The pounding of the hammer against the anvil dominates the stale space.
Stuffy like a sauna, a combination of sweat and burning embers with the dominating scent of sweat, the scent of hard labor.
Nami's white skin was shiny with sweat. An outfit of tanktop and short jeans clung to the slender body of an eighteen-year-old girl. With her hair in a ponytail, any man would be mesmerized by this sight, especially when she was hammering a sword on an anvil.
Felix always smiled when he saw the young flower working hard in the Blacksmith Quarter.
"You're home, good. Where's the hunting money?" Nami asked.
"Ahm, I actually brought this." Felix proudly patted the bucket on her head. "Well, they're cute, aren't they? I named them-"
"Oh my god, Felix! What an idiot. What did you bring those four creatures here for? You became a hunter to make money. Besides, you see, my house is like a zoo!"
Felix weakly put the bucket onto the wooden table. "Sorry."
"Sorry, sorry, your sorry is useless for me, you're always like this. Next time bring home some money. We need money to live, you know?"
"But my heart told me to bring them home. So how about it. B gi, C gi, D gi, and F gi, what do you want to do with them?"
"What?"
"These four rabbits, I named them." Felix pushed the rabbit forward. "Please don't eat them. Pity them."
Closing her eyes, Nami filled her chest cavity with hot wind. Then she chuckled for no apparent reason. "Alright, bring them in. Let them live in the backyard."
Nami shook her head, humming as she continued her work.
A few years ago Basil had left home, on a business call. He disappeared without a word and left his family to fend for themselves.
Since then, Nami had worked hard to build the Blacksmith Quarter next door, while Felix struggled as a hunter. They work to live.
Besides, as the man of the house, Felix had an important job besides earning money. Looking after the Longsword family. Especially looking after Nami.
The newly grown flowers attracted many bees. Felix wasn't worried about Nami's hunter customers, they were polite and respectful of the Longsword bloodline, but Nami's customers weren't just hunters. Several times Felix had dealt with Nami's Blacksmith customers who were insolent and looked at Nami with animalistic lust.
Nami was actually capable of defending herself. She broke the hand of the man who wanted to grab her ass, and also crushed the egg of the man who wanted to do immoral things to her. But still, Felix worried if the men came to Nami together. One or two people Nami could handle, but what if it was four?
That was the reason why Felix was reluctant to go far from home. He would go hunting for three days at most, no more.
As for Finn, after the incident a few years ago he changed completely. He's not the Finn he used to be.
"Where's Finn?" asked Felix, after placing the four daggers of his weapon onto the wooden table.
"I think it's in the house, you check. If it's not there, then it's in the backyard with your other pets."
Felix pushed open the wooden door to the side of the house, entering his heaven on earth. The wooden building hadn't changed much since Basil disappeared, always neatly organized.
"Finn? Finn, where are you?"
There was no answer from the fifteen-year-old boy.
Felix went to the backyard, fed some deer, goats, chickens, and put four rabbits into the grassy area. Still no sign of Finn.
"Where is the boy? Finn?" Usually Finn would answer when called. Felix was worried that something had happened to him.
Suddenly from the side of the house, someone sneaked up on Felix.