Valerian, The Legendary

251 Shiba.

Valerian was surprised when the old man refused to even look at the sword let alone repair it and asked, “Teacher, what should I tell the customer outside?”

Master Fern did not raise his head and said, “Go out there, and repeat my words, exactly the way I told you to.”

Valerian nodded with some hesitation and walked out to deal with the customers. He told the same words as the old man did, and the sword owner said, “It has been ages, but still this old man is not willing to bend. I do not understand what can ever help him get over the feud.”

That said, the young man did not wait for long before he collected his sword and left the place while ranting to his friends. Valerian was surprised, but he did not know if it was right to probe into this matter or not. His head was occupied with his practice of forming a mana barrier. and this matter smelled troublesome.

He did not think it was nice for him to meddle in something like this so soon. He sat on the counter while contemplating his thoughts about the ways to practice when the time flew away and it was evening again.

Old man Fern walked out of the forging room and saw Valerian who was controlling a small orb of water in his hand. This water was not magically created. The child was using his mana to create a wall around the blob of water. The most surprising thing was that the orb was wobbling in the void and was not completely fixed in a spherical shape.

Fern nodded, the control displayed by this child was very precise and neat. It was harder to form a barrier that was more flexible than rigid. The constantly changing shape was not something everyone could handle. Just when he was about to say something, the barrier vanished and the water fell down on the floor.

Fern stopped himself from saying anything and Valerian sighed. He glanced at the old man and said, “I was able to hold the form for a few seconds, however, water is too hard to handle. The slightest of pressure can change the barrier consistency.”

Fern nodded and said, “Being able to hold the form for a few seconds on the first day is a big achievement, do not look down on yourself and keep working hard. However, it is time to close the shop. Go back to the palace or your accommodations.”

.....

Valerian stood up and thanked the old man for his teachings before he left the place. The prince had remembered the way back to the palace and did not need any special help. When he arrived in front of the palace, the guard barrier scrutinized him, while some teased him. However, Valerian still walked as if the people did not exist in his sight.

He was heading towards his shack when he spotted Trin walking over. The lady smiled and said, “Master Valerian, welcome back.”

Valerian smiled and replied, “Thank you, Your Grace.”

Trin asked, “How was your day?”

Valerian said, “It was fulfilling. I learned a few things.”

The maid smiled and not minding his curt reply she said, “Her Excellency is waiting for you in the dining hall.”

Valerian nodded and followed behind her. They did not speak much with each other and then reached the dining hall. The maiden entered the dining hall right after them and with a smile, she asked, “Master Valerian, how was the day with Old Master Fern?”

Valerian replied, “It was very fruitful at first, but then something happened and I did not know what to do in this situation.”

The maiden asked, “What was it?”

“A customer walked in with a chinked sword, however, the Teacher refused to repair it, calling it a product of a snake. I was confused but then decided against probing into the situation.”, Valerian replied to the lady.

The maiden was surprised and then asked, “Do you want to know?”

Valerian nodded and the lady said, “Well, let me tell you this story while you eat food.”

The young man nodded and was served a bowl of soup by Trin. The maiden said, “Old Master Fern is the last descendant of the authentic Clar-awk forging line. His forefathers and then every son in the passing line had followed this profession. They all thought that the lineage can only be continued by a son.

He gave birth to a daughter, and his wife passed away on the front lines. Clar-awks mate for life, so he could not find any other partner. His daughter was not very loved by him either, so when Shiba was growing up, she learned and observed his skills and learned them in secret. When she was an adult and the old man wanted to get her married, she left home to leave in seclusion.

Now, she is a forger who earns her living by forging, however, her skill set is not exactly the same as the old man’s, and thus, despite knowing the fact that his daughter is an exceptional weapon smith. He treats her as a traitor to the family line. Thus, Shiba is called the snake by him.”

Valerian clicked his tongue as he finished a bowl of soup and said, “If going to call her a snake gives him peace then I would say that the old man is the traitor of his lineage. Despite being willing to sacrifice his life for you, the maiden, a female. He did not even think about giving his daughter a chance. Then rather than being the best smith, I would call him the best hypocrite.”

Maiden was surprised while Trin was smiling faintly as she served him vegetables to eat and went back to stand beside him. After he was done eating, the maiden took him to the practice room and began to answer a few questions from him. When she came down, Valerian did not leave and began to practice his skills inside the room.

...

A week passed since Valerian began training in this place. He was getting steadier in his exercise. The pores on his limbs were all covered with threads of mana. This was something that increased his spell cast very quickly and even his physical strength increased. While he was training his mana control, he also used the same method with his battle intent and his physical capabilities increased to a level that he never imagined.

It took him three days to get used to the change in his body. This was the extent of his change when his proficiency reached only fifty percent. On the eighth day, Valerian was sent out by the old man to deliver some weapons to the military leader of the village.

Valerian did not deny and completed the task, but just when he was returning to the shop, he found a cloaked figure observing the storefront from the alley on the side. The young man switched into his hunter mode and with an indifferent face, he moved in silently and came behind the figure.

The next moment his knife was taken out of the magic pouch and then placed on the neck of the figure. He asked, “Who are you?”

The figure shivered and said, “Shiba. I am Shiba.”

Valerian was surprised by this quick surrender of the figure. The guy took back his knife and said, “What are you doing here and why are you sneaking around the shop like this?”

Shiba turned around and her hood fell off her head. She said, “Who are you? Why are you asking me such things?”

Despite looking weak the lady was asking him questions and that too with great aggression in her tone. Valerian sighed and said, “I am a human, my name is Valerian and I am studying under the guidance of your father, Teacher Fern.”

Shiba was surprised and asked, “Oh, so you are that human?”

Then she checked him up and down and said, “You do not look that special to me.”

Valerian crossed his arms in front of his chest and said, “Neither do you. So, back to the topic, what brings you here?”

Shiba replied, “This shop belonged to my father, I have the right to come back anytime I want, what are you, and who are you to ask me anything in this regard?”

Valerian tilted his head to the side, looked at the girl from head to toe, and said, “Your father does not seem to like you very much, so I have every right to believe that you have ill intentions toward my teacher and can take you to meet him directly.”

Shiba shivered and said, “What makes you think that my father does not love me? Huh? He is just upset that I did not follow his footsteps in forging and devising my own technique.”

Valerian nodded and said, “So, you are here to make it up to him and get back together like a family?”

He could basically read this fidgety timid looking person like a book, even if she tried to hide stuff, her eyes were clearly speaking it all out loud.