Chapter 52

Chapter Twenty-Six The Thief

“Peipei, what do you want with weapons? It’s very dangerous.”

Pagos had an expression of surprise and doubt, his eyes fixed on my face.

Being stared at by such a bear-like man made me feel uncomfortable, especially since he was so detestable. I chose to ignore him and turned to look at the Duke.

“What is a Moonblade?”

The Duke smiled slightly, but before he could speak, Pagos interrupted.

“I’ll tell you, Peipei. A Moonblade is a weapon designed using moonstone as the main material. This sounds like nonsense, hahaha! Anyway, moonstones are rare, extracting them is difficult, the crafting process is complicated, and the craftsmanship required is high. So, in over a hundred years, only twelve Moonblades have been made in the workshops. They’re called the Workshop’s Twelve Moonblades.”

I understood that this thing was both powerful and rare, a masterpiece from the Central Workshop.

Why did he need to say so much when a simple explanation would suffice?

“Pagos, where did you put your drawings and pencils… This place is really messy. Pasifal, go to the warehouse and pick out some fine steel and dragon bones.”

“No, Scalliger, why should we make weapons for Peipei? Do you want her to join the Santel army as a workshop hunter? Don’t joke around…”

“Yes, old man. Actually, I’ve wanted to ask this for a long time—why are we making weapons for Peipei? That’s strange, isn’t it?”

“She’s just a young girl. Wouldn’t it be better if she could marry well and have children in the future? Why are you causing all this trouble?”

After hearing the last sentence, I immediately widened my eyes.

What? Are they seriously thinking about having kids with me!?

Why don’t you go have kids yourself!

The more I looked at this red-nosed burly man, the less I liked him. I glared at him fiercely and said, “If you say that again, I’ll pluck every feather off you.”

Pagos immediately showed an innocent expression.

“What did I do?”

“You’re disgusting.”

At this moment, the Duke finally became impatient.

“She’s a Papal Knight.”

“…”

“…”

One sentence, and there was a moment of silence in the air.

A few seconds later, the two looked at me with incredulous eyes.

“What? Why? That’s impossible!”

“Scalliger, I think my ears are malfunctioning. What did you say Peipei is again?”

“Old man, what kind of joke is this? How can Peipei be a Papal Knight? She even gets scared of the dead. This doesn’t make sense, how can it be possible…”

Pasifal was incoherent, “She’s a Papal Knight! A hero! What kind of joke is this…”

“I will explain everything in detail later. For now, everyone get to work.”

“…Okay.” Pasifal responded blankly, walked to the door, then turned back, “Peipei, you’re really a Papal Knight…”

“Mm-hm.” I nodded.

Seeing their still unbelievable expressions, I suddenly felt suffocated.

What’s wrong?

Is it because I’m shorter than you or do you look down on me? Why can’t I be a Papal Knight?

Am I eating your family’s rice by being a Papal Knight?

…Uh, maybe I am.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up!” The Duke shouted at the dazed Pasifal, who ran out quickly.

Tch.

I rolled my eyes, then felt standing there was tiring, so I slowly walked to the table, kicked away a few empty bottles, smoothed out my skirt, and sat down.

“Oh, take a rest for a bit,” the Duke said to me, then patted Pagos’ shoulder, “Stop daydreaming and give me the drawings and pen first.”

“…Alright, they’re in the drawer here. Hahaha! Thirteen Moons, wait for me, Pagos, to knock you out!”

He seemed carefree, typical of someone with a strong body but a simple mind.

I found it rather boring, opened the paper bag, took out the dessert, and savored the sweet taste in my mouth while watching the Duke and Pagos spread out the drawings on the opposite worktable, occasionally whispering to each other.

After a while, Pagos took out a black stone from a sealed box behind him.

“It’s too small, and there’s some impurities…”

“There might not be a larger one. If one piece isn’t enough, we’ll have to remelt it. Impurities aren’t a problem; they can be removed.”

“Mm, how much moonstone is left?”

“It should be enough, but this might really be the last one. The scythe blade is too large, and the stock will run out…”

“…”

It seemed like there was nothing else for me to do. Suddenly, I felt bored.

I should have gone with Carlos to the district earlier. It might have been more interesting, and perhaps I could have found something tasty along the way.

I remember he mentioned going to the underground prison… I wonder how those merchants who were captured are doing.

I’m not sure if there are any heretics, but those who sell water chestnuts must still be mixed in.

I yawned, rested my arms on the table, and laid my head down.

