"I'm really interested in learning Blacksmithing Sir Sabastian, but I don't have any practical experience the only things I know are from books. I'm sorry for bothering you but if it's possible can I come and watch you working on metals for the time being ? Only if it's not too much of a bother for you." After requesting so Zash was Honesty quite excited to learn Smithing from a 'Normal' Person as first-hand guided Experience from such a Talented individual was really hard to come around.
"My my The Yong Prince is really a honest individual. I'll be honest and try to teach you as much as possible but if you fail to get the basics don't be down my league, some people just aren't made for certain things in sure Prince Epis too must good at a few things." Saying so he too was quite happy the second Prince was a Honest and upright individual just like his Father and brother making him see a sense of déjà vu but throughout the while as much as he wanted to refuse inaptly idiots as such they often both their and his time but this time he felt a bit different.
Seeing the visibly Honest Excited expression in Zash's eyes Sabastian smirked and welcomed him in.
Meanwhile the Hidden Guards shivered Hearing Sabastian words 'Prince Epis must be good at a ''FEW'' things ' made them snap popping a vein as all of them unitedly screamed in their hearts questioning.
'How the F*** is he only good at a 'FEW' Things !? If those things are Few what do you make of us !? We are no different than Animals in front of him ! ' comparing can really make People go mad but in Zash's case it quite Literally fit the sentence.
At first they wanted to tell Sabastian what he was getting himself into but now after hearing those words they felt like he should suffer as if anything their freak of a prince does is bound to be done Perfectly, no matter what happens they had a absolute confidence in their freak of a Second Prince at this point even if someone claims that he became a God in the future they might even believe him, that's how much ridiculous Epis had become in everyone's eyes.
"Heed my orders ! Let that fool suffer we've suffered many shocks ourselves didn't we !? Let him get a 'few' it's not fair for only us to suffer right ?'' Benedrict sadi with a Sh*t Eating Grin plastered on his face while all the Knights and Assassins too nodded in agreement and looked towards the new scrapegoat as all they had to do now was to enjoy the fun.
(They sure were turning quite Sadistic within Zash's presence )
"Well then I'll be trouble sir Sabastian for the time being. Is there something I can do ?"
Asking so Zash truly was abnoxious towards everything else related to being a Blacksmith of course he knew about may things but after all the same thing again with his Swordsmanship profession he wasn't thaught these things he had just learned them and learning them by oneself and being taught by an expert is entirely different while both situations had their advantages and disadvantages who was Zash to let go of such an Heaven's Sent opportunity to get both Guidance and self learning from both his current World, Earth's and his New World which gave him a new better life as well as this current world which was the 3 rd home of Zash everything was within Zash's brain with everything else clearly provided before him if he wasn't enapt for this he would just give the Forging God's blessing to Sylphia's Family as dowry or something not being sure if certain tradition exists or might as well give it to his Future desciples but that's for later if he fails to feel a connection towards Blacksmithing.
" Very well my Prince please meet Alto he's my Inherient desciple as well as my daughter's f- fiancé. Though he has a few shortcomings he's truthfully quite an honest guy he often helps around the workshop as he's still not skilled enough but does makes efforts to overcome his shortcomings".
'Isn't that being too blunt right in front of him ?! Though it makes sense that he's a future husband of his daughter...'
"Ah Pleased to meet you Mr Auto bowing slightly Zash gave his approval"
"No your Highness second prince the pleasure is all mine !" Introducing themselves a bit Sabastian ordered him around.
"Hmm alto get me a few metal bars almost Molten while a few in beginner stages of heating and a few normally unheated ones along with the best hammers we have available. Please come with me Prince Epis while alto brings the stuff to test your potential it'll take a bit time, as such please watch my actions carefully I know it might be hard for you but for your stage you just have to watch, I'll ask you a few questions later on, please watch carefully.''
Repeatedly warning Epis to pay close attention within a second he picked up his hammer and started hammering a piece of metal rod shaping it and folding it again and again while applying a generous amount of heat in the smelter while grabbing it and hammering it again and again Sabastian started removing the impurities within the metals and as it was only an first hand example for Epis he didn't get too serious into it and presented an above Average performance.
