My Girlfriend is an S-Class Adventurer

Chapter 394: Welcome Back

Hephaestus then raised his head and looked Ezra in the eye. The face of that mighty smith was full of tears, which streamed down her delicate face.

"I kept this from you for a long time, but it was on a promise. I always promised to take care of you, to teach you. I know it took me too long, but now it's time" Hephaestus said.

She then slowly approached Ezra, who was visibly confused by the situation. Until he finally understood what had happened, once his mistress was close enough, he was able to understand what that box meant.

On the front of the box was a coat of arms that Ezra knew very well. The mark of the blue moon, the forging crest that his mother used.

"That box, that crest. What does that mean master?!" Ezra cried out, confused.

"That is the last request from my best friend, from the most amazing woman I have ever met" Hephaestus said, as he opened that box.

"Who?! And why does this have to do with me. Wait, my mom!" Ezra said, shaking his head. Everything had finally made sense to him.

Hephaestus' eyes were shining, with the light reflecting in the tears. It was an emotion difficult to explain, a strong feeling of duty fulfilled. His heart was at peace as he watched this scene.

Ezra took the hammer from inside the box, the moment he touched this item, it was already possible to feel the difference between it and anything else he had seen before. It was a different feeling, it was easy to tell that it was an item made by his mother.

This feeling made Ezra's heart flutter, he was confused, but happy. This gift left by his much admired mother was something he could not even imagine existed. The little blue-haired blacksmith then rushed off, he was determined to use this item. The boy hadn't said anything, he just felt the need to get to work.

"Hey! Don't go away, brat!" Hephaestus shouted, however, that was not enough to stop the little blacksmith.

Ezra's head was completely filled with thoughts, he was analyzing every detail of that hammer. At the same time, his heart was confused about how to react to this gift. A gigantic storm of questions was raging through the blue-haired young man's mind.

Hephaestus followed Ezra, but she didn't bother to run. She just watched from afar as the boy ran through the corridors of the forge.

Ezra passed a few rooms in the forge, collecting everything he would need to start work. In one of the rooms he took a bag of iron ore, in the other, some crystals. On a counter, he picked up another bag of coal.

His body, even though thin, is capable of lifting a lot of weight. Finally, he had everything he needed. Hephaestus was a bit distant, she was following Ezra, who entered her room carrying that huge amount of materials.

She was hiding from her apprentice, hiding her tears that slowly flowed as she watched her masterpiece, Ezra. An apprentice that she had forged and refined with care for years.

With each step Hephaestus took, a memory of her former master passed through her head. After crossing the few meters that led to the door of Ezra's workshop, the master forger was able to observe the boy now standing in front of the anvil.

The charcoal was already positioned near the fire, the materials were laid out on a table nearby. Ezra was now holding that hammer, watching it intently. He was like a child holding his favorite toy.

The young blacksmith's eyes were determined, but at the same time, a little shaken by the situation.

"The iron will take too long to boil like this" Ezra thought aloud.

The boy then rushed over to the table where the bag of crystals was. And after rummaging around for a few seconds, he found a fire crystal. Ezra then fed the coal with that fire crystal.

A gigantic flame started, now the fire was strong, and in seconds it was able to melt the piece of iron that was above the furnace. This intense fire was transforming the metal into a red color, and after a few moments, Ezra took that iron beam to the anvil.

Hephaestus was watching Ezra from the doorway, her feet seemed to be feeling pressured to stay outside. Now she didn't want to go in and bother the boy. This indecision eventually made her tired, and since she is a busy woman, she preferred to just get out of there.

The moment she turned around to go back to her office, the first sound of the beating of metal echoed throughout the forge.

It was that same iron sound, however, it had a different timbre. It was not a high-pitched or uncomfortable sound. It was precise, and somehow soothing.

Turning sharply, Hephaestus had a startling sight.

Ezra was channeling his mana into the hammer. Behind that boy, there was no blue water golem. Who was holding the hammer, was not a creation of magic, but the blacksmith himself, who wanted to use that item with his own hands.

What was behind Ezra was a blue statue of Ezra's mother.

The boy's thoughts were so conflicted, that uniting some of his memories with his master's descriptions, the moment he channeled his mana, his mother appeared behind him.

Hephaestus couldn't hold back his tears, now, with a smile on his face she watched the two of them working.

Ezra didn't notice the presence of that statue, a few moments later it eventually disappeared. But this made it clear to his master, how that blue-haired girl was always giving strength to take care of the little blacksmith.

The boy was smiling as he produced, his body was sweating much more than usual, he was panting, running from one side of the forge to the other for no real reason. Still, he was having fun making the item.

It had been a few years since Ezra had produced a weapon using the hammer directly. After Hepha taught him how to use a golem, forging had become easier. However, this time he wanted to have that contact with iron. He wanted to know what his mother expected him to feel when he hit it with that hammer.

The production process took hours, Ezra was creating a dagger with wind control. One of the ideas Luke had become interested in. Hepha was now drawing in one of the corners of Ezra's workshop, which ended up surprising the boy.

He was so focused on forging that he completely forgot to notice his surroundings, so he was startled to fall backwards when he saw his master.

"How long have you been here?"

"Quite a while, and a dagger was a good choice. But your fire crystal energy is running out, now is the time to energize the blade with the wind crystal before tempering."

As soon as Hepha finished his guidance, Ezra's eyes became even more determined. He got up and rushed off to solve the problems. Until he remembered why he had gone to the other side of the room.

The young blacksmith then ran back to Hephaestus, and from the wall, picked up a thick leather glove.

The boy then hurried back and finished making the blade. Heating the iron and putting a wind crystal inside the sword, he then put more coal in the furnace.

Now the boy heated the blade completely, being careful with the crystal. If the temperature of the crystal became too high, it might explode in front of him.

Channeling water magic, Ezra went about placing small drops of water on top of the crystal, keeping its temperature a little lower than that of the weapon. Until the process was finished, he moved on to tempering.

Putting the blade completely into a bucket of water. A gigantic amount of smoke was coming out, while the water inside the bucket was bubbling non-stop.

Until finally, Ezra pulled that dagger out of the water. It was a different weapon than the one he had recently created. After all, this blade was made completely by his hands.

Ezra's body was too weak to withstand producing a sword, but a small weapon, it was possible.

The hammer that Ezra received was the game-changer. In fact, the biggest factor that defined the exuberant quality of this dagger was the use of that hammer. It was light, and at the same time it had a good balance.

It was hard to understand how an item could be so well made, but it was something possible for Ezra's mother.

'You really were amazing, thanks for the gift mom'

The little blacksmith then ran off again, to his mistress. Bowing as she held out her hands, Ezera handed the dagger to Hephaestus.

The forge master's eyes widened at the sight of that blade. It was something else, she never saw any blade that even resembled it.