Chapter 48

Chapter 48

#48. Northern Region’s Automail (3)

The next morning.

“Boss…?”

Theo carefully knocked on the door of his new workplace, Arad Company.

“…?”

But as no answer came from inside, Theo hesitated whether to enter or not.

“It’s fine. You can come in.”

“Bro?!?”

At that moment, Roji’s voice came from behind.

“What’s my bro doing here?”

“Didn’t you know? I’m an employee here too.”

“Eh…?”

“To be precise, my job is to guard Lord Jin.”

“Does Frosthaven do such work?”

“Lord Jin is one of the top talents in the Northern Region. He’s much greater than you think.”

Originally, he was secretly guarding Arad’s surroundings as part of Frosthaven.

Then, while helping distribute Mary’s blessings across the North, he ended up going undercover as a regular employee.

And now it had naturally evolved into this setup.

When he thought about it, there was no real reason to keep hiding and guarding Arad. It was just inefficient.

“I must’ve been really lucky to get to work with such an amazing person.”

“Yeah, so try your best. Though I’m officially part of Frosthaven, your main job is at Arad Trading Company.”

“Of course.”

“Don’t overdo it though.”

“Overdoing it? Even if it’s tough, it’s still better than fighting Orcs in the Ice Sea.”

With this newfound knowledge, Theo felt both bewildered and happy.

Unlike his other half-siblings, Roji had always been someone he respected and got along well with since childhood.

One of the reasons Theo worked hard to become a Knight of High City was because he wanted to someday work on missions with his brother.

“Let’s go in.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, did you complete the task the boss gave you yesterday?”

“I’ve already mentioned it to people we can meet immediately. They won’t refuse.”

“That’s expected.”

As they talked, the two entered Arad Company.

Once inside, the first floor looked the same as usual.

But those who knew understood that the real operations of Arad Company were underground.

Knock knock knock

“Boss…? Is it okay to come in?”

Roji took the lead and knocked on the basement door.

“Come in!”

A few seconds later, Arad’s voice came from inside.

Creak,

Upon hearing this, Roji slowly opened the door and stepped into the basement.

As soon as the door opened, various herbal scents assaulted Roji’s and Theo’s senses.

‘Is he making some kind of medicine?’

It definitely smelled like herbs, but it was more pungent. To the point where just the smell made them feel slightly dizzy and gave them goosebumps.

“Good timing. The prototype has just been completed.”

Arad greeted the two with tired eyes and an excited smile.

“Manager Te.”

“Manager Te…? Are you talking to me?”

“Yeah. Who else would be here named Te besides you?”

“My last name is Shapiro, Boss.”

“Here, you’re Manager Te. Just remember that.”

“…Yes?”

“Anyway, come over here. Take off your shirt too.”

Arad welcomed the two and immediately called out Theo.

“Go ahead. It’ll definitely not be something bad.”

Though hesitant, Theo approached Arad under his brother’s encouragement with an uneasy look in his eyes.

“This is a bio-mechanical prosthetic arm I made for you.”

Arad took something out of a jar and showed it to Theo, who had approached while taking off his shirt.

“This is…!”

Despite having been in a jar full of chemicals until just moments ago, covered in strong smells and dripping water,

the value of the object before him far outweighed any such minor issues.

The prototype arm Arad had spent the night creating had grey skin.

Magic Stones embedded at the wrist, elbow, and shoulder emitted a faint light.

The side that would connect to Theo’s shoulder stump featured complex magic circuits along with tentacle-like growths that wriggled creepily.

“Hmm, I was worried about sizing it by eye, but luckily it fits pretty well.”

Muttering this, Arad attached the bionic arm directly to Theo’s shoulder stump without asking for permission.

Zzzzrrrrrkkk

“!!”

Instantly, a sound like liquid being greedily sucked up filled the air as Theo’s arm merged with the prosthetic.

“Aaaaaah…!”

Theo stared in shock and awe, his newly acquired arm now fully integrated.

There wasn’t even a hint of refusal based on lack of consent, the awful smell, or concerns about safety.

“Alright, try moving it. Slowly at first.”

In a daze, like someone under hypnosis, Theo simply followed Arad’s instructions.

“Mo, move…! It moves!”

“Pinch your new arm with your left hand.”

“I can feel it! It’s slightly less sensitive, but I can definitely feel it!”

“It’s a success.”

“This… this… how?!”

“But remember. While you have a new arm, it’s only good enough for daily life. The movement and sensation are dulled, so swinging a sword with the same agility as before will probably be difficult.”

Not knowing how to process or react to the current situation, Arad continued speaking.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! Boss!”

Even after Arad’s explanation, Theo didn’t care.

He just kept shedding tears and shouting his gratitude.

“Well done! Well done, Theo!”

Standing nearby, Roji couldn’t hide his emotions either, happily celebrating his younger brother’s rebirth with a bright smile.

“Thanks to you too, Bro! Really, thank you!”

Filled with joy, hope, and emotion, memories of disabled fellow knights and soldiers naturally came to Theo’s mind.

Along with the countless injured veterans barely surviving in the Northern Region.

“Lord Jin!”

“Call me Boss.”

“B, Boss!”

“Is there something? Manager Te.”

“Really… really it’s such an extravagant request… but could you make more arms and legs?”

“Manager Te, I understand what you’re thinking. But even I can’t individually create hundreds of arms and legs alone.”

“Ahh…”

“That’s why I told you to recruit skilled craftsmen.”

“Ah!!!”

