Chapter 46: You’re going to be a father

Kanan stayed at the smithy to help the blacksmith work on his staff. With both hands extended, he focused on channeling his power into the tools the blacksmith used, as well as into the bronze being shaped for the staff. The heat from the furnace caused sweat to bead across his skin, but he remained focused on his task.

"Good, Kanan! Keep it up! I’ve never worked with metal so pure before!" The blacksmith said with delight while pounding on the metal.

A bright green glow shone on Kanan’s cheek with a message.

[To purify the metal, the host has to learn to control his ability better.]

’I guess I’m not at the point where I can remove the remnants of dirt, slag, and other elements from metal yet. Still, being able to make the metal stronger with my power alone is good enough for now.’

Completely purifying metal would be helpful in the long run, especially for building. But iron was the future of their civilization. The only downside was that there was no iron to mine as far as Kanan knew.

Iron was more abundant, so Kanan was sure that they would be able to run into the metal eventually, but in their area, they found more copper and tin, which is why bronze is the metal they used.

Kanan and the Blacksmith kept working hard for the next two hours until the staff was finally complete. It was taller than Kanan’s body, light enough to lift with one hand, but still heavy enough to pack a punch.

"You’re truly amazing, Sir Igor." Kanan was extremely impressed by his new staff. It looked the same, but he could clearly tell that it was different.

"Test your power." Igor grinned. "When I was hammering away, I could feel my own power try to resonate with the metal. I didn’t, but if what I think is correct, the staff should be able to conduct your power better than before."

And he was correct. Kanan’s energy flowed seamlessly through the staff, way better than before. A hum vibrated through the staff as a blue glow illuminated off it. Then, spirit energy morphed into a spear tip that reached nearly halfway down the staff.

"Beautiful," Igor muttered under his breath as he looked at Kanan’s power.

Kanan marveled at his own power, how it flowed so well through the staff. It was as if he could channel all his power through it, as if it were some relic. "Yeah, this is beautiful."

"Say, will you allow me to customize it? Make some engravings and whatnot?"

Kanan didn’t mind. He actually found the idea very interesting. So, he handed the staff back to Igor.

"Make sure it’s cool."

"Oh yeah. I’ll make sure it’s fit for a Village Shaman to wield."

Nodding with a smile, Kanan left the smithy.

---

Since there was nothing else on his plate, Kanan decided to visit Glena at the farm. It was around this time that she would go on her break, so he thought now would be a good time to talk for a bit.

"I’m sorry, but Glena is at the Healing Hut. Something about not feeling well." A farmer informed Kanan as he asked around for Glena.

"What?" The first thought that came to his mind was poison, but they had dealt with the poison incident, and the forest and river had been heavily monitored ever since then.

"No, it can’t be poison. Maybe she hurt herself and didn’t tell me. That’s like her." He sighed. "If she didn’t tell me, then she probably doesn’t want me to worry. I’ll just ask if she’s okay at home."

So, he went to the mines to find Viola.

"Viola? Ahh, she went to Yala. Was throwing up her breakfast all morning. Hey! Get a move on! I’m not trying to be here all day! We have a quota to reach for the construction of the new walls!" The man yelled at the workers.

"Viola too?!"

"Viola too what?" The man asked

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Kanan thanked the man, then left the mine.

Kanan headed toward the hut to make sure his mate and aunt were okay. But his walk quickly became a jog, then a full sprint. Fear gripped him as he worried they might be hurt or suffering from some lingering effects of the poison that had plagued their village not long ago.

’The system! I have the system. It will tell me what they’re suffering from, what hurt them. I can help once I learn what it is. Don’t panic! Don’t panic, kanan! Oh fuck I’m panicking like crazy!’

When he arrived at the hut, he politely but aggressively opened the door and gazed around the room to find his family. Specks of sweat ran down his face as he saw both Viola and Glena lying on a mat with a healer looking after them.

"V-Viola! Aunt Glena!" He rushed to their side and held both of their hands.

"Kanan? What are you doing here?" Glena asked

Viola beamed with excitement upon seeing her mate. "Oh, Kanan. Did you miss me?"

’System! C-Can you scan them? Are they okay? It’s the poison, isn’t it? Fucking Typhon bastards! Once this winter is over, I’ll wipe out their entire—’

"Kanan, you made it. I was going to send word for you." Yala appeared and greeted him with a hug, a smile on her face that seemed completely out of place with the situation Kanan had imagined.

"W-What’s going on? Are they okay? I went to the farm and mine to ask if they were okay, but people told me that they were both here in the healing hut, so I got really scared and assumed they were poisoned again. Is it the poison? What hurt them? Do you know who was behind this? I’ll make them pay!"

"Okay, calm down, Kanan. Everything is fine. Viola and Glena are fine. They’re not poisoned or suffering from any illness."

"What? Then why are they here?"

"Congratulations, Kanan." The chief and elders walked into the healing hut. "You’re going to be a father."

Kanan’s mind went blank. "What?"

"Kanan," Viola called out to him. "We’re pregnant."

"Ohhhh. You’re pregnant. Hahahaha!" He passed out.