Kaede once again found herself in her meeting chamber, this time alone, as Edward ehrough the door apanied by an unfamiliar group.

  There were four of them, and Kaede’s keen eyes immediately assessed their features.

  At the forefront stood a tall, e-haired woman with a sturdy, muscur build. She wore thick brown clothes suited for bor, and her height, nearly six feet, gave her an imposing presehe three individuals behind her appeared much youheir expressions a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

  "Edward, wele back," Kaede said, her gaze shiftiween him and his panions. "I trust your task was eventful."

  Edward dropped to one knee in a gesture of respect. "Yes, Lady Kaede. I was successful in my seard found a bcksmith willing to teach their craft. This is Mrs. Chibari," he gestured to the tall woman, "and she has agreed to join us."

  Kaede’s expression remained posed as she studied Chibari. "How did they perform?" she asked, her voice steady and expet.

  Chibari responded with a grin, wide and toothy, almost feral. "I've never seen anything like it," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "They soaked up everything I taught like a damn sponge. Never get tired, never lose focus, and they work in perfect coordination. Not once did they repeat the same mistake. I don't know how you did it, but you've got yourself what might just be the best subordinates I've ever seen." She paused, her grin fading slightly. "They don't socialize much, though. You might wanna work on that."

  Kaede sidered her words for a moment before speaking again. "And you... don’t mind what they are?"

  Chibari met Kaede’s gaze without hesitation. "Doesn't bother me o," she said with a shrug. "I work with skill, not appearances. If they fe a bde better than the dwarves, I don't care if they're ants, lizards, or spirits. Talent's talent."

  Kaede nodded. "And you're here because?"

  Chibari crossed her arms. "Didn't pretty boy over here already tell you? I want to move to your city."

  Kaede leaned forward, her expression serious. "That much is obvious. I want to know why."

  The room grew tehe air thick with an unspoken pressure. Chibari’s grin faded as she sehe shift. Realizing the weight of her words, she dropped to one khout hesitation. The younger ones behind her protested, their voices ced with . "Ma’a!" they called, but Chibari silehem with a raised hand.

  "I..." she took a deep breath. "I saportunity to finally leave Dwargon, and I took it."

  Kaede's sharp gaze darkened with doubt, and Chibari noticed. She quickly tinued. "Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my try. Dwargon means everything to me, and I'd die for it if I had to. But even so... I chose to leave."

  She sighed, her voice ced with the weight of years gone by. "As a dwarf, I spent my entire life bcksmithing. It’s all I’ve ever known. But there was a time I wanted more. I became an adventurer, saw the world, aually fell in love. My husband and I moved back to Dwargon, he joihe army, and I returo the fe. Life was good... until the war took him from me."

  Her hands ched into fists. "After that, everything started falling apart. I had to raise my kids alone, which meaime at the fe, less money ing in. I managed with the occasional orders, but it was never enough."

  She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Theer became prime mihat bastard raised taxes on bcksmiths just because of his grudge against old Kaijin. My husband was close to Kaijin, so watg him get treated like dirt, it pissed me off. And thanks to Vester’s so-called ‘reforms,’ I was on the verge of losing my bcksmithing lise."

  She gnced over her shoulder at her children. "My kids may look tough, but they've never set foot outside Dwargon. I was too afraid... and too drunk to prepare them for the real world. But they're my kids, and damn good artisans at that."

  Finally, Chibari met Kaede’s eyes, her gaze unwavering. "Lady Kaede, Dwargon is my home, but I have no future there. When I saw yirls, I didn’t see monsters. I saw a rising power. Ohat’s going to shake this world. As an adventurer, I don’t fear the unknown. I want in."

  Kaede maintaihe temosphere as her gaze shifted to Chibari's so-called children.

  The tallest of the trio was a young man with brown hair, a solid, muscur build, and tanned skin that spoke of years spent in the fe. His expression was stoic, his posture disciplined.

  Beside him stood the other two, nearly identical i aures, twins, Kaede surmised. The girl had short brown hair and a physique that matched her mother’s, her red goggles resting atop her forehead. Her twin brother, with vibrant e hair like their mother, wore blue goggles in a simir fashion. Their expressions were serious, yet there ark of curiosity in their eyes as they studied Kaede iurn.

  Kaede’s gaze lingered on them for a moment longer before she finally spoke. "You had no way of knowing whether we would be hostile. You might have just walked straight into eerritory... and you even brought your family with you."

  Chibari swallowed hard as Kaede’s expression darkened, a flicker of doubt crossing her mind. Did I make a mistake?

