From this day on, Merkel would come to the blacksmith shop on time every morning. After the previous months of training, Donner's body is no longer so thin, and with the experience of the last build, ten days later, the second Thousand Forged Sword in this world appeared in front of Merkel.

During the whole process, how thin the wrought iron is, how to calcine, how to control the carbon content, how to anneal it after completion, how not to quench, etc., at every key node, Donner will stop and signal or explain to Merkel, who recorded it in detail in a small notebook. Donner didn't explain the principle to Merkel, it was inconvenient to talk about it, and the other party couldn't understand it, which only added to the trouble. Fortunately, in this world, magic weapons are also built by experience, so Merkel did not ask a single question except for recording the detailed process.

The appearance of the sword was a little more regular than the previous one, but it was still black, and once polished, it immediately showed the expected beautiful pattern. Merkel closed the small notebook in his hand with satisfaction, his instincts were not wrong, the sword was not a coincidence.

At the end of September, Merkel returned to the city, accompanied by Richard, who had left the island of Lant for the first time. The beautiful sailboat slowly slid out of the harbor, and when his relatives in the distance were about to disappear, Richard suddenly waved his hand vigorously and shouted: "Father, brother, I will definitely become a knight!"

Richard went to the New World with his knightly dreams, Merkel returned home with the hope of family revival, and our lovely naturalist, Mr. Victor, stayed, because ten days later, he was still in a difficult situation. Therefore, the blacksmith shop did not usher in the expected desertion, and Victor, instead of his old friend, arrived on time every day, and without Merkel watching, he also completely let go of his reserve, and "discussed" with Donner about the graphics he was interested in.

It is a misnomer to use the word "discussion" to describe the daily occurrence in the blacksmith's shop, because the premise of the discussion is that the two men are of equal skill, but in Donner's opinion, Victor's graphic (geometric) foundation is really miserable. However, thinking that the other party was choked by his own eternal problems during this time, Donner also felt a little guilty. So, what happened in the blacksmith's shop was this: Victor spat and said for a long time, drew a picture of the place, and then Donner went up and made up a few strokes lightly, and Victor pondered these strokes for a while, and then suddenly realized, his eyebrows fluttered, and then he drew a bunch of pictures...... Cycle. Yes, it's a lot like an after-class Q&A on a college campus, except that the teacher is much younger than the students.

As for the question of the thirds, Donner shook his head and could not answer: there was no solution to the question, and he did not know how to prove it.

Three days went on. Three days later, instead of discussing the problem with Donner as usual, Victor changed to a more serious expression and offered to hire Donner as his assistant.

Downer refused.

At night, only the father and son's table seemed a little deserted.

"Why don't you promise Mr. Victor?"

Donner shook his head, still with a quiet smile on his face.

"I know, you're worried about me, worried about me becoming a lonely old man. When Richard is gone, you feel like you have to stay. ”

"When your mother left, you didn't shed a single tear, and they said, "This kid has hidden all his tears in his heart." Ay...... You kid, you have wronged you with such things, one after another......"

Donner doesn't feel wronged, there is a little misunderstanding here, and of course he can't explain it.

"You have the ability, the people in the town only think you are a dumb person, they are all wrong, and they can't see your ability...... But Lord Merkel, Lord Victor, they can see it, they can see it at a glance. I haven't seen the sword you fought and the pictures you drawn, and I can't understand it, so I thought, these are all hidden in this child's heart. ”

"But all these skills of yours, you use to help your brother - I know that Richard, this child, you brought it up - you plan for him, not for yourself. ”

The old blacksmith just said to himself, and didn't look at Donner.

"You're still worried about me, what's there to worry about? I've lived in town all my life, who doesn't know my old Tom, what else can happen to me?"

"Before your mother left, she was most worried about the two of you, and now that you have grown up, she should rest assured......"

When the old blacksmith said this, he slowly stood up, went to the bedroom and brought a small iron box, opened the iron box, took out a letter, and handed it to Donner.

"When your mother left, she left something for you, saying that when you grow up...... If you know how to read, I will show it to you, and if you can't...... Forget it......"

"I thought, how can the blacksmith's son be able to read? Now that I know, your mother has expected this day for a long time...... If only I could read and write, your mother would have left me a letter too......"

The sound stopped abruptly at this point, and Donner looked up to see his father with his hands over his face, crying silently.

"Go, Donner, and go with Mr. Victor...... It is enough to have a blacksmith in the island of Lante. ”

That night, Donner didn't sleep well.

Mother is really not from Lante Island. What is written on her letter? Why do you say that if you don't know how to read, forget it? What is the meaning of the iron box, in addition to this letter, but also the relics of her mother, the silver irise? So, this is the hand of fate that she is waiting for to guide the way, right?

The next day, Donner agreed to Victor's offer to be his assistant.

On the first day of October, Donner followed Victor out of Lante Island, and Tom Sr. was the only one who came to see him off.

As the boat left the port, Donner waved to his father, like Richard, of course, without shouting.

"First time on a boat?" asked Victor.

Donner nodded, then thought of something and shook his head slightly.

The boat sailed past the harbor, and on the protruding cliffs of the island, there was a man standing, and it was Kelly.

It was on that cliff, in the meadow where his mother slept, that Donner used to sit alone, looking out at the shoreline opposite. Now Kelly was standing there, dressed in a long white dress, even more slender by the autumn sea breeze, and she waved hard towards the boat.

"What a beautiful girl, prettier than her mother!"

Donner waved in response, she saw it, put down her hand, and stood quietly, and the two looked at each other like this, looking at each other from a distance, until the other became a small dot and disappeared from the sea level.

The white sails puffed up the wind, and the ship continued eastward, and the island of Lant finally disappeared from view.

On this day, the teenager left his hometown for the first time.