THUMP!

The Archmage shrugged as she watched him turn away resolutely.

Right. She had been too optimistic in thinking it would work on the Demon Knight.

"I thought this much would be a decent attempt..."

She wasn't trying to interfere with his circumstances. She wasn't trying to change the Demon Knight's mind either.

She just, just wanted to accommodate him a tiny bit... Should she not have stepped in after all? Would there have only been a chance if she went through the Inquisitor or Deathbringer?

"I got caught."

"Y-You got caught...?"

What was certain was that the item commissioned for the Demon Knight had lost its meaning. Having figured out the hidden context, the Demon Knight would continue to refuse it in the future.

She clicked her tongue in regret.

"So, what should we do?"

At that moment, the person who had been caught in the middle and keeping silent spoke up.

"For reference, refunds take a long time."

"... Is that so?"

"Yes. Because I don't have any money on hand."

It wasn't like he was exactly strapped for cash... But more importantly, was he really Surging Blue Coral's adopted son? Not his biological son?

The Archmage blinked at his witty remarks that contrasted with his sorrowful, forget-me-not-like impression. Even if their faces didn't look alike, the way he acted differently from his appearance was exactly identical to Surging Blue Coral.

Even taking into account what he grew up watching, the synchronization rate was excessive.

"... Whether it takes a long time or not, isn't a refund the only answer? The Boss doesn't seem like he'll accept it. In the first place, if the Boss doesn't cooperate, crafting it will be impossible too."

Or was it just because he was a Mage? Or was there some rule that people with two hair colors had ruined personalities?

While the Archmage briefly harbored these doubts, Deathbringer said a word. The Meister's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Where did you hear that it's impossible without his cooperation?"

"... What?"

"Of course it would be impossible for someone like you. But not for me."

"...?"

"Next time, please use your brain before you flap your tongue. It makes me pity your intelligence."

In that moment, the Archmage, the Inquisitor, and Deathbringer became of one mind and one heart.

'... Is he a slightly more talkative Demon Knight?'

"Are you done tal—"

"Now, now, hold it in."

However, just because it was familiar didn't mean they would tolerate it. The moment Deathbringer, who only tempered his personality for the Demon Knight, was about to return the provocation after a long time, the Archmage stepped in.

It was because there was no benefit in ruining their relationship with a Great Master Craftsman, of all people.

"More importantly, can you make it without the Demon Knight's cooperation?"

"Of course. I've seen him once, haven't I?"

Although taking measurements would be more accurate, there was no reason he couldn't make it by eye, the Meister said slightly irritably.

His high pride, at least, was exactly the same as the Demon Knight's.

"Then I will ask you to proceed with the commission."

Thanks to that, she immediately got a sense of how to deal with him.

Instead of asking again if it was really possible, she concisely conveyed her requirements. At that, the Meister nodded, saying he understood.

"For reference, if there are any additions to the commission, send someone by today or tomorrow. If not, come to the workshop in five days. Because I'll have it finished by then."

"Understood."

"Ah, I'll be staying here for the rest of today, so send them here instead of the workshop. From tomorrow on, I'll be at the workshop the whole time, so it doesn't matter. You have no other business, right?"

"Hmm... I have no business regarding the commission, but I do have a question."

With this kind of person, it was better not to drag things out and just present the main point directly. After quickly choosing her words, the Archmage asked.

"How did you end up getting to know the Demon Knight?"

"I don't disclose information about my clients, so don't ask me."

She was rejected outright.

"Then please leave. I'll be going too."

'... Surging Blue Coral sure passed down his personality perfectly.'

The Archmage let him leave as she recalled Surging Blue Coral in his youth.

"What is with that rude bastard, seriously?!"

And as soon as the Meister went into the laboratory, she let go of Deathbringer. The Inquisitor also had a slightly displeased face, even if he didn't say anything.

"He may be a Great Master Craftsman, but his manners are just...!"

"Why are you so angry, young Hunter?"

"I know he became a Great Master Craftsman at a young age, but that's too much! Did he eat his manners for breakfast?!"

"... Aren't all artisans like that?"

"That's not true. The one and only Great Master Craftsman at the Temple wasn't like that!"

The Inquisitor said, recalling the Great Master Craftsman who crafted his armor. At that, the Berserker scratched her head.

