Chapter 417

Chapter 417

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 417: My Alchemical Romance

“Let’s see… yep. The Evil God’s power still remains. Even if it didn’t, the material itself is strengthened.”

Faye nodded, rummaging through the flesh.

Splish, splash.

Red blood spurted towards Faye. Since she could manipulate water, she wasn’t soaked in blood, but the thick scent of blood surrounding them made her frown instinctively.

“Ugh, the smell… but I guess it’s a good thing, since it’s proof of freshness.”

Even days after its death, the giant’s corpse showed no signs of decay. This was likely due to the residual powers of the two Evil Gods.

While a slight pull like this might be fine, if full-scale processing were to begin, even a decent blade wouldn’t properly cut.

But it didn’t matter. Faye had a reliable assistant.

“Junior! Move this over to the forge for me!”

“Yep.”

Yandel cast gravity magic without a word. After reducing its weight, he lifted the corpse with telekinetic magic.

It sounds simple when spoken, but each step requires immense magical power and control. It’s also proof that Yandel has reached a mature stage as a high-ranking magician.

However, the dwarfs watching nearby were surprised for a different reason.

“Good heavens… did you just see that? I can’t believe it!”

“That the strongest dragon in history, who even blasphemes gods, would follow Young Lady Faye’s words so obediently…”

“Just a few days ago, we were so worried about what would happen to the Yaruenshade territory, but with the Jarl regaining his health and Young Lady Faye becoming so magnificent, it was all unnecessary worry.”

When it was announced that something would be made from the Avatar’s material, dwarf artisans swarmed like bees, begging to just watch, even if they had to be used as assistants.

The reason for their surprise was that Yandel had accepted Faye’s request as a matter of course!

Although a long time had passed since the dwarves escaped the dragons’ dominion, the instincts passed down through the blood of survivors still remained.

The fear that instantly crumbled one’s spirit and made one prostrate themselves, the astonishing power that defeated two Evil Gods simultaneously, though with much help, and even the sight of him leading many women as if one wasn’t enough!

The more they watched, the greater their fear of Yandel grew!

It was only natural for dwarves to feel awe at the sight of Faye commanding such a Yandel with just a few words.

Of course, Yandel himself didn’t think much of it. Helping Faye wasn’t a one-or-two-day affair, and he was simply excited by the promise of creating a super awesome anti-archdemon ultimate equipment (which never even appeared in H&A).

Faye was well aware of these circumstances, but she couldn’t help but feel smug.

Her shoulders naturally straightened, her breathing became rough, and her steps lightened as if she were skipping.

Without even trying to hide the smile that crept onto her lips, she clung tightly to Yandel’s side.

“Hehe.”

Faye linked her arm in his as if showing off. Yandel didn’t know why she was suddenly acting this way, but he just grinned foolishly at the sensation of her chest pressing against his arm.

“Hehehe.”

“Uhehehe.”

“Hehehe.”

“Ahehehe.”

The two looked suspiciously happy.

As a skilled artisan who was recognized everywhere, they couldn’t understand Faye’s desire for approval, and as dwarves who were more attracted to muscle than women’s chests, they also couldn’t understand why Yandel was grinning.

And when faced with phenomena they couldn’t understand, people tended to find a reason.

After a little deliberation, the dwarves successfully reached their own reasonable conclusion.

“Is that so?! Was that laughter because they were looking forward to desecrating the corpse?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t it known that gods don’t leave corpses? But that giant was merely an avatar, so its corpse remained intact.”

“Gasp! Come to think of it, I heard the Godslayer harbors infinite malice towards Evil Gods. He must be excited at the thought of disassembling the corpse, not just killing it once! But then, what about Young Lady Faye…?”

“Oh, you people! That’s why you’re still single! How else could Young Lady Faye gain such skill in such a short time, and how could she be loved by a half-dragon who only knows destruction and wealth?!”

“…No way?”

“Yes. Young Lady Faye is just as crazy. All she can think about is what will come out if she melts down all the Evil Gods and whatever else into materials!”

“Mad… Alchemist…!”

An interpretation tainted by the narrow-minded perspective unique to dwarves. But it went unheard by Yandel and Faye, who were already distracted elsewhere.

With no one to correct them, the misunderstanding deepened… but misunderstandings don’t always lead to bad outcomes.

“To properly play the role of an assistant, we also need to lose our minds a bit.”

“That’s right. Even if it scatters power around after death… at most, it’s just a strange material now.”

The artisans, who had been secretly overwhelmed by the twin-headed giant’s corpse, burned with eagerness.

“Eh?”

Faye belatedly noticed the sudden change in atmosphere and tilted her head, but then she immediately began rubbing her face against Yandel’s arm.

“Hooheehee.”

Faye was simply happy that Yandel was so excited about her weapon.

—————

A firmly closed iron door. A stream of sweat trickled down my forehead from the intense heat emanating from beyond it.

The Unyielding Steel’s Forge.

It’s a magnificent forge, living up to its name, but naturally, it’s not the divine artifact actually used by the Unyielding Steel.

