Atelier (2)
156
The Sword Master of the Empire.
How many meanings are implied in these eight letters?
The Imperial Swordmaster, Ernst Frieslan.
He was the pinnacle of mankind who achieved transcendence with a single sword, and was the head of a family that made the fame of Marquis Frislan spread throughout the empire.
The dwarf-looking old man’s body had over 100 years of history condensed and wriggling.
Ray realized again that he was arrogant.
The ‘strength’ in Rey’s hand, which gave Rey confidence, was a crude rag that was improvised by the blessings of a transcendent being and a few gimmicks.
It looked plausible from the outside, but when I came face to face with the true Absolute, I couldn’t be so lax even if I was lax.
“…”
Rey tried to pretend to be composure, but it didn’t go as well as she wanted.
Seeing Rey who had unintentionally hardened his expression, Ernst smiled lowly.
“It seems that a good relationship followed. Congratulations.”
Ernst didn’t say anything further and walked past Rey.
Ernst was relaxed, and Ray was choking.
Yohana sensed a strange atmosphere, looked at her, and gently pulled Rey’s collar, which was glistening in cold sweat, on her forehead.
Then Rei started walking again.
Zeppelin also felt some sort of nerve war going on, but he didn’t pay any attention.
Zeppelin was excited about giving it away now.
Originally, no matter how much Zeppelin was, it was not possible to release expensive weapons produced in cooperation with others.
The amount of investment invested in weapon production had to be recovered, and the high-end items in the atelier were sold at high prices to high-ranking nobles and became ornaments hung on the wall.
Moreover, as long as there was a strict imperial statute, artifacts with the latest technology could not be recklessly disclosed to others.
However, from the moment Ernst said that he would pay the price, Zeppelin had no qualms.
Zeppelin, who was walking ahead, turned to Johana.
“Let’s start with you.”
*
Originally, Zeppelin was only planning to throw a sword of a suitable size to Johana.
If only Rei and Johanna had visited the atelier, it would have been the same.
However, since he decided to open the warehouse in earnest, Zeppelin had to know what style of swordsman Yohana was using.
In this way, he was able to select suitable equipment for Yohana and, if not available, proceed with custom production.
When asked to show a swordsmanship demonstration, Yohana hesitated.
It would have been much easier if there was an opponent who accepted swordsmanship.
However, Rei did not move from her seat even after receiving Johana’s glance.
Even if Ernst found traces of Harsia-style swordsmanship in Rei while accepting Johana’s sword for nothing, it was Nagari.
It could be solved by appropriately mimicking other swordsmanships, but Ray couldn’t shake his anxiety.
Ever since Rey was reincarnated, Ernst stepped forward.
“I’ll take the sword for a while. Do your best.”
“Huh.”
Zeppelin chuckled.
Among the knights of the Empire, there were a lot of people who would donate a thousand gold to get the honor of sharing a sword with Ernst for a while.
However, Ernst did not care about wealth and directly coached a very small number of talented people who caught his eye.
‘I guess that girl is also really talented.’
It was then that Zeppelin showed a strong interest in Johanna.
After Johana thanked him, he began to swing the sword at Ernst.
Zeppelin confirmed that Johana’s swordsmanship was very agile and changeable.
After the clash of swords lasted for about 3 minutes.
Ernst stood still, not moving a single step, took the sword and opened his mouth.
“Show Spera the skill you used.”
Johanna did as he was told.
Johanna’s sword, accelerated by the explosion of mana, was swung like a whip.
Ernst casually teased the sword, then gently spilled Johana’s sword strike to the side.
“Wow!”
Johana, who had lost her balance at a completely unexpected timing, rolled forward.
Ernst pondered for a moment the technique Johana had used.
Because it was still an unfinished technology, there were a lot of awkward corners.
However, Ernst understood that it would be a pretty useful and powerful feast if completed properly.
“Go ahead.”
At Ernst’s brief advice, Johana, who got up with a groan, thanked her again.
Zeppelin received the sword that Johana was using and examined it.
There were artificially pierced a few life buoys that were clogged with the sword.
Rey added an explanation to Zeppelin.
“Here is a way to expedite the sword by bursting with mana.”
“…you are using a strange technique.”
The principle itself was simple.
So Zeppelin easily drew up a blueprint for the new sword in his head.
‘In order to accelerate the sword in the desired direction…’
Four obliquely erected holes had to be drilled on both sides of the sword.
The four holes erected at an angle on each sword face would take the shape of a cross, but it seemed like it could be made to look like a small flower bud if well designed.
Of course, it was not an easy task.
Depending on how you design the internal structure of the hole, the degree of concentration of explosive power in a specific direction when mana explodes will vary, but there was no other way than to experiment and get results.
‘Anyway, I’ll have to make a new one from scratch.’
There was no way that a sword with a hole in its face had been made in advance.
Zeppelin opened one of the long warehouses on either side of the hallway, took out a suitable sword and threw it at Johana.
“I’ll try to make your own sword separately. It’ll take a full month to a month. Use it as a spare for now.”
It was at least a fortnight since I had to start designing even if I started working with my assistants and colleagues from tomorrow.
Johana received the sword that Zeppelin had thrown with a bewildered look on her face.
Zeppelin was a sword that was thrown to be used as a secondary weapon, but right now it was equivalent to Zeppelin’s X series.
“Go, thank you.”
“Give greetings to Ernst.”
Having said that, Zeppelin walked down the hallway again and asked Rey.
“Have you ever heard of an artifact called Hercules?”
“That’s the artifact my aunt used to use.”
“…Oh, that’s right.”
