The next morning.

Joey got up early as usual, but this time he didn't head towards the city gate. Instead, he strolled slowly eastward.

Of course, Blackie was still perched on Joey's head. For some reason, Blackie had become increasingly sleepy lately.

Not long after Joey left the workshop, a slightly older male dwarf stopped in front of it.

"Cartel, are you home?"

The male dwarf's voice sounded weak, which matched his appearance—both were sickly-looking.

"Aha—"

"Who are you?"

The bearded man yawned widely and ran out in his pajamas.

He heard someone calling at the door, and despite Martha's attempts to stop him, he insisted on getting out of bed to see what was happening.

"My name is Camitor, a bronzebeard dwarf, a friend of Carter!"

"Who are you?"

The bronze-bearded dwarf named Camillo stared at the bearded man with great curiosity.

"My name is Sam Blackstone!"

"Martha's husband, Carter's son-in-law!"

The bearded man forced himself to look energetic, appearing every bit the head of the household.

He also sized up Camito in front of him, and was somewhat curious about him as well.

"Sam, who's outside?"

Martha's voice also came from the inner room.

"It's a bronzebeard dwarf named Camillo!"

The bearded man turned his head and called out into the inner room.

"Is Uncle Camito here?"

"Let him sit down first, I'll be right out!"

Martha's voice sounded excited, and the bearded man could already hear Martha frantically getting dressed.

Not long after, Martha ran out of the inner room.

"Uncle Camito, what wind blew you here? May the King of the Hills bless you!"

Martha's face was full of smiles, but there were still two lingering blushes in her smiles.

"Martha! May the King of the Hills bless you!"

"It's been a long time since I've visited you. I had some free time today, so I came to see you!"

"I just didn't expect you to be married already. I didn't even get a chance to drink a drop of the wedding wine. But this Blackrock Dwarf is quite sturdy and more spirited than this Iron Hammer!"

"By the way, where is your father?"

Camillo sat on an iron felt and reached out to pick up the iron hammer next to it, only to find that the hammer was rather heavy and that he could no longer hold it.

When Camito mentioned the beard, Martha's face turned even redder.

“His name is Sam. He only came to Sandstone City last month. As you know, fewer and fewer dwarves are coming here these days. My father was worried about my marriage, which is why we arranged this marriage in such a hurry!”

“My father just left not long ago, and he hasn’t paid this month’s taxes yet! He’s thinking of going there to pay them as soon as possible so he can come back and work as a blacksmith!”

Martha told Camitor about her father's whereabouts without hiding anything.

"Oh, really?"

"It seems my timing is really bad! I'll be going now, but I'll come to see you again next time. Just tell your father that I came!"

Camillo took his leave immediately, seemingly having no intention of staying any longer in the workshop.

"Uncle Camito, it's a rare treat for you to come all this way. Please have a seat. My father will be back soon!"

Martha was trying to persuade her guest to stay. Although Uncle Camito lived in the city just like them, he didn't come very often.

Because he had fought on the battlefield with the old city lord, a knife wound on his chest has not yet fully healed.

With Masha's encouragement, Camito seemed less in a hurry to leave.

He looked around the workshop and saw that the furnace fire was already lit. Although no one was forging iron at the moment, the fire was burning brighter and brighter. It must have been lit by Carter before he left.

"Martha, how's business lately?"

The walls of the workshop were covered with all kinds of knives and kitchen utensils, all used by residents. I didn't see a single one used on the battlefield.

"Thanks to the King of the Hills' favor, business is doing alright, no different from usual, all thanks to everyone's support!"

Martha wasn't really concerned about her business anymore. The pile of ore in the back room was probably worth a fortune, not even counting the gold and silver ingots that had already been smelted. It was only because her father had told her not to tell anyone that she had continued the blacksmithing business in the workshop.

"That's good, that's good!"

"Now, only a few of us dwarves are left in Sandstone City. I wonder when we'll be able to return to Baikanburg?"

Camito's eyes revealed a hint of sadness.

“There will be a chance. My father said he plans to take me out to see the world next spring. We might even go to Baikanburg. You know, I’ve heard you all talk about it ever since I was born, but I’ve never actually seen it.”

Martha's words caused a flicker of excitement in Camito's eyes.

"Are we really going? This trip will cost a lot of money!"

"As for money, we..."

"Martha!"

The bearded man suddenly spoke up, interrupting Martha's next words, but this still displeased Martha.

"Sam, what are you doing? Can't you see I'm talking to Uncle Camito?"

This time, the bearded man did not back down because of Martha's dissatisfaction. Instead, he walked up to her, took her hand, and led her into the room.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing?"

The bearded man ignored her.

"Uncle Camito, please have a seat!"

Martha turned back and said something awkwardly to Camito before being dragged into the room by the bearded man.

"What exactly do you want? Didn't you say you were exhausted last night? How come you had so much strength just now?"

Martha looked unhappy.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!