Richard's heart skipped a beat when he heard her last word. " Does she know about Bella? Why would she want her dead? ". Richard was already looking around, making a plan of how he was going to have to kill this woman and every person on the domain.

  " She lives near the town of Ryzeon, west of here. Some of my informants reported to me that she had been taking the village's children in her home in exchange of not killing all the people's crops."

  Richard calmed down and rested against his chair.

  " Why would you get me? Can't you send some of your own men? "

  " You seemed quite capable and to be honest when we met the first time you had my interest. I want to know more about you mister Richard."

  She seemed honest in what she wanted. He still had this weird feeling she had some ulterior motive. She got up and walked behind him.

  " To be honest, you have this aura about you mister. You and I are the same. You are not just a peasant, you know the instant value in people and how to use them. "

  As she was speaking she started touching his hair, he was really starting to get uncomfortable.

  " Excuse me milady, I appreciate and acknowledge what you are saying but can we please talk about the terms of the arrangement? "

  She backed away and went back to her sit.

  " I agree to pay you twenty gold pieces in order to get me rid of her and bring me back a proof of it. Do you agree to the terms? "

  " Sure, but I will take half now and half when i'm done. "

  Olivia clapped her hands and a maid came out running with a small pouch full of coins. She took out the ten pieces and dropped them in Richard's hand but before he could close it she put her hand over his and looked at him in the eyes.

  " I'm looking forward to us working together Richard. "

  " The pleasure is mine milady. "

  " Please, call me Olivia "

  Richard bowed his head and then left. On the way back he passed Felix and Eixien who were returning to their lady. The two men glared at each other while they were walking. On the other hand Eixien simply waved goodbye at Richard and he waved back. Once they reached the patio, Felix kneeled down waiting for his mistress punishment and Eixien simply waited with his back turned.

  " Milady, did everything go as you planned? "

  " Yes, it did."

  She couldn't help but smile as she was contemplating the strand of hair she took from Richard.

  " Next time Felix, do you think you can make him bleed for me? "

  Felix got up and embraced her from behind. He started kissing her neck.

  " Anything for you milady. "

  She turned around and kissed him on the cheek.

  " This encounter got me all worked up, be in my bedroom in five minutes."

  She passed Eixien and smiled at him, he smiled back, just admiring her walking away. He noticed Felix staring at him from the corner of his eyes and tried keeping a straight face.

  " Listen here boy, give it up, you ain't even a man to her, you are a puppy she keeps because you look cute, don't forget it. "

  Felix started walking away.

  " You are just a bigger and older dog than me. As far as I'm concerned she is only using you for your tongue because you are good at lapping.. "

  Felix turned around. The young man was clearly shaking in his boots. He walked back and stared at him. The young man then thought that Richard was way scarier than him and stopped shaking. Felix noticed his look of defiance and got even more annoyed.

  " You are lucky she values you somehow, otherwise you wouldn't be standing right now. Talk to me again in this way and you will join your whore of a mom soon enough." He leaned closer and whispered in his ear. " Your mom liked my lapping too. "

  Eixien clenched his fist harder than ever as Felix walked away. He would one day take his revenge on him.

  Richard was in the cab returning him to town. On the road he thought of how he could announce this to Bella or if he'll even try to tell her. But he didn't want to lie to her. It was time to have a long discussion with Malik but first, he needed to go see the blacksmith.

  When he arrived back in the town the sun was high up in the sky. He made his way to the blacksmith to get what he ordered. He opened the door to discover the blacksmith in the middle of hammering down a lump of burning red iron. Richard stood there looking at him but eventually lost patience.

  " Senob! "

  The man was still hammering the metal. He was a small bald man with a big beard that was unkempt. He had quite a belly on him but his arms looked like they could bend metal.

  " Senob!! "

  He was still not answering. Richard walked closer when suddenly the man pointed the burning rod towards him.

  " Can't ya see I'm focking busy right now?! Disturb mey again during mo craft and that will be YOUR head on this fockin' anvil under mo hammer! What ya asked for is back there in da shop so ask da boy to fetch it for ya!! "

  He was as lovely as ever but he was the best here. He came from the south and most people could tell by the accent and the awful attitude. Richard walked to the back of the store and found the blacksmith's assistant trying out one of the swords. He was a fourteen year old boy named Seru.

  " Seru! "

  The boy got scared so bad he dropped the sword right away. Right after he heard the sound of the fall on the ground, Senob stopped hammering on his anvil and came to see what had happened.

  " What the fock are ya doing back there in mo shop?! "

  " It's me. " said Richard " I just moved around while following Seru and it fell down. "

  Senob looked at the boy and then back at Richard, he pointed his hammer towards him.

  " Ya know the policy! Ya toch ya p- "

  " You pay, yes I know Senob but I'm your best customer aren't I? "

  Senob shrugged and started limping back into his shop while saying loads of insults under his breath. Richard turned towards Seru.

  " Is it me or is he in a worse mood than he has ever been? "

  " Well that's because his leg is still very painful and also he got asked to deliver a lot of swords over to the duchess guards for the end of the week."

