"Welcome!"
Lisbeth greeted cheerfully the moment she and Shido stepped into her Arms Shop in Yggdrasil City. The earlier awkwardness she'd shown vanished entirely, replaced by a bright enthusiasm as she eagerly tugged him inside.
Shido could only let out a helpless smile, allowing himself to be pulled along by her energy.
When they arrived in Yggdrasil City, Shido looked around with interest, watching the colorful city illuminated by golden lights against the dark sky. Just like Alne City, fairies of various races gathered here, but unlike Alne City, this place felt far more bustling and lively.
"I'll take care of something first. It'll only take a minute. You can look around the shop if you want."
Lisbeth let go of Shido's hand, trying her best to maintain a neutral expression. On the surface, she appeared calm, but if one looked closely, they would notice the faint fidgeting of her fingers and the subtle redness on her cheeks, showing that she was still flustered and embarrassed from holding hands with him.
Of course, such an act was pointless in front of Shido, who could easily sense people's emotions. Still, he had no intention of pointing it out since he didn't want the atmosphere to be more awkward. So instead, he simply nodded with a light smile and said, "Got it. Take your time."
Hearing Shido respond so casually, without even showing much emotion as if holding her hand was just a trivial manner. Lisbeth somehow wanted to smack him on the head for being so shameless. He was the one who had sneakily taken her hand, making her all flustered and shy, yet he was acting as if nothing had happened?
Lisbeth narrowed her eyes and glared at Shido unhappily before leaving with a sharp "hmph!" and a little huff.
Watching her storm off after shooting him that glare, Shido could only stand there, speechless, wondering how he had managed to annoy her. In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly, thinking that a woman's emotions really did change faster than the weather.
While Lisbeth busied herself in the back of the shop, Shido took the chance to browse around. His eyes wandered over the rows of weapons and equipment on display, each one crafted with impressive mastery. He couldn't help but nod in admiration as Lisbeth's craftsmanship was truly top-notch.
...
At the back of the shop, Lisbeth changed out of her combat gear into a more casual outfit while sorting through the materials she had stored there. However, she suddenly paused, then she bashfully covered her face with her hands.
Her cheeks were burning red as the memory of Shido's warm hand gently wrapping around hers resurfaced in her mind. Just recalling the sensation of his hand made her heart flutter uncontrollably.
'When did I become so shameless…? Actually holding hands with a boy in public like that…' Lisbeth thought, embarrassed, her face still buried in her hands.
Still, recalling how Shido hadn't even looked flustered while holding her hand, Lisbeth couldn't help but puff her cheeks in annoyance and scold him for being completely unfazed.
"Hmmp! That guy is definitely a bad guy." Lisbeth started scolding Shido, puffing her cheeks as she paced back and forth. "Who just casually holds a girl's hand like that and acts like it's nothing? Ugh, seriously! He's way too smooth for his own good! He probably does that to every girl he meets!"
She crossed her arms and let out a small huff. "Next time he pulls something like that, I'll bonk him with my hammer!"
Lisbeth nodded as if she were already thinking of a countermeasure if Shido tried something like that again. But as she thought about it, her expression softened. Placing a hand on her chest, Lisbeth wondered why she felt so strange. Being with Shido and holding his hand made her feel stuffy and fluttery all over.
The most likely explanation Lisbeth could come up with was that she had fallen in love with Shido. However, she quickly shook her head in denial, telling herself it was impossible, it would be too shallow of her to develop feelings so easily.
Yet, the redness on her face betrayed her thoughts.
Just by recalling how Shido had saved her when she was about to be killed by the Field boss and how he stood in front of her to protect her, made her heart nearly leap out of her chest. Even though it was just a VR game and she couldn't actually die, something about Shido's actions made her chest tighten. His entrance had just been too damn handsome.
Looking at the amethyst crystal on the table, Lisbeth still felt a swirl of mixed emotions over Shido's unknown intentions. Even so, she decided to pour all her feelings into forging the best weapon she could for him.
Taking a deep breath, Lisbeth steadied her emotions and pumped her fist in the air before walking back to the shop to call Shido.
...
Shido quietly stood in front of Lisbeth, who was about to begin crafting his weapon.
After making her preparations and calming her chaotic emotions so Shido wouldn't notice anything strange, Lisbeth called him to the back of her shop, the place where she usually forged and maintained various weapons and equipment.
Now, Shido stood in silence, watching as Lisbeth gripped her hammer and took a deep breath.
