Arc 2 Chapter 2: New Agreements

"I feel that this will be a common occurrence. I should start counting how many times a gun is pointed at me." Yukina muttered in response to the gun intruding her facial space. The situation existed as a juxtaposition of the town's air of quietness only broken by the occasional passing of magitech cars. Lily, who stood as a witness, could only hold her breath in horror.

"Come to steal more weapons from this Dimian, eh?" questioned a voice from inside the shop. The barrier of the gun was pointed in an upwards direction towards Yukina's face as if the person holding it stood lower than her petite stature. "If you have I'll blow your damned-"

"You got the wrong idea, I too am a blacksmith…well a novice at best." The achromatic Vulpian interjected. The short lived conversation fell into silent stagnation. Seconds went by before the barrel of the firearm was eventually lowered, the door creaked open revealing a gray-haired man; whom to most would look like a child even to someone of Yukina's stature.

"A novice blacksmith you say? Pray tell from whence you hail? I've never seen someone of white hair and blue eyes." The Dimian asked, another silence was birthed from his question prompting him to scratch the back of his head. "Well, I'm sure it matters not, a friend of mine informed me that a white hair Vulpian was to visit my smithy." He finally allowed them inside the establishment. Yukina; upon entering the shop couldn't help but obsess over the sheer amount of metalworks and weaponry displayed along the walls, her eyes sparkled from the light from the furnace as its heat gave the place a comfortable air. The furnishing seem to be of various sizes, most to accommodate the Dimian's lack of height amongst the rest of the conventional tables, desks and the likes. "While I am partially inclined to mentor you, I do want to inquire about what I benefit from this exchange. Time and materials is coin and I want to know if the effort is worth the investment."

The white haired Vulpian silently pondered over what she could possibly offer. Her mind turned like gears to a clock. "I'll offer my newfound assistance on whatever current project you're working on, many hands make light work and it seems difficult for you to get anything done when you have thieves purloining your wares. If you teach me how to create weapons and metalworks, I'll help you forge and protect your next shipment." Yukina folded her arms in having complete confidence in what she had suggested to the man.

Hughes stroked his beard contemplating the girl's proposition. "I don't mind the help and the extra protection for the next shipment. We'll work on creating weapons tomorrow. An old man needs his rest, I suggest you get some as well despite your young age." Finished with negotiations the man pushed them out the entrance and slammed the door before walking up a flight of stairs behind the furnace that led to his bedroom.

Yukina turned to Lily and gave a half-hearted thumbs up. She was met with a smile and muted claps. Now that business had been taken care of the two Vulpians decided it was time to retire to the inn. The two hoped that Akko was able to constrain Adeo's choice of lodging as if left to his own devices he would; at least in his mind; think that he deserved the best only deserving of the best. In truth due to their idea of staying in Mabel for longer than a fortnight and the party's lack of steady coin Adeo's opinion on where they should stay for the night was unanimously ignored. To Lily and Yukina's relief a normal, low-cost tavern was chosen for their stay. The trio of Vulpians smiled at the prospect of their coin-purses spared from being wrung dry. Adeo; who still disagreed with this decision, stood away from the group pouting as all he really wanted at this point would be to go to bed.

"Let's get checked in and rest up for tomorrow." Yukina suggested to the rest of the party. The quartet entered the establishment. The metal interior was bathed in the golden lights of the magitech pendants that hung from the ceiling. The barkeep asked if they were staying the night for three hundred aurum per person per night, the combined coin of Yukina and Lily from their respective professions were more that sufficient for paying for a month's worth for the group. With that in mind the quartet decided they needed to find some form of employment. The main setbacks they faced were Yukina's lack of equipment and experience for blacksmithing, Adeo's incompetence and Akko inexperience with trade.

"How about we come to a decision?" Yukina offered once everyone was sitting at a table adjacent to the window. Various drinks were set in front of the four travelers. All of them lost in the tracks of their thoughts. "You know we could make some decent coin by killing monsters and selling the spoils. Besides I'm sure Adeo needs something to do since negotiations and trades aren't his strong suit." The white-haired Vulpian smiled smugly. Adeo slammed his hands on the table in excitement upon hearing Yukina's suggestion.

"For real? We gonna fight some monsters? I always wanted to squabble with a Adamangolem!" Adeo exclaimed as he reveled in his excitement. Apparently Adeo had already had a few strong waters. The rest of the party decided it was best to limit the amount of liquor he consumed. Upon realizing they would either have to become adventurers and work for a guild or create their own. Yukina and Lily proposed the idea of creating their own guild but struggled to come up with a name for the guild. Yukina looked outside, the stars in the sunless sea gazed at her which from their point of view would be an invisible speck on a blue beautiful star, her eyes admired the radiant glow that decorated the black canvas and in that moment she had a revelation.

"We'll name the guild, Stardust Night."