“The silvthril shipment hasn’t arrived.” The Blacksmith frowned. “This is worrying.”

I wondered about the silvthril. If it was anti-miasma, then it was probably effective against all dungeon creatures. That being the case, why would the dungeon contain any silvthril? I shook my head putting those thoughts out of my mind. I had to assume that the silvthril was here and existed, rather than that the silvthril was some kind of illusion in the story. Maybe, every cycle he waited for that shipment, and every cycle it never came, but I felt I had to treat it like it was real.

Part of that reason was that Garnet was looking at me with begging eyes. This was the day after the celebration. The shipment was supposed to arrive last night, and instead, they got bupkes. Garnet had come to my room early that morning, her eyes filled with worry as she asked me to come to the forge. Coming down with Garnet in hand, I had to dodge the innkeeper’s smug looks and the barmaid’s unhappy expression.

They had to have seen her come up, so they knew there was no time for us to get up to any shenanigans. I was pretty sure they were just giving me a hard time at this point. It was no secret that the only reason I remained in town was for Garnet.

Thus, I ended up in the forge, with the blacksmith laying a request, as well as a bag of gold. “You’re an adventurer and a hunter. This is well known. I’d like to pay you. It’s bandits, assuredly. Track them down, kill them, and take back the silvthril. I can pay you this again as long as you come back with it. I’ve also made you some armor more to your style. I know you’ve been collecting that Star crap, but it doesn’t suit your fighting style at all.

He was correct. I hadn’t worn the Star Armor since getting it. There were numerous pieces of thick full mail, and it covered every inch of the body. I was someone who needed to see my environment and be able to move quickly. It didn’t suit me at all. As to why I collected it, it was just a consequence of unlocking the saferoom network, and I thought the armor might do well for Carmine. When I got her back, I’d present her the armor as a gift.

At the moment, I was being shown armor of my own. I was surprised to see it glow a bit.

“Magic?” I said in surprise.

“Mmm… it’s just steel, but I infused magic into it. It’s a lot stronger than it looks, and lighter too.”

I picked up the chain-link material which looked a bit like a shirt, and while it felt like it should weigh ten pounds, it only felt like one or two.

“It’s beautiful,” I responded, looking at him with a bit of respect.

Magic blacksmiths were worth respect. All of Aberis only had one Master, and this was another.

“Don’t look at me.” He snorted, nodding to my side.

I looked to see Garnet blush. “I made it …”

“Then, thank you. I will go and recover that metal.” My hands tightened on the armor for a bit. “Then, I will be leaving.”

She looked up at me with shock, a flash in her eyes. “Leaving?”

While still looking at the armor, I spoke. “I’ve made my decision. I can’t wait to see if Lord Aberis has some master plan. I can’t just keep reacting to him. I have to take the initiative. I will head to the demon castle. I have to reach Carmine, and return to the rest of the people in my life.”

It was never really a question, but I had procrastinated here because I was afraid of failing again. I supposed losing Carmine and the fort had caused me to run away from my problems for a bit.

“Then… there will be a cost for that armor.” Garnet put on a stubborn look, the one I had grown to understand as something she wouldn’t budge on.

“What is it?”

“I’ll be going with you to take out those bandits.” She responded. “I’ll recover that metal with my own hands!”