Sarey led Allan back to their home.

 

“Your sense of direction seems fine. I don’t get how you can move within the darkness...” She asked as she soon saw a wooden cottage around the corner.

 

“I said it before. You were obvious to me, like a sun in an empty sky.”

 

“So you went after my voice?”

 

“Yes.” Allan said truthfully.

 

“Next time, I will prepare something else for you.”

 

“Y-you don’t have to.”

 

“What? Do you not want to be stabbed by the needles again?”

 

“Uhh... I won’t argue about that.”

 

The main backyard entered their view. They went through some bushes before entering the home. On their right was a hall which led to the kitchen and further was more rooms. On the left were also a few storage rooms and Zigmund’s office.

 

“Are you hungry?” Sarey asked.

 

“Yes. I would eat a whole pig right now.”

 

“I bet. There will be an increase in appetite for the initial stages of this practice. You may be glad that we have very big food storage.”

 

“How can I eat so freely? Is there something I can give in return?”

 

“What? Are you complaining again?” Sarey complained after hearing it once again.

 

“No. There is no free meal in the world. That was a saying of one of my friends.” Allan made up an excuse. It was something he used to say with Berg and his food.

 

“If you want to be so generous. You can pay my father after you get your eyes back. Blacksmithing work is profitable, and it makes more gold in general.”

 

“You mean I could pay you back with blacksmithing work?” Allan fell stunned. He did not think of that. Why he should be unable to do the thing he loved the most?

 

Eyes were not necessarily mandatory when it comes to blacksmithing. The sight was mostly used for checking things out. Obviously, the importance of it was tremendous. If he made sure that everything was fine, there were few problems in not having his sight. He knew he could do this. Theoretically speaking.

 

His experience of what he gained after working in Clayton’s as well as his own experimentations was more than enough after these years. He started very young, after all. Considering the circumstances, why not continue doing what he loves?

 

“Sarey. I may as well start with it now.” Allan suddenly asked, without hesitation. An idea that popped into his head at this moment.

 

“With what?” She asked in confusion.

 

“Blacksmithing. I have worked in this field for about 9 years already. I know the basics and even some advanced methods like the tip of my toe.”

 

“Y-you? Are you serious? Do you even have time to worry about that right now?” She asked in seriousness.

 

“I will make up some schedule for myself. I should manage it.”

 

“You know that these are the words of a blind man. Do you even know the nearest forgery? What about materials, fuel, and other details that even I don’t know about?”

 

“Uhhh... Right. You are not wrong about that. I don’t want to burden you too much.”

 

“Are you trying reverse psychology? That won’t work on me.” Sarey did not move her mindset about it at all.

 

“Reverse what? I am not trying anything.”

 

“Oh. It is something I learned from my teacher. I am not that stupid to fall into your traps. Heheheh.” She laughed in confidence.

 

“I can help you with this issue.” A deep voice sounded from nearby.

 

“F-father?” Sarey jumped and turned her head to see her father appear behind a corner.

 

“Mister Zigmund?”

 

“What? You are chatting here as if this was your own house. I live here too. I know your father was a blacksmith. You told me that yourself. I don’t mind giving you a change of pace. Since you want it, why not?”

 

“Is it fine, sir?” Allan said, rather worried.

 

“It is not that big of a deal. I have a lot of contacts in the town and even the nearest port city. How do you want it? I can give you some basic forgery equipment as well as many materials that are available in the surrounding regions. Perhaps there are even some you never heard about.”

 

“That is completely fine with me. I don’t think I will be able to do anything more complex without my eyes.”

 

“Try your best. If you think so, why not try? Oh, right, Sarey told me yesterday about some bandana you had. I made a whole clean-up after your impact, so I found it in the debris near you. Here you go.” Zigmund tossed him a rough-looking piece of cloth. There was a small metal emblem of the hammer in one corner.

 

Allan caught it without a problem with his face. He immediately finds the familiar hammer on his face.

 

“This is... Thank you so much. This means a lot to me.” Allan wanted to bow to him in politeness, but his hands stopped him.

 

“You don’t have to bow to me ever again. It’s not like it matters. Some courtesy is no longer needed in this world.”

 

“Uh? I...”

 

“Quit it.”

 

“A-alright.” Allan reluctantly nodded his head.

 

“What is it? You never bowed to me? Even after I took such great care about you.” Sarey said in a mocking tone.

 

“Hehe. I guess so.” Allan helplessly shrugged his arms. He did not want to be impolite to them, yet they left him feeling the warmth of the home. It left him with a sense of helplessness he was unfamiliar with. Clayton always felt like he had worries which seemed like from a faraway place. He still felt a fatherly figure from him, but it was always shop and forging, which was between them most of the time.

 

Sarey ignored his struggle. She did not expect to see her father’s involvement. It was probably not as bad as she assumes.

