Chapter 628: The Architect (1)
Time passed quickly in the Upper Workshop District after resolving the incident at Cyberd’s workshop.
Lennok continued his work as a craftsman, gathering information about the Ascension Gate whenever he had spare time.
“The clues I got about the Ascension Gate through Boyan’s memories are more numerous than I expected.”
Lennok’s eyes gleamed sharply as he rapidly scanned through thick books and dissertations.
“Even if I can’t immediately find top-secret information like the Ascension Gate’s exact location, I can certainly trace its origins and history.”
If this had been when Lennok first arrived in Machina, he wouldn’t have been able to delve so deeply into the city’s residential areas to conduct his investigation.
Even the library he was currently sifting through documents in was a facility only accessible to craftsmen residing in the Upper Workshop District or residents holding equivalent ‘tickets’.
However, due to various issues he had resolved while working as a craftsman, his opportunities to access Machina’s core districts had increased more than he anticipated.
Lennok had not overlooked this fact and was striving to make the most of what was available to him.
“I’ll have to gradually reduce my workshop hours, but maintain my craftsman status until I find a definitive lead.”
After a brief break at the library, he returned to the workshop, preparing to greet customers.
It seemed Cyberd’s promise to introduce Lennok’s workshop to other craftsmen was no idle boast, as customers flocked to him despite the workshop’s recent relocation.
THWACK!!
“My workshop’s customers suddenly vanished a month ago…!! Please, you must help me!!”
As if they had all heard about him from Cyberd, they even meticulously brought printed photos of their workshops for Lennok.
Upon seeing the photo of the workshop the craftsman handed him, Lennok immediately asked,
“You recently changed your raw material supplier, didn’t you? Is that correct?”
“Th-that’s right!!”
Rather than being surprised or shocked, the craftsman eagerly nodded, as if his expectations had been met.
“The transport cart visible at the bottom of the photo is slightly warped. Since a workshop wouldn’t use a broken cart for long, it means the weight and type of metal being transported have significantly changed recently.”
“Just as the rumors said…!!!”
Instead of responding, Lennok pointed to a corner of the workshop photo the craftsman had brought.
“The wall next to the furnace is damp. That’s impossible considering the heat. Evaporated moisture from inside is mixing with mana and continuously discoloring the furnace.”
“B-but the supplier I contracted with said that if I used their refined alloy, there would absolutely be no mana leakage…!!”
Lennok gazed at the photo for a moment longer, then pointed to a pair of tongs resting on the workbench.
“These tongs, seeing that one end is bent, appear to be equipment made with a shape-memory alloy.”
“Oh? Uh-huh… that’s right…”
“This type of shape-memory alloy is often created by synthesizing mana with liquid metal.”
Lennok shook his head at the craftsman, who had responded hesitantly.
“Heat exposure for too long seems to be causing the liquid metal and mana to separate and behave independently.”
“Wh-what should I do, then?!”
“You should change suppliers immediately.”
“Ugh, I thought I’d found a groundbreaking way to cut costs…”
Mouser, who was hammering on a workbench, clicked his tongue at the sight of the dejected craftsman leaving.
“Looks like he got scammed by a supplier. Foolish craftsmen occasionally fall for that, but for someone in the Upper Workshop District to be so naive…”
“New alloys are often difficult to understand at a glance, making it easy for craftsmen to be scammed, I hear.”
Lennok tapped the newspaper spread out on the table next to his workbench.
“The news says iron prices have risen a lot recently, so he probably wanted to cut costs if possible.”
Mouser turned to Lennok with a jaded look.
“You seem more accustomed to Machina than I am now, don’t you think?”
“It would be good if Craftsman Mouser paid a little more attention to current events.”
“…”
Small talk in the workshop as noon approached, followed by a short break after a simple meal.
Every day at this time, Lennok would visit the library near the Workshop District to search for materials related to the Ascension Gate.
“Meldranz, Deborah, Claschik, Belmaga… wrong.”
Lennok, who had been sifting through a book on Machina’s ultimate gates and district barriers, eventually closed the thick volume and rose from his seat.
“I’ve gone through hundreds of specialized books over the past few days, but I can’t find the one name I’m looking for…”
Excluding his hours at the workshop, Lennok spent almost all his other days at the library, immersed in research. Yet, the information he needed most remained elusive.
From Boyan’s memories, there was a single word the man had muttered just before entering the gate.
The designer of the Ascension Gate, Artemeyer.
Lennok was convinced that this name would be crucial in tracing the Ascension Gate and had been sifting through books and dissertations, but after several days, he still hadn’t found the name anywhere.
