Chapter 434

In the Kingdom of Proiden, where the Magic Engineering Guild is located, there are three towering spires that reach high into the sky.

The highest spire is occupied by the ‘Guild Master’ of the Magic Engineering Guild, followed by the Proiden Royal Family.

“Hoo…”

And in the lowest spire, the five Elders of the Magic Engineering Guild reside.

Among them, the original creator of golems, the Golem Lover, who has reached level 85, is quickly manipulating information from another Elder’s private office.

From medium ships onward, they fall under the influence of the Guild Master, making it impossible to hide or smuggle anything, but small ships are just standard products.

Since they aren’t paid much attention in the guild, everything is decided by the Elder who manages the administration.

Tata-tadadak…!

“I’ll finish everything before Kys arrives…!”

Kys, the Elder who manages most of the guild’s troops and assets.

To manipulate the quantity of small ships, it is essential to go through the database located in Kys’ office.

It is a collection of magical information created by magic engineering, accessible and modifiable only from the offices of Kys and the Guild Master.

“That guy logs in at least after 7 PM! It’s only 5 PM, so I have plenty of time.”

While there’s ample time, there might be some variables, so he accelerates his pace as much as possible.

How much time has passed?

Thud!

[Quantity has been altered.]

[Change history deleted. (Hidden)]

[Access history deleted. (Hidden)]

Finally, the perfect manipulation is complete.

“Hoo… I’m glad I learned by watching from the side.”

The Golem Lover leans back in the office chair as if he’s lying down, seemingly relieved.

It took a bit of time not just to change the quantity but also to erase the details of the manipulation and the access records.

Normally, it would be right to go through the proper procedures and report formally.

The fact that the Banded broke in, smashed all the golems, and stole the ships is a very serious issue for the guild.

But now isn’t a good time.

They’re already ramping up production of large ships, and they need to show superiority over several other guilds, but they’ve been robbed of ships?

That was just like burying all the propaganda the Magic Engineering Guild has achieved so far.

Of course, the story would be different if the guild had suffered more than necessary…

“…The damage wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

Some golems got damaged, but the cores are intact except for one, and they’ve only lost a single standard product.

That’s easily covered, and then some, by the Golem Lover, who is the producer of golems.

If they had smashed all the magical stones or asked for a medium ship, he would’ve informed the Guild Master immediately.

Above all, it was quite humiliating for the Golem Lover that the golem couldn’t do anything and just got stepped on.

“……”

Creeeak.

But why on earth did they stir up such a fuss just to take a small ship?

“…Could it be they wanted to take it and try to replicate it?”

What a ridiculous story.

Numerous top-tier guilds have tried to replicate the Floating Ship by observing it or commissioning outside shipbuilders, but none have succeeded.

Even that grand Empire couldn’t create a Floating Ship.

‘Of course, it seems they just didn’t try.’

Anyways, the Floating Ship is not just a mere boat but a product of a hidden piece; replicating it is absolutely impossible—

Boom!!

“Waaah!”

“Kys! What the hell— Huh? Golem Lover? Why are you here?”

The door to Kys’s office burst open, and in walked a girl with long black twin-tailed hair.

A woman adorned in the uniform worn by the Elders with golden eyes.

She looked to be in the age range between a middle school student and a high school student, furrowing her brow as she glared at the Golem Lover.

“What’s up?”

“Don’t call me Golem Lover. I just like golems, okay? What’s so special about that…”

“So why are you here?”

“Um…”

Inoo.

One of the five Elders of Magic Engineering, and the woman who created the Magic Engineering building.

Most of the buildings in the Magic Engineering Guild were born from her hands, and she is quite popular within the guild, enjoying much trust from the Guild Master.

Most importantly, she has a crush on Kys.

“Do you want to die? Who just sits in Kys’s office without permission?”

“I came to see Kys for a bit. He hasn’t clocked in yet, so I was waiting here.”

“To see him? For what?”

“…I was asked to help the Engineering Empress out, and while I was at it, I got curious about how the management of the Floating Ship was going. Kys is in charge of personnel management, right?”

“The Empress asked you? Why would she ask you to cover for her?”

“I dunno. Maybe she’s meeting her boyfriend or something.”

The Golem Lover casually remarked while keeping an eye on Inoo’s mood.

Fortunately, it seemed like Inoo wasn’t suspicious, perhaps because there were elements of truth mixed in.

Inoo muttered to herself, “If it’s about her sister…,” and nodded.

“Well, if it’s her sister, I guess that makes sense. The atmosphere has been off lately. So that’s why you came?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you curious about? I sometimes help with Kys’s work, so I can answer for you.”

“I’m wondering if the labor force being brought in under false pretenses is being managed properly.”