Zeppelin nodded when he heard information that Rey was Seria Alstein’s nephew not long ago.
“Years ago, my colleagues and I rented a Hercules and then reverse engineered the data.”
“Oh, so you can mass-produce artifacts like Hercules?”
“The technology concentrated in Hercules was great, but in terms of performance alone, it didn’t live up to its name. Valerius was greedy, so he put too many functions into one artifact.”
Expansion of concealment field, transformation from sword to armor form, size adjustment according to user change, and even a self-actuation function.
“Even if it was divided in a big way, there were four main functions, but as an armor, the protection power was poor.”
“Ah, I see that it breaks easily.”
“You’re talking as if you’ve used it yourself.”
“…I watched it break from the side.”
While Rey tapped his temple to regain consciousness, Zeppelin broke the barrier that was blocking his way and entered further inside.
“There is an artifact of a prototype made based on Hercules’ research data.”
Zeppelin, who stopped the party for a moment, opened the white door and went into the warehouse alone, and came out with an artifact in the form of shoulder armor and gaiters.
Zeppelin immediately placed the artifact on Johana’s left shoulder and right leg.
ooh-!
The shoulder blades and gaiters vibrated and stretched out a blue line of mana, linking them together.
Zeppelin took a staff, created a fireball, and pointed it at Johana.
Wow!
A blue shield was immediately deployed from the artifact, blocking the fireball.
“It also has the ability to deploy such a shield…”
When Zeppelin blinked, Rey drew a sword and made a sword, then brought it close to Yohana’s chest.
Then, the artifacts attached to Johana’s shoulders and calves quickly climbed up her limbs and thickly covered Johanna’s chest.
“In case of emergency, it has the ability to directly defend the vital point by transforming its shape like this. It may not be very good in protection, but compared to the armor-type artifact, it has the advantage that it hardly harms the user’s athletic ability.”
“Wow, that’s great.”
Ray sincerely admired it.
Zeppelin tapped the shoulder girdle that wrapped around Johana’s shoulder and added an explanation.
“There is also a function that converts internal energy into thrust. However, it is not an energy-efficient device. After using it a few times, you have to ask a wizard to recharge it.”
Zeppelin handed Rey a piece of paper.
The spell used to recharge the artifact handed to Yohana was written on it.
Ray thanked him and put the paper in his arms.
On the other hand, Yohana smiled like a punk with her mouth wide open.
“Eheh… hehe…”
An Artifact that detects threats on its own and protects its owner.
Johanna thought that such a great artifact could only be seen in a children’s book.
However, the artifact in the children’s book was now in his hands.
“Hehehe…”
Zeppelin pushed Johanna from behind, who was losing consciousness.
“Go over there. You must enter your physique information correctly to fully utilize the Artifact’s features.”
Zeppelin shoved Johanna into a room with a machine capable of scanning human bodies, and then went into the next room to receive data from the machine.
For a moment, there were only two people left in the hallway, Rey and Ernst.
Ray was nauseous again.
Lei slowly averted his eyes, and Ernst calmly opened his mouth.
“A man must be treated with honey and a whip.”
“…”
Rey gave up and turned to Ernst.
Ernst made eye contact with Rey and spoke behind his back.
“However, I will hand you only honey filled with water. Do you know why?”
“…Is it because I’m smart enough?”
“That’s right.”
Most people are no different from beasts, and before being whipped, they often get confused about whose hand the whip is in.
However, in Ernst’s eyes, Rey was smart enough and quick-witted.
He wasn’t stupid enough to mistake his own plight that a whip wouldn’t tear his skin.
“That’s why I don’t understand it any more. I think you gave me enough time to think, but what the hell are you still hesitating about?”
“…”
Rey controlled her expression while suppressing her heart beating fast.
It was an expected question, so I prepared an answer in advance.
Rei, who somehow pretended to be calm to avoid suspicion, opened her mouth.
“It’s uncomfortable to say unintentionally, but to be honest, it’s because the situation in the Empire is unstable.”
“state of affairs…?”
“I don’t have a great background. I have a lot of things I want to protect, but I have nothing but my humble strength. So, after the chaos of the Empire subsided, I wanted to stand behind the victor safely. It was.”
“This chaos is an opportunity to increase your value.”
“Even if I don’t have to take that risk, my worth is already great enough.”
“Haha… That’s right.”
Ernst smiled contentedly and closed the distance with Rey.
“Your thoughts make sense. But others will think of you as mine already. I will make it that way.”
“…there is still a lot of grace to be repaid to Count Phillips.”
“I like people who want to keep their faith. I will not forget the grace I have given you. So I will respect your position as well.”
Ernst wiped Rey’s shoulder with both hands and whispered while keeping his head close.
“The confusion will soon be over.”
The emperor delayed the task because he was offended, and the easy task escalated into bloodshed, but it would still be only a small commotion.
“So, I’ll wait a little longer. Don’t tease this old man too much.”
“All right.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Ernst took a step back.
Ernst also didn’t want Rei and his feelings to break, so Ernst wanted to take it easy.
Around that time, Yohana, who had finished optimizing, came out of the room.
It seemed like he was quite excited that he couldn’t stop laughing.
Zeppelin also came out after finishing work and asked Rey with a face full of energy.
“Now… Now it’s your turn, Rey. If there are any features you want for weapons or armor, please tell me.”
Everything you want will be here.
just say it I will generously select and hand over the overflowing high-performance artifacts.
Seeing Zeppelin showing strong pride and confidence, Ray responded.
“A space storage.”
“Are you arguing with me now ?”
