Reincarnated as an SSS-Ranked Blacksmith Who Refuses to Forge Weapons-Chapter 202. The Blacksmith Who Forged Bonds

Dinner was surprisingly nice. Lylia brought ingredients from Meridian’s markets and skillfully prepared a hearty stew that warmed everyone’s insides.

They sat around the fire, passing bowls and telling stories about the battle that seemed like it had happened years ago instead of just days ago.

Felix tried to explain what "grinding" and "level caps" meant to a very confused Bork and Donetta, who kept saying that real blacksmithing didn’t work that way.

Seraphine and Elwen talked about the differences between magical theory and how it works in real life. Mira floated around the camp, sometimes becoming solid so she could steal food from people’s bowls.

As the stars came out and the fire died down to embers, the Brotherhood slowly got into their sleeping bags. Felix was the first to sleep, and he was snoring softly within minutes.

Seraphine stayed awake a little longer, but then sleep took her, and her book fell from her hands. Elwen lay down on her side, and her breathing slowed down to the soft rhythm of sleep.

Bork’s snores from where he was sitting by the carriage were already famous for how loud they were, and for Donetta and Mira, they’re just shutting down.

Greg, Marina, and Lylia were still awake, looking up at the sky full of stars.

"I missed this," Lylia said in a quiet voice. "When I was a Royal Knight, we were always on the move, but I never really looked at the stars."

"I was always too focused on the next goal or mission... now that I see them, I remember why I left, and it’s to find times like this."

"Calm and easy." Marina said, "Nothing about our lives is simple anymore," but her words didn’t sound frustrated.

"But I get what you mean. These quiet times seem more important now, and maybe it’s because we know how easy it is to lose them."

Greg didn’t say anything. He just listened to the two women talk in the dark, their voices soft.

Marina said, "Greg," after a short pause. "You’re not talking enough."

"What are you thinking right now?"

"To be honest?" Greg said, "I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is real."

"That you’re both here, that you both want to be here, and that we’re somehow making this work."

"It still doesn’t feel real. I feel like I’m going to wake up and find out it was all a dream, or that the gods are going to give us another disaster just to show me I can’t have nice things." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Lylia said firmly, "The gods can try."

"We’ve endured challenges greater than the anger of the gods."

Greg asked, "Have we? They took away their ability to comment and gave the go-ahead for direct action."

"And that’s a big deal for us all."

Marina said, "We’ll address it collaboratively if it occurs."

"That’s pretty much what we’re all about now, isn’t it? Facing impossible odds as a family and somehow making it through?"

"Divine intervention sounds almost doable when you put it that way," Greg said with a smirk.

Marina said, "That’s the spirit."

She moved around in her bedroll and got a little closer to Greg. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"When did you realize you liked both of us? Like, real romantic feelings, not just friendship or gratitude or whatever you were telling yourself?"

Greg was quiet for a long time, as he thought. "Marina, it was probably at the Sunken Citadel for you."

"When I thought I might lose you, when I saw what Elias had done, all I could think about was getting to you in time."

"The fear of losing you was so strong that it hurt."

"And for Lylia..." Even though it was too dark to see her face clearly, he turned his head to look at her. "It happened more slowly."

"A hundred little things that built up. You consistently ensured that I ate breakfast, even when I was too preoccupied with work to recall it."

"You stood up for my ideas when presenting them to the Royal Knights, even though it hurt your relationships. You said no to Rosalina’s offer because you wanted to stay close to me."

"I tried to ignore it because I was already with Marina, and it felt wrong to like someone else, but the heart doesn’t care about what seems easy or right."

Marina teased, "That’s surprisingly eloquent for someone who usually talks in grunts and hammer strikes," but her voice was full of emotion.

Greg said, "I have my moments."

"What do we do now?" Lylia asked in a low voice. "We get back to Ferndale, and then what?"

"We just keep doing what we’re doing—three people in a relationship that most people won’t get?"

"Most people don’t get what we do," Marina said. "We’re the Brotherhood that used everyday items to defeat a Calamity and uncovered a kingdom’s worth of corruption."

"Dating in an unusual way is probably one of the most normal things about us."

Greg agreed, "She’s right."

