Devil Blacksmith (1)

Walking through the desolate and dusty alley located at the hidden area near the slump, they soon reached in front of a rundown smithy.

It has no signboard or any sign indicating it was a shop, a smithy or anything. The door and window were also closed but Ares could feel the warm air emanating from inside the shop.

"We already checked that this place is occupied by a half-human half-giant blacksmith who moved to this place more than 20 years ago," Ron reported.

"Alright let's go in," Ares said while tidying up the hood on his head. He didn't think this kind of smithy even care about hierarchy or nobility.

However, it's better to not reveal one self-identity in this kind of shady place.

Ron pulled open the wooden door and let Ares enter after Ran. The three of them surround Ares from three directions to avoid a sudden ambush because it wouldn't hurt to always be prepared.

A bell sound echoed once the door was pushed open.

"What do you want?" Asked a huge man with clumpy black hair that was tied messily into a huge ponytail.

He didn't even glance at them and continued smacking hot reddish steel in front of him with a huge hammer.

The man hunched a little bit but he was tall, around 3 meters tall. He was said to be a half-giant thus his height wasn't that surprising.

Most giants were around six or seven meters tall.

The interior of the place has a really high ceiling that even a dragon might fit inside but the door only appears to be around 8 meters tall, thus even the tallest giants could enter.

"I wanted to find weapons," Ares answered calmly.

"Do you want to commission me to make you custom weapons or do you want to take those junks over there," he said before he stopped what he was doing and finally looked at his customer properly.

"Sir can we really buy those?" Tuah suddenly asked, pointing towards the pile of weapons scattered at the corner of the shop.

"I can give it to you guys for free if you want," this time everyone could see his sweaty face seemingly irritated looking at them but his voice still remained polite.

Ron and Ran seemed dissatisfied but they just remained silent and let Ares decide.

"Master let's take those and came back here for new weapons. Those he called junks are comparable to the weapons sold in the other shops we saw before we came here," Tuah whispered.

However, it wasn't discreet thus everyone inside the shop could hear what he said including the blacksmith.

"Hey don't compare me with those trashes. Be grateful I didn't drive you out from my shop," the blacksmith sounded insulted for some reason.

"Oh, so can I still buy those?" Ares asked seemingly didn't care.

"You seemed like a noble. What is a noble doing here?" The blacksmith asked.

"To buy weapons" Ares answered the obvious.

"..."

"I have money"

"It's not about money,"

"Is it because you don't like the nobles?"

The blacksmith looked stunned hearing Ares's words but he didn't say anything.

If it was another noble, they might already be pissed off the first time they saw the blacksmith's lack of respect but Ares didn't care about such things like respect or etiquette.

"I just want to buy weapons for practice. Your weapons looked nicer than all those I've seen since I came here. Tell me what you want to let me buy those weapons."

"Will you even give me what I want? What if I wanted to have a competition with you?"

"Sir do want to fight with me?" Ares asked still remaining calm since he knew the Shadows could paralyse the blacksmith on the spot.

"We won't be fighting physically if that is what you're worried about,"

"Sure"

"Master, shouldn't you ask first what kind of competition he is talking about?" Ron retorted slightly seeing his reckless young master.

"Because it sounds fun," Ares said.

"Tchh you're quite cheeky aren't you? Your servants must have suffered quite a lot while taking care of you," the blacksmith commented.

Ares continued staring at him as if waiting for him to start their competition.

From the moment he could see the blacksmith's face clearly, he already saw the lightning-shaped scar on his left eyebrow. That was the famous signature of one of the characters in the novel.

The Devil Blacksmith.

The blacksmith was dedicated to the Demon King and high-ranking commanders of the Demon Army.

It was described that he has a lightning scar shaped on one of his eyebrows and his leg was crippled. He was also described to have a *peg leg on his crippled leg making him look more unruly.

*(Peg leg/pirate leg: It is specifically used to refer to simple, wooden models of an artificial leg. The limb consists of a simple wooden peg or post attached to another piece of wood that is shaped to support the knee. A wooden piece at the top of the artificial limb extended up next to the thigh, and a strap could be pulled around the thigh for support and to keep the artificial limb in place.)

Ares wasn't sure when was the first time the Devil Blacksmith was first mentioned in the novel but he was famous for creating a Demon Sword named Nabassu for the Demon King.

