Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't (Chapter 4) (Patreon)

It needed to be said that not everyone was as suspicious and jaded as myself. Perhaps it was due to the lack of personal experience or just her nature, but Grace actually seemed to take the man’s words at face value.

“We’ll be fine, mister. It’s just a five minute walk to Arne’s house.”

She politely refused his offer before taking my arm, guiding the two of us down the road.

“Thank you again for your help.”

However, instead of seeing us off, the man trotted to catch up before falling into step next to Grace.

My brows scrunched into a frown. I already had a bad impression because of the stunt this guy pulled in mister Lively’s shop. Now it appeared he couldn’t take a hint either.

“Please don’t call me mister, I’m not that old—the name’s Sam.”

Apparently not having much self awareness, ‘Sam’ struck up a conversation with Grace, not sparing me a glance. Of course, I wasn’t so stupid as to not realize his motives. Clearly, he’d taken a fancy to my future sister-in-law.

‘Fuck, ‘not that old’? You don’t look a day under twenty-five, you bastard!’

Grumbling inwardly, I wondered how best to get rid of this fly. While it was true I referred to him as a ‘young man’, that was in my past life’s context. Here, it wouldn’t be strange for someone his age to be married with a few kids. To make matters worse, Grace was only thirteen this year.

The girl in question, being far to nice for her own good, nodded her head.

“Oh, okay. Are you new in town, Sam?”

The fellow awkwardly tousled his hair, probably trying to give what he thought was a handsome smile.

“Yes, I arrived yesterday by carriage. I’m from Eastvale.”

Grace giggled, the amusement tinting her freckled face.

“Actually, I already know. I was outside the charcoal hut when you...”

A conversation started up between the two of them, the interaction far too amicable for my taste.

It went without saying that Grace was just being curious and friendly, given Sam was from out of town. Hospitality was highly regarded among the locals and they could be counted on for it—as long as outsiders behaved, that is.

Unable to chase the guy off, I could only trudge along while trying to keep the displeasure off my face. Fortunately, it wasn’t far to our homestead. A thin plume of white smoke soon appeared in the distance, rising above the treetops. Then, a long bramble fence running perpendicular with the road, headed off by a narrow wooden gate.

“Thank you for looking after us, uncle Sam. I’d invite you to eat something, but unfortunately it’s the middle of the day and everyone’s busy.”

Plastering a fake smile across my face, I hurriedly tried to get rid of the clingy bastard.

His eyebrows twitched minutely from being addressed as ‘uncle’, but then, unable to find a reason for his continued presence he reluctantly withdrew.

“If you get a chance, you should come find me at the market tomorrow. The Company has a few interesting things from out of town, cheap too.”

After speaking, he extended a hand, patting my head. However, his eyes were solely focused on Grace. Of course, I wasn’t the least bit happy about this, suppressing the instinct to bite his hand.

The blonde politely bid him farewell.

“Oh? Then maybe we’ll see you tomorrow Sam—I’m sure my friends would want to go.”

Giving him a wave, she turned and pushed open the gate. During the day, a lot of people came and went, so Jed and Lily kept it unlocked.

When we went our separate ways, walking until Sam’s back had become small, I huffed.

“Seriously sis, you shouldn’t act so friendly in front of men. They might get the wrong idea.”

Grace looked at me, her expression like someone who’d just heard something incredibly funny. Bursting into a fit of giggles, she shook her head disbelievingly.

“What are you talking about, Arne? You’re what, nine years old? You don’t know anything about men’s ideas.”

Realizing I was being treated like a child, I puffed out my cheeks. Which naturally didn’t help my cause.

“I turned ten two months ago.”

Replying irritably, I batted aside her hand, reaching to pinch my cheeks.

Grace’s giggles subsided before she looked at me strangely, her head tilted to one side.

“…you and Winnie are the same age, but she’s such a kid. You should play together, teach her to be a little more sensible.”

Like pretty much every other child in Westbrook, she had a lot of siblings. Honestly, I didn’t even have a clue how many there were, but I did know Erik and I were outliers. That is to say, most adults had more than two children. A lot more.

In response, I shook my head decisively.

“I have too much work. No time to play.”

Grace snorted, rolling her eyes.

“You sound like an old man. Anyway, let’s go—I’m sure Ms. Lily would appreciate the help.”

However, when she dried to drag me forward by the elbow, I didn’t move.

“I need to go help… my dad. You know the way to the house, so you can go on your own.”

Extricating my arm from hers, I stepped on to a narrow path, heading for a different part of the property.

As amusing as I found Grace and my brother's painfully awkward lovebirding, I couldn’t stay around to watch. Jed was probably already running out of patience, given my journey took longer than usual.

Grace showed a look of understanding.

“Okay. I’ll say goodbye if I don't see you before I leave.”

After thanking her, I turned around again before remembering something.

“Ask Erik to walk you home. That guy doesn’t know how to take a hint either…”

--------

I carefully pushed open the forge’s door, located about a football field’s length away from the main house. The intense, red glow from the fire immediately caught my eye, outlining the silhouette of a tall man, standing around six-foot-two.

Though he’d certainly heard me enter, there was no reaction from Jed. Instead, he remained laser-focused on his task, pouring a silvery, smoking metal into an indented bed of sand. Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t finished yet—if he’d exhausted all the fuel before I returned, there would’ve been trouble.

Carefully setting my load near the entrance, I went to stand a distance behind him; far enough to not cause distraction, but near enough that I’d be able to help him if he needed it.

About five minutes later, Jed finished with his work.

“Refuel the forge.”

The first words he spoke to me were a simple command. I obeyed immediately of course, wearing a pair of rough leather gloves before shoveling the coke.

Giving the devil his due, I had to admit Jed was at least careful inside the forge, ensuring we had proper equipment. As long as I followed his methods, there was little chance of an accident happening. Really, he was the most dangerous thing here.

While I busied myself, the man in question retreated to a spot near the doorway, taking the opportunity to cool down.

“Wait for the ingots to settle, then put them away.”

When I’d nearly finished, he spoke from behind me. Then, there was a subdued sound of liquid sloshing—Jed probably quenching his thirst after hours spent in the suffocating heat.

Finishing my task, I set the shovel down before walking over to the sand bed. A dozen gleaming rectangles were embedded there, each weighing about five pounds—that was the usual standard, at least.

Silence stretched inside the building. It was less awkward and more tense, though I doubted Jed felt the same way. Eventually, the big man wiped his bearded face with the back of his hand before suddenly speaking.

“When you’re done, go help your brother.”

I, who’d just started stacking the ingots in a wooden chest, felt surprised. It wasn’t unusual for Jed to keep us both here until the sun went down.

“…okay.”

However, I certainly wouldn’t complain about being let off early. In a way, it was a bit weird—I mean, working as a medieval blacksmith was somewhat of a fantasy for a lot of guys. There was also the aspect of ‘leveling’ my skills in preparation for the future.

The thing is, how useful was this type of menial work really? Even in the game, you wouldn’t be able to max our your blacksmithing by just making a bunch of bronze ingots. At some point, a craftsman needed to move on to something more difficult.

With a heavy feeling on my heart, I left the building after finishing my work. It was incredibly depressing and frustrating, having such a lack of opportunities to get stronger. Was I really destined to be cannon fodder for some random monster? I just couldn’t see a way out of my predicament.