Chapter 167: The Magic Tinkerer-in-Training.


    I seeSorry for that. I didnt mean to call you like those damn fire-slinger, the half-masked man apologized after I exined everything to him; about my nonexistent service to the church of Aurena, my dislike for Shiterno, and also the fact he summoned a giant toad which horrified me. Talon. Adventurer. Dungeon Guide. Treasure Hunter. If you have the Davi, I can get you through the dungeon safely for the first couple of floors.


    Youre a treasure hunter? I tilted my head.


    The dungeon spawns loot boxes and random treasure. I find and then hand them over to clients, for a price. Dark elemental magic is useful for this job, but my empty vessel magic is better suited, Talon stated, prompting me to remember what he did back in the dungeon.


    Would that be the floating toad and the mirror-like wall you created? Eine asked. Our whole party was sitting at the same table with Talon right now, listening to what he had to say.


    [Illusion Magic]. Despite being apound element of light and dark, you cannot acquire it by increasing both skills to level 10, but are required to learn it from a practitioner or through instructions. As its my empty vessel skill, I would prefer it if you didnt ask for further details, Talon said in a deadpan voice. However, sorry for opening an old wound. I didnt know toads or frogs would cause that reaction from you. Traumas are hard to learn before I use my spells, but I rather not cause others that much fear.


    He sounded rude but he doesnt seem like a bad guy. Well, he did mention that he wanted to swipe the treasure chest away from under our noses so I dont know if I could call him selfless or something. It was his job to acquire chests for his clients, but it didnt mean I should like it as I was a victim of his illusions.


    While he was speaking, I began to feel more curious about his half-mask as it was covering the entire right side of his face. The moment he noticed my stare, I apologized to him since staring was kinda rude of me. And just leave it be. You have your own issues, I do, too. Now, if you four arent here to hire me for my spells, then I would suggest you leave. I would like to eat in peace.


    Talon began to eat the moment he said that, ignoring us as if weve already left. Rude as it was, he had no reason to stay polite after the misunderstanding was resolved. Still, I had some questions for him, Do you know any good cksmiths in the city?


    Im not an information broker.


    He was being stubborn but I kept speaking, I know, but you should have been in Cedaraille longer than us, right? As an adventurer wouldnt you know anypetent cksmiths in the area?


    Im a mage. For my gear, I visit the alchemy guild, the tailor guild, and the mages guild. If you want information on cksmiths, ask the cksmith guild, was Talons answer. It honestly didnt look like he wanted to speak at all, so I had to give up entirely.


    <em>Jeez, does he really hate white robes that much, or is it cause he doesnt trust my word that I wasnt a Danterno follower? Shiterno, you inconvenienced us once again!</em>


    After asking a bit more inside the hunters guild for information on a cksmith, we returned to our lodging, deciding to postpone our trip until tomorrow. Once we were back at the inn, Eine let out a sigh andined about what had happened today, There were quite a lot of rude and insensitive people today, even if you ignored those who boldly showed their lecherous gazes at us. I never expected all thesemoners to show their true feelings so publicly.


    Including Talon, there were quite a lot of hunters and mercenaries who didnt care much about what we wanted to ask, shooing us away if they were preupied with something else, either talking with their own party or enjoying their lunch break. Of course, some were helpful and gave us some tips, including the guild staff, but there were also cases of creeps and perverts.


    I raised a brow when she said this, remembering the tea party we attended in Firwood, I presume nobles are less conspicuous about it? Hiding everything behind a mask like when we first met, Eine? The Chezaic twins tea party demonstrated that there are plenty of rude people even in high society. I should know, I had to experience them on Earth, too, at my school.


    Saori concurred, Wealth and influence alone do not make a better man or woman in any society, it is the values they learn from birth into adulthood thatprise their personality and conduct. Despite the advantages of being born into wealthy families, some students at the school I worked at would behave less than eptably. On the other hand, those with fewer opportunities can turn out good through their humble beginnings. People can end up rough around the edges either way, though, although thetter group probably knows how to hide it better.