  " I see, so, can you show me my command? "

  " Yes follow me! "

  Seru started going towards the back of the shop and into a small room that smelled a lot like sulfur. In the room were multiple weapons prototypes that were never completed. On a table to the right were all the items that Richard asked for.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  " So here is everything you asked Rich' but seriously where do you get all these ideas? The boss only explained two of those to me. "

  " Well i'm going to show you since I have to try them out. "

  As he said that Senob walked in the room.

  " Ya are doubting mo level of craftsmanship now?! First ya interrupt mey during mo work, then you damage mo goods and now you insult mey!? That's a lot in one day Richie! That's a lot in one day for sure!! "

  " I'm not doubting you, I just want to prove to you how good you are by proving that it works as intended." said Richard as he patted the man on the shoulder.

  Senob smacked his hand off his shoulder.

  " I'm not like those lasses you can silvertongue into bed! So don't try that on mey aight?! "

  " Speaking of silver, did you manage to get the right amount? "

  " Ye but it wasn't easy, I told ya that silver wasn't cheap! Take everything and join mey ouside. "

  Richard started taking the new equipment and fitting them on himself, a new pair of boots with padded soles, a mini crossbow with a few bolts, four new throwing knives that were dipped into a layer of silver, a flask of oil and 3 bombs.

  Richard went outside behind the workshop to try out his new gear. A few mannequins were available to try out equipment. Senob was waiting for him.

  " So just like ya asked, the sole of the new boots is padded and has a little surprise if ya tap the foot on the ground just right. "

  Richard tried tapping his foot flat on the ground and a small blade appeared, he couldn't contain his smile.

  " Senob, you are a genius! "

  " I know that! But I still don't understand why ya wanted it padded since ya focker already barely makes any noise when you move! "

  " Well it's simple, I actually have to make an effort to not make noise, with this, I naturally make the minimum amount of noise without having to think about it. Also I had a run with demi humans not too recently and they can still react. "

  " In other words ya are a lazy cunt! I already knew that, that's why ya ask me for every god damn thang! "

  " Can you stop complaining Senob? I'm giving you work! I'm starting to believe that you can't survive without complaining for more than ten minutes! "

  Senob shrugged and wobbled to a near block of stone that served as a table, on it was a similar bomb that Richard had just acquired.

  " So, just like ya asked, one of these is filled with salpetre, one with crushed silver and the last one just has sulfur and some metal bits just like the one I'm holding. To activate them ya do it like this! "

  Senob then used a small candle to light the wick on and threw the bomb as far as possible.

  " DUCK! "

  Richard and Seru both kneeled down as fast as they could, the bomb landed quite far and exploded five second after being lit. The radius of the metal shards was quite impressive since some flew right over Richard's head and burrowed themselves into the wall behind him. They all stood up to observe the chaos, the mannequins were shredded. Richard let out a whistle and clapped.

  " Damn Senob, THAT is impressive! But the detonation time is quite short. "

  " I'm a blacksmith not a focking mathematician, not a mathematician for sure! "

  Richard then pulled out the small crossbow.

  " Ahh this one! " Senob was looking at his creation with great pride. " She a beauty ain't it? Can fire all those little bolts, no need to pull it back and has almost the same power as the bigger models. But clearly it's not for hunting, bow and arrows are still the best if ya want da arrow to stay inside da target. This will go right through the focker on the other side of it! Just try it. "

  Richard aimed at the head of one of the mannequins. He fired and the crossbow bolt went right through it. Anyone would be surprised that such a small weapon could produce so much power.

  " How did you do it Senob? I asked you to make this but it's even better than what i had in mind !"

  Senob smirked and picked up a big crossbow he had on the side.

  " So ya see the classic mechanism is made of only one tensed wire that will throw a bolt forward and then ya have to pull it back aight? Well there is a gearbox with multiple pistons that will launch da bolt not further than a normal one but faster and with more penetration power da closer the target is! Da target you shot was around fifteen meters away, any further than dot will result in da bolt losing power and going down so ya better aim good, aight? "

  " This is some great work Sen'! "

  " And for the knives there's nothing so impressive they are just coated in silver but remember, silver isn't as strong as your everyday steel. You will cut but if these hit something else than flesh or wood they will break! They will break for sure. "

  " That's good enough, you received my payment already and I was right to trust you again with this. I had a recent idea of some things I want you to work on. I have the list right here with the description of the items ."

  Senob took the list and squinted to look at it.

  " Ya told me you knew how to write but for fock sake you wrote this with your feet or wot?! And da fock's that?! " He pointed at a few items. " Dot aint no weapon! "

  " Because it's not Sen', I need you to make those for me and I will pay! "

  " Take your list back! I'm a blacksmith not a fockin pot maker or wotever this is! "

  Senob started limping back into his shop but Richard stepped in front of him with the pouch full of gold piece he had acquired not long ago.

