Chapter 954: The Prohibition (9)

The Duris Workshop, located in the heart of Hudderfield Forest.

An Arcane Workshop that produces and sells artifacts, a prestigious workshop that has received the title and rank of ‘atelier’.

Lennok walked through the vast lobby hall, where guests were welcomed, accompanied by a guide.

…

Lances and shields. Rings and necklaces, insignias and cloaks. All sorts of ornaments and equipment hung on the workshop walls, emitting dazzling light.

Multicolor mana shimmered and swirled through the artifacts, showcasing the useful and powerful abilities they contained.

Whoosh!

In the fountain located in the center of the lobby, a living water spirit held a vase, letting water flow.

A steel warhorse, its entire body made of flames, snorted as if alive from a corner of the workshop.

A gigantic dinosaur fossil hung suspended from the workshop ceiling, slowly moving as if on display.

Even for Lennok, who had acquired countless treasures and engaged in both crafting and repair, the scene was full of sights he had never seen before.

If even Lennok was momentarily captivated by the workshop’s displays, what would it be like for others?

“Ring of the Flame Ghost Imprint. 580 million cells.”

“Shadow Cloak. 307.75 million cells. VAT separate.”

“Elizain’s Immortality. 4.8 billion cells. Please note that only cash transactions are possible.”

The guide, waiting with a tense expression, immediately explained the abilities and prices whenever Lennok’s gaze fell upon an item.

But Lennok’s expression, as he listened to the guide’s explanation, showed no particular reaction to such details.

…

A distinguished guest, whom Meister Elbato Duris personally requested to be attended to.

He must be a very important client, receiving significant treatment even within the workshop itself.

Certainly, he must be a collector with extremely high standards, so much so that the artifacts displayed here wouldn’t even meet his criteria.

While the guide, thinking so, increased his enthusiasm and continued explaining the artifacts produced by the workshop.

Swish!

Guests who had arrived at the workshop later than Lennok passed through the lobby hall and disappeared at regular intervals.

Some watched Lennok with meaningful gazes, while others ignored him and continued their conversations with traders.

“Sir, the protective lenses you ordered have been completed, and we’ve contacted you.”

“Not bad. Is it alright to conduct the transaction with goods in kind this time as well?”

“Yes. We’ve made them in the form of spectacles as before, so please try them on first—”

Although the conversations were quiet, Lennok knew that these were the workshop’s core clients.

While countless famous artifacts and items existed in this world,

the unique aspect of an Arcane Workshop lay in its ability to custom-order artifacts with desired abilities.

Powerful artifacts were useful in many ways, but conversely, their abilities were also widely known.

However, artifacts commissioned for custom-production at the workshop were secret treasures whose abilities only the Meister and the client themselves knew and could keep hidden.

This was why the continent’s prestigious royalty and superhumans sought out the workshop, commissioning desired items before departing.

…

He stopped the flustered guide and observed the discreet transactions taking place around the workshop.

This was because there remained a final verification step regarding the facts he had read and heard through the ledgers.

“You’ve waited a long time.”

Not long after, Elbato appeared before Lennok, holding dozens of blueprints.

He looked as if he had been busily moving about somewhere for a very long time.

With a weary look, he set down the bundle of blueprints he held in his hand, wiped his sweat, and spoke.

“It took a bit longer than I expected. Not many of the blueprints my father left behind were intact…”

“Don’t worry, I can wait as long as it takes.”

Lennok replied.

“I don’t intend to leave this place without verifying it here.”

His old memory of Oshuto Duris trading the lives of the cult’s priestess and his son.

After searching through the Duris Workshop’s ledgers, Lennok confirmed that Kaiser Bajour was the party who had initiated that transaction.

However, the ledger at the time did not specify exactly what equipment had been manufactured and handed over.

That was why Elbato had personally entered the warehouse where equipment blueprints were stored, alone, to find the blueprints of the equipment Oshuto had crafted at that time.

