The blacksmith had another failed attempt at seeing Lucy. At that point, he didn't discuss it with the waitress. He thought he shouldn't stress her even further by asking her every day about the young lady. Instead, he changed their interactions by occasionally asking about her day as he drank his beer. Like usual, after an hour or two had passed, the blacksmith left the bar.
"Let's see. Where could he be hiding this time? Ah, there he is."
William searched for a particular boy and found him sitting in a corner outside the bar half asleep. The young man had distinguished golden blonde hair that was easy to find among people.
It wasn't the first time the young man had spent his time outside the bar waiting for him. If anything, it has become the usual routine. Every night when the blacksmith leaves the bar, there would always be a boy creeping behind him.
—How about I give him a little scare?
The blacksmith carefully walked behind the drowsy young man with a grin on his face, "Hey, sleeping beauty…" he whispered. He got closer to the young man's ear and then, "Wake up!" he yelled as loud as he could.
"Huh-wha?!"
The young man was startled by the sudden scream of William's voice. He turned around to the blacksmith, crossing his arms in defense. His green eyes were opened wide as he slowly realized who was in front of him. A wry smile formed on his face.
"Oh. Hello Master Jaeger… Fancy meeting you here."
"After all the previous tries, now is when you decide to act like it was mere coincidence?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." he said looking away from the blacksmith.
The young man sulked. He thought that this time for sure William wouldn't notice him.
It'd come to the young man's attention that he was being troublesome to William, because every time the blacksmith found him, he would be scolded for being late outside. To not cause William any worry, he's been trying to find ways to hide and wait while the man goes to the bar.
"Have you eaten today?"
The young man scratched his nose, "As a matter of fact, I did. My stomach is so full, I have the strength to make a thousand blades!" He said as he winked at the blacksmith.
"I'm sure you do…" the blacksmith snorts, "You could have come inside, you know."
"But, I'm not old enough."
The man raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? You're clearly of drinking age. You've said so yourself. Besides, if you didn't want to drink, you could've just come in with me and not order anything."
The young man scratched his head, "Oh... you're right."
"Here" the blacksmith gave a bag to the young man, "I got you some food."
"Really!?" the young man quickly eats the food inside the bag.
"Oh?" William raised an eyebrow, "Weren't you the one who said "My stomach is so full, I have the strength to make a thousand blades"?"
"Well, that's..."
"Relax, don't lie to me about things like that. Okay?"
The young man nodded, embarrassed that he got caught, "Okay..."
—This boy is completely hopeless…
He was a proud young man. He would never let anyone see his weaknesses, but somehow William always saw through his facade. The blacksmith proceeded to walk through the empty market alley.
--Wait, it's empty?
The man realized that the usual stand was nowhere to be seen. Let alone the merchant who ran behind it. William recalled the previous discussion Paul had with the other guild members. He wondered if the merchant's absence was a product of that interaction.
The young man followed behind him, "The evil man hasn't been seen all day, master."
"He hasn't, huh. Wait, would you stop calling me master?"
"But... you're my master."
"As far as I know, I haven't taken any apprentices."
"But if you don't take me as your apprentice, how am I supposed to reach my dream?"
The young man had requested to be taught by the blacksmith but was rejected flat. That evening, he stormed out of the house with rage and, ever since then, the young man had been constantly behind William's tail. If anything, it looked like he had changed his approach to get the approval of the blacksmith.
He had come up to William wanting to become someone with outstanding abilities. One who could become the talk of the town for generations. He knew that with the blacksmith's help, he was sure to achieve it.
"Still, trying to become a hero from just being a Blacksmith is a little... how should I put this... stupid."
The young man was shocked at William's words. For him, it was like knives piercing right through his heart.
"But from what I heard, you're the most well-known Blacksmith in the kingdom of Heratia! Who's to say that I can't become one?"
"One thing is being well known because of your family name and another thing is being well known because of your hard work."
The young man had stopped walking behind the blacksmith, "Then… Help me."
"What?" the blacksmith stopped his track as well and looked behind him, at the young man.
The young man took a deep breath and stomped his feet while saying, "Help me achieve my dreams of becoming a hero through hard work!" The young man gripped his hands and looked at the blacksmith's eyes, waiting for a proper answer.
