The man cast a disdainful glance at Cain, scrutinizing the boy before him with suspicion and intrigue.
"Did it really have to be today?" Cain wondered to himself. Cain showed a form of respect and performed a bow.
"My greetings to Count Patrick Von Saimon," he said.
The count was taken aback by the refined manners displayed by such a young child.
"Boy, what is your name?" he asked.
"My name is..." Cain began to respond, but was interrupted by his father.
At that moment, a boy of the same age as Cain appeared. His hair was golden, and his eyes shone with a bright red hue. It was Leo.
"Oh, Leo, have you finished buying your new suit?" asked the Count.
"Yes! But who is this boy?" Leo inquired, looking at the child who was performing a bow.
"I can't believe Leo has already completed his first star," Cain thought, observing how Leo naturally emitted mana.
"Boy, can you repeat your name for me?" the Count asked.
"What should I do? If I tell him my real name, many plans will be ruined. But if I lie, he'll notice," Cain thought, sensing Patrick's aura.
"My name is... Cain Raven," Cain responded, his face showing signs of distress.
"Ah, I see..." Patrick said, looking at Cain with suspicion and disgust.
"Father, why are you giving importance to this peasant?" Leo asked.
"It's nothing important. Let's go back," Patrick replied.
"Yes!" Leo agreed.
"Haa, *sigh* damn it! What should I do now? This has already ruined many plans… Wait! I think this might actually work better…" Cain thought, flipping through the artifact book and searching for a specific object.
"Ha ha ha, I think this will be perfect. Well, change of plans. I suppose I'll be the Count's illegitimate son again," Cain said with a smile, his laughter tinged with a hint of psychopathic satisfaction.
Count's Carriage:
"Father, who was that boy from before? I think his name was Cain, wasn't it?" Leo asked.
"Oh, he was just an obstacle in the way, so to speak..." Patrick replied.
"Hmm, then can I play with him?" Leo asked with a teasing and malicious grin.
"...Haha, we'll see. But have you purchased the suit for your engagement with the Marquis's daughter?" Patrick asked.
"Yes," Leo responded with a hint of distaste, staring out of the carriage window.
Bakery:
"Thank you," Cain said as he left the city bakery, having completed Sara's errand. He only needed to buy the milk.
As Cain walked through the city streets, he stopped at an old blacksmith's shop. The smithy looked like a small cabin in the city. Its walls were made of red brick, with wooden pillars and a smoking chimney. The door was marked as closed, but Cain could hear the loud clanging of the hammering from inside.
Cain couldn't resist his curiosity about entering the smithy. He slowly opened the door and saw an old man hammering away at a sword.
(KKRAK...KKRAK...KKRAK...KKRAK...) Cain watched as the blacksmith struck the metal with precision.
"Excuse me," Cain said.
"UH! What's a child doing here? Leave, don't you see it's closed?" the blacksmith said gruffly but tiredly.
"I wanted to know if you could teach me blacksmithing," Cain asked.
The blacksmith looked at the boy, who seemed a bit thin but determined. It wasn't just his gaze, which resembled that of a wolf on the hunt, but also the fact that he could endure the intense heat inside.
"...Why would a child like you want to learn blacksmithing?" the blacksmith asked.
"I want to make a ring," Cain replied with a determined voice.
"A ring? For what reason?" the blacksmith asked with curiosity.
"For a gift," Cain answered, a bit embarrassed.
"Oh, I see, a young man in love, haha," the blacksmith said with a teasing tone. "And tell me, what's your name?"
"My name is Cain, sir," Cain responded.
"Alright, boy, my name is Marcos. I'll teach you how to make a ring, but it will be later. Come back tomorrow," Marcos said.
Cain quickly left the smithy and went to complete Sara's errand.
•••
"Oh, you're back, Cain." Sara was hanging white sheets.
"Yep," Cain replied with a smile on his face. "Come on, it's almost noon, and lunch is nearly ready."
••••
After lunch, Cain rested with Sara under a white blanket in the meadow near their home.
"Hey, Mom, can I work at the city smithy?" Cain asked.
"Hmm? And why is that?" Sara inquired, hearing Cain's request.
"Alright, but with two conditions," Sara said, pinching Cain's cheeks as she made her requests. "First, you must come back before nightfall, and second, you need to behave yourself with the smith, okay?"
"Alright, Mom," Cain agreed while gazing at the clouds in the sky, lying in his mother's lap.
••••
"Good morning, Mr. Marcos."
"Oh, Cain, you're here," Marcos replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Come, sit down. I'll explain how to make a ring, but first, let's see what you're capable of," Marcos said.
Cain wondered what Marcos was going to test him with as he watched him search for tools in the workshop.
"Here, hammer this with all your strength," Marcos said, handing him a glowing red iron cylinder on an anvil.
"A cylindrical piece of iron?" Cain thought, looking at the small, glowing tube.
"Yes, I want to see what you're capable of," Marcos confirmed in response to Cain's unspoken question.
"Alright," Cain said. He prepared himself, putting on gloves and a leather apron that was a bit large but not bothersome.
Marcos thought to himself, "I don't think the boy will be able to do much; I don't sense any mana in him."
Cain began to hammer the iron, gradually concentrating mana in his arms to increase his strength. Marcos watched Cain with growing surprise, unable to shake the thought that Cain might be a prodigy. Despite making minor mistakes, Cain corrected them immediately.
After hammering the cylinder into a small piece of metal, Cain cooled and sharpened it, transforming it into a blade. Marcos was astonished to see how Cain, with minimal instruct
ion, had managed to create a knife on his first try.
End of Chapter 7