  " Come on Sen'! Look, I scored a big job and I just got payed half of it, this and the other half could be yours if you do this for me ok? Do we have a deal? "

  Senob was mesmerised by all the coins, he advanced his hand to grab the pouch but Richard took a step back.

  " I said, 'Do we have a deal Sen'? "

  Senob paused and huffed.

  " Aight ya got u fockin deal now give mey these coins! "

  Richard threw him the pouch and started walking away but then he backtracked a little bit.

  " I will be leaving tomorrow for the job. I'm going to Ryzeon, you think you could be finished when I come back in a few days? "

  " Maybe, I'll see wot I can do, I'll see for sure! "

  " Perfect! See you later Sen'! Seru please make sure he doesn't bark at people too much or he'll run out of customers ahah! "

  Richard left the workshop and returned to the tavern to see Malik. When he arrived, the place was full and the waitresses were running to serve everyone. Richard saw Malik chatting up some ladies at the bar. " Not like the other girls huh Malik? You never change ". Richard decided that he would simply get upstairs and wait for the place to empty itself. He took the staircase to the left of the entrance and walked up to the rooms of the tavern. When he arrived at the top a huge man bumped into him, he had a scar in the form of an X on his left cheek.

  " Watch where you're going shrimp! "

  Today was definitely a day where his patience was being tested. Between Felix back at the castle, Senob in his shop being annoying even though they were friends and now this perfect stranger. Richard was getting annoyed but kept walking to his bedroom. After a few hours reading some book, Richard heard a bit of a commotion in the room next door. A woman was screaming and that wasn't the type of place to offer this service. He got up and decided to investigate. He listened on the other side of the door and clearly the man on the other side was violent. He knocked on the door. Nothing. He knocked again and nothing again. Richard took a step back and kicked the door open. The man on the other side had his pants down and his manhood dangling out in the open but this was a minor detail next to the fact that he was holding a knife and the waitress on the ground had her uniform shredded. The man didn't have much balance and was very drunk.

  " Who the fuck is you? Wait for your turn! "

  Richard stepped inside the room and grabbed the man by the shoulder.

  " Clearly she doesn't even want you to take a turn my friend, how about you just step outside? "

  The man simply looked at Richard and grinned at him.

  " Get out before I hurt you! "

  " I don't fear for my safety friend, you better worry about yours. "

  The man tried stabbing Richard in the face. The hit got easily delfected and Richard disarmed the man. Taking a step back, Richard stomped the ground to make his boot blade pop out. He then executed a perfect turn on himself and roundhouse kicked the man in the face with the blade. He stomped the ground again to retract the blade. The man was heavily bleeding but he would survive. Richard grabbed the man and threw him out of the room. Painfully getting up he was trying to cover his new scar and also put his pants back on. Richard then turned to the young lady.

  " Are you alright? "

  " Yes, thank you mister, I'm glad some men still know how to act properly and not like monsters. "

  " Get dressed, I'll send another waitress to help clean this up. "

  She simply nodded and Richard made his way downstair. He looked in the room and noticed Jessamine, the young woman that Malik liked, servicing the huge man that bumped into him earlier. At his table were seated 3 other men. He clearly was holding her for longer than needed.

  " Why are you working in this dump? You are way too pretty to work here! How about you come with me and the lads here? I promise you I'll be the only one touching this sweet piece of ass you got! "

  He smacked her ass and made her trip over him. He was finding it hilarious but Richard was finding this horrible. " Where the heck is Malik? ". Just as he thought this he noticed him staring at the man from his kitchen, he clearly wasn't pleased with the man doing this to her. He could see his friend's right hand clutch the handle of cleaver so hard his knuckles turned white. Richard decided to step in.

  " Jessamine! A friend of yours needs you upstairs, one of the customer made a mess inside of one of the rooms. "

  " Yes mister i'll go right n-"

  As she tried to get up, the man used his huge hand to make her sit right back on his lap.

  " Nah lad I think she can stay here ahah! "

  " Jess', the other girls are overworked so you really need to go. "

  She launched him a look of despair as the man tightened his grip on her as she tried to leave again. Richard put his hands on his hips.

  " Listen friend, either you let her go or I will take that hand of yours and shove it so deep inside your bum that could wave at us when you open the shithole that is your mouth. How does that sound to you? "

  His friends laughed out loud but the man clearly wasn't laughing. Taking her chance, Jessamine managed to wiggle out of his grip and walked as fast as she could to go up the stairs. The mood changed when one of the men pointed at Richard.

  " Boss! That's the one that made a cut to my face just now! "

  Richard recognised the man he had just cut. The big man stood up and walked up to Richard. He was easily one head taller than him.

  " So first you spoil my fun with the lady, then you hurt one of my men? How are you gonna repay me huh? "

  The group started surrounding Richard and all the other customers started moving away as they noticed the sudden tension. Richard wasn't impressed and knew exactly where all this was leading but he had some pent up anger to let out.

  " I will repay you by letting the four of you leave this place alive. "

  The boss had a chuckle.

  " We shall see then! "

  Richard raised his hands up, ready to fight.