[Master, I’ve confirmed that Machina’s internal security module reacts when that particular word is entered into the search bar and a search is initiated.]
Davi, nestled in Lennok’s arms, seemed to have found some success herself, quietly relaying her findings.
[In some sites or networks, it’s even set as a forbidden word, and it seems almost certain that a location tracker is activated when that name is searched.]
“So, if you search for the name Artemeyer, the security system is designed to trace the search location back to you.”
Not only could he not find the name Artemeyer by sifting through all the nearby library materials, dissertations, and databases, but merely searching for the name on the network would result in his location being traced.
It seemed certain that Machina was deliberately preventing that name from being widely known.
“They’re intentionally hiding and concealing the designer of the Ascension Gate. Why?”
Information about the Ascension Gate, considered Machina’s biggest project, was not properly disclosed to the public, but its traces certainly remained.
Even if there were no books explicitly detailing the name or progress, the fact that a massive project had taken place decades ago and ended without achieving its goals was recorded everywhere.
Among these records, there were even detailed names of politicians who were executed for their responsibility in the project’s failure, or Enforcers who were exiled.
“…”
Lennok’s finger, idly flipping through a wanted criminals’ directory, stopped as he fell into thought.
[Leading figure among project exiles. Maiya Lonsdale]
It was because the personal details of Pandemonium’s Enforcer, whom Lennok knew well, were listed quite extensively.
A superhuman of the highest caliber, once Machina’s top Enforcer, but exiled after taking responsibility for the Ascension Gate’s failure.
Perhaps because she had worked as an Enforcer in Machina for so long, the wanted directory contained quite detailed information about her.
[The Enforcer with the most achievements and accomplishments in Machina’s history. Held the position of head of the Enforcer agency twice, and after three resignations, was purged as an exile.]
[Graduated top of the 239th Enforcer curriculum. Officially recorded as having completed self-transformation and reached 7th level at the age of 34. Current estimated Hierarchy: 8th level or higher.]
[Known for memorizing the geography and locations of all Machina’s districts and zones, excelling in pursuit and escape operations.]
[Proficient in hand-to-hand combat, weapon mastery, and marksmanship, holding over three types of special weapon licenses. All records deleted upon expulsion.]
“Maiya Lonsdale…”
Thinking back, when he first encountered Maiya in the Hanghasa Labyrinth, she was moving with the Doctor’s avatar.
Considering she also appeared during the mid-term settlement, would it be more accurate to assume she has some kind of cooperative relationship with the Doctor?
Given that the Doctor’s identity has been found in Machina, and his abilities seem somewhat related to the Ascension Gate, Maiya’s situation is something to consider.
“…I might need to contact Pandemonium.”
Maiya, as a former Enforcer, would likely know about Artemeyer’s existence.
The problem was that the Ascension Gate’s failure was such a sensitive topic for Maiya, it was uncertain if there was a way to ask her about Artemeyer without provoking her.
Ultimately, if he wanted to smoothly find the Ascension Gate’s designer in this matter, he would need a more subtle yet sharp approach…
Lennok thought up to that point and then rose from his seat.
Although Lennok had less time for consulting due to focusing on research, his speed in handling tasks only increased.
It was proof that by dealing with various cases and requests in the workshop, he was becoming accustomed to seeing beyond the surface.
Initially, Lennok could only find the cause after hearing the customer’s explanation, but now he was getting faster and faster, to the point where he could start giving estimates just by looking at a customer’s attire.
“I can’t handle large-scale industrial equipment, so please try another workshop.”
“I don’t accept requests for military supplies. I believe there’s a workshop that specializes in military equipment; you should go there.”
“Is this the police? A criminal just abruptly came to me asking to leave his equipment…”
“Whaaaat!!”
He would grasp the problem of the unannounced craftsmen and customers, quickly filtering what he could and couldn’t do.
In the process, he reported suspicious individuals to the police, directed requests outside his specialty to professional workshops, and offered solutions first for matters requiring consultation.
“You should extend the oiling interval for your equipment to about two weeks.”
“Huh? But I haven’t said anything yet…”
Eventually, Lennok started offering solutions even before customers who visited his workshop could state their problem.
The customers who found their desired answers left the workshop, but all of them returned home looking as if they had been possessed.
“Are you Lyman, the one in this workshop district who tells fortunes for customers?”
“…”
“Tell me my fate. Am I destined to be king?”
As more time passed, strange rumors also spread, leading all sorts of customers to seek Lennok out.
“I’m sorry, Craftsman Lyman. We’ve received multiple reports that your workshop is a cult, so we just need a quick confirmation signature…”
“…Huh?”