    I seeyou two experienced your aristocrat-like society on Earth in different ways, yes? As you would expect, learning how to hide your true feelings and motives is something I learned very early on from my mother. Saori would be a perfect fit with her stoic exterior, but Hestia would be too emotional to handle putting on a mask. She wasnt wrong, Im still impulsive even after all Manu taught me how to act more like ady. I know that not allmoners are as rude as those adventurers we met. Josine is the perfect example for this, and the other servants also were very kind. Still, seeing them all act like that was not pleasant for me.


    That is why you should start learning how to chill out more, Eine. This is the life we have to handle regardless of whether we like some of the people or not, I shrugged, disying how indifferent she should act when some people annoy her. Defending yourself when somebody wrongs you is fine, but acting on every single provocation or mistake will just tire you out.


    Chill out? Eine gave me a look of confusion.


    Yeah. Try not to let everything trigger you since the world wont change to fit your ideal in this case. With that discussion down, I took out some of Eines belongings and a small orb from my storage. Here you go, your artificer equipment and also the [Season Regtor]. Well probably make the innkeeper angry if we make too much of a mess so please be careful while you handle them, Eine.


    Of course, Hestia.


    Sitting at a table in one of our rooms, Eine first put on a thin glove with sharp metal ws and a rune on the palm side. As she was checking if it was properly on her left hand, I asked her what the glove was. This is a Mana Breaker Glove. They allow artificers to grab manatech safely by protecting their hands from arcane corruption. As you should know, Hestia, arcane corruption is caused by mana which attacks our bodies like a toxin if the concentration is too high.


    In simple terms, arcane corruption was like CO2, a leftover after your body uses oxygen. CO2 was toxic to the body but it would be expelled from the body through the respiratory system where we breathe it out. Arcane corruption was simr, where our body removes mana from our body through mana paths before it starts to affect our body, however, since magicians used magic like crazy, building that stuff up inside our body was quite easy. Other than medicinal herbs like fulinoe leaves or spells like [Sacred Veil], which reduced the creation of arcane corruption outright, only the skill [Arcane Corruption Resistance] could increase our tolerance for it, dying any harmful side effects and the status ailment [Arcane Corruption].


    Eine continued, This same principle happens with manatech. The glove is for my protection as I hold onto the item, as a manatechs mana battery can radiate arcane corruption and umte it into our bodies through touch. I am not sure why it only happens with manatech and not other magic tools, but mother mentioned it is due to materials used to make a battery.


    Marianne doesnt know? I repeated.


    My mother is at best a journeyman-level artificer, capable enough to save our house money by repairing our manatech but not proficient enough to create new inventions out of thin air. She is not the most knowledgable in this field, Eine exined. Regardless, the most important fact is that I can protect myself while adjusting this [Season Regtor].


    The glove had eoriant ws designed like sharp spikes to hold onto the mech asfortably as possible, which causes the mana to collect in the ws and pass back into the item in a perpetual circle, preventing the eoriant ws from overloading with mana and the manatech from releasing any arcane corruption from inside it.


    The rune on the palm side was a rune of magic protection, meant to be used as a circuit breaker. If a mana rted issue were to happen, the rune would protect the artificers hand, although it had to be reapplied every time it was used up.


    Eines second artificer tool was a wand she called [Tinkerers Wand]. It was essentially a mages staff with an alchemical stone at the tip, the only difference was its specialization in artificer work. It was entirely useless for helping a mage cast spells and was barely a self-defense tool.


    Nevertheless, it wasnt made to cast spells but to repair and invent. Using her mana, the wand was able to release a small spark of mana or act as a ma for mana-filled wires orponents to drag them around. She was even able to refill mana batteries with mana using her wand without having to remove it or rece it.


    What are the goggles for? I question thest item of her equipment.


    Obviously, to protect my eyes, Eine answered nonchntly.


    Thats it? Nothing fancy like being able to look at mana paths or so?


    Eines expression turned into an ahh with a gaping mouth. That would be a [Monocle of Mana Sight]. Mother has one but I do not. She mentioned buying one for me before I joined Aurora but, well, I guess Ill have to pick it up at Griffonpeak now. Anyway, let us start.


