CHAPTER 92: GIMLI STONEBREAKER [2]

"Do you understand what you’re saying, brat?!" Gimli yelled.

Kai merely narrowed his eyes, his smile becoming more composed. "Of course..." He paused, taking another step toward the wall. "Unless you’re hesitant to welcome me... Or has the great Gimli become some noble’s lapdog?"

"Brat!" Gimli exhaled heavily, massaging the bridge of his nose. "... You really are that witch’s student, aren’t you?"

He stared at Kai, whose smile widened to the point that his eyes nearly closed. ’Damn witch couldn’t even train a normal person.’

He sighed deeply. "Fine, you win..." He hesitated. "But you must allow me to touch that vestige of yours."

Kai nodded. "Alright, if that’s what you want. But in return, you must honor every single request I make from this day onward."

Gimli shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

Kai glanced at the camera. "And naturally, you must swear by the Artisan’s Vow in the name of the Sun God."

Kai understood all too well how most artisans functioned, and for someone like Gimli, whose pride lay in his creations and skill, a vow was not something he could break, even if others might.

Kai too thought the old man’s personal code was foolish, but who was he to complain, especially when it worked in his favor? Besides, he was confident Gimli wouldn’t forgo such a rare opportunity.

Through clenched teeth, Gimli opened his mouth to speak, only for Kai to cut in.

"Oh, I almost forgot, you will also be forbidden from accepting any other requests or vows without my permission."

However, Kai couldn’t let his worker sign a contract with someone else, to him it was no less than NTR.

Still gritting his teeth, Gimli snapped. "Why don’t you just ask me to be your slave while you’re at it?! Forget it, I won’t sell myself for that."

Kai narrowed his gaze. "Are you certain, old man?"

Gimli clicked his tongue. "It’s a shame, but yes, scram."

"Even if that item can change forms based on the vestiges it consumes... and isn’t just of the highest grade, but also of the highest quality..." He paused, feigning contemplation. "Did I forget to mention that it didn’t come from a monster, but from within me?"

Kai waited a moment, but no response came.

He glanced at Matt, then at Reozaki, smiled, and turned around. "Very well, I’ll take my leave."

Reozaki turned to Kai. "Are we actually leaving?"

Matt chimed in immediately. "Yeah, you could have just agreed with the guy."

Kai nodded at their remarks. "I won’t deny that I went overboard..."

His eyes glowed faintly as he continued. "But that man won’t let us go."

The moment those words left his lips, the wall that had been behind them vanished like a mirage, and from within the lingering darkness emerged a dwarf-like man, with fiery red hair and long red beard.

"Wait, you brat!"

’I knew he’d bite.’ Kai turned toward him with a frown. "Why are you calling me back? You’re aware you’re not the only blacksmith in the world, right?"

Looking at Gimli, Kai couldn’t help but reflect on his laziness as a writer.

In THD, there weren’t any races like elves or dwarves, but since Kai had no other image of blacksmiths in mind aside from dwarves, he ended up describing Gimli as a dwarf-like man.

Matt and Reozaki, cloaks drawn like Kai’s to conceal everything but their heads, struggled to contain their laughter.

’Why is he so tiny?’ they both thought in unison.

Reozaki, Matt, and Kai weren’t short by any means, so Gimli seemed unusually small in comparison.

Gimli, panting heavily, struggled to form words. "Alright, I agree, little witch. I’ll do the vow thing..." He took another breath. "That is, if you’re telling the truth."

Kai smiled. "Why would I lie, old man?"

****

(Back at the first-years’ lodge)

"So, Lisa, are you certain about this?" Professor Simba asked with a notably cold tone.

Neko-sensei, her face void of any expression, responded. "Yes. Yesterday, I picked it up with my zone, two suspicious young men entered Street Two, and a strange pale-skinned man arrived in the city that same day."

"You do realize the man you’re referring to is a guest of His Royal Highness. And there’s no evidence implicating the two young men in anything."

Neko-sensei shifted her gaze to the young woman who entered the white room where the students had been learning.

She, Professor Simba, Kelvin, Kylie, and two other instructors bowed slightly.

Mrs. Augustina Stormborn, the academy’s headmistress, smiled at them and stepped onto the podium, making herself visible to those seated in the descending rows.

"Can you elaborate, Lisa? And why did you even deploy your zone during a school excursion in a foreign city?"