“So hurry up and bring some recruits.”

“Yes! Right away! Not just High City, I’ll bring anyone with skill from all over the Northern Region! No, I’ll kidnap them if necessary!”

“No kidnapping allowed.”

“Yes! No kidnapping, got it!”

“…And if you find promising talent, don’t hire them rashly. Have my brother check them first through the Knights and Frosthaven to ensure they’re not suspicious characters.”

“Yes! Of course! Definitely!”

“In that case, get to work.”

“Yes! I’ll leave right away! Bro, I’m off! Keep the boss safe!”

“You got it. I’ll protect him with my life, so don’t worry.”

With that, Theo quickly put his shirt back on and rushed out of the building without looking back.

‘Dream… is this a dream? Isn’t it real?!’

While running, he repeatedly pinched his new grey right arm and his cheek.

Every ten seconds, he glanced at his newly acquired arm, worried it might fall off or that this might all be a dream.

And finally, Theo came to fully realize why even High City sent their precious elite knights from Frosthaven to guard Duke Arad.

Arad’s abilities weren’t just about making great salt and food.

‘Military camp! To the military camp where my comrades are!’

He wanted to show his comrades who had become disabled as soon as possible, to let them see his new arm.

If his memory served correctly, most of those who had become disabled recently seemed dangerously close to making extreme choices.

* * *

The rumor that the one-armed knight Theo had gained a new arm spread like wildfire.

Thanks to this, before I could finish making additional samples, Grand Duchess Ariana of the Northern Region and the witches of High City stormed Arad Company.

High-ranking officials like Haytai from High City and high-ranking knights led by Valkyrie and Sun stood behind the Grand Duchess.

The area around Arad Company became crowded with strict security and a large crowd, like it was opening day again.

“These are the Magic Stones used in the prosthetics.”

“Hooh…”

“And this is made from the muscles and tendons of Orcs stitched together. We used young Orc bones since adult Orc bones are too thick and heavy.”

“Truly impressive. Being able to create new arms and legs using monster corpses.”

I was suddenly dragged from the basement to the first floor and had to give a presentation in front of the important figures from High City, including the Grand Duchess.

“The three Magic Stones use electrical magic to transmit sensory signals to the brain, telekinetic magic to control muscle and tendon strength, and finally life magic to safely fuse the user’s body with the arm and prevent corrosion.”

While giving this presentation, I was secretly nervous.

Especially when I caught glances from Isabel and the witches.

‘This so-called life magic is basically black magic…’

Using monster corpses was already sketchy, and adding black magic on top of that didn’t help matters.

“…”

“Hooora…”

However, the witches’ reactions were surprisingly nonchalant.

Oddly enough, they were plugging their ears with earplugs while observing the Magic Stones I was presenting.

Since I hadn’t implemented any security measures for the presentation, the magic circuits carved into the Magic Stones were clearly visible to the witches’ eyes.

“Miss, by the way, this life magic…”

At that moment, Isabel whispered something about the life magic to Ariana.

She probably mentioned it was actually black magic.

Incidentally, it also appeared that Isabel blocked her ears with magic whenever I gave presentations related to magic.

“Is that so? Then we can’t sell these in the Empire.”

“We could sell them discreetly though.”

“Hmm? Ah… yeah. Those guys are secretly working with the Demon Den anyway.”

Ariana’s reaction to the enchanted black magic I created was calm.

‘So they distinguish between black magic and black magicians…’

This must be because this area is largely unaffected by the influence of the Church or Mage Tower.

Anyway, now that my biggest concern was resolved, I felt relieved.

‘Having shown them this, they should be able to handle separate orders for just the Magic Stones, right?’

While calculating the mass production process for these Chimera Automails, I observed the witches.

Currently, the only people in the North who can immediately handle magical circuits and mage engineering are them.

‘I’ll outsource just the Magic Stones and carving the magical circuits.’

The processing of the prosthetic muscles, bones, tendons, and skin can be thoroughly divided among the skilled workers Theo will soon bring.

However, engraving magical circuits requires some knowledge of magic and at least second-circle level mana.

‘The problem is how long I have to teach mage engineering in such a stifling manner.’

As Arcanepunk develops further, the demand for mage engineers and mage technicians will skyrocket.

‘Writing a spellbook has its own problems. Even if I write a spellbook as kindly as Earth’s learning materials, self-study will inevitably have limits, especially as it gets more advanced.’

I can’t keep spreading knowledge like twenty questions forever.

‘There must be some massive collective restriction preventing me from telling the witches everything.’

Even though security issues have greatly improved thanks to the recent crackdown on treason forces, the witches’ peculiar behavior hasn’t changed.

Their actions revealed an oddness that couldn’t be explained by tradition alone.

‘That damn restriction and situation means I can’t keep outsourcing inconveniently forever.’

Moreover, the witches’ closed-off culture plays a big role. What’s the point of learning everything from books if they’ll just ignore it unless you’re their direct disciple?

‘If this keeps up, mass-producing automail or Spatial Cases will be difficult.’

This made me consider another approach.

‘While writing the spellbook, I should start construction on an academy specializing in mage engineering. If I ask Ariana, she can gather smart kids from all over the Northern Region instantly.’

It’ll take time and be troublesome, but there’s no other choice.

‘Rather, I’ll just do everything myself!’

Expansion in business usually starts from the frustration and arrogance experienced during the outsourcing process.

Like Apple’s M-chip, Amazon’s delivery system, or Korea’s semiconductor material localization – it’s no different in this other world.