Chapter 30: An Ultimate Warrior Who Prefers to Remain Anonymous
"Humans are so strange, always busy for some inexplicable reason."
In the study of the Lord's Mansion in the main city of Moldavia, the silver-haired girl complained to her younger brother: "Ling, why do you think that is?"
And the black-haired boy, overwhelmed by various official duties, so busy that even his appearances had become fewer, wearily lifted his head to look at his utterly idle sister. He looked like he wanted to curse, but his good upbringing and manners made him merely mutter: "Even if you're not human, you can still be very busy... Seriously, Ying, you should be busy too. What about those two sisters? Aren't you supposed to be taking care of them?"
"They played too hard at noon and are asleep now." Standing up from her chair, Ying clasped her hands behind her back and walked slowly to the window. She looked outside with slight confusion: "Why isn't Master back yet? He just went out for a walk with Black, and it's already evening..."
At that moment, it was indeed evening. Except for the area around the taverns, the entire main city had quieted down. Smoke rose from every household's chimney, leaving only the flickering glow of the Glowstone Lamps lining the streets.
"Probably ran a bit far?"
Ling muttered absently while reviewing documents: "Black has been cooped up lately. In half a day, if she ran at full speed, she might reach the Sea of Bewilderment... Sis, don't just stand there watching. Help me with some of this."
"No!" The silver-haired girl refused firmly. She turned around and crossed her arms in an X shape: "This is your work. I'm not helping!"
"Then stop bothering me!"
Frustrated by Ying's complete lack of sympathy, Ling shouted while grabbing a random document and throwing it at the girl. The hardcover envelope spun like a wooden board toward Ying's forehead.
"Too slow!"
But the silver-haired girl chuckled lightly. She deftly extended her right hand, and two snow-white, slender fingers caught the envelope steadily. Ying waved it proudly: "I've been learning Master's moves lately! Look, shouldn't I say 'Pathetic' right now?"
"...Whatever makes you happy." Ling was both angry and exhausted, now completely speechless. He shook his head helplessly, then turned back to his work: "Seriously, I'm dying. Don't bother me. Go play with Miss No. 3 if you want. She's probably out for a night stroll and wouldn't mind walking with you."
"Miss No. 3 likes floating around in midair. Walking with her feels like dragging a kite down the street—it's weird!" Ying pouted in complaint. She glanced at the envelope's address and let out a soft "Oh": "It's a letter from Master Moria to Master. Ling, didn't you read it earlier?"
"It's from Master Moria?" Ling hadn't noticed. He had just grabbed it randomly. Seeing the girl's intrigued expression, he shrugged: "Then leave that letter to you. Remember to relay its contents when Master returns."
Since Joshua often went out to practice breathing techniques and train the knights in the order, he rarely handled official matters. Most were delegated to Ling, Ying, and No. 3. Trusting these three, Joshua even let them handle his personal correspondence, as long as they summarized the contents when he returned.
"Alright." Since the letter was already in her hand, Ying couldn't keep joking and refuse. She sat in a nearby chair, deftly tore open the hardcover envelope—commonly used by dwarves and mixed with iron filings—and began reading its contents.
—To the Ruler of Moldavia, Joshua van Radcliffe
The living metal on Chu Hao is a true treasure. By analyzing it, I have learned how to activate metal. This technology is invaluable to the People of the Underground (the dwarves' official self-designation). The Rune Dwarves of the Northern Lands collectively thank you for your generosity and selflessness.
The process of metal activation is very complex, as this is the initial version. When you have time, you can come to the dwarf settlement to observe the procedure. I also want to know how your authority operates; it might optimize many steps.
Given your current strength, you no longer need the weapons and armor we forge. But your subordinates certainly do. Living metal, whether used for forging weapons or casting armor, has powerful self-repair capabilities. I am currently trying to use it to create a Mana Armor. Chu Hao seems very interested in this; it has been observing our forging process near the Great Iron Furnace lately. I suspect it is analyzing the Mana Armor's structure.
Aside from that, I still have some doubts about your last proposal—you want us to use living metal to create an autonomous construct humanoid? That's not impossible, but the size you require is rather demanding. Most constructs are over two meters tall to accommodate energy cores and thought circuits. The construct humanoid you want is at most one and a half meters, and must be slender... Forgive my bluntness, but this seems pointless. And you specifically asked for no thought circuits. Do you just want a living metal statue?
In any case, that's the general situation. The Rune Factory is complete, and several of my nephews have gone to oversee operations. As long as materials are sufficient, we can probably produce fifty standard Mana Armors before next summer, enough to meet your knight order's needs.
...
Old dwarf Moria used the standard dwarf format, meaning the text was very dense. To read it clearly, Ying had to focus intently, word by word. She was so absorbed that she didn't notice the study door opening.
"Working hard, I see."
