Ch.238Chapter 238 – Metal of Fantasy (2)

Chris refused to wake up.

No, saying he wouldn’t wake up wasn’t quite accurate.

He was inside an egg and wouldn’t come out.

Still, there was no other way to describe it, and as long as he remained in the egg, there was nothing we could do for him from the outside.

Aside from Serra and Asam collecting small samples to analyze the divine power that formed the egg, we couldn’t even touch it.

In the end, all we could do was have someone periodically check on the egg’s condition.

“Still no signs of waking up, I see.”

“Yeah.”

Eve approached me, though I hadn’t noticed her coming.

“I never thought the diligent Christina would sleep for an entire week.”

“I know, right?”

After making that joke, Eve gently sat down beside me.

She seemed to want to lighten my mood a bit.

“Where were you until just now?”

“With Mr. Mask, a little.”

It seemed she had been sparring with him.

I was about to ask if it had been productive when Eve immediately asked me:

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine now.”

I smiled at Eve, who was looking at me with concern.

“I should start moving around. I need to build up my strength for what’s ahead.”

“…Serra said you should rest more. Please rest a bit longer for now.”

When I received a medical examination from Serra after facing Rubrum, she told me I needed to rest.

Apparently, my body was more strained than I thought, making everything unstable.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t do anything for a week except read books and check on Chris’s condition.

“If Chris were here, I would have recovered faster.”

“…That’s true.”

While Serra’s medical knowledge was impressive, Chris was better at checking physical conditions and accelerating recovery, having worked in that field.

In Serra’s words, she was like a nurse while Chris was like a doctor.

“I hope Christina returns soon.”

Eve said this as she gently rested her head on my shoulder.

+

If you’re wondering whether everyone spent the week in complete silence, that certainly wasn’t the case.

In fact, most people were having quite an energetic time.

-Clang! Clang!!

[Yes, now that’s some proper hammering.]

After checking on Chris and being relieved by the next person on duty, I followed Eve’s suggestion to look around the lair together. When we arrived at the forge that had been set up inside, I saw Perry hammering away under Dvel’s guidance.

On the anvil lay a heated piece of metal that had once been an ingot.

-Clang!

[Focus. Harmonium is harder than you think. But the heat seems to be getting a bit low.]

“Do you need more fire?”

[Stoke it higher!]

I saw Lara, a dwarf, gathering orange-colored stones.

They were fire stones, materials also used for making bombs.

“They look like they’re having fun.”

Eve, who had come to the forge with me, said with a smile.

As she said, both Perry who was hammering and Lara who was carrying the fire stones looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Even Dvel, who was barking various instructions at them, seemed to be in good spirits.

[Harmonium, dragon scales and bones. With such premium materials everywhere, don’t you dare think about giving up already!]

“Of course not!”

Perry intensified his hammering while sweating profusely.

He looked like he was having fun, but there was also a hint of intimidation that made me consider retreating. Just then, Dvel looked directly at me.

[Oh, we have visitors. …Keep hammering until you reach the level I mentioned!]

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes!”

Perry and Lara cheerfully shouted back.

Then Dvel came over to us, looking pleased.

[You seem to be doing well? I didn’t expect you to come here.]

“…Well, yes.”

I nodded to Dvel, and then Eve asked him:

“How is the work progressing?”

[…To be honest, it’s not entirely smooth.]

Dvel said quietly.

[Harmonium is quite difficult to work with. Even back then, only the very best blacksmiths could handle this material. At this point in time, I’m probably the only blacksmith who can work with it.]

Dvel sighed deeply after saying this.

[…But even I, with this body, must avoid heat. A blacksmith who can’t handle fire and heat—what kind of joke is that?]

Currently, Dvel was precisely a type of golem with his memories.

He couldn’t completely withstand heat, so it seemed he had to avoid direct contact with it.

Apparently, his physical condition made it difficult to properly function as a blacksmith.

[Well, that’s the situation, but not everything is bad.]

Dvel said this while pointing at Perry.

[That fellow learns well. Among your commissions, the most important ones might be slow, but he follows my instructions well for the others.]

Dvel said Perry had a good teacher.

If he had a proper face, he would probably have worn a proud expression.

