“And we’re done,” Jeremy announced with a flourish, displaying a chunk of metal that laid on top of the anvil inside of his workshop. “It’s fairly easy once you get the hang of it. You’ll probably get used to it much quicker than I did as well.”

“I see,” Yuki replied. He picked up the metal and examined it. “It does look quite easy. Is it just decomposing and reforming?”

“That’s essentially it,” Jerry nodded. “Of course, understand your materials and how they interact with one another is also a major part of the entire process, but that comes with practice and knowledge.”

“Of course,” Yuki said. “Do you know what shouldn’t be combined?”

“No. I just know what I can’t combine,” he replied, smiling. “That’s the beauty of it. Sometimes that combination that blows up in front of you isn’t impossible. It’s just that you did it wrong.”

“Mmm.”

“You should have told me that you were an earth elementalist,” Jeremy laughed. “I was worried because I thought you were just like someone trying to do the most difficult level of a game they just started.”

“I thought being an earth elementalist was a given,” Yuki said. “I assumed that most people that want to get into the field of material crafting would have an earth affinity.”

“Well, I can see why you would come to that conclusion,” Jeremy nodded. “We handle raw materials like metals and gems which all come from the ground. And you’re not entirely wrong in thinking that earth elementalists would be the best suited for such tasks. Every metallurgist that I’ve seen or heard that was a master of their craft was an earth elementalist.”

“I see. What do you consider yourself? Skill wise.”

“I would say that I’m an expert,” he smiled. “Nothing more. Maybe a little less. When I watch true masters do their work, I realise just how much I have to learn. There was one time where I actually had the privilege to speak with arguably the best alchemist of all time.”

“Alchemist?”

“Yes. Alchemy includes metallurgy. It’s just that the ones like me that only focus on the metals are called metallurgists,” Jeremy explained. “Alchemist do metallurgy as well as medicine creation and many other things.”

“I see."

“Anyway, the alchemist was actually quite a nice person,” he continued. “We chatted for quite some time.”

“What was their name?” Yuki asked.

“It was Sophie, I think. She didn’t have a surname,” Jeremy replied, scratching his chin. “I don’t think she was married. I don’t know about right now though.”

“Sophie?” Yuki tilted his head. “What did she look like?”

“Fairly young when I saw her. Very beautiful as well.” He frowned. “I think she had dark brown hair. Mud brown eyes. Fairly average height. Maybe a bit taller.”

“What was she like?”

“Very kind,” Jeremy smiled. “She was very encouraging to me. I had just started metallurgy maybe, oh, fifty years ago? I was struggling since my fire attribute wasn’t the best for it.”

“I see.”

“But that isn’t to say that only earth elementalists have an advantage when it comes to metallurgy,” he said, raising a finger. “Fire affinities are more suited for such a field compared to the rest of the affinities barring earth of course. We are very good at smelting.”

“I can guess why.”

“What I was having trouble with was know what proportions I needed to mix the metals with. I didn’t know what went together. How different metals interacted with each other. I was quite close to giving up actually. Switching careers to just become a blacksmith.”

“Sophie changed that?”

“She did. Now that I think about it, she was quite odd as well,” Jeremy smiled. “Maybe a bit eccentric. She encouraged me in her own little way. She said that I would never be able to be as good as her in metallurgy.”

“Oh.”

“So she told me to stop making that my goal,” he continued, scratching his cheek with a small smirk. “I got a bit riled. I thought she was insulting me. But then she continued speaking. She said that I needed to make small steps forward, one foot at a time. To look back and see the others behind me and realise just how far I had gone.”

“That’s sound advice,” Yuki nodded. “One can’t truly appreciate how far one has gone until they look back at where they were.”

“That’s what she said. And she was right. Compared to others my age, I was excelling. I just didn’t know it because I was too caught up with comparing myself with those that were gifted in such ways that it was natural that they would surpass me.”

‘Maybe I should ask her for help,’ Yuki thought. He considered the idea a bit longer. ‘Or maybe not. As a teacher, her eccentricities can be a little much. I’ll work with her.’

“So that was really helpful for me,” Jeremy said. Then he shook his head and smiled. “I went very off topic. You’re a very attentive young lady. I’m sorry you had to sit through that.”

“It’s fine. I was interested,” Yuki replied. His watch vibrated. “I think someone’s trying to call me. Could you wait for a minute?”

“Sure. I don’t mind.”

Yuki nodded and stood from his seat beside Jeremy’s anvil. He placed the communicator in his pocket into his ear and gave it a light tap.

“It’s done,” Uriel announced. “I just sent it to your watch. You can take a look at it. I highlighted the important stuff.”

“Thanks. I’ll check,” he said. “I’ll let you know if I need anything else.”

“Got it boss. Have fun~.”

The line went dead and he slipped the piece back into his pocket. Tapping on his watch now, a screen appeared. He clicked on the file that was blinking to catch his attention. Then he quickly scanned through it, making sure to read the words that were highlighted a bright yellow.

