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EPISODE 274 – MASTER CRAFTSMAN (4)
“Let’s leave now. I’ll lead the way.”
“Okay.”
After extinguishing the bonfire, Jude glanced at Cordelia. She was putting the magically-washed dishes in a space expansion bag, and she seemed like normal from the outside.
‘However
’
He remembered the crying Cordelia even now when he closed his eyes.
‘Nightmare.’
A scary dream.
But she cried like that from just a dream?
‘She’s weakened.’
It wasn’t about her body. It was the mind of Cordelia, the so-called mental side.
From Jude’s point of view, Cordelia had a very strong mentality.
But having a strong mentality meant two things.
The first meant that the defense was strong, so it was not scratched by the slightest attack, and the other meant that although the defense was low, the person’s physical strength was so high that it was not shaken by the slightest mental attack.
There was a fairly significant difference between the two, which was if they could persist or not.
‘The former lasts a long time.’
The former could be compared to a warrior wearing full body armor.
No matter how much they got hit, the only thing that was damaged was the armor, so the warrior inside was completely fine.
But the latter was a different story.
A naked warrior with a very strong body.
They seemed to hold up well at first, but their body wounds increase every time they were attacked because they were naked. They gradually bled and eventually collapsed due to their accumulated wounds.
And from Jude’s perspective, Cordelia was closer to the latter than the former.
‘She must be exhausted.’
The number of times Cordelia had been in a life-or-death situation so far was more than a dozen.
Moreover, it was all horrendous when one looked back at her condition then.
Broken bones and bruises.
She used up her mana and stamina up to the point of exhaustion, and her small and thin body became a mess that she coughed up blood several times. There was also the time when she temporarily became blind.
All of her injuries were immediately treated because of healing magic, but at this stage, it wouldn’t be strange for her to show signs of trauma.
‘Perhaps it’s a symptom of PTSD
’
Post-traumatic stress disorder.
It clearly didn’t seem to be serious yet.
Even what Jude considered to be a symptom was just his own arbitrary interpretation.
However, he couldn’t help but worry.
‘Because Cordelia is an ordinary person.
Not now but in the past, in their previous lives.
Jude himself was not an ordinary person.
He had been exposed to excessive violence from an early age and became accustomed to it.
But what about Cordelia?
They had never openly talked about their past lives, but he could figure out what kind of life she had been living through their exchanges.
An ordinary girl born and raised in an ordinary family.
It was already a great thing that she had come all this way without crying once.
‘I will force her to take a break when all of this is over.’
Because people needed a break.
Let’s go to beautiful places together, eat delicious food
 and take a rest for a least a month.
Jude made up his mind and nodded once before he spoke.
“Cordelia.”
“Yes?”
Having finished organizing her bag, Cordelia raised her head as she answered. She looked very lovely when she tied up her hair.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Huh?”
Cordelia suddenly blinked and tilted her head, wondering what he was talking about, but she soon brightly smiled.
“Okay, I’ll look forward to it.”
“Yeah, please look forward to it. Would you like a piggyback ride?”
When Jude showed his back, Cordelia smiled again and nodded.
“Okay, this Cordelia will rely on you.”
Having said that, she carried the bag on her back and leapt on Jude’s back. Her movement was so steady that it was like the demonstration of a skilled instructor.
“Okay, let’s work hard today and go!”
Jude spoke in a lively manner, and Cordelia hugged Jude’s neck as she whispered in a low voice.
“But Jude.”
“Yes, Cordelia.”
“You’re already doing well.”
I’m satisfied enough.
She shyly spoke before kissing Jude’s ear, and Jude flinched for a moment and cleared his throat afterwards.
And one existence.
Melissa said in a cold voice as she watched everything.
[That’s enough, that’s enough.]
You two really don’t know how to do it in moderation.
But unfortunately, Melissa’s voice clearly did not reach the two, and Jude and Cordelia continued to make kissing noises as they headed inside the forest.
***
Cassius Dalton frowned.
It wasn’t because she wasn’t hammering well or she didn’t like the work that she was making today.
“What the hell are they doing?”
Cassius was an excellent blacksmith and a powerful wizard at the same time.