[I should train him thoroughly while I have the chance.]

Dvel said in a voice that somehow sounded eager.

“…Please go easy on him.”

Dvel nodded as if asking whether there was any other way.

Regarding Lara, it seemed Dvel had brought her along as an assistant since she was a dwarf.

Though Lara wasn’t at the master level, she had enough knowledge to be an excellent assistant.

[…Well, most of the other items are almost done, but repairing the holy relic will take time. There’s a fundamental issue…]

“A fundamental issue?”

Dvel nodded at my question and answered.

[To create a holy relic, you need to imbue harmonium with divine power from a god.]

Dvel said this quietly.

[The best option would be to ask a priest… but I do have some ideas, so don’t worry.]

Dvel spoke with a slightly apologetic tone.

If he said he had ideas, it meant he had some method in mind.

‘It’s not like we have other options anyway.’

There wouldn’t be any blacksmith who could do what Dvel couldn’t or knew something he didn’t.

We had to trust him.

“I see.”

Eve nodded.

Then she quietly asked:

“How is my sword coming along?”

[That’s almost in the finishing stages.]

Dvel said this and then spoke leisurely as if trying to reassure Eve.

[It’s being made with premium materials that Rubrum sent as a so-called gift. I think it will be one of the top-tier swords I’ve ever created.]

“Thank you.”

[No need for thanks. A blacksmith’s job is to create the best items as commissioned.]

After saying this, Dvel looked at me.

[We’ll do our best to repair your holy relic too. With all our might.]

“…I appreciate it.”

When I politely thanked him, Dvel’s shoulders lifted slightly, showing his good mood.

[I should focus on the work now. Please excuse me.]

Dvel turned away without waiting for our response.

And right on cue, Perry’s voice was heard, followed by Dvel giving instructions.

“We don’t need to worry about this place, at least.”

“I agree.”

Whatever happened, Dvel was a blacksmith who had been part of the hero’s party.

And at this point, he was probably the best blacksmith in this world.

Apart from time and his physical limitations, there shouldn’t be any problems for him.

“Shall we head back now?”

“No. I’m out of medicine, so I thought we’d visit Serra.”

I had run out of the stabilizing medicine she had made for me.

Eve nodded at my words.

“Let’s go. I had something to see her about too.”

Soon we left the forge and headed to the workshop Serra was using.

And when we opened the door and entered…

We found chaos.

“So harmonium has these properties too. If used properly, it could be applied for medical purposes…”

“If we could just make a substitute, it would be a huge breakthrough. This means more research, which is great!”

“The structure of this divine power… Oh?”

Various items were scattered around Beatrice, Asam, and Serra.

Most were minerals, but there were also what appeared to be monster materials strewn about.

The three of them were at the center of this mountain of items, with papers analyzing harmonium and the egg’s divine power scattered around, each holding something they seemed to be analyzing.

“…What are you doing?”

When I asked, Serra immediately stood up and said:

“Kay, I told you to rest, didn’t I?”

“…I’ve been resting properly… I just came for more medicine.”

“Here you go!”

Serra immediately produced the medicine I was currently taking from her pocket.

“Go back and rest. Don’t move around too much, understood?”

“Alright, alright.”

Serra’s intensity was stronger than I expected, making me instinctively step back.

But that aside, I still needed to ask my question.

“So, what were you doing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special.”

Apparently not in the mood to discuss further, Beatrice and Asam also emerged from the mountain of items.

Now that I looked closely, Asam appeared as if he hadn’t eaten for days.

“Since we have this precious material called harmonium, you know. It’s a metal we’ve never seen before, and according to Dvel, it has many uses. So we were trying to find, compare, and analyze possible substitutes.”

“I see.”

“Plus, the divine power sampled from the egg covering Chris… it seems to have been created in a way similar to the armor Kay wears. Beatrice previously hypothesized about what would happen if magic was condensed and fixed to its limit during her sparring with Kay, and the divine power covering the egg seems to be like that…”

Serra seemed quite excited.

I glanced slightly at Eve, who smiled and then focused her gaze on something.

Specifically, she was focusing on something behind Serra’s back.

In other words, she wasn’t really listening.

