Ryan stepped through the doorway.
The two women carrying the chest followed behind him. The redwood chest was so heavy that they were both panting, their foreheads covered in sweat.
"Put it here." Ryan pointed to the empty space beside the table.
The chest hit the floor with a dull thud.
Ryan strode over, gripped the edge of the lid with both hands, and heaved it open.
A golden glow lit up half the room.
The chest was filled to the brim with Gold Coins.
They were stacked neatly inside. Every coin bore the double-headed eagle emblem of the Orenda Kingdom.
In the dim room, the little metal discs reflected a dazzling gleam.
Su Li was cutting into a piece of roast lamb with a dagger.
He stopped.
His gaze was drawn entirely to the chest of gold.
How much money was this?
Thousands? Tens of thousands?
In Grey Gull Port, ten Gold Coins could buy a fine black horse.
He'd winced over the money he'd spent on a horse back then. This chest was enough to buy half a street.
Su Li grabbed the rough cloth on the table and hastily wiped the grease from his hands.
He reached into the chest and scooped up a handful of Gold Coins.
The heavy, solid feel of the metal was unmistakable. The coins clinked together with a crisp ring.
They were all real.
Had these soldiers lost their minds?
He'd just banged on that lousy furnace a few times and made a piece of iron without even a fuller, and they were giving him a whole chest of Gold Coins?
Had blacksmiths' status really become this absurdly high?
Su Li opened his hand. The Gold Coins clattered back into the chest.
He had no idea how astonishing his work had been.
He also had no idea that Count Remington already considered him a Magic Forger on the level of a strategic nuclear weapon.
He just assumed they were desperate for blacksmiths on the front lines.
"What's this supposed to mean?" Su Li leaned back in his chair.
Ryan bent at the waist, his face scrunched up in a smile. He looked nothing like the haughty man who'd been in the Armory earlier.
"Mr. Su, this is a small token of the Count's appreciation."
Ryan rubbed his hands together.
"The Count has been full of praise for your craftsmanship. He specifically instructed me to make sure you felt Blackstone Fortress's sincerity. This is just a little welcome gift. If you're willing to stay and serve the fortress, you'll receive this much every month!"
A chest of Gold Coins every month?
Su Li rubbed his chin.
The offer was certainly generous. In these turbulent times, money and power were what mattered. Having the fortress commander as a patron beat wandering around on his own.
Ryan pointed to the two women standing nearby.
"These two are the cleanest girls in the city. They're here to help you unwind. In our fortress, if you have the skills, you can have anything you want. You can do whatever you like with them. If you break them, I'll bring you two new ones tomorrow."
Su Li looked at the women. They both had their heads lowered, so he couldn't see their faces, but they did have nice figures.
"Anything else?" Su Li asked.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
You took someone's money, you did them a service. He'd learned that lesson over three lifetimes.
"The Count has arranged a banquet in the main keep. He asks that you please attend. He has a lot he'd like to discuss with you in person." Ryan bent even lower.
"Sure. I'll go later."
There was no harm in meeting the Count and sounding him out.
If his demands weren't too unreasonable, being the fortress's resident blacksmith would be a pretty comfortable life.
And if things went south, Su Li had enough strength to climb a wall and make a run for it.
Ryan straightened up.
"Please rest for now. I'll go report back to the Count."
He reached the door, then looked back at the two women.
"Take good care of Mr. Su. If anything goes wrong, you'll both be thrown into the mass grave tomorrow."
The women shuddered and nodded repeatedly.
Ryan left the room. The door closed behind him.
Only the three of them remained.
The silver-thread charcoal in the brazier glowed red, sending waves of heat through the room and warming everyone.
The two women stood side by side.
They reached for the ties at their cloaks' collars.
The knots came undone.
Their heavy woolen cloaks slipped from their shoulders and fell in a heap at their feet.
They wore very little underneath.
Just a single layer of translucent gauze.
A cloying fragrance hit his—
...nose.
Su Li picked up the wineglass on the table and took a sip of red wine.
Honestly, they were a sight to behold.
Back in his first life, when he'd been hauling cargo at the docks, he would've pounced at the first chance. When women came to you willingly, there was no need to be polite.
But now, he wasn't in the mood at all.
He closed his eyes, and all he could see was Saina's wrinkled old face.
Before she died, the old woman had clutched his hand and told him to find a fairy in his next life.
He'd only just put up a grave marker for his wife, and now he was about to fool around with two strangers in this fortress. It would be a rotten thing to do.
"Put your clothes back on. Take a few Gold Coins and go." Su Li set down his wineglass.
The two women were stunned.
The taller woman bit her lip and moved closer.
Her thigh pressed against Su Li's knee.
"Are you unhappy with how we're serving you, sir?"
Su Li leaned back to put some distance between them.
"Can't you understand plain speech? Get out."
He really wasn't in the mood. Sending women around like objects—these lousy nobles were beyond saving.
The two women exchanged a glance.
They bent down, picked up their cloaks, and put them back on.
Then they turned toward the door.
Watching them go, Su Li picked up the table knife, ready to cut himself another piece of lamb.
A metallic scraping sound came from ahead.
Click.
The door lock snapped shut.
Su Li stopped cutting.
Why lock the door?
Were these two women planning to disobey him and force themselves on him? Were women in the fortress always this bold?
The two women turned around.
Their hands emerged from beneath their cloaks.
Each held a short, delicate dagger.
The blades glinted with a faint blue sheen. They were definitely not table knives.
Assassins.
Su Li's thoughts raced.
These two hadn't been sent by the Count to win him over! They had to belong to another faction!
Spies from the Baris Empire? Or people in the fortress who were against the Count?
There was no time to think.
The taller woman moved.
She was unbelievably fast! Far beyond the physical limits of an ordinary woman.
She covered several meters in a single step, stabbing straight at Su Li's face.
Su Li dug his toes into the floor.
He and the chair slid back half a meter, narrowly dodging the blow.
He grabbed the rosewood chair in front of him and hurled it at the taller woman with all his strength.
The heavy wooden chair whooshed through the air.
The taller woman didn't dodge. She drew back her left fist and struck with all her might.
Wood chips flew everywhere.
She'd smashed the hard rosewood to pieces with a single punch. Fragments scattered across the floor.
Using the opening, Su Li turned and lunged toward the bundle in the corner.
His little iron hammer was inside. Once he got his hands on a weapon, he could turn the tables with his strength.
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