221. Aurora Skal (1)
#221
The griffon, which was circling slowly, landed. The runway carved out of the glacier was shining a soft white color. Ronan got off first, pounding the floor with her feet.
“Wow, it’s really ice.”
I couldn’t believe it even when I stepped on it myself. I was just wondering how he came up with such a crazy idea. After stroking the griffon’s head once, he held out his hand to Adeshan.
“Now, get down.”
“Thank you…”
Adeshan hesitated and took Ronan’s hand. It was a small act of kindness that was usually done, but it felt different than before. Ronan, seeing her with her head down, asked worriedly.
“What, where does it hurt?”
“Ugh, no. just.”
Adeshan lowered his gaze and shook his head. She couldn’t make eye contact.
I was happy and embarrassed, but also a little intimidated. Unlike herself, who still felt like her face was about to explode, Ronan’s attitude was as calm as usual. She is the one who did such a thing.
‘You’ve definitely dated a lot of people other than me.’
Even though I knew there was nothing I could do, I felt a little resentful. Until now, I’ve never had a crush, let alone a relationship. Of course, Ronan was going through his own difficulties.
‘Miss, you’re in big trouble.’
Once I started to be conscious of it, I continued to look pretty. Although he was pretending to be calm, he was actually in this state right after the kiss. In the first place, Ronan had never felt her love for the opposite sex in his entire two lives, so in a way, this was more serious.
If we were of the same mind, we wanted to check out the feel of each other’s lips or something, but we couldn’t. I had to divert my attention to something else. He took a deep breath to control his emotions and looked around.
“Anyway, where should I go?”
There was no entrance or exit visible on the vast ice plain. It is clear that there is a blacksmith shop inside, as the regular sound of hammering can be heard from underfoot. Adeshan barely raised his head and opened his mouth.
“Let’s take a look around. It might take a little while…”
“yes. “That would be nice.”
Ronan nodded. He had to find the entrance quickly to prevent the griffon from freezing to death. Suddenly, a man’s loud voice came from behind the two people.
“What, are you a guest?”
“ok?”
For some reason, it was a voice I was familiar with. She turned to see Ronan and Ade Shan almost at the same time. About twenty steps away, a large man who was one head taller than them was standing in short sleeves.
“What about you…?”
“Wow, you’re lucky to find this place while you’re sailing.”
The giant muttered as if in admiration. She was holding a large bucket in each hand. It seemed like he ran into me by chance while working rather than coming to meet me. He continued.
“It’s cold here. “I will guide you to the entrance, so follow me.”
It was a kind attitude that contrasted with his harsh impression. It was the car that the giant was about to turn away from. Ronan, who was studying him closely, raised his eyebrows.
“Wait a minute, aren’t you Didican?”
“What, what is that name…?”
He glanced at Ronan and dropped the bucket. Hollow! A clear liquid of unknown purpose poured out. The giant’s eyes grew so big that they seemed to pop out.
“Oh my god, Ronan?”
“Of course that’s true.”
It became clearer when I saw his panic. The identity of the giant was Didican, a werewolf blacksmith who worked in Gran Cappadocia. A geek who created a machine that turns moments into eternity.
“How long has it been since this? “I heard at first glance that you came back from Haeju.”
“It’s been a little over two years. “You’ve grown a nice beard.”
“Haha, it suits you, right? “It’s been a while since the girl next to me.”
“Hot, hello…!”
Adeshan, who was dumbfounded, bowed and greeted. Didi Khan, whom she met for the first time in a while, was in human form.
He had grown a thick beard, which made his originally harsh appearance appear to have softened somewhat. It was truly a strange reunion. Ronan tapped his arm.
“Why are you here anyway? What about Gran Cappadocia and Old Man Doron?”
“I sent that theory because I thought it would be a good study. Without changing his expression, he told me to study for two or three years. By the way, what is the sense of time of a long-lived race?”
Didican shook his head as if he was fed up. But judging by the smile on her face, it seemed like she wasn’t particularly dissatisfied. He grabbed the bucket and turned around.
“Just follow me. “I will guide you to our teacher.”
“Master?”
“okay. The blacksmith who teaches me here is truly amazing. “Give me the reins.”
“Oh yeah.”
Ronan did so. Didican, who was handed the reins of the griffon, took a step forward. Two people followed suit.