“For now, I’ve brought all the blueprints that match the serial numbers recorded in the ledger, but…”

Elbato said, flipping through the blueprints.

“The blueprint serial numbers differ depending on the year of production, so we’ll need to find the correct one among these.”

“Is this to prevent identifying the blueprints just by looking at the ledger?”

“Many of the items our workshop produces are made of valuable components, so…”

Elbato nodded apologetically, flipping through the blueprints as he explained.

“Still, since the number of components and materials used is set, finding the blueprint itself shouldn’t be difficult.”

“I see.”

“I’ll check quickly, so please wait a moment… By the way, was there any artifact that caught your eye?”

Elbato asked, gesturing for the guide to step away.

“If it’s an artifact crafted by our workshop, we are willing to offer it to you preferentially.”

“Do you need some kind of sponsorship?”

“It’s a personal token of gratitude.”

Elbato shook his head.

“How could I privately seek profit from someone who helped my father?”

“We should discuss this later.”

Lennok motioned with his head, arms crossed.

“They’re watching.”

…

As he said, other clients who recognized Elbato were looking their way with surprised expressions.

It wasn’t so much that they overheard the conversation, but rather that they were curious about who the distinguished guest was that the Meister himself came out to greet.

People scrutinized Lennok for a moment, but soon averted their gazes as if they hadn’t seen anything.

They were aware that clients commissioning custom artifacts needed to be equally sensitive about maintaining secrecy.

Only then did Elbato offer an awkward smile and nod.

“Understood. Please, come this way.”

Lennok followed Elbato to a crafting station in a corner of the lobby.

It was right next to the customer whom Lennok had passed by earlier, the one getting spectacles fitted.

He glanced to the side, but the man seemed too engrossed in conversation with his designated trader to notice.

…

“Wizard. I’ve found it.”

While Lennok was lost in thought, his face expressionless, Elbato immediately pulled out a single blueprint.

“Since the number of components used was small, I could identify the blueprint quickly.”

“Few components?”

“Yes. Take a look. Surprisingly…”

Elbato mumbled, hesitating slightly.

“…It’s a very, very simple component.”

At Elbato’s somewhat puzzled words, Lennok also immediately lowered his gaze toward the blueprint.

The record of the day the Guido Cult and Oshuto Duris traded artifacts.

A single entry detailing the date, trading party, compensation, and a drawing of the artifact’s blueprint.

The item traded, which Kaiser Bajour had commissioned for custom production and entrusted to the cult for receipt.

And Lennok, the moment he confirmed the blueprint, felt a strange emotion and fell silent.

“…What is this?”

A spiraling, concentric circle was simply drawn on the blueprint.

A bizarre shape, like a long iron string coiled round and pressed flat.

Though complex ancient script was engraved on the thin iron string’s surface, its form itself was quite simple.

Too small to be an artifact, yet relatively large for a component of some device.

“Not a universally used component. It looks like something that would only be used in extremely precise equipment…”

A component of a shape even Lennok, who had worked as a craftsman in the Machine City, Machina, and handled various artifacts, had never seen before.

But Elbato seemed to recognize the component’s identity the moment he saw the blueprint.

“It’s a spring used in clocks.”

“…A clock spring?”

“It’s used to flatten and coil a thin iron string, then attach it to a clock wheel.”

Elbato nodded.

As if to pour out all his knowledge, Elbato lightly coughed and then rapidly continued his explanation.

“It’s one of the components mainly used in mechanical clocks. When the clock operates, it makes the wheel oscillate at a regular interval, and the specific principle is, well—”

“Summarize it in one sentence, please.”

“Yes. It’s a component that controls the movement of a clock’s second hand.”

Lennok, who cut off Elbato’s lengthy explanation sharply, paused upon hearing the unexpected conclusion.

“…The movement of the second hand?”

The artifact traded with the cult wasn’t a weapon or a warfare device, but merely a component of a simple clock?

