"Huh? What does me being a virgin have anything to do with anything?" Creige frowned as he looked at his long time friend. "Listen, you keep bringing me these cheap sluts who get naked at the drop of a hat. Why the hell would I want to date some floozy? Never mind jumping in the sack with them, I would never even take a glance at their disgusting bodies. I mean, you even forced me on a date with that pig woman! She doesn't even have a humanoid form! Not to mention she sweat and stank so bad that I almost puked! It took all I had to keep from saying anything rude to her!"
"That was rude! Peggy was a sweet girl! Now she is traumatized because you ordered nothing but pig meat off the menu! I mean, who the hell orders six servings of bacon when they are on a date with someone from the pig race!? There were rumors going around that you might end up cooking the poor girl up!" Baldswin wished he knew what the hell was going on in his friend's head!
"I happened to be craving bacon for some damn reason, okay! I mean shit? You sent me on a date with a pig! Anyway, stop trying to set me up. I do not want some girl who only thinks of trying to tie themselves to me. Plus, you know my kind is not welcomed in many places." Creige shook his head and looked back at the furnace before frowning. "Damn! This was my last bit of cold steel."
"Ahh! You're hopeless." Baldswin rubbed his head out of frustration for his long time friend. "Wait, where are you going?"
"I ran out of cold steel; I need to go get more." Creige answered as he walked right out of the back room and picked up his jacket. "Watch the shop for me. I should be back in a few days."
"You! Ahhh! Fine! This is why you are still a virgin!" Baldswin spat on the ground before going to stand behind the counter.
"Baldswin, you said the same thing twice now. Maybe you should think more about your wife than whether or not I am getting laid. Anyway, I will be back in a few days, don't let anyone try to talk you down on the prices. If I find a single copper missing, I will make you cough it up."
"You!" Baldswin watched Creige leave the shop and let out a sigh. "You think you are not good enough for any of these girls just because you are from the demon race… When will you learn that no one gives a shit about that here in Stone Hammer… But wait… Where the hell is he going to get cold steel? It is all managed by the king!"
---
On the eve of the second day, after arriving in the Rural Kingdom, Kana and her group arrived at the edge of the mountain range. "Kana, a little way up is an abandoned cave. Although it seems the temperature is much colder than it is down here. But it will be the perfect spot for your evolution." Lysairth had been searching for the perfect spot for Kana to safely evolve since they entered the forest. "I would suggest having Ceilie and the human girl stay below. The temperatures up there are not something they can handle, whereas being a dragon, cold has no effect on you."
"Okay, thanks for letting me know." Kana was happy she had Lysairth at her side to let her know about these things. Kana turned and looked at Ceilie and Princess Tilia: "There is a Cave high up on the mountain that will be perfect for my evolution. But it is best for you two not to come since the temperatures are extremely low. You might even freeze to death."
"Are you sure? If something happens..." Ceilie was very worried. She did not want to let Kana go through her evolution alone. "What if we tried to find a new place?"
"It's already too late. Ceilie, I will be fine. I will see you in the morning, okay?" Kana stood up on her hand legs and hugged Ceilie. She felt it was nice to have someone who cared about her.
"Okay, We will be right here. Please be careful..." Ceilie patted Kana's head.
Kana wagged her tail before turning and nodding to Princess Tilia and then running up the mountain, digging her claws into the cliffside to begin climbing. One paw over the other, she spent almost an hour climbing up the mountainside until she finally reached the ledge that had the cave. Pulling herself up onto the ledge, Kana looked at the cave in front of her and felt that it did not look naturally made. "Lysairth, is this cave made by hand?"
"It certainly looks to be. But it does not seem like anyone has been here in years. It should be safe." Lysairth could only hope she was right.
"Alright, I will block the cave off with some snow. Just to be safe." Kana began to gather up the surrounding snow and pushed it towards the entrance. With how much snow was on the ground, she had plenty to work with. She made sure to put enough inside to finish off the entrance gap when she was done.
"Kana, you can't block it all the way you need to allow moonlight in. The reason I chose this cave was not only did it look safe, but the moon will shine down inside it all night. It would best not to block it off at all."
