Unlike the calm smile on the Grand Duke’s face, Viola's expression was stony.
It wasn’t quite murderous, but Viola’s irritation was clear enough to make the atmosphere tense. The air seed heavier, as if gravity itself had intensified, yet the Grand Duke’s face remained relaxed.
It made sense; Grand Duke Piacra McManus was confident. Confident that Viola wouldn’t dare harm him.
This only emboldened him further.
“Isn’t it strange? Of the 42 expedition mbers, 13 were killed, yet not a single death ca from the Frontier’s side?”
“That’s obvious. That chatterbox targeted your side. He knew he couldn’t defeat , and next to , Grant was the most important. It was the logical choice from his perspective.”
Anyone else witnessing this would be shocked at the restraint Viola was showing. The Grand Duke’s son, Piacra, was the likely heir and had already secured significant support.
Although Piacra couldn’t impose direct consequences on a Pioneer like Viola, he could target the Frontier Guild and its affiliated businesses with indirect interference. Once he assud the grand dukedom, even Viola would find it challenging to deal with him.
“Or perhaps... wasn’t it intentional on your part?”
“What?”
“Was it not to weaken a competing guild’s forces?”
He’d gone too far.
“Careful, Grand Duke.”
It was then that a dangerous edge seeped into Viola’s voice.
“It would be wise to watch your words. You may be first in line to inherit the title, but that is all.”
At this, Viola’s warning beca explicit—if she truly opposed him, Piacra’s ascension to the grand dukedom could be hindered.
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Safe travels.”
With a slight bow from Piacra, Viola turned abruptly, exiting the room with barely a backward glance.
As she left the grand duke’s estate, Viola reflected on her frustrating conversation with Piacra McManus.
*“Petty sches…”*
Les Rin’s true rulers were the explorers. Of the city’s five main guilds, two stood out: Frontier and Conquerors, both led by Pioneers.
Of the others, Enigma had a Pioneer as a leader but was too small to compete, and Paragon, though large, lacked a Pioneer.
To the Grand Duke’s son, these two guilds were nothing but thorns in his side.
*“Spoiled brat…”*
Yet, despite his arrogance, Piacra had real power. Even Viola couldn’t simply brush him off.
It was obvious what he wanted—to reclaim the power explorers had wrested away once he ascended to the grand dukedom.
It was a foolish idea, born of an arrogant mind, but Piacra seed certain he could achieve it.
*“I’ll have to be careful. Perhaps it’s ti to pay Evans a visit.”*
Viola clicked her tongue as she considered her ally—Evans, who was undoubtedly still battling monsters and extre environnts on the seventh level, pushing the boundaries of what was possible.
The two didn’t have the warst of relationships.
---
“So, Roman, did you really need to recomnd soone for this?”
“Hm?”
“Don’t you have connections through the Telemma School or Golden Wisdom?”
Arthur’s question held a bit of irony.
“Nope.”
“Huh?”
“My school doesn’t have any connections like that.”
What could you expect from a poor school?
We might have soone who could source cheap ingredients, but a connection with high-end leatherworkers? No chance.
“Golden Wisdom has connections, sure, but…”
“Our branch mostly focuses on potions and alchemy, so we’d have to ask another branch for help with leatherwork, which would be... awkward.”
“That makes sense, then.”
If it had been tal, I might have considered indebting myself to Golden Wisdom, but this was leather.
We ended up following Arthur’s recomndation to a leather workshop. They had an exclusive contract with the Frontier Guild, and with a guild mber’s recomndation, they’d accept us.
As soon as we arrived and t the master, I knew we’d hit the jackpot. The leatherwork master introduced himself as Svanbiorn, and he was a dwarf.
“I’ve got a Chromatic Fiend hide for processing.”
“Chromatic Fiend?”
Svanbiorn, who had initially shown a mild, almost indifferent interest, straightened at the ntion. Chromatic Fiend leather was rare, even if it ca from the first level. Despite the challenge in processing it, it was sothing every master would love to handle at least once.
“Did you get it from Blostema? They’re the only ones who’ve had it recently.”
“Just happened to acquire it.”
“Hmm, as long as it’s not stolen. If the Frontier guarantees it, I can trust it. So, coat or brigandine?”
“A coat.”
“That’s lighter anyway.”
“But I’d like to design the coat with sothing like this…”
I borrowed a pen and paper and quickly sketched out a design.
After years of odd jobs as a slave, I’d picked up a few practical skills, enough to draw a decent outfit.
The coat was practical, with multiple pockets, a hood, and various loops to hang things from. More than armor, it looked like a techwear jacket—a versatile design with a touch of modern functionality.
“Defense might be weak with this design.”
“Chromatic Fiend hide isn’t known for durability anyway. It’d be better suited to camouflage and mobility.”
“Fair point. Adding lightweight enhancents would also help. If needed, let know. We have a partner workshop for enchantnts.”
“I’ll decide after I see the finished product.”
“Very well, let’s get your asurents. Hey, Brandt, bring the tape.”
Following his instructions, I allowed myself to be asured. Once Brandt finished, I stopped him.
“Please asure here as well.”
“Hmm?”
“What?”
“I need three made.”
Realization dawned on Ray and Leif, who hadn’t anticipated this.
“Why are you two so surprised? It’s obvious we’d all match.”
Team uniforms, after all. Sorry, Arthur, but I’m not covering yours. We have enough trouble funding our own, corporate guy.
“You… Roman…”
“Roman…”
“Co on, hurry up. There’s plenty to do today.”
I nudged the two, who were still a bit stunned, to finish their asurents. While they were busy, Svanbiorn said,
“It’ll be tight making three from a single Chromatic Fiend hide…”
But when he looked at Ray, he nodded in understanding.
“With her size, it just might work.”
“What? Who’s small?”
Well, she is small. In many ways…
After settling Ray down, we completed the order and left.
Svanbiorn promised to have the hide delivered by tomorrow. He said the production ti would be at least ten days, and I asked him to notify the Telemma School when it was finished.
“Team uniforms, huh… I’m a bit envious. A lot of guilds unify attire for team solidarity. Maybe we should have sothing like that.”
“Heh! You don’t have anything like this, do you?”
Ray’s teasing of Arthur had only grown bolder with ti.
“Where to next?”
“We should stop by Golden Wisdom. I need to check on their progress.”
The Visium Serum. I didn’t expect them to have cracked all its secrets yet, but given its value, it was worth a regular check-in.
*“I’ll have to follow up with Bongshik as well.”*
The brand indicated he was back in town.
“All right, I’ll head out, then.”
“Oh, thanks for your help.”
With Arthur gone, we made our way to Golden Wisdom.
While there, I didn’t receive much new information. However, Costin did confirm that it was Cordelia’s creation.
“Hm, we could make quicker progress if we collaborated with another branch, but that might cause issues. Spending more ti might be safer.”
I agreed wholeheartedly. No need to publicize it. It wasn’t imdiately necessary, anyway.
By the ti we left Golden Wisdom, the sun had begun to set, casting long shadows as I made my way back to Telemma School.
I didn’t even have to look for Bongshik; he was already there.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“Yes. Have you found anything?”
“I was just about to contact you.”
Bongshik spoke carefully.
“I believe I may have found the Abyss cultist’s trail.”
Already?
*“He’s exceeded my expectations.”*
It made sense, considering his search prowess had already proven itself by finding the floating island with the altar.
“You an the recent disturbance on the second level?”
“Correct.”
“I know.”
“I’ve identified the location on the third level where the path led. If we follow the trail from there… we might have hit the jackpot.”
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