    Eines ability as an artificer was still beginner level, demonstrated by her [Artificer Lv. 1] skill. While I epted Eine simply cause she was a friend and wanted to join us  the more the merrier for me  she was also an able financial and fief manager trained by her noble parents with some ability in enchanting and magic tinkering. She wasnt confident in her enchanting abilities and mentioned she needed more practice, but she was good enough as an artificer to repair whole manatechs, which included the [Season Regtor] she brought with her, our IDs, and our party bracelets.


    The [Season Regtor] was a device that created a bubble in which it controlled and regted the temperature to match its settings. Since our party managed a garden to grow products like fragassa and fulinoe leaves, being able to manage the temperature for them was essential for them to grow, as the humidity could be controlled with Tasiannas water magic. This was the same manatech the nobles used to control the environment in and around their homes, preventing rain and snow from ruining their perfect gardens.


    This [Season Regtor] wasnt broken but its mana battery was almost drained. Additionally, Eine wanted to tweak a few functions to better fit our usage of it as a temperature regtor for our garden, since the bubble created by it could overflow into a room next to ours. We didnt want to inconvenience others.


    ording to mothers instructions, this wire here and here are responsible for mana conduction. I can adjust these wires here to shrink the temperature bubble, and I believe the mana battery is hidden over here. After opening a hatch under the ball, the inside of the manatech was revealed, showing wires andponents I couldnt name at all. Before Eine began working, she read through the instructions her mother wrote on parchment, identifying the intricacies and inscribing these details into her memory. As I said, she was still not experienced enough so she was taking it slow.


    She grabbed the ball with her gloves ws and held it up to look into the inside. I cast [Shine] to create amplight for Eine to better see by, while Tasianna constructed an [Air Shield] around her for additional protection in case she messed something up and the manatech exploded. She warned us of it, so it could be a possibility if she was that nervous about it.


    Since Tasiannas catalyst was blessed by Zephira herself, Tasiannas [Air Shield] was stronger than mine and was able to allow oxygen into the shield, unlike mine. Even with [Aerokinesis], opening small holes into the shield would render it fragile and weak, although, it allowed oxygen in and sound toe out and in.


    Anxious she would make a mistake, Eine worked slowly, unlike her mother when she repaired Tasiannas catalyst. It was as if time slowed down for her as even managing the wires was done at a snails pace. Saori, Tasianna, and I werent bored by it though, since this was our first time watching somebody tinker with a manatech as much as Eine.


    She was our partys artificer now, responsible for repairing our manatech and maybe creating some of her own creations in the future. As friends, the very least we could do was to watch and support her as much as possible.


    <em>Im not part of the PC Master Race team but I heard those who built their own PC for the first time would be extremely nervous, since the parts were expensive and hard to get by. The good stuff, I heard. Maybe this is what Eine is feeling?</em>


    After what felt like an hour, Eine finished rearranging the wires and refilling the manatech with her mana. She closed the hatch and handed it over to Tasianna, asking her to test it out. We took our garden out and ced it next to the window, prompting Tasianna to fiddle with the regtor as she always did at Eines home in Firwood.


    Pressing a button, a translucent field was emitted by the ball before turning transparent at the edge of the room. Since the bubble could only form as an oval or ball, the field seemed to ovep into the walls and floor of the room but not enough to enter our neighbors. It was a sess!


    Eine let out a sigh in relief, happy that she didnt ruin anything, while the rest of us patted her on the back for a job well done. After setting up our garden and harvesting any ready product, we had lunch and decided to rest for the rest of the day. Saori and Tasianna left our rented room to sightsee the city a bit, to find where the local guilds were, leaving Eine and me behind.


    I look out of the window, noticing a couple of signals on my [Detection Sensor] which have been stationary since we arrived in the inn. You know, since people walk around all the time and wouldnt stay in one spot for an extended period outside of sleeping, it made me quite suspicious. Whether I was right or not really didnt matter, honestly, since nobody would care if I was wrong.