William scratched his head,
— This boy hasn't let me alone for two weeks now. I got to give him credit for being persistent.
The young man wanted to reach his goal no matter what. It reminded William of himself when he was younger. William would go to his father's shop and kept asking to be taught blacksmithing nonstop. His father did teach him eventually, what William didn't know back then was now the cost.
The blacksmith stared at the young man in thought, "I don't know about this, boy. Who's to say that you're capable of the Jaeger techniques that have been passed down through generations?" he said, crossing his arms.
The young man had brought himself to his knees with his hands together, "Please! Just give me a chance to prove that I am worthy of your guidance!"
"What are you doing?! Get up, I'm getting weird stares from everyone!" He said as he got disgusted looks from the people that walked by.
The blacksmith wondered if he had been hard on the young man the first time he rejected him. The kid clearly wanted to learn and become a high-class blacksmith. William thought it was time to pass the knowledge to the younger generation.
"—Alright."
"I'll lick your boots clean if I have to—Huh?" the young man's eyes opened wide.
It was unexpected for the young man. After being rejected the first time, he was clearly expecting a rejection once more. He looked at William with teary eyes and a smile on his face.
"You don't need to go that far... At least it gives me the idea of how much you want this.--" the blacksmith said, referring to the young man licking his boots.
The young man threw a fist in the air with joy, "--Yes! Thus a legend is born."
"Hey kid, don't get too excited."
The young man's smile quickly turned into a concerned look. "What do you mean?"
The blacksmith raised his index finger as he continued, "You still have to prove me you're worth it through and through. Come on, let's go to my workplace."
The young man stood straight and put his hands on his hips. He declared while puffing out his chest and a grin on his face, "Aye, Aye! Nicolas Stern doesn't disappoint."
"So that's your name..."
"Had I not mentioned it before?"
"Nope."
***
The young man sat on the stool as he sharpened the freshly made dagger.
William was impressed. Nicolas knew his way around, but he still lacked in many departments. You could say Nicolas was also a clumsy boy, but that is to be expected when a boy goes through puberty. When he finds his zone, he shows himself to have the stance and confidence of a blacksmith. Now, William just had to see how his work would turn out.
"Here you go."
Once done, Nicolas hesitantly passed the dagger to William, and he analyzed it.
— Hmm. It lacks a bit of form...
William grabs a block of wood and puts it on the table. With the dagger, he stabbed the wood, and he noticed the blade did not cut the wood but managed to leave a dent.
— The sharpness of this blade needs a lot of work. It's so dull, it's far off from being polished. If he were to sell this, the people would laugh at his face. Hm? There is also...
"Well? well?!"
The young man impatiently stood still waiting on the stool. His eyes sparkled with anticipation as he waited for the supposed appraisal of his work.
The blacksmith wryly smiled, "It's bad..."
"—Ugh."
Straight to the heart, William's words left Nicolas on the floor. Just like last time, his words were knives to his frail heart.
—Although, I'm surprised to know a young man such as yourself can already make it a magical item.
Once the dagger pierced the wood, it showed a blueish glow. That was unexpected to William and left him with great curiosity of the boy's potential.
Not everyone can use magic in their craftsmanship in this world. To know that a boy can use magic, even putting it on an item without using a mana crystal, is very uncommon.
—The only people who have been able to do this kind of work are people from the Ludio Family, but he said his last name was Stern...
"With a bit of discipline, we can make it work… All right, you passed boy. You can stay and be my apprentice."
Nicolas, upon hearing Williams' words, gave him the strength and energy to stand up, "Heh! I told you I wouldn't let you down!" He said while puffing his chest.
—You were on the floor defeated a few seconds ago. Where did this overconfidence come from?
The blacksmith wryly smiled, "Congratulations, you're now my apprentice. As a matter of fact, you're the first one."
"…"
"You stopped moving... Hey, are you listening? I said that you would be my apprentice."
The young man was shocked at William's words. Nicolas couldn't believe that he was finally reaching his dream. The young man felt it in his body, he was meant to be someone great. One who would change the world. To think that he was one step closer to his goal brought him absolute joy. He will finally reach the day, by his own choice, he will be the person he wants to become.
