Chapter 174 - Episode One - Reformation of Fage Territory (1)
This chapter is updated by wuxiaworld.eu
āHow about thisā¦ā¦ Commander Abelā¦ā¦?ā
Jaguar, a member of the Alchemy Division, fearfully shows me the Ortem in his hand.
The other members of the group carving the Ortem also react to Jaguarās words and stop moving, turning their eyes to me.
They are probably searching for a standard to determine how much of it they need to make to pass the line.
I take the Ortem I received from Jaguar and turn it around in my hand.
āYeah, yeah, itās looking good. Much better than before.ā
The jaguar exhales in relief.
The others, perhaps relieved to hear what I have to say, begin to work again.
There are a lot of things Iād like to say, to tell you the truth, butā¦ā¦ well, I canāt just let them do Ortem carving all the time.
It would be nice if they could get a minimum level.
āThe only thing left to do is to fix the rough grooves, the slightly uneven surface, andā¦ā¦ the poor ratio between each part. The rest of it will beā¦ā¦ like this, I guess, and Iād like you to carve it with your soul orā¦ā¦ā
As I said this, the group members around me dropped their wood carving knives from their hands.
āWell, that means we need to rebuild itā¦ā¦ Um, how long will we have to carve thisā¦ā¦ā
āFor now, donāt worry, itās only for the rest of the week. Iāve been carving since I was four years old, and Iāve been doing it now.ā
āI, I need a breakā¦ā¦ā
āEhā¦ā¦ but youāll have to pick up the pace more or youāll miss your schedule ā¦ā¦ and Iāll feel bad for Lark if that happens ā¦ā¦ā
The improvement of the alchemy divisionās magic techniques is the foundation of my planned territory reform.
As long as I can clear this place, the rest will be mostly smooth, and conversely, if I get stuck here, Iāll be significantly behind schedule.
That said, ā¦ā¦ itās going to take more time than I thought.
I need them to get used to carving Ortem a bit more, or I wonāt be able to talk straight.
Iām more of a feel-good guy, and thatās partly because I can get the hang of it.
Itās not really worth it for me to be a direct instructor at this stage.
āI, Iām sure Lark-sama isnāt in that much of a hurry either.ā
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ Well, Iāll be honest with you, itās just that I need to hurry up.ā
āYou just said youāre honest feelings, didnāt you!?ā
āI asked Lark if it was better to be early, and he said, well, I guess soā¦ā¦ā
āThatās what Iād tell you if you asked me that!ā
ā¦ā¦ In any case, I think thereās a big difference in consciousness, or rather in orientation.
Come to think of it, even when I was teaching Shibi, and when I was forcing Giselle and cramming skills into her, her magic skills didnāt improve much after all.
Am I not cut out for teaching?
Gizel took my intentions as much as I taught her and sustained and trained her, so it was working out well.
āSpeaking of which, whereās Deputy Commander Rinoa? I donāt see her?ā
āI havenāt seen it at all eitherā¦ā¦ā
āDid she happen to be seriously injured during the spirit animal riot?ā
The other members of the group nodded their heads when Jaguar said it.
āā¦ā¦ Um, I have been having my alchemy fabricated magic metal being processed. While observing the production process, I found out a lot of things that need to be improved, so I thought if I didnāt ask them to remake it, it would take a lot of time⦠Ahhh, but! I had them hurry it up, so I think she would be able to come to visit soonā¦ā¦ā
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā
The members of the group all looked at me with straight faces.
āIf you think about it calmly, this guy is even more of an alchemistās personal property than Icarus, right?ā is what their eyes are trying to say.
āTha-, thatās rightā¦ā¦ the-, thereās no point in rushing aroundā¦ā¦ and Iām sure everyone is tiredā¦ā¦ so we should take a break. Right? Right? ā
As I said this, the group members put their wood carving knives on the spot and began to clatter down.
āWha-, whatās going on?ā
āI canāt concentrateā¦ā¦ I get a weird headacheā¦ā¦ā
One of the members of the group said with a small shake of his head while remaining in a back position.
āConcentration is one of the most important factors in the exercise of magic, so the fact that you wonāt be able to hold it right away means thatās your weakness.ā
āRight awayā¦ā¦? Is it half a day from early morningā¦ā¦?ā
āBut the fact that itās hard right now is proof that itās growing, so if it continues that wayā¦ā¦ā
ācontinue this stateā¦ā¦?ā
ā¦ā¦ I might need to rethink my plans for a bit.
āCommanderā¦ā¦ Iām already-, can I go home now for today? I think thisā¦ā¦ is maybe my limitā¦ā¦ā
Another member of the group opens his mouth.
āWell, ā¦ā¦ anyway, weāre going to take a long break now, so I hope youāll think about it thenā¦ā¦ā
āAbel, Abellll! Lark-san says heās going to start organizing the art that he mentioned before!ćLetās take a quick peek!ā
Mea came rushing in from the direction of Larkās mansion and called me out loud.
Since trade between the Fage territory and other territories was being revived, the previous lords of Lark were talking about selling off some of the artworks that the previous lords of Lark had collected as a hobby and applying them to reconstruction.
The truth is that this was supposed to have been done a few days ago, but the commotion that Marias caused made it impossible to do so, so it was delayed, and it must have been entangled today.
I wasnāt really interested in it, but Mea wanted to see it, so I agreed to accompany her.
āAhā¦ā¦ The-, then, thatās how it isā¦ā¦ so Iām going to go check it out.ā
Amidst the disquieting atmosphere, I decided to leave for now.
āBut for those who have the extra energy, Iād appreciate it if youād carve it on your own while Iām goneā¦ā¦ā
āUmā¦ā¦ Mea thinks itās time to break it up for today.ā
Seeing the corpse-like state of the group members, Mea uttered a small sigh.
āā¦ā¦ I knew it was so? Then weāll break up today and let you rest for tomorrow, and then you can review the rest on your ownā¦ā¦ā
As I said it, the fallen members of the group raised their upper bodies.
āYes!ā
āThank you, thank you, Mea-san! Um, it would be helpful if you could show up here again next timeā¦ā¦ā
āWhen we told them, he didnāt listen to us at allā¦ā¦ā
The members of the group begin to bow to Mea with a pecking order.
Some of them even began to shed tears.
āW-wait, please raise your heads a bit! A-, Abel, what did you do!?ā
ā¦ā¦ I, I didnāt mean to be that strict, but ā¦ā¦ I guess I really should rethink my plan.
For now, Iām going to consult with Lark when I visit the artworks.
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