Chapter 72 Good News

Decem 18th of 4831 AS

During the morning of the 4th day of sparring practice with Ougi, Ben and Bail had dropped by Kajima's house. It was an awkward situation as Ougi had again thrown Azi over his shoulder. Lying flat on the snowy ground, Azi groaned a bit but noticed that two familiar figures were standing over him.

They looked at him wryly, and Ben asked.

"Hey Azi, is now a good time?"

Getting to his feet, Azi dusted the snow off his clothes and looked to Ougi who was a few paces away. Giving Ougi a look to convey his question of if they could have a break, Ougi responded with a smile and a nod.

In the few days that Azi spent with Ougi, this was a way of communication with Ougi that Azi picked up on as it seemed that Ougi had the ability to read the mood and expressions of others. It made conversations with him brief and concise. It was convenient to not have to communicate with spoken words but with short gestures or expressions.

Azi still had a hard time trying to read Ougi's expressions as his squinted eye made it hard for him to notice where Ougi was looking but he could tell Ougi's mood by how his brows moved. It somewhat irked him how Ougi always looked amused when Shizu would tease him from time to time.

Turning to Ben and Bail, Azi directed them to come into Kajima's house and got them seated on the couch in the living room. Ougi followed Azi inside and sat with him on the other couch across from Ben and Bail.

"So I am guessing your testing of the blood steel is complete?"

Azi started the conversation and guessed at why Ben and Bail would want to meet him. He assumed that the test went well as Ben and Bail had a happy grin on their faces and he was on the mark as Ben laughed as he responded.

"Not just that lad, we found that the blood steel works as a perfect substitute for all basic weapons. Hahaha. But that's not all, take a look at this."

Ben reached into his tool bag and rummaged through his blacksmith tools. He pulled out a scroll and unrolled it out onto the table between the couches. Azi noticed the title of the scroll as it said "Azi's Business Proposition''. He continued to read the scroll further which made Ben and Bail grin in delight as they saw how Azi's expression changed as he read.

As Azi read, his eyes began to widen with surprise and soon he could not contain his surprise as he cried out in amazement.

"NO WAY!"

"YES WAY! YOU DID IT BOY! CONGRATULATIONS!" Yelled Ben and Bail.

The scroll was an authored business deal made by Ben and Bail to village chief Manu. They had tested the blood steel adequately and proposed the selling of Azi's supply of blood steel to Manu as a way for them all to earn a bit of money.

All three men expected to earn a small amount of money from the selling of the metal but did not expect much as the new metal was still unknown to the common populace. Thanks to coincidence, Manu actually knew of the new metal from a guard he talked to in the past. One day, Manu noticed the black spear of one of the soldiers on break from his watch of the village outer entrances.

This was not a standard issue weapon given out by the armory and Manu was prompted to ask the soldier where he got such a strange weapon. The soldier told Manu that it was a creation of Azi's and endeavored to meet with the boy when he got the next chance.

Manu had been investigating the boy at Ozen's request but found no clue of his background, he deduced that Azi was likely a foreigner as he was not recorded in any of the censuses that he had checked. He was still checking other previous censuses, but it was slow work as his other duties kept him busy.

He wanted to interrogate the boy in person one day to find out what kind of person Azi was but was more interested in his skills as a blacksmith as the situation with the supply of weapon's was becoming an issue.

One day, while Manu was trying to find a solution he found a trade deal from Ben and Bail who were a well known blacksmiths and weapon shop owner in Shisayama. They had proposed the selling of a new metal for weapons and had included a sample weapon with the report. Ben had reforged the blood steel Azi had given them into a short sword, which Manu made his own as he was impressed by the metal properties.

It was similar to refined steel as it had seemingly the same durability but was only slightly heavier from his usual sword. When Manu attempted to infuse the sword with magic energy, he was surprised by how receptive the sword was.

As Manu read the report on Ben and Bail's findings of the metal, Manu had remembered what Ozen said about the potential influence that people like Azi could bring. With his findings supporting Ozen's words, he jumped on the opportunity and wrote up a lucrative offer.

Manu was willing to help Azi build his own workshop as long as he created a supply of blood steel ingot and was willing to teach the process of creation to other blacksmiths. Azi was not expecting to get such an offer and he could not believe that his creation would cause such a stir.

