Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 622

“The Mind Training Center…?”

Mauzer repeated, as if in disbelief.

“Are you saying they’re summoning us to that secluded place where they haven’t allowed any artisans other than Meisters [Master Craftsmen] for decades?”

“I’m just relaying what I’ve heard, so I can’t give you a definite answer…”

Ibert said, looking troubled. But the moment Renok heard those words, he could guess what was happening.

After Renok succeeded in repairing the old-world magic gun, the ‘Terminus of Theremere,’ at the Meister selection ceremony, other Meisters must have tried to repair magic guns as well.

However, unlike Renok, they failed. They realized that there was something he hadn’t revealed yet, and they were trying to find out what it was.

They wanted to know if Renok truly possessed the knowledge and skill to repair old-world artifacts.

They wanted to confirm whether what he showed at the selection ceremony was just a coincidence or not.

Summoning him to a hidden place like the Mind Training Center probably meant they didn’t want to reveal that fact to other artisans or outsiders.

However, Renok wasn’t too pleased even after hearing about the Ex Machina summons.

‘Even if I go down to the Mind Training Center because of the summons, I can’t steal the magic gun from there.’

If the magic gun disappeared while Renok was visiting the Mind Training Center, where only Meisters were allowed, it was obvious who would be blamed.

‘In the end, I’ll have to pick a suitable date before or after the summons and enter the seabed barrier alone…’

Fortunately, he had obtained the Armadelta alloy manufacturing method, so there would be no problem manufacturing the alloy with Mauzer’s help in the workshop.

All that remained was to accurately grasp the summons date, which Ibert didn’t seem to know yet, and make a plan.

“Artisan Lyman. I’m late for the introduction.”

While Renok was lost in thought, Ibert offered a handshake to Renok with a rather polite attitude.

“I heard you took action yourself to subdue the assassin. I’m very grateful that you stepped up for my sister. Thanks to you, my sister was able to save her life.”

“It wasn’t me, the bodyguard did a great job.”

“We plan to compensate him for his responsibility after he regains consciousness.”

After saying that, Ibert sighed, scattering the rising cigarette smoke with his hand.

“More than that, I’m worried that this incident seems to be getting out of hand…”

“Nasisa was the manager of the upper workshop district and an elite Meister who inherited the Fire God General’s workshop.”

Mauzer said in a stiff voice.

“If the Side Squad [a special tactics battalion] really moved, the culprit would be the same Ex Machina committee members.”

“Well, yes… but the problem is that the relationships between the Meisters within the same War Hammer faction aren’t that good either.”

Ibert sighed softly.

“There are quite a few Meisters who are closer to entrepreneurs than artisans, constantly checking and undermining each other to win large-scale production tasks or businesses.”

“…”

So, there were Meisters within the same faction who were so hostile that they would attempt assassination to check Nasisa.

Renok knew that the division and conflict within the machine city were severe, but he didn’t know that the conflict would be so intense that it would be difficult to pinpoint the target.

“Especially Lyman, you should be careful.”

Ibert said with a serious expression.

“I know your identity itself is ambiguous, is that correct? Since an artisan with an unclear background has gained attention in the selection ceremony, the number of artisans who envy you will increase.”

“…”

“They will think that moving your workshop to the upper workshop district is also a privilege. There are many apprentices in other workshops who also resent you.”

They were checking the fact that an artisan with an unclear background was gaining attention and growing so quickly in a short period.

It wasn’t that Renok couldn’t understand that fact itself.

He remembered the expressions the Meisters had shown at the last moment of the selection ceremony. The moment Renok had said he would repair the old-world artifact.

Faces that looked not at a commendable junior, but at a competitor to check and be wary of.

He had glimpsed the essence of not being a master and disciple, but of trying to crush each other mercilessly if they became equal.

Is it because, unlike the huge city where all sorts of people gather, almost all artisans are tested for the same abilities in the same market?

This kind of scrutiny and wariness was something Renok had felt for quite a while.

