Chapter 499: White and Black

As class ended, Iris got up from her seat. School had finally ended, and she couldn’t be more relieved. Life in the Academy was normal, though a bit strange, as many people were missing because of the expedition...

Even Sena, and she wasn’t even with them; from what she heard, she was being trained by Avius, which was... a pretty hard pill to swallow... she felt a bit jealous. Avius had been her teacher before, so she knew what he was able to do.

She knew she was the weakest of the Vessels, but if Sena and Lilith continued to get stronger, how was she ever going to be able to help them?

Waving goodbye to her classmates and teachers, Iris left the Academy, making her way to the Merchant Ward so she could get something to eat. She was pretty familiar with this place; she came here a lot.

Passing by the fountain, the bard noticed her and started to play a special song, just for her, praising her name. She clapped at his talent, throwing him one silver coin, which he accepted without hesitation, bowing down to her.

Entering one of the bakeries, the women working there happily welcomed her, with a bright smile on their faces, leaning forward to take a better look at her.

Iris walked over to the counter, ordering some brownies. If she had to choose a dirty pleasure to live with for the rest of her life, it would be these little brown things; she loved them, a heck of a lot.

She remembered the first time she had ever eaten them was when her mother made them, and she had gotten obsessed with them. Yet while even these were good, she was never able to find the same taste as the ones made by her own mother.

As the woman packed her order, she chuckled. "You know, they should never let a Princess as beautiful as you fight; it’s an absolute sin."

Iris’ eyes widened, tilting her head. "What do you mean?" She asked while still keeping the smile on her face.

The woman finished her order, pushing the bag forward as the Princess paid. "Well, it’s simple: fighting is dangerous, and even more, it’s something ugly. No lady this pretty should ever have to fight."

...

’What a weird thing to say.’ Her smile dimmed slightly; this was... something she got often, but not right to the face. She had heard people complain to her father for letting her enter stories, which she considered absurd.

...

It shouldn’t matter if she was pretty or a lady; if she wanted to fight, she should be able to do it. She knew that the normal image of a princess isn’t one where she has a blade and crown, riding on a horse into battle, but... why should that mean that she couldn’t?

She chuckled nervously, trying not to ruin the mood. "Hah, thank you. I have to say, you have also aged like fine wine." The woman blushed at her comment, waving her hand.

"Oh, come on, don’t say that. I’m too old to be called pretty by someone like you."

Leaving the bakery, Iris opened the bag, got one of the brownies, and took a bite of it, her eyes sparkling with light as she did, smiling out of pure joy.

Now the only thing that remained was to go home, do her homework, and play with the animals. Her trainer said that she was excused for today... because he didn’t want to train her, not because of any other reason.

...

Yet as she was about to go back to the third ward, she noticed the door to the blacksmith wide open. Taking a glance inside, she saw a boy; he looked to be exhausted, covered in sweat, while holding his blade tightly.

His hands looked red, and he even had some dead skin.

Yet... the boy couldn’t look happier.

’Hm...’ Entering the blacksmith, her footsteps caught the attention of the boy, who quickly hid the blade behind his back, letting it back into his core, and rushing back behind his counter. "How may I help you?" He said, with a nervous smile on his face.

Iris approached, chuckling, resting her hands on the counter...

It was weird; the boy didn’t seem to recognize her... Taking a good look at him, that was when she noticed a Withered Rose bracelet... ’Oh, interesting... I guess it does make sense why he doesn’t recognize me.’

"What’s your name?" Iris said, smiling brightly as always, as she brought her palms together.

"My name?" The boy said, slightly confused. "... Atlas."

"Atlas..." Iris repeated it. "Well then, Atlas, if you were to say, what blade do you think would fit me?"

The boy scratched his head. "Fit?... Well, that’s hard to say, really. I don’t know what to go by."

He sighed. "Show me your hands."

Iris tilted her head, a bit surprised by his request, but she didn’t see anything wrong with it. She accepted it, offering the boy her hand

Atlas looked at it, turning it around. "You have small hands, so definitely not anything heavy; something light would go well... I don’t know how you like to fight, but if I were to suggest anything, it would be a Jian."

Iris chuckled, pulling her hand away as he let go of it. "I see... and do you think you can make one for me? I’ll pay you well?"

The boy’s eyes widened. "You want me to do it? I’m not the main smith, you know."

Praise nodded. "Yes, that’s my wish..."

The boy smiled brightly. "You aren’t going to regret it... and thanks... I don’t have many orders by myself..."

"No?" Iris said, surprised. "But you seemed to really enjoy your job, and seem capable of doing it."

Atlas chuckled. "You know how it is, I’m from the Withered, so people don’t like it... There was a time when I was scared of the people from here, a lot. I could never speak so freely... but then I met someone from the Withered like me, who was... amazing. He inspired me."

...

"One day, I wish to make him a powerful blade. One that he could help the Withered with."

Iris chuckled. "I see, he must really mean a lot to you? What’s his name?"

...

...

Aether sneezed, rubbing his nose. "Did I catch a cold or something?" It was pretty cold under the ground, so he wouldn’t doubt that he couldn’t have gotten one.

But he wasn’t going to let it ruin his day, after all, it was a big day. Some weeks had passed... and finally, his blade was ready... and really, he couldn’t be happier. He hadn’t done anything in these days.

He had spent some time with Elise, talking with her, and learning more about the place. Like how it was ruled by a Harbinger, the same man who had helped him with the fireball... though if he had to say, he didn’t look that strong.

’A fireball is boring... if fire is his Affinity, I’m really sorry.’ Since, with a system where you could get all types of abilities, he had gotten one of the most basic things, he wasn’t saying it was weak; he was a Harbinger for a reason, but still.

As he walked over to the tent where his relic maker was, Inky landed on his shoulder. He had sent the bird to journey around in the tunnels; that way he could look around. Now the bad part... was that he couldn’t understand it, so he thought it to open up its wings and flap them a lot if he noticed at least ten beasts in its journey...

It was a bit concerning that every time he did give it these expeditions, he made that gesture, and today wasn’t an exception.

Sighing, Aether entered the shop; the woman quickly turned to him with a weird smile as she hid something behind her.

Aether tilted his head while looking at her. "Is my rapier done?"

..."Um, about that." As the woman slowly moved her hands from behind her, he noticed a white blade, a beautiful one, he had to say... the only problem.

It wasn’t a rapier.

But a katana instead

Aether stared at it, just shocked and confused. He sighed, shaking his head. He wasn’t angry; he was just disappointed.

"I didn’t do this, you know!" The relic maker quickly defended herself. "I had started making it into a rapier, but then it just shaped itself without me doing anything, and I couldn’t do stop it."

He ignored her, staring at the sword. Its blade looked... very sharp; its white color was gorgeous, only broken by splatters of black ink going down. The guard was a simple white circle, with some sort of pattern that looked like birds. It was an interesting choice.

The hilt was made out of the white material, with black silk that created a diamond pattern; the end was made out of shiny silver. It was simple, nothing else to it. But it had a small hole where there was an ornament: a small white silk rectangle.

"It’s fine, I like it..."

The relic maker’s eyes widened. "Um, sure... then, the last thing, what do you want to name it?"

Aether groaned slightly. ’Names again.’ He opened his mouth, ready to just let him choose it. But then he saw Inky.

...

"Raven. That is what I want the name of the blade to be."