"I have finally arrived." Noel smiled, looking at the village in the distance. It had been a few days ever since he finished the mission.
He went to Astary Town to get his wounds healed. Luckily, he got some Mid Level Demon Crystals, allowing him to get enough money to heal himself.
Since he had been living inside the fort the entire time, he didn't take much interest in this town and immediately left after recovering from the wounds.
After another day of running, Noel finally arrived in front of the village where the Master Blacksmith resided.
As expected from the village that had a Master Blacksmith in it, when Noel saw the farmer outside the village, he could see the power of a good equipment. Plowing the field was much faster and easier because the farmer could easily swing that hoe. The man itself wasn't that muscular, showing that the hoe itself was lighter than a normal one.
'Hoh? It seems that the Master Blacksmith also improved the quality of life for the people around here.' Noel muttered inwardly while looking around the area. The people in this village had a smile on their face.
'Still, there are more people than expected…' Noel also occasionally saw soldiers, hunters, and other people who used weapons for their jobs. 'As expected from a Master Blacksmith, many people wants him to make equipment for them. I wonder if I can get one myself…'
Noel walked to the village, finding people roaming around the area. The building in this village seemed to be sturdier and bigger compared to all the villages he had seen so far.
It was clear that the economy of this village was booming due to the existence of the Master Blacksmith alone.
But when he was about to enter the village, he heard a familiar voice coming from behind.
"Ah… Are you…"
The feminine voice startled even for Noel as he hurriedly turned around and saw the blue-haired siblings. They were the siblings that he saved from the bandits.
"Ah?!" Noel politely nodded. "Hello."
"Thank you again for saving us from those bandits. Without you, we'd have died." The woman politely bowed her head.
"It's fine. I just happened to pass by." Noel shook his head, assuring her that she didn't need to thank him.
Seeing that gesture, the man asked, "By the way, what are you doing here? Are your purpose of visiting this village the same as most visitors?"
"I guess you can say so." Noel nodded his head.
"Ah!" The woman covered her mouth in surprise before giving a suggestion with a smile on her face. "If that's the case, do you want to follow us? This is the least we can do to repay you."
"This…" Noel didn't know whether to accept it or not, considering he didn't know the identity of these two.
"I think we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Rick and she is Rica. We're from a small merchant group known as Elezes. If you want to talk with the Master Blacksmith, we can set up a meeting for you." The blue haired man stepped up, offering the solution.
Noel thought for a moment before deciding to accept it. "I understand. Thank you very much."
"Please…" Rick extended his hand as if asking him to come together with them. But he paused at the end because he didn't know how to address Noel.
"Iadre. You can call me that."
"Please follow me, Iadre."
Noel nodded and followed these siblings to the village. He expected that it would be hard to meet the Master Blacksmith, considering he had so many customers. However, he had a letter from the commander, so he should be able to get some audience with him without the help of the two siblings.
But seeing their enthusiasm, Noel decided to use the letter as the backup plan if they couldn't bring him to the blacksmith.
As for the smithy itself, the place was located at the outskirt of the village. It wasn't that the Master Blacksmith refused to live in the center of the village, but it was due to the big building as well as the number of visitors. So as to not disturb the villagers, the Master Blacksmith set up the smithy in this corner.
"There are simply too many people here…" Noel muttered in a low voice, looking at the people lining up.
There was a young man standing in front of the smithy who was talking to the people that came to this place. He sometimes rejected them, accepted them or inquired more information.
Noel had become a commoner, so he instinctively lined up to wait for his turn to meet the Master Blacksmith.
But Rica couldn't help but chuckle. "Haha, what are you doing there?"
"Eh?" Noel tilted his head in confusion. "I'm just waiting in line. I mean, isn't that the point?"
"Don't worry. Please follow us." Rica asked him to step off the line as they went straight to the smithy.
Noel hesitated for a while but ultimately followed them. "I understand."
'They're so confident and don't seem to be arrogant, so there might be a reason for them to be this confident.' Noel thought while walking.
"Rejected! Go away!" The man in front of the smithy chased away another person while asking the person behind him to come.
"This is really hard."
"How do you even impress the Master Blacksmith?"
"We need to wait for hours just to get rejected."
"It's so sad."
"Look! There are three people who are cutting the lines!"
"What? Do they not know that the people from the smithy don't like people skipping the lines?"
When Noel listened to their words, he wanted to suggest them to go back since he didn't want to have any trouble, considering he had put a lot of effort to get the recommendation letter from the commander.
At the same time, the person in front of the smithy also noticed them due to the people talking about their action. He had frowned because this action displeased him.
"Hey look, another one that will be turned away. And that anger… They're going to be blacklisted from this place."
"Serve them right!"
The people were sneering at Noel and the two siblings.
However, Rick opened his mouth, greeting the angry guy and shocking everyone in this place. "Uncle Ben, it's been a while. How is Father?"