There’s no way it would still exist on earth after the Great War, and even if it did, it would be in the capital, not the Yaruenshade territory.

This is a kind of idiom. All forges blessed by the Unyielding Steel are called the Unyielding Steel’s Forge.

The one in the Yaruenshade territory is said to have been blessed by the Unyielding Steel in exchange for one of Faye’s ancestors offering him a magnificent sword he used at the time.

“I never thought I’d actually get to use this place.”

“Hehe. I’m now an artisan recognized by the Unyielding Steel!”

Faye straightened her shoulders with a triumphant expression. My own soft smile naturally formed as her chest was emphasized.

That’s right. As Faye briefly mentioned, the Unyielding Steel’s Forge can only be used by someone whose skill has been recognized by the Unyielding Steel. If an unqualified person stands before it, the flames will simply die out.

I chuckled and lightly tapped the top of Faye’s head.

“By the way, I’m late in saying this. Congratulations, Senior.”

“Heehee. Thank you. Anyway, are you okay without any preparations? The power remaining in the corpse is so strong that I’m thinking of melting it down with super hot fire.”

“Preparations…”

The Unyielding Steel is considered the God of Crafting, but looking at it more essentially, he is the God of Iron and Fire.

Just as the Righteous Radiance possesses the ability to manipulate light, regardless of what he pursues, the Unyielding Steel signifies the manipulation of metal and flame.

Naturally, the forge is imbued with power worthy of being called a god’s authority.

It burns on its own without needing fuel, its temperature can be adjusted according to the user’s will, and when it exceeds a certain temperature, it can even incinerate things that cannot be dealt with by ordinary means.

This is just what comes to mind immediately, and there would likely be various other auxiliary abilities… but that’s not what’s important now.

As Faye said, melting down an Evil God’s divine power would require immense heat.

Faye, blessed by the Unyielding Steel, would be unaffected, but others would be thoroughly cooked by the heat.

That’s probably why the dwarven followers were busily putting on heat-resistant suits.

“Unfortunately, there wasn’t a heat-resistant suit in my size. But don’t worry. I can cool the surroundings with magic, or use dragon transformation, or, in the worst case, I can just drink a pain-dulling potion and endure with my regeneration.”

The Unyielding Steel’s Forge is certainly remarkable, but ultimately, it’s just a tool.

Nothing can happen outside of Faye’s will, so I’ll definitely not burn to death. Maybe just get a little singed.

Upon hearing my explanation, Faye gulped.

“A singed junior… that was pretty good.”

“…Is this really the time to be thinking about that?”

“Slurp. I’ll focus from now on, so don’t worry!”

Perhaps she was thinking of when I used tanning cream before. Faye quickly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and steeled her resolve.

Then, she carefully placed her hand on the iron door.

Creaaak.

The door began to open with a dull scraping sound of metal. Beyond it, a cylindrical structure resembling a chimney was visible.

The body of the structure blocked all heat and light. However, from the wide-open top, immense heat and scarlet flames licked out like tongues.

If this is the heat just leaking out from there, then even the needlessly sturdy and monstrously regenerating twin-headed giant’s corpse wouldn’t endure if it were thoroughly roasted here.

Next to the furnace, there was a wide ramp, as if indicating the way… but why bother with physical exertion when good magic is available?

“Hold on tight, Senior Faye.”

“Huh? Heeek!”

I embraced Faye’s waist and lightly cast flying magic, arriving at the top in an instant.

As if greeting Faye, the flames that filled the inside of the furnace flared once, then quickly shrank.

The flames visibly shrank, and the temperature decreased. But if Faye wished, they would burn even more intensely than before, anytime.

I shrugged, pointing at the giant’s corpse that followed us, flying a half-beat behind.

“What should we do? It seems like it’s already linked with Senior Faye. Can we just put it in directly?”

“No. Wait a moment, Junior. I have something else to install here.”

Shaking her head, Faye began installing something, circling the top of the furnace.

She finished all the installations by the time the dwarfs, who had belatedly followed the ramp, arrived.

“Phew…”

Faye, who had taken a light, deep breath, tilted her head at me.

“You’re not asking anything, Junior?”

“I figured Senior Faye would explain it herself.”

“Heh… that’s not wrong.”

Faye spread her arms wide as if showing something off and continued.

“This is a forge, right?”

“Right?”

“I don’t know how to use a forge.”

“…So isn’t that why you brought the dwarf artisans to use as assistants?”

“Tsk tsk tsk. If I used the forge as they told me, would I be the assistant, or would they be the assistants?”

Faye, clicking her tongue cutely, lightly snapped her fingers.

Snap!

Shhhwwiiiish.

Then, using this as a signal, black liquid began to overflow from the installed structure.

The liquid undulated and encroached upon its surroundings, but after a short while, it began to gather into a specific shape.

A form very familiar to me.

“I’m an alchemist, you know?”

“…”

Faye, with a large alchemy pot slowly solidifying behind her, smiled brightly.

“Alchemists have their own ways!”

“Ah.”

A sparkling smile that couldn’t be hidden even by her messy bangs.

Faye, who began to glow on her own, was more beautiful than I had imagined.