    I opened up the window, looked in the direction of the signals and waved at them. I even stuck my tongue out as if I was mocking them. After smiling smugly for a couple of seconds, all these stagnant signals began to move for the first time ever. How funny.


    Hestia? Eine questioned me with a worried face, looking at me as if Ive gone crazy.


    <em>Oops, she doesnt have [Detection Sensor] yet. Oopsie~</em>


    Spies, was what I needed to say as Eine immediately caught onto the meaning and said oooohhh.


    If they were the same spies Uno found, meaning they belonged to Duke Greenveil, then they should be aware of Saoris tracking abilities, right?


    Eine nodded but continued to exin the situation from a nobles perspective, While being detected is a failure on the spies side which could hurt Lord Duke Greenveils reputation if it were to be found out  a powerful noble must havepetent retainers. I would say not keeping reconnaissance on a mighty dragonewt like you, Lady Hestia, would be more detrimental.


    How so? He should know from reports that Im rather peaceful. Spying on where we go is something I can understand but sitting around, looking at us eat or sleep is a bit annoying, in my opinion, I replied.


    Eine nodded once again, understanding what I meant but her own view on the situation gave me more insight into how Duke Greenveil thought, While in Firwood, House Helvas and I kept watch over your actions. We were essentially House Siriuss spies in this case. You must be more aware of how venerable your status is, Lady Hestia, and how much of a force you are as a magician, not to mention your true lineage. Especially after you exined to me what you told Sir Farron, the kingdoms priority should be to take care of your safety, otherwise, we will experience dragon fire, ehehehe. Herughter was filled with dread. I could understand, having my dragon mother swoop in would be bad news. I hope Farron got somebody to send a message to Kargryx before it bes worse.


    As I was thinking of that, an annoying feeling suddenly appeared. I didnt want to consider it but being around nobles had made me a bit too wary of their kind. Eine, can I ask you a serious question?


    Of course.


    I then created an [Air Shield] around us to stop eavesdropping, Then, it is time for me to be more truthful. Eine, this happened before you officially joined and concerns the grimgarian army. Saori, Tasianna, and I have unanimously decided to not interfere with the impending war.


    W-What? she stumbled in surprise.


    We three arent strong enough yet and we dont know if we can be strong enough whenever the army attacks. After fighting against that lone B rank High Ogre, I do not think Aurora should participate in a war we arent affiliated withuntil you actually joined. I wanted to inform you this when we met again in Griffonpeak but you suddenly joining, well, I couldnt find the moment to tell you about it, I forced myself to say all of that, waiting for Eine to speak up. WellIm telling you this since I trust you. I trust you as a friend. Not as your liege or something else. Saori and the garms have been guarding us against spies and you kept your promise of not leaking the information on my dragon mother.


    Nobles were crafty and with the resources they had; they could do whatever they wanted, really. Theodore was able to craft a whole string of rumors to help Eine and me during the Chezaic tea party while also getting the evidence to incarcerate House Chezaic. They proved themselvespetent, so it wouldnt surprise me if they somehow talked Eine or House Helvas into informing them about everything, even the stuff Eine learned after she joined us.


    However, she didnt. No external contact during our travels nor when we reached Cedaraille. Sure, there was the chance that she could do thister on but that would be paranoid at that point.


    Uhm, well, what I want to say is what would you like to do, Eine? You are a member now so we have to take your opinion seriously. If the grimgarians were to attack the Kingdom of Artorias, what would you do?


    However, unexpectedly, Eines firmed up and she kneeled down, speaking clearly, Lady Hestia, I have sworn my fealty to you and only you. While it would pain me to see my kingdom attacked while I stay out of it, it isnt as if my participation will help anybody. I know my limits, I know I am too weak to be even a fraction of a factor in any war. However, I cannot force you, Miss Saori, or Miss Tasianna to risk your lives for my kingdom. As a friend, I couldnt do that. In the first ce, I dont think of myself as somebody special enough to decide on such an important decision.


