Chapter 3: Hostess Of Fertility (1/2)
As I followed Heaphy and Rose to the Hostess Of Fertility I wondered how Tsubaki would take seeing me after all it had been 7 years since I'd last seen her and I wondered about her new protegee hoping it was Welf Crozzo.
While thinking we arrived outside the tavern. When walking in I was greeted by the sight of Mia Grand in an apron dressed as a waitress.
"What the hell am I looking at" I said knowing from the anime that Mia would eventually transition into Mama Mia but struggling to connect the War Hammer-wielding woman to the harmless-looking woman in front of me.
"Oh hoh hoh. Lookie who we have here Lil' Mikey's back." Chuckled Mia
"Don't Lil' Mikey me Mia what the hell happened to the scary War Hammer wielding woman I fought alongside?" I questioned.
"Ha Mikey that was a long time ago." Stated Mia "I'm retired now and as you can see currently run this tavern." She said indicating around her.
"Mama Mia is everything alright here" asked a brunette cat girl as a dark-haired gat girl watched from behind, both I recognised from the anime as Anya Fromel and Chloe Rollo respectively.
"Yeah Anya just an old friend of mine and Ryuu returning to Orario after a long time and struggling to accept the fact that I'm retired." Stated Mia tiredly
"I'm not struggling to accept it." I stated "I'm Struggling to understand it"
"Either way there's nothing you can do about it so move on" Sighed Mia
"Meh at least answer me one question," I said "Are you happy?"
Mia stopped for a minute and looked me dead in the eye "Yes" she stated "I wouldn't change it for the world" causing cheers to erupt from the people at the tables.
"Good then I won't speak of it anymore," I said seriously before breaking into a grin "Well then Mia-"
"Mama Mia" she cut me off
"Mama Mia" I continued cheerfully "can we have a table for 5 and a bottle of wine with 3 glasses for the ones who are here already?"
"Sure thing Mikey," She said before yelling "Syr a bottle of Red and 3 glasses for Mikey, His Goddess and Rose" While leading us to a vacant table.
"So Rose how has life been at the guild?" I asked making polite conversation
"Same old, same old rookies coming to the dungeon thinking they can make it big only to die before making it to level 2" she stated seriously trying to end the conversation.
Not one to be deterred I said "Well you could come and work for me, you see I'm going to need a secretary to take my orders when I'm not at my forge, deal with the paperwork, and help keep the forge fully stocked. I'll pay you 50% more than your guild salary and it's less work."
"Why offer me there's plenty of people more qualified to handle the administration of a high-quality forgemaster?" Asked Rose
"That question has a few answers firstly I know you and I trust you to not do anything unbecoming and damage my forges reputation. Secondly, I know you dislike working at the guild and seeing your adventurers dying off or getting seriously injured, and mainly Second Class or higher adventurers will ever get a weapon from me meaning fewer of the adventurers you interact with will be likely to die" I said seriously
"Very well give me a few weeks to get my affairs in order at the guild and I'll take you up on your offer" Said Rose quietly
"Congrats Mikey you've finally got the cute fox girl from the guild in your 'harem'" grinned Heaphy
"Harem?" questioned Rose looking at me sternly
"Heaphy you won't let me live that down will you" I whined as Trubaki and a redheaded man that I recognised as Welf entered the bar.
"Mikey-Chan I missed you," she said cheerfully as she launched herself at me.
"Baki-Chan I've missed you too," I said equally cheerfully returning the hug
"Good evening Goddess Hephaestus, Rose who's the man acting so friendly with our Captain" Said Welf unwilling to interrupt our reunion.
"Welf you don't know him?" asked Rose shocked
"Not surprising Welf is rather new to Orario he still hasn't heard a lot of the stories or the legends of the Ironmonger" Said Hephaestus
"Nice to meet ya buddy," I said having freed myself from the now pouting Tsubaki "Don't worry about all that talk of legends and stories I'm no one important, just a humble blacksmith of the Hephaestus Familia," I said cutting off Heaphy and Rose before they could inform him of my exploits in the city.
"Oi if you're a nobody what does that make me" interrupted Tsubaki "After you are the one who taught me," she said dropping that bomb on Welf
"I see you're making fun of me," said Welf thinking that Tsubaki was pulling his leg as Mia walked over
"Na sonny she ain't. The young man in front of you is THE Ironmonger the boy who fought on the frontlines against Evilus alongside some of the strongest people in this city. He was also the best blacksmith in the city before he left 7 years ago and judging from the fact he didn't even react when I gave him a full powered hug he's above level 7 making him currently the strongest adventurer in the city" Said Mia silencing the bar.
"Damn Mia way to sum up my life in Orario" I grumbled "Why do you think I'm above level 7?" I inquired
"Well, Mikey last year I maxed my stats as a level 6, even though I'm no longer an active adventurer so I haven't leveled up, Ottar flinches when I give him a full power hug and he's a level 7. This tells me that at weakest you're a high 7 but either way, you've surpassed the 3 level 7's in the city."
"Wait 3 Level 7's, I thought Ottar was the only Level 7. Who're the other 2?" I asked
"Well you're hugging one," Said Mia indicating next to me. "and the other is the mage from the Loki Familia"
Looking shocked at Tsubaki "How the hell did you reach level 7? You're a forging maniac you don't spend much time training or fighting"
Puffing out her cheeks she said "Mou, just cos I don't like it doesn't mean I don't do it. I finally mastered total concentration breathing when I was a level 6 which pushed my stats up to S after that I soloed Udaeus which gave me enough high-class exilia to level up."
"Ha Ha, nice which type of breathing are you currently using las I checked it was the breath of thunder after you mastered Sound breathing?" I questioned, I had managed to jerry-rig a training manual for the breathing styles based on my memory of the manga and anime including making a few new ones like Breath of Ice however I never gave them out to anyone and only Tsubaki knows the breathing styles, and where I kept the manuals.
"I mastered that shortly after you left so I went into your hidden spot and got the breath of the Moon which I also mastered. Now I'm working on Breath of the Sun," she stated proudly.
"Ugh, Baki-chan I told you to learn the basics of all the higher tier breathing forms Water, Moon, Flame, Thunder, Stone, and Wind before trying to learn Sun breathing, remember if your body's not strong enough you will cause damage to it just by using it." I reminded her
"Wait hold on a minute" Welf interrupted "Are you telling me that Tsubaki Shooting lighning, fire and those slashes in the dungeon aren't part of a skill?"
"Nope pure technique" I stated "If you prove to be as good as Hephaestus hyped you up to be I'll start teaching you the basics when you reach B rank in Str, Agi and Dex."
"I can't wait" Welf said Exitedly as Hephaestus and Tsubaki looked at him with pity thinking 'he doesn't know the type of hellish torture Mikey's going to put him through in the name of training"