“Although I’m delegating the manager of the upper workshop district in place of Nasisa, I won’t be able to give you any consideration other than acting on my sister’s decisions.”

Even if Ibert wanted to be considerate of Renok, who had saved Nasisa, it would be difficult for him to even manage his own affairs as the acting manager.

Renok nodded obediently.

“I understand. I’ll take care of the rest.”

At that moment, a young man who had quietly approached Ibert from behind whispered something in his ear.

Ibert, who had been listening with a serious expression, quickly turned his head and nodded to the two of them.

“I think I have to go now. I’ll excuse myself first. Our workshop will take responsibility for nursing Nasisa, so you two don’t have to worry.”

“Okay, you must be busy, so go carefully.”

Mauzer waved his hand, and Renok was about to give a simple bow when he inadvertently stopped moving.

It was because he realized that the young man who had delivered the message to Ibert was giving Renok a disapproving look.

“…”

He seemed to be an apprentice from Nasisa’s workshop, so it was true that Renok’s reputation wasn’t very good.

“Seeing that artisan, it seems that what Artisan Ibert said wasn’t entirely wrong.”

“Yes?”

Looking at Ibert, who was startled and turned to look at the young man, Renok first stepped away from the rooftop railing and nodded to Mauzer.

“It would be better for us to go back now.”

“…”

With Mauzer, who was getting up with a wry smile, Renok left Ibert behind and got up first.

There were many things to prepare in advance for the workshop relocation.

Due to the assassination attempt on Nasisa, the time was delayed a lot, but since the relocation was decided, it was something that couldn’t be postponed.

* * *

Immediately after the Meister selection ceremony ended.

In the affluent district of the Machina central area, a strange rumor was spreading secretly, without anyone knowing.

A rumor that a night raven, appearing in the middle of the night when even the moonlight doesn’t shine, glides through the sky surrounded by mechanical barriers.

What’s surprising is that there are people who take the strange rumor surprisingly seriously.

“I actually saw it. I saw that monster tearing at the outer wall of the mansion like paper.”

“It bent its whole body in an unbelievably bizarre way and flew over the corridors where people would pass.”

“I don’t know what crazy artisan made such a thing, but be careful. It’s a monster that can tear human flesh apart with its claws.”

People who believed that there were no baseless rumors in this city hurried home, muttering in fearful voices, and a cold wind blew through the deserted park.

Under an old bench surrounded by tall, thin trees, an old man wearing a coat was shivering.

The man, who was waiting for someone without even managing his messy white hair, suddenly had his vision turn black.

Whoosh!!

“Ugh…!!”

The moment the old man let out a short scream and jumped up from his seat.

A huge night raven that had landed among the trees in the park was staring at him without saying a word.

A voice was heard right next to the old man, who had collapsed with a suffocated expression.

“What about the information you promised?”

“Huck!!”

Right next to the old man, who had jumped up again, Renok, who was already sitting on the bench, reached out his hand.

“Did you prepare it in a document? It doesn’t matter, just give it to me.”

“…These are the circumstantial evidence of this attempted assassination that I secretly stole from the Metropolitan Police Agency.”

The old man, Langmuir, finally handed Renok a thin file with trembling hands.

Renok didn’t say anything and started to scan through the file on the spot.

Langmuir glanced at the night raven and carefully sat back down, opening his mouth.

“The attempted assassination of Nasisa Solmer is such a sensitive issue that there are more than a few people trying to get involved in this case. I was barely able to pull some strings to get this.”

“Considering that, there’s not much meaningful content.”

“…”

In front of Langmuir, who had lost his words, Renok quickly speed-read the file and nodded.

“Long-term infiltration into the security department. Originally a member of the special tactics battalion Side Squad. The only thing discovered through the background check is that a huge amount of money was deposited into a family-named ghost account… This is practically not even the beginning of the investigation, is it?”

“It’s been decades since someone attempted to assassinate a member of Ex Machina and almost succeeded.”

Langmuir replied.