 

“We have plenty of space for something smaller in our stable. Once it will be done, Sarey will show it to you.”

 

“Alright...”

 

“What else is there to worry about? Let’s go to your room.”Sarey dragged Allan's arm as they left the kitchen. They still have eaten nothing.

 

Zigmund was left with his usual stern expression. He left with little change, apart from the smallest smile on his cheek.

 

In Allan’s room. Sarey was pacing back and forth. Her mind rotates backward and forwards.

 

“Why so serious? I think he has no ulterior motive at all.” Allan said as he took a seat on his bed.

 

“I still find it unusual. Not like him at all.”

 

“I think there are a lot of adults who are leaving their true self behind a made-up mask of convenience.” Allan stated some teachings he read about with great meaning. They sounded clever, but not everyone understood its hidden massage.

 

“Maybe. Others could be wolves in a human’s skin.” Sarey argued.

 

“He is your father. I will accept his hospitality with the same gratitude as yours.”

 

“Whatever... My head hurts just thinking about it. I will get you some food. How’s that sound?” Sarey patted her forehead, before shaking her head with too much thinking.

 

“Sounds better. Thank you.”

 

“Save up your thanks after you will make me some nice-looking kitchen knife.” Sarey said before leaving the room.

 

“So knife? Alright then.”

 

In Zigmund’s office, Zigmund was sitting leisurely, as usual. He was playing with a pair of glittering flying knives in the air while his feet rested on the table. His mind and face were unreadable, with a mind which was spacing out without many intentions.

 

The door suddenly shot open. Sarey appeared from it with crossed arms. Boots imprint was visible inside the door.

 

“Eh?” Zigmund has jolted away.

 

“You scared me. Don’t suddenly invade my office.”

 

“What? You sleep here all the time anyways.” Sarey said bluntly.

 

“What do you want? Is it something about earlier? I genuinely have only good intentions put into this. It is not that big of a deal. I will manage to sell some of the less potent jewelry that we found and everything will be covered. It should be sufficient to feed him for years.”

 

“What? Did you change your mind? Money is not something you care too deeply about.”

 

“What do you know? Money is important, right?”

 

“I know quite a lot. Your restaurant? Valuables you have after your service?”

 

“So? That counts to nothing.” Zigmund argued. He knew much more than she. His secret time in the military and his own secret are not something he is ready to tell her yet. He told her just some less important stuff that could feed up the young mind of his daughter. It was only unfortunate that she grew up with a daughter of this caliber.

 

“I wanted to see your feelings about this. If you have some problems with Allan. You will go through me.” Sarey slammed the door behind her back as she left.

 

“Damn... Having a daughter this active is truly exhausting.”

 

The door opened once more.

 

“What are those knives?” Sarey poked her head around the door.

 

“Something of our guest, I suppose.”

 

“So you know? He was looking for them.”

 

“Leave already...”

 

“Fine.”

 

Bang!

 

Sarey ultimately left disappointed and satisfied at the same time. She truly wanted to know his stance and if there was not something else. She couldn't tell. Money wasn’t an issue, but he was using them for his restaurant and a few weekly bills. It was not that cheap to run a restaurant.

 

In the kitchen, she prepared a worthy dinner. It wasn’t that late yet, so she was quite generous. Baked bread from yesterday, with boiled potatoes and rested pieces of grilled pork. This meal was not hunted by them in the forest but imported here through Zigmund's restaurant.

 

“If what father said is true, I shouldn’t worry about his expenses too much. Why does he even think it is a good idea to sell those jewels from that pile of debris? It is just asking for trouble. Phew...” She deeply sighed.

 

It was a while since she has seen her teacher. She intentionally delayed her visit because of caring about Allan.

 

“If he ends up well, after these 10 days, I will do some catching up. It won’t hurt me to take some time for myself. I should have asked about my stay in his restaurant too, but I doubt I will have no time to worry about that. Father will be understanding.”

 

In about 20 minutes, a generous dinner was prepared in the kitchen.

 

Allan appeared around a corner.

 

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

 

“I can smell it from the miles away. It guided me through the rough seas. Heh.” Allan joked as he clumsily reached the table by himself.

 

“What do we have here?”

 

“There are...”

 

“Let me guess.” Allan interrupted her as he sniffed the plates.

 

“Chicken, some type of cured meat, grilled pork? I can smell some charcoal as well. This is a very nice dinner.”

 

“Good nose too, I suppose,” Sarey said with a chuckle

 

“You bet.”

 

“We have no chicken this time.”

 

“Oh...”

 

Both of them went right into it. Sometimes, Sarey guided him to some plates he was unfamiliar with. Most of it Allan ate with great hunger anyway, so it did not matter much.

 

They were done after eating everything in about 15 minutes. Plates remained empty while none were untouched.