Jeremy’s workshop wasn’t quite what Yuki expected. There was an anvil which was to be expected from a craftsman who works with metal. A fireplace blazed gently beside it, but instead of wood for fuel, it burned mana from crushed ores. Various tools were hung nearby on hooks attached to the wall. There was a bin full of misshapen metal that looked to be unfinished works.

However, that one thing that stood out to Yuki was how clean the entire space was. The floors were stainless, the tools shiny, and even the fireplace was perfect. It was not something Yuki expected from a place that was about manual labor. 

“Still a clean freak, I see?” Erica commented as she looked around. “Even your tools are spotless.”

“A craftsman is represented by the state of his tools,” Jeremy replied seriously. “I treat them like they are my children.”

“And this room as well.”

“Well yes, the room was a bit overboard, but the idea still stands.”

“So how have you been doing?” she asked, taking a seat at a table inside the workshop. 

“I’ve been doing quite well recently,” Jeremy replied, sitting as well. “The shop has been a bit slow as of late, but it’s fine. I make most of my profits from materials anyway.”

“You had a kid as well,” Erica said with a raised eyebrow. “How did that happen? Last time I saw you, you were lonely here working with metal horse statues.”

“Come on,” he laughed. “I have a very active dating life, thank you very much.”

“Maybe,” she smirked, shrugging. Then her eyes grew serious. “I don’t mind to pry, but what happened to the mother?”

“How do know that something happened to her?” Jeremy asked, his voice dropping.

“I talked with little Lily for a bit while I was waiting,” Erica replied. “I gathered enough pieces to come to that.”

“I see,” Jeremy sighed. He rubbed his eyes. “I think you got smarter during the twenty years we didn’t meet.”

“Ha, are you saying that I was dumb before?”

“Maybe.”

Erica laughed. “But seriously, what happened?”

“She died,” Jeremy said flatly. His eyes dropped and he stared at the wooden table in front of him. “That’s it. She died.”

“Oh. Sorry for asking.”

“It’s fine. It’s been nearly ten years,” he said with a sad smile. “I’ve moved on. For the most part.”

 “What was her name?”

“Elizabeth,” Jeremy answered. “I called her Liz. She named Lily.”

“Jeremy,” Yuki said, interrupting. “Can I call you Jerry?”

“Uh, yes. Sure,” he replied. He stared at Yuki for a bit. “Not to be rude, but who are you?”

“I’m a friend of Erica’s. My name’s Yuki.”

“I should have known that,” Jeremy said ruefully, a small smile on his face. “Of course you are. And this young lady here? What’s your name?”

“My name’s Akira,” Akira answered. 

“Akira and Yuki. Interesting names,” he commented. He frowned. “I’ve never heard them before. Where are you two from?”

‘Oh. No one’s asked me that before.’

“Junction,” Yuki said. “And yes, our names are pretty uncommon.”

“Junction,” Jeremy nodded. “That explains it. There are so many people in Junction of different types. I’ve met someone whose name was just a letter. That had to be the weirdest day of my life. Well, maybe the second. But I digress. Erica, why are you here?”

“I’m a customer,” she said. “I’m here to buy things. And I decided to say hi as well since I’m here anyway.”

“What are you trying to purchase? Since you didn’t get anything from the store, were you waiting for me to return to greet me before buying?”

“No, I’m buying materials,” Erica explained. “And Lily told me that I had to wait for you before I could do that.”

“She did, did she? That’s my girl,” Jeremy smiled. “Yes, if you want materials, you need to wait for me to come back. It’s for safety reasons. I don’t want people stealing my products.”

“The other reason why I’m here is for my friend,” Erica continued. She gestured towards Yuki who was standing. “She wants to ask you a few questions about metallurgy.”

“Oh? She does?” Jeremy looked at Yuki with renewed interested. “There’s not many young folks like you that are interested in such a field.”

“I see,” Yuki replied.

“Are you buying her materials for her to practice with?” he asked, directing his question to Erica.

“The materials are for her, yeah,” she said.

“What kind?” He pushed his chair out and stood. “Or do you want me to make some recommendations for what I think a beginner should start with?”

“Uriel should have given you a list,” Yuki said to Erica.

“I have it,” she nodded. She took out a slip of paper from her jean pocket. “Here you go.”

She handed the list to Jeremy who accepted it with a smile. He opened the folded slip began to read the contents. His smile froze.

“You want these?” he asked slowly. He lowered the list and stared at Yuki. “Are you sure?”

“Those are what I need,” Yuki replied. “It’s for a project. And it’s also why I need to ask some questions. Metallurgy is something that I’ve never done. I know I need it for what I want to create, but I want to make sure I don’t make any mistakes.”

“But these materials. They’re not just hard to work with. They’re dangerous when handled improperly,” Jeremy explained. “Explosively dangerous.”

“And that’s why I want to ask questions.”

“They’re expensive as well.”

“That’s not a concern.”

They stared at each other, Yuki not budging a bit as he looked right back at Jeremy with cool eyes. Jeremy sighed.

“Fine. I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said. “I don’t want someone so young to die because of something so stupid.”

“I’ll survive. I have help.”

“You do? Who?”

“My friend,” Yuki said, nodding toward Akira. “She has experience in this field.”

“Does she now? That’s good. But how much experience? The things you’re trying to undertake are not something a novice or even someone experienced can do. It would take a master.”

“We have a certain skill set that would help ensure that this works out,” Yuki replied shortly. “Give us the materials. You’re payment will follow.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Jeremy said. He walked off, muttering under his breath.

“Did he say explosive?” Erica asked, looking at Yuki with wide eyes.

“Yes. I already knew that,” Yuki shrugged. “When you start to decompose orichalcum into its components, it becomes unstable. You need to balance it out with an absorbant or else it’ll explode.”

“Oh, so you knew that.”

“Of course. I looked up these things when I was trying to find the right materials to finish my project. I just realised that I should combine them now rather than trying to find the holy grail. Please wait a bit. I’m going to speak with Uriel for a little.”

His hand went to his pocket and he placed a communicator inside his ear. Tapping on it, he connected it to Uriel.

“Hey, boss,” Uriel greeted immediately. “What can I do for you?”

“I want you to do a quick investigation into someone,” he said quietly. He thought back to what Jeremy had muttered as he was walking away. “Or really, someplace.”

“Sure. What kind of investigation? Full blown or just a quick information round up?” Uriel asked. 

“Information. Find Jeremy’s Smithy and give me a list of the customers and the items bought by those customers,” he instructed. “Specifically those that ordered materials. Oh, also look into a certain Elizabeth Garnier. Jeremy Garnier’s deceased partner.”

“Will do, boss,” Uriel replied cheerfully. “I’ll be back in a jiffy. Ten minutes tops. If I’m not back by then, call the cops.”

“If you want me to.”

She laughed and then the earpiece went quiet. He slipped it out and placed it back into his pocket. A few minutes later, Jeremy returned, holding a box in his arms.

“Here they are,” he said. “They’re stored into containers. Everything is here.”

“Thank you,” Yuki replied. “How much?”

“Twenty silver,” Jeremy answered. “Now I know that’s a lot, but these materials are not the easiest to come by or to han—”

“Here,” Yuki said, interrupting him. He placed a two stacks of coins on the table. “Do I need to pay for the consultation as well?”

“Ah. No.”

“Perfect. Then you don’t mind if I start asking questions, do you?”

“Of course not. Ask away.”