Because it was so wide, I had to walk longer than I expected. The night sea bathed in polar lights was beautiful. The sound of waves crashing could still be heard beneath the colorful dance of light.
Only after they reached one end of the glacier did they discover a stone road downhill. From here, you could often meet people who looked like blacksmiths or workers, but unlike Gran Cappadocia, which was mainly dwarves, most of them were humans. Didican, who had been chatting with Ronan for a long time, asked in surprise.
“What, was it you who saved us?! Then what about killing Jager?”
“Jiger was killed by someone other than me. He was a pathetic bastard, but he ended well.”
“Wow, I can’t believe it. Now that I think about it, I think I heard that two humans saved us, but I never thought it was you…”
Didican stuttered. The number of artisans kidnapped by Jager’s subordinates was approximately 30%.
The remaining people of Aurora Skaar held a sit-in war for about a month or two with the doors tightly locked, and the blacksmith shop was said to be in operation even during that time. Because I knew that I would not be able to penetrate this glacial fortress anyway. Didican said in a somewhat excited voice.
“If that’s true, you guys are heroes. “I don’t know how to thank you for this.”
“What kind of gratitude can you give me? Just make good equipment.”
“No problem. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you that well. “Oh, please take care of this here.”
Suddenly, Didican handed over the reins of the griffon to a young man he met at a crossroads. The young man accepted the reins with skillful movements. He looked at the back of the griffon and opened his mouth.
“Don’t worry about the griffon. “Our stables are as well-insulated as our lodgings.”
“But when I look at it later, it doesn’t mean it’s frozen chicken.”
“Hahaha, depending on your constitution, you might sweat even if you sleep in short sleeves. Well, now we’re there.”
Didican, who had been walking for a while, finally stopped. The stone gate, which seemed to be embedded in the glacier, was high and wide enough for prisoners to enter without bowing their heads.
When I opened the stone gate, a fairly long passage appeared. With each step, the sound of hammers getting closer. As soon as she left the passage, Aurora Skaarl’s true form unfolded before her eyes.
“Then welcome to Aurora Skal, the world’s only mobile blacksmith shop.”
Didican said in a triumphant voice. The mouths of the two people who followed opened their mouths. Adeshan, who had been quiet the whole time, let out an exclamation.
“Wow…”
“That’s amazing.”
Ronan also nodded in approval. There was a wide space comparable to the grand banquet hall of the imperial palace. Of course, it wasn’t that flashy, but it had its own rugged charm.
Floors, walls, ceilings, pillars…most of the elements that made up the interior were made of bluish ice. It was no different from a battleship carved out of glacier. People were walking around and talking loudly.
“Hey, bring me some condensed water!”
“We need to feed the light before this polar lights end. Hurry!”
“What happened to the weapon the man in black requested?”
It was much warmer than outside, but it was still absolutely cold, so they were still wearing thick fur clothes.
Just by looking at it, it was busy and gave me a similar impression to Gran Cappadocia. The difference is that even though it is night, it is as lively as during the day, and that words that you would not hear in a typical blacksmith shop are often used. Ronan tilted his head.
“What is condensing water?”
“It is a liquid applied to metal and equipment to smoothly absorb the power of the polar light. Why, you know what I spilled earlier. Adding light refers to the entire act of moving equipment outside and applying light-concentrating water.”
“Aha… I see.”
Ronan’s eyebrows furrowed. Despite the friendly explanation, I couldn’t quite understand what was being said. Didi Khan, who was guiding the two, suddenly wrapped her hands and shouted.
“Hey, where is Katan?”
“Katan?”
Perhaps because he was a prisoner, he definitely had a good voice. One of the workers who were talking in small groups turned his head and answered.
“Workroom 3. “Are the two people behind you guests?”
“okay. But they are not just guests, they are the heroes who saved our Aurora Skaarl. “It is thanks to these two that the colleagues kidnapped by Jager were released.”
“What?”
The workers turned around all at once. Everyone seemed to have a lot of questions, but Didi Khan ignored them and moved on.
“Ike, it would be better to finish the request and have a conversation. “It’s all chatter.”
“I think that would be better.”
Ronan nodded. They crossed the square, passed several stairs and hallways, and arrived at a room. There was a large sign on the wall that said Studio 3.