That Oshuto Duris made such an item was surprising enough, but it was even more unexpected that the item used in the transaction with the priestess was just a mere component.

“Yes. We don’t often call the component by a specific name, but its exact name is—”

And then, Lennok’s thoughts vanished, swept away by the next word Elbato uttered.

“It’s known as a Hairspring [遊絲]… I believe.”

…

Silence fell.

Lennok stood frozen as if in ice, while Elbato looked bewildered, wondering if he had made a mistake.

“I might be mistaken, but…”

“A component that moves a clock’s second hand…”

Lennok murmured, quietly gazing at the component.

“So that’s what it was.”

“…Wizard?”

With that single phrase, Lennok understood why Kaiser Bajour’s name was written here.

The mana particle exposure incident that occurred in the restricted area. The memory of the past he encountered at its core.

The end of someone who had sacrificed their Mind Imprint for Lennok and vanished.

At the end of the Primordial Lock of Tribulation’s End [胎易鎖迲葉], Kaiser’s final moment, when he chose annihilation, riding upon the clock’s second hand…

Hairspring [遊絲]. The component that moves a clock’s second hand.

Lennok already knew about a man who had lived a life akin to that clock component.

Moreover, he also knew how the word ‘hairspring’ was used among those who remained.

“The Hairspring’s Transcendent Style…”

…

The fleeting moment where coincidence and destiny converged within the memory of ascension.

Lennok still remembered what they had discussed at that time.

The moment the concept of Heaven’s Nadir was inverted. When the Converging Lock Formula approached.

The Hairspring’s Transcendent Style [越式] that the Director and the Pontiff had mentioned.

If the word ‘Hairspring’ itself referred to Kaiser Bajour,

Then, the Hairspring’s Transcendent Style was clearly—

Kaiser Bajour’s ascen—

“Oh dear.”

A calm voice resonated from beside Lennok.

Thud!

At that moment, the staff and customers walking through the workshop’s lobby began to lose consciousness and collapse.

Like dolls with severed strings, they crumbled as if losing the power to support their bodies on the spot.

“Huh…?”

Elbato, who had been sitting opposite Lennok, slowly closed his eyes, his head gently resting on the crafting station.

He bowed his head deeply, losing even the strength to resist, as if unable to overcome the overwhelming sleep.

The busy laborers moving about, the artisans who had been working diligently at their crafting stations for a long time.

All the spirits and mechanical equipment guarding the workshop also lost consciousness as if they were living beings.

At the moment when everything in the workshop fell silent, with only Lennok remaining in the center.

“You should be more careful.”

The young man sitting beside him was smiling at Lennok, his chin resting on his hand.

He brushed down the frames of his newly fitted spectacles and raised his gaze.

“In a place like this, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to be secretly listening, would it?”

…

A miracle that, in an instant, paralyzed the entire Arcane Workshop operated by the Meister, as if putting it to sleep.

Neither Spellcraft nor Authority was used.

Simply by revealing his Will-thought in this space-time, by manifesting his True Form.

All beings, regardless of whether they were human or superhuman, collapsed, unable to withstand the overwhelming pressure.

It was closer to a defense mechanism, where their sensory organs and consciousness shut down, overwhelmed by the immeasurable flood of information.

The sheer coincidence that such a preposterous feat could be performed with just a single word, by a monster sitting right beside him.

Therefore, it was no coincidence.

“I’d like to ask you that.”

Lennok, turning his gaze calmly, asked the spectacled young man.

His face, his presence, his physique. All different from what Lennok remembered.

But Lennok was already certain that he was here.

“Why are you here?”

The ultimate force symbolizing the power of the Guido Cult.

Praised as the most perfect incarnation among them, an adept who stood at the forefront of the cult.

The monster who was said to have infiltrated the Machine City, Machina, alone and massacred the Supreme Council.

The Second Apostle sat beside Lennok.