Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Black Feather Hawk
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The chill wind unique to dawn brushed against my cheeks. Having gone to bed early, I woke up early as well. My body felt in such peak condition that I didn't sense even the slightest fatigue. My senses were sharper than ever before. I was in perfect shape.
"Hoo..."
The breath that slowly escaped me scattered on the wind. The gradually rising sunlight illuminated the dark gray hull of the Black Feather Hawk. There was something captivating about greeting the morning on deck.
A quick glance—
I leaned against the railing at the edge of the deck and peered toward the cabins. The wide detection field of Gentle Wind lightly checked on my disciples' conditions. Steady breathing, not a single twitch. All three were deep in sleep. They probably wouldn't wake for at least another hour or two, so it seemed safe to head out alone.
Just in time, too—the blueprint for the combat golem using the golem core the kids had bought yesterday evening was finally complete. I glanced at the golem standing rigidly outside the ship and nodded. With that thing there, no ordinary creature would dare approach.
It stood over five meters tall with a massive body. It had four arms, each capable of spewing flames from their tips. That wasn't all. Its waist could rotate endlessly, allowing it to cover every direction without blind spots, and it had eight legs for efficiently moving its heavy frame. It even had propulsion engines for sudden acceleration, making it a perfect golem that excelled in both attack and defense speeds.
Of course, its appearance was a bit rough since I'd focused purely on performance.
But what did it matter? For now, it was the best I could do.
I nodded and kicked off from the deck. The instant the wind enveloped my body, I glided smoothly between the crystalline canyons gleaming white.
Whoooosh—!
'I should get a glider.'
I thought as I flew. Yes, definitely a glider. I was half-flying on the wind, but it wasn't true flight. Changing direction to where I wanted was slow, and I had to land every certain distance. The speed wasn't impressive either.
Using Blink was out of the question—the distance was too great. Repeated Blinks could overload my mana circle, leaving me slow to respond in an emergency.
This was a world brimming with mysteries. Danger could strike anytime, anywhere, so preparing for every possibility was the right call.
How long had I been traveling with the wind cloaking my body? The distant scenery of Leadville drew near. Passing through the city's massive gate required no elaborate procedures. Since I'd approached using magic from afar, it indirectly proved my profession.
After a brief wait, permission to enter was granted.
'Hmm...'
Leadville's morning scenery was breathtaking. The moment I passed through the grand gate, an involuntary sigh of admiration escaped me, and I could see pride etched on the faces of the dwarves standing guard before it.
'It's a different sight from daytime.'
Not like when we'd arrived yesterday. The angle of the sunlight changed the city's overall hue. During the day, it had been bathed in bright tones, but now, in this early hour, it carried a slightly dim, dreamlike quality.
Still, I couldn't spend all day just admiring the view. I quickened my steps toward the underground market.
The underground market looked just as it had yesterday. With no sunlight reaching it, the entire place was lit by a peculiar ore called glowstone. Olbern had mentioned that some dwarves called it sunstone.
There was a tale that it was a fragment broken off from a massive sun long ago, but who knew if that was true.
The underground market—as the name suggested—was a district where every building was a shop, with no residential spaces. Since most visitors were dwarves rather than other races, the wares catered to them. Gazing at the scene brought back what my disciples had chattered about last night.
'Durel and Simo had a hard time buying clothes... Places handling human apparel...'
I pulled out the underground market map I'd tucked away as I walked. The map had descriptions of each shop translated into Ber Kingdom script.
After navigating by the map for a while, I finally reached my destination. But the small clothing shop was firmly shut, its lights off.
"Anyone there?"
A quick glance—
I stood on tiptoe and peered through the window. I scanned beyond the frosted glass this way and that, but saw nothing. Just in case, I gave a light knock and raised my voice, but there was still no response.
Maybe I'd come too early in the morning. With a small sigh, I stepped back.
"Looking for Beardalt? He's off today."
It was the voice of a woman who seemed fairly advanced in years. I naturally turned to look behind me and spotted a middle-aged dwarf woman standing in front of the shop across the way. Her outfit was quite flashy.
