Andre
Today was Saturday. We could have met tomorrow, but I decided to go see him today anyway. It felt wrong to keep someone who had come from far away waiting too long, and more than that—
“I get to meet that legendary craftsman…”
Seeing the blatant excitement on Maru’s face made me want to introduce them as soon as possible. Andre wasn’t a bad person, after all. Eccentric, sure, but not bad.
“You like the idea that much?”
“Yeah! He’s the absolute pinnacle among craftsmen!”
“The person right in front of you is the pinnacle of swordsmen, you know.”
“Huh?”
“Hmph.”
I pretended to sulk for a moment before heading into the Association building the same way as before. This time, I didn’t feel any of those sticky stares. Maybe they really had just glanced over out of curiosity?
“When is Fenrir arriving?”
“I’m here. I just arrived.”
Fenrir was the nickname he used for me. In Korea I was called Baekwol, but abroad I was known as Fenrir.
“I’d appreciate it if you could call me Baekwol while we’re here.”
“Ah, that’s right. My apologies.”
By the way, there was no language barrier. This was a world where magic translators powered by spells existed. They didn’t just translate the words you heard; they let you understand the intent behind the speech itself. They weren’t mass-produced items, though, so only a few members of high society could own one. Naturally, I had one, and Andreas did too. I’d lent Maru my spare. He could have just kept it.
“Where is this Imprinter?”
“He’s right here.”
“He doesn’t look particularly special.”
For the record, the man was incredibly stubborn. No amount of threats would make him sell out information on his clients. Was that stubbornness or conviction? Either way, he was someone I could trust even if he was a foreigner.
“Could you show me once?”
“A simple imprint would be fine, if that works.”
“Doesn’t matter. We just need to confirm whether it’s possible.”
I held out my arm to Cheon Maru. Understanding what I wanted, he engraved a simple imprint on it. It was nothing more than a basic speed enhancement with weak effects. One minute after the simple imprint appeared on my arm, Andre’s eyes widened.
“This is… real!! An imprint actually engraved on a living person!!!”
Andre was the classic craftsman character you saw in fiction. Completely uninterested in money or fame, he lived only to uphold his beliefs and create masterpieces. To someone like him, this new technology had to be more tempting than anything else in the world.
“How did you engrave it?! Did you match the wavelength?! Or did you access some fundamental essence?!”
“Um… just a moment…”
“We don’t know either. That’s precisely why we called you, Master Andreas.”
Only after the Association President stepped in to calm the wildly excited Andre could we finally have a proper conversation.
“So you want me to uncover as much as possible about this imprint?”
“Yes. The more information, the better.”
“Hah! With bait like this dangling in front of me, how could I not bite?”
Andre pulled out a cigarette. Right, he was a notorious chain-smoker.
“Master Andreas. This is a no-smoking area.”
“Hm? Ah, my apologies. My mistake.”
He put the cigarette away again. At least when it came to anything outside his specialty, he was a perfectly reasonable person. Even within his field, he was practically a saint compared to other X-rank hunters.
…Looking at it this way, maybe we should call them X-rank lunatics instead of X-rank hunters. The bad reputation had spread way too far. No matter how hard the Pope and I worked to raise the average, just one person like Cheonma or Zeus was enough to drag it straight into the abyss.
“Hmmm… Then would it be all right for me to stay in Korea for a while? This doesn’t seem like something that can be solved in a day or two.”
“We would be grateful if you could.”
“Good. You come along too.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. It’s your ability, so naturally you’ll need to cooperate.”
“Ah, but he can’t stay here continuously. He’s an Academy cadet.”
“What?!”
Ah, here it came. His eccentric side. This was going to get annoying.
“No! Then how am I supposed to conduct my research?!”
“I’ll bring him here every holiday. You can work with him then…”
“So I’m supposed to just sleep here on weekdays?!!”
When I thought about it, he had a point. Summoning the world’s greatest craftsman and then telling him to sit around doing nothing for five days out of the week? That really wasn’t reasonable.
“Kyeeeeeek!!! Call him every day!! Tell him to come every day!!!”
In the blink of an eye, the laid-back master craftsman had turned into a whining child.
“Starting two weeks from now, he’ll be able to come every day. So for now, please calm down…”
“So I’m supposed to just sleep for ten days?!! Right now I’m—”
Even the Association President looked like he was struggling to calm him down. If Andre stormed off in a rage, we’d be the ones losing out.
“Th-the heart!!”
So I decided to offer suitable compensation. If he had a new toy to play with, he probably wouldn’t complain.
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes. One kilogram should keep you from getting bored during that time.”
“The most important duty of an Academy cadet is their studies. Take your time coming.”
“…”
Among the loot we obtained from defeating the Apocalypse, the most valuable item was undoubtedly the boss monster’s heart. The 77-kilogram heart and the 37 kilograms of heart bone had never once been released to the market. X-rank hunters hoarded them all. That was why, to craftsmen, the Heart of the Apocalypse was practically a legendary material. Though honestly, those guys probably just stuffed it in a warehouse and forgot about it.