“It’s true that the political situation in Machina has been chaotic recently, but no one thought that anyone would go this far. I heard that the Metropolitan Police Agency will make an official announcement soon.”

“…”

When Renok closed his mouth, the committee member started to look around even more nervously.

Renok didn’t care about Langmuir’s reaction and was lost in thought on the spot.

‘I don’t know how far I should get involved in the assassination of Nasisa Solmer…’

The reason Renok had asked Langmuir for information about the assassination was not to take revenge on behalf of Nasisa.

However, if Nasisa Solmer was running a workshop as a disciple of the Fire God General, who was called the best artisan in the machine city.

The fact that she was involved in an assassination attempt might be related to the existence of the Fire God General.

And if it was the Fire God General, who was called the best artisan in the machine city, he must be related to the Ascension Gate project.

Renok was thinking that this incident might be related to the Ascension Gate, separate from tracking down Kaise’s secret.

The problem was that Renok wouldn’t be the only one thinking this way.

Renok, who had made a decision, handed back the file and said.

“You don’t have to bring any more information about the assassination of Nasisa Solmer for the time being.”

“Hoo, hoo…”

Looking at Langmuir, who was sighing in relief, Renok asked.

“What about the blueprints?”

“…I’ve shared the blueprint files you gave me with other committee members of the Machine Head faction. They are all trustworthy in my opinion.”

Langmuir replied.

“There’s no disagreement that it’s a structure inside the central district. It’s also a hidden secret space. However, we haven’t found anyone who has seen or knows about the blueprint directly yet.”

“…”

The Machine Head faction was mostly a group of intellectuals who started as scholars and became members of the Ex Machina committee.

As such, he thought they would be able to get a grasp on the situation because their research field was relatively wider than other factions, but it didn’t seem to be the case.

“I’ll have to seek advice from committee members of other factions as well.”

“O, other factions…?”

Langmuir asked, looking slightly surprised.

“The members of the Steel Heart or War Hammer factions don’t live in this district. To go to the areas where they live, you have to go through the upper workshop district.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. In fact, the upper workshop district is responsible for cross-passing the residences of the Ex Machina committee members.”

“The upper workshop district…”

Now that things had turned out this way, it was rather a good thing for Renok.

Langmuir, unable to read Renok’s reaction, continued to speak.

“I’m taking responsibility for the mistakes of the selection ceremony, but the other committee members are different. There’s no reason for them to ask you for favors-”

Whoosh!!

A strong wind blew, and the figures of Renok and the night raven had disappeared without a trace.

Instead, right next to the bench where Renok had been sitting, there was only a gruesome scar, as if it had been crushed by a huge claw.

Langmuir, who was silently staring at it with a pale face, let out a deep sigh and took out his cell phone.

Until the attendant he had waiting outside the park arrived, he had to endure alone in this cold park.

* * *

The relocation of the workshop to the upper district went quite smoothly.

This was because the location where Renok’s workshop would be located, as well as the moving company and the labor costs of the hired employees, were all prepared.

It was possible because Nasisa had already finished all the related work before visiting Renok’s workshop.

“She was a meticulous person, almost to the point of being thorough.”

“That kind of aspect was so outstanding when she was working as an artisan that even the master liked her quite a bit.”

Mauzer, who was carrying a large refrigerator on one shoulder, replied nonchalantly.

It had been quite a while since he had retired from the field, but his strength was still there, and he was handling several times more work than most laborers.

“I know that she’s handling various tasks not only in the workshop but also in Ex Machina.”

“Then, does that mean that there’s a very high possibility that various tasks will be paralyzed now that Artisan Nasisa is in a coma?”

“…Even if Ibert is acting as the manager, that’s highly likely.”

Since it wasn’t positive news, Renok closed his mouth and helped the workers determine the location of the workbench and equipment stands inside the workshop, and helped move the warehouse and internal facilities.

A huge space that was three times larger than the workshop he had previously used under Mauzer’s name, and the size of the furnace was four times larger.