    I was surprised to hear her downy herself this much before me. What am I doing?!


    Until the day I met you, I had only lived by the rules and decisions of my parents and brother. The failure of a noble that I am did not deserve to decide on what I wanted to doand even after all that I learned from you, I dont think I do now.


    But you rebelled against your mother to join us earlier. If you ask me, that was a significant decision to change your life around, I argued.


    Well, I guess allowing myself to be selfish for a moment was nicebut if I hadnt experienced your stubbornness nor your will to be free, I wouldnt have dared to do so. But, enough of that, Lady Hestia, my decision to your question is that I will follow yours. However, I do so hope that you could change your mind one day, Lady Hestia. As you said, I love my kingdom.


    <em>Why are serious talks always this serious? So annoying</em>


    After calming down, I changed the subject to Eines magical training. It was something to help both of us get our minds away from the heavy topic of before. Fortunately, it actually helped as Eine finally mastered thest of the four advanced casting methods  [Dyed Cast]. We cheered together as the talk we had just disappeared into the evening. Once Saori and Tasianna came back, we had dinner and then went to sleep on a veryrge bed suited for five people to sleep on. Our inn was decent, but it wasnt the most expensive one in town  the House Helvas mansion in this city was.


    Once morning came, we visited the cksmith guild, asking them for anypetent cksmiths who could fulfill our orders. Simr to the other guilds, well-groomed men and women manned the reception despite the number of sweaty, muscled men in theirte thirties who were waiting in a line.


    Once our chance came, Saori asked the beastman receptionist, A cksmith who can work with dragonewt scales? Yours, I presume, Lady Priestess?


    I nodded. That would be correct, Sir. My scales are quite thick and resistant to fire so it should be somebody who is used to high temperatures. Maybe a dwarf?


    However, instead of the receptionist, a man from the line suddenly startedughing boisterously, Hahaha! The only dwarf in the city is somebody who is abandoned by Blei! Imagine that, a dwarven cksmith abandoned by his racial god! What a jest! Lady Priestess, if you need armor or weapons,e over to the Tunging Hammer! My master will serve you well!


    Ahh, shut it, Marcel! Trying to hype everything up when youre only an apprentice handling errands. My Lady Priestess,e over to the Iron Crevasse for all your equipment needs! Weve worked with C rank monster materials before, and I can bet you we will turn your scales into the prettiest thing ever!


    <em>My scales are B ranked...and are from a fire dragon. You need some hardcore fire to melt that.</em>


    As the guildhall became so loud it was hard to hear anybody, the receptionist quickly gave us a list of the most renowned cksmiths in the city including the one dwarf they had mentioned before. Since I still had a good experience with Kraftja and Ogni, including their token of respect, I decided to visit the dwarf cksmith first before scouring the others.


    Saori handed me some of our partys funds, mentioning that she wanted to visit this merchant corporation Zeather mentioned. As Eine would be responsible for our future dealings, she was to apany her while Tasianna woulde with me in case I needed to know about some dwarven custom.


    Strangely, the address wasnt in the middle district, it actually was in the slums! You could imagine our surprise when a respectable dwarven cksmith would be relegated to the backdrop of the city. Merchants and adventurers rarely visited the slums if it wasnt their home already, so how could the dwarf pay for anything if the clientele was so meager?


    But then I realized how shallow my thinking was. It doesnt matter if you only received a few customers when all of them are high-paying ones! Simr to how Kraftja and Ogni handled their store. Highest prices among the cksmiths and also the least popr location in the middle district, but regrs came regardless.


    <em>That has to be it!</em>


    However, what we saw wasnt a cool-looking shop but some weird caravan that looked like some recreational vehicle, an RV. There wasnt even a sign to tell people this was a shop and even Tasianna and I would have been confused by it were it not for the receptionists instructions.


    We knocked on the door, waited for the moment until somebodys quaking footsteps approached us. The wide door opened up and a very familiar face appeared before us again.


    What in Crustacias name are you waking me up in the fucking morning?! ddarg! Who the hell are you?


    <em>Its the taz.</em>