"...Yes, it happened. Why do you ask?"
"To kill Nikadori," Yan Huan answered bluntly.
"Hmm..." Hatonus looked at him.
"I have forged hundreds, perhaps thousands, of weapons. I cannot remember every one."
"My apologies, strangers. I cannot help you."
Castorice understood Hatonus's answer.
"Of course... The Great Craftsman has lived too long to remember every commission he has taken."
"Lord Yan Huan, is there another way...?"
"Sure."
Yan Huan looked at Hatonus.
"It doesn't matter if you can't remember. I can search your soul..."
"Search his soul?" Castorice looked puzzled.
"That sounds... rather wrong."
"Oh, then let's call it something else. Say... looking through your memories."
Yan Huan walked up to Hatonus and asked, "Can I look through your head? I promise it won't hurt."
"?" Hatonus paused, then agreed.
"Go ahead."
Yan Huan had Hatonus crouch down, then raised a hand and placed it against his forehead, which was as large as a cooking pot.
In Hatonus's memories, Yan Huan saw his past.
A group of Xuan Feng tribesmen had surrounded Hatonus.
"Well, Great Craftsman? Can you forge a Sword Vessel to seal divinity?"
"There is nothing my hammer cannot forge," the towering Hatonus replied calmly, looking down at them.
"Bring me the finest stone in Castrum Kremnos. Find me the Titan of Strife's Golden Blood. I will forge the Sword Vessel."
Back then, Hatonus had worn magnificent white armor and cut an imposing figure.
One of the Xuan Feng people asked, "Does that mean you agree?"
"And your payment? We're asking you to forge a sacred artifact unlike any other. We can't expect you to work for free."
Hatonus answered slowly, "The payment... is simple."
"Give my people peace."
"Let the Mountain Folk cease to be slaves or fighters of Castrum Kremnos. Forever."
After a long deliberation,