Chapter 171

[1 day after.]

[Kitsu Pov]

"You are done?" Stan asked, looking up at me.

"Yes, 50 steel swords and 50 impure katanas." I said, dropping the swords onto Stan's desk in front of him.

"How do you know how to make katanas?" Stan asked, looking at the perfect katana in his hand.

"Books." I simply said that I was not lying about it but also not telling the full truth.

"Right, like, I will believe that. Did Giga help you?" Stan said, narrowing his eyes at me.

"With explaining things, yes, but I made all of them on my own," I stated, shrugging.

"Hmm, fine, let's go to Steve's furnace," Stan said, standing up from his chair.

"Am I already going to work with him?" I asked, tilting my head at Stan.

"No, you are far away from that. You are going to start working with Adamite now." Stan stated, walking out of his office and gesturing to me to follow.

"Are you sure?" I said, knowing how expensive Adamite was and how hard it was to work with.

"Steve said you should start with it after you make the 100 swords in one day." Stan said he sounded quite annoyed.

"Oh, okay, are you going to teach me this time?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I will supervise you, yes," Stan said, nodding.

"Good to know," I said, humming while nodding my head at him.

"You mean something else, don't you?" Stan said, turning his head at me.

"Yeah, it's about time you actually do something," I stated, not trying to hide my annoyance towards him.

"You said you read some books," Stan said, shrugging.

"Ah, so that's why you haven't helped me. Now I understand why you are working for Steve and not having your own Smithy." I said, sounding sarcastically but meaning every bit of what I said.

Stan was one of those who has a chip on his shoulder because his brother was a genius blacksmith—not him, but everyone must respect him like he was his brother.

"Little lady, I would watch my mouth if I were you," Stan said, turning around and glaring at me.

"Pfft, what are you going to do? Hit me with your hammer. That won't do anything to me." I said, laughing at his fake bravado.

"You might be from the Draigs, but you are just a trainee here. Watch your mouth." Stan said, trying to intimidate me.

"Trainee? No, I am not a trainee. I am here to learn from Steve because of connections, not because I want to be a blacksmith." I said, glaring down at him.

"So, you won't even try to deny you used your connections." Stan scoffed, shaking his head.

"Why should I?" I said, looking confused at him.

"Ugh, you are shameless." Stan laughed, scratching his face in annoyance.

"I am straightforward, not shameless," I said, grinning at him and making him annoyed of me and hating me.

"That's almost like the pot calling the kettle black." Stan scoffed again, looking away.

"If you just did your job, I wouldn't be this grumpy about stuff. Steve told you to teach me. Have you taught me anything at all? No, everything I have done so far is just me putting in the work alone and having some advice from another dwarf, just as grumpy as you but way nicer than your dumb ass."

"Tsk, you used connections to get here. How should I know that you have some talent?" Stan said, glaring at me, not taking any responsibility at all.

"I do not have talent for smithing. I am just good at learning." I said, shrugging at him.

"... whatever, let's get to the furnace."

"Finally, we're getting back to something productive," I said, annoyed.

"Sigh, how can someone like this exist?" The dwarf muttered softly.

"I can hear you."

"I don't care."

"..."

"We are here. Let's get started before my blood boils me to death." Stan said, opening the door and just walking in, not waiting for me.

"Just drink some beer then," I said, taking a barrel out of my storage.

"Why do you have something like that with you?" Stan asked, looking at me weirdly.

"I don't know. I thought dwarfs liked beers, so I got some if needed." I said, shrugging, knowing I forgot I had them.

"You could have told me," Stan said, taking the barrel with one hand.

"Okay," I said, tilting my head at him.

"Let's get to work." The dwarf said he was happier than before.

"Yes," I said, taking my place at the furnace.

"Now, let's talk about Adamite first. What sort of metal is it in your mind?" Stan asked, taking a sip of the beer out of the barrel.

"It's weak if you know how to destroy it."

"Right, of course, it won't be easy," Stan said, sighing loudly and taking a few gulps from the barrel of beer again.

20 hours later

"Yes, yes, just like that," Stan said, nodding vigorously.

"Really, it does look right, though," I said, picking the small, weirdly shaped metal up.

