Cecile's voice entered his ears with a tone that could freeze hell. "How dare you attack my person, scum!"
The tall bear-kin almost couldn't control his bladder.
Sierra's horrifying attack, which managed to crack the floor of his smithy, was scary enough, but now the bloodline pressure from this woman seemed to be as crushing as a mountain. Moreover, he had the instinctual urge to kneel in front of her. 'W-What kind of seniors did I provoke!?'
Cecile flapped her large silver wings and flew forward, landing in front of the four-meter-tall bear kin. Her blue eyes were as cold as the Moon and so piercing that they seemed to freeze the soul. "You dare swing your dirty paw in front of me? Why did you attack my person? Think carefully before you answer, or you will lose that arm."
The bear kin didn't care anymore about honer and directly lay flat before Cecile. "S-Senior, please forgive this junior! I didn't think the slave would be so significant for your esteemed self; this one thought the human was annoying because she almost destroyed the door and wanted to eliminate her! I don't have any ill feelings toward senior!"
Cecile's eyes became emotionless. How could Cecile not know how much Yasenia loved and pampered Angel? Wanting to eliminate Angel was something stepping a bottom line for the Phoenix. Therefore, she summoned her [Crystal Blue] bow with the intention to shoot at the bear kin.
The large bear's eyes were filled with despair.
However, a soft and calming furry tail wrapped around Cecile's arm before she could tense the bow. Cecile felt her anger dissipate and looked to the side. She saw Kali looking at her and shaking her head softly. "Don't kill him, Cecile. Remember where we are."
Cecile frowned but soon relaxed. She stored the bow in her ring again and stepped back, allowing Kali to walk forward. The bear kin sighed in relief after the suffocating pressure disappeared. 'I-I'm saved...'
Kali smiled under her veil, making her eyes look gentle, and she asked. "Mister, we don't want to cause trouble. We are new in Koran City and wanted to gain some knowledge and maybe create some connections."
Kali stopped for a moment, 'Hm? Now that I think about it, we don't have a name for our clan... I should ask Yasenia later.'
Kali continued. "Stand up. I know this is all a misunderstanding, so there is no need to be so submissive."
The red-furred bear-kin felt that this two-tailed fox woman was a saint and hastily stood up. 'Such a delicate woman! I would want her to be my wife if she were a little taller!'
Kali asked softly. "Are you occupied now, mister? We hope to talk to you about selling a small part of our special merchandise."
The bear kin shook his head rapidly. "Not busy, not busy. What does the beautiful lady want to sell? I'm the best blacksmith in this area, so I guarantee to give good prices."
Kali nodded and looked back. "Andrea, step forward. Discuss with this gentleman about it."
Andrea walked forward after paying respects to Kali and stood before the bear kin. "I want to sell this metal. How precious do you think it is?"
The blacksmith's eyes widened when she saw the lustrous purple metal with a natural aura around it. It was a transmuted metal, and Andrea wanted to see how this bear kin would react. 'As expected, this thing can also catch the eye of the blacksmiths in this Continent. Now, as long as he gives me an honest price for this metal, I will be able to evaluate our items.'
The bear kin asked with a tremble in his voice. "Can I hold it?"
Andrea threw it toward him. After catching it, he observed it closely and asked with an incredulous tone. "This material seems to be in the middle rank of the Earth realm. However, the aura around it and the purity are truly exceptional. It doesn't lose at all when compared to high-level Earth-rank materials!"
He turned toward Kali and asked respectfully. "Senior, where did you get this? This is one of the best metals I've ever seen!"
Andrea interrupted and said coldly. "The master has told you to do business with me; why are you looking at her? You are lucky to have heard their voice once; stop looking for trouble!"
The bear kin looked at Andrea for two seconds and then turned toward Kali with a frown. "Lady Fox, is it okay for your slave to talk like this? I don't mean to say anything, but you shouldn't allow these creatures to gain so much freedom."
Cecile looked coldly at him, making the bear shiver. Even the fur puffed up because of fright. However, he was more stubborn than they thought and didn't retract his words and kept looking at the tranquil Kali. It seemed that his guts were big.
Andrea sneered and said. "Do you think you are worthy of speaking to our lady directly? It seems that those ears on top of your head are for decoration! Let's say this clearly, okay? The only reason she spoke previously is for you to understand your place! The only thing you have to speak about now is the material's price."
Although he feared Cecile and Sierra, the bear-kin wasn't a pushover. Now that he had regained some of his previous calm, he looked at Andrea with a frown and said. "Little human, my smithy is backed by one of the thirty-three clans! Don't get too arrogant!"
Andrea didn't back off. "After feeling master's bloodline pressure, you still think you can open your mouth!? My mistress has the bloodline of the legendary [Moon Phoenix]! Do you think she has to be afraid of anything?"
The bear-kin froze and looked at Cecile only to meet two piercing icy-blue eyes. "I-Impossible. [Moon Phoenix] are only beasts from the legends! There is no evidence they've ever even existed."
Andrea sneered, "Just a little shopkeeper. Do you think you know the actual depths of the Distancia Continent? Let's get to business before our miss gets too annoyed even to make a trade with you."