The space carved out of the glacier was as large as three blacksmith shops put together. The first thing that caught my eye was a furnace made of ice and a blue flame flickering within it.
“It is a flame that blooms when a special ore is used as fuel. “It’s much hotter than a normal fire.”
Didican explained even though there were no questions. It was surprising that the ice did not melt despite the extreme heat. Five or six craftsmen were doing their own work around the furnace.
Some people hammered the sword, while others hardened it by driving the sword body freshly removed from the furnace into ice. Didi Khan approached one of them, a woman who was looking at the brazier with her arms crossed.
“Master.”
Didican called, but there was no answer. She was wearing bold clothing with wide pants and a top that only covered her breasts.
However, it didn’t feel particularly sensual, and that was because of her short hair like a man’s and thick forearms that were just as thick as her own. His muscle-covered back was tattooed with a Wen Dragon.
‘That’s amazing.’
Even if I threw it on the battlefield without a weapon, it seemed like it would just catch about 10 people. Even at first glance, his fists looked spicy, which made him understand why Didican, who used to treat Doron carelessly, treated him with deference. Didican became embarrassed and cleared his throat.
“Hmm, Master. “I brought a guest.”
“Is it Didican? “A guest?”
“yes. He said he was looking for the most skilled blacksmith in Aurora Skal. “They are also the benefactors who cleared away Jager’s soldiers.”
“what?”
Only then did the woman turn around. Marya also showed off her abs once she was done. Compared to her wild body, her facial features were quite beautiful. Didi Khan continued, pointing to her woman.
“Ronan, this is my teacher, Katan. “He is the best blacksmith in Aurora Skal.”
“I won’t deny it. “By the way, these little guys saved us?”
“yes. therefore···”
The woman called Katan coolly acknowledged that she was the best blacksmith. Didican briefly explained the truth of the incident he heard from Ronan. She looked at Ronan and Adeshan in turn and let out a small exclamation.
“Huh, I guess that’s definitely true. “You still look young, but you have this much energy… Please forgive me for calling you a kid just based on your appearance.”
“are you okay. “I was quick to apologize and I was used to being treated like that.”
“Thank you. As I heard from Didican, my name is Katan. “First of all, I sincerely thank you for saving my colleagues.”
Katan expressed his gratitude and offered to shake hands. Ronan took her hand without thinking and was startled. It was as if he was touching the bark of a tree rather than a human hand. It was because of the extremely stubborn calluses and scars.
‘There was reason for confidence.’
Ronan laughed. With just this one handshake, I was able to get some idea of Katan’s level. He was a blacksmith with incredible skills. She said.
“Okay, now tell me what business you came for. “Seeing as you came at this time, I don’t think it’s a normal situation.”
“It’s not like that in particular… but let’s start with this.”
Ronan, who had suddenly been rummaging through his inner pocket, handed her a luxurious envelope. Hers was a letter of recommendation handwritten by the elders of the Sword Festival. Katan, who was reading the recommendation letter, whistled.
“Wow, this is the first recommendation I’ve seen in a while. “This is the first time I’ve seen the old people of Heiran give such high praise.”
“What does it say?”
“It’s a sight. “I’m sure you’ll feel flattered when you see it, so read it on days when you feel your self-esteem is low.”
Katan giggled. It seemed like it was written with a certain amount of gratitude. I gave her recommendation letter back and she took her word.
“I’m going to have to work really hard at this. “It’s almost time for the black man to arrive, so we’ll start as soon as he leaves.”
“Black man?”
“okay. There are always customers who come around this time. “I saw earlier that the weapon he requested has finally been completed, so let’s just start by handing it over.”
Ronan shrugged his eyebrows at the inexplicable sound. It was the car he was trying to say something. An indescribably ominous and powerful energy flashed behind me.
“What the fuck?”
The hair on my entire body stood up at the same time. An intimidating feeling that she could never feel in her daily life was weighing on her shoulders.
“Are you okay?”
“Ronan? what’s the matter?”
Adeshan and Katan tilted their heads. The craftsmen were continuing their work just fine. After catching her breath, Ronan opened her mouth.
“…Are you two okay?”
“Yes···? what?”
It seemed like no one else except him felt anything. Even so, there was something strange about Katan that the sensitive Adeshan could not sense. At that time, an unfamiliar voice came from behind Ronan.
【Hey, have I requested it yet?】