Lisbeth, who had been embarrassed just moments ago, had now switched into work mode. After taking a deep breath, she turned to look at Shido , only to find him looking right back at her. When their eyes met, Shido smiled, and Lisbeth, who had finally managed to calm herself, blushed and lost her composure all over again.
Nevertheless, she quickly recovered, shooting a sharp glare in Shido's direction, which made him let out a wry smile.
'Ugh... that smile was just unfair!'
Casting another glare at Shido, Lisbeth placed the Lunarglow Amethyst she had gotten from the cave and an Aetherium Ingot on the table. After preparing the materials, she carefully heated the ingot in the furnace, leaving the amethyst aside. Setting a timer, Lisbeth watched as the metal slowly melted into a radiant glow, its surface rippling like liquid light under the forge's heat.
Meanwhile, Shido observed everything silently, focused and serious she was in when Lisbeth started to work. Still, he couldn't help feeling a little helpless whenever she shot him a glare for smiling which made him speechless. Touching his face, Shido wondered if maybe his avatar was just too handsome… just like in real life.
However, he didn't dwell on it for long, as his attention soon shifted to Lisbeth's forging process. It might have looked simple, and the steps seemed short since this was just a VR game, but Shido knew it wasn't that easy to make a truly good weapon even with excellent materials.
Before long, the timer Lisbeth had set began to ring. Moving quickly, she pulled the glowing, bright-orange ingot from the furnace with a pair of tongs and placed it on her smithing table.
Now that the Aetherium Ingot had been heated to a molten sheen, Lisbeth grabbed the Lunarglow Amethyst and tapped it, bringing up a glowing window. Shido couldn't read what was displayed, but Lisbeth didn't hesitate and she clicked the confirmation button, and the crystal shattered, scattering into tiny crystal fragments that were slowly absorbed by the blazing ingot.
Shido raised an eyebrow looking at Lisbeth. Even though he didn't know much about forging, he could tell that what Lisbeth was doing was something more special than normal blacksmithing. Still, he didn't say a word, not wanting to distract her, and simply continued to watch her work in silence.
Seeing that the molten ingot had turned a vivid purple while still blazing hot, Lisbeth grabbed the small hammer beside the table with both hands. Taking a deep breath, she began to strike the ingot causing a sharp metallic sound.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Lisbeths slowly hammered the ingot with mastery and it already on her 14th strike. Even though her face showed no sign of it, she was starting to feel nervous. The more she hammered, the greater the chance of producing a high-rank weapon… but also the higher the risk of failure.
Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, yet she didn't stop to wipe them away. She kept hammering the molten ingot, silently praying in her heart. 'Please be successful!'
Even though she was using the pretext of repaying Shido as gratitude with making him a new weapon. Lisbeth genuinely wanted to give him something from the heart, so failure wasn't an option.
She had to admit, Shido could be a little annoying and shameless at times, always teasing her and making her flustered. But despite that, or maybe because of it Lisbeth didn't really mind. In fact, she found it fun being around him. Without realizing it, she'd come to want him closer to her.
Because of those thoughts, Lisbeth finally understood her true feelings. So once she made a good sword, she would tell Shido how she felt. That's why she had to succeed, no matter what.
Shido happened to notice the turmoil inside her heart and cast a look in her face. He could see that she seemed to became a little nervous, but quickly her nervousness turn into determination which made Shido nod inwardly. He have absolute confidence in her ability after all, so he didn't have anything to worry about and continued watching Lisbeth striking the ingot.
With that resolution, Lisbeth grew more determined and confident.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The hammer strikes continued to rain down, and when Lisbeth struck the molten ingot for the thirtieth time, it began to shine with a luminous blend of black and purple light before slowly taking the shape of a sword.
As the glow faded, the weapon's form was finally revealed. Both Shido and Lisbeth's eyes lit up with a mix of awe and nervous anticipation.
Resting on the smithing table was a long, double-edged sword that gleamed with a faint gradient of black and violet, as if the twilight sky itself had been captured within the metal.
The edges gleamed with a gentle silver hue with sharp and flawless blade, while faint runic lines pulse softly along its surface like a heartbeat of light. The guard curved gently like a pair of small wings, and the hilt was wrapped in soft lavender leather for a firm grip. At the center of the guard rested a fragment of the Lunarglow Amethyst, emitting a calm and soothing glow.
Putting down the hammer in her hand, Lisbeth tapped the sword to bring up its stats. She looked at the sword with trace of pride and said, "It's called <
Saying that, the strain on Lisbeth's face finally faded, replaced by a tired yet joyful smile. She had created her greatest work, and it was for the man she had fallen for.