Neko-sensei nodded softly and began recounting the events.

She started by explaining how she was concerned about Kai, who she hadn’t seen since they got off the bus, and how she had asked a student to summon him, prompting the headmistress to question why she needed her disciple in her room.

Neko-sensei replied with a blank expression, "So he wouldn’t run away from me."

She went on to describe how he left the building and she followed. At that point, she was sure Kai was in trouble and hoped he hadn’t gone far.

Her story continued with how he visited the orphanage, which she deduced was where he grew up, did something embarrassing, and then spent over an hour watching the children play.

By this point, the other teachers had completely forgotten any suspicions about Kai and instead began to sympathize with him.

Neko-sensei recounted how she had attempted to retract her zone to give him privacy, only to see the two men placing something emanating purple and red mana into the ground, before quickly leaving.

She pursued them and encountered the pale-skinned man, who at that time was bowing before a strange figure whose face she couldn’t discern.

After her narration, the headmistress nodded, her hand resting on her chin. "I believe I understand the situation. It is certainly suspicious..." She paused, fixing her gaze on Neko-sensei. "But we must not dismiss other possibilities."

Neko-sensei nodded, though her eyes betrayed doubt.

After a moment, Augustina continued. "I’ll try to report the matter to the royal capital..."

She tapped her dragon-topped walking stick. "You should already know we can’t afford any missteps, especially after what happened at the academy."

Neko-sensei couldn’t argue with that.

Perhaps Kai had found a way to defeat Deerheart, uncover his plan, and act accordingly, saving many of them, but he wouldn’t always be there. The royal court and nobles would use any means to control the academies.

That meant she could only watch and wait. She clenched her fists tightly. ’Is this truly the right course of action?’ she wondered.

She understood the need to follow orders and didn’t want to bring trouble to the academy.

But she couldn’t shake the feeling that this exact mindset was what their enemies wanted.

Why did they make their move while Noctis was in this town?

No matter how the professors tried to rationalize it, the circumstances defied logic.

She exhaled, then bowed before exiting the small building. ’Why do I suddenly want to see the kid?’ she mused, smiling up at the fading sun. ’Maybe... I really do want to adopt him.’

For now, Neko-sensei was committed to following the headmistress’s orders.

But that didn’t mean she would sit idly by.

She needed to remain constantly vigilant. ’But what could they want with miasma?’

There were limited uses for miasma alone, but one possibility, though it required a stable space capable of hosting a dungeon, was the creation of an artificial gate.

If that were to happen... Neko-sensei covered her face with her palm as a sharp headache throbbed through her skull.

She sighed. ’I hope those demonic bastards aren’t planning something stupid again...’

****

(Back at the alleyway, inside Gimli’s hideout)

"Wow! So this is what the hideout of the greatest blacksmith looks like?" Matt said, his eyes narrowed in disappointment as he surveyed the nearly empty room.

Reozaki scoffed. "Idiot, can’t you tell this isn’t the main lab?"

Gimli turned toward the trio behind him and muttered, "This is why I hate brats..." His gaze settled on Kai, who turned and smiled. ’Especially brats raised by witches.’

Gimli closed his eyes momentarily, palms pressed together, then, without warning, he spread them apart with a loud "Haah!" His eyes snapped open, now glowing a vivid red.

Kai nearly burst into laughter, so did Reozaki and Matt, but before they could, the room began to tremble slightly, then appeared to shift, though they remained in the same place.

By the time Kai blinked, the entire space had transformed as if they had entered an entirely new building.

Gimli glanced at the trio’s stunned expression with the corner of his eyes, then laughed loudly. "Hahahaha, are you shocked already?" He then smirked. "Don’t worry, this is only the beginning. Soon, you will be calling me grandmaster."

Kai was genuinely taken aback by what stood before him.

Contrary to what most would envision a blacksmith’s hideout to resemble, Gimli’s was the complete opposite.

Automatons moved about as if they were commonplace, surrounded by various forms of advanced machinery and a state-of-the-art heating system designed for weapon forging.

Even a colossal mech stood stationed at the edge of the vast chamber, which resembled an aircraft maintenance hangar.

Kai swallowed hard, turning to his far left to find an array of weapons and combat suits that closely resembled those worn by top-tier Awakened.

Matt let out a sharp gasp. "What the freaking hell!"