Chapter 469

Davey was well aware that alchemists and magicians, despite studying contrasting philosophies, often shared similar temperaments. This was exemplified by the hero of the corridor, Eva van Hoenheim, who, although generally mild-mannered, occasionally made eccentric statements.

"Before you delve into alchemy, return when you've washed yourself thoroughly."

"Wash myself? The water is freezing right now. Do you have any idea how cold it is?"

"Isn't cold water better than having a cold body?"

"..."

"...When the heart stops, the body becomes cold."

Such were his idiosyncrasies.

"Davey, here are the materials needed for the formula. Out of goodwill, I'll give you this much."

"You're not going to ask me to work with just this, are you?"

"Indeed, fine-tune the principles of the 7th Circle Thunder Break magic formula with this. If you can't adjust the magic to my standards, I'll subject you to hellfire for about three days."

One would strive to survive even in a situation where they couldn't even die from burning. According to the Golgouda elder brothers, a dwarf from the Blue Rock Tribe named Edison also had such an unconventional temperament.

To be precise, he was eccentric. The alchemical faction, under his dean's leadership, was renowned for contributing to technological advancements across the continent. What was surprising was that a significant portion of these innovations was reportedly invented by this dwarf, Edison.

"No offense, but that scrawny genius probably wouldn't bow down to any ordinary threat. The last time I encountered him was over a decade ago, so he probably hasn't changed much."

Initially, the dwarves were favorable to Davey, mainly because he once repaired the Primordial Inferno, a work of Surtr, which was a symbol of the dwarves and revered like a deity.

Moreover, Davey had a close relationship with the dwarves, reigniting their stagnant spirit. The most prosperous city-state due to alchemy was where the dean of the alchemical faction wielded even more power than the king. Despite this unique power structure, it appeared highly advanced, with an overwhelming emphasis on alchemy compared to other cities.

Kiiiiing!!!

Upon witnessing the mobile transportation conjured through a substantial quantity of manastone, Perserque appeared intrigued, while Rinne displayed a lack of enthusiasm.

"Rinne seems to underestimate the technological level of this place."

"It's a technology built from the ground up. It's quite impressive," Davey said.

However, Rinne remained unimpressed, treating it as a symbol of low-tech. She said, "Davey, based on the blueprint, I estimate you won't fully comprehend the information. The probability is 37%."

"That's a fundamental assumption."

Edison, the dwarf from the Blue Rock Tribe introduced by the Golgouda brothers and the technical advisor of the alchemical faction, didn't immediately respond. He was a unique eccentric known for his technical skills but devoid of sociability, making his cooperation a challenging task.

"I understand that technicians can be quite stubborn."

Later, Davey arrived at the central workshop, Periholk, the main building of the alchemical faction. In the ancient language, Periholk meant "Workshop of Creation." Unlike the magical towers that delved into non-physical laws, this place was highly advanced in alchemy, which studied physical laws to develop new materials and technologies.

A well-dressed man greeted Davey at the entrance, saying, "Welcome! What brings you here?"

"I'm here to meet someone."

"A person? Most craftsmen are currently occupied... Ah, if you could leave a name, I'll check and inform you."

Davey inscribed Edison's name on the parchment.

"Hmm..." The man, after reading it, looked uneasy. "Are you here to meet Technical Advisor Edison?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... I hate to say this, but it might be impossible."

"Rinne requests an explanation."

When Rinne stepped forward and inquired, the man regarded her with a puzzled expression.

Davey observed that Rinne possessed quite peculiar characteristics. From a floating ring above her head to wings on her back, she had distinctive traits. Although she often concealed these unique features with magic to avoid drawing attention, the garments Rinne stubbornly wore were rare and hardly seen anywhere.

"You appear to come from a noble lineage. I don't know why you wish to meet Technician Edison, but recently, he has been declining most appointments due to a significant project he's working on," the man informed Davey.

"Hmm..."

Davey had expected that Edison wouldn't be easily available.

"I would typically suggest attempting a bribe, but that old man is surprisingly particular," the man remarked, laughing.

In response to his statement, Davey quietly inquired, "A significant project?"

"Yes, indeed. Edison has incurred substantial debt recently. He's not a greedy man and doesn't have much saved up. So, he's in a bit of a tight spot. Oops, I shouldn't have mentioned that," the man said, laughing awkwardly after slapping his own mouth. "Please keep this information confidential. Just write the visitor's name below."

Davey picked up a quill, wrote his name, and then turned around. "Thank you."

He had attempted to arrange a meeting through a letter, but it seemed that the lazy old man would take his time to respond. Patience was a virtue, as they said. While Edison's expertise was not indispensable, Davey needed to converse with him to acquire the necessary personnel for his project.

