Chapter 297

As we arrived at the courtyard, I felt the wards settle over me, giving me a sense of suppression. Not because they were particularly strong, but because I didn’t appreciate the sensation of being under the wards that weren’t under my control.

The fact that they assumed I was magically insensitive made it worse. They didn’t even bother adjusting the intensity, giving me a sense of suppression, tempting me to break them.

I ignored the weight along with the servant that led me inside and instead focused on my surroundings ... particularly the guards, making sure that there was no one that could threaten me like an undercover Eternal soldier.

Luckily, it seemed that their entanglement with the royal family wasn’t at the level of filling the residence of every prince. Maybe they had a few spies, but no one that they bothered to empower.

Good, I thought as walked through the official entrance, the inner wards parting as well, allowing me to effortlessly bypass the strongest part of the defenses. As I passed them, an upbeat melody reached to my ears, marking a celebration.

The servant continued to escort me, and I noticed the nobles filling the place. I looked rather absurd among them, my blacksmith outfit contrasting greatly with the rich nobles that filled the place. I looked like a barbarian among them.

Naturally, I noticed more than one mocking whisper about my clothing ... though they made sure to keep that whisper down. After all, I also represented an important source of high-quality weapons, hence my invitation. They didn’t want to lose such a great opportunity just in case.

Soon, they led me to a garden, one that was filled with a lot of noble guests, and even more servants keeping them well-fed while dancers and musicians kept them entertained.

At the center, there was the prince that invited me. To my surprise, rather than waiting for his servant to lead me to him like it was appropriate, he jumped up to his feet and walked toward me with quick steps. “And, the guest of honor of today’s party is finally here,” he declared loudly. “The courageous blacksmith that dared to strike against the suffocating dominance of the blacksmith guild!” he greeted.

I couldn’t help but smile as the prince greeted me in such an explosive manner. It was a great honor, to the point of being absurd ... meaning he needed something important from me, important enough to greet me with such aggression.

Interesting.

“My Prince,” I said, giving a slight bow ... one that was far too weak to be respectful to a royal, especially coming from a peasant, even a high-leveled one.

Immediately, I noticed several frowns around, but the prince managed to hide his distaste quickly as he led me toward a table that was occupied by about a dozen noblemen and noblewomen who were resting, enjoying wine and food.

Most of them were unfamiliar, and some I recognized from my research. None of them were particularly important, meaning the prince didn’t call any of his important supporters, not wanting to insult them with my presence.

It would have been quite a hidden insult if I cared the slightest. Instead, I listened as the prince rattled over my ear for almost an hour, while I listened to his nonsense. Luckily, the food was enjoyable — even though once again, they went for the flash rather than quality, assuming I was easy to trick.

My job got even easier.

Finally, he gestured to a servant, and they led the other guests away, leaving me alone with the prince. “I need your help for a topic that’s vital for the fate of our country, Grandmaster,” he said, once again exaggerating his compliments.

“What exactly do you need, my prince,” I said, but even as I did so, I reached his soul space and subtly suppressed his stats.

Not that it was difficult. He was merely level twelve. His stats were unnaturally high, but that was to be expected with the potential knowledge of the royal family. However, I didn’t push my Charisma yet. “I need your help repairing a weapon,” he said.

I slowly lessened the pressure once more. “Now, my prince. Let’s focus on exactly how can I support you by providing you with all those weapons,” I said. “I can deliver at least five hundred weapons a day, maybe even a thousand if you can help me resolve my problem of acquiring high-quality metal ores...”

With that, our private meeting turned normal. Soon, we came to an agreement that I would stay and supply him with endless weapons that he would distribute toward the locations that were struggling most with the monster attacks, and in a few weeks, I would move to that secret base to repair that mysterious spear.

Naturally, he didn’t mention anything about Silver Spires, but when I mentioned it, he just smiled smugly like he had a genius idea.

With that, the first step of my plan was complete. Now, I just needed to return to the capital and start working.

—

{Strength: 45 Charisma: 45

Precision: 45 Perception: 45

Agility: 45 Manipulation: 45

Speed: 45 Intelligence: 49

Endurance: 60 Wisdom: 45}

{Purified Divine Spark: 33280}

{Pseudo-HP: 15000 Mana: 20000}

{ADDITIONAL SPARKS

Light - Chosen 7.4

Nature - Chosen 10}

{MINIONS

GODDESSES

Elven Goddess

Goddess of Knowledge}