150: Commission

I tried to finish the candy as fast as I could, but there was only so much I could do. I suppose I could have put it into storage and finished it later, but I’d probably forget.

“You know, Trev, Micca will never be able to sell these, right?” Hari said.

I nodded. “Yeah, I know. These were for the party. I wanted to get the supplies all sorted for when we head out again.”

“If you could somehow stack strength, endurance, and stone skin into a single candy, it would be incredibly beneficial for me,” Hari muttered.

“These are great for me though!” Liane said happily.

“And me,” Jen said with a grin. “You’ll not be taking all of them.”

While I was waiting and everyone was sitting around, I figured it was a good time to ask what the plan was for the other issues.

“What are we going to do about the cooking lessons the king offered, or finding someone to teach me runes?” I asked curiously.

Hari and Milo seemed to be in thought about it before Hari spoke up first.

“I don’t think having the chefs visit here and teach you will pose too much problem. You don’t need to use your ability, so you can learn from them without concern. As for the runes, I’m not sure.”

“It won’t be difficult to find runescribes in the capital. The problem comes in convincing them to teach you,” Milo added.

“I can teach him some things,” Sylverith said.

Everyone just turned to look at her.

“You can?” I confirmed.

“Sure. I dabbled in runes a few thousand years ago. I’m sure I could teach you a thing or two,” she said, waving her hand.

Milo’s eyes were wide—very wide.

“Would a human even be able to use your runes?” he stammered out.

Sylverith seemed to consider this for a while, which admittedly made me nervous. I assumed all runes were the same, and despite a little complexity, it wouldn’t change much, but the reaction from Milo seemed to imply something very different.

“Yes, he’ll be able to learn them, though he may need to learn a little of the draconic language to complete some, but that shouldn’t be a problem,” Sylverith said, nodding to herself.

“How would it even translate to food though?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t know! And that’s what makes it so exciting. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to try something new,” Sylverith said with a smile.

Milo wanted to say something, but held back.

When I was finally done with the candies, we made our way into the foyer. Archie was waiting for us.

“I have organised a carriage for you all to take you to the phoenix smith,” he said, bowing slightly.

“Uh, thanks, Archie,” I said.

I had not considered how we’d reach the smith at all. Honestly, I didn’t even know where he was located, so I was glad that Archie had the foresight to solve this problem.

Lily and Crisplet both decided they wanted to come along as well, so when we reached the carriage, Lily vanished, and I really hoped the smith was prepared for what was about to come. This thought made me chuckle.

“What’s funny?” Jen asked.

“I was just thinking the smith doesn’t know what he’s in for when all of us show up, especially with Lily and Sylverith,” I said.

Milo chuckled too.

Leaving our estate, I was shocked at how many guards were standing outside our entrance, counting twelve guards in all.

“Why do we have so many guards?” I asked.

“There are many people trying to get onto the property either to meet you or just to get a glimpse of the mythical creatures that are rumoured to live there,” Hari explained.

“It was really interesting when we left to go to the guild, because they insisted on taking us out in a carriage, and strongly advised us against walking,” Jen added.

“Mythical creatures? Who, me?” Sylverith added, a bit shocked.

“Yeah. I believe they think your dragon form is here at the house,” Hari added.

“I could fly over, but honestly I tend to avoid places with too many humans. Too many dragons have fallen victim to greed over the years, and got too comfortable, before they are eventually killed during a nap for their body parts,” she said bitterly.

We didn’t travel long before we pulled up outside a dark stone wall with what appeared to be a crimson red wood trim. It appeared to be fully enclosed, unlike other smithies I had seen through the towns.

I also couldn’t help but notice the carriage that was already here just outside, with royal guards around it.

“We’ve got company, it seems,” Milo commented.

And sure enough, as we were exiting our own carriage, the door to the carriage ahead opened. I expected Kathrine, maybe Luis, but I was not prepared for the King himself to step out of the carriage.

“Greetings!” he called.

As he made his way over to us.

“I thought I would personally introduce you to Max,” Marcus said.

Only for Sylverith to step forward. “Ah, another of the descendants. If I’m not mistaken, the father of the other two. You certainly have an interesting class, don’t you? Yes, not as young as you appear,” she said, inspecting him closely.

Marcus looked a bit shocked for a moment before he visibly steeled himself.

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“You must be Sylverith, the dragon and protector of the dark forest. Yes, I was hoping to meet you,” he said, straightening himself up now.

While this conversation was going on, a young lady had opened the door to the smith and was standing there wide-eyed at the group standing out front, freezing for just a moment before she ran away back inside.

“I am, dear, and I would very much like your permission to utilise your library,” she said with a grin.

“Ah yes, Kathrine did mention that. It might be difficult to allow you access to the palace so freely,” Marcus said, but he was interrupted by a light chuckle.

“Young phoenix, dear, I have already been inside. I would just rather have your permission to do so,” she said.

Surprisingly, Marcus took the confession in stride. I couldn’t tell if he was unbothered by it, or just hiding his chagrin very well.

“But while I’ve got your ear, let me also ask that you please put a stop to damaging my forest any further. You have two towns encroaching on my domain, and thus far we have played nice. I’d rather not get involved in human affairs, but I cannot allow my domain to be cut down,” she said.

This caught me by surprise because until now she had not mentioned the forest at all.

Meanwhile, an older man had come to the doorway of the shop, and now stood there—like the young lady earlier—watching the conversation between his King and this unknown lady who was making demands of him, in silent awe.

“That… that might be more difficult than the library problem. I can certainly understand your concern, but perhaps this would be a conversation best left for a proper audience?” Marcus tried to say.