"Then just leave it to someone else. Artisans might be rare, but if you look for them, there should be one or two more. Ah, while you're at it, find an older one. Age isn't everything, but you can't ignore the experience that comes with time."

"Well, saying that years of experience are important isn't wrong, and it's also true that there is another Great Master Craftsman in Bemurhen, but..."

Aside from whether there was a need to go out of their way to do that, the Berserker's nuance seemed to be misunderstanding something.

"Do you happen to know what an artisan, a Master Craftsman, and a Great Master Craftsman are?"

"... Is there a difference between them?"

At the Archmage's question, the Berserker tilted her head. Looking at it now, it wasn't a misunderstanding; she seemed completely unaware of the concept.

"Master Craftsman is a title one can only earn by being recognized by at least one prestigious organization, such as the Adventurer's Guild, the Temple, the Magic Tower, or the Knight Academy. It's a sort of certified artisan."

"Is that what it was? Then what about a Great Master Craftsman?"

"It's similar to a Master Craftsman. Except that they must be recognized by three places instead of one."

One might think, 'Isn't it easy to get recognized by two more places if you already have the skills to be recognized by one?' But that was absolutely not the case.

Because the skills required by each organization were different.

"And that person from earlier... is someone who became a Master Craftsman at fifteen and a Great Master Craftsman at twenty. He's a young man who completely shattered the saying that talent cannot replace years of experience."

For those reasons, there were fewer Great Master Craftsmen than Great Sages on the entire continent, and their value was exceptionally high. High enough that no one would say anything even if they had that kind of personality.

"On top of that, he is also a Mage. At this point, there is almost no one who can replace him."

"Oh... Then he's allowed to eat his manners for breakfast."

"I don't want to agree with such an elitist mindset, but that is how everyone views it."

In the latter's case, there were also many who looked down on him as a Mage without magic... but there was no need to voice that out loud. The Archmage swallowed the rest of her sentence down her throat.

"S-Still, that's too much!"

"Hear, hear!"

"... Hmm, I hesitate to say this much, but even if his personality isn't great, his true nature is quite decent. Please don't hate him too much."

"That kind of person?"

"Remember that if you're going to judge based solely on behavior, the Demon Knight is also the worst."

"No, that's..."

The Archmage wielded a fact they had no choice but to accept and added an additional explanation. It was because the Inquisitor had asked, "How do you know his true nature is decent?"

"That... is known because of what he is currently researching. If his personality and his true nature were the same, there's no way he would be conducting research for ordinary people who cannot use magic."

"... Research for ordinary people?"

"Yes."

The personality of the one who was the Great Sage's grandson and a Great Master Craftsman was less known, but his research was widely known.

"His research is about creating a tentative 'battery' that absorbs and stores magic in the air, allowing even people without magic to use magic as long as they have the battery."

Also known as the mass distribution of magic. It was the future dreamed of by a Mage without magic.

* * *

My friends used to say that the workplace is like a 'fucking family,' so you don't build a single ounce of affection for it. Why couldn't this party be that kind of workplace?

Was it because I buttoned the first button wrong? Because I helplessly grew attached without knowing it would turn out like this? But that's just my situation.

There's no need for the rest of you to be affectionate too.

"Damn it!"

I feel comforted by their steady approach and feel warmth from their subtle goodwill.

But my situation is too overwhelming to return those feelings. It's arduous.

... I don't have the confidence to endure what might happen just in case.

"I was wondering why it wasn't working, and it's because I engraved it wrong!"

That's why I'm trying to create distance, but it just perfectly pierces through the loneliness that forms in the meantime.

Nothing really goes my way.

"Fuck."

I blankly watched the Meister, who had been busy checking a brick-shaped object, slam his hand down on the workbench and then grab his head.

He must have made a mistake similar to drawing the line art on the sketch layer. The casually uttered thought refreshed my mood a bit.

"Smoke... I need a smoke..."

"I told you to smoke outside!"

"Piss off."

And back into my field of vision came the Meister, who raised his middle finger while fumbling to put a cigarette in his mouth, and Sage Karl, who grabbed the back of his own neck in frustration.

'... A smoke.'

'A smoke?'

I blankly followed the Meister outside. The past me, who used to turn my room into a smoke-filled raccoon's den, had reacted instinctively.

"What, why are you following me?"

