The Cat's Liberation
Just what the hell had he done? Dukeop-ilchi. A coined term meaning one's hobby aligning perfectly with one's profession. Thankfully, that phrase fit him like a glove. Ever since childhood, he'd been obsessed with mecha stories, so he'd walked the path of mechanical engineering. Even after waking up inside the game he loved, he could still tinker with machines. So for him, working with machinery was pure joy. Sketching blueprints for a desired function, then adjusting the machine until it performed at one hundred percent—every step of the process made him happy.
“Why~yong!”
In that sense, crafting a new prosthetic leg for this cat was also enjoyable. After all, he'd started the project out of pure goodwill mixed with personal desire.
Hmm… It needs materials with high elasticity.
That didn't mean he planned to half-ass it, though. He couldn't tolerate any defects in something that had passed through his hands.
I need highly elastic iron. Steel would put too much strain on the cat.
Which was why he absolutely hated the cat's current prosthetic. The previous one had been made of nothing but sturdy steel, so its weight threw off the cat's balance. It was also so rigid that every landing or jump sent heavy shock through the legs. He needed a material that could compensate for those flaws.
Shape-memory alloy.
The first material that came to mind was shape-memory alloy. It was iron with a strong tendency to retain its original form—durable, yet possessing a decent amount of elasticity.
I should also reduce the volume compared to the old one.
To lighten the weight, he decided to make the iron core thinner. According to his calculations, reducing the volume by 38.5 percent would bring it close to the weight of the cat's own bones.
And if I wrap that core in rubber…!
The rubber would act in place of skin, absorbing the impact whenever the cat landed.
I'll substitute springs for cartilage, place screws here to maintain the shape…
Once material selection was complete, he began the engineering design. He needed to connect the iron core in a way that best matched the cat's leg movements. Cats in particular moved on their toes, so the forepaw and hindpaw required excellent flexibility. That meant plenty of joints in those areas.
Finally, if I inscribe a Heat Preservation Scroll on the joint that connects to the cat's amputation site, it'll be finished.
A Heat Preservation Scroll. It was necessary because directly attaching the iron core to the severed leg would let the cold metal seep into the cat's skin and bones, damaging the tissue. So the joint had to be treated to maintain the same temperature as the cat's body heat.
“Alright. Let's get started.”
With every plan in place, he pulled out the Imperfect Creator's Hammer. After lighting the forge, he retrieved the materials from his inventory.
Clang!
Time to replace that pathetic excuse for a prosthetic.
Using Mana Tracking, Elena located Waeyong-i and headed straight for the forge. Along the way she sensed Ed's mana and felt relieved to confirm he was with the cat—his mana felt calm and gentle. He was probably looking after Waeyong-i.
“Waeyong-i!”
When she arrived at the forge, she found the cat. Waeyong-i sat near the cooling furnace, purring contentedly.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, Ed—who had been maintaining his equipment—turned to look at her. Elena's eyes took in the soot marks scattered across his skin. The instant she saw him, she instinctively realized he had used the forge without permission. The lingering heat from the fire confirmed it.
“·····?”
Then her gaze drifted to the new prosthetic on Waeyong-i's right hind leg. The design and structure were completely different from before. A cold glint flashed in Elena's eyes.
“Excuse me, did you change our Waeyong-i's prosthetic?”
She was grateful he'd looked after the cat. Thanks to him, she'd found Waeyong-i without any major incident. But that didn't give him the right to replace the prosthetic without the owner's permission. Especially not one that had cost a fortune.
“···Ah. Are you the cat's owner?”
“Yes.”
“Um… The old one didn't suit the cat. Honestly, it was complete garbage.”
“Ha, what did you just say?”
The reply was outrageous. He was calling an prosthetic that had cost several million Orden garbage. Of course, the only reason Elena had spent that much on such low-quality work was because she'd been ripped off. But as someone ignorant of machinery, she had no idea.
“Huh…? Wait, are you by any chance Professor Elena, the head professor?”
Just then, Ed recognized her and asked if she was really the head professor. Elena frowned deeply and tilted her head. Very few people knew she had become an academy professor.
“Who are you? How do you know I was appointed as a professor?”
He was suspicious. Knowing she was a professor was one thing, but knowing she was the head professor was another.
“Ah, well…”
Ed trailed off, scrambling for an excuse. The academy entrance ceremony hadn't even happened yet, so calling her “head professor” had been a slip of habit.
“Did you deliberately take Waeyong-i to lure me out? To get close to me?”
It was entirely possible. As the empire's archmage and the academy's head professor, she was in a position where many people tried to keep her in check.
“Ah, I mean, that's…”
Ed's face was clearly flustered as he fumbled for words. Elena, now convinced of her suspicion, began pressing him. Blue haze rippled around her body, and her black hair rose into the air. Ed hurriedly waved his hands.
“Please wait. Calm down first. It's not what you're thinking at all. I'm just a blacksmith.”
“·····A blacksmith?”
“Yes. The academy's equipment bidding competition. I got a waiting ticket to participate, but there was too much time left. My number was 27.”
“·····So?”
“I had too much time, so I went for a walk. That's when I found this one.”
“······.”
“I only knew you were an academy professor because I heard it from the previous participant. They said you were judging the equipment bidding competition. From the top seat, no less. So I just guessed on my own. If someone was sitting in the top seat judging the competition, they must have been appointed as the head professor here… But you really were appointed as head professor?”