The bear-kin decided to lower his head this time. With the name of the legendary [Moon Phoenix] in the line, he dared not speak back. Just Cecile's presence was already a big enough deterrent to know that they were not a bunch he could provoke!
Moreover, the thing in his hand looked very precious. He didn't want to miss this chance because of the unreasonable brown-skinned human.
Then, he scratched his head with his paw and sighed. "Follow me. I will have to evaluate the things you want to sell inside. This item is too exotic to give it a price directly."
They followed the bear kin and approached a six-meter-tall door on the left. It was the door to his forge.
Evelyn transmitted to Andrea with amusement. 'You are quite good at acting like a gown, so convincing I almost wanted to slap you. Arrogant, overbearing, and with lines that would infuriate almost anyone.'
Andrea had to contain her laughter. 'I must have done it extremely well if even you wanted to hit me.'
Evelyn frowned. 'What do you mean?'
Andrea snickered. 'Well, normally, you are begging to be hit, not the other way around.'
Evelyn almost tripped.
After following the bear kin, they arrived at a place with a lot of furnaces and items to do forging.
There were weapons, armor, and other armaments in the middle of their creation. Andrea observed the items for a second, trying to guess their quality. However, she soon frowned. 'This method is different from the Lost Town's and Sky Continent's methods.'
She got thoughtful. 'I'll have to get books for professionals while we are here. Maybe I can create a new forging method...'
While Andrea and the others looked around, the bear kin returned from picking his tools. "Seniors, please come here."
They approached a large desk and tried to look at it, but it was too tall. However, after the bear-kin waved his hand, he took out a set of chairs for them to stand up on.
Andrea spotted a green base linked with a transparent vertical crystal.
The red bear said, "I'll toss the item here. To know its price, I have to measure its purity and rank it accurately."
Andrea nodded. Then, they tossed the lump of metal inside the recipient and observed the vertical crystal.
They saw currents of energy going through the item and entering the mineral. Then, those currents retreated and were absorbed by the crystal. The crystal lit up with very pure and beautiful white light.
They decided to observe his expression, and although he tried to remain calm, it was clear that he couldn't contain his shock. Andrea smirked. "Well, now that you've seen how valuable it truly is, I believe you won't disappoint me."
The bear kin got thoughtful. Then he said. "This metal should be able to fetch from one to five mid-level Parus depending on where you sell it. It is quite precious."
They lifted an eyebrow. 'The previous mid-level Earth-ranked metals they sold could only fetch between ten to twenty low-level Parus for the same amount. That was one hundred times less!'
Andrea mostly understood why this metal would be more precious, but she felt that there was something she didn't understand. Therefore, she asked. "Master Smith, why would it cost one hundred times more than other metals in the same rank?"
The bear-kin sneered. "As expected of a human, completely uncivilized. This metal has gone through an unknown procedure that allows it to carry energy around it easier. This allows formations and other enchantments to be ingrained much easier."
Andrea frowned. 'Material energy conductivity does not affect the effective range of enchantments. Usually, it only depends on the material's rank because that factor limits the quality of the spirit veins ingrained in weapons. Spirit veins are like the veins and arteries of the treasures. However, what he just spoke makes it seem like energy flows through the whole weapon at once.'
Andrea's thoughts raced for just one or two seconds, so she didn't delay too much answering. "Master Smith, you've been accommodating. How about giving you this piece of metal as a sign of honesty? Although we've had our differences, I can feel we can become good partners in the future. My name is Andrea."
The bear kin snorted. He didn't like this arrogant human. However, knowing who was standing behind her, she answered on cue. "Well, I'm Herian."
Then he said, looking at the piece of metal. "This is undoubtedly precious. I'll accept the gift. If you want to ask anything, you can come to me. Our [Father Bear Blacksmith] is one of the best throughout the Continent without considering the major powers, so I hope to see you as customers in the future."
Although he disliked Andrea, he found Kali very pleasant to the eye. The aura she gave was as soft as Nature and very pleasant. He didn't mind becoming acquaintances with them, and, who knows, he might be able to talk to the mysterious-looking fox-kin.
The veil hiding her face only made her more mysterious and attractive to the bear-kin.
Now that her bloodline was becoming purer, she also released a charming aura toward any beast-related creature. After all, a bloodline named [Life's Origin Nine-Tailed Fox] could not be simple.
Andrea smirked and said. "Well, then, we won't be courteous. We arrived in this city not long ago, so we would love to hear information about auction houses and other businesses worth visiting."
He thought for a second and nodded. "Sure, I can tell you about something like that."
They decided to ask him and not an information broker because this was one of the most famous smithies in this town. Moreover, going to an information broker could also mean danger. Who knows what kind of experts hid there to monitor activities?
There was a chance for them to catch the attention of someone they couldn't afford to offend. On the other hand, this smithy would not cause too much trouble as long as they didn't damage it too much. The piece of metal they gave him was enough to fix the broken door and floor, and he would still have extra money.
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Author Note: The first R-18 image for the novel is already on Patreon. Tatyana riding Yasenia~. It is just the sketch, and the completed image will come later, but I hope you like it!