However, because I had acted without any logic, the aftermath became awkward. What should I answer?

"You want one too?"

Even if it's a pathetic excuse, should I say I'm going to the restroom?

While I was debating whether to make that kind of excuse—one I would definitely regret later—the Meister made a new offer instead of waiting for an answer. It was quite an enticing offer.

Wasn't the time I spent quitting smoking a waste? It's too pathetic. It's breaking character. What will I do if I get caught again? To consider all those things... I wasn't exactly in a comfortable situation, either.

Compared to that, as a luxury item, cigarettes definitely relieve stress.

Swish.

Therefore, rather than making an excuse, I silently accepted the cigarette. It was a leaf cigarette.

"Hey, light."

Should I consider it a relief that it wasn't at least a pipe or a hookah?

I watched the leaf cigarette I was seeing for the first time in my life with fascination. Meanwhile, the Meister caught a Mage who was quietly walking by with a calm but strangely thuggish tone.

I wondered how he would light it in a world without lighters or matches, but it seemed he smoked using a walking human lighter.

FWOOSH.

The cigarette was lit under the Mage's docile touch.

"This too."

"Yep."

It bothered me a little that I had no history of smoking with this body... but it's a world where I can't drink alcohol, there's no coffee, and there are no other hobbies I can use to relieve stress. A cigarette should be fine.

While the Meister newly lit his own cigarette, I skillfully held the cigarette smoke in my mouth.

It was harsher than modern cigarettes, but still, it wasn't bad.

Maybe it was because I was a rookie with experience. It wasn't like the time I smoked my very first cigarette, where I had to suffer while thumping my chest.

"Huu."

"You don't look like someone who's only smoked once or twice."

Still, I felt like coughing, so I had suppressed it and endured. That must have looked quite surprising.

The Meister raised an eyebrow. It was a bit funny.

If he knew that during the period when I smoked heavily in the past—was it two years?—I spent over seven million won just on cigarettes, he definitely wouldn't have that reaction.

However, I couldn't say that. Looking both awkward and accustomed, I merely blew out the unfamiliar smoke.

The Meister was similar.

We crouched down or leaned against the wall, billowing out ash-gray smoke. The smoke drifted gently upward through the wide-open air of the terrace.

"Starting tomorrow, there's no need to come to the Magic Tower. Come to the workshop. From the way Sage Karl is acting, it doesn't seem like we'll be able to find out anything by investigating with magic."

"... I will do that."

Then, wait. The Meister muttered something that would have made Sage Karl cry if he heard it. He was truly cold-hearted.

"If my grandfather stepped in, he might be able to figure something out, but..."

I deeply inhaled the cigarette smoke and stared at the Meister. Ruffling his own hair, he looked to have a massive headache.

It didn't seem like he was acting that way simply because of my equipment issue.

"Tsk. There's no point thinking about someone who doesn't have room in their schedule."

However, we weren't at the stage where I could ask him about it. Conceptually, it couldn't be that way. And it shouldn't be that way, either.

So I focused on my cigarette. In place of the sighs I couldn't let out openly, the rising smoke gave me room to breathe.

It was a contradiction. To think that the act of shoving smoke down my throat would ironically open up my breathing.

"Come back when you're done smoking. I'm going first."

But when the cigarette butt had burned down to about three-fifths. Around that time, the Meister stood up.

Drop.

At the same time, something fell out from between his robes. It was the object that had enraged the Meister earlier.

"Hah. When will I ever succeed..."

Was it because there was a carpet laid out not only in the hallway but also on the terrace? The impact sound was dull, so the Meister didn't seem to notice.

"Hey."

"...?"

I picked up the object that fell on the floor in the Meister's place. Vrrr. I felt a weak vibration. It felt similar to a digital notepad with its notifications set to vibrate.

"Why are you call—Ah."

If you looked closely, it even had a faint light coming on.

I pondered over what on earth this was as I handed it to the Meister.

"Thank... you?"

The Meister's eyes widened just as he was about to receive it.

"What is this. Why..."

'Eh. Why. Is there a problem?'

The moment I was about to secretly roll my eyes, the faint vibration I felt in my hand stopped. The light turning off was a bonus.

"You..."

The Meister's eyes turned terrifying.

"What did you just do?"

'Wait, it feels like misunderstanding stacks are piling up right now.'