"We’ve never done things the way everyone else does."

"Why start now?" Marina went on, and Greg could hear the smile in her voice.

"Besides, I have a feeling that we’ll be too busy dealing with whatever chaos comes next to care much about what other people think of our relationship status."

Greg said, "That’s a sad thought."

"Can’t we have a few weeks of peace before the next disaster?"

"You’re the Champion of Peace," Lylia said to him. "Peace doesn’t mean there is no conflict."

"You taught me that. It means deciding how we deal with problems and who we keep safe when things get tough."

Greg grumbled, "I hate it when people use my own philosophy against me," but he was smiling.

After that, they fell into a comfortable silence that only people who are truly at ease with each other can have. The fire had burned down to almost nothing but glowing coals, and the forest around them was quiet at night.

"Greg?" Marina’s voice was sleepy now.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for not being boring and only picking one of us."

"I know this is going to be hard and messy and probably cause many problems, but I wouldn’t want it any other way."

"Me neither," Lylia said softly. "Thank you for being willing to try this."

"I know it’s not easy for you."

Greg said, "Nothing worth doing is easy," which was something Lylia had told him before.

"I can’t choose between you two because you both mean so much to me, so I hope we work it out together."

Marina yawned. "That’s my blacksmith."

"That’s our blacksmith," Lylia said softly.

"Yes, our blacksmith," Marina said, already half asleep.

"I love you both. Sharing is strange, and my jealousy will be a problem at times."

Lylia said, "We’ll work on it."

"Love you too... both of you."

Greg was lying there, looking up at the stars, while the two women he loved on either side of him slowly fell asleep. His prosthetic arm hurt in a dull way, reminding him of everything they had been through.

The divine silence that replaced the System’s commentary felt like a void in his head. The gods were watching from somewhere, and they were not happy.

Who knew what would happen as a result?

But right now, with Marina’s soft breathing on one side and Lylia’s soft snores on the other, Greg felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

The total peace he wanted all along.

Not the lack of problems, threats, or future issues, but it was a peace for real. It was the kind of peace that comes from being with the right people and in the right place.

He whispered into the dark, "Love you both too."

He wasn’t sure if they heard him or not because it was so quiet.

Felix’s voice came from somewhere nearby, and it was clear that he wasn’t as asleep as he had said he was. "This is the best harem development I’ve ever seen."

"You’re doing a great job, Sensei! I’ll give you five stars for that."

"Go to sleep, Felix," Greg, Marina, and Lylia all said at the same time.

Felix answered. "This is what it sounds like when you talk in your sleep... a very deep sleep."

"Definitely not listening to your romantic moment."

Greg said, "I’m going to make you a gag for your birthday."

"An SSS-level joke that makes everyone be quiet?" Felix seemed way too interested in that idea. "That does sound helpful."

"Write that down."

"No way."

"Your loss, Sensei."

After that, the camp was finally quiet, except for the sound of dying embers and Bork’s famous snoring.

Greg closed his eyes. Marina’s hand found his in the dark, and Lylia’s fingers wrapped around his other hand.

They would get to Ferndale tomorrow.

They would have to answer questions and deal with people’s curiosity tomorrow and probably give many awkward explanations to the villagers who had become like family.

Tomorrow, they would start to figure out how this relationship really worked, with all the problems and difficulties that came with it.

But tonight, Greg let himself be happy, with the two women he loved sleeping peacefully next to him and his Brotherhood family safe around him.

Even if the gods didn’t like it.

The anger of God loomed over his head.

Even though he didn’t know what would happen next.

He was in the perfect location at the perfect moment.

That was all they needed.

Greg’s last thought before he fell asleep was that he should probably figure out how to make the workshop bigger so that he could sleep there before they got home.

This issue couldn’t be resolved with just two cots.

Not even SSS-rank beds.

He smiled as he thought about some of the problems he had. They were actually good problems to have.

Greg Greyson, the Champion of Peace, the Blacksmith Who Forged Bonds, and now, it seems, the Accidental Harem Protagonist, fell asleep with a smile on his face and hope in his heart.

They would deal with whatever came next together.

All of them.

And for some reason, that made the idea of divine intervention seem less scary.