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Finally, Arwin swallowed. He wiped the sweat from his head with the back of his hand. A flicker of amusement wormed its way through his surprise and confusion, pulling at his lips until a tiny smile crossed his features and a laugh slipped free.

I can’t believe it. I think my armor just got stolen.

A hand fell on his shoulder. Arwin glanced back. Lillia stood behind him, still wearing a stained apron. The cursed knife that he’d given her floated by her shoulder, swaying to and fro as if searching for something to stab.

“Arwin?” Reya asked in a worried tone as she joined Lillia. “Are you okay? What happened? We heard a big… boom. Kind of.”

“More of a whump than a boom,” Anna said. She pulled her eyes away from the statue of Arwin’s former armor standing in the center of the room and studied him intently in search of any injuries. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“No, I’m fine.” Arwin shook his head and grimaced. “Sorry for scaring all of you. How obvious was it? Are we going to have a bunch of people kicking down the doors?”

“There were some adventurers in the dining room,” Lillia replied. “I told them that you were just working, so nobody’s too concerned. I don’t think the noise was loud enough to go much farther than that… and the Devil’s Den blocked the magical energy from entering it.”

That’s a relief. It would be a huge pain in the ass if a ton of attention suddenly landed on our backs. If only a few people noticed that huge burst of energy from the Mesh, then I don’t think we should have too much trouble.

“A few people in the streets might have been close enough to notice it. Nobody is looking yet, but Madiv went to check,” Reya added. She moved around Lillia to get a better look at the statue, then glanced back at Arwin. “So what is this thing? Why did you melt your armor together?”

“It wasn’t entirely intentional,” Arwin admitted. He scratched the back of his head. This was certainly awkward. “I was trying to finish my armor set. I just… ended up making this instead.”

“How do you accidentally make a statue at Epic quality?” Olive asked as she joined Reya beside Lillia. “Is it safe? Or is it going to explode or something? All that glowing gold energy is making me a little bit uneasy.”

“It should be safe.” Arwin paused for a few seconds. Power pulsed within the armor, constrained by the armor surrounding it but showing absolutely no signs of fading. Even though he wouldn’t know exactly what the Soul Guardian was capable of until he got the core for it, he’d made the Ivory Executioner Armor himself — and he knew what that was capable of.

He’d also felt just how much power the Mesh had poured into the statue. It wouldn’t have been entirely inaccurate to call it a bomb. Until it was stabilized and completed, maybe exercising a little caution whilst in its presence was the right call. Arwin cleared his throat. “Probably. I wouldn’t get too close yet. I need to finish it before I’d be willing to say it’s trustworthy.”

“That seems like it would be wise,” Lillia said. She gave his shoulder a small squeeze, then arched an eyebrow. “Do you happen to know how to finish this core?”

“No,” Arwin admitted. “I still have to make one for Verdant Inferno as well. It’s been waiting a while and hasn’t been too happy with me about that. I’ll be looking into it. Just haven’t had time yet because of how busy things have been.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out soon,” Olive said, flexing her wooden hand and studying its fingers for a few long seconds. She hesitated for a moment, another thought playing across her features but failing to make it through her lips.

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“What is it?” Arwin asked. “Is everything okay? Elias and Maeve aren’t having problems, are they?”

“No. Nothing like that. Sorry. I was just thinking about your work. It’s a different topic.”

“I think this one is solidly stuck in the center of my forge. There isn’t anything else we can do about it right now, so you might as well say what’s bothering you.”

“It’s this.” Olive raised her Cursed arm. “It—”

“It’s not working incorrectly, is it?” Arwin asked, accidentally cutting Olive off before she could finish speaking.

“No. It works well. Very well. I don’t want to say that’s the problem, but it’s what I’m thinking about.” Olive ran her left hand along the wooden arm’s surface. “People have seen me using this. A lot. Both in the fight with the demonand after it. And… well, they’re starting to talk.”

