"Will you get back to Lutia now?" Lith asked, hoping for a positive answer.
"I don't know." Selia bit her lower lip.
"I'd love to get some help and company. Living in the middle of nowhere is really tiring, but I have to endure it for the kids. I'll think about it as soon as they understand that they can't shapeshift in front of strangers." She sighed.
Selia and Lith exchanged a long hug. She made him promise to come back before the end of winter.
"Remember that we are your friends, not just a deadline. If you come back only for the lizard, I'll never forgive you."
After saying their goodbyes, Lith used the Tower Warp to get back in the north and reach Belius with the army's Gate. He needed to leave enough traces of his passage to never make people wonder where he disappeared from time to time.
'I would love to work on my Forgemastering, but my talk with Kamila is long overdue. I can't delay it any longer without giving her a good reason. I can't just fit her in my spare time, I need to make time for her.' He thought while knocking on her door.
It was early enough in the morning for her to still be at home, but not so late that she had to rush to work. Lith had the keys to her apartment, but he wanted to make her a surprise.
He rang the bell several times before he could hear an angry voice coming from behind the door.
"Look, pal, whatever you sell, I'm not buying. I was in the middle of breakfast and…" Kamila choked on her words after watching through the peephole.
"I swear, this is the last time I make you a surprise. This is not how I pictured our reunion."
The door opened abruptly and Kamila hugged him tightly for a few seconds, making sure he wasn't hurt.
"How did you get here so fast? I wasn't expecting you here before noon." She asked.
Lith didn't reply. He silently stood there, returning her embrace. He had missed her warmth, the scent of her hair, and even the sound of her voice. The difference between speaking with her and her hologram was like heaven and earth.
"Is it too much to ask for a 'welcome home' and a kiss?" Lith's words made Kamila blush. He had just referred to her house as his own, as if to ask if he could live with her.
"Welcome home." She said before making him bend down to reach his lips.
"Come in. I want to hear all about Friya and Ryman." Kamila had no need to ask him about the events in Zantia because she already knew them from his daily reports. She was more interested in learning about his never mentioned before friend.
They had breakfast together, while Lith told her how he and Protector had met and how he had become his magical father figure. He always referred to him as a vagrant mage.
Exposing his identity as an Emperor Beast could endanger his family. Ryman had not betrayed Lith's secret and he was willing to do the same for him.
"Did you really fight together against your first Abomination when you were just twelve?" She asked.
"Yes. My parents learned about it only a year later."
"That man is crazy, bringing a child to fight that kind of monster." No matter how much enthusiasm Lith used when reminiscing all the times he had fought or hunt alongside Protector.
To her, he was just a nutjob who had endangered Lith's life multiple times.
"Without me, the Trawn woods would have been destroyed and maybe Lutia razed to the ground. He's not crazy. If we had never met, I would have probably died fighting the Abomination alone." Lith said.
"You can keep trying to make it appear heroic later. I'm almost late for work." Kamila put her jacket on, giving him a last kiss before going to the door.
"I would love to have lunch together, but I have barely ten minutes at random due to overwork. I'll be back for dinner. I want you to promise me that when I arrive home, I'll find you here and that you will not risk your life today." She grabbed the handle without turning it, waiting for his reply.
"I promise. Are you ready for our big talk?" Lith asked.
"I was born ready." She blew him a kiss and left the apartment.
'Not risking your life is a big promise. What are we going to do all day? Sitting on a couch' Solus chuckled.
'I'm not tired. I had plenty of time to rest during the last few days. The materials I have requested should have already arrived home. Time to Forgemaster us a few new toys.'
Lith used Belius's Gate to get to Derios, the capitol of Distar's Marquisate, and then Solus's tower Warp to arrive directly in the Trawn woods.
His parents were overjoyed to have him back home. They showered him with affection and rebukes.
"This is becoming disturbing, son." Raaz said.
"Why are you only getting missions where you risk your life at least once per day?"
"I'm the Ranger in charge of one of the most dangerous regions in the north, Dad. Not the captain of the sewing club. High risks mean high rewards. Speaking of rewards, I was expecting a few crates. Have they arrived already?"
"Yes, dear. I've stored them for safekeeping" Elina handed him several dimensional rings.
"Are you eating properly? It seems that stress has made you lose weight. Maybe you should change your career plans."
"Please, Mom, Kamila is already bugging me. She says that I endanger my life like she changes her clothes. I don't need to hear the same song from you and Dad."
"You should listen to her. Kamila is a judicious woman. Will you have lunch with us?"
Lith nodded in reply and then he and Elina came out of their home to pass the crates from her dimensional rings to his pocket dimension. After that, he went to the village of Lutia to meet with Zekell Proudhammer.
He was the village blacksmith and Rena's father-in-law. He had insisted for both Rena and his granddaughter, Leria, to keep the Verhen last name, making them Verhen-Proudhammer.
Lith's name was the best sword and shield any sane man could ask for.
"What can I do for you, dear Lith?" Zekell loved all the privileges he had acquired through his son's marriage and was always eager to help Lith however he could.
"I need to make me a few items out of Orichalcum. Do you know how to process it?" Lith asked.
"No. I never heard about it outside of legends."
Lith took out the first crate and a booklet about Orichalcum.
"I gave it a read. It doesn't seem much different from silver. Is it as easy as it seems?" Lith was so used to learn things with Soluspedia that every second that Zekell spent reading the booklet seemed to last an hour to him.
"We can give it a try. We'll need a few ingredients for…"
Lith opened the crate, revealing that the ore had been delivered with all the necessary for its treatments.
"Okay, then we just have to wait for the furnace to reach the right temperature. I'll reread everything again while we wait."
Wait. Lith hated that word. It usually implied wasting time he could use to do something else.
It took him less than a minute to pulverize the ore with magic, another few minutes to prepare the rest of the ingredient, and then he could only stare at the flames.
