Blacksmith Union

As the two presences entered the dome, Shui contemplated on the last thing he heard. He was terribly out of the loop concerning the power balance of the Alterna Kingdom, but if the one they mentioned was truly the scion of a Duke, then his influence would be tremendous. If it was a simple matter of someone buying a place on the Alterna Array Master Minor Ranking, then Shui might have tried to do something about it if he felt that Emily could make it that far. However, he wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could confront the authority of a Duke and by extension, the kingdom's nobility and royalty.

Of course, if they messed with him or his loved ones, then he would take revenge no matter what, but he would prefer not to get embroiled in that sort of conflict. Unfortunately, Shui knew that his ability to attract trouble was as exceptional as his talents, so even if he tried not to get involved he would likely be roped in one way or another.

'It seems I won't be having any peace for now.'

Since it would be risky to stay, Shui and Alicia left the area. Once they reached a suitable distance, Shui dispelled the concealment and prepared to leave.

"Wait, do you have any plans for your stay in the city?" Alicia asked.

At first, Shui was going to say no as all of his plans weren't things he could mention, but then he remembered something.

"Yes, when I arrived I saw a beautiful woman-"

"Hmm, a beautiful woman, huh?"

As he heard the edge in her voice and saw the pout on her face, Shui knew that she was misunderstanding something.

He rolled his eyes and continued, "Wait for me to finish. I saw an advertisement for her concert on the sign at the gate so I plan on going."

With Shui's explanation, Alicia's frustration faded and she cleared her throat before moving the conversation forward.

"Oh, so you're interested in idols?"

"Well, yes. I've never seen one in my hometown so I've been eager to go to a concert if I ever got the chance."

"I see, it's not optimal but it's..." Alicia mumbled with a pensive expression.

Shui didn't try to find out what she was saying and just waited for her to finish. Once she was done murmuring, she hugged him and then said goodbye. Around this time, her secret guards found her, but they didn't try to do anything to Shui. While the caution they felt towards him was certainly part of the reason behind their passive action, their fear towards the young miss was the true answer.

No matter how much they hated him for hiding her away, none of them dared take action against him, for they knew that there would be no way of hiding it from her. If it was done, she would know, that was the truth that shackled.

However, unlike the scary image they were building of her, Alicia skipped towards the central pagoda with an innocent smile. She was in such a good mood, that she cheerfully waved at every one she passed along the way. It would be simple to dismiss this as a maiden drunk in love, but anyone who knew what Alicia was capable of wouldn't believe it.

Alicia continued skipping until she entered the central pagoda and went up the staircase to the third floor. There was a barrier between floors that could only be passed through by people with a seal issued by the association. Alicia had a blank seal which gave her access all the way up to the top floor, but her secret guards didn't so they would have to part here.

Before she went up to the second floor, Alicia slightly turned back to give them orders.

"I'll be with my elder brother and my teacher, so you don't have to stay here and wait."

In response, one of the guards revealed themselves and went down on one knee.

"No, miss. We'll wait here until you're ready to leave."

"...Whatever."

Since she didn't care about it too much, Alicia didn't argue back and simply kept her feet going. Maybe due to the stairs or something less tangible, Alicia stopped skipping and focused on getting higher.

Fortunately, the pagoda wasn't too much higher than it looked, so she reached the third floor less than ten minutes after starting the climb. On this floor, she didn't see anyone else walking around the clean and pristine hallways, but she wasn't afraid to take the first step. This wasn't the first time she had been here, so without hesitation she went to the second door on the right.

The first words that welcomed her were, "Finally, here, huh? I thought you forgot about greeting Master."

These words came from her brother, who had been waiting for her since the start of the day and received reports that she was fooling around before coming here. It was nothing special for her to come late, but he found it hard to accept that it was to entertain 'that man'.

Alicia easily saw the reason behind her brother's scowl, but she smiled and took a seat across from him in the wide, open room. This was the office granted to his master and Alicia's teacher, so it was huge, but due to the personality of the one who used it, there were few decorations besides books, scrolls and materials. Seeing that the ebony chair behind the marble desk was empty, Alicia asked where he was. With a click of his tongue, her brother replied that he was in a meeting.

He then tried to dig for information about what happened while she was with Shui, but Alicia closed her eyes and ignored him without worry. Alicia tried to act cute around Shui, but with her brother, she had no need for such consideration. Naturally, this made him upset, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to win in a verbal battle against this brat of a sister that he had.

Meanwhile, Shui left the Array Association and was thinking about where to go next. He had plans in the night, but it felt too early to simply go back to the inn. After pondering on the matter for a couple seconds, he eventually decided on the Blacksmith Union which was nearby. He didn't plan on joining because he didn't want to expose his abilities, but he was looking forward to the opportunity to see the work of other forge masters.

The Blacksmith Union, was like the Array Association but for forge masters. It also occupied a plot of land, but there was a tall building that served as the entrance which blocked outsiders from entering the private region of the union.

Shui changed back into his regular clothes and entered through the front door. Unlike in most other places, the receptionist was always a forge master with experience so they were typically a burly male. When Shui entered the reception hall, he saw many such men behind desks talking to customers. Few of them could manage a smile, but they still did their jobs satisfactorily.