Even if it’s under the guise of deception, is it really believable that the Banded would get mixed in?

Of course, due to the blocking barrier, they might not have noticed right away, but if there were a Gargantuan-level weapon, they should be able to grasp and figure it out sufficiently.

Inoo chuckled nonchalantly.

“Why worry about such things? It’s just a distraction anyway.”

“What if something weird slips in?”

“Industrial spy? Hey, even if they steal it, they still can’t make it. The Empress and our Kys are super meticulous about managing everything.”

“……”

“And if that happens, would the great Angels and Rankers be floundering around? They’d have already gathered intel and mass-produced something by now.”

That was true.

Every single word was true.

‘But why do I feel so uneasy?’

Something fundamentally felt wrong.

Shouldn’t we have given up the Floating Ship?

But if we don’t, we risk losing something greater?

“Anyway, since you heard me, hurry up and go. I need to talk to Kys alone.”

“What about?”

“I said I need to talk to him alone.”

“Considering you came all the way here, it must be something important, right? Like guild-related stuff. If it’s guild-related, just tell me.”

“…Why is it that you only have a good sense at times like this? Normally, you’re totally clueless.”

“What?”

“Okay. I was going to greet him alone. But it looks like the Guild Master will call everyone anyway.”

Flutter.

As a pure white piece of paper unfurled before him, Golem Lover’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Inside was Lily’s…

‘No, this is insane…’

“How about it? Isn’t it awesome?”

“L-Lady Lily is coming? To help with the Floating Ship?”

“Finally…! Finally! The Magic Engineering Guild is getting some recognition! With the great Lady Lily, our guild will get even bigger, right?”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Why? Everyone in Deoen knows that she’s been running around trying to stop the Great Cataclysm.”

“……”

“Why do you think she’s just arriving now? To stop the Kraken, naturally, we need the Floating Ship. Hehe.”

“That… makes sense.”

“Right, right. This time, we need to make a good impression in front of our real Rank 1, and maybe gift her a small ship. If she proves its performance, it’ll sell even better.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s a good idea…”

“Yay~”

While Inoo smiled gleefully, Golem Lover couldn’t relax.

As soon as he heard the name Lily, an inexplicable, strange delusion popped into his mind.

‘…No, surely not. It can’t be.’

The absurd thought that she was the same Raider who had visited earlier that day lingered in his mind.

Though it was just a delusion, the unsettling feeling didn’t easily subside.

“Hey, you better get ready too. Your Golem has to look impressive since the Guild Master is paying attention to it.”

“…Yeah.”

“If you get popular from the broadcast, your value will go up. I congratulate you in advance, but this time don’t mess around and behave. Okay?”

“……”

8 PM.

As people gradually clocked out, they connected to Deoen and Lily’s broadcast lit up as well.

_Magic Engineering Guild field trip incoming.

[Oh]

[Lilha]

[rlhlrlhl]

[Guild exploration?]

[Magic Engineering?]

[Ooooh]

[That’s the guy?]

[What’s a guild tour?]

[Isn’t that a floating ship?]

[Aren’t there a lot of rumors about that guild lately?]

[Sounds fun]

[Any guests?]

[Isn’t Magic Engineering all trash? lol]

[Seriously, 500 million? That’s too much for a ferry!]

The chat window exploded with noise as soon as the broadcast started.

─Lilha! Hello~

And today, Lily looked particularly cheerful, making the chat even more lively.

“Why are you so down?”

“Just sit still.”

“……”

─Ah, today, the Magic Engineering Guild has gotten quite popular lately. There’s a ship called Floating Ship that seems crucial for the Great Cataclysm raid, so I thought I’d give it a try, and if I can help out in any way, I’ll be happy to do so.

“Wow, Lady Lily is being so nice today.”

“That’s why she’s the #1! Hey! Golem! Stop shaking your legs.”

“Did you really like Lady Lily that much?”

“…A bit?”

She firmly grabs her legs.

The elders sitting in the central hall of the spire were looking at her strangely through the large magical screen, but their seriousness didn’t fade.

“A bit? You’re shaking like a fanboy.”

“Truly, she’s the great Lily. Deoen has given birth to the best GOAT ever…”

“Stop doing that on the community, will you?”

“……”

─Seems like there are quite a few opinions that the ship is expensive. But I think there’s a reason why everything expensive is expensive. I believe today’s experience will give us an idea of how the ship performs and if the price is reasonable.

─Right! Just how good can it be to be that expensive?

Boom!

“O! Lord Leo is here too?!!”

“Whoa, what the heck, this is crazy!”

“Leo is so cute, holy!!!!”

The elders went wild at the sight of the Nymph appearing on the screen.

And the Golem Lover, still holding onto his legs, desperately turned his head away from them.

This feels seriously messed up.

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