The Hearth Family

Time flies, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

The year X779 has officially arrived.

Yuri wasn't at the guild today; instead, he boarded a train bound for a town called Fortuna.

But he wasn't there to carry out a mission; he was there to see a friend.

Yuri got off at the final stop. There weren't many other people getting off at the same time, Yuri easily carried his suitcase out of the station.

Following his memory, he wandered through the town, turning several times until he entered an unnamed little shop and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

A woman's voice came from inside.

Yuri pushed open the door and entered, immediately smelling a strong odor of smoke.

He frowned and waved his hand in front of him, saying, "I told you to smoke less; you're going to get lung cancer sooner or later."

A woman with tattoos and a perm at the front desk, a cigarette dangling from her lips, legs propped up on the table, flipped through a book in her hand, and replied without looking up, "Women don't like men who are all fussy and indecisive."

The woman's Nico, and she was a mechanic.

She was a slender woman with light brown skin, freckles and several tattoos, a black curly ponytail, a headscarf, and red-framed glasses.

She wore a white sleeveless vest over a dark yellow sleeveless jacket, revealing her sexy and muscular waist and abdomen.

The last time the Red Queen broke down, it was thanks to her help that it was successfully repaired.

"That suits me perfectly." Yuri casually found a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs. "All I need on my date is pizza and a strawberry sundae."

"Where's the alcohol? Aren't you going to have something to drink?" Nico closed the book and placed it on the table, then stood up and stubbed out her cigarette.

"Beer will do." Yuri glanced at the book on the table, and as he expected, it was a book about weapons.

The book is titled "The Ultimate Art of the Weapons Artist".

"Here you go, you poor bastard." Nico took a bottle of beer from the counter and handed it to him, then sat down opposite him.

"Thanks, you crazy woman." Yuri took the drink, drank a sip, and said gratefully.

"Speak, what do you want?" Nico asked seriously.

Yuri placed the beer on the table beside him, opened the suitcase he had brought, which contained the "corpse" of the Red Queen.

"Look, as you can see."

Nico slapped her forehead and said, "I remember it's only been a year since I fixed it for you, and you've already ruined my art like this."

Yuri raised his hand to remind him, "Let me correct you, it's my art, and I own the copyright to the design."

Nico crossed her arms. "Then fix it yourself."

"Ahem!" Yuri coughed lightly and said, "This kind of thing really needs someone like you, the greatest weapons artist of this century, to handle."

That's more like it.

Nico took the suitcase with a huff. "But no matter how much you plead, I'm not giving you a discount."

"I know, you get what you pay for, I understand," Yuri said.

Nico is a very skilled mechanic... or rather, a master weapon maker, but she prefers to be called a weapons artist.

Yuri's previous praise wasn't entirely empty boasting; at least he had never seen a weapons-making master more skilled than this woman.

There are two rules if you want to order from her: first, you have to pay in advance; second, there are no discounts.

The latter is universally applicable, representing the principle of "you get what you pay for."

The former is limited to Yuri... because he's a penniless wretch.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go back now. I won't keep you for dinner. Just remember to come back in a month to pick it up." Nico was decisive when it came to work; she took the money and immediately turned to send him away.

"Hey, hey, don't rush me."

Yuri quickly replied, "That's only one reason. I also came here to ask you to help me forge a weapon."

"Weapons?" Nico raised an eyebrow. "What kind do you want?"

"Anything will do, but a melee weapon would be best. The Red Queen is starting to fall behind my fighting intensity lately," Yuri said.

"Really? That's quite a challenge." Nico smiled and asked, "Did you bring the materials?"

Yuri pulled a large piece of metal from his pocket; it was the same piece that the flower snake had dropped in the Lansala Rainforest.

Nico took it, examined it carefully, and after a while, she suddenly frowned. "Where did you get this thing?"

"I found it," Yuri said honestly.

"Found it?" Nico almost laughed at Yuri's words, "Don't joke around, I can't find this thing."

Where would you, a homebody, find one?

Yuri inwardly scoffed, but outwardly remained calm as he asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this thing?"

"This substance is known as Kivira Metal in your magical world. It's an extremely rare material with exceptional malleability and magical conductivity."

Nico explained with three adjectives, "Because weapons forged from it possess extremely powerful impact force, it is also known as Impact Steel."

"Really!" Yuri exclaimed in delight. "Then you can definitely forge some really good weapons."

"Theoretically, that's correct," Nico said after a moment of silence, "But I can't do it."

"Huh? There's a weapon in this world that you can't build?" Yuri asked in surprise.

Nico rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Please, I'm a mechanic, not a blacksmith. Technical work is my main focus."

Yuri thought about it and agreed. After all, this thing was unharmed in his hands, so it would be a bit difficult for Nico, an ordinary person, to handle it.

Nico then added, "Of course, if you're not afraid of wasting its value, you can give it to me. At the very least, I can guarantee that I'll forge you a weapon that's no less powerful than the Red Queen."

"Then let's forget about it."

What he needs is a stronger weapon, not a second Red Queen.

Yuri said with distress, "But if even you can't do it, then who can build this piece of junk?"

"While it's true that everyone has their own area of expertise, this is indeed a problem."

Nico tossed the Impact Steel back to Yuri, saying, "As far as I know, many of the top-tier armors and weapons in your magical world have been passed down from ancient times. There aren't many blacksmiths who can truly utilize the full potential of this Impact Steel..."

As Nico was talking, a sudden thought struck her, "That's right, there's also that!"

"There?" A question mark slowly rose above Yuri's head.

"The North!"

Nico said, "If you really want to forge a weapon that can keep up with your growth rate, then I recommend you try your luck in the far north and find the legendary Hearth Family."

"The Hearth Family?"

"They are natural-born blacksmiths; it is said that there is no weapon they cannot forge."

"Then why have I never heard of it?" Yuri asked, puzzled.

"Because they went extinct two hundred years ago," Nico said, shrugging.

"Then why did you make me go..." Yuri grumbled.

"That's why I said it was just a chance, what if there are still survivors?" Nico said irresponsibly.

"You really are... well, that's just how it is."

Yuri sighed helplessly, then turned and handed the Blue Rose to Nico as well. "By the way, could you help me remodel this one too?"

After saying that, he left the deposit and his requirements, then turned and left.

"The Hearth Family..."