, it was a... reluctant sale." A pause, "Maybe a reduction in price?"

"No no. If we hadn't sold any, that would be okay. But now that we have, it would stain our relationship with the first buyer. I'll see what I can do about that, and will have a few swords done soon. But I need Kunshu. Can you contact Raphtalia, have one of the boys switch with Kunshu, then send her over here. Have Raphtalia partner up with whomever stays in the arena instead of fighting solo."

"bzz?"

Kunshu's imperial bee head appeared behind Melty, the princess almost reflexively brushing a hand over one of her antenna, "I can do that. For all of the rough people in this city... we've had very few problems. But yes, I'd feel quite uncomfortable without a guard." And very quietly, "yes you are a good guard."

"Reputation. I suspect the Ringmaster's endorsement is keeping some of the riffraff out of the shop." I glanced to the side, watching without looking like I was watching as Tetsu slowly poured molten metal into the sand moulds. "The next person who looks at a dagger, tell them where I am."

"Yes Ma'am." She nodded, "Ah, I did have a question..."

"Feel free to ask it, always." I replied.

"If... if my mother calls, what should I say?" She asked, trying (and failing) to stop herself from nervously fidgeting.

"You can't lie. So don't." I said seriously, "That's why I gave you the other half of the Occulus I sent to her." I smiled, "Kunshu?"

Kunshu gave Melty a headpat in my stead, "I am... sigh... yes I am a child, but... grr yes I enjoy that too! But..." She sighed, giving up on her embarrassed tantrum. "I will relay the messages."

I covered up my Occulus then put it in a pouch.

A bit later, with our organization shuffled a little, Kunshu was working on her new 'swarm'. Now a mix of dragon scale and steel (dragon steel?) they would be much meaner than her previous edition. Thanks to her attention to detail, four working limbs, and the simple repetitive task of etching a simple rune or two into each one... I expected her to have a hundred done before dinner.

Since Tetsu haa a bit of a childish attention span, I was getting her to help me with all kinds of things. Pour this, watch that, hit this really hard, hit this not so hard, listen for this, scrub this with that... Each task was simple, and alternated what senses she had to use to get it done. Unlike Kunshu who could just sit and be focused for hours on end.

Just before dinner, with Clive and Raphtalia reporting success in both the 'rookie' arena and the first two fights of their 'live steel low fatality' careers, I got my second 'personal' visit.

And to my surprise, he was a child. A White Tiger demi-human.

Notes!

Yeah... hear that? That's yet another cry of pain from the sequence monster...

Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!

aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!

And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.

And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!