"Oh, right, and while you're at it, have matching sets of armor forged for my men as well. Charge all expenses to my account!"
At present, Kal El was beaming with satisfaction.
It was like taking a group of underlings to order a Rolls-Royce, and then, when everything was done, casually rewarding each of them with a Mercedes of their own.
He hadn't even spared Tyrion—someone was brought over to take his measurements, and only after asking in detail about his specific requests did Kal leave, fully content.
As for Tyrion, for some reason, he had chosen armor of a style similar to Kal's, and had even requested that the cloak and breastplate be emblazoned with the sigil of House El.
Kal, of course, understood why Tyrion had done this, and he couldn't help but feel even more delighted.
What joy could compare to having the little dwarf completely fall for him, rather than merely commissioning a set of custom-made equipment?
"All right then, my friend, take your time. I'm going to check on my little Ewing."
As the true VIP among VIPs, Tobho Mott naturally served Lord Kal El first; Tyrion, of course, was only attended to incidentally.
Even Kal's horse, Fawkes, took precedence over him.
Meanwhile, Chella and the others were all smiling broadly, struggling to decide what kind of equipment they wanted, while servants specially took their measurements.
Kal, together with Tyrion, followed Tobho Mott to the back of the smithy, led personally by the master himself.
He guided Kal and Tyrion out through the back door, and the three of them crossed a narrow courtyard to enter a spacious stone barn.
This was where the real forging work of the smithy took place—the front area was merely a reception hall.
As soon as the weaponsmith opened the door, a wave of hot air surged toward the three of them.
Kal showed no reaction whatsoever; in fact, he even found it faintly pleasant, like soaking in warm water.
As a man with the gift of the Unburnt, he felt nothing from the sweltering heat of King's Landing, and instead had a peculiar fondness for high temperatures.
But for Tyrion, it was a different story. His reflexes made him immediately step behind Kal, using him as a shield against the blast of hot air.
Tobho Mott possessed no Unburnt gift—he was simply used to it.
Inside the stone barn, every corner housed a blazing forge, and the air was thick with the stench of smoke and sulfur.
Kal sniffed once and found it lacking in strength.
Even his dragon wife's breath packed more punch than this.
Seeing someone enter, the foreman of the smiths lifted his head for a glance, then wiped the sweat from his brow and continued swinging his hammer and tongs.
Beside him, a shirtless apprentice worked hard to pump the bellows, fanning the forge fire into a roaring blaze.
Kal and Tyrion came to a small rest area to wait, and before long Tobho Mott appeared, leading a boy who reached only to his shoulder but whose bare torso already showed faint traces of muscle.
"Ewing, Lord Kal El has come to see you."
Compared to the scrawny little boy from half a year ago, Ewing now had a cropped haircut and looked far more masculine.
"Ewing, do you still remember me?"
Still dazed and unsure of what was happening, Ewing had first been called here by Tobho Mott, who had told him that someone important had come to see him.
Yet when Kal spoke, Ewing's mouth trembled, and tears began to roll one by one from his eyes.
Looking at the tall man before him—the one who had led him to his current station, the one rumored to have saved King's Landing—all Ewing could see in his mind were the days, half a year ago, when he had served this man.
"Captain Kal, I've missed you so much!"
Unable to contain himself, Ewing threw himself straight into Kal's arms, smearing his tears and the grime covering his body all over Kal's new clothes.
Caught off guard by the boy's reaction, Kal froze for a moment, but then a faint smile appeared on his face as he reached out to rub the cropped hair on Ewing's head.
This sudden scene, however, gave Tobho, who had just brought Ewing over for Kal to see, quite a scare.
After all, the man before him was the most celebrated figure in the royal court—renowned across the Seven Kingdoms as Warden of the West and Lord of Casterly Rock.
More importantly, the City Watch itself was now practically under this man's control.
That was a force capable of making trouble for anyone.
Even when speaking to Kal El, Tobho always did so with extreme caution—but who could have expected this boy to rush in crying and throw himself into the man's embrace?
At first Tobho had wanted to step forward, pull Ewing away, scold him a bit, and then smooth things over with Kal.
But seeing that Kal showed no sign of rejection, he stopped himself and simply let the two of them remain in their embrace.
At the very least, he could tell that this newly risen noble still cared somewhat for the boy, Ewing.
He clearly remembered that the first thing Kal El had asked upon entering his shop was how the boy was doing.
Tyrion, standing to the side, was also slightly moved by this sudden scene. Though it was not the first time he had seen Kal loved by others, a moment like this was indeed a first.
Children never liked him. The ignorant ones would either laugh at him or burst into tears at the sight of his face.
Those a little older would gather together to mock him.
After suffering that kind of treatment, he had grown to prefer being alone.
And from the interaction between these two before him, it was clear that the affection they shared was genuine.
This made something new flicker in Tyrion's gaze as he looked at Kal.
Kal did not mind Ewing staining his clothes; he simply comforted the boy until his emotions gradually calmed.
Only after a while did Ewing come to his senses, suddenly alarmed, and hurriedly pulled himself out of Kal's embrace.
"S–Sorry, Captain Kal—no, Lord Kal, I didn't mean to—"
Realizing what he had just done, Ewing's face showed terror. He lowered his head, twisting his fingers nervously, no trace left of the ease he once had half a year ago. Kal smiled.
"I like it better when people call me Captain Kal. But Kossi and Hall and that lot now only call me 'My Lord' or 'Master.'"
Kal paid it no mind at all; instead, he stepped forward and patted Ewing's shoulder.
"How is your mother? And your sister?"
Seeing that Kal wasn't angry, Ewing finally gathered the courage to raise his head.
"Before you left, you gave me some money. I used it to hire a mercenary mage to treat my mother. At first, I planned to save the rest, but later I found I didn't need to spend it."
Ewing was nervous, his words coming out disjointed and confused.
Kal didn't quite understand what he was trying to say.
At that moment, Tobho Mott quickly stepped forward to explain: "Ewing was going to use that money to hire the mercenary mage to heal his mother. But later, the mage and his mother fell in love, so the mercenary never took his payment."
"As for that money, he told Ewing to keep it for himself, so that one day he could buy a house to serve as his own forge. That mercenary mage has also settled down in King's Landing—he and Ewing's mother have formed a new family together."
Hearing Tobho's explanation, Kal finally understood what had happened.
He hadn't expected such a melodramatic turn of events to have taken place with Ewing after his departure.
Still, it seemed that the mage was a good man.
As for mercenary mages, Kal certainly knew what kind of people they were.
They were sometimes called wandering mages—men who traveled through Westeros or settled in certain places as herbal healers.
Some of them knew spells and could perform magic, while others used traditional remedies to heal the sick or aid those in need.
Like hedge knights, they were often poor, sometimes even sleeping under hedges.
Yet precisely because of that, they were often more approachable than other professional healers, such as Maesters.
Thus, they tended to be more popular among the smallfolk—and also cheaper.
Nobles, of course, usually had no need for mercenary mages; and even when they did, they would only hire them in secret—such as when purchasing medicines that made a man appear more vigorous.
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