Whilst both Theraldine and Valyr were hard at work in forging their respective artifact replicas, Julian watched the two from an area that allowed him to look at the entire main hall with a proud smile on his face, his expectations regarding the proficiency of the two towards forging more than subverted.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"You know, you could've just informed me you two were arriving instead of deciding to show up out of nowhere." Though he sensed the presences of two people appearing behind him, the middle-aged man did not bother turning his head around to look at them, instead speaking at them with an amused smile on his face.
"You know, we were hard at work forging a couple of masterwork weapons for the empire's higher-ups, right?" In response to Julian's words, one of the two people, a man that looked to be in his early thirties, placed his hand on his forehead as he shook his head with a sigh. "If not for the fact that you said we'd be able to see the candidate you've chosen for the inheritance, as well as the fact that we just finished forging those weapons, we wouldn't have come."
"Oh, come on, Byron. Don't be like that." Hearing the man's words, Julian let out a bit of laughter as he gestured for the two to sit down beside him. Fortunately, the two that had arrived did not decline the man's gesture, sitting themselves beside the man sometime later.
With him getting a better look at the two that had arrived, Julian went ahead and posed a question to the two. "So, it wouldn't be wrong for me to assume that your list of orders on which weapons to craft still aren't finished, right?"
"With the orcs possibly planning a giant offensive at some point in the future, you're correct." Wearing a dark blue suit that normally wouldn't be worn by a blacksmith, Byron, a man with silver hair and dark brown eyes, flashed a bitter smile in response as he pointed at the woman that came along with her. "If not for her, I would've probably had no choice but to decline your invitation to come here. She's the reason why I could finish so many masterwork weapons at once."
"Oh?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Julian looked at the woman that came alongside Byron, only to stare at the woman with his mouth slightly agape.
Sporting a head of long and luscious dark red-violet hair, the woman had a pair of light green irises that seemed to be able to peer through the entirety of Julian's body, something that greatly contrasted the woman's calm yet faint smile.
Similar to Byron, the woman was also in a get-up that would not normally be worn by a blacksmith, wearing a dark gray turtleneck shirt under a thick white coat that resembled what one would see researchers wear back on Earth. From how Julian stared at her, it went without saying that the woman was a beauty through and through, with her age and demeanor only highlighting that even further.
"Though I don't mind if you stare at me for a bit more, you do have a competition to arbitrate." Letting out a faint amused chuckle in response to Julian's staring, the woman prompted the former to focus his attention back to the matter at hand.
"Ah, right. My apologies." Awkwardly chuckling in response, Julian shifted his gaze back to the tournament, only to turn his head back at the woman. "To be honest, I assumed that the person that would be coming with Byron was someone he and I both knew."
"If you're referring to Sir Calvin, then he's still busy with forging masterwork weapons, I'm afraid," said the woman in response with a slightly apologetic smile. "Though I did come alongside Sir Byron out of convenience, if you want, I could take Sir Calvin's place as an arbiter for the forging duel happening below."
"Well, since Byron has brought you along with him, then that in itself is enough for me to understand that your skills are more than enough to be a judge of the works of the two." Looking at Byron, who nodded back at him in response, Julian nodded at the woman as he took her up on her offer. "Since that's the case, would you mind letting me know who you are so I could get to know you better?"
"My first name is Mystia, and my family name is Aschel. I am currently 53 years old, though they say I look to be perpetually in my thirties." Agreeing to Julian's request with a smile, the woman gave him a respectful half bow as she softly giggled. "Aside from that, I'm currently working alongside Sir Byron in forging masterwork weapons as an assistant when it comes to applying mana circuits onto the weapons."
"Wait a second…" Just as he was about to greet the woman with a warm smile, the words the woman had spoken to him clicked in Julian's mind all of a sudden, prompting him to go silent as he looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes. "First name Mystia, last name Aschel… Mystia Aschel…"
"You're telling me… no way…" Seeing the woman smile at him, as if she was expecting the man to be informed of her identity, the expression on Julian's face transformed into that of shock as he turned his head to look at his good friend. "You're actually working with the Meltierre Heavenly Court's Imperial Alchemist?!"
"Well, it would be more accurate to say that she requested to work alongside me," replied Byron as he gave a slightly smug grin. "Either way, I am indeed working with her for the time being."
"How did that even happen in the first place…?" Feeling great disbelief from the matter, it took a while for Julian to snap back to reality, taking quite a lot of deep breaths before being able to do so.
"If you don't mind, I could talk about it while we continue taking a look at the forging duel," suggested Mystia in response. "After all, it wouldn't be fair if the winner of the duel was chosen due to lack of information."
"Talking about it would definitely help time pass…" Though Julian was slightly hesitant at first, the man eventually agreed to the proposition, causing Mystia to smile at him in response, which briefly left him at a slight loss for words. Clearing his throat as he felt his face slightly heat up, he turned his head to look back at Theraldine at Valyr, who were still both hard at work in completing their respective replicas.
"Before I begin narrating how Sir Byron and I eventually ended up working together, would you mind informing me on who the two currently dueling are?" While Julian intently looked at what the two were doing, he heard Mystia ask a question towards him, to which he responded with a faint nod as he opened his mouth.
"The girl on the right part of the stage is my daughter, Theraldine," said Julian with a warm smile on his face. "She's my pride and joy, as well as the pride and joy of the entire Pyrrhia clan due to her comprehending the [Dea Pyrrhia Forging Arts]."
"And the young man on the left?"
"Now that one…" Julian let out laughter. "That one's special."
"In what way?"
"Well… for one, he's the one I've picked to enter the upcoming Four Pillars' Inheritance."
