"Marina..." Greg started.
"Let me finish," Marina interrupted. "Lylia cooks for you because she wants to take care of you."
"Seraphine camps out in your workshop because being near you makes her feel at peace."
"Elwen traveled three weeks to find you because you represent everything she wants to be."
"And Mira exists literally because you cared enough about helping someone that you accidentally created life."
Greg looked at each woman one at a time. Lylia was staring at her cooking area, her shoulders tense. Seraphine had her notebook clutched to her chest, her usual composure cracking.
Elwen was playing with her broken spoon and wouldn't look him in the eye. Mira just smiled, as if Marina's words confirmed what she already knew.
Greg said, "I don't know what to do with that information."
Lylia said softly with her usual kind smile, "You don't have to do anything for us, Greg. We're not asking you to make choices or statements, that felt like forcing someone to do what they don't want to do."
"We just want you to stop believing that you aren't worth caring about."
That word there just stabs something inside Greg, especially his own heart, maybe he needs to just accept it all and act like he always does. Not the kind of act he showed earlier that made all the girls feel awkward and sad.
"But I'm not unique. I'm just a guy who forges stuff with my skills as a blacksmith." Greg clenched both his fists.
"You're a guy who used a garden tool to clean up a dirty forest," Seraphine said. "Who won't make weapons even though they could make legends.
"Who teaches others peacefully when you could easily beat them with your skill? Greg, that's not just somebody. That's a person to look up to." Seraphine smiles softly for him.
"And someone worth loving," Elwen said softly, then his face turned bright red.
"I mean, worth caring about! As a master! And a person! I'm going to practice more spoons now!" She ran to her corner of the workshop, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence.
Mira, bless her crazy heart, broke the tension by floating over and patting Greg's head. "Master-forger-darling, you worry too much. Everyone here is in a positive mood. Isn't that what matters the most?"
"I guess," Greg said, but his mind was racing.
He had been so focused on keeping his life peaceful that he had missed the fact that peace wasn't just being alone. It was about being around people who really cared, even if that made things hard.
But that feeling of having someone you cared about this close started to pull back all the bad memories of his previous life that he had been keeping caged inside the emptiness in his heart. He would rather not remember any single bit of it and is trying to move on in this new life as someone who can be better than before.
"Okay," Marina said as she stood up while stretching both her arms. "I'm going to leave now that we've had our emotional moment."
"What a classic way to leave by the adventurer Marina, who was just making me feel bad."
"Hahaha! As an adventurer, I had places to go, monsters to hunt, and regular frying pans to trade in for legendary ones." She stopped at the door. "Oh, by the way, Greg, the village is having another festival next month."
"Something about celebrating your first anniversary in Ferndale. Just thought you should know."
"Another festival?" Greg let out a groan.
"Yes! And this time they want you to give a speech about the philosophy of crafting in peace." Marina smiled at the look of horror on his face.
"Good luck!"
Greg looked around his messy workshop house after she left. Lylia was back in the kitchen making something that smelled wonderful.
Seraphine went back to her notes, but she kept looking at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Elwen was mumbling to herself as she worked on another test spoon. Mira was humming a joyful song while she moved things around on her storage shelves again.
"Wait... It's been one year already...? Goddammit, time moves so fast when you really are enjoying something, huh?"
[Achievement Unlocked: Made a Family]
[Special Title: The Blacksmith Who Made Bonds]
[Congratulations! You've made connections that are stronger than any weapon]
[The gods are happy with how this character has changed]
[New Quest: Make it through the Anniversary Festival]
[Reward: More chaos, most likely]
Greg muttered, "Of course there's more chaos," but he was smiling even though he didn't want to. His workshop was full of people, and he had no personal space left. He couldn't remember the last time he had a peaceful, quiet life.
But as he watched the four women who had somehow become his family move around the room with ease, he realized something important. This mess, this noise, and all the people who really cared about him were the kind of peace he had been looking for all along. Not the lack of activity, but the feeling of belonging.
"Okay," Greg said, getting up and rolling his shoulders.
"Who wants to help me make decorations for the festival that definitely won't come to life or cause any problems?" All four women looked doubtful right away.
"I'm not kidding this time!" Greg giggles. "Just regular decorations!"
"What could go wrong?"
"This is the first time I've seen you with such a positive aura for creating something." Lylia knows it immediately just by seeing his face.
"I'm in a mood to make something because both of these huge hands are craving that metal clanking. Clank! Clank! Clank!" Greg said this while demonstrating how his hammer struck the metal.
"What even is that noise...? Metal doesn't produce a sound like that." Seraphine said while writing on her notes.
"Then I'd like to hear you make better metal noise then."
Seraphine blushes and then, adjusting the position of her glasses, says, "Uhh... Clang..."
"Hahaha! That sounds exactly the same as what Master Greg said!" Elwen laughed at her.
"Oh, shut up! Let me hear your metal noise then!" Seraphine challenged her.
"It sounded like Ting! Ting! Ting!" Elwen made a somewhat accurate sound that made Mira clap hard.
"That's the accurate sound of a hammer hitting metal, Elwen! Congrats!!!" Mira said this with a high-pitched voice.
"Alright! Enough chit-chat! Let's get the work done!" Greg raised his fist.
""Alright!!!"" All of them raised their fist together.
As always, the universe saw that as a challenge. Greg was learning, though, that some problems were worth dealing with, especially when he had a crazy family to deal with them with.
Even if that family had a spirit who called you "darling," a mage who wrote down everything you did, an elf who drew you when she thought you weren't looking, and a knight who made everything better just by being there.
His once-peaceful life had become wonderfully, terribly, and perfectly chaotic. And Greg wouldn't want it any other way.
Most of the time. He still really wanted to go on vacation, though.