"No! You. Fucked it up!! Again!" Syan shouted with a red face, just showing how drunk he actually was at this point.

"My bad," I said, seeing the thing tear apart.

"Leave it on the anvil until it is cooled down to a solid!" Stan shouted again, making my ears twitch in pain.

"I understand."

"Do you? That was the third time you did it." Stan said, narrowing his eyes at me thousands of times in the last 24 hours.

"It was the first," I said, not looking at him.

"Third."

"First."

"Whatever, just start over already," Stan said, taking another barrel and taking a few gulps.

"See, you were wrong," I said, annoying him.

"Ugh!"

[35 hours later]

"Awesome, I made my first Adamite knife," I said happily, looking at the knife.

"Zzzzz."

"Yo Stan, wake up," I said, kicking his feet. He passed out about 12 hours ago, finally giving me time to think about how to forge the knife. His shouting the whole time gave me the biggest headache I have ever gotten.

"What?" Stan said, sitting up from the ground.

"I am done." I simply said, dropping the knife in his lap.

"Huh, so we can move on to the next step," Stan said, looking at the knife with a neutral expression.

"Yes," I affirmed, nodding.

"Alright, here are the blueprints for the next weapons. Now make one of them." Stan said, taking out a blueprint from seemingly nowhere.

"Just one?"

"Yes, it's a waste to make multiples of them. It's not like we will be selling them." Stan said, sitting back down on his small chair.

"But they are quite good, though," I said, looking at the blueprints.

"It's from a no-name smith. No one would buy it," Stan explained, making me nod in understanding.

"Fair point," I said, getting back to work.

[5 hours later]

"I am done," I said, kicking Stan's feet again.

"What?"

"I am done with the axe," I said, showing him the axe.

"In 5 hours?"

"Yeah, when you know how the metal works, the faster you can work with it," I explained, making him look at me weirdly again.

"That's not how it goes, but to each their own," Stan said, shaking his head at me.

'In my experience, yes, that's how it goes. Practice makes perfect.' I thought, tilting my head at him before sharing it.

"What next?" I asked, getting ready for more work.

"Here are a few that bother me when you are done with them," Stan said, taking out a bunch of blueprints.

"Alright."

[2 hours later]

"One done."

[4 hours later]

"3 done. How many are there?"

[14 hours later]

"10 done, 12 to go."

[25 hours later]

"Finally, I am done," I said, dropping to the floor exhausted. Not having much sleep and rest time the past few weeks really takes its toll on your body.

"How is it going here?" Steve said, walking into the furnace room.

"Yes, you can check all of them," I said, pointing at all 23 weapons on the floor.

"Hmm, you really are fascinating," Steve said, looking at me intrigued.

"Sorry, I am already taken."

"How have you progressed this much in so little time, Kitsuna?" Steve asked, surprised.

"Books."

"Right, you do have the books from the Kunis," Steve said, not believing me at all but knowing I wouldn't answer him properly.

"Yeah, they are very detailed," I said, stating the truth about them.

"Can I read them as well?" Steve asked, not looking at me but at the weapons I had made.

"Why? Aren't you already the best?" I asked, tilting my head at his question.

"You can always learn. It doesn't matter how good or how old you are. I am sure you understand what I mean by that." Steve said, giving me a small grin and making me roll my eyes at him.

"That's true. I will have to ask Mom, though. It is, after all, the Kunis, not mine." I said, shaking my head and shrugging.

"Why don't you ask the Kunis?"

"Politics." I simply said, making him look at me confused.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I will ask my mom later today," I said, waving him off.

"Alright, you can go home anyway. We will start with the demi-god weapons in two days." Steve said, starting to pick up some of the weapons.

"Why not tomorrow?" I asked, tilting my head at him.

"I need to prepare for it, and you need some proper rest." He explained.

"Oh, alright then. I will see you in two days." I said, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, and bring more beer. I want some, too." Steve asked just before I walked out of the room.

"I will do that," I said, taking out another two barrels and leaving them for Steve at the door.

'I started with 42 barrels, but I only have 7 left. That old dwarf, Stan, took 27 on his own.' I thought while walking out of the blacksmith shop, tired as hell.

"Let's go home," I said to myself, walking towards the mansion.