Chapter 377
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 377
Chapter Title: Why Of All Things
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[Whoa, it's really finished.]
A massive cauldron.
Yuna Kyung marveled as she examined the engravings on its surface.
She trotted around it, circling the cauldron completely before continuing.
[I heard you jumped right into the work, but I figured it'd take at least a week. I never imagined you'd pull it off in just five days.]
"Really? I think even if you'd done it in a single day, that wouldn't be surprising at all."
[Come on, even for you, Team Leader, a day would be pushing it. Besides, if that were possible, you wouldn't have holed up here for five whole days, right?]
"Who knows... maybe not."
For a fleeting moment, he wore a mischievous expression.
Syr chuckled softly and said,
"Anyway, now that the vessel is ready, let's prepare to fill it."
[Yep, go for it!]
"...Why are you talking like you're just gonna sit back and watch?"
[Because I'm a delicate little birdie. These tiny wings of mine want to help, but they just can't.]
She was saying she'd stay out of the way so as not to hinder him.
Syr smiled back at the beaming Yuna Kyung and flicked a small gemstone with his finger.
"Zuiesza."
Boom!
"Eek!?"
Yuna Kyung fell flat on her butt.
The moment the gem Syr had thrown hit her,
she suddenly reverted to human form and lost her balance.
"Now that you have hands, you can help out."
"You're wasting such an expensive gem just to make me run errands? That's way too extravagant!"
"That's rich coming from you."
Perhaps due to the difference in their magical prowess.
Unlike her usual half-human, half-bird form, she now had perfectly normal hands and wings as she grumbled briefly.
Following Syr's instructions, Yuna Kyung got to work.
Drawing magic circles with mercury.
Placing candles at designated spots.
Hanging a small incense burner from the ceiling, and so on.
As she scurried about, the sealed chamber—which had only held the lone cauldron—gradually transformed into something resembling a witch's ritual room.
In the midst of it all,
Yuna Kyung suddenly paused.
"......"
Familiar hands she'd seen for so long and still used naturally.
Yet they felt strangely unfamiliar.
And because of that, all the more dear.
She stared blankly at her five fingers.
Syr watched her with evident curiosity.
Screeech.
"Old hag, you done prepping?"
"Still a bit left."
"Quit dragging your feet and hurry up."
"If you're in such a rush, why didn't you call sooner? It would've been done ages ago."
Syr breezily brushed off Rimon's prodding.
She gazed wistfully at Yuna Kyung, who had resumed her frantic preparations, then suddenly asked,
"So, kid, what're you gonna do?"
"About what?"
"About that."
Having already slipped on her glasses from her bosom, she peered at the cauldron's engravings and continued.
"Your engraving work is excellent, no doubt. With the power dwelling in it now, it's on par with most divine artifacts. But......"
"It's still not enough, right?"
"We're not just trying to make some ordinary divine artifact here."
Syr shrugged.
What they aimed to create was something unprecedented in history—not even the great witch who had lived for thousands of years had heard of its like.
To complete it, they'd need power transcending even magical miracles.
That was why Syr asked,
"The third stage is still out of reach, isn't it?"
"...Yeah."
From psionics to stellar power.
Plato's Engraving Knife could imbue its own power into anything he engraved.
It was truly a miraculous tool.
The problem was that to draw out 100% of its power, he had to pass all the trials.
And even Rimon hadn't cleared the final third-stage trial yet.
"I have no idea what that damn old coot Plato was thinking, calling this a trial and setting it up like this, but it's not something I can do right now."
Rimon clicked his tongue.
Of course, thanks to his persistent efforts to conquer the trial, he had brought the third stage's solution to within a single sheet of paper.
But he couldn't cross that final sheet.
And from experience, Rimon knew these sorts of issues couldn't be solved with mere skill or effort.
A shift in mindset.
Grasping a subtle trick.
Or a change in perspective.
A small enlightenment could solve it in an instant, but conversely, years of struggle might yield nothing.
Knowing this as well, Syr didn't press Rimon.
Instead, she asked leisurely,
"That's why I asked what you're gonna do. We could make Dagda's Cauldron like this, but it wouldn't fulfill your goal."
"Don't worry, old hag. That's why I've prepared a countermeasure."
The countermeasure he revealed.
Seeing the box on his back, Syr narrowed her eyes.
"Not a bad idea, sure, but is it enough?"
"Well, it'd be a bit iffy on its own. That's why I brought a special guest."
"Special guest?"
"Yeah."
Rimon smirked.
One reason he hadn't called Syr until now—despite finishing the engraving long ago—was to wait for that guest.
The girl in flowing sky-blue attire who had gone back home to counter economic sanctions and only just arrived.
"I leave it to you, silly princess."
"......"
"What's wrong?"
The white-haired princess standing behind Rimon.
Ainsha stared fixedly at the cauldron, scanned the room, and tilted her head.
"Ri, I wish to know why Li Chingwei is absent."
