42-46

Chapter 46: The Courage to Be Disliked 

The blacksmiths each grabbed an anvil and began their work. Milk stepped back and simply observed the women as they worked. 

One woman was making an axe for logging, another a pickaxe for breaking stones, another was crafting scissors, and some were making small items like needles and nails. 

Although competition should be impartial, the sight of these women sweating and striving to produce their best work made every one of them shine. 

When she finished her piece, Fatima took her place at the whetstone and energetically spun it for the women who approached. Every finished piece was completed with a glossy finish using that precious, expensive milk. The fact that their work was being polished with valuable Holstaurus milk moved the women to tears of joy, just like Fatima. 

One by one, the completed works were placed on the anvil table. All were high-quality pieces, a testament to the skillful hands of humans. 

‘Holstaurus are definitely stronger, but humans have better dexterity. Every finished item is amazing. Even without the glossy finish, these are excellent works.’ 

Milk admired the pure skill of the humans. His desire to learn blacksmithing from these women and become a better smith himself only grew. 

However, his relationship with them was not yet smooth. As the saying goes, test the bridge before crossing it he wasn’t at the stage to approach them for lessons as if they were already friends. 

‘I’ll start by getting to know them and gradually win their trust.’ 

These women had been treated as slaves even by their fellow humans, so even if they harbored bad feelings toward demi-humans, a little kindness would help them open up and adapt to life here. 

Still, he didn’t intend to be blindly nice. One thing he’d learned from life on Earth was the saying: “If goodwill continues, people start to think it’s their right.” 

People here might be different, but in the end, humans are humans. Milk kept his guard up, thinking their true nature wouldn’t be so different. 

“Now, I think everyone agrees that Fatima’s skill is the best, right?” 

After reviewing all the works, Milk chose Fatima as the winner. As he said, the sword she made was truly outstanding. 

However, due to the new environment, unfamiliar tools, and the mental strain of having been sold, it seemed she just missed making a legendary sword. 

The signature of a legendary sword is a name engraved above the hilt, but hers didn’t have one. Still, once she got used to this place, she might soon produce a legendary blade. 

‘Her skill is amazing. I absolutely must befriend Fatima. Even if I put off the others, I’ll make sure she’s on my side.’ 

After the judging, the women looked refreshed, having worked up a sweat using muscles they hadn’t used in a while in the hot forge. 

When the work was done and the forge was shut down, Milk remained behind in the smithy. The blacksmiths were escorted to their homes by the female warriors. 

“Bel ” 

“Yes, Chief.” 

Bel, Milk’s bodyguard for the day, replied in a low voice and knelt before him with a crisp motion. 

“Haha just like Linda, you’re so reliable. This sword was made by a human blacksmith, but it’s an incredible piece. I’m giving it to you.” 

“M-me? I don’t deserve…” 

“No, you work hard for me, so I should reward you. I wish I could give you a legendary sword like I did for Linda, but I haven’t been able to make one since then. Still, this sword is amazing, even if it was made by someone else. I trust you’ll use it to protect me well.” 

“Chief…” 

Since giving Linda the sword “Shake,” Milk hadn’t made another legendary blade. But if legendary swords appeared too often, would they really be legendary? He believed that as his skills grew, he’d naturally make more in the future and continued to hone his craft without impatience. 

He’d felt bad that he hadn’t had a special sword to give Bel, who worked so hard as his guard, but Fatima’s excellent sword was the perfect gift. 

Bel respectfully accepted the sword and fastened it at her waist. Milk glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then kissed the kneeling Bel on the lips. 

Smooch! 

“!!!” 

Honored to be kissed, Bel blushed and lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze. Milk found her so cute that he gently stroked her shoulder. 

“Bel, will you call my name?” 

“I-I couldn’t…” 

“There’s no one around. Please?” 

“Uh…” 

Bel hesitated. In the past, they were close friends, but now their positions were worlds apart. 

But using the chief’s order as an excuse, Bel finally called his name for the first time in a while. 

“M-Milk…” 

“Remember when we used to play hide-and-seek together, just the two of us?” 

“Y-yeah…” 

“That was so much fun hard to believe it’s already been ten years. Time really flies, doesn’t it?” 

Heh. 

Bel couldn’t help but laugh at his old-man-like comment. Her unique, dry laugh only made her look more beautiful. 

“I have plans tonight, but next time, let’s spend some time together, just us.” 

“Hide-and-seek? We’re not kids anymore…” 

Milk hugged her, pressing into her chest, which was smaller and softer than other women’s. 

“So what? It’ll be hide-and-seek for adults.” 