The scenery of the workshop, with smooth paint and neatly arranged pipes, calmed even Renok’s heart, not just that of an artisan.

“Huhu, still, now that we’ve moved, it feels strange again…”

Mauzer also seemed to be pleased just by looking at the appearance of such a large workshop, and he smiled faintly before shaking his head.

Was he thinking about Nasisa, who had given him this clean workshop?

“First, I’ve posted the relocation notice through the workshop reservation app’s management menu. There are customers who made reservations last time but haven’t had their work done, so let’s start with them and open the workshop in order…”

The moment Renok said that and lifted his cell phone to reconnect it to Davi’s magic power.

Bang!!

The door of the workshop, which had not a speck of dust on it, burst open, spewing dust from the outside.

Ignoring Mauzer, who was frowning, a middle-aged man with a stubborn impression strode in.

He stood out with his light attire, not carrying any equipment or luggage in his hands.

He neatly ignored Mauzer and walked up to Renok, immediately opening his mouth.

“Are you the guy named Lyman?”

“…”

When Renok didn’t answer and just stared at the man, Mauzer stepped forward first with a scowl on his face.

“Hey. Who told you to bang on the door and come in like that without knocking?”

Thud!!

When he grabbed a hammer near the workbench and slammed it down hard, the middle-aged man finally turned to look at Mauzer with a slightly surprised expression.

Only after belatedly confirming the sturdy hammer in his hand did the middle-aged man step back and say in a flustered voice.

“Ah, no… I heard that this workshop started a unique business today, so I came to see if I could entrust some work to you.”

“…A unique business?”

Mauzer turned to Renok with a puzzled expression.

Renok silently looked the man up and down before opening his mouth.

“You seem to be an artisan doing business in the upper workshop district, but what kind of work are you saying you’ll entrust to me?”

“Huh? This guy works in the upper workshop district?”

Rather, Mauzer’s eyebrows twitched greatly as if he was surprised by Renok’s words.

The man also seemed surprised to hear such an answer, and turned to look at Renok with a slightly surprised expression.

“I don’t think I’ve said anything yet…”

“Your pores are tightly closed because you were sweating until just now and then exposed to the cold air, and the skin color visible above your neck is significantly different. It’s evidence that you’ve been standing in front of a heat source like a furnace for a long time.”

“H, hmm…”

Thud!!

Renok, who had placed a small box he was carrying with difficulty on the workbench and wiped away his sweat, turned around and said.

“Moreover, if you’re so quick to hear the news about our workshop and come here in just one day, wouldn’t it be strange not to think of you as a colleague?”

“…”

“Hoo, I see. Now that I hear it, it all fits.”

Mauzer stroked his beard with interest, leaving the artisan with a strange expression and an open mouth.

Mauzer ignored the man and asked Renok what he was curious about.

“Then why would an artisan working in the upper workshop come to you to entrust work?”

“Even though he said he came to entrust work, he didn’t bring any equipment or items with him.”

Renok replied while sitting on the workbench.

Mauzer frowned, trying to figure it out.

“Is it because the item to be entrusted is too large to transport?”

“No.”

When Renok denied it, Mauzer scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“If it’s an item that is important enough to be handled in the upper workshop and is also large, it would be an item from an important business entity, such as the core equipment of a large factory. There’s no way they would entrust such important transaction items to newly arrived artisans like us.”

“Then what is it?”

“Didn’t he mention a unique business?”

Renok muttered, with a thoughtful expression, stroking his chin.

“Since we haven’t mentioned anything about it, this must be the result of Nasisa’s prior arrangements, and if I think about the results I showed her at that time…”

Nasisa knew how Renok worked in the workshop and how he performed at the selection ceremony, and she came to him and tested him.

If she had informed Renok of the relocation to the upper workshop district in the process and was trying to entrust him with some work, it would probably be…

Renok, who had quickly pieced together the puzzle in his head, chuckled and nodded.

“Consulting for artisans. If I had to put it simply, it’s likely to be a consultation about the overall business, including workshop management. Am I right?”