I didn’t get any rest last night, and now I was starting to feel…

Feeling drowsy.

Looking at the two people in front of me who were fully engrossed in their work, my eyelids began to droop.

After a while, it seemed like Perceval had returned… He seemed to be helping out, looking very serious…

Thirteen Moon, Moon Blade, an eerie weapon. What would its final form be?

I was half-asleep, thinking about it, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

……….

In a hazy state, I heard the voices of strangers.

“… Your Grace, we caught a few thieves who came to steal weapons.”

“Thieves? Who dares to steal from the central workshop? Don’t they know it’s considered treason?”

“Lord Pagos, they are children.”

“Whose children have such audacity?”

“They seem to have run away from an orphanage.”

“Your Grace, what should we do with them?”

“Orphanage children… Bring them here.”

“Yes.”

What happened? Was someone stealing something?

I slowly opened my eyes.

I found that I was still holding half of an unfinished dessert. I swallowed it in a few bites and looked around with a dazed expression, just catching the sight of two workshop hunters leaving.

“What’s going on?” I rubbed my eyes, my voice thick with sleepiness.

“Oh, Xiao Pei Pei, you’re awake!”

“Someone stole something?”

“Yeah, a few thieves came to steal weapons. They’ve already been caught.”

The Duke didn’t even look up and said, continuing to discuss the blueprint with Lord Pagos.

“If we use metal to secure this part, wouldn’t it affect the smoothness of the ejection?”

“No, it can maximize the damage… Perceval, give me the ruler.”

I stretched, stood up, and walked to the worktable, leaning my head over.

There were several densely drawn blueprints on the table.

I squinted for a long time, only able to tell that it was the雏形of a scythe.

“How much longer?”

“We can finish the design tonight, but the specific production will take more time due to the many steps involved. If everything goes smoothly… it should take about two months.”

“Oh.”

It would take that long.

I pursed my lips, unsure how long they would stay here. I wanted to find an excuse to leave but felt embarrassed since everyone was busy with my affairs.

At this moment, a child’s crying could be heard gradually coming from outside the door.

“Let me go! Damn it, let me go!”

“Wah… I’m scared…”

I frowned and looked towards the door, seeing several children with their hands tied behind their backs being escorted in by the hunters.

Most of these children looked terrified but didn’t dare move. After entering, they knelt in a line obediently, except for one boy who kept struggling, trying to break free from his restraints. The hunter escorting him had a hot temper and, seeing the boy’s lack of cooperation, kicked him to the ground.

“Behave!”

The boy fell face-first, his eyes filled with hatred, his face contorted in anger.

“Hey, you dare glare at me? You’ve got some spirit.”

The hunter lifted his foot to kick the boy’s face.

“Valar!” The Duke shouted, and the hunter named Valar retracted his foot.

“Let them up.” The Duke stood and scanned the children, “Who wants to tell me why they stole.”

Most of the children caught were just teenagers, unable to withstand the Duke’s pressure, they cried even louder.

“Spare… spare us! We didn’t come to steal—”

“You’ve got the wrong person—wrong—waaah—”

“Don’t cry! The more you cry, the more they’ll gloat!”

“Waaah—waaah—I’m sorry, don’t kill me—!”

Among them was an eleven or twelve-year-old girl, who was now crying the hardest, her small face filled with fear.

I took two desserts from the paper bag, thought for a moment, and put one back. Then I walked up to the little girl and handed her one.

“Here, it’s really good.”

The girl must have been quite hungry, and upon smelling the food, she immediately stopped crying.

“Sister… um—” Her hand reached out but quickly pulled back, her gaze hesitant, as if she wanted to take it but was afraid.

I grabbed her slender wrist and placed the dessert in her palm.

“Eat it.”

“Hahaha! Xiao Pei Pei is still so cute!”

Behind me, Pagos’ loud voice rang out again, and I frowned, not wanting to respond. However, I noticed that the hunter named Valar looked surprised.

“Xiao Pei Pei? Are you…”

He seemed to recognize Peyalo, but I had no liking for someone who wanted to kick a child in the face, so I ignored him. Instead, I looked at the little girl who was eating happily and tilted my head slightly, asking, “Is it good?”

“Mm-hm.” The little girl nodded seriously, then added, “Sister, you’re really pretty.”

I gave her a sweet smile.

“Alright, stop crying.”

The Duke’s voice sounded beside me as he walked to the only boy who hadn’t cried.

“Tell me what happened.”