Midnight Prince: Empire of Sin

[Thursday — 5th December 2030 — 4:30 am]

Slowly, Adam landed in the garden of his house before opening the door leading to the hallway of his home. He made sure to not make too much noise but when the house was filled with people from the supernatural side of the world, this was honestly pretty much useless.

Thankfully, from the initial scan, he knew that Cecilia was not home at the moment.

'It has basically been one week since I last came home.'

Adam cringed slightly when he thought about this fact. He had spent three days undergoing the painful torture of increasing his poison resistance, one night at Shuri's home, one night in Yui's bar, and one night in the wild.

It was surprising how many events could happen to him simultaneously in such a short span of time but there was not much he could do about this.

"Oh. Adam you here?"

"Viktor."

Coming up from the underground was none other than his friend— Viktor.

"You finished for the night? Or the day? I don't know what to say, given the time…"

"Haha nah. I am just taking a break right now. I don't have much Prana left so grandfather kicked me out forcibly."

He laughed a little loudly, clearly amused by the situation he was across.

"Damn. I feel like you changed man. You seem far more confident than before. It seems like being in a relationship definitely helped you ramp up that self-esteem of yours."

Viktor blushed slightly at the mention of his 'relationship' but otherwise did not deny the claim. It seemed like he had really committed to this haphazard relationship of theirs that started as a mere one-night stand..

"She is… You know she is really great. Very gentle and always taking care of me at every possible moment. It's the first time I met a woman like her and I can't help but like her more and more as the days go by."

Looking at the young muscular man gushing about his girl like a teen in love was quite a heartwarming sight, to say the least.

A gentle smile bloomed on his face as he went and sat on the ever-familiar couch.

"So. How do you plan to continue your relationship later on."

"I don't know. We have only known each other for like three weeks, you know? I don't want to press too much, too fast. I want to take it slow and really enjoy the whole process. But I think it would be great if we could visit my parents at the very least."

Viktor was quite shy about his relationship, his behavior really foretold that side of him, "I am sorry. It must seem like I am making fairy tales too fast."

Viktor was quite conscientious of his behavior it seemed. He knew that Adam had quite a lavish lifestyle when it came to women. Compared to him, Viktor had the explicit impression that he was still a kindergarten student.

"Dude, don't fret. Honestly, I am happy for you."

Adam patted him on the back. He did not think that the notion of himself having many women somehow made him superior to this big and muscular friend of his. This was a stupid mindset all in all.

"You found a girl you like and she likes you back. Not to mention the two of you seem to be happy being with each other. I don't know if it's enough to contemplate marriage but don't let anyone discourage you."

Adam grinned heartily.

Usually, he was the one moping around and having people give him advice and life lessons. It was kind of nice to be on the other side of the table for once.

"Ahem~! Anyway, Mom told me that Hunters have to be careful about relationships. Catch love when you can because you never know what can happen."

It was a grim reminder that somehow put a damper on things and Adam could only facepalm after he leaked out those words without thinking about the allegations behind them.

He was reminded once again of what his mom said about him. That she had accused him of being a mood breaker like no other. He would usually argue with her about it but he really was in the wrong on this one.

"Sorry. Me and my big mouth and gloomy mindset."

"No. You are right. While it's definitely not something I like to think about, she is part of the Hunter Association and also the church of all things. She will constantly have dangerous missions and will put herself in danger. I can't hide myself from this truth."

His fist tightened at the thought, "I am not strong like you. But I am a good blacksmith. I will make sure to become an even better one and create the best weapon in the world for her."

"Oh? What about me? Bros before hoes, you know?"

Viktor smirked, "Don't worry. Grandfather is currently working on something great. When he finishes, you should have your weapon as a Christmas present."

"Christmas?"

"Yeah. Well, perhaps sooner? Can't really say but it will be around then."

He stopped speaking.

There was a clear struggle on his face as if words were stuck in his throat,

"Adam… How easy do you think it is to make a divine weapon?"

"This is a pretty random turn of events don't you think…? But I guess it should be hard if someone at the level of your grandfather only made one until now."

"Yeah. It's hard, very hard honestly. Even more so for a human and a human so old and past their prime at that. The slightest error will destroy all the work."

"Don't worry. Honestly, even if I don't get a weapon or if it comes out later, it isn't a problem, you know?"

He tried to reassure Viktor who ended up giving a complicated smile, "You will have your weapon on time. I am willing to bet my entire career on that."

He stood up and seemed quite excited about this matter…

"I will become the youngest Blacksmith to create a divine weapon. How awesome is that?"

He laughed out loud before shaking his head, "Now, I have rested enough. I need to start working again."

"Thanks, man. Go go. And don't tire yourself out too much, okay? I don't want your girlfriend to complain to me about you being too tired to perform the night duties if you know what I mean…"

Adam laughed out loud as he watched Viktot run away with a face as red as a ripe tomato after hearing his vulgar innuendos.

After Viktor vanished from his sight, his smile also vanished at a slow and steady pace…

"I guess Makarov's health is in danger due to making this weapon, huh…"

One didn't need to be a seer to see what was worrying Viktor so much and thinking about it, it was quite a logical conclusion to reach.

Adam didn't know much about forging but even making normal weapons was strenuous for a normal human.

Making something like a divine weapon would logically thus be an even more complicated endeavor.

Even more so since Makarov was not young anymore and well past his prime years.

Taking out his phone he sent a message to Medusa to find a solution to this matter.

—It seemed like his debt was about to increase yet again…