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*TING*, *TING*, *TING* goes the sound of my hammer as I beat a sword into shape.

It has been a week since reintroducing ourselves to the hippogriff chicks. It took a while and a lot of treats, but they eventually accepted us as part of their flock.

After introducing the family to the chicks, the rest of the house staff and knights were also slowly introduced to the chicks. Soon enough, Baron Wyldebane introduced some free roam time for the chicks to get used to the surroundings and the people living in it.

During that time, some of the chicks got attached to people, especially the knights. Baron Wyldebane explained that beasts like hippogriffs instinctively recognize strong people and sometimes get attached to them.

Dad’s knights were especially excited when the chicks got attached to them, dreaming of taking to the skies riding on their backs. It also helped that the knights could afford to spoil the chicks with treats always at hand.

*Chirp*, *Scratch*, *Scratch*, *Chirp*

In between one of my hammer swings, I heard the door to my workshop being assaulted by the sound of claws dragging on its surface. I look at my blade, which was mostly done and only needed detailing and grinding, “I guess I can finish this up later.” I said, and put the bright orange piece of heated metal down to cool off on its own.

As I walked to my poor, abused door, I kept my leather apron on because I knew what was coming.

The moment I opened the door, I was set upon by beak and talon from a hippogriff chick the size of a labrador retriever. The talons dug into my leather apron as it nuzzled its beak onto me while fluttering its developing wings.

All I could do was hold back a chuckle as I gently cradled the hippogriff chick under its wings. “Hello, Spot, did you miss me?” I said as I dug my fingers into that fluffy head and gave that cute head some scratches.

Like the knights, my parents and I also had chicks that had gotten attached to us. And the one who got attached to me was a male chick I named Spot because of the small patch of dark grey feathers on the top of his head.

After getting his share of nuzzles, Spot unlatched his talons and dropped down to the ground, bit on my apron and started tugging at it as if he were trying to lead me somewhere.

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“Dragging me off to play with you and your siblings again, are you?” I chuckled. “Let me lock up the workshop first.”

After locking up, I followed Spot as he alternated between running toward where his siblings were already playing and looking back at me to make sure I was following him.

Soon, we made our way to the estate’s garden, where most of the chicks were already playing, and gathered around were some of the knights and house staff. When Spot was satisfied that I was close enough to the rest of the knights and house staff, he ran off to pounce on one of his sibilings to start a playfight.

A few minutes later, as we were sitting around and chatting, the last two hippogriff chicks came running into the garden from the main house, followed by my parents.

Soon after my parents arrived, a tea table was brought out, and I joined my parents for some tea and snacks, but just as I reached out to grab a pastry, Mum smacked my hand with her fan. “Luke, wash your hands before you touch the food. You are covered in soot.”

“Fine…” I grumbled as I mentally cast a water spell to create a ball of “water” beside me to wash my hands.

As we talked, the eventual question of what we were up to and how we were doing came up.

I told my parents that I was currently working on some orders for swords and armor while testing different metals and their ratios, along with designs of various twist patterns for the metal. I was also trying to reverse-engineer that enchantment on the mask the Steward’s Guild issued me, the one that lets me see through the mask even when there are no eyeholes. But because my parents don’t know that I am a mercenary for high-end clients, I just told them I was trying to decrypt an enchantment on a piece of armor I picked up on my mission.

As for my parents, they were especially busy now that my scavenging from the harpy mountains has given my family a windfall, politically and financially.

Prior to this windfall, Dad went to travel the new and old territories every two weeks or so to make sure everything was running well. But now, with so many projects and with the influx of merchants and business opportunities, he was stuck in town, buried in paperwork, and ended up needing to hire six scribes to keep up with the workload.

On the upside, with the influx of merchants and business opportunities, mercenaries and those who chose a more dangerous path in life followed. Even the Adventurers Guild, which until now had only operated a small outpost in a tiny hole in the wall, had to buy a larger location to establish a full-sized guildhouse. And with professional adventurers around, we didn't have to risk our soldiers' lives taking down truly powerful beasts or monsters when there were experts to handle it.

As for Mum, she handled the social and political aspects. A few times a week, she would either attend a tea party or host one, inviting the local noble and merchant wives. It was an excellent way to get the latest gossip, learn about business opportunities, and allow the husbands to pass messages through their wives to each other while managing their territory.

This, in turn, tightened the bond between our cluster of border nobles to work in tandem to have better negotiating power with merchants and nobles outside the clique.

In the middle of our chatting, Spot trotted over to me, nipped at my pants while looking up at the table. The little bugger was begging for treats from the table. I did not know if sugar was good for the chicks, so I took the safe option and opened a pouch at my side and took out some jerky.

Immediately, Spot’s eyes went from the table to the jerky, and I made the cardinal sin of feeding Spot in front of the other chicks because soon, I was overrun by the other chicks wanting a piece of jerky.

As I am tackled to the floor and robbed of all my jerky, I lie still as three hippogriffin chicks decide that I made an excellent mattress and lie down on top of me while chewing jerky and chirping at each other.

I hope things stay as peaceful as they are now.