Chapter 38 Were You Bought Out?
With a loud voice like a scream from the soul, Fiona denied Tyler's speculation.
"......"
Immediately after, an awkward silence fell like a heavy weight.
Tyler's face, which slowly turned towards me, was painted with an unbearable sense of despair. That Fiona, what a cruel thing to do. Can't she read the atmosphere?
"...Is that not the case?"
"Y-yes, well..."
I was at a loss for words, wondering how to respond to his voice, which sounded like he was about to die. But here, I had no choice but to answer honestly.
"It's like, even if she's called my disciple, I'm teaching her how to fight as an explorer."
"Ah, I see... My, I was too hasty, wasn't I?"
Tyler looked like he had received a massive shock, and his expression was so painful to look at. I couldn't help but glare at Fiona, as if blaming her.
"W-what's with that look? ...Am I the bad guy here?"
"......"
"H-hey! Don't look at me like that! I won't make a wooden sword or anything!!"
I turned my gaze back to Tyler and told him in a soothing tone.
"Well, I'm also a combat job, and as for [Hand of Meister], it's suitable for combat jobs in terms of handling aura. As a craftsman, it's like... from now on..."
"Oh... So, that means this young lady has an aptitude for it...?"
Tyler, who had been lost in the darkness of despair, seemed to have found a glimmer of hope, and I nodded quietly with a serious face.
Then, Tyler burst into tears, crying profusely from both eyes.
"Oh...!! Thank you, God...!! I'm grateful...!! ――Missy!!"
"――P-please...!! What's with this guy... He's scary..."
Fiona looked like she was intimidated by Tyler, who had turned around with a strong determination.
Tyler, on the other hand, gazed at her with a serious and sincere expression.
"Please, for the future of the wooden sword industry...!!"
"......"
Fiona had a very displeased look on her face, but no words of denial came out of her mouth.
The future of the woodcraft industry was now being entrusted to Fiona's shoulders...
* * *
Well...
I felt like the conversation was going well, so I was thinking of wrapping it up, but I realized we hadn't even gotten to the main topic yet.
After all, there was a reason why Mr. Tyler had visited my atelier.
"――Then, Mr. Tyler, shall we proceed with the interview?"
"Yes, please go ahead."
To be honest, the purpose of today's interview was to gather material for an article in "Woodcraft Journal".
Lately, I've been getting interviewed by "Woodcraft Journal" almost every issue. However, the content of this interview was different from usual.
To put it simply, this interview was about my latest woodcraft, "Silver", which I had just completed. If this interview gets published in "Woodcraft Journal", it's likely to send shockwaves throughout the industry. The birth of the "Silver Series" is a revolutionary event, after all.
Normally, interviews aren't part of the editor-in-chief's job, but Mr. Tyler and I have a history dating back to when he was an editor, and he's still in charge of my interview articles.
I answered Mr. Tyler's questions as he asked them.
"Is it true that you, who gained fame with the practical and artistic Black Radiance Series, are now releasing a new series?"
"Yes, that's true."
"I heard it's a woodcraft made from the ≪Ice Elemental Treant≫...?"
"That's correct. It was a real challenge to process it."
"I see... Normally, materials are dissolved with chemicals and then processed, so it's unusual. Were there any particular difficulties you faced during processing?"
"Uh, yeah... The core wood of the 'Ice Elemental Treant' I used as material is incredibly hard, yet fragile at the same time."
"Hard yet fragile... That sounds like a contradictory statement, doesn't it?"
"Well, if you think about it normally, it's only natural to think that way. However, if I explain that it has a glass-like quality, would you understand? Just like diamonds, which are known to be extremely hard, can be broken with a hammer, right? It's that kind of feeling."
"Ah, I see. I understand. That's certainly a contradictory combination of being hard and fragile, isn't it? By the way, how long did it take to make it?"
"Including the failures, it took over a month. But if I only count the time it took to actually create a successful piece, it was just half a day, I suppose."
"What the...!? Is that true!? That's unbelievable, it's like rewriting the conventional wisdom we've had until now! It's that short of a time!"
"Haha, yeah, well. The reason I was able to shorten the time so much was because I used the [Hand of Meister] to process the materials. But even if I was just a little off, it would immediately develop cracks. I'm sure I failed over 200 times, didn't I?"
"I see... So, you mean that after many failures, you finally succeeded this time?"
"Yes. Well, this time was really a series of struggles. That's because――"
――And so, the interview continued for over 3 hours.
In the middle, Fiona suddenly went crazy, saying "Ah, my head is going crazy!!" and ran out of the house, and when Mr. Tyler saw the real Silver, he got overly excited, and all sorts of things happened. But when Fiona came back, the interview was finally getting to the good part.
"――Master Aaron, thank you very much for this very meaningful conversation so far."
"No problem."
"Then, finally, I'd like to confirm your future activities. Now that the Silver series has been completed, I think you'll receive orders from many people, including Count Lorentz and the head of the Gridavor family... Will you be focusing on that from now on?"
At that question, I couldn't help but smile.
"Of course, I think I'll be focusing on creating the Silver series. But, as it happens, I made a wonderful discovery the other day..."
"A discovery...? What kind of discovery is that?"
Tyler's face looked puzzled, as if he had heard something unexpected.
I stood up casually and took out a piece of lumber from the storage ring on my workbench.
As soon as Tyler saw the semi-transparent, pale green wood, his eyes widened in surprise.
