Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Thing That Rose from the Seafloor
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-Hey! When's the black iron plate coming?
-It's going up!
-We need to adjust the bow height! It doesn't fit here!
Bang bang—the small shipyard was unusually noisy. Short-legged dwarves and draconic shipwrights were running around frantically, hauling various materials, and hammering away on the massive ship.
The mystery that had risen from the ocean floor. The twisted, malformed deity. Quite some time had passed since the battle with the outer god that didn't even have a proper name. Delmure had regained its peace.
'The god is dead.'
They had covered the Black Feather Hawk with an armored steamship and rammed the colossal god. That was the end of the story as I remembered it. This clear conclusion—the god's demise—had exerted a massive influence on the world under the name of mystery. The outer god had fallen, and the Black Feather Hawk, transformed into a steamship, was smashed beyond seaworthiness.
Fortunately, it wasn't wrecked enough to sink completely, so the shipwrights here could repair it. It was a huge relief that we didn't have to buy a new ship.
Everyone had witnessed the god's end. The twisted faith had sunk beneath the calm sea surface. The residents no longer clung to ancient superstitions, which meant the lord had achieved his long-desired death of the god.
The formless monster that had lurked at the bottom of the sea since time immemorial had vanished just like that.
"Master. The lord is looking for you."
I'd been watching the Black Feather Hawk's repairs for a good while now. Durel's voice came from behind me.
"Looks like he found the materials I asked for?"
"Seems that way. Let's go."
Durel, who had come at the lord's behest, was alone. After the battle with the god, we'd been staying at the lord's manor. Lord Nortis, having achieved his cherished goal, had been extremely accommodating toward us.
Not only providing all sorts of conveniences, but he'd even pardoned the crimes hanging over me and was personally helping with our research into the materials we sought. The fact that he'd sent my disciple to fetch me like this suggested he'd uncovered something important.
"Let's go."
I headed to the manor with Durel.
As might be expected, the one recorded as having slain the god wasn't me—it was the lord. He'd dragged in that massive ship and rammed it into the god's body. There was no way anyone else could have seen me, so the one who'd pulled that ship was the lord's devoted blood magic. That was the final memory the residents had of that day.
Perhaps because of that, voices praising the lord echoed sporadically from various spots on the streets.
"Did you create the god, Master?"
Durel asked as we walked for a while. Create a god? As if. I shook my head and replied.
"Nah. It was just coincidence piled on coincidence."
A tale passed down since ancient times had become its own world. The people's faith and fear had turned into a mystery that took root at the sea floor, eventually forming a formless god. The world built on firm belief had encountered the mystery and begun influencing this reality. It was no different from a mage's inner world.
The only difference was that people couldn't control the world that had been created that way.
Before I knew it, we'd arrived at the manor while chatting with Durel. The guards at the entrance opened the gates without any formalities, and Durel and I headed straight to the lord's office.
Knock knock.
I cautiously rapped on the office door. It opened on its own, and a voice came from inside.
"Come in."
Delmure's lord, Grand Duke Nortis, was lounging comfortably on the sofa in the center of the office. A thin stack of documents sat on the table. That must have been the material the lord's side had prepared. Durel and I sat across from him.
Slide.
The documents on the table were pushed toward us. Having handed them over, Nortis spoke.
"This is the information you requested. Take a look."
I wasn't the one who picked up the documents. No point in me looking since I couldn't read them anyway. Durel naturally took them and began flipping through the pages.
"That aside... how about we talk business?"
That seemed to be the lord's real aim. The business he mentioned was the Black Feather Hawk I'd brought—the massive airship capable of flight. We'd actually discussed it a few times before.
I'd thought he hadn't seen it amid the battle with the outer god, but apparently he'd spotted the Black Feather Hawk flying in from outside the city even then.
Still, my answer remained the same. Refusal.
"That's tricky. It's still in the experimental stage... mass production isn't feasible."
"I'm not asking for mass production. I'm saying, can't you make just one personal ride for me to use?"
This time, the conditions were different. Not mass production, but a custom one for him to ride around in. Honestly, I could make one. However, handing it over like this risked leaking the technology—especially anything related to mana circles.
Of course, as I built up my forces and expanded the school, information on mana circles would leak naturally in time. But it was too soon. With no solid foundation yet, I had no intention of giving away my core secrets to others.
"Ten thousand gold coins. What do you say?"
"Sounds good."
Of course, that changed everything. I immediately stood and shook hands with the lord.
The lord said he'd need a little time to gather the funds. The Black Feather Hawk needed repairs anyway, and there was translation work on the materials, so waiting wasn't a hassle. Airship construction for the lord would begin once the money was confirmed.
'Gotta tweak the internal structures of the float core and propulsion core... Can't hand over the full thing, so I'll nerf the performance.'
Not something to worry about right now, though. I sat in a quiet room and spread out the thin stack of documents. This was the completed translation with Durel, Olbern, and even Simo pitching in.
I sipped hot tea and began reading the translation.
This text compiles fragmentary records on the inheritance of true blood. Each document differs in era and author, but they all commonly note that the title of true blood passes only to the qualified.
The Song of Night contains the following line.
Blood is not a river, but a well. Its depth is hidden, and when the time comes, it offers water only to chosen lips.
The Red Scroll likens inheritance to the wind.
The bloodline is the path, but the wind chooses the walker. One who tries to grasp the wind clutches only empty air in the end.
Another record, the Forgotten Altar, describes it as an oath.
Blood swears its own inheritance, and none can break that oath. Even one who continues the lineage may be forsaken by the oath, while an outsider may be chosen.
Synthesizing these varied phrases suggests that true blood inheritance is not merely a matter of lineage; blood is but the starting point, not the key. It implies that blood, retaining memory and will, seeks its successor at its own chosen time.
Yet the ancient tomes unanimously remain silent on what qualifies one. Whether virtue, power, or innate blood purity, none can say. Only one saying is passed down.
True blood is born of itself.
Pretty shocking stuff. I'd witnessed blood with a will moving on its own—and it had even entered my body.
'Did I become true blood?'
But that didn't quite fit; I couldn't use blood magic right away like the lord Nortis here, with no glittering hair either. The big changes were one eye turning red and gaining regeneration beyond human limits, but sadly, no info mentioned those.
'Maybe I should meet some true bloods...'
Draconic true bloods meant royalty. They gathered in the capital, Levan Pole, so a request to the lord could probably arrange a meeting.
I set down the documents in my hand.
"All preparations are complete. The golem core is ready, and I've prepared the ship to turn into that... airship of yours. And the meeting with the true blood you requested... I've even written the letter for it. So, how about starting the work now?"
"Sure."
"By the way... any estimate on the work time?"
"Earliest, done by end of day."
I rolled up my sleeves as I answered the lord's question. I'd just confirmed the ten thousand gold coins loaded onto the Black Feather Hawk. Now it was time to build the lord's airship.
"Fast... Well, I leave it to you."
The nodding lord vacated the premises. At my request not to let others see the work, the vast harbor was empty. Only Olbern remained by my side.
"Let's get started."
"Yes, sir!"
"You go over there... engrave the runes where the blueprint marks. See the underside of the ship? Needs wind runes. I'll be making the float core and propulsion core, so come up when you're done."
"Got it!"
Olbern hopped aboard the Wolf Queen with an energetic reply and scurried off to cling to the gleaming platinum ship. Durel and Simo weren't here. Since only Olbern could help with airship construction, I'd tasked the other two with cleaning the wrecked interior of the Black Feather Hawk.