“I fell asleep and when I woke up I could do it,” I said as a joke. “Try not to be too jealous. There are geniuses like me in the world you know.”
“You shameless brat.”
I laughed. “I think so too.”
Despite his grumbling, Hanmer was a good friend. He was one of the first few people I had gotten close to in Sharatan village. His skills were poor but that was only because I had seen what craftsmen in Acrab could do, otherwise he was the best carpenter in Sharatan village. I had given him blueprints for a desk I wanted made the first time I was here. After looking at it, he asked me who had made it. That was how we had struck up a conversation and became friends.
“No matter how much you fly and brag, you can’t compare to craftsmen in Acrab.”
“Huh… why?” I feigned ignorance.
“That is a city in the empire where the best craftsmen live in,” said Hanmer, “It is the city of dreams for people like us.”
“So, you’re saying I’m going to fall behind on the skills compared to the craftsmen living in Acrab?”
“Of course! Because there is Haram, who is said to be the best among the craftsmen!” said Hanmer reverently, with his eyes sparkling.
How is it that all production workers are the same? The Acrab craftsmen, who thought they were the best, were weak towards compliments. If you praised them and their craft, they would readily teach you. Perhaps great craftsmen had forgotten what compliments feel like since they were busy checking for flaws in their crafts instead of praising it.
Haram… he was so very strict. He certainly had amazing skills, but he didn’t really like me.
“You’re a weirdo. You are so pretty but here you are sitting here and hammering things.” After praising Haram, Hanmer clicked his tongue as he looked at me sitting on the floor casually.
“Right? It’s such a shame that my beauty is wasted in a countryside like this.”
“If it wasn’t for that face, I would have thrown you out of my workshops instead of putting up with your cheeky arguments.”
I gasped in mock distress. “How can you say that? A gentleman like you!”
“Ha!” Hanmer smiled. I grinned back at him. I might have looked so sickly and weak for him to even consider throwing me out. He laughed out loud.
I had been in bed for ten whole days. I didn’t know whether it was because of my symptoms or Kaichen’s hellish porridge, I had lost a lot of weight. I felt like all my energy had run dry. People of Sharatan had the same kind of skin complexion like Kaichen, and my pale skin made me the odd one out. It was highly noticeable.
Looking at the nearly completed bench, I lifted the hammer again.
“But what is that weird thing that you are making?” asked Hanmer.
“There’s a very big and pretty willow tree at home, and I thought it would look good if I put a bench under it.”
“But why? If it is just for the purpose of beautification, just leave it as it is.”
“What are you talking about, Hanmer?” I said, working on the finishing touches. “On a sunny day, you can relax by lying in the shade of the willow tree, eating fresh fruit, or reading a book. The tree is by the pond which has ducks in it. It is a very nice place.”
“Are you have some kind of dream?” Hanmer said, confused. I ignored him and imagined sitting on the bench under the willow tree. I couldn’t wait to complete the bench.
I wanted to do what I really wanted before I left from here. I didn’t know if I will be welcome again into Kaichen’s house in the future. I didn’t know if he would let me into the compound at all.
“I’ve always thought it was weird, but where do you disappear every time? Where on earth do you live? I heard that you were living with a teacher somewhere…”
After I packed the completed bench in a magic bag, I hurriedly cleaned my seat. “Thank you for letting me work! I’ll put the money here, so stop drinking and practice your skills.” I left Hammer behind, confused and without answers to his questions. I pretended to be in a hurry and rushed out of the carpentry shop. I was close to the people of the village but none of them knew where I was staying.
The villagers knew of Kaichen. He used to visit Sharatan village occasionally to eat and people knew him as a wizard who was doing always doing some kind of research. I had told them that he was my teacher, but the villagers only saw me as his maid. They hardly believed me. Well, I did visit the village to buy groceries and supplies so it made sense why they would think I was the wizard’s maid. The less the people knew, the better. I decided not to use magic in the village.
Nobody seemed to recognize Kaichen last time when he came to the Sharatan village with me. I realized that he might have used transformation magic. Even when I said I was a disciple to the archmage, Kaichen, nobody really seemed interested. Kaichen must have never shown his face in public for others to recognize him.
“Oh? Dalia! Are you coming back from Hanmar’s again?”
