Chapter 86
Unlike the smiling Heir, Viola maintained a serious expression.
Though not quite killing intent, Viola was clearly showing signs of discomfort.
That alone made the air heavy.
Though it felt as if gravity itself had increased, the Heir's expression remained relaxed.
For good reason too, as Heir to the Grand Duchy Piakra McManus had certainty.
Certainty that Viola wouldn't dare harm him.
Thus, his statements grew bolder.
"Isn't it strange? Of the 42 expedition members, 13 died, yet not a single casualty came from Frontier's side?"
"That's obvious. The Chatterbox targeted them specifically. He couldn't beat me, and Grant was his next priority, so it was a rational choice from his perspective."
Viola was exercising patience beyond what those who knew her would have expected of her They would have been amazed if they could see her now.
The Heir was the most likely successor to become the next Grand Duke.
First in line for succession and having already built considerable support.
While someone of his status couldn't directly disadvantage Viola, a Pioneer, and member of the Council of Ten, he could indirectly interfere with Frontier Guild and its partner companies.
Once he became Grand Duke, even Viola herself would find him troublesome.
"Wasn't it intentional?"
"What?"
"To reduce the fighting force of competing guilds... wasn't that it?"
That statement crossed the line.
"Listen here, Heir."
Hostility began frosting Viola's voice from that moment.
"You'd better watch your words. You may be first in line for succession, but you're not there yet."
You're still just the Grand Duke's son.
Viola directly warned that if she decided to become hostile, his succession to Grand Duke would face difficulties.
"...I'll keep that in mind."
"You may leave."
"Take care."
Piakra bowed his head.
Without any response, Viola kicked back her chair and roughly threw open the door.
On her way out of the Grand Duchy residence.
Viola furrowed her brow, mulling over her private audience with Piakra McManus.
Such petty division...
Explorers were called the true rulers of Res Limen.
Among their guilds, the five major guilds possessed the greatest power and influence.
Among them, Frontier and Conquerors clearly led the pack.
Not only were they large in scale, but they were the only major guilds with Pioneers as their leaders.
Of the remaining major guilds, only Enigma had a Pioneer as their leader, however, they were too small, and though Paragon's scale exceeded the two leading guilds, they lacked a Pioneer.
So naturally, those two guilds must be thorns in the future Grand Duke's side.
"That young bastard..."
Already full of hot air.
But regardless, Piakra did have power.
Enough power that even Viola couldn't simply laugh it off.
Viola could read Piakra's objective like the palm of her hand.
Once he became Grand Duke, he’d probably want to reclaim the power that had been distributed to the Explorers.
It was the kind of thinking only a sheltered young master who didn't know the world would have.
But he must be filled with the vain belief that he, at the peak of his foolishness, could achieve it.
Tch. Need to be careful. Maybe I should go see Evans' face after all this time.
Viola clicked her tongue, thinking of her comrade who must be opening new frontiers at the Seventh Floor's limit point, fighting against all manner of monsters, unreasonable natural environments, and constantly interfering Abyss Worshipers.
Unfortunately, their relationship wasn't exactly friendly.
§
"But, Roman. Do you really need to ask me for recommendations?"
"Hmm?"
"You must have connections through Telema School. And the Golden Intellect too."
There was a flaw in Arthur's words.
"Don't have any."
"Hmm?"
"Our school doesn't have those kinds of connections."
What are you expecting from a poor school?
Maybe suppliers for cheap ingredients.
Connections with high-end clothing shops?
As if.
"The Golden Intellect connection would be good but…"
"Our professor's branch specializes in pharmaceuticals. For leather processing, we'd need to ask another branch, and that's a bit..."
"I understand that."
If it were metal, it might be worth getting into debt with Golden Intellect, but this is leather.
Moreover, the Blostma School kindly completed all magical processing.
Basic temperature control, cleanliness, basic auto-restoration, and other measures were already applied.
If we wanted anything additional, we'd need to find an Enchanter separately.
Following Arthur's recommendation, we visited a leather workshop.
It had an exclusive contract with Frontier Guild, but they'd accept guild members' recommendations.
When we arrived at the workshop and met the craftsman, I knew we'd hit the jackpot.
The workshop's head leather craftsman, Svanbjorn, was a Dwarf.
"I'd like to commission work with Chromatic Fiend leather."