Zash on the other hand observed everything perfectly to the minute details focusing his attention towards the short knive being made before him.
"This part here is a bit..." Teaching Zash about various techniques especially the hammering ones for beginners scale Sabastian continued explaining various things to Epis from minute details on designing and artistic depictions side of line and the process before starting the very beginning of forging.
Auto had long since done his part and braught along all the weapons and equipments requested by his father-in-law bit bit didn't disturbed their discussion for a while seeing that his father-in-law was happily conversing with the second prince if he accidentally interrupted any of them he was in risk of annoying a party who can make his life a living hell as he's the young Prince of this Empire on the other hand it was his Father-in-law who was already making his life a living hell and didn't wanted anything else troublesome on his hands.
"Haha look at that auto has already prepared everything while we were talking. Sorry if this Old man's ramblings sounds boring."
"No no of course I don't mind I learned a lot from our short conversation." As Epis said this both auto and Sabastian were quite surprised as it was rare to come around such a child who was good at being a good listener as for the matter of remembering everything he was thaught it wasn't even an option in their minds as the thaught of it alone was ridiculous.
"Hahaha well then let's begin we'll begin. This next step is for those who always consider us Smith's boring and unimaginative people we are to imagine the type of weapons we make in our minds first and then put their plans forward on paper and henceforth turning them into reality as such we are one of the people who can make our imaginations come true in real life".
Saying so Sabastian then got a hold of an paper sheet and began drawing a breastplate for male Swordsmen and then a leg piece, a shield, an helmet and so on overall the entire canvas or the sheet was used up with drawings and certain small size adjustments and stuff in the middle. Overall this process took less than 15 minutes or so meanwhile both Zash and alto keenly kept watch over them while the Knights guardians too were Surprised by how many talented people were in their own Empire this amount of skill is hard to come around.
After everything was drawn Sabastian hanged the huge paper sheet higher and tossed it to the left sidelines hanging them on a rope and said.
"Please take a look over them prince Epis I'll have you make this as your first test. Of course not now but once you master everything this will be the test I have for you can you make this happen ?" Sabastian asked while raising an eye.
"Ah yes I'll try" saying so Zash was truly surprised how talented Sabastian was if mana was still in this world he wouldn't be surprised if Sabastian was a peak Tier 5 individual
Without a further ado he picked up the huge hammer with both hands and asked Excitedly.
"So where do I begin ?" Looking towards Sabastian he was curious about the work he was being entrusted during this week or so as such he could become better prepared and used to heavy workloads.
"There's no rush. Remember I told you we craftsman and Forgers are currently the it ones who can make our taughts into reality as such you too need to envision a good mind try remembering a blade or something first or an simple iron bar.. I'll also be teaching you a few hammering techniques to ''Purify" the metals and how material and certain material should be handled." Proceedings to tell his plans on preparing him from the basics Sabastian really did his role as a teacher.
"So I just envision a few stuff right ?" Saying so Zash without waiting for an answer picked up the drawing pen and moved around and drew an small knife the exact same knife within seconds the same Sabastian was working on a little time before completely surpassing Sabastian's imagination.
Getting lost in the mood Zash forgot all about it and proceeded to pick up a black of unrefined iron and kept on hammering the he*k out of it heating it up from time to time sweating buckets but still showing his incredible arm strength he possessed completely opposite to the frail and weakly persona his arms give off to anyone inspecting, one can easily imagine how facing such a beast in combat would be like.
Sabastian who was googling his eyes alto besides him too was stunned on Zash's quick progress bearing in mind his first day not to mention that the Prince wasn't even tired and held strong in an unfamiliar and extremely hot environment unlike him, the Hidden guards on the other hand weren't surprised one bit and snacked on a few grapes and dried fruits watching the least expected things happening.
"Phew~ seeing and doing are two different things the mere acts of putting the metals , stabilizing them and then hammering and bending them alongside making sure that they're heated enough is definitely harder than it sounds." Saying so Zash was quite satisfied with the outcome and looked towards 2 bars of iron before him one was still relatively ok but the other was fit for using on any sword material standards."