The agreement also entailed that the nation would help Azi obtain a patent on his new metal which was a costly endeavor as it took much notoriety to gain any ground on claiming a patent. Additionally, patents were only given out and approved by the emperor, so Manu and Azi would have to discuss with King Ozen on getting his support for the patent's application.

Ougi looked on in mild amusement as Azi, Ben, and Bail began bantering and discussing the finer details of Manu's offer. With the prospect of obtaining his own workshop, Azi began to write up the blueprints of his workshop with Ben and Bail. He wanted to have it built in the clearing near Kajima's house as he preferred to stay close to his teacher.

Azi had also picked up Kajima's bad habit of testing his creations in a rambunctious and overzealous manner which made it difficult for him to be around populated areas as he might cause a ruckus. The workshop was going to be smaller than Kajima's but it was also an opportunity for Azi as he was able to make the building into his own home.

Currently Azi felt that it was a bit embarrassing for a man of his age to still be taking up residence with another person. He wanted to be self-sufficient in the future and this was a good opportunity for him to reach his goal.

After drawing up the rough draft of the blueprints, Ben and Bail took it with them to have his house's finer details finalized but a professional house builder. Bail then asked Azi.

"So concerning the lessons of the creation process of blood steel, how about you teach Ben's apprentices first? From there we can network with the other smiths."

"I agree, I can come over tomorrow to teach them so be sure to have the materials ready. I'll bring some finished blood steel to help with the lesson."

Ben nodded in agreement as the apprentices were in tomorrow for work, but he noted in the back of his mind that he would have to instruct his apprentices to not take Azi lightly as they were also hot headed like him.

Azi's appearance also made it easy for people to think that he was just a child and Ben worried that they might not take him seriously.

By the time the trio finished their talks, it was already sunset. Kajima had come out of his workshop and heard about the news. He gave Azi back a hard pat on the back in congratulations which made Azi wince a bit in pain.

Kajima gave his opinion on Azi's draft for his workshop and told Azi that he would help him pick out the equipment he needed.

After Ben and Bail left to head home, everyone else came home and Azi was able to share the big news with everyone. They all congratulated him and Rulu was incited to cook a big feast to celebrate. Off to the side, Shizu grinned to herself with a knowing smile as everyone's attention was focused on Rulu's cooking.

Shizu was glad that Azi was going to get his own workshop and home, but she was glad for another reason. Hiding her grin throughout the festivities, Shizu enjoyed the delicious spread made by her beloved younger sister.

Due to the festive occasion, Kajima brought out the alcohol which Rulu gladly offered to pour for everyone. This was when Azi got to learn about everyone's age as he brought up the topic about the legal drinking age. Nosuri and Ougi were of the legal age to drink since the minimum legal age to drink was 16 and they were both 17. Rulu had just turned 16 and Yashimu was 19.

Azi felt that it was somewhat wrong for Rulu to drink as she looked so innocent and young, but he stopped himself from saying anything as he realized that he would be a hypocrite if he denied Rulu the choice to drink. Azi was a bit frustrated as he cursed his youthful appearance and short stature.

To push the thought away, Azi drank a shot of strong but sweet tasting liquor which helped to buzz his mind a bit. By the end of the feast, everyone was somewhat drunk and had fallen asleep in the living room and dining room. Before everyone had fallen asleep, they had to deal with Azi and Shizu who became quite rambunctious as they had both gotten drunk.

Bothhad to be held back by everyone to prevent them from having a drunk argument and fight.

This was started by Shizu who had noticed that Azi was frustrated again by how short in stature he was which prompted her to tease him. Azi, not wanting to be looked down upon by someone younger than him, retorted back but was instead cuddled by a playfully drunk Shizu.

Azi resisted Shizu's playful action which annoyed her and the two got into a drunken argument about who was the more dominant one in their relationship. Before the two could grab a weapon to fight each other to settle the dispute, everyone had to placate them with food and a bit of force.

Rulu had to suffer Shizu's cuddling for most of the party while Azi was placated with more booze and food as Ougi, Kajima, and Yashimu challenged him to a drinking contest which Azi surprisingly won against the trio of men.

By the end of the party, everyone was either laying on the couches or dining room chairs in blissful sleep. Shizu was again snuggling a drunken Azi from behind as they laid on the couch. Through her drunken thoughts, Shizu hugged Azi a bit tighter as her anticipation for the future ahead.