Because magic was essential in producing weapons above a certain level in the first place.
In any case, Cassius was a wizard, and the Baikal Forest was her magical territory.
And a wizard naturally knew everything that was going on in their territory.
A young couple.
It was uncommon and occasional sight here.
There were quite a few monsters in the Baikal Forest, so there were people who visited the forest to kill those monsters.
But the two behaved differently from the regular visitors – the hunters.
Chu.
Chu. Chu.
Chu. Chu. Chu.
Chuuu. Chu. Chu. Chu. Chu. Chu.
The couple were so busy kissing each other nonstop.
But the strange thing was the fact that they were walking well while kissing.
“Ah, f*cking sh*t.”
Is this your bedroom?
Did you come to someone else’s forest just to do that?
Of course, there were lots of couples who looked for places with no signs of people in order to do the so-called lewd things, but this was Baikal Forest that was far from the village.
Again, it was a forest with monsters.
“You’ll experience serious pain if you continue to behave that way. No, you’ll definitely suffer.”
Cassius then cursed and turned her gaze back to the anvil to divert her attention.
She wanted to tell them to go out and get lost, but if she did, she would break the hiding magic she had done her best to create, so she endured it for now.
‘Let’s just continue hammering.’
Hammer today.
Hammer tomorrow.
Hammer several times a day.
Cassius muttered strange words as she hammered, but only did it a few times.
She ended up raising her head again.
“What the-
”
What the heck is that?
She wasn’t talking about the two constantly kissing each other.
It was the monsters.
Monsters from everywhere rushed at the couple, but none of them could even approach the two.
Because dozens of magic orbs floating around the woman prevented the attacks of the monsters as if it was a self-defense mechanism.
But that was not the only thing that surprised her.
‘They’re coming this way?’
The deepest part of her hideout.
The couple were heading straight towards Cassius’ workshop. As if they were looking for Cassius herself.
‘How?’
She looked carefully again just in case, but these was the first time she had seen those faces.
‘What’s going on?’
The moment she tilted her head without realizing it.
The kissing man who was only looking at the back and not the front had now entered the first barrier.
It was a barrier that made those who came wandering in to ultimately return to the way they came.
However, they did not wander around.
The black-haired man was princess carrying a pink-haired girl whose clavicle was being sucked. She flinched and squealed at that action, but moved her hand in the meantime. And at that gesture of hers, the barrier was neutralized.
To be exact, she neutralized the maze magic with a pathfinding magic spell.
It was a surprising sight.
Is it possible for a girl who’s only in her late teens to have that level of skill?
No, aside from skill, what’s with that incredibly large magic power?
That’s impossible for humans.
“Eh?”
The two had crossed the maze.
They had reached the next barrier.
“Eeeeh?”
They passed by it again.
A barrier that cast fear into the minds of those who entered, making them run away.
But the two were calm as they continued kissing.
“EEEEEEH?”
What the-
 Why aren’t my barriers working?
Are they human?
And come to think of it, aren’t they here now?
Isn’t that the entrance to my hideout?
Tok-tok-tok.
At that moment, Cassius was startled by the sound behind her, and quickly turned around.
Because there was a loud voice following the knock from beyond the steel door.
“Is anyone there!”
A human male’s voice.
Cassius hesitated for a moment, but strengthened her grip on the hammer and shouted out.
“Who are you! What do you want!”
“We came to see Master Cassius!”
As I thought.
They came here knowing the way as I had thought.
But who the hell are they?
How did you know about this place, and how did you know me?
“Ah, damn it. I don’t care anymore. Let’s just do it.”
If they had managed to come all the way here, they could easily open that steel door and come in.
Cassius made up her mind, grabbing her sword instead of a hammer and then shouted.
“I’ve lifted the seal! Open it and come in!”
The steel door weighed several hundred kilograms and was difficult for ordinary people to even push.
But the door opened normally, revealing a man and woman.
***
Melissa was pleased when the steel door opened.
Partly because a feast for her eyes might soon unfold in front of her, and partly because she had high expectations that she might be able to meet the survivors of Magellan, the magic kingdom.
‘Considering the circumstances, Cassius is most likely a survivor of Magellan.’