He even had to attend the police station briefly, following the apologetic officer, and hear the absurd news that his workshop had been reported as a cult multiple times.
One day, as he was immersed in his workshop work, searching for traces of the Ascension Gate and Kaiser,
“Long time no see, Lyman.”
Ibert, the administrator in charge of the Upper Workshop District, came to visit him, replacing Narcissa.
A skilled craftsman who, like Mouser and Narcissa, had studied metallurgy at the Furnace General’s workshop, and was himself a Meister.
Lennok shook his hand without hesitation and immediately asked,
“The Ex Machina summons. Is it time?”
When Ibert moved Lennok’s workshop to the Upper Workshop District, he mentioned that Ex Machina would summon Lennok to the Heart-Star Vault.
Lennok remembered that conversation but had not been told a specific schedule. Now, Ibert, who hadn’t shown his face until then, visited his workshop for the first time.
However, Ibert gave a wry smile and shook his head slightly.
“It is related to the summons, but also not quite.”
“Oh?”
“Elava. Let’s talk inside first.”
No sooner had Ibert spoken than a woman followed him briskly into the workshop.
She wore light work clothes, sturdy work boots, and had striking, thick eyebrows.
Her appearance clearly marked her as a craftsman, and her expression was equally spirited.
She immediately approached Mouser, politely clasped her hands, and bowed her head.
“Craftsman Lyman, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“…?”
“If you don’t mind, could I briefly discuss a problem I’m having?”
Mouser, realizing the woman was confusing him with someone else, chuckled.
“Ibert. Didn’t you explain properly? What a prank.”
“Huh?”
The woman tilted her head, momentarily failing to understand Mouser’s words.
Ibert smiled, looking at the woman, and pointed to Lennok.
“Craftsman Lyman is him. You’ve got the wrong person.”
“Huh? No, the craftsman who consulted for Cyberd’s workshop, then…?”
The woman, looking perplexed, hesitated and then walked back to stand before Lennok, bowing her head.
“N-nice to meet you. My name is Elava.”
“…”
Lennok gazed at the woman who introduced herself as Elava and then spoke.
“It’s not a problem with a workshop, is it?”
“Huh? Ah…”
Elava scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
“You’re right. I don’t have my own workshop yet.”
“It seems you’re working as an apprentice under another craftsman. Are you planning to quit soon?”
“Uh, oh? Yes… No, how did you know?”
Elava, having answered without thinking, asked back with curiosity.
Lennok turned his head, picked up a hammer, and replied,
“Craftsmen, regardless of gender, who have long hair tend to have many traces of their work left in their hair.”
“Huh?”
“Your hair overall isn’t uniform, but the part tied up at the base is barely singed. Even though you’ve been a craftsman for quite some time, it’s evidence that you haven’t been near a furnace for at least a week.”
“…”
“For an apprentice craftsman not to be sitting in front of the furnace, doesn’t that mean their heart has already left the place?”
Elava, who had been listening to Lennok in a daze, finally snapped out of it with a gasp.
“I-it’s truly as the rumors say. No, how could you know just from that…?”
“Naturally, it’s not something you can tell just from hair.”
Lennok chuckled, tapping a wire on the workbench with a hammer to bend it.
“Your light attire, unbefitting a craftsman, the difference in muscle mass between your two arms, the varying weight of your shoes, and the fact that they’re reinforced with fire-resistant fabric… It’s because I’m a workshop craftsman who works balanced in front of a super-hot furnace that I can tell whether you’re working or not by the singeing.”
“That makes even less sense…”
Elava muttered in a weak tone, then, as if finally realizing why she had come, pulled a thick paper bag from her arms.
“Th-this is my severance pay!!”
“…Huh?”
Ignoring Lennok, who was looking at it with a bewildered expression, Elava bowed deeply on the spot.
“I’ll do anything I can, so please correct whatever problems I have as a craftsman!!”
“…”
Lennok silently looked at Ibert, who then chuckled and explained.
“Exactly as she said. Could you assess what she lacks as a craftsman?”
“Is this related to being summoned to the Heart-Star Vault?”
Ibert nodded.
“I can’t give you a detailed explanation, but her help is absolutely necessary.”
“…”
Why would he need to assess Elava’s problems to gain access to the Heart-Star Vault?
While Lennok pondered the correlation, Mouser, with a bored expression, gestured towards Elava.
“Hey, come over here and write your name on the list.”
“Ah, understood!”
“You said Elava. What’s your last name?”
“Artemeyer.”
At that moment, Lennok, who had been turned away, stiffened.
“My name is Elava Artemeyer.”