"He's off today?"
"If you're after Beardalt, the specialist in human clothing, then yes. Didn't you know?"
"Oh no..."
"Bad luck for the young lady."
What could I do if it was his day off? Disappointing, but I'd have to find another shop. I stepped out into the street and asked the dwarf woman across from me.
"Are there any other places handling human clothes?"
"Human clothes... Hmm, let me think... But why is a young lady like you looking for that?"
"Obviously because I need it."
"You need clothes to wear?"
"Yes."
"Then come in here. I've got something that fits your build."
With that, the dwarf woman turned and disappeared into her shop.
'Dwarf-sized clothes, surely...'
Suddenly, I thought of Olbern, the dwarf girl. Objectively speaking, the difference in our builds was negligible. The dwarf woman must have known that and made the suggestion.
For a brief moment.
I raised my arms and examined my body, frowning as I stepped into the shop. Once inside, I looked around, and the woman was bustling about, turning up the interior lights. It seemed she'd just been about to open for business.
Sensing my presence, she turned with a bright smile.
"Welcome to Rosengrin Atelier."
"Rosengrin?"
"Never heard of it? It was quite famous in Levan Poll. Just mentioning my name would have nobles lining up with gold in hand."
"I see..."
Levan Poll—the land of the Drakains. It was only natural I hadn't heard of it, coming from a remote mountain village. She nodded as if it didn't matter whether I knew or not and beckoned me over.
"You're slender, so anything would suit you. A mage, right? Something flashy? Or practical? I've got plenty of cloaks made from witchthread... If they're a bit big, we can just hem the bottom."
"I move around a lot, so nothing too flashy."
"Mm. I get it. How about this?"
"Hmm..."
Rosengrin pointed to a mannequin. A dress adorned with intricate patterns hung on the wooden form. Her skill was clearly top-notch. But it wasn't to my taste. Seeing my hesitant reaction, Rosengrin blinked in confusion.
"Not to your liking?"
"Too flashy..."
"This is already pretty toned down... Doesn't suit your taste, huh?"
"Something a bit more subdued... Ah, this one."
As I trailed off and scanned the surroundings, my eyes caught a design I quite liked at the edge of my vision.
A loose-fitting white shirt and black leather pants hung together on the rack. I walked over quickly, and Rosengrin explained.
"You like clean, restrained styles?"
"This looks good. Do you have more like this?"
"How many do you need?"
"As many as possible."
The looseness of the shirt could be fixed by tucking the hem into the pants. Extra sleeve length could be handled by wrapping leather straps over armguards. Overall, the design really appealed to me.
Rosengrin pondered briefly before fetching ten sets each of similar outfits. When she asked if I needed undergarments, I said yes, and she brought several sets of those too. I also added two witchthread cloaks. The total came to six gold.
As a grand opening special, Rosengrin threw in some thin leather cords and a high-quality leather belt.
"Really nothing else? What about that one? Mages attend noble banquets often, so it's good to have a few dresses..."
After settling the bill, Rosengrin approached regretfully and pointed to a mannequin. It was a flashy dress blending white and red elegantly, with a large ribbon on the back that gave it a cute touch.
"No need."
"Come on, just try it on once? You might change your mind. I really think it'd suit you. I'll charge you cost price."
This could go on forever. I shook off the persistent Rosengrin and hurried out of the shop.
"Wait! Miss! Take the changed clothes with you!"
After finishing my shopping spree and working on magic tools to earn some money, my disciples returned with the needed materials and commissioned items from the magic workshop. They handed me a box, saying they'd bought a gift.
With eager anticipation, I opened it to find the flashy dress Rosengrin had insisted I try on.
"Who bought this?"
Olbern shot her hand up at my question. Beaming innocently, she declared proudly.
"I did! I thought it'd look perfect on Master!"
It wasn't my style, but it was a gift from my disciple. I couldn't show my displeasure. Forcing down my twitching lips, I managed an awkward smile.