"There are two kinds of pain.
"One makes you stronger. It's like the forged steel I'm dealing with. Every time I hit it, it deforms, but anyway, it's moving toward a weapon, And as long as..."
The thin blade broke into two pieces with a sound of crisp steel.
"... One mistake is enough to kill you."
"There is another, which is worthless. Just like I am dealing with forging steel, no matter how many weapons I make, it is doomed to be only a failure. As long as I remain in prison, all this misery means nothing to me.
"I am not an Arcane. I can feel the energy but not use it, so I am not an Arwu for the time being. I am only a blacksmith, eating this bowl of rice purely because of my sideline hobby - alchemy. Of course, I can handle human materials and won't starve to death as a blacksmith in this barren place. There is no choice but to flee to a place where there is no Arcane value and few Arcane masters."
Dropping what he was doing, he pushed open the door of the smith-room and strolled out.
"These years, I've only worked four hours a day, and the rest of the time, I'd rather sleep than do nothing -- that's not diligence, that's wasting one's life, and it's never cheap to buy anything from me.
"Don't call me a young man. I'm only eighteen, a young man at best. And when have you ever seen an older man with ambition and murder in his heart?
"This guy who's running in here, we call him Cockroach. Twentysomethings roam the streets every day, daring to mess with anyone. It's good that Saki didn't have an Arcane, or else he would have been in trouble with someone important and dead many times. And he and I get along just fine for the simple reason that he can't beat me; I also need his connections with the great men of the island to cover for me and, by the way, bring in some business."
Moros! Come downtown! Big business! The captain brought it!
"Cockroaches do this every time. They rush in, don't start, don't finish, and then run back. But when he says big business, he means big business.
"As for the captain... Nova Rais, Kanksh passerby in Sennorbo. His main business is to sail between Senobo and Levyzk. This is his stop here, and he often gets off the boat to resupply, buy wine, buy sex and so on. As for the side business... Tut tut...
"Brave in battle, well commanded, faithful and brave... These words describe both him and not him. No one else knows, but I hear this Captain Nova seems to have some unspeakable dealings with Yorkland next door, and even his concubine in bed is having some problems.
"After all, a woman comes to me and buys a lot of the best alchemy, and then Nova's ship spooks a little more, and then Yorkland mutines, and it's all so decent.
"It's good that the Yorkland mutiny was put down a few days ago, or God knows how long I'd have to work. But the problem is usually obscure. These losers were sent to Sakhi by some guy with money in mind every day in front of my house to pull banners and shout slogans. They are just a bunch of retards. I don't know why the sheik will not get rid of those older men. Well, I'm afraid Senobo won't?"
The blacksmith stood up and opened the door of the house. The tropical spring sun was so bright that he could feel the heat outside, even though he was bare-chested.
"It's still comfortable in the north! The blacksmith muttered to himself. "Oh, yes! Saki, though not an Arcane, has everything a mortal could have and is exceptionally well off. It's not a bad place to live out one's days or be a war refugee or something."
With these words, the blacksmith made a gesture of embracing heaven and earth and stretched out a long stretch: "Hello! My name is Moros. You can call me Paggio. It's all the same. The desert of arcane, the paradise of mortals...
"Welcome to Saki!