‘I thought so.’ 

He closed the file and went back to his seat. Jeremy was chatting with Akira and Erica now, waving his hands animatedly as he told them a story.

“Done?” Jeremy asked when he saw Yuki walking back.

“With the call? Yes,” Yuki nodded. “But I still have a few questions if you don’t mind.”

“Ask away.”

“It’s about your wife, actually,” Yuki said looking right at Jeremy’s eyes. “Is that really okay?”

“Go ahead,” he replied, his grin falling.

“I was curious about what she did for a living. You did metallurgy. What did she do?”

“Um, well, she mainly helped me around the shop,” Jeremy said, looking down with a slight frown. “What Lily’s doing right now used to be her job.”

“What else?”

“We also used to sell potions. Liz made them. They weren’t the most amazing, but they were quite good for someone who made them for a hobby.”

“That’s what she did. Then I wonder. How did she die?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m just curious,” Yuki shrugged. “Someone who tended a shop died at a healthy age. I think it’s quite odd.”

“I believe she was out gathering materials for her potions,” Jeremy answered. “I don’t know what killed her. I just know she died in the forest.”

“Really now?” Yuki leaned forward. “You can give me more. I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, I’ll make this simple for you and just drop all the pretense,” Yuki said plainly. “I know what your wife did. I know her job. And I believe you when you say that you don’t know how she died.”

Jeremy stayed silent.

“She must have been impressive,” Yuki continued. “Being part of the L-taf and the leader of her corp is an amazing feat. I think you’ll be glad to hear that she died protecting and with honor.”

“You know what happened?” Jeremy whispered.

“I do.”

“Tell me.”

“That day when you last saw her, she was given a directive to head to the border between Libra and Keynal,” Yuki said. “It was a routine mission. She was to lead her corp and do a check around the towns there. According to reports from those that survived, they ran into unforeseen circumstances. An irregularity appeared nearby the town Captain Elizabeth and her team were lodging in. She died protecting the town. A week later, the Libra Taskforce sent out another team to eradicate the monster.”

“I, I see,” Jeremy said slowly. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I knew what she did. I didn’t know how she died. You understand why I couldn’t tell you what her actual occupation was, right?”

“I do. But since I already knew, you no longer are bound by the oath. How did you meet her?”

“Liz? During one of those routine checks. Luckily enough, she came to this town.” Jeremy leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I still remember when I first saw her. She came into my little shop to look around. Lied and said that my goat statues looked nice. They were supposed to be horses.”

Erica let out a snort that she quickly covered. Yuki glanced over at her, her shoulders shaking.

“Yeah, we laughed about that as well,” Jeremy said with a small smile. “We talked, went out to get a drink. I met her buddies which I found out were her corp members later. I didn’t know she was an agent until we started dating.”

“I see. Have you been in contact with the L-taf or the government in general since then?”

“Of course. They come by once in a while. I get reparations as well. Not that they help.”

“How about recently?”

“Recently? How recent are we talking about?”

“Oh, let’s say three years.”

“Excluding the times they come to give reparations, the last time they visited was roughly two years ago? I think.”

“You think?”

“Well, I’m not quite sure if they were from the L-taf or not. They did have a government badge,” Jeremy frowned. “I didn’t really ask questions since that’s not normally healthy for you.”

“That was the smart decision. They came to buy something?” Yuki asked.

“Yes, they did,” he nodded. “Oh, I remember now. It was two people. They came in and said that they were interested in a recent item I had just gotten. Showed me their badge as well.”

“What was the item?”

“A rather large gem I had happened to come across in my explorations into the local caves,” Jeremy replied. “From my brief evaluation, it was the largest elemental jewel I had ever come across.”

“What kind?"

“Water, I think. I’m not good at evaluations,” he said. “If it’s not an element I’m familiar with, I can only guess.”

“That doesn’t really matter. You sold it to the two?”

“I did. They offered quite a lot for it. I was happy to give it to them since I myself have no real use for elemental jewels.”

“I guess. Now besides those two, did any people come by that bought unusual materials recently?”

“How did you know that?” Jeremy asked.

“Same way I know about your wife.”

“Well, yes there have been quite a few people actually. I think they come from the same group,” he replied. “They were quite annoying. Not them personally, but the things that they ordered. They weren’t the easiest to make.”

“Where were they from?” Yuki asked. “I don’t know why someone would want such materials so frequently.”

“They were from a company, not a singular person which makes it kind of more logical. I just went with because I could create more business relations,” Jeremy said. “They said they came to me because I was the most skilled metallurgist in Libra. Which might be a stretch, but could be right. Most of the masters live in Montsol.”

“Yes, but what was the name of the company? I’m sure they told you, right? That would be quite odd if they didn’t.”

“They did,” Jeremy nodded. “They said they were from Mason Incorporated.”