‘It seems only those two witches understand what she’s talking about…’

I said this because Beatrice and Asam were nodding in agreement with Serra’s words.

And I too imitated Eve by looking behind Serra’s back for several minutes.

“…so, assuming we can use magic to create properties similar to divine power, and then process it further to create explosives specialized for undead… You’re not listening, are you?”

“No, I was listening.”

I reflexively responded, but it was already too late.

Serra slightly bowed her head and said:

“…I’m sorry. I got carried away on my own.”

She seemed to think she had put me in an awkward position.

Looking at Serra, I smiled slightly.

“I’m glad you seem to be enjoying yourself, though.”

At those words, Serra smiled happily.

Shortly after, with a slightly serious face, she said:

“…I hope all these findings will be helpful to you, Kay… If we use the properties of harmonium or divine power, perhaps…”

Serra seemed about to drift into her own world again.

I quickly addressed Eve.

“Hey, Eve. Didn’t you say you had something to see Serra about?”

“Yes, I did. Seraphina, do you have a moment?”

Apparently Eve had also been overwhelmed by Serra and missed her timing.

Eve immediately took Serra somewhere.

“The mood’s completely ruined now. Going to take responsibility?”

“Why don’t you go eat something?”

“…Right. I’m a bit tired, so I should take some medicine too.”

After saying that, Asam sat down in a corner and soon took out a biscuit.

‘Is that…?’

Sure enough, just as I had seen before, Asam began eating the biscuit with medicine smeared on it.

“That’s convenient.”

“…No thanks. Don’t recommend it to me.”

I was disgusted by Beatrice’s words, who had clearly eaten like that many times.

‘Wait, come to think of it.’

This was a good opportunity, being alone with Beatrice.

It would be good to ask her now.

“Hey, Beatrice. I have something else to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

Beatrice immediately turned her head to me.

And I quietly said to her:

“It’s about the Red Order of Knights.”

I told her about the concern Eina had shared with me.

After listening to it for a while, Beatrice made a slightly apologetic expression and said:

“…It would be difficult to do it simply.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ll ask Asam too, but I’ve examined Eina’s body before, so I know. The brainwashing done by that Order of Knights is quite tough and difficult to break.”

Beatrice looked at me and spoke quietly.

“It can’t be easily undone, for security reasons. Think of it as having multiple layers of safeguards. They’ve certainly made it harder to break because of you, helmet.”

“…I see.”

Since there was a case of me breaking the brainwashing on my own, they had made it even more difficult to undo.

And Beatrice cautiously continued:

“…If there was something that could directly affect the mind with magic, simultaneously destroy those defensive spells, and provide enough mental shock to awaken the personality or mind… it might be possible.”

This was all she could answer right now.

Since she hadn’t properly researched it yet, this was the limit of what she could say off the top of her head.

“That’s difficult.”

Even considering that, there were too many conditions.

I couldn’t tell how many methods would satisfy all those conditions at this point.

‘It seems finding a way will take quite some time.’

I’m sorry for Eina, but it seems difficult to find a method right away.

‘Still, there’s no reason to give up.’

At least, giving up should come after exhausting all possible methods.

Since we haven’t even properly started yet, there’s no reason to give up already.

As I was gathering my thoughts, Eve poked her head in.

“Kay?”

“Are you done with your business?”

“Of course.”

Eve said while putting something into her pocket.

“…Now I’ve really taken care of everything.”

“Good.”

Having checked the forge and workshop, there was nothing else to see here.

“…Take your medicine and rest well, Kay.”

“I will.”

“Helmet, take care of yourself.”

“Sure.”

“Leave it to me, everyone. Shall we go?”

Finally, after saying goodbye to everyone in the workshop, I turned around with Eve.

‘So this is how the day passes.’

While I was glad everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, another day had passed without Chris waking up.

With a slightly heavy heart due to that fact, I turned to head out of the workshop.

“So here you are.”

That would have been the case if someone hadn’t suddenly appeared at the door.

“Lorona?”

Coming from who knows where, Lorona hurriedly entered through the door.

She looked around once and said:

“I’m sorry to interrupt your pleasant time, everyone.”

She carefully examined each of us again.

“…I have bad news.”

Lorona said slowly.