A familiar voice came from behind, startling the Divine Mechanism girl so much that she dropped the letter. But a gentle force caught it midair and placed it back in her hands.
"Alright, no need to strain yourself. Go rest for a bit."
Holding a bouquet of translucent ice crystal flowers, Joshua entered the study with Black. He first patted Ling's head—the boy's thought core was nearly crashing from days of handling paperwork—then turned to Ying with some surprise: "I didn't expect you to help Ling with his work voluntarily. You do have some sisterly qualities."
No. The black-haired boy, slumped over the desk and feeling like he was dying, roared inwardly: She didn't help me voluntarily! She's nothing like a sister! But too lazy to expose Ying's usual true nature, Ling closed his eyes to cool his thought circuits, out of sight, out of mind.
Meanwhile, Joshua walked up to Ying and extended his hand: "These are for you."
Ying: "Huh?!"
Not only was the silver-haired girl stunned, but Ling, who had been resting his eyes, snapped them open and turned to look at his master. The atmosphere grew tense.
But the black dragon girl standing nearby patted her chest and happily broke the tension: "I knew the colors were similar, so Ying would like them. Master, look, she's so happy she can't speak!"
Lowering her eyes to the flowers, Ying's eyelashes fluttered. She wasn't so much happy as she felt like she was dreaming—Joshua giving her flowers was utterly incomprehensible! The word "flower" and the name "Joshua" should never have been connected, even in ten thousand years! If a warrior had given her a jar of maintenance oil for her blades, she wouldn't have been this surprised.
In this dazed state, the silver-haired girl took the ice crystal thorn flowers from the warrior and murmured softly: "These... I might not be able to keep them alive. Last time, I killed that cactus."
"It's fine." Joshua said flatly: "I've already had them treated. As long as you don't put them near a fire, they'll absorb free-floating elemental energy from the air to grow. Last time, you overwatered the cactus. Taking care of plants..."
Just as the topic inexplicably shifted to flower care, Joshua seemed to remember some official business.
"Earlier, when Black and I went for a walk in the Extreme North Icefield, we caught a group of cultists." The warrior spoke simply and directly. He took the letter from Moria from Ying's hands and read it while speaking: "No. 3 is now leading people to the church for the handover. But I already know their goal—they were planning a large-scale attack on Moldova."
Hearing this, Ling, who had been slumped over the desk, straightened up and said seriously: "In that case, Master, we need to notify Mr. Brandon and Countess Verdani as soon as possible."
Ying's reaction was more driven by her own desires. The silver-haired girl, who had been admiring the flowers, lit up with an expression far more excited than before: "Master, are we going to strike again?!"
She looked full of energy, completely different from when she had refused to help Ling with his work.
"No." Joshua's answer disappointed her: "I'm going alone this time. I won't take you."
He glanced at Black, who was still full of energy, and added: "I won't take Black either."
"I'm not going either?!" The black dragon girl was devastated.
"Of course."
After calming the disappointed group, Joshua explained: "Given my current situation, I'm under house arrest... Although Israel's condition was to stay in the Northern Lands, not just Moldavia, and there's no actual binding order, since I agreed, I won't deliberately break it."
"So we just let those cultists wreak havoc in Moldova?" Ling pondered for a moment, then asked doubtfully: "Forty percent of our recent goods flow relies on Countess Verdani's large fleet. If Moldova's order is disrupted, we'll suffer heavy losses."
"Of course not. How could I sit by and let cultists attack civilians?" Joshua said matter-of-factly, his tone calm: "But at the end of the day, the name 'Joshua' shouldn't be too conspicuous lately, or Israel will lose face. I'm not taking you because you're too famous now, and it would easily expose my identity."
"Most importantly, if I need you, you'll come to me immediately, won't you?"
Indeed. Since Ying and Ling advanced at the Holy Mountain, they had gained the ability to act independently. In their weapon forms, they could respond to the warrior's call and fly to his hand, the range depending on Joshua's strength. At the Ultimate-rank level, anywhere in the Northern Lands, as soon as Joshua thought of it, Ying and Ling could respond.
Thus, bringing weapons or not didn't matter. As long as preparations were made before battle, everything was the same.
Thinking this, the disappointed Ying felt much better. She sat in her chair, tilted her head slightly, and asked curiously: "So, Master, are you going incognito this time?"
"Exactly. But I still need to inform Brandon and the others in advance." Joshua nodded, then turned to Ling: "Sorry to trouble you, Ling. Help draft a magical short message."
"No problem." Though the boy was indeed tired, writing a short message was fine. Ling took out paper and magic ink specifically for magical short messages, waiting for the warrior to dictate.
"Just say,"
Joshua's lips curled slightly as he spoke in a subtle tone.
"An Ultimate warrior who prefers to remain anonymous will be paying a visit."