Chapter 173: Rodky, The Sky City (02)

Rodky is an incredibly big and unique place, however, like pretty much everywhere else, there's a certain hierarchy to be found if you look closely.

Truth be told, it's not even necessary to look that closely.

There are plenty of workshops, and they each have their own mage responsible and sometimes they might have staff as well.

Apprentices, collaborators, blacksmiths, alchemists, and much more.

The workshops' sizes seem to be proportional to the respect a researcher or their research has.

Their staff also tends to follow the same trend.

Similarly, the crowds waiting in line to visit a workshop can also vary immensely.

The first place we visited was easy enough to enter. There was barely anyone there and so, there wasn't even a line.

However, as we approached the center of the city, the lines started getting bigger and bigger.

Now it takes an average of 40 minutes in line to enter a workshop.

All workshops share one thing in common. A show of their research.

This is always free, but they also sell expensive items. And again, certain workshops can get quite expensive.

Which seems to be the case for most of the ones we visited.

Sadly, we didn't visit any workshop that dealt with [Dark Magic].

Isabella's friends weren't interested in that since not a single one of them has an affinity for it, but it seems like they are harder to find compared to other elements.

It's not the city's fault though. The citizens here don't seem to bat an eye to that. A few find it quite interesting.

The problem is simply demand.

Most people dislike [Dark Magic], so they tend to avoid such places. In turn, this makes workshops dedicated to [Dark Magic] only possible on the outskirts of the city.

There is simply no way for them to compete with the more popular ones, no matter the quality of their research.

And so, while waiting in line, Mia reached out to me.

Mia: "...Familiar people are approaching. Her brothers, and..."

Edmond: "What a pleasant surprise."

Isabella's crush.

Or perhaps he's better known as Terith's Prince.

He's a little different from the image of the game, but like Albert and Lenard, he's pretty good-looking.

It completely justifies his position as a romance target.

All of them do.

Be it status, manners, or looks, all three have it covered.

It's no wonder the students look up to them.

And while we're talking about the game characters, of course, we couldn't forget about one of the protagonists.

The heroine.

Sabrina: "Oh, Mr. Butler! I'm glad to see you're doing fine after last time! Thank you for forgiving him, Isabella! I hope you can show me the same mercy..."

Of course, there was no reason for me to be injured.

Any form of punishment only existed in her twisted perception.

...The only thing that might've hurt a little was seeing Isabella's dejected face, but she didn't act out after that.

After explaining what happened to her she pretty much forgave me immediately.

Edmond: "...Did something happen?"

Sabrina: "Yes, the two of us were talking and Isabella felt insulted by his words..."

It's all true, but...

The way she constructs it makes it look way worse than it is.

Miwen "It wasn't anything major. She got upset because I insulted her. And that was all. There was no punishment involved."

I tried to be as objective as possible so that there wouldn't be any space for a misunderstanding, but I couldn't tell whether or not it worked immediately.

Edmond: "I see. Even if you have a good relationship as master and servant, in public spaces it's necessary to mind one's behavior. For example, you and the beastwoman didn't bow to greet me. While I don't care for such things, it might stain your Lady's reputation if you behave like this around other nobles."

Albert: "Your Highness... He is..."

Miwen: "Uh-huh. Sorry to say, but you're the one who should be bowing to me."

Edmond: "What?"

Huh.

For someone who said they didn't care, he sure seemed upset about that.

Still, he only had good intentions with his advice, so I decided to go easy on him.

Miwen: "While I might serve Isabella, I am also king of my own nation. Which means I outrank you."

As long as we don't talk about how my kingdom barely amounts to a fraction of his.

Edmond: "That... Doesn't make sense. Why would a king serve the daughter of a foreign duke? Even made-up tales need to have a semblance of logic..."

Sabrina: "Haha! You know, I never thought you'd be the type to make jokes. Between being a kingdom and having a lover... Hehe... Aren't you a big dreamer?"

...?

Well, first of all, that's a little insulting.

Yeah, having a kingdom might seem far-fetched, but having a fiancée is not extraordinary.

Miwen: "What do you have to say to that, Mia?"

Mia: "...With so many high-ranking nobles, I feel like I should concentrate a little more."

Pfft.

Of course.

Even though I was a little pissed off that we abandoned the line to go to the church, being honest, it was a pretty good sight.

It wasn't merely a church, but a cathedral, and quite a big one.

It made sense considering that it was the only one in the city, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

Sabrina: "Ah... I feel so much at ease here..."

Isabella: "...?"

Miwen: "Don't worry, me too."

As Sabrina started to pray, I could feel her powers magnifying. The aura that normally surrounds her was much stronger than before.

It truly felt like a holy light was illuminating her whole body.

I'm pretty sure if I was still under the effects of her charm my mind would be a mess right now, but thanks to Elizabeth, I could appreciate the sight for what it truly was.

Beautiful and perhaps mesmerizing, but not enough for me to lose sight of what's truly important.

Isabella: "...For some reason, I'm also feeling empowered..."

Miwen: "That's because you are."

Since I have both dark and light magic, I tried both of them out when we entered the church to see the effects a holy place had.

As expected, my light magic increased in power significantly. I'd say around 20% or 30%.

Considering Sabrina's position as a Saint, I'm sure her powers increased even more.

And it made me glad I never considered building the church that Gabriella pestered me about since even outside of one Elizabeth considers her a potential threat.

However, what I found most interesting was that I also felt my dark magic increasing in power.

Which according to what I know, should not have happened.

In fact, it was supposed to be the opposite. While light magic gains strength inside a church, dark magic loses it.

??????: "It is said that this city was built by prodigies who had mastered one element each to develop their knowledge. According to the legend, they wanted to know if it was possible to empower two opposing elements with the same method, so they dedicated this cathedral to the masters of light and dark magic..."

Mia: "...!"

Miwen: "...!?"

...What?

How did she... Get past Mia?

She had said she was going to concentrate more...

I get that she was mostly saying that to avoid the topic, but she still acted like it a little.

And even if that wasn't the case, she should've been capable of noticing someone approaching a mile away.

But neither of us noticed this woman until she was directly by our side.

Isabella: "...That's interesting..."

??????: "You truly think so, huh? Well, if you want to learn more, you're welcome to visit my workshop. You too, young man."

Isabella: "Wait-"

I blinked for a second and she was gone.

Almost as if she wasn't here, to begin with.

Miwen: "Was it teleportation?"

Mia: "...I'm not sure. I think there was something else. My eyes were seeing her, but... there was no smell... But her lips were moving. What did she say?"

Weird.

Since Isabella and I were both hearing her I was under the assumption Mia could as well...

Isabella: "She didn't give us her name... How are we supposed to find her workshop?"

True...

But something tells me that finding that mysterious woman won't be that hard.

Miwen: "You know the most famous mages around here, right?"

Isabella: "Yeah? But I don't think I know about her..."

Miwen: "Which means she's not a well-known mage. We'll search for her on the outskirts." thank-you-for-using-MvLeMpYr

Isabella: "...I guess. But it's really convenient that your deduction will bring us to the workshops with smaller lines."

A man can hope.