Ch.129Chapter 129 – The Mechanic’s Autumn Festival Is Just Beginning

The area around Archenium and Glesius Academy, where the autumn festival was in progress, was currently bustling with people.

Originally, the autumn festival should have been held much earlier, but due to various circumstances, it opened relatively late.

But perhaps the delayed opening had worked out for the better.

This autumn festival was drawing far more people than usual.

“What’s this, Geren? Have you heard the news too?”

“Alus, judging by what you’re holding, aren’t you heading there as well?”

Even commoners living in Archenium were walking toward Glesius Academy.

Men, women, the elderly, and children—they all differed in age, gender, and place of origin, but they shared one common trait.

They were all carrying cherished mementos that had been damaged beyond repair.

One elderly man brought a worn frame containing a picture of his wife who had passed away.

A young man carefully carried a broken kitchen knife in a wooden box—one of the inheritances his parents had left him.

To others, these items might seem worthless.

But those bringing these memory-laden objects were walking toward the academy to revive the memories associated with them once more.

“Are you participating in this festival too?”

“Hmm? Did you also come all this way to participate in the autumn festival?”

Among the crowd were nobles as well.

Glesius Academy’s autumn festival was an event famous throughout the empire.

Naturally, nobles from the Gelebrio Empire were participating in this event.

They had come to witness Count Pathos Severio’s abilities after hearing that he had reformed Jason Eldinar, the scoundrel of the Eldinar Ducal family.

Needless to say, since these nobles wouldn’t travel alone…

The road to Glesius Academy was packed with people.

“P-pickpocket!”

“Tch.”

Where there are crowds, there are naturally professional pickpockets targeting people’s pockets.

But unlike other festivals, this one was attended by Emperor Decatro IV of the Gelebrio Empire and Imperial Chancellor Bergen Steyler.

“We’ve apprehended the pickpocket. We’ll hand this one over to the guard for severe punishment.”

“Ah, thank you! Thank you so much!”

Therefore, not only were there escort forces protecting them, but knights and mages were also deployed throughout the city for security and maintaining public order.

They caught pickpockets with eagle eyes and handed them over to the guards.

As security measures were implemented, petty criminals disappeared completely.

No matter how skilled they were at concealing themselves or how excellent their sleight of hand, they couldn’t escape magic.

Moreover, with imperial intelligence agents and royal knights—who knew the back alleys better than anyone—monitoring the entire city from both light and shadow…

No one could possibly hide and escape from this place.

“I don’t see any troublemakers these days.”

“It’s probably because of the festival.”

Most people simply thought criminals weren’t visible because of the festival period.

In any case, at the end of the path where people were heading was a festival booth constructed in the form of a massive circular tent.

A sign was installed in front of the festival booth.

[We Will Restore Your Memories]

The sign bore the exact same wording as the notice posted on the bulletin board.

This indicated that this huge circular tent was the venue where Count Pathos Severio’s ability demonstration would be held.

“How long will it take to set up the stage?”

“We’re installing the iron supports now, preparing for more people to come!”

“Move quickly! The stage opens in three hours!”

Dwarf craftsmen urgently brought in from Glesius Academy were working inside the festival booth where Pathos would demonstrate his abilities today.

These were people who were grateful to Pathos for reducing their workload, and also thankful to him for solving problems for their kin who had settled in other regions.

“This is where our race’s benefactor will hold an important event, so we must be thorough!”

“Hey! Beren! Stop nagging and throw me those tools!”

The dwarves were shouting at each other, urging the construction to move faster.

Since they were working more meticulously than they would on building their own homes, the progress wasn’t particularly fast.

But they were dwarves, capable of working several times faster than humans.

Their work, which had started early in the morning, was completed before lunchtime.

“Alright, let’s all clear out!”

“Let’s go get some roast pig and carbonated beer today!”

They were planning to go to a nearby tavern to order roast pig and carbonated beer.

This carbonated beer was also thanks to the carbonation injector that Pathos had additionally created while repairing the Extreme Flame Heart.

As mass production of carbonation injectors began and the equipment was widely distributed throughout the empire, carbonated beer started to become common here in Archenium as well.

Thanks to the availability of carbonated beer, the dwarves working at Glesius Academy could enjoy stimulating beer to relieve their daily stress.

“Count, we have about an hour and thirty minutes left until the start.”

A student guard approached Pathos, who was meditating inside the booth to momentarily release tension.

“Please form a waiting line an hour before, and start letting people in slowly thirty minutes before.”

“Yes, understood.”

After Pathos gave his instructions, the student guard saluted and stepped back.

Today, Pathos would repair objects containing people’s memories at this venue.

And today’s event would become an amazing incident that would be recorded in imperial history for generations to come.

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Alright. It’s time to begin.

I reached my hand through the stage curtains to check how many people had gathered.

‘Wow, insane. It’s completely packed.’

With the help of the dwarves, seats had been installed for people to sit, but not only were those seats full, people were even sitting on the stairs.

There was no turning back now.

‘Okay. Let’s go!’

After taking a couple of deep breaths, I activated the mechanism to pull back the stage curtains and revealed myself on stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming here today. I believe you all know who I am. Some may call me the imperial hero who destroyed the demon sword, while others may think of me as someone with mysterious powers who cured an incurable disease.”

I paused briefly here.

Because what I was going to show today was slightly different from what I had mentioned before.

“But! I stand here today. Why? Because! I must satisfy everyone who has come here today. Because of what was announced on the bulletin board today. Namely… I will perfectly repair the memory-laden objects you possess!”

“Wooooah!”

“Wheeee!”

As I revealed what I would be showing today, people’s cheers and applause began to pour out.

The reaction was very enthusiastic.

At this rate, the success of this festival was all but guaranteed.

I stood on the stage for a moment and looked around.

The crowd instantly fell silent.

Looking around at the people, I said:

“However, unfortunately, not everyone will be able to take home the results they want from this event today. Because having memory-laden objects become completely new again is something that cannot happen in reality.”

Then I addressed the audience once more.

“However, today, at this place, those who are very fortunate will have their memory-laden objects revived through my ability. Therefore, to prevent safety incidents, I do not intend to restore items of monetary value or objects that could essentially be used as currency.”

This is just my personal thought.

In a place like this where many valuable items are expected to gather, if I repair expensive items?

What if something goes wrong? We could all be robbed of our possessions.

Of course, I don’t have to worry about that, but somehow I feel uneasy about such a thing happening.

So I wanted to repair items that truly held memories, not expensive ones.

While looking around for a suitable sample, I noticed a worn-out doll held by a little girl.

“Young lady holding the doll.”

“Y-yes?”

As I pointed to the girl with the doll, everyone’s attention immediately turned to her.

“Please come up. Some people might doubt my abilities, so I’ll let you confirm them once more.”

The first demonstration of the exhibition would be the worn doll the girl was holding.