Return of the Fallen Volume 7 Chapter 17
Sid’s entire body trembled as he slowly approached the 9ft chunk of metal. He could no longer see or hear Kazuki and only had eyes for the heavy block. Slowly, carefully, he extended a single hand toward the block. The moment his fingertips came into contact with the metal block, his knees grew weak and he almost fell apart right then and there.
Whispers escaped his lips.
“God of metal, Orichalcum. Is…is this a holy dream or an illusion?”
Sid rubbed the piece of metal with care, he knocked on it gently a few times and even pressed his nose against it and sniffed up close. The more strange things he did, the more Kazuki grew worried.
(Was this too much for him? The fact that he knows what this is just from seeing it though, he should be able to handle it right?)
“Old Sid, you know what this metal is?”
Sid only now came back to reality. Nodding repeatedly, he wiped tears from his eyes.
“Every craftsman worth a damn knows of the legendary material, the god of metal, Orichalcum. All throughout the continent, we have heard the tale of this metal. Some believe it to be just that but I have personally seen it only once before in my life. I was once summoned to the land of Jin. Some adventurers had discovered an ancient ruin and inside they actually managed to find a small piece of orichalcum. It was no bigger than a potato. I was commissioned to work upon it and was all set to do so but the king of Jin, the bastard took one look at my small stature and humiliated me before sending me away. The number of times Orichaclum has popped up in this world is so few and rare to this day people aren’t sure whether it’s real or not.”
“He humiliated you?”
Sid nodded.
“Humiliation, I’ve dealt with it my whole life and will continue to do so. That I can take. However, what I can not stand is that damn king Tobern. He took a dream of mine away that day and I will never forgive him.”
Sid shook the unpleasant memories away as though to send them to the back of his head to forget. He turned his attention back to the 9ft chunk of metal and hugged it like a newborn.
“That small piece of orichalcum, at that time it was worth a small kingdom. Now, I’m sure the price has only gone up. No one has discovered any more for many years now. Here in front of me though is this miracle. Its value…this has to be priceless. Just where in the world did you come by this?”
Kazuki stared at Sid for a moment and Sid quickly got the message.
“Right right, that’s not something I should know. Sorry for asking so bluntly, it’s just that, for this piece to be so big and solid, I just don’t understand how human hands could acquire such a thing without an immense cost.”
Kazuki said nothing. Not because he was trying to keep it a secret but rather he didn’t wish to crush Sid’s soul and tell him he was given it as a gift for free and that the piece in front of them was actually only a small part of a larger whole. something that was worth a kingdom and Kazuki had received it from Oren who gave it away like a person handing out candy. Had Kazuki actually took the initiative to ask for more, Oren most likely would have given him more with no fuss.
Kazuki went back to the topic at hand.
“As I said before, the best material should be used for this Golem. Tell me, Sid, can you use this?”
*Hehehehe*
Sid started to laugh creepily.
“Can I use it? The number of people that can truly bring out the potential of this metal…you can count the number of them on a single hand and I’d be one of those digits. My skills are nothing to brush off and with the Sozo glove in my possession, I can take it a step further. I’d say this piece of metal has landed in the perfect person’s hands.”
Kazuki leaned down.
“Old man, that’s a lot of bragging. You sure you ain’t just spouting bullshit?”
Sid chuckled once more and slapped his small chest.
*Hehe*
“I am Sid the giant, If I brag it’s for a reason, and If I say it can be done, then boy you best believe my words. Hehehe.”
Kazuki nodded.
“Good, I’ll leave it to you then.”
Kazuki turned around and was about to leave. This honestly frightened Sid. For Kazuki to trust him this much to literally leave a fortune in his hands, Sid couldn’t help but call out in a panic.
“Wait! Where…Where are you going? You’re really gonna just leave this miracle metal with me!?!?!?”
Kazuki turned back.
“I told you I was going to see Tilly’s son. Even if what you say about him is true, I still need to confirm it myself. As for leaving this in your hands, I trust you. Besides, it’s not like you could flee. Well technically you could, what I mean is, it makes no difference. Anywhere you go, no matter where, on the entire Feya continent, I can find you. Even if you burrow into the ground for miles or hideaway in some uncharted mountain, I will always be able to locate you.”
Kazuki laughed before leaving. Sid felt cold drops of sweat pouring down his back. He knew Kazuki was at the Core stage. The number of people at that level was quite low on the continent but that didn’t change the fact that it was these same people that held the power over these lands. Sid took Kazuki’s words for fact and gulped hard.
Kazuki on the other hand had told a lie. His powers were great but he couldn’t locate anyone and anything the way he said. It was just a bluff to put a little fear into Sid. He didn’t do it because he hated Sid or anything like that, rather Kazuki’s trust in others still wasn’t all too great, especially in Sid who he’s had little more than 10 conversations with. Sometimes a little fear was needed to get one’s point across.
Kazuki walked out of Sid’s shop and walked around the city. The city was still crowded and noisy but to a lesser extent now that the evening sun was starting to slowly set. Kazuki came across another shop and could see several clothes hanging in the window. Catching his reflection in the pristine glass, he once again was reminded how out of place he was with not only his size but the clothes he wore as well.
He was a friend of Oren’s and the Adrola apes of ape city but he was not a fan of their fashion sense if one could even call it that. Kazuki came around to the door and decided to walk in. Just as he opened the door a young woman was about to turn the sign on the door from open to close.
Seeing a large man suddenly enter the store just before she closed, the woman froze in place. She was about to say something to Kazuki but before she could utter a word, Kazuki had already walked past her and entered the shop.
He started to rummage through a few outfits hanging up and the woman recovered slightly.
“Sss…Sir, we are closing now so if you could please.”
The woman’s words got stuck in her throat as Kazuki turned around and walked up to her. A million thoughts ran through her head all at once.
(Why is he coming toward me, he’s big…Scary. I need to yell for help.)
Just before the woman was about to scream, Kazuki grabbed her hand and held it out. The very next moment his ring flashed and a dozen Gold Zeni fell out and into the woman’s small hand.
The woman stared at the shiny gold coins in her hand and blanked out for a second. Only when Kazuki called out did she come back to reality.
“Miss, did you hear what I said?”
The woman stared up at Kazuki.
“Eh, um what? Can you repeat what you just said?”
Kazuki could see that he was putting a bit of pressure on the small lady. He wasn’t doing anything purposefully but that’s just how things were sometimes. He might feel some type of way as well if some guy dwarfed him in size and just barged into his place of work. Kazuki had forgotten that this person was not like Sid. Sid was tiny and stood only at around two and a half feet tall or so yet he was loud and seemed bigger than he really was. Even with Kazuki barring down upon him, Sid still held onto the designs and wouldn’t let them go. This lady on the other hand was no Sid nor did she need to be.
“Miss, I said I’ll give you all of that if you help me find something quick. As you can see, I look kind of like a big gorilla in this and it doesn’t really suit me. At the same time, I’ve never been good with stuff like this, so I would appreciate it if you could help me out please.”
The woman looked back down at the Gold Zeni in her hand. With a quick count, there were 14 gold coins in total. That was half her yearly salary. To make so much for one customer.
A fire was lit in the young miss’s eyes. Fear, what fear. Seeing the gold and the sincere attitude as well as the polite way Kazuki spoke, the young shopkeepers’ perspective of him changed in an instant. A bright smile stretched across the young lady’s face and her professional side burst forth.
“Sir come this way. Let me show you the latest styles and more. I’ll find the best clothes for you, I guarantee it!”
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