"Hold on, this name looks familiar... Wait, could it be?!" The man who had greeted Davey suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

However, Davey calmly exited the Periholk and made his way toward the plaza.

True to its reputation as the headquarters of the alchemy faction, the central plaza was bustling with vendors selling various alchemical ingredients. Some of these materials were so rare that they bore "export prohibited" labels.

"This small city-state seems quite prosperous," Davey remarked.

"Well, there's a reason it's the main headquarters."

Whether it was the holy country's primary temple, the mage tower's headquarters, or the alchemy faction, each wielded significant influence on this continent. So, their prosperity was only natural.

"It doesn't appear that he'll be easy to meet," Perserque commented, yawning as he sat on Davey's shoulder.

Given the old man's eccentric nature and his ongoing significant project due to debt, Davey doubted that a simple visit would suffice.

"We might as well purchase some ingredients while we're here," he mused.

There were export-prohibited items and essential materials that could only be found here. To adapt designs from the Yurigian continent to fit this world's energy sources and materials, a plethora of catalysts and ingredients were required. The challenge was that many of these were not labeled as "export prohibited."

Perserque had mentioned wanting to explore the main headquarters of the alchemy faction. It suited Davey's penchant for wandering and observing new places.

"Welcome! Ah, a young and splendid noble! What can I offer you?" a merchant asked.

"I require 1.5 liters of Shortman solution and three bundles of Berbe herbs," Davey replied.

The merchant looked at him curiously. "You seem to be well-versed in catalysts and ingredients."

"They are essential for my purposes."

"Ah, these items are rarely sold outside this area," the merchant remarked.

The city-state's government employed the strategy of exclusively selling such items here to safeguard their technology and attract tourists.

"That will be 1 gold due to the taxes on these items," the merchant informed.

"I'll give you 3 gold coins," Davey offered.

The merchant, pleased, quickly prepared Davey's order. "This is quite a bit to carry. Are you sure...?"

"Just hand them over," Davey interjected.

He then magically opened a void in the air, placing his purchases inside, leaving the merchant in awe.

"Ah! You must be a magician!" he exclaimed.

People unfamiliar with magic could not differentiate whether Davey used void magic or a magic tool.

"But do you have any Asilt Aegis?" Davey inquired, noticing a key ingredient missing.

"Asilt Aegis? Well...," the merchant hesitated, "It's hard to come by recently. There's a shortage, and it seems there's been a crop failure for Asilt flowers. Everyone's eagerly waiting for them."

After hearing the merchant's explanation, Davey understood why, among the various shops he had visited, only that particular item was missing.

"I'm sorry, but the demand for it has far outstripped our supply, making it quite challenging even for us to secure stock. However, if you're from a noble family, you might consider participating in the auction. There have been rumors that a few quantities of Asilt Aegis are available there."

"Thanks for the information."

Upon hearing Davey's response, the merchant chuckled. "Oh, shouldn't we at least be able to offer this much help to our customer? Please visit again!"

Davey pondered as he left the merchant, who was waving goodbye. "I really need some Asilt Aegis."

Asilte petals were not cultivated in the eastern continent. Moreover, it appeared to be a rare item since it could not be exported anywhere other than here.

"What's your plan, Davey?"

"Should we try to pick the flowers ourselves?"

There seemed to be an issue where the cultivation of these flowers had significantly decreased after an incident at an artificial cultivation site, making them hard to find nearby.

"Then, are you thinking of attending that auction?"

"Well, we might purchase it if there's a necessary catalyst. Let's at least take a look."

"Sounds good."

Perserque looked forward with an expectant smile. "Now, Davey, let's go to the observatory where we can look down upon this city."

She energetically pulled Davey along. "You promised, remember? You said you'd show it to me."

"...Right, let's go."

With most of their tasks resolved, this felt like a long-awaited vacation for Davey.

"Master Davey, the city's map has been completely loaded. Rinne will navigate."

"Alright."

Deciding to stroll leisurely like regular tourists, Davey began to follow Rinne's guidance. On the outskirts of the city, there were numerous large golems intended for fortress construction. Being dubbed as the pride of alchemical arts, nowhere else had such a diverse collection of golems. As they walked the less-traveled paths, they observed the distant golems moving very slowly.

"Are most golems typically that slow?"

Usually, the larger the golem, the slower it moved and the more energy it consumed. Smaller golems were either weak or underperformed in various areas. This was different from the thug-like golems, like the Decepticons, which were threats even to sword masters.

"What's your impression?"

"Well, it's impressive."

