Mr Walton

"I'm sorry. I didn't anticipate this kind of reaction from Claude." Luar apologized to Kai who was standing at the door, ready to leave.

"No, it's fine. You've done everything you could." Kai said before closing the door and letting Lithia lock it.

Lithia slowly walked and looked at the spots where all the potential fights before had started. "Thank you for keeping us safe."

Kai didn't say anything. He wasn't surprised either. He couldn't hide such a ruckus from a talented mage that was written as a genius in history books. 

Soon, after 3 right turns and a long walk straight, they arrived at a house. It had chiseled stone as it's walls and dark tinted windows that were carved on the outlines with dragons. It was tall, consisting of 4 floors.

It seemed like one of the most ominous houses on the streets but people were entering it non stop. Leaving with either a case or an item wrapped in paper.

"Mr Walton's the famous blacksmith. His shop is always overflowing with customers and it seems like he's looking for helping hands. Though..he doesn't accept just anyone." Lithia said, smiling as she skipped the queue and just walked in as if it's nobody else's business.

No one complained.

A man with a bushy beard with white hairs was hitting a piece of metal with a hammer as large as his face. Every hit he made, the whole table seemed to shudder in pain.

He looked up from his work and gave Lithia a friendly smirk. "Whatcha coming here for? A new wand stick? A small sword for your grandson? And who is that?" He was full of questions. He was rather aggressive.

"I need you to take care of him for a while, Walton." Lithia said, pushing Kai in front but he jolted and took 3 big steps away from her immediately.

"I'm Kai. Pleased to meet you, Mr Walton." Kai said with a big smile on his face while bowing politely.

Mr Walton ruffled his hair and sighed. "I know I owe you a favor and all Argenetia. But I can't do much with such a fragile looking boy. I bet he can't even lift one of the buckets of metal." 

Lithia furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Kai. No matter how much she wanted to prove Mr Walton was spouting false information, she couldn't help but see how thin Kai was.

"I may look fragile but I'm much sturdier than you think. I can't put on much muscle but I am strong for my age." Kai immediately said with one hand raised.

"Lithia, are you joking with me?" Mr Walton said, obviously frustrated. There were no customers in the shop as they were stuck outside waiting. He couldn't leave them in that state for too long.

"No. I can't let him stay in my house for now. My grandson.. doesn't feel comfortable." Lithia said, getting sad while mentioning Claude. She had to return home as soon as possible. She had no time for a long conversation.

Mr Walton groaned loudly and removed his gloves roughly and walked towards Kai. He reached out and attempted to feel for any muscles the kid might potentially have and see what he could do.

"Don't touch me!" Kai said in a loud tone. He stepped back warily. "I'm sorry.." he apologized, realizing what he had just done.

Mr Walton frowned and face palmed himself. He finally decided to give in. If worse comes to worst, he'll just let the kid handle cleaning and administrative matters. 

Gladly, Lithia left the shop in a hurry. Waving a goodbye vigorously at Kai who stared at her. Then she left.

"Get outta the way and open the door and let 1 customer in at a time. Then grab the rag off that wet bucket and start cleaning the dust off my blades on the wall." Mr Walton had a lot to say but he had to get to work. Complaining came later.

Kai immediately got to work after placing down his valuables in a corner. He opened the door and greeted a customer. He then closed the door and went to grab a rag and start wiping the blades clean until it gleamed.

"Order J812i." The person said, reading off of a receipt.

Mr Walton looked at Kai who was wiping the blades. "Kiddo, grab that spear with the gold tip at the top right corner of that wall." 

Kai tip toed and grabbed the item as instructed, carefully, he placed it on the table and stood there.

"Here ya go." Mr Walton said, taking out a wrapping paper.

"Who is that? Since when did you hire a new worker?" The customer asked, still touching the spear.

"Just now."

"His hair is quite a unique color. Is it real?" 

"Don't know man, he just appeared outta nowhere."

Kai awkwardly stood there and listened in on their conversation. It was soon wrapped up without him having to reply to anything.

The whole day continued. Kai was ordered to take items off the walls and hand them over to the customers. Sometimes he was asked multiple questions but he had never replied. Mr Walton just brushed them off.

The shop eventually closed and retired for the day when the last customer left.

Mr Walton was sweaty and his face was stained with black ink. "So, how are you related to Argentina kiddo?" He asked, putting his equipment back into their original place.

"I...was saved by her." Kai vaguely answered. 

"Don't be so tense, you're making me nervous too, take a shower and I'll cook us a feast. You can tell me more about yourself over dinner." Mr Walton said. He was friendlier than he looked.

Kai nodded and grabbed his bag. "The..shower..where is it?" 

"Upstairs and turn right. You'll see it." 

After showering, Kai changed into a set of spare clothes. He made his way downstairs and could smell the most savory scent he had ever smelled.

"Mr Walton?" Kai called out, peeking into the room that was supposedly the kitchen.

Mr Walton turnt behind and nodded, pointing to the small coffee table with 2 chairs. 

They both sat down and started eating in silence. Mr Walton chomped down the food to make up for him working all day.

"I needed a strong worker who could help me with the making of my weapons and carrying of heavy equipment. I can't believe Argenetia sent me a kid knowing that." Mr Walton started, his mouth still full of chicken strips.

"I can help you." Kai said.

"Kiddo just by looking at your arms I know it'll snap. Stop arguing with me." He continued relentlessly.

Kai was about to deny what Mr Walton had said but he was stopped by a fork being directly pointed at his face.

"Tomorrow at 6 o'clock on the dot you'll wake up and train with me. I'll make sure your body parts are so sore they'll drop off. I don't care if you're a kid, I'll whip you into shape." Mr Walton said with a gleeful grin.

"Oh. Thank you?" Kai replied, confused by the sudden change in attitude. This was a rare time where he couldn't exactly figure someone out.