Cornflower Witch

Chapter 330 Meeting Again

After helping Musa improve the country's government system, Hiltiya counted down the days, looking forward to the approaching time.

"It's time to set off, Tia." Karen arrived at the tower where Hilti lived and gently knocked on the door.

"Wait a moment." The girl's familiar voice came from inside the tower.

About ten minutes later, accompanied by the sound of people going down the stairs, the closed door opened, revealing Hilti, who had changed into a summer dress and a sun hat.

This was made for her by Madame Fran in the past. Over the years, her figure has not changed much, and the clothes still fit her perfectly.

“Very beautiful, Tia.” Karen smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Karen has changed a lot in the past few years. Not only has she become more mature, but her facial features have also become more defined, giving her the air of a female general. Today, she has taken off her usual silver knight armor and put on light ranger leather armor, looking like an adventurer in the mountains.

“Let’s go, the carriage is ready for you,” Karen said, leading the way.

Karen is now a young general in New Regas, and one of the few female generals. She is skilled in archery, reconnaissance, and mountain warfare. She often leads her troops to patrol various parts of New Regas, clearing away wild beasts and monsters that wreak havoc. She has earned the admiration and respect of many people and is known as one of the rising stars in the army, along with Thorin.

Although there are many generals in Regas now, most of them are quite old and are remnants of the previous Duchy of Regas. It is foreseeable that in another ten years, most of them will retire, and the army generals at that time will all be knights trained and advanced after the establishment of the new Regas.

After boarding the carriage prepared by Karen, the small group of five or six people slowly drove out of the side gate of the palace and into the bustling streets of White Cliff City.

Along the way, Hiltiya looked out at the scenery through the curtains, relaxing her mind after a busy period. After the carriage left White Cliff City, the two chatted idly by the window.

"Has Karen returned to Jiaoshi City in the past two years?"

"I've been back twice, and not much has changed."

In this medieval-like era, many cities may not change much for centuries, especially those inhabited by immortals.

"Do you have any news about Komia and Mike?" Hiltiya thought of the two people she used to know.

“Komia sent me a letter about six months ago, telling me roughly when she would return, but I don’t know about Mick,” Karen shook her head.

The two then talked a lot about the current situation of New Regas and some insights into the path of chivalry.

Several days later, the group arrived at Jiaoshi City. Since they only wanted to catch up with old friends, they concealed their presence and did not report to the officials of Jiaoshi City. The residents only saw a carriage slowly drive in.

After arriving at the cabin where Hilti and Thaliel had stayed, Karen and Tia tidied up the room and went back to sleep there.

The next day, they found Lei, the blacksmith in the city. This companion had grown even taller and was now sweating as he hammered away at the anvil.

Upon seeing the two, he chuckled sheepishly, scratched his head, put down his work, washed his dark hands, and led them to a quieter backyard.

"Karen, and Lady Tia." He wasn't very good at socializing, and after saying those two sentences, he didn't know what else to talk about.

"Ray is getting stronger and stronger," Karen said, looking up and praising him with a smile.

Afterwards, the three of them sat down at the stone table in the courtyard. Lei then belatedly brought out a kettle of water and poured some for the two of them.

Hilti looked at Lei's condition with a bit of curiosity and found that he had advanced and was now a 'Second-Tier Gold Steaming' blacksmith. Although he was far behind her and Karen, Lei was still quite outstanding among his peers, even exceeding their previous expectations.

Lei then recounted his life and experiences over the years.

"After Tia left, I went to Forging Stone City, where the blacksmiths were very skilled." "There, I worked as an apprentice and learned to distinguish ores. Because of Teacher Hyde's recommendation, he didn't dismiss me because I was slow."

"However, I learned relatively slowly. It took me more than three years to gradually master the process and learn how to refine ore into metal ingots." He scratched his head.

"Later, my teacher taught me how to forge iron."

"I really like this. Picking up the hammer is just like before, I can easily hammer away. I hammer every day, and I really enjoy the feeling of hammering iron." He said, giving a simple, honest smile.

"The teacher first had me hammer iron sheets, then knives, and then swords. Gradually, I learned to hammer many things as I went along."

"So how did you eventually advance to the next level?" Hiltiya asked with slight curiosity.

"That was two months ago. I remember that the time I made with Mick and everyone else was approaching. I wanted to forge a good weapon to give to you."

"I tried using black steel ingots that I had saved up for a long time. Black steel ingots are very hard, and when the temperature is not high enough, they melt very slowly and take a long time to break them up."

"I hit for a long time, and hit very hard. It felt different from usual. My teacher said my method was clumsy, but it was suitable, so I continued."

"After a month, I finally finished forging the greatsword. After it was finished, my teacher looked at it and said that I was ready to graduate, so he let me go home."

After saying that, Lei got up, went to the back room, and took out the greatsword wrapped in oil paper from the hidden cellar. Its color was black with a silver tinge, and upon closer inspection, it had many delicate folded patterns.

【Hundred Refined Black Steel Greatsword】(Tier 2, Rare): A greatsword of exceptional quality, made from black steel and forged hundreds of times to remove impurities and create a dense structure.

* (It represents a craftsman's hard work and achievements, condensing into the 'golden' quality.)
"What a beautiful blade! Lei must have put a lot of effort into it." Tia clapped her hands in admiration. Hearing her words, the tall young man opposite her seemed a little embarrassed.

"Actually, the teacher said my method was very stupid."

"It's alright, this is your achievement. You won't be inferior to others because of the difference in the process." Hiltiya shook her head to encourage him.

"In the future, Lei will create more and more amazing works."

After receiving praise from the silver-haired girl, Lei finally gained some confidence and smiled happily.

"How wonderful," Karen thought to herself as she watched this scene unfold.

Even though her identity is completely different and she is far removed from everyone else, Tia is still the same Tia, able to gently perceive the difficulties of others and treat her former companions kindly.

The three of them continued to sit and chat in the quiet backyard until night slowly fell.

Hilti stayed in Scorched Stone City for a few more days, tending to the sunflowers in Lady Fran's mansion, until one afternoon, accompanied by the sound of a carriage, a familiar figure jumped down from the carriage. She carried a light suitcase, gently pressed her flat-topped beret with one hand, and looked up at the familiar gate.

The crisp sound of the metal hoops rang out.

Soon, Hiltiya stepped out of the courtyard and saw the figure standing and waiting through the iron fence.

"Komia?" she called out the other person's name with slight surprise.

The girl, who had grown quite a bit taller, raised her hand and waved to Tia inside, responding happily.

"Yes, yes, it's me, Komia, Tia, open the door quickly, I'm back!" It was that familiar, energetic voice, and the girl with the bob haircut smiled happily.

(End of this chapter)