Wallace’s warning rang through Arwin’s head like the ghost of an exhumed corpse. Creating a fully functional magical limb was something that even some of the most advanced healing magic couldn’t do. And even when it could, it was unaffordable for the vast majority of people.

But Olive wasn’t just a rich noble’s kid. She was — as far as the majority of Milten was concerned — nothing but an adventurer who had been missing an arm.

And now she was an adventurer who was no longer missing an arm. And if she could afford it, then just about anyone else with a missing limb had a pretty decent chance of pulling it off as well.

It had been inevitable that the information got out, but it seemed like it wouldn’t be long now. Arwin sent a sidelong glance at the Soul Guardian sitting in wait at the center of his smithy. It seemed he would need to get it active far sooner than later.

Whenever the opportunity for something rare or powerful reared its head, then there would be trouble. Some people would come seeking his help with pure intentions. Arwin loved the idea of finding a way to help them that didn’t completely monopolize his time, but with those people would come ones that wanted to figure out what he was doing. They’d want to find a way to control or stop it. And those people wouldn’t be happy when they found out they couldn’t control the Menagerie.

Arwin was going to have to make sure they couldn’t do anything about that displeasure when the time inevitably came.

“I see,” Arwin said. “It’s not unexpected. I knew this was coming.”

“Sorry,” Olive said.

“You don’t have to apologize for existing,” Arwin said, shooting a glare in her direction. “I made you that arm so you could use it. It’s not a secret. There’s no way you can hide it when you needed to use its abilities to take out Twelve.”

Huh. Actually, now that I think about it, Twelve might actually be what I need. He should have been pretty wealthy. I still haven’t cashed in the Achievement that lets me get all the stuff he had on his bodies. Maybe he’ll have some components or materials I could use to make the core for the Soul Guardian.

“I know that,” Olive said. Her cheeks reddened and she cleared her throat. “But a few kids have asked to see it. I showed them.”

“Olive, it’s fine. I don’t expect you to keep your body a secret.”

Reya coughed into her fist.

Arwin rolled his eyes and turned away from the partially finished Soul Guardian to give Olive his full attention. “This is just advertising for us if you look at it from the right angle. Just keep an eye out for anyone getting too aggressive. I don’t want to reveal how I made that arm yet. Just having people know I can do it is enough.”

Olive nodded. “I know. I haven’t said anything, but word is spreading fast. I wouldn’t be suprirsed if it’s already made its way well out of Milten.”

“Then I’ll deal with the problems when they come,” Arwin said. “Which makes it all the more important for me to get this thing finished… and some new armor made for myself, I guess. That might have to get slotted in somewhere around creating equipment for you, Elias, and Maeve. Speaking of which, how are they?”

A smile crossed Olive’s lips. “Good. We’ve been training a lot together. We were actually about to head out to a dungeon. They’re both very skilled fighters, but it’s clear they’re not used to fighting as a group with another person.”

“Huh. Wonder who that could remind me of,” Reya said.

Olive elbowed Reya in the side and Reya made a hasty retreat, snickering.

“I’m going to get back to work,” Olive said, giving Arwin a nod. “Thank you again for the arm. I’ll probably never say that enough times, but I’m going to go put it to use.”

Arwin nodded. “Good luck. Make sure to focus on the things that Elias and Maeve are lacking in so I can make them armor that helps shore up their weaknesses.”

“I will.” Olive strode out of the Infernal Armory and Reya headed after her, waving farewell to Arwin as they left.

Lillia smiled as she watched the two of them leave, then returned her gaze to Arwin. “I have to get back to the tavern as well. My garden is fighting back against me and I don’t know how long the inn can keep it restrained without me there.”

He blinked.

“It’s doing what now?”

“I’ll show you when you get a chance,” Lillia replied with a laugh. “Don’t get distracted. Finish what you’re working on.”

She and Anna both headed out as well, leaving Arwin alone in the armory. He let out a slow breath, a smile lingering on his features as he returned his attention to the Soul Guardian.

No point waiting any longer.

It was time to collect the rewards they’d gotten from the Mesh for killing Twelve.