Chapter 42: An Unusual Reunion

Mid Morning - Mid Spring : Kingdom of Kaelallan

- Michael Cotorel ~

Seeing my old friend, I quickly walked over and gave him a hug. "So how have you been?"

"Ive been great as you can see! I retired as an adventurer and finally settled down, using my fame to make a big blacksmithing shop here in the market." Udall had previously been an S rank adventurer, one of the best in Kaelallan, but the fate of an adventurer wasn't made out for everyone.

"Udall! The hell are you doing?!" A female voice radiated from the back room.

It was an extremely familiar voice. "So you tied the knot, huh?

Udall awkwardly scratched his head. "Haha, it's a long story, why don't you come in, we can talk for a bit."

Being one who couldn't refuse an offer from a friend, I quickly made my way into the back.

Behind the curtain was a moderately large room with everything you could possibly need for blacksmithing. The equipment was completely abnormal though, with each tool having a level of quality I didn't think possible.

-How beautiful..-

Quickly snapping me out of my thoughts, I turned to look at the young looking elf woman with defined muscles staring at me over her anvil.

-To think she's even prettier than she used to be..- "How are you doing Mollie? It's been a while!" My smile spread cheek to cheek seeing another old comrade.

Before responding though, she launched her heavy blacksmiths hammer at me.

*Thump*

*Thud*

With a casual motion, I caught it and tossed it on a small table by the door. "How rude. It's been 3 years and this is how you greet me?"

"Hmph, you deserve it! You left us without even saying goodbye! We figured you went and got yourself killed while experimenting with magic."

"Mollie, give him a break. He did tell us that he would be gone for a few years, you probably just weren't paying attention."

Mollie crossed her arms with a youthful pout. "I still don't believe you."

-Good to see they haven't changed..- It was a scene that triggered several old memories. "Well I did leave one last message to you guys even if it wasn't enough.. sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it man, all that's important is that you came back." Udall walked up and put his arm around me. "So what do you want to drink? I've got some strong stuff you'll love."

Although a tempting offer, I couldn't accept. "Sorry but I can't drink right now. Maybe later though."

Udall looked a bit dejected. "Hm? Why is that? You got a meeting with royalty or something? Haha!" His sarcasm was palpable.

"Pfftt-Hahaha, I do actually." I couldn't hold back my laughter.

But Mollie was too curious to laugh. "What possible business do you have with them? Did they give you a mission or something?"

Although it wasn't common, sometimes S rank adventurers would be directly ordered by the Royal Family for a specific mission. -But that's not the case this time..- "It's actually for my promotion."

"WHAATTT?" Udall couldn't believe it, his old friend, who he figured was just a crazed mage had broken through the S rank wall. "Isn't that even more reason to drink?!" He quickly grabbed a bottle of some kind of liquor and started pouring a glass.

"No no no, I'll get drunk and party with you after I meet with them. It'd be rude to meet the Royal Family while drunk."

"That's a promise then! I paid a few gold for this liquor, you better be here to savor it."

"You paid WHAT?!" Mollie quickly shot up from her seat and ran over to him.

Udalls posture immediately lowered and he awkwardly held his head low. "Umm.. I meant silver"

Immediately snatching the bottle out of his hands, Mollie looked at the bottle. "Eth..ie..tram.." (One Word) She stared at the name on it blankly for a moment. "I've never heard of it… Where did you even find it?"

"A merchant that said he was from Sinder sold it to me, they said it was Sinders trademark alcohol." Udall looked like a mouse in front of a lion.

-Maybe I should help him out a bit..- "It is indeed Sinders trademark. I had some when I was over there. It's very similar to Viliwyr but a bit stronger and has a really good sourness to it."

Mollie quickly started calming down. "Isn't Viliwyr 2 gold a bottle though?" She looked at Udall with scrutiny before taking a moment to think. "Your punishment is that you can't drink any of it, otherwise you'd drink the whole thing." Putting a cork back in the bottle, she reached down and sipped the small glass Udall had poured. "Oohh.. that is some good stuff~"

Udall looked all sad and dejected that she drank his alcohol, but I just found it funny. "Haha, you two really haven't changed, have you.."

"Haha, you're one to talk.." Udall finally started standing back up. "So what all did you do over the past 3 years? Did you finally find a woman other than 'her'?"

It was a question I knew was coming. "No.. and we haven't talked since I split up with you.."

His eyes carried a look of surprise as if he couldn't believe it. "Really?"

I gave a reluctant nod. -It's not like I didn't want to..-

"She should be arriving in town in the next few days, she said she gained the favor of a city lord up north. You still love her don't you? You just need to go for it. She's always been head over heels for you.."

"Well.. yeah, but that was before I wanted to settle down... I don't know if she will still have that interest anymore."

"I can't promise you anything but I'd be quite surprised if she doesn't.."

"But she was a monster when it came to both magic and martial arts.. and to top it all off, she still looks like she's in her late 20s.. what guy wouldn't fall for her.." I had quite a pessimistic look on my chances.

"You know how picky and stubborn she was, quit sulking and just ask her when she stops by."

A long silence filled the room as I fell into thought. "Haah.. alright, I'll give it a go… In other news though, I need to give a commision, are you still doing those?"

Mollies eyes quickly lit up. "Of course! What are you wanting made?"

"I need a new staff, I've got the crystal and the mythril for it, I just need you guys to make it.

"Okay, what kind of crystal are we talking about? A core?"

"Yes, I've discovered a way to take a monster's mana core and use it as an external storage for mana."

Udall and Mollie's eyes immediately went wide. "Isn't that a huge deal?! Like wouldn't that allow people with small mana pools to become strong magicians?"

But I was quick to shut them down. "Not quite, you can't go straight from the core to a rune, you must take it from the core, and then into you first.. so it just works similar to a really big and refillable mana potion."

Although they calmed down a bit more, they were still shocked. "Ohh, that's still pretty groundbreaking though, have you told the tower yet?"

"No, I split from them a little over a year ago now. They started asking for a little too much..."

Mollie was quick to try and pry some more information out. "What were they asking of you?"

"They tried to use me to gain the favor of the royal family here and let them set up a tower, and since I was so close to Nation rank, I didn't want to ruin my chance by making the royal family mad. They ended up getting a little too heavy handed when I rejected them too."

"What?! But they let you just leave after that?"

"Haah.. of course not, I had to force my way out. They only left me alone recently once I made it to the capital where they don't have free reign."

Mollie looked appalled. "Just what is the tower thinking?"

"I have no idea, but they've been making some pretty aggressive moves on other nations recently." There was an eerie silence that followed my ominous words. "In any case, I need to get going again. I don't want to be late."

"Alright well, just leave the materials for the staff here, we will start working on it today." Mollie motioned over to a table in the middle of the room.

"Alright, sure thing." I quickly walked up and set everything down. "Well, I'll be coming back later tonight so be sure to save me a drink!"

Giving a short goodbye, I made my way out of the smithy and started calming my mind.

It was time for the meeting that would determine my future, but instead of anxiety, I felt an unusually deep excitement. -If I make a good impression, maybe I can become friends with them..-

-----------------------