  Kaede rose from her seat, and for a brief moment, it felt as if the room itself had shrunk uhe weight of her presehe dwarves stiffened instinctively, a primal sense of caution gripping them as Kaede approached. With each step, the pressure in the chamber grew, her narrowed eyes drilling into Chibari.

  “That was reckless,” Kaede said, her voice sharp but not unkind. “Don’t put your family in unnecessary danger just because of a hunch.”

  The oppressive tension dissipated in an instant, repced by a scoldi ed tohat caught Chibari off guard. The rger woman exhaled, nodding as she scratched the back of her head. "Yeah... I suppose it was a bit reckless."

  Kaede sighed and crossed her arms. "Reckless doesn't begin to cover it. You're lucky we're not what you feared we might be."

  Kaede's expression softened into a gentle smile. "That said, Chibari, I would be happy to have you in my city."

  Stepping forward, she pced a reassuring hand on the older woman's head, stroking her hair with the tenderness of a mother f a child.

  From Chibari's perspective, the room seemed thten, the oppressive atmosphere lifting. When Kaede extended a hand toward her, an overwhelming warmth filled Chibari’s chest, a long-fotten feeling she hadn’t realized she missed.

  Tears threateo spill from her eyes as she gazed up at Kaede, who, in that moment, appeared to her like a bea of golden light, hope and a new beginning.

  Chibari blinked rapidly, struggling to pose herself as Kaede’s geouch lingered for a moment before the young ruler withdrew her hand. The tension that had weighed down on her shoulders slowly lifted, repced by a cautious sense of relief.

  Behihe twins had no such reservations.

  "YES!" the girl, Kira, practically shouted, pumping her fists in the air.

  Her twin brother, Kegan, was just as enthusiastic, boung on the balls of his feet. "I 't believe it! We're gonna work with the ants! This is so awesome!" He turo one of the guards standihe doorointiedly. "Hey, do you guys actually eat metal? Or was that just a rumor?"

  The Antari guard, polished chitin armor, blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst but remained silent, his posture unshaken by the eic dwarves.

  Kaede, the se with a faint smile, g the eldest sibling. Uhe twins, he stood with his arms crossed, his expression a careful mask of seriousness. He bowed respectfully. "Lady Kaede, I am Kain, eldest son of Chibari. Thank you franting us this opportunity. I assure you, we will not disappoint."

  Kaede studied him for a moment, noting the rigid tension in his stand the weight of responsibility that rested on his shoulders. He was clearly the pilr of the family, the one who bore the burden of keeping everything together.

  "Kain," she said softly, "you don’t o carry everything on your own. You have your family. Let them support you, a us support you as well."

  Kain's eyes widened slightly before he quickly bowed again, his voice steady. "Uood, Lady Kaede."

  Meanwhile, Kira and Kegan were already fawning over the Antari, peppering them with questions at a rapid pace.

  "Do you really work day and night without breaks?"

  "How strong are you guys pared to dwarves?"

  " you show us your f process? I heard it's super precise! Ma'a won't let us see whehose other ants worked."

  Edward coughed lightly into his hand, stepping forward to rein in the eic twins. "Apologies, Lady Kaede. They're... eager."

  Kaede chuckled softly. "I see that." She shifted her gaze back to Chibari, whose expression was a mix of fond exasperation and pride. "Your children will do well here. They'll have ample opportunity to learn and grow."

  Chibari nodded, smiling for the first time siering the room. "Thank you, Lady Kaede. I won’t let you down."

  Kaede gestured to one of her attendants standing nearby, because that was something she had now. "Prepare aodations for our new guests. Make sure they have everything they o settle in."

  "As you and, my dy," the attendant replied with a respectful bow before swiftly exiting the chamber.

  As the versation began to wind down, Kaede's expressiohoughtful. "Now, Chibari," she said, stepping back toward her seat, "let’s discuss the future. Your skills and knowledge will be invaluable in shaping our city's industry. Are you ready to take on that challenge?"

  Chibari grinned, her earlier nerves repced by a spark of excitement. "More than ready, Lady Kaede. Show me your fes, a’s make some history."

  Kaede nodded, pleased with the answer. "The’s get started."

  With that, the meeting came to a close, and the group left the chamber. Kira and Kegaed chatter echoed down the halls, while Kain silently followed behind, his mind already w through the logistics of their new life.

  Kaede watched them go, her gaze lingering oreating forms. "Edward," she said quietly.

  Edward turned, attentive. "Yes, Lady Kaede?"

  "Good job." she said softly. "I don't know how you did it... But good job."

  Edward nodded. "Uood."

  Kaede leaned ba her chair, her gaze sweeping across the chamber. "With this, our work here in this part of Jura is plete," she said thoughtfully. After a brief pause, she added, "It's time to leave the alcove."

  SaberGlory