Before they even approached the observatory, Perserque laughed, clearly enjoying the surrounding sights.

Suddenly...

"Move, move out of the way! Watch out!!"

A desperate shout echoed. With a loud metallic sound, a giant metal golem, about 4 meters tall, emerged from a previously empty alley, charging directly toward Davey.

"Ah!"

A girl's scream was clearly audible, but there was no sight of her. Instead, the golem seemed to be rushing to ram into Davey.

"Rinne, destroy it."

At Davey's exasperated command, Rinne began to gather particles of light in her hand. What she held was a black tool, a crowbar, also known as a lever puller.

"Rinne rates the savior of humanity highly and the charging junk lowly!"

Above her head, a halo shattered the illusion magic and spun violently. From her crowbar, a radiant light emitted, plunging toward the charging metal golem.

"Move out of the way!"

With a tremendous crash, despite the girl's shriek, Rinne clashed head-on with the golem and swung her crowbar into its large, round chest. With a loud thud, the golem was sent flying into the air.

"Ah!"

With a terrible scream, the golem crashed into a sturdy brick wall, toppling it before sprawling out. Despite its large size, the girl was nowhere to be seen. However, a scraping sound came from the golem's dented chest, and something burst out.

From the thick black smoke emerged a girl with dark soot and red hair. Surprisingly, despite being covered in soot, she was strikingly beautiful and appeared to be around Davey's age. Looking upset, she mumbled as she gripped the back of her neck. "Darn, my neck... damn it... blasted piece of scrap metal!"

The feeling was so clear that it was immediately obvious to Davey. The girl frowned as she spat out harsh words consistent with her image, and sighed as she looked at the crumpled golem.

"Oh dear, my creation..." She shed tears of regret for the destroyed golem, and then slowly approached Rinne, who had collided with it. She asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Rinne assesses that the outer armor is very sturdy. It won't be pushed around by such junk."

"Junk?!"

The startled girl looked at Rinne with wide eyes, but Rinne seemed indifferent. Soon after, she held the back of her neck and stared blankly at Davey. There was a moment of silence.

The girl mumbled, "I suppose you're with the group. I'm sorry. My name is Tiara. And you are...?"

"Davey."

At his words, she paused, examining him carefully. "Hmm... I feel like I've seen your face somewhere... Well, there are many people with similar names in the world."

She tilted her head, looking at Davey. "Anyway, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... it was not on purpose..."

"That one mistake could've taken two lives."

She broke out in a cold sweat at Davey's sarcasm. "That's true. The test operation was perfect, but then it suddenly malfunctioned... Sigh..."

She sighed again, looking at him and then narrowing her eyes. "Have we met before?"

Davey shook his head. "I'm not sure."

"Why does your face look so familiar?" While pondering this, Tiara jumped up, disassembled the destroyed golem, and pulled out a small core from within. "Look, let's say it's fate. How about coming to my workshop as an apology? I feel too guilty to just let you go."

"Don't worry about it."

"No way! I'm a lady from a noble family and I was taught to always repay my debts!"

She confidently grabbed his arm. Was this how noble ladies behave these days? Definitely not. She was incomparable to any other person. Even to the beautiful Illyna who had sneaked in through the window. She had a beautiful appearance and an equally strong personality. A peculiar mix.

'She's quite charming. That kind of attitude is just tiring.'

Regardless of whether she caused an accident or not, it often seemed to turn into a significant event when she was involved. Especially considering she had nearly caused an accident with her self-made golem. In Davey's eyes, she wasn't exactly a reputable figure, and he had no desire to become entangled in her affairs.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"If the victim is alright, then there's no issue. I'll just be on my way," Davey said.

Tiara attempted to halt him with a mournful tone. "Please don't..."

"You think I don't realize you want me to carry that part for you?"

"Hehe, you got me." She tried to playfully smile, but upon seeing his stoic expression, she sighed. "Sorry, I was just joking. Nevertheless, maybe you should get a check-up, just to be safe. I have some excellent medical equipment at my workshop."

'That woman...'

Suddenly, blood began to flow from her nose, and her eyes widened, likely as a result of the earlier collision.

"Oh! I'm bleeding," Tiara mumbled, standing there for a while as if she had transformed into a different person.

Then, the atmosphere around her shifted. She fell backward, losing consciousness completely.

"Hemophobia..." Perserque, who had been observing Tiara, murmured, and Davey glanced at her on the floor, surprised. Perserque then asked, "What should we do, Davey?"

"What's there to do?"

'My intuition rarely fails, so...'

"I didn't see anything."

Without any regrets, Davey walked away, leaving the unconscious Tiara behind.