"Ahh... that's... Prince who thaught you this purifying method ?!" He remembered that this was the same method he used while demonstrating but didn't show all of it but unexpectedly the Prince already knew about it.
"Oh that ? I read about the subject on purifying metals in a book and after watching you making the blade I got an clear picture of how it should be done still though I have to say forging is quite hard to get used to especially the part on handling the material and placing them properly or else I wouldn't waste this perfectly good black of iron." After saying so Zash sighed steadily.
"G.. GENIUS !!" Sabastian couldn't process everything happening around him and got feverish just calling him Genius stunning auto as well while the Knights had a small party in the Shadows looking towards the new 'Suffering batch' not at all surprised at this outcome.
After calming down Sabastian tried maintaining his cool and just said
"Th.. That's normal due to your size once you grow up enough you'll learn to adjust to your surroundings and then hammering and material placement will be way easier" saying so Sabastian gasped at his own words at how talented the Second Prince was and what would become of him in the future.
"Many thanks for your honest opinions please correct me if I make any mistakes." Saying so Zash picked up the iron and rehearsed it as if planning to make his first ever knife right in front of everyone.
"Prince ? Are- Aren't you tired yet ?! Are you sure you're able to go about smithing ?" Sabastian couldn't help but ask looking towards Epis's frail wrists and arms at how casually muscleless they were.
"Not really a big deal big brother often goes wild while training in Swordsmanship throughout the days I've become a bit used to moving my arms around a bit, though I have to say I'll surely get tired due to this smithing is really a harder than it looks " rubbing his sweaty forehead Zash complemented shutting Sabastian instantly who wondered what kind of a freak his Second Prince was.
It took about an hour of smithing during which he polished himself and made even better knives while gaining more and more experience in crafting the knife.
Sabastian was utterly speechless at this site as this was a first time hearing and seeing such a monstrous talent who had just woken up from eternal slumber not to mention barely two months had passed ! Getting creeped out Sabastian consoled his heart trying to calm down when he heard Zash go.
"Sir Sabastian can you please let me watch how to craft a Armour or Sword ?.or should I " wanting to continue he was stopped by Sabastian.
"Ah .??? My Prince. You don't mean you want to learn more. Are you Sure you don't feel tired at all ?" Asking the question again and again from a Prince like him has forged 10 Knives nonstop nevermind it's his first time holding hammers the heat in the forgery is easily 2-3 times stronger than outside and Epis's entire body was sweating bullets. Yet this freak still wanted to continue.
The guards meanwhile chewed on some dry fruits watching the expected unfold enjoying from other's suffering some might call it.
"No sir I'm sure to learn a few things at the end of the day. I can still go on for a while but can I please request for some water ? Feeling tired for a bit Zash finally noticed his drenched self and while he had supernatural Physique due to his Cultivation reaching 7th peak stage of Elementary Master he was still in human parameters just that he had control over his surroundings and a few natural occuring elements and could still be harmed Physically to an extent to say the least due to a few reasons especially in this body.
"Sure can do. But please don't hesitate to take a break my Prince. It's been two hours since we've started please rest assured I'll be here for the entirety of the day. Sometimes I even stay working overnight just forging and trying to improve myself you can find me anytime you might need me, as such please rest assured and don't rush things."
"I have a son about your age but considering you've been asleep for the rest of your life it pains me to see you working so hard at such a young age." Not daring to imagine what would become of his son if he had the same schedule as Prince Epis did Sabastian got quite emotional seeing this Zash just sighed and said.
"Sure it's dinner time anyways I have to report to Big Brother and Teacher where I was anyways can I have some water before I depart ?" Getting up he sat on the resting bench where the temperature was cool and asked.
"Haha of course I'll be awaiting your arrival whenever you have the time." After Epis finally got out of the forgery hall Sabastian finally breathed a sigh of relief not knowing what even to make out of today's meeting wondering if this was all but a dream after pinching himself he concluded that it definitely wasn't a dream and went about with auto to have dinner in the sideroom adjacent to the attandent's hall.
