Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

They were informed that there were still a few days until the official welcome banquet. Because of the complexity and constraints of teleport magic, they could not bring all participants from the different worlds to the capital at the same time.

The last group would only arrive in the next days, that's why they were pretty much free to roam the capital until the date of the banquet.

As two girls of bubbly personalities, Fin and Ellie hit it off with each other and set off to discover the secrets of the capital on their own. Although Team 3 had come along as an escort, most of them had also quickly split off to follow their own interests, giving Seth the chance to spend these days alone with Mina.

The center of the multicultural megapolis of Chrona was a hotchpotch of races, shops, and restaurants. Between visiting the landmarks on their sightseeing tour, they would go around testing all kinds of exotic cuisine.

In this giant city, with all the chaotic bustle and people, and the almost crushing presence of ads, Seth felt almost a home. Compared to his time traveling to Ora, he felt that he could enjoy his time here more since he came to terms with his anxiety concerning crowds of people.

Aside from the magical advertisements and the omnipresent arcane technology, their culture of idolization also gave him a sense of nostalgia. Popular adventurers, heroes, and beauties advertised products and sold merchandise.

It was almost comical how similar and at the same time dissimilar it all was to his homeworld. The hero king of a foreign world seemed fantastical. But the idea of him advertising the biography of his life, action figures, and merchandise of himself was so modern and dissociative that it made him chuckle.

He understood now, why Mina said he could become a celebrity. Maybe it was not as strong in provinces like Ora, but it did not end there in Chrona. More than once they came across public events of fan clubs or even the people themselves to grow their reputation.

"Do you really want me to be like that?" he asked Mina with a wry smile

Seth could see how there was a lot of potential money in this kind of culture, but just seeing these kinds of fans and fan clubs made him feel awkward. Random women dreaming of having some idol hero's child, or a bunch of guys simping for the sexy Ghost Doctor.

Thinking that such people could be after him, that he could be the target for such adoration, made his skin crawl. In the end, he was too much of an introvert to deal with this kind of attention.

Hugging his arm, she suddenly stood still and looked up to him.

"it's not about money, Dummy. I want to brag about my boyfriend. You are a lot better than those posers in my opinion and people should know it!"

"But-"

"isn't it okay? There is no need to be like them. You could show your strength in a different way." she whispered in his ears.

Following her gaze, she was looking at a very special kind of shop, that sold very explicit kinds of recordings.

"Mina, I don't think my skills in bed suffice to become a legend in the adult industry."

She suddenly laughed her clear bell-like laughter before hugging him tighter.

"I think your chances are not bad, but that was not what I meant," she said hardly able to contain her laughs.

The catgirl pinched his chin and moved his view a little to the right. Only then did Seth notice the armor shop beside it. His face felt incredibly hot as he blushed furiously. Seeing, him like this, the beast girl did not stop laughing for quite a while.

Despite having a few days, they barely made any ground in their exploration of the massive city. However, they managed to make a lot of memories together. With him not wasting a minute on work, it really felt like a vacation.

Spending so much time together could be a burden to a relationship, but contrary to this notion, Seth and Mina found that they wanted to spend even more time together. Unfortunately, these days leading up to the banquet went by in the blink of an eye.

On the day of the banquet, they wore a pair of matching and extremely expensive outfits they bought in the capital. Unexpectedly, the foreign style of Chrona was quite to their liking. The people of the empire had long learned that comfort was the most important when it came to clothes.

Instead of being cumbersome mounts of cloth, they were clothes similar to casual wear of Urth, but with enchantments that made them look like gorgeous even attire. They were more expensive than custom-tailored fashion since it needed a talented tailor and enchanter to fabricate such pieces of art.

They both knew that Seth would have to leave soon after the banquet, which was why they were intent on using this time even harder. They had splurged on this couple outfits to compete with even the nobles and royalty of the Chrona empire.

"Mina and Seth Smith, from the Delegation of Urth. Guests of Princess Leana Maria Chrona."

They were announced and entered with their elbows interlocked. The illusion garment Mina wore looked like an opulent sapphire-blue rococo dress, while Seth wore a suit in matching style and color.

The magical qualities of their clothes made it clear, what kind of fashion they wore, and their appearance made a murmur go through the crowd of guests. The blacksmith and the assassin smirked at each other; their goal was accomplished.

Very self-satisfied they joined the crowd and were promptly pulled into conversations about their attire. Mina had chosen their clothes and happily explained about it while Seth just stood beside her and smiled.

He was rather content with just looking at the girl beside him. Back then in Ora when they got to know each other, she had a kind of rough allure to him. She was raunchy, bright, and always said what was on her mind.

Even in Delta, she perfectly fitted into the kind of Nightclubs where he had met them again. Seeing his tom-girlish, sexy, girlfriend in this kind of high-class dress with an elegant demeanor, bragging about fashion, was a completely new side of her, he simply enjoyed watching.

"Hey, if you want to do it in public, I am open to trying, but this might not be the best location for the first try," she whispered to him with a playful smirk, when they finally got some private time.

"It's a shame, really. I would like to eat you up right away." Seth countered.

"What are you guy up to?" they were rudely interrupted by Ellie, who clearly wore male attire, tailored to fit her curvy figure.

"Maw! They were off in their own world again, completely ignoring Fin!" the fairy added.

"Don't worry, I will always be on Team Fin!" Ellie supported the tiny fiend.

"When did you guys arrive? Where are the others?" Seth asked belatedly.

"We came together with Lydia and Mike. I saw Marcel and Elza over in that direction, talking with Brock." Ellie explained nonchalantly.

They looked at the room full of strangers. It was rather easy to differentiate the nobles from the people of other Worlds like themselves by their attire. The otherworlders stuck out like a sore thumb as they wore their own style of clothing.

However, it was hard to find someone you are looking for. The first person Seth recognized, was not actually someone from his own Group, but a figure hiding her face with a hoody. Wearing a hoody on this kind of occasion was extremely eye-catching.

The next one he recognized was another figure wearing a hood, the Hero, and right beside him was Rich the slavemancer talking with him. It seemed like those two got along quite well.

"Maybe they are at the buffet?" the tiny fiend tempted Seth.

It was true that he could go for a bite.

"Then let's go look there.." Mina read him like a book and decided for them all.