"Chromatic Fiend?"
Svanbjorn, who had maintained a dry attitude that practically screamed that he was only willing to consult us because of Arthur's face, adjusted his posture at those words.
Though it came from the First Floor, Chromatic Fiend materials were rare.
Regardless of processing difficulty, it was a material any craftsman would want to work with at least once.
"Did you buy it from Blostma? That's the only recent source I've heard of."
"We happened to acquire it."
"Hmm, well, as long as it's not stolen goods, it doesn't matter. Frontier's guarantee is trustworthy. Coat? Or brigandine?"
Coat referred to buff coat leather armor, and brigandine was similar to studded armor.
"I was thinking of a coat."
"That would be lighter and better."
"But I'd like this kind of design for the coat."
I borrowed pen and paper briefly to show the design.
The manual dexterity gained from my slave days quickly sketched out an outfit.
It was a coat but not as thick as a buff coat, with a hood and multiple pockets.
Also with several rings attached for hanging items.
It resembled more of a practical techwear design coat rather than leather armor.
"Hmm, seems the defense would be weak."
"Since Chromatic Fiend leather isn't known for durability anyway, it might be better to focus on mobility while specializing in camouflage color changes."
"Makes sense. Then adding lightweight enchantment would be good too. I’ll let you know if it will be needed. We have partner workshops."
"I'll decide after seeing the finished product."
"Understood. Then let's take measurements first. Hey, Brand. Help out."
"Yes, Master."
The human who had been watching from the side approached with a measuring tape.
Following his instructions, I let him take my measurements.
As Brand was about to leave after taking all the necessary measurements, I stopped him.
"Please do these two as well."
"What?"
"Hmm?"
"We're making three."
At my words, even Rei and Leaf's eyes lit up, apparently not having expected this themselves.
"Why are you surprised? Of course, we'll be getting a matching set."
A team should have uniforms, right?
Sorry Arthur, but no matter how you look at me, there's none for you.
We're barely managing on our own, and you work for a major company.
"You, Roman..."
"Mr. Roman..."
"Hurry and get measured. We have lots to do today."
I pushed the two emotional ones to get measured.
While they were getting measured, Svanbjorn spoke, "One Chromatic Fiend's leather might be a bit tight for three people..."
Then Svanbjorn nodded in understanding after seeing Rei, who had just finished being measured.
"Might work since that one's small."
"What? Who're you calling small!"
Well, you are small.
In many ways...
After calming down the commotion Rei caused, we placed the formal order and left.
The Chromatic Fiend leather would be sent tomorrow.
Production time couldn't be confirmed but would take at least ten days, so we asked them to notify us at Telema School when finished.
"Team uniforms... kind of envious. I've heard many guilds do uniform clothing for unity, wouldn't be bad to get one for ourselves."
"Heh! You don't have anything like this?"
Rei teased the envious Arthur.
Somehow her mental age seemed to be getting younger as time passed.
"Where are we going next?"
"We need to stop by Golden Intellect too. I have to check on it’s progress."
Divine Blood Serum.
Though I didn't expect Costin to have uncovered all its secrets already, considering its value, it needed regular checking.
Then, I should summon Bong-sik and check on him too.'
The Brand indicated that Bong-sik was in the city.
"Then, I'll be going now."
"Oh, thanks."
After sending Arthur off, we headed to Golden Intellect.
Ultimately, they hadn't discovered anything new yet.
However, Costin did provide one certainty.
This was definitely made by Cordelia.
"Hmm, working with other branches would help for more detailed analysis, but that could cause problems. We'll just have to spend more time."
I agreed with that opinion.
There was no need to let too many people know.
It wasn’t absolutely necessary right now anyway.
By the time we left Golden Intellect after saying we'd leave it to them, the sun was already setting on the mountain ridge.
I returned to Telema School, dragging long shadows.
I didn’t need to go looking for Bong-sik since he was already there.
"Oh, you're here?"
"Yeah. Found anything?"
"I was about to contact you actually."
Bong-sik then carefully said, "I think I've caught the tail of these Abyss Worshipers."
Already?
He’s better than expected.
Well, he's proven his search abilities since finding the floating island with the altar.
"About the commotion on the Second Floor."
"...I know."
"I found where the shortcuts connected in the Third Floor. If we follow the traces from there... hehe. Wouldn’t that be the jackpot?"