“Pfft what’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Hehe ” 

“Haha ” 

No matter how old he got, Milk was still Milk. Bel cherished the fact that at least one thing never changed, and she hugged him close, lowering her head to steal a kiss. 

After exchanging kisses, the two left the forge together as the evening sun set. 

Though they hadn’t slept together, Bel felt emotionally fulfilled. She absentmindedly touched her lips, recalling the moment, and blushed as her cheeks grew hot. 

“What are you doing?” 

“N-nothing!” 

Bel quickly followed Milk, adjusting the sword at her waist, and looked at his back, thinking how broad and strong it seemed. 

‘Small, but bigger and more dependable than anyone… Ah, Milk… I love you.’ 

She followed him to the chief’s house, vowing to one day say those words aloud. 

When Milk arrived at the chief’s house, he saw preparations for a banquet underway and sat at a table. Buren came in and spoke to him. 

“Chief, your guest is waiting outside.” 

‘Let’s stir things up a bit.’ 

He needed to lower her favorability as much as possible, so Milk decided to act shamelessly. 

‘It’s not my nature to make people dislike me, but I have no choice for the sake of the achievement quest.’ 

“We’re not ready yet. Let her wait outside.” 

“Shall I? Hohoho I’ll tell her that.” 

Buren, still annoyed by Valen’s earlier attitude, was happy to take this chance to put her in her place. 

‘How dare she try to refuse the chief’s orders? Time to teach her a lesson.’ 

Buren went outside and soon faced Valen. 

“The preparations aren’t finished. Please wait a moment.” 

“What? What did you say?!” 

“Are your ears bad? I said wait.” 

She turned and went back inside, leaving Valen fuming. When Valen tried to follow, the warrior women at the door blocked her with their crossed spears. 

“Look! I’m an invited guest! Is this any way to treat a guest?!” 

“They said to wait.” 

“Just wait. You can’t go in without permission.” 

Their blunt attitude only made Valen angrier, her face turning red and blue. 

‘These uncivilized, barbaric demi-humans! How dare they!’ 

If no one had been around, she would have thrown a fit. All her anger at Buren and the guards was directed at Milk. 

‘That brat! How dare he treat me like this?! Fine, let’s see who wins this power struggle.’ 

Making a guest wait was a classic noble tactic to gain the upper hand. But she thought Milk had picked the wrong opponent and continued to curse him inwardly. 

After a while, when everything was ready, Buren came out again and told Valen she could enter. 

“You may come in now. Everything is ready.” 

“Hmph! Fine!” 

Even if it was a power play, making a guest wait was rude, so now Valen had an excuse to be more forceful. 

Valen strode into the chief’s room with an angry face and found Milk waiting for her with a relaxed expression. 

‘So shameless! How can he look so calm after making me wait like that?!’ 

His expression only made her angrier. In truth, he was just being himself, but once you’re angry at someone, everything about them is annoying. 

As Ru reported Valen’s steadily dropping favorability in real time, Milk gave a bitter smile. 

‘Whatever. Let it be.’ 

Normally, he would apologize for making her wait, but he skipped it and simply offered her a seat. 

“Sit. Thank you for accepting my invitation.” 

“Yes, thank you for inviting me.” 

Her words were as cold as ice, even colder than his old aunt Ella’s when she was upset. Ella’s anger was about something she couldn’t accept emotionally, but Valen was just plain mad at Milk. 

[Her favorability is now -45.] 

‘Look at those eyes. She looks like she wants to destroy a Holstaurus for good.’ 

Valen couldn’t do anything drastic, but she made sure to show her discomfort, using the waiting as an excuse. 

Milk pretended not to notice, poured her a drink, and smiled. 

“Holsta wine is expensive in the human world, right? We have plenty, so take some and do your best. The fact that the Estar merchant guild sent you as their representative means you’re capable I’ll be giving you a lot of work.” 

He seemed to be giving her credit, but there was a hint of condescension in his words. For the first time, Valen realized someone could compliment her and still make her feel bad. 

‘So annoying! How can he be so irritating no matter what he says? I just want to pinch his cheeks!’ 

Still, since he looked like a cute child, her desire for revenge was limited to harmless teasing. 

Valen drained the drink Milk gave her in one go, but the strong, tart, and fizzy liquor made most people cough if they drank it all at once. 

But she slammed the glass down without a single cough and glared at him. 

Milk also drank, but here was a huge difference: Valen, a human, was much less used to alcohol than Milk, a Holstaurus who’d been drinking since adulthood. From the start, the outcome of this drinking contest was already decided.