A Sharp Tongue Can Be Inherited Too

After seven or eight days of sailing, Werther and the others finally arrived at their destination, an island called Steel Furnace.

Unlike what Werther had imagined, the island where this forging family lived was remarkably prosperous, not some secluded island in the middle of nowhere.

In his impression, the families of master craftsmen usually lived on remote but beautiful islands, didn't they?

But the island before him was blanketed in billowing smoke, with large amounts of fumes pouring from countless short chimneys.

When they docked, a strange smell filled the air, as if something had been burned, mixed with the scent of grease.

Werther frowned, clearly unaccustomed to the island's smell.

Ferdinand explained that this island had long supplied steel to various factions, and that forging family was one of the island's powers.

The steel Tutu Island used to make weapons was all purchased from this island. Ferdinand had gotten acquainted with the forging family through those steel purchases.

Disgusted by the island's smell, Rabbit refused to go ashore no matter what. Werther could only leave him on the ship. It had been the same on Tutu Island—Rabbit was surprisingly shy, and he had even gotten embarrassed when he saw Catarina, so he hid in the house. Werther could do nothing about him.

Following Ferdinand to the center of the island, Werther found that the air here was noticeably fresher than at the docks, though that lingering strange smell still remained.

Ferdinand entered a blacksmith's shop. Ignoring the reception staff out front, he went straight to find the blacksmith in the workshop behind it.

As they entered the rear workshop, the temperature rose noticeably. Before long, Ferdinand was drenched in sweat, while Werther showed no obvious reaction.

There was only one person in the workshop: a towering, heavily muscled man with a thick beard covering his face.

The burly man was holding an enormous smithing hammer, pounding a piece of red-hot metal.

Ferdinand stepped forward without introducing himself or greeting him. He simply took out a specially made silvery-white coin and handed it to the muscular man.

The man had ignored them at first, but upon seeing the coin Ferdinand produced, he could only set down his hammer and toss the red-hot metal aside. Taking the coin, he gripped it with a pair of long-handled tongs and placed it into the fire.

Something astonishing happened. The coin did not melt in the intense heat. Instead, it changed from silvery white to purple, producing sharp popping sounds like exploding firecrackers.

The muscular man was not surprised by what he saw. He placed the coin into water to cool it and said mechanically,

"Honored guests, please follow me. I will take you to see the family head." After speaking, the muscular man led them toward the workshop's back door.

Werther truly had not expected this family to put on such airs. Just to meet them, they had arranged things like some spy rendezvous and even required a token. He pulled Ferdinand over and asked what exactly was going on.

Ferdinand was helpless as well. In a low voice, he told Werther that some people in this family were extremely arrogant. Relying on their superior craftsmanship, they looked down on everyone else. If they had not had business dealings, and if Ferdinand had not been the buyer, he really might not have been able to persuade them to forge swords for Werther.

After hearing this, the smile that made Ferdinand's hair stand on end appeared once more at the corner of Werther's mouth. He quietly replied, "If they dare refuse, I'll kill until they agree. At worst, I'll make them kneel and beg me to forge my swords."

Although Werther would not slaughter people lightly these days, he was by no means a good person.

Expecting him to act like the protagonist of some story—helping those who refused him, making them deeply grateful, and only then having them forge his swords—was something that would absolutely never happen with Werther.

If they refused, he would scare them. If they could not be scared, he would kill them. If killing did not make them submit, he would kill them all, then find other forging craftsmen. If they still refused, he would repeat the process.

After hearing Werther's remarks, terror filled Ferdinand's eyes. He said softly,

"Brother, I'm calling you brother, all right? For the sake of the rare metals I provided you and the smith I found for you, please, don't do that. I'll definitely help smooth things over and make them forge your twin swords with everything they have."

Seeing Ferdinand's panicked expression, Werther found it rather strange.

Since when had this guy become so compassionate? In Werther's impression, Ferdinand was a profit-driven, fickle, and ruthless bastard.

And now he was pleading for this forging family? From what Ferdinand had said earlier, he had been slighted by this family before. Why was he speaking up for them now?

Werther looked at Ferdinand strangely, as if silently asking, Do you have some hidden reason? Spill it.

Unable to endure Werther's stare any longer, Ferdinand could only stammer out the truth. It turned out that he liked one of the younger members of this forging family—the family head's granddaughter, a girl named Iron Six Hundred.

Werther looked at Ferdinand's old-looking face and thought that since she was from the younger generation, she probably was not very old.

"I never thought you liked robbing the cradle. And if Catarina, that brother-obsessed girl, finds out about this, will she butcher that girl?" Werther wore a broad smile, but his words were filled with malice.

Ferdinand's face turned bright red.

"I'm only twenty-four! I just look mature! If I shave my beard, I'm plenty young! And Catarina isn't brother-obsessed at all. She fully supports me and that girl!" Ferdinand had already forgotten that the person before him was half-crazy. For the sake of his pure love, he began arguing with Werther.

Just as Werther was about to use the sharp tongue his senior brother had taught him to keep mocking Ferdinand, the muscular man had already led them to a courtyard.

The courtyard did not look luxurious, but it carried a sense of age, as though it had stood here for countless years.

The muscular man led the two of them into the courtyard, stopping before a room and knocking on the door.

The door opened, and the person who answered it was unexpectedly a youthful girl dressed in training clothes. The muscular man was surprised to see her, then his expression immediately turned unpleasant.

The girl first greeted the muscular man by calling him Senior Brother, then noticed Werther and Ferdinand behind him.

The moment she saw Ferdinand, the girl became overjoyed. Smiling brightly, she rushed over and threw herself into his arms.

"Brother Ferdinand, why are you here? You haven't come to see me in so long. I missed you so much! I can't go out to train until I'm nineteen, so I can't sail out to see you. And you never came to see me either. Did you bring me any presents?" The two embraced and spun around the courtyard several times. Ferdinand took the opportunity to kiss the girl a few times. Though she blushed shyly, she did not resist, and even whispered secrets into Ferdinand's ear.

Werther finally understood why Ferdinand had been so nervous earlier. This was not the one-sided crush Werther had imagined. It was obvious that Ferdinand had already won her over. Given the current situation, all they needed was an empty room, and they could get right to it.

At the same time, Werther noticed that the muscular man who had brought them here was staring at Ferdinand, who was whispering sweet nothings to the girl, with eyes full of jealousy and fury—the gaze of a man looking at his romantic rival.

Werther could not help letting out a deranged laugh. This was far too interesting. Still, judging by Ferdinand and the girl's relationship, the muscular man probably had no chance.

Because the gap between the muscular man and Ferdinand in the girl's affection was as vast and unreachable as the gap in strength between Ferdinand and Werther.