Although he might not have seen it before, he probably realized that this was a material from the ≪Attribute Treant≫ system. I thought so, but his answer was slightly different.
"This is... the core wood of a 'Wind Elemental Treant', right? Master Aaron, did you buy it?"
"...Huh?"
His unexpected words left me stunned, and my thoughts came to a halt for a moment.
The core wood of a ≪Wind Elemental Treant≫ was a material I had finally obtained just the other day on the 46th floor. I was probably the first person to get it in modern times.
But then I thought again ―― even if I excluded the possibility that someone had obtained it in the past and it had been preserved, there were likely people who had gotten it before me.
Like the organization Judas and his friends belonged to.
They must have definitely reached the 46th floor and beyond before us, judging from the evidence we found just the other day.
"...Mr. Tyler, may I ask, what's going on? Did someone sell it? Was the core wood of a 'Wind Elemental Treant' put up for sale somewhere? By the way, I obtained this just the other day in the labyrinth."
"Was that so? Come to think of it, you were starting to explore the 46th floor of [God's Remains Labyrinth], weren't you? Maybe you found it there?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"I see... That means the industry is going to get even more heated up... and, I'm sorry. To answer your question, it was about 3 years ago... at an auction house in another country, the core wood of a 'Wind Elemental Treant' was put up for sale. The seller said it was an heirloom that had been stored away, but... come to think of it, around the same time, materials from the 'Attribute Treant' system were put up for sale in various countries..."
Mr. Tyler's words, spoken in a casual tone, like gossip.
However, they were mixed with information that was hard to ignore.
If it's said to be the material of the ≪Attribute Treant≫, it means there are various types, right? But can such a thing really exist? The ≪Attribute Treant≫ is an ancient creature that went extinct on land a long, long time ago. Currently, its existence can only be confirmed in some parts of the labyrinth.
"Could you tell me more about that story?"
"Yeah, no problem at all."
So, I heard a detailed story from Mr. Tyler, and here's what I found out.
Apparently, in countries farther away from the 3 nations surrounding Necronia, the material of the ≪Attribute Treant≫ was sold on the market at different times and places. Tyler heard that local woodworkers participated in auctions but couldn't win the bids. However, he himself attended auctions for several types, including the ≪Wind Elemental Treant≫, and even saw the ≪Wind Elemental Treant≫ core wood in person, although he couldn't win the bid.
Even though the market scale is expanding, the woodworking industry is still a relatively minor field.
It's only natural to lose to magic tool craftsmen and alchemists in terms of financial power. It's frustrating, to say the least.
Well, anyway...
So, at one point, a considerable amount of ≪Attribute Treant≫ material was put up for sale. Moreover, this information ―― that a large amount of ≪Attribute Treant≫ material was sold in various places at the same time ―― is something that only those who are always on the lookout for special wood information can notice, as it covers a wide range of areas and times.
The materials exhibited in various places were, even with Mr. Tyler's connections, mostly unobtainable in modern times. If we're talking about relatively accessible materials, there were only 2: the 'Ice Elemental Treant's Core' from [God's Remains Labyrinth] and the 'Earth Elemental Treant's Core' from the [Sacred Tree Labyrinth] in the northern country.
But most of the exhibited materials were thought to be unobtainable in modern times...
"......"
Maybe the exhibitor... probably has a proxy, but the real exhibitor might be the organization I'm chasing?
Considering the abundance of materials that have been circulated, it's not entirely impossible.
Since they're operating as an organization, they must need funds no matter what. And by selling off some of the necessary materials that aren't problematic, like the ones that have been confirmed in the past and present, on the market from the 46th floor and below... it all adds up.
"...Mr. Tyler, I have a favor to ask, if you don't mind."
"Master Aaron's request is my top priority, and I'll do my best to help."
I made a request to Tyler.
As the editor-in-chief of a magazine, Mr. Tyler has connections in various fields and knows many people. He might be able to get me the information I'm looking for.
* * *
"..."
After sending off Mr. Tyler, who had finished his interview at the entrance, I returned to the atelier and found Fiona sitting in a chair, staring into space.
Was she sleeping? I thought for a moment, but her eyelids and pupils were open. She was probably awake. I thought so and called out to her.
"Hey, we're done with our business. What's your business?"
"――――Huh!? ...Finally, is it over?"
Fiona, who had been gazing into space, suddenly focused her eyes on me.
"Yeah, it's over. Now, tell me about your business."
"Uh... well..."
Fiona, who had been dazed like she just woke up, opened her mouth after a moment of recalling her memories.
"It's not about the wooden sword... uh... yeah, the meeting date has been decided, so I came to tell you."
"Ah, so it's finally been decided, huh. And where is it going to be?"
"It's been decided to hold it at the Kirke family's estate in 3 days. And before the meeting, we'll be deciding on a new Clan Master."
"Got it, understood. ...Are there any preparations we need to make or anything, do you hear?"
"There's nothing special to prepare. But the candidates will be giving speeches beforehand, so we should think about what to say."
"Hmm...a speech, huh. Got it."
"You...weren't planning to withdraw, saying it's not your thing, were you? Are you going to participate?"
"Well, I did think that way, but...I've got some thoughts on my mind."
This is the meeting Fiona was talking about.
It's a gathering where our team, the Labyrinth Conquest Team, and the [Four Great Families of the Seals], including their leaders, will come together