Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1317: What did you do?

---A little earlier, inside the embassy---

“Seth, what did you do?” Leana asked, shocked at the scene that was playing out at their doorstep.

The blacksmith had informed her in the morning about what happened during his hike up the mountains and that they expected visitors, but nobody expected it to play out like this.

“Nothinge!” Seth said indignantly, with a pout. “Itʼs that girlʼs fault, I tell you. She is the only person from outside they had contact with, and they have been acting really weird since the moment I met them, as if Iʼm someone cruel or fearsome,” the bard argued. Maybe he was no messiah, but he was far from a villain! At least in his opinion. Leana looked at him thoughtfully.

“What? Are you suggesting?” he squinted at her.

“Oh, no! Please, oh great blacksmith, please spare me!” she acted fearful, but without much passion. Seth knew that she was an excellent liar and actor; she was a diplomat, so she was simply mocking him.

“Oh, save it. What do we do now?” the blacksmith asked unimpressed.

“What is the problem? I will simply go out and diffuse the situation,” Mary said with a shrug, as if it were a common occurrence she had to take care of. “You did invite them, although their entrance is a little dramatic.”

The clamor of the crowd caught their attention and they looked bakc out were two holographic crests appeared above the crowd. Seth knew immediately that it had to be Fin and Mina, they were the only ones scheduled to return today.

Who would have thought they would arrive with such impeccable timing? The question was whether this bettered or worsened the situation outside. Mary straightened her dress.
“I better get out there and take care of the situation,” she said with a sigh and left the room.

...

--Outside the Embassy---

The doors of the embassy flew open, and Lady Mary, another Lord of Minas Mar, came out, flanked by two Oathguards in their signature armor. The crowd was in awe to see three lords at the same time.

It had not been such a big deal during the time when Chrona was still on Urth, but now Minas mar was was the apex organization on Urth and had even fought back against Spatia. Since the epic war against the Skeleton Dragon and its summoner, the public opinion was completely in their favor.

“Kutun, I greet you. Iʼm Mary, the Administrative Head of Minas Mar. Please stand up, it is unnecessary for you to kneel. The Tower Master invited you as guests.” Mary greeted them warmly and loud enough for the crowd to hear her. She made sure that everyone understood, and nobody asked them to do this.

“Thatʼs the grand vizier,” the smaller magma spirit whispered to Kutun in the center. Mary guessed that he was Valin. A silent “I know;” came back from the chief. Mary also caught the panicked girl expression fall in horror.

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“ Grand Vizier, these lowly subjects gladly kneel in your presence. We came to beg for forgiveness and hoped to plead for refuge in your great lands,” Kutun spoke in a booming, deep voice. His sentence raced across the square like a heat wave.

Now, Mary was a little confused. This was not what Seth had told him, and she doubted the blacksmith would lie to her or let out something important. He wasnʼt that kind of guy. Just how did these guys come up with this?

Her eyes fell on the girl. Was her name Kiki? At this point, she seemed torn between having a nervous breakdown and sinking to the floor in embarrassment. When her and Maryʼs eyes met, Kikiʼs went wide and she stiffened like a deer in the headlights. Maybe Seth was onto something there.

“I understand. Please come inside, so we can talk calmly and privately about these matters,” she invited the group of magma spirits inside, however, there was a sudden shiver running through all of them, as she had just threatened their lives.

“Please donʼt do this. We are ready to follow whatever commands the Grand Vizier has for us. A word is enough,” the big magma spirit at the front begged, puzzling Mary even more. She truly couldnʼt guess their thoughts at this point.

“Y-You should go inside!” a weak voice suddenly spoke to Kutun. Kiki, slightly shivering, seemed to have decided to act. The girl wearing black overalls and a beige shirt had her fist balled tightly, as if she had come to a grave decision to go through with. Although her body and voice shivered, her eyes looked firm.

“B-But Kiki, you said-!” Kutun finally reacted to her, after ignoring her all this time, but he was interrupted by the young womanʼs resolute shout.

“I lied! Okay? I lied and exaggerated a lot to keep you away from Delta...” she said, a glint of tears appeared at the corner of her eyes. “The truth is, that I nothing bad to say about the people of Minas Mar...” Close to crying she stormed away, vanishing int he crowd.

“Kiki!” the man presumed to be Valin stood up, but couldnʼt go after her in the crowd. He would have hurt a lot of people if he rushed after her, but he seemed to know that and stopped at the edge, where people winced away from him.

“Well, I have no idea what this was about or what you were told, but can we go in and talk now?” Marry asked awkwardly. Finally, albeit slowly, the magma spirits stood up. They were still confused, but it seemed like their doubts about their preconceived notion allowed them to follow Maryʼs suggestion.

“We will send someone to look for her,” she assured Valint who hesitated to follow the others. The man nodded and finally joined them in the entrance hall of the embassy.

“Mina, Fin, you should also come in, since you already arrived,” she added, speaking to the two lords who had arrived just in time to enjoy the show. The two smiled wryly and followed Mary in, too.

....

Mary led the magma people into the embassy. It was a good thing they had used high quality materials, otherwise they might have been some damage to the floors. Right now, the floor didn’t even start glowing red hot, when they stood still.

Although it was Seth who had organized this visit and the circumstances had turned a little awkward, his care and attention were focused somewhere else.

“Mina! Fin!” the blacksmith exclaimed happily, as he embraced his girlfriends, who happened to arrive at the same time as their guests. Promptly, the three were in a world of their own, talking about everything that had happened to the girls and to Seth.

Mary, Leana, the magma people, and other staff could only stand by awkwardly until Mary and Leana decided to. They watched until Mary decided to leave the three alone in the entrance hall and invited the visitors into the meeting room, where they could continue with the negotiations.

Since the magma spirits were willing to cooperate, the secretary was sure they would be able to come to a positive conclusion, even without the Tower Master present. She looked back at the lovestruck fool, happily talking with his two ladies.

...Especially without the Tower master.