There had been a few instances where something similar circulated—my sword Baekwol and the Deep Sea Fisherman’s Fishing Gear. Both were made from the heart bone, so no one had ever processed the actual heart before. Well, maybe that Tot guy had tinkered with one.
Thinking back on it now, I probably should have offered less, but there was no taking it back. If I reduced the amount, the old man would throw another tantrum.
“Yes… then we’ll be counting on you. We’ll take our leave—”
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
Andre suddenly called out with a serious expression.
“If his imprint can be engraved on living beings as well.”
“…”
“Then it should be possible to imprint on Baekwol too.”
“…!”
That was true. If it could be engraved on living creatures, then there was a chance it could work on my Baekwol, which was similar to a living being and had previously rejected imprints. I’d been so focused on the massive benefits of imprinting on people that I’d completely forgotten about that possibility.
“This time, I will definitely complete it. My greatest masterpiece—Baekwol.”
“…I’ll look forward to it.”
“It may even become a collaborative work. Well, that would be enjoyable in its own way.”
He really was a good person, eccentricities notwithstanding. I wished the other X-rank hunters could be even a little more like him.
***
Time passed quickly. Weekdays were filled with Academy classes and study sessions. Holidays were spent on imprint research with Andre. The research, by the way, progressed surprisingly fast.
“Your method of imprinting is anything but ordinary.”
Normally, imprinting involved infusing formulas of magical power into an object or surface. It was a field of strict calculation.
“But you’re embedding will instead of formulas.”
“…Will?”
“Yes, will. Or you could call it desire. The important thing is that your imprinting is clearly alien to the standard method.”
To put it simply, he said it was like the difference between liberal arts and sciences. Normal imprinting was one hundred percent in the sciences domain, yet Cheon Maru was solving the problem through a liberal arts approach.
“Instead of calculating the numbers correctly according to the proper method, it’s like desperately praying for the answer to write itself.”
“And that actually produces results?”
“It shouldn’t. And yet it does.”
On top of that, it seemed Cheon Maru and Andre had grown somewhat close. Andre would occasionally teach him little tricks. He said it was thanks for letting him experience something so fascinating.
“I’ll need to look into it more, but it doesn’t seem like something only you can do. It’s similar to healing magic.”
Everyone knew how to use healing magic. The Vatican had spread the knowledge. The problem was that without innate talent, you could train for decades and still barely grasp it. That was why healers were treated so preciously.
“Does that mean anyone with the aptitude can learn it?”
“With a high probability.”
That was a relief. No matter what, if Cheon Maru wasn’t the only one who could do it, the chances of him being targeted would almost disappear.
“By the way, Baekwol.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Could you possibly spare a bit more of the heart?”
“…”
“No, I’m not saying this for my own benefit.”
It sure sounded like he was.
“Cheon Maru, was it? I need it to verify his ability. I still don’t know the exact reason, but the power of the heart is resonating with his imprinting.”
“…Pardon?”
“To be precise, it seems his imprinting only displays its true worth when the heart’s power is used as a catalyst.”
What was he talking about? What connection could there possibly be between Cheon Maru and the Apocalypse?
“As I said earlier, his imprinting belongs to the realm of will rather than calculation. And didn’t you two mention it? The Apocalypse changed everything according to its own will.”
“Yes.”
“Perhaps his imprinting method is similar to the Apocalypse’s power. Twisting the world through will alone. Look at this.”
There was a single mouse. Probably a lab rat. An imprint had been engraved on its body. It must have been one of Cheon Maru’s.
“This is the imprint he engraved. If I melt this heart and infuse its power into it…”
At that moment the imprint began to glow, and something astonishing happened.
“This is…”
The mouse suddenly vanished. I wondered where it had gone, only to see it had reappeared about three meters away.
“Teleportation?”
“Correct. He infused the desire to teleport three meters forward.”
“…Hasn’t spatial movement been proven impossible?”
“It has. Yet he and this heart have accomplished it.”
So it really worked. My head was starting to hurt again. If other countries that possessed Hearts of the Apocalypse learned this imprinting method, there was no telling what they might do. Those people wouldn’t hand over their hearts easily, but if the price was right, who knew?
“…You don’t know the limits yet, do you?”
“I don’t. However, the consumption is enormous. Three meters of movement used three grams. Also, this isn’t a permanent imprint—it’s single-use. Quite inefficient.”
“Haah…”
Using the entire 77-kilogram heart would only allow for 77 kilometers of instant movement. Definitely not efficient. Especially when you considered the heart’s value. At this rate, I could relax a little.
“I’ll give you another 200 grams for now. Please continue the research. I need to speak with the Association President for a moment.”
“Didn’t I tell you? I like how generous you are.”
I wasn’t doing it for your sake. Wait… hold on…
“Master Andreas.”
“What is it?”
“Is it possible to cure an unknown illness in a specific individual?”
Cheon Maru’s gaze turned toward me. He must have realized what I was talking about. I looked at Andre with desperate hope. That brief moment felt like an eternity.
“Hmm…”
Andre pondered. Then his mouth opened—
The master craftsman’s verdict hangs in the balance…