"Well, well, well. If it isn't the young man who decided to head to the Akashic Battlefield yesterday." After arriving at the Blacksmith Guild, Valyr swiftly made his way to the main hall's counters that were specifically made for its members. Showing his Core Member badge to the attendant on the other side of the counter, he then requested to meet with the Guildmaster, which was unsurprisingly approved within a short time.
"If this is about what happened in the Akashic Battlefield yesterday, please don't remind me." Hearing the middle-aged man's voice just as he had entered the man's personal workshop, a wry smile appeared on the young man's face as he already had an idea regarding the current topic of their conversation.
"Unfortunately for you, as the Guildmaster of the Blacksmith Guild, I have no choice but to ask you more things about it, considering that you're a secondhand witness to the events that transpired within the Akashic Battlefield." In response to Valyr's words, Julian let out a brief chortle, placing down his hammer to the side just as he finished forging as always.
Briefly staring at the piece of equipment Julian had just finished forging, which looked to be a longsword, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit as he let out a sigh, compiling all of the thoughts regarding the orc infiltration in his mind before deciding to go over the whole incident chronologically. Unlike with Wells, Valyr did not withhold any information from the middle-aged man, going through everything in detail as he knew his information would truly help the man before him.
"So, that's how it is, huh." Scratching his head just as Valyr was finished narrating, Julian let out a low sigh whilst he shook his head. "People that had no clue regarding the tensions between the orcs and the humans, only for them to die under the orcs' hands in vain… the kingdom has no choice but to avenge them."
"Did the kingdom finally make its move?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr looked at Julian with a hint of expectation.
"They did, but I wouldn't consider it an actual move yet." In response, Julian wryly smiled, telling Valyr to not expect too much from the kingdom in such short notice. "Aside from increasing the defenses around the Akashic Battlefield and being more stringent with who they would allow to enter the Akashic Battlefield, they've dispatched a couple reconnaissance teams into the entrance where the orcs first appeared, utilizing the help of a couple mages specializing in illusion to have the orcs stay there for a while."
"That's quite a lot." Valyr's eyes widened in slight surprise. "And you're telling me this isn't the kingdom's full move yet?"
"They're still collating information on the orcs to form attack squads that would counter them and make sure they're dead for sure," said Julian in surprise, letting out a faint sigh as he made his way to the portion of his workshop that contained the materials he worked with, deciding to start formulating a plan on what kind of equipment he was going to forge next. "Of course, Zeik's firsthand information on the leader among the orcs helped save a lot of time. Frankly, it's the only reason why the kingdom could dispatch so many people in the first place."
"Anyways, I have a feeling you're not here at the Blacksmith Guild to talk about the orc infiltration." Deciding to move past their initial topic, Julian threw a question at the young man. "Let me take a guess… something about Technology Points?"
"I still haven't touched the Technology Points that came with the Core Member badge, actually." Hearing Julian's guess, Valyr looked at him with a slightly awkward smile. "Instead, I'm here to forge a couple of things, which I'll be selling through the guild's channels once I'm done."
"Are there any private workshops in the guild I could take for the time being?"
"We do have quite a few, and it wouldn't take long to get a hold of them since you're a Core Member." Julian nodded in response. "Though, with the small tournament between the inheritance's candidates coming up in a few days, are you sure you don't want to put in a bit more effort into strengthening yourself? I do know a couple of places that could act as a good alternative to the Akashic Battlefield."
"I appreciate the offer, but I've pretty much done everything I could to strengthen myself." Smiling in response, Valyr then flared the entirety of his aura for a brief moment, which prompted a slightly solemn expression to appear on the middle-aged man's face.
"I see." After going silent for a bit, Julian decided to stop what he was doing for the meantime and head outside his personal workshop, gesturing for the young man to follow after him. "Since that's the case, let me help you find a private workshop you could—"
"Dad!" However, just as the two were about to head to the Blacksmith Guild's private workshops, a young woman that sported a set of hair that was of a similar color to Julian's appeared in front of them.
"Ah! You're the guy that took my spot!" Just as Valyr was going to ask the man beside him as to what was going on, feeling a bit of confusion from the current situation, the young woman before them pointed at him, exclaiming something that only made him feel even more confusion.
"Huh? Are you referring to me, perhaps?" Scratching the back of his head, Valyr pointed at himself as he looked at the young woman.
"Who else could it be if not you!" In response, the young woman harrumphed as she crossed her arms, a slight frown adorning her face. "The so-called genius that forged an Epic grade armor set at Rank 2… from what I can see so far, you don't look like a genius at all!"
"???" Feeling even more confusion from the young woman's words, Valyr decided to look at Julian beside him, who had an apologetic smile on his face as he looked back at Valyr. Gazing at the young woman for a bit, Julian decided to cast a barrier of mana around them for the meantime, allowing them to have a private conversation.
"I'm so sorry my daughter is like that," said Julian to Valyr. "After I decided to have you take her spot in the Four Pillars' Inheritance, she's pestered me to no end since she wants to meet the person that took her spot."
"Is that so?" Now getting a bit of an idea as to why the young woman acted that way towards him, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr's face. "I'm guessing your daughter is quite the talented blacksmith if that's the case."
"Definitely way more talented than me, that's for sure." Julian laughed in response.
"What's her name, if I might ask?" Looking at the young woman for a bit in the midst of their conversation, Valyr felt like she had seen the woman back then in the past. Deciding to confirm his suspicions, the young man went ahead and asked the man before him.
Fortunately, the man's answer was enough for him to be reminded of who she was.
"Oho? Fancying my daughter, are you?"
"Well, all jokes aside, her name's Theraldine."
"Theraldine Irideus Pyrrhia."