Ed poured every ounce of sincerity into his performance, pleading his alibi. Elena nodded at his fairly convincing explanation. It was a plausible enough reason. She was a famous figure in the empire, after all.
“···Haa.”
She calmed the mana that had been boiling up. The red glow in her eyes returned to normal. Her black eyes turned toward Ed.
“Fine. I'll let the fact that you knew my position slide. But how are you going to explain using the forge without permission when the equipment bidding competition hasn't even ended?”
“···Well. I don't have an excuse for that.”
Ed cleanly admitted his mistake. After all, one needed the owner's permission to use this forge. Still, there were mitigating circumstances. All of this had happened while he was helping Elena's cat, hadn't it? He began to appeal that point.
“But as you can see, I cleaned everything up neatly. And the reason I used the forge was for this cat…”
“···Enough. That's enough.”
Elena had no interest in hearing his excuses. The fact that he'd replaced the prosthetic without permission already annoyed her. On top of that, he'd broken the rules. What if he'd used the academy forge to work on something he planned to submit for the bidding review? That would be a serious violation of fairness.
“Regardless of the reason, breaking the rules is breaking the rules. You said you were participant number 27?”
“······.”
“What's your name?”
“······.”
“Your name. What is it?”
Ed looked at Elena's stiff expression. Those resolute eyes had already decided his punishment. Nothing he said would get through to her now.
“Edga Fix.”
“···Participant 27, Edga Fix. You are disqualified.”
After disqualifying him, Elena picked up Waeyong-i. She looked at Ed, who stood with his head bowed, lips pressed tight, and left him with one final remark.
“Fix… If your surname is Fix, then you're a commoner. If there were a skilled blacksmith among commoners, I would have known about them. But I don't.”
“······.”
“Live up to your name, Edga Fix. This academy was built for the elite from the start. Touching someone else's belongings without skill isn't kindness—it's just recklessness.”
“······.”
“Don't be too discouraged. Think of it as a life lesson. You shouldn't carelessly touch a noble's possessions.”
With those words, Elena turned her back. Ed stared blankly at her retreating figure with hollow eyes. Tap— Tap— The sound of her proud heels gradually faded away.
“···I'm screwed.”
To Ed, that sound was like a departing train—the train of salvation he absolutely had to board had left without him.
“·····Should I dig a route through the sewers?”
Ed muttered the joke that was half serious. A self-deprecating laugh slipped out.
“Why~yong!”
It was truly strange. Waeyong-i, who usually struggled with all its might to escape her arms the moment she picked it up, was now purring and staying perfectly still in her embrace. Had it missed her arms after being apart for such a short time? Elena smiled as she stroked Waeyong-i's head.
“······.”
But her smile looked somehow sad. Or rather, it was barely maintaining the shape of a smile, with only the corners of her mouth twisted upward. She was worried about the cost of fitting Waeyong-i with a new prosthetic.
“Haa… I'm ruined.”
Replacing Waeyong-i's prosthetic would cost several million Orden. That kind of money was a heavy burden for someone who was already repaying her adoptive parents' debt. Actually, the whole idea of her—a former commoner—calling herself a noble after being adopted by a noble couple was ridiculous to begin with. And yet she'd lectured someone about “living up to their name.” Even she thought it was a pathetic bluff.
“Live up to your name…”
Why had she said something like that? How could she so casually throw out the words that had been her greatest wound as a child?
···Right. Maybe this came from growing pains. Because she knew better than anyone how painful it was to live as a commoner among nobles, she'd wanted to warn him—even with harsh words—not to get involved with nobles carelessly. And maybe… she'd simply changed. She was now undeniably a noble who held a share of power. Though people still whispered that she was only half a noble.
“Why~yong!”
Just then, Waeyong-i, who had been resting quietly in her arms, suddenly jumped out. Elena gasped and reached out toward the cat leaping to the floor. Waeyong-i had always failed to land properly because of its bad leg and ended up tumbling over.
“Huh?”
But that wasn't what happened. Not only did Waeyong-i land safely—it executed a perfect breakfall. And then—
“Why~~~yong!”
The cat that had always limped began to run. No, it wasn't just running—it was sprinting. Just watching it, Elena could feel Waeyong-i's sense of liberation.
“H-How…?”
But how was this possible? The empire's most skilled blacksmith had told her that simply being able to walk would be a miracle. According to him, in order for a cat to “barely” run, one had to perfectly understand its leg structure and mechanics, then assemble it with zero margin of error. But to do that, he'd said, one would have to dissect the cat's legs, spend months analyzing them, and design suitable materials and blueprints.
'But no blacksmith would ever go that far!'
'Besides, doing all that would cost an enormous amount of money. If you pay me three times the usual fee, I'll consider it. Hahaha!'
The conversation she'd had with the imperial blacksmith suddenly resurfaced. Elena clutched her head as she recalled it. If that conversation had been true, then she'd just spewed nonsense at Edga Fix—the man who had accomplished this incredible feat.
'Live up to your name, Edga Fix. This academy was built for the elite from the start. Touching someone else's belongings without skill isn't kindness—it's just recklessness.'
“Aaaagh—!”
Unable to bear it, she let out a rare childish scream and stomped the floor. The memory of herself preaching so self-importantly was simply too humiliating.