Many of the tools Cassius used were from Magellan.
And above all, Cassius was old. Although he did not say it out loud, it was clear that he had lived at least a thousand years or more.
Obviously, not all of Magellan’s survivors had a connection with Melissa.
They might have not met Melissa, and it was also highly possible that they had no connection to the people who managed Melissa.
But for Melissa who had been locked up in the facility for hundreds of years and waited for the researchers who never returned, the fact that Cassius was a survivor of Magellan meant a lot to her.
[Badump, badump]
She was so excited that she even said that herself.
‘Did she break?’
‘That’s impossible.’
I guess it’s because she’s looking forward to it.
And the door opened.
What appeared was a very large but well-organized workshop, and a barely-dressed elf woman standing with her arms crossed.
“Stop there. I’ll attack if you cross that line.”
At Cassius’ warning, Jude and Cordelia looked at their feet and stopped in front of the line drawn on the floor.
Cassius Dalton.
An elf woman with white hair and red eyes.
She had an exhausted look, whether it was because of the dark circles under her eyes or it was something innate in her, and her red tank top and body was covered in sweat as she was in the middle of work.
T/N: If you’re wondering why Cassius was earlier referred to as a man in a previous episode, and then a woman here, it was done on purpose by the author. Basically, the game players thought that Cassius was a man, but in reality, Cassius was actually a woman.
“How did you know this place? Do you know me?”
At her sharp-tempered question, Jude and Cordelia exchanged glances.
So far, it had gone as they expected.
‘Because we skipped all the events.’
The various events needed to meet Cassius.
But it was unavoidable. Because the south’s situation had changed so much, it was impossible to proceed the same as the game.
“I am Jude August Bayer. This is my fiancĂ©e, Cordelia August Chase.”
“We greet Master Cassius.”
When Jude and Cordelia respectfully greeted her, Cassius’ eyes that were glaring at them softened a bit.
She seemed to like their politeness.
“You know basic manners, huh? However, how in the world did you know about this place? Who told you about me?”
It was an important matter from here on.
So Jude cleared his throat and started talking with the face that Cordelia liked, which was his scammer face.
“The Witch of the West Forest told us.”
Cassius was more of a sorcerer rather than a regular wizard.
Therefore, it was better to use the Witch of the West Forest, who was a legend among witches and sorcerers, rather than giving an unheard of name.
‘Because we also have enough evidence.’
There was the spell book Cordelia got from the witch, and Cordelia herself was also taught some spells by her.
So they came up with the story that they heard of a powerful sorcerer from the Witch of the West Forest, and that based on the things they had experienced on the way, they had guessed that the sorcerer was Cassius. If they presented that kind of story, they would then be able to get out of this current situation like always.
‘Because there’s no way to check.’
How will you check it? – That was Jude’s common retort.
And it worked really well this time.
Cassius was absorbed with Jude’s fluent speech, and almost lost her initial hostility before she knew it.
‘As expected of my scammer.’
Cordelia happily smiled and grabbed Jude’s sleeve, and when he finished talking, Jude brightly smiled.
‘Now, if I just tell her that we have the skin and scales of an Ancient Dragon, bones and teeth, and even a fragment of a Dragon Heart
’
It would be the end of the situation.
Just like in the game, Cassius would cling to them.
But it was then.
“Are they telling the truth?”
Unexpected words came out of Cassius’ mouth.
Moreover, she was looking and talking to a place other than Jude and Cordelia.
At a corner of the workshop.
A woman in a black dress with long black hair and white skin was sitting on a huge chair.
She had a wide smile.
Her existence herself was the answer to Jude’s ‘how will you check it’ line.
So how would Cassius check it?
She only needed to ask.
The Witch of the West Forest.
Unlike in the game, the spirit of the great witch was released from the seal instead of ascending.
Instead of answering Cassius’ question, she looked at the two, especially at Cordelia who gripped Jude’s sleeve tighter, and laughed softly.
“Hello.”
Hello, you two.
“Didn’t I say that we’ll meet again?”
The words that she left when she parted with them.
Jude and Cordelia looked at each other and swallowed hard. They awkwardly smiled and faced the Witch of the West Forest.