Seeing Altoria squat down upon landing with a look that said she was too embarrassed to face anyone, Reiger was at a loss for words.
"Is it such a big deal that I carried you here? My actions weren’t that rough, right?"
Hearing this, Altoria glared directly at Reiger.
"Is this about whether the action was rough or not? It’s about whether your method was proper! I may be a young lady, you know? Can’t you treat me in a more gentle, gentlemanly manner?" Altoria complained vehemently.
"If you wish, I can treat you that way," Reiger looked straight at Altoria and said, "but that would definitely not be my true self; it would just be an act."
"Would you prefer me to treat you with a facade, or interact with you as I truly am?"
"If you choose the former, then I can change my attitude right now, you know?"
Reiger’s words seemed both pointed and casually spoken, plunging Altoria into silence.
"...Let’s just stick with the way things are," the girl murmured to herself before standing up and heading straight towards the forging area.
Reiger couldn’t help but smile, following behind Altoria as they both walked toward the blacksmith’s workshop.
As they walked, Altoria’s steps began to falter once more.
Clearly, Altoria was becoming stage-frightened again.
It seemed she had remembered the wrong she had done to Ecter and was struggling with the idea of going to see him.
But in the end, Altoria made up her mind, pushed open the large door of the workshop, and walked in.
Reiger followed her inside to a forging shop that was a mess but surprisingly well-equipped.
"Clang—— Clang—— Clang—— Clang——"
Inside the workshop, the sound of hammer striking metal resonated.
The source of the sound was at a fiery furnace at the far end of the workshop.
There, a stout figure with the classic appearance of a dwarf Forging Master was swinging a hammer, striking a red-hot piece of iron that seemed to be taking the shape of a weapon.
The arrival of Reiger and Altoria did not draw his attention, as he exuded a vibe that he did not wish to be disturbed, causing onlookers to instinctively hold their breath and remain silent.
Altoria did just that, falling silent on the spot, motionless.
Reiger was in no hurry. Seeing that Altoria did not wish to disturb the man at work and remained silent, he turned away to explore other parts of the workshop.
There was much to be seen in the workshop, including weapons like swords, armor, and even accessories such as headdresses, bracelets, and necklaces, as well as household tools like hoes and shovels. The place felt less like a blacksmith’s shop and more like a general store.
Yet Reiger was unexpectedly shocked to find that every single item here was of such high quality that it was frightening.
Even the hoes and shovels surpassed the quality of tools typically crafted by humans, not to mention the swords and armor.
"...These are at least on par with special armaments of the third tier, aren’t they?"
Reiger once again perceived the gap between fairies and humans.
Fairies are beings born with inherent mystique, incomparably superior to the naturally fragile and powerless humans.
The Earth Clan was famously known as the clan of Forging Masters among the six fairy clans, and weapons forged by them were likely comparable to special armaments crafted by an Advanced Forger with the ’forging’ development ability.
Reiger surveyed the workshop and eventually took down a knife from the wall.
It was a short blade, about half the length of a forearm, its edge glinting coldly and looking extremely sharp.
Reiger’s attention was drawn to it for two reasons.
One was that, like his Sun Wheel Blade, this short blade was also black.
The other was that this short blade hosted a substantial amount of Magic Power and was the highest quality in the entire workshop.
Without needing to cast an identifying spell, Reiger could tell that this blade could definitely compete with second-tier special armaments, and perhaps even exceed them.
Just as he was sure of this, a deep voice rang out.
"That is a blade I forged a hundred years ago. Though it’s only a short blade, perhaps because the materials used were very high-grade, it turned out exceptionally well, one of the best pieces I’ve made in hundreds of years."
Hearing the voice, Reiger lifted his gaze from the blade in his hand, shifted his sight to the direction of the voice.
There, the dwarf fairy who had previously been forging in front of the anvil had finished his work and stood up.
No, he hadn’t finished his work, but had stopped halfway through.
Possibly attracted by Reiger’s actions, the dwarf fairy tossed aside the iron he had been seriously working on, holding a hammer, he approached Reiger.
"Ect-Ecter...?" Altoria called out to him weakly.
The dwarf fairy—Ecter—did not pay attention to Altoria but instead glanced at the Fool that Reiger had not stored away on his waist and grunted.
"You have a very fine blade with you. With that one around, you probably wouldn’t care for my clumsy work, right?" Ecter’s tone was indeed rough, and his attitude, quite unpleasant, said, "The kind of fairy that can forge such a blade, to my knowledge, doesn’t exist even in Camelot. Where did you pick that up from?"
Reiger did not immediately respond but rather raised the short blade in his hand.
"If I tell you, will you give this to me?"
Reiger’s words caused Ecter to raise his eyebrows.
"Wait, wait a moment!"
Altoria hurried forward, trying to stop Ecter.
However, Ecter did not lose his temper.
"If you want it, just take it."
The dwarf fairy snorted coldly and surprisingly agreed quite readily.
Altoria was immediately taken aback.
"That easy to agree?"
Is this really the Ecter I know?