But why is someone who should be making a sword for the Demon King being here in Hargan Empire? Shouldn't he be in the Demonic Realm?

"It seemed you're confident but what can you give me if you lose?" The blacksmith asked.

"Do you want a new hammer?" Ares asked.

"Tskk do you think I used a normal hammer? The one I'm using is a Grade 4 artifact, not your usual hammer."

"So is the Hammer of Hephaistos enough for you?" Ares asked as if it was nothing much even though Tuah who stood beside him already bewildered.

The blacksmith was also stunned looking at the weird noble in front of him, talking to him without any regard.

At first, he thought the bodyguards that surrounded his shop might force him to submit to their master's demand but the more he talked, the more curious he felt about the noble in front of him.

"Hey, do you even know where that thing is?" The blacksmith asked.

"No, but I can try to find it," Ares answered honestly.

"Wait master, that thing is a Divine Artifact. You know that much right?" Tuah looked at Ares as if assessing the sanity of his master.

Hearing Tuah's word, both the Moran twin glanced at each other. They couldn't help but felt worried about their young master who had become more unpredictable and reckless.

A divine artifact is not something you could find just because you have money and connection. Even a Demon King couldn't possibly find a Divine artifact.

Ares knew why the three people were worried but he was still calm since he knew that the hammer was used by the Devil Blacksmith inside the novel. It was also mentioned where he got the Divine Hammer despite the details of the place wasn't mentioned.

"I know. So when will we start?" Ares asked without the slightest worry.

'Even if I lose and can't find the Divine Hammer, I could offer something else like the expensive black mithril,' he thought while the others already sweating watching Ares acting like a foolish young master.

"Sigh, whatever. Just follow me," the blacksmith seemed to resign in talking through with the noble in front of him.

They follow the blacksmith out of the shop and walked through the dusty alleyway. A few minutes later they arrived at the side of the city where it was bustling with peddlers and prostitutes all around the streets.

There were also a group of thugs in the midst of beating up a man not far from them but none of them thought of meddling with those guys.

The blacksmith continue walking and there were a lot of other people wearing robes and hoods to hide their appearances thus Ares's group weren't too conspicuous walking around the area.

"Hey, can you drink?" The blacksmith asked.

"No, I'm still underage" Ares answered truthfully and he never enjoy drinking alcohol since it tasted horrible.

"How unlucky. By the way, this is where we will do our competition," the blacksmith beckoned them to enter a pub that wasn't too crowded.

Ares just followed him without much thought while the Moran twins reluctantly let their young master a place unbefitting for him as a noble.

"So what are we doing here?"

"This place is owned by my friend and we will be having an eating competition and if you can eat more than me then it's your win," the blacksmith explained while giving Ares a slight smirk.

"Ok"

Hearing the type of competition they would do, the Moran twin decided to wait for Ares outside of the bar while Tuah decided he wanted to stay with Ares.

Not long after that, a few female waitresses came out with trolleys of food on them. Ares and the blacksmith were sitting at different tables and each table was the length of a lorry. It was quickly filled with towering food bought by the waitresses.

There was a wooden partition between them, making them hidden from each other's view.

Tuah gulped down his saliva seeing the variety of tasty food in front of Ares. Ares looked at the food and just ignored the people around him.

After all the food have been served, a woman with a burn scar on her face, started shouting, "Today, Henova will be competing against a young lad and the bet is that the one who loses would pay for everyone here"

"Whoahhhhhh!"

"Beat him Henova. Let's us empty his pocket."

"Damn, which ignorant bastard tries to beat Henova when it comes to eating?!"

The pub started to become rowdy and everyone clapped and cheered as if the competition already ended.

"Now, let's start the competition!" The woman acting like a host announced.

The rule was simple as long as you can eat, once you finish everything, they will give you more food until you surrender. Thus who can eat more will win.

Since it wasn't a race of time, Ares just eat leisurely like he usually did.

People kept on chanting their support to the blacksmith, Henova while mocking Ares for being foolish.

At that moment Ares never thought that he would be grateful for being a Zanuki.

One of the Zanuki traits is their gluttonous characteristic when it comes to food. Thus Ares didn't care even if he lose since the amount he could eat was far more than a normal human could eat for a week.

After 20 minutes, the cheering started to die down since the young man that looked slender without any obvious muscle have requested the waitresses for more food. He even asked for some juice since he was thirsty.