"Oh yeah, Princess Sis didn't come?"
Yuna Kyung looked puzzled.
She'd assumed Li Chingwei would naturally come with Rimon.
But behind him were only Ainsha, Tata, and Youin—no sign of her.
Rimon explained the reason.
"The princess can't make it today."
"Why?"
"She's got a cold, so I told her to rest."
"A cold? Princess Sis?"
Yuna Kyung's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
The Seven Dragon Society's experts were all superhumans.
As robust as high-level players, they didn't catch ordinary illnesses.
Yet the princess with dragon blood catching a cold?
Having learned alongside Rimon just how cheat-like the seven princesses were, Yuna Kyung could hardly believe her ears.
"Yeah, seems like overwork piled up on her."
"Overwork? I rolled around Africa like a dog and came back fine, so why her?"
"If you took on even a tenth of the paperwork she handles daily, you'd get it."
"...Yeah, now that I think about it, a cold makes sense."
But after hearing Rimon's explanation, Yuna Kyung immediately accepted why Li Chingwei was ill.
Having stripped the elder council of their authority opposing her marriage and taken their duties too, her workload was already immense.
On top of that, the Liberation Brigade's attack, the lord's death causing chaos, and economic sanctions had piled up, turning it murderous.
Even a Seven Dragon Society expert might have keeled over from overwork by now.
So Li Chingwei collapsing from exhaustion wasn't incomprehensible.
"No wonder I haven't seen Princess Sis for over four days. Guess she's been under the weather since then."
"...Yeah, something like that."
Yuna Kyung nodded in understanding.
Unaware of Rimon scratching his cheek,
or Syr's sly grin,
or Youin's profoundly ambiguous expression.
Blithely ignoring their gazes, Rimon turned to Ainsha, who watched him with her transparent eyes, and asked bluntly,
"Anyway, with the princess out, your burden might end up bigger than expected... You okay with that?"
"Of course. Just leave it to me."
Ainsha puffed out her slender chest confidently.
A faint chuckle escaped Rimon at her bold declaration, so at odds with her expressionless face.
Then he set down the box on his back.
Thud.
The ghostly girl who had peeked out from the box flinched in surprise and hid behind Yuna Kyung.
Syr pulled out various boxes and pouches from the valley between her ample bosom.
As Yuna Kyung finished the magic circle around the cauldron,
Rimon confirmed preparations were complete for a feat no human—nor even god—had ever achieved.
He murmured softly,
"Alright then, shall we make a bug item?"
"...There's more backlog than I thought."
"I'm sorry. My fellow elders and I handled as much as we could, but this was beyond us."
"Sir Lucas, there's no need for you to apologize. If anything, I should be the one sorry."
Ciserpent Earldom.
In the study, Rose gave a wry smile as she processed the mountain of documents.
Compared to Li Chingwei, who shouldered everything alone, or Ainsha suffering under economic sanctions, her own workload was lighter.
But a constant drizzle soaks through clothes.
It had been a month since Rose left for Africa.
The steadily accumulated papers were enough to draw a groan even from overwork-hardened Rose.
Despite not sleeping properly for four days straight since meeting Li Chingwei, focusing solely on work, this many remained.
"Princess, perhaps you should rest first?"
That was why Lucas suggested she take a break.
Having used Dragon Transformation, her body was already depleted; she needed to focus on recovery.
Seeing her cling to work in that state was worrisome.
But Rose shook her head.
"I'm fine."
"However......"
"I'm saying this because I truly am. So please, don't worry."
In fact, given the internal injuries from clashing with Branga while bearing Dragon Transformation's aftereffects, her condition was remarkably good.
Psionic control was a bit off,
but it didn't hinder daily life at all, and she even felt vitality amid the slight lethargy.
Having a vague idea of the cause,
Rose smiled faintly and spoke.
"Besides, if rest is needed, doesn't that apply to you too, Sir Lucas, with your wounds not fully healed?"
"Attending to you is my duty as your retainer."
"Then you understand my position as well?"
"......"
Lucas was finally at a loss for words.
Rose smiled gently at him and continued processing documents with a lighter heart.
Or tried to.
Until she saw a report different from the ones before.
"Sir Lucas, what's this?"
"Right after the London incident, it was belatedly confirmed that an important cultural artifact was stolen. This is the paperwork on the team dispatched to investigate."
"Which artifact?"
"Well......"
As if embarrassed to say it,
the moment she heard from the troubled Lucas what had been stolen,
Rose's face involuntarily hardened.
"Something that important vanished, and you only found out recently?"
"The chaos at the time was so severe that confirmation took time."
"Why of all things......"
She groaned.
Truthfully, it wasn't Lucas's fault.
Around the London incident, countless buildings had collapsed and items gone missing; not everything could be checked overnight.
Even so, Rose reproached him because the stolen artifact was that special.
"...I have no idea how to break this to the Sword Duke."