The apprentice, finally responding, jumped with excitement with a fist in the air, "Alright, I did it!"
The blacksmith raised his index finger, "Now, like I said before, you have to prove me you're worth it through and through."
Nicolas raised an eyebrow, "Huh? What is that supposed to mean?"
The blacksmith leaned towards the young man and gently flicked his forehead, "That means until the end of training, you will vigorously practice the art of smithing. It goes without saying, but there will be no slacking while you practice. If you fail to do so, I'll kick you out."
The young man rubbed his forehead from the slight pain and then he caught he catched on to the last part the blacksmith said, "Huh?!" The young man's mouth was opened wide.
The blacksmith wasn't going to actually throw him out. He remembered how he used to act as a teenager with the "I don't care about anything" phase. He thought giving him a reason to work hard would be good motivation.
Before Nicolas could protest, William turned his back to him and went up the stairs to the second floor to set a space for the young man to sleep in the spare bedroom. He looked around the room and scratched his cheek, not knowing where to put the lad's bed of hay, "My, this is a little embarrassing, but I haven't cleaned my old bedroom since I left a few years ago... Now that I sleep in my grandfather's old room, I haven't bothered to look at this space."
"It's not just this room. You haven't cleaned at all since the last time I was here!?"
The blacksmith had been gone for years while he traveled as a merchant. He had come back from his journey about a month ago and yet, he had not settled his personal belongings or cleaned the house. William moved some objects away to free some space and what came underneath it was,
"Oh... there go the cockroaches."
"What?!"
William scratched the back of his head and laughed at Nicolas' reaction.
The young man's eyebrows furrowed, "I cannot rest easy here. This is of upmost disgust. A soon to be legend like myself cannot be known for living in a slum. Isn't there somewhere better I can sleep?"
"Why you--!"
William grabs Nicolas and rubs his fist on top of the young man's head.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
Nicolas is someone who wasn't taught when to keep his opinions for himself. He kept going on and on, judging William about his way of living in a worn-out shady home in the forest, but the blacksmith was not having any of it.
"Damn brat, be grateful I'm letting you sleep inside. One more ungrateful comment from you and I will send you to the wolves."
"There are wolves around here!?" the young man quickly checked around the house to make sure every window and door was closed.
The man smirked, "There are more than just wolves. So, you better watch that damn mouth of yours."
"I was just kidding, geez." The young man sighed at the realization of what awaited him the next day, "I guess it's cleaning day tomorrow."
William sighed as well, "Fine, but you'll need to make it quick. We got work to do."
"I meant for the both of us!"
The apprentice, while pouting, walked to the bed of hay William had just finished making. It was covered by two layers of bedsheets. He patted it to feel its fluffiness. Compared to his previous sleeping arrangement, this bed of hay was a cloud that came straight from the heavens.
The man raised an eyebrow, "Is it not to your liking, your highness?" He asked sarcastically.
The young man collapsed on the bed, for once he felt his body finally resting. His tensed muscles were relaxed and his consciousness was slowly fading away, just about to fall asleep. "It's fine, I guess this will do. In the meantime, at least." He wasn't going to let the blacksmith know of his true feelings. He is a prideful young man after all. However, the man could tell from the look of the young man's face that he was overjoyed to be sleeping in a bed for once.
—He's really stubborn to admit his true feelings.
William sighed, "Hey, aren't heroes supposed to start from the bottom to become something great? In every legend, the hero rises through hard training to become strong so he can be able to strike his foes."
The young man, who was lying on the bed facedown, turned to look at William, "What are you talking about? Heroes don't go through hardships. They're heroes, a symbol of perfection and hope. They bring fear to every foe they meet. They're born that way, it's their destiny."
"Destiny... Why does a hero need to be perfect?"
The young man yawned, "Because everything they do has to be perfect. They're refined to show that they are a strong, respectable and formidable opponent... or else they won't reach everyone's expectations."
"I see… then—"
The blacksmith was about to ask Nicolas a question but, before he could, the young man had already fallen asleep.
The blacksmith looked away from the sleeping young man in thought, "Then, why were you so persistent with me?"