Henova continued eating not knowing what had happened and just thought the other customers might already feel bored that they were eating too long. He would continue eating until Ares surrendered.

50 minutes later, Henova was already full that he even felt like he wanted to vomit but he still didn't hear Ares surrender thus he asked his friend, the woman with a burn mark scar on her face, Mara.

"Oh he still eating and the cook already complained to the manager that our food might not be enough for today," Mara answered while looking at a tablet showing a young man still eating on the other side of the wooden partition.

"Is he a demon? How could he still eat when I already feel like I want to vomit everything," Henova was dumbfounded.

"Who knows but I think we already have a winner here right?" Mara who was sitting in front of Henova asked.

"Fine, I surrender"

After Henova conceded, Mara quickly announced the result but the clapping sound was lukewarm since the other customers were all stunned by the unexpected event.

"Miss, can I order more food?" Ares asked.

"Can I say no?" Mara felt worried that her business might go bankrupt at this rate.

"This is for my servants and I will pay for everything today including the food I've eaten so don't worry," Ares asked while taking out his debit card. He had enough money to even buy a regular house anywhere in Hargan.

The Zanuki was generous when giving him allowance especially when they knew they have to eat a lot.

"Hey, it's my lost so why are you paying?" Henova asked.

"Because I'm rich" Ares answered shamelessly.

"Tskk, do whatever you want. Hey, guys order everything you want since our generous rich young master will be paying today!" Henova announced and the other customers started to cheer.

The Moran twin came into the pub to eat and the when outside again.

"So young master, what kind of weapons do you want?" Henova asked glancing at Ares who was sitting silently beside him.

"I just want to buy any weapons I find interesting and your junk looked interesting. I want all of them"

".....Are you just trying to waste your money?"

"No, I just wanted to use them for practice so those are already adequate "

"Hey young master, this is just between us but I just wanted to know from which family are you from?" Mara suddenly interrupted and she looked genuinely curious.

"Does that matter?"

"Awww it's rare to find an easy-going rich young master like you and if you have a connection with people here, it's easy to find information from inside and outside of Hargan. Please just tell me your name," Mara tried to entice Ares.

Information, the more powerful someone is, the more he needed information to secure his position.

However, Ares was different, he had been slowly building his intelligent network all over Hargan and he already have a plan on how to expand them internationally.

"Then my name is Ares," he answered purposely didn't include his last name.

"Who the hell gave you that name?" Henova was shocked and his face literally showed exactly how he felt.

"My parents"

"What's wrong with that name?" Mara looked confused seeing her long-time friend acting like that.

"It's the name of a demon," Ares was the one who answered Henova.

Ares was the name of a bloodthirsty and war maniac God in ancient Greek mythology and also one of Zeus's sons. However, in this world, it was once the name of a former Demon King that wasn't really well-known.

Henova seemed to know about it. However, the Zanuki didn't seem to care much about such things thus Ares also didn't care.

"You have very interesting parents. Maybe that's why you also don't act flippant like other nobles I've met," Henova commented.

"...." Ares didn't reply because he never knew what kind of parents he had since he never met them.

"Ehem young master Ares, will you come here again?" Mara asked.

"Maybe, since the food tastes good"

Even though Ares didn't give a definite answer, Mara was beaming with a smile on her face. Ares gave extra money enough to make even the blacksmith Henova glance at the amount.

They went back to Henova's shop to take all the weapons and it was almost dark, Ares and his group decided to go back to their hotel to rest after such a long day.

However, Henova stopped them from leaving.

"Hey young master, are you sure you don't want any custom-made weapon? Why not you leave behind the weapon you currently use and I will upgrade it for free since it's rare to meet a person like you."

Henova was sincere since he always experienced terrible things when dealing with the nobles and rich people because of his proud way of talking which seemed unruly to those people.

But the young master in front of him didn't seem to care. He never even once rebuked his servant, especially the one that stand beside him that continue talking in an informal tone.

"Master, free service. Why not let your katanas here" Tuah suggested.

"Sure but I have to take them back tomorrow" Ares left his two katanas behind and went back to the hotel.

"It's a great harvest, master. Look at these shiny weapons" Tuah exclaimed looking at the pile of weapons ranging from various shapes of swords, war hammers, maces, halberds, spears and even a chakram.

Ares glanced at those weapons and thought he would have a long practice to learn how to wield them properly. Since Tuah said he had talents in weapons, Ares decided to just follow his advice.