'Haa I keep forgetting not to overwork myself as I'm still practically in the body of a 9 year old.' shaking his head Zash went to his chambers and wiped himself with the water the maids gave him and taking his time he washed off the sweat all over his body and wore a new set of clothes as he let his old clothes soak in soapwater making cleaning for the housemaids later on and joined Havier and Estr who seemingly didn't mind his dissapearance at all as they walked all round the castle and just so happens to be luckily viewed by Zash as he told them tat it was dinner time and he was late which both didn't believed at first but later on did believe him which annoyed Zash a bit who just sighed at this stupid couple who had no spatial awareness as they stay close to eachother.
'i might have to do something for both of them. Maybe I can appoint a personal bodyguard from the system or find a soul who is trustworthy enough to hand both of them to for the time. Troubling times are ahead that's for sure.'.
On the other corner two familiar figures were talking as routine the Shadowy figure of a Golden haired king ordered around seeing through paperwork when he scanned through the war reports and asked in a surprised tone.
"Oh ~~~ the First Prince of the Crystal Heart kingdom still hasn't returned to his post ?"
"Yes my league it seems like King Edwin is hiding a few things from him as he hasn't received a few set of news and hasn't responded to the important ones. This is bound to upset many a forces as they're already quite scared of what might happen if he doesn't returns and if he returns late they might suffer and at the time might not have the strength to take proper measures against the Princes of the Kingdoms.
"Hahahaha Figures~ this bold move by Edwin is bound to cause some major headaches for many fools ! Honestly even I'm quite surprised by Edwina's change in attitude in this regard. Reading the reports the Golden haired Figure just read it with a silent smile plastered on his face and muttered in a silent tone.
"Turns out even you too can be quite a decent Father for once".
"This might backfire greatly Your Highness ! Please give us orders ! Should we change our plans ?" The butler asked in concern.
"No doubt it would do anything at all at this stage other than giving others problems we stand neutral and as don't vie in anyone's eyes for the time being. As time passes things are bound to be chaotic and might have a major impact on the battlefield especially with those C*n*s on the battlefield who care for nothing but money and don't give long term problems even a minor amount of consideration. Such C*n*s deserve every ounce of trouble coming their way. Proceed as planned !" Continuing on he said.
"If my guess is correct this is only bound to create problems for others and not for The Crystal Heart Empire overall and also doesn't cause any harm to us at all ! Haha it's like God's helping that kingdom maybe foolishly kind does have it's benefits after all ! " Saying so the golden figure had a rare smile on his face after a long time.
"Understood. But if that's all then what about our plans to capture the territories-"
Tsk*
the counselor waiting to put some words in wanted to continue but just as he did he just got an annoyed glance from the Golden Haired Figure
"Here I was happy from this and you've ruined this joyous moment. What even us your stupid idiots worth even ? Use your damn heads for ones honestly is eating all you can do ? How are you all any different than pigs ?." Some seniors who wanted to argue in the councilors points stayed silent after hearing this insult and didn't dare utter a word.
"Why do you feel wronged ? Even if we do use our original plan it involves an already slaughtered pig for us to slash out all the good meat out of but in this instance we aren't getting just one pig but multiple pigs are going to slaughter themselves and while the Crystal Heart kingdom does survives and might even prosper that'll only happen when Estr returns to the battlefield. Don't be too greedy use every opportunity to grow but don't force things for the worst. We won't lose in terms of power with the Crystal Heart kingdom not before not after just that we'll be on even playing grounds which doesn't sounds too bad considering how naive each passing generations of Ironhearts get."
Everyone stayed silent and after a while everyone understood where their King was getting at and indeed they were being too foolish with rushing ahead like a mad bull not knowing who they're up against pointing their horns towards everything they see. All had doubts about themselves from this action alone.
"Get lost all lot of you useless idiots Dadais you stay and relay everything happening on the battlefield. We can't leave those C*n*s on the absolute defensive against the demons they might just being about the end of mankind if we aren't careful. I swear every single one of those stupid B***** ! This was such a joyous moment haa~"
All the people retreated some feeling wronged some offended but deep down everyone understood that this person was mankind's last hope against despair and as such they can't do anything but to follow orders and do what they were good at.