Arad walked into the castle’s garden with Mira by his side, “Did you see Eris?” He asked.

“She’s asleep in her room,” Mira replied, “You know, she isn’t fully used to stay awake in the day,”

Arad nodded and looked at the clear blue sky, “It will be hard to get her to switch out of being a nocturnal being,”

Mira looked at Arad with a wry smile, “I mean, she was used to avoiding the sun for decades.” She then approached him and touched his face, “What about you?”

Arad looked at his hand, “As a dragon, I don’t have the same sleep schedule as humans, and the sun doesn’t harm me,” He looked up, “Albeit I prefer the starry night sky,”

Mira then looked at Arad, “And before you ask, Aella is hanging with the maids in the kitchen, trying to learn a thing or two. She told me she can’t walk that well due to pain in her hips. I wonder what’s that about,”

Arad looked away, changing the subject as fast as he could, “You could use a hammer as a weapon. That was impressive.”

Mira stared at him, “You saw me fight with it before. Trying to change the subject, are we?”

Arad’s eyes darted around as if seeking escape. Today is Mira’s night. All that would go to waste if she got scared now. He has to change the subject by any means.

Arad smiled, “Doma say you should try adding some tricks to your hammer.” He lied, and Doma gasped in his head, ^I didn’t say anything.^

Mira started thinking, “I saw Jack use that black powder of his…I was thinking I might put it inside my hammer and use it to shoot nails upon impact.”

“That doesn’t sound safe,” Arad replied with his arms crossed, “What if it explodes or something?”

Mira smiled, “Are you willing to test it for me?” She was joking, but Arad nodded, “Of course, it won’t harm me.”

Surprised by his answer, Mira smiled and pointed into the distance. “The royal blacksmith. Let’s go and see if he has anything I could use.”

Arad and Mira headed toward the blacksmith Arad closed his eyes. He took control of a rat and sent it toward Jack who was wandering the streets, looking for anything useful.

Upon seeing the rat with purple glowing eyes, Jack knew Arad wanted him so he started following the rodent.

Arad and Mira stood before the royal smith, and a short man glared at them from the inside. “Back the ** away! Your clothes would burn,” He growled, his voice shaking the whole place.

Arad looked down, and the man noticed them, but he was engrossed in his work, hammering the steel. He mostly saw their shadows and nothing more.

“That’s not a manner of speaking,” Arad walked forward, glaring at the man.

The man sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he glared at Arad, “Listen, you **er. You can’t just…” His eyes shifted, landing on Mira on the back, and his hands closed his own mouth.

“Wait, don’t tell me it’s your wife?” He whispered to Arad.

“She is, have a problem?” Arad growled.

“I would have tried to swear less,” The man whispered back and looked back at Mira, “Those mothe….” Ahem! “Those idiot soldiers have been pestering me for a while. Thought you were with them,”

Arad looked around, seeing several footsteps marked on the damp soil. “They wanted weapons?”

“Of course, bit…Swordsmanship failures break their weapons and then come to me to fix them.” The man grunted, finding it hard not to curse. “I can’t fix their swords twice a day. It’s impossible. And they go to report me to the general, and he takes it to the king. You don’t know how many times they accused me of lazing around and not doing my work.”

Arad nodded, “Twice a day? Are they swinging at stones?”

The man shook his head, “I don’t have the mind of an idiot, so I can’t possibly know of such wisdom.” He smiled, “And you, those muscles aren’t for show. It’s your weapon, show it to me,”

As they talked, Mira walked around the shop inspecting the smith’s tools and forge, trying to see what she could use.

Arad reached into his stomach and pulled the adamantine blade that Alcott gave him. He wanted to show the smith the nipple knife or the dragon slayer sword, but those could cause some commotion. ．𝙘𝙤𝙢

The smith froze when he saw the blade, snatching it from Arad’s hands, “Where the hell did you get his?”

“Got it from my sword teacher,” He replied.

“There is no way a sword teacher would give such a blade. I made this thing for that asshole Alcott,” He growled but quickly closed his mouth. The sword got him agitated.

“You’re right.” Arad replied, “Alcott is the one who trained me. He seems to have got a better sword, so he entrusted this one to me.”

The man looked at the sword and at Arad, “Fine, I will give it a look,” He lifted the blade and stared at it with one eye. “Slightly bent as if a hill giant swung it, you seem to be in one mind with those idiots.”

“I do have a bit more strength than the average person,” Arad replied with a smile.

“You’re right,” The man sighed, “Those muscles are worth something, at least,” He carried the blade to the table and sat it down. “It will take a few hours for me to reshape the blade and sharpen it. Come see me then,”

As those two talked, a loud crash noise burst from the back and they turned around, seeing Mira had pulled a large steel rod from a pile of trash.

“Careful not to harm your hands,” The man shouted.

Mira stared back at him, “That’s insulting, you know?” She waved his hand at him and he giggled, “Sorry, those aren’t the hands of a woman.”

Mira’s hands were rough from years of working wood and swinging her hammer and pulling on her saw.

Mira took the steel rod to Arad, “This looks usable for the hammer’s head,”

Arad looked at the rod and at the blacksmith. “You can take it if it’s from the trash pile.” He replied and then approached, “The name is Weldon of house red horn.” resting his fists on his hips, “I’m a half-dwarf, nice to meet you.”

Arad extended his hand to Weldon, “Arad Orion, a dragon slayer and soon-to-be baron. And this is my wife,”

“Second wife,” Mira specified in the back.

“We’re both humans,” Arad added.

Weldon eyed Arad for a second, “Nice lie lad, but I can smell it on you,” He smiled, “A half-dragon, aren’t you.”

“You can smell it?” Arad asked.

“I might not be a pure dwarf, but I got their strong sense of smell from my mother. I can sniff the scales on your body with a single whiff,” Weldon smiled, “You can’t fool me if you stood this close.”

Mira looked around, the only forge available was being used by Weldon, so she approached Arad.

“Arad, can you heat it red for me?” She gave him the steel rod.

Weldon stated to Mira, “Aren’t you asking the impossible?”

Arad lifted the still rod and blew on it, a fire breath emerged from his lips, crimson in color. That fire quickly turned blue then white, heating the steel in an instant.

Weldon’s jaw dropped seeing Arad lifting the red hot steel rod in his hands as if it was nothing, “Where do I put it?” He asked.

Mira looked around and saw an unused anvil. “Can you put it on that?”

Arad approached the anvil, lifting it with one hand and taking it into a spot under the shade. “You should work here, it’s less hot,”

Mira smiled and pulled her hammer and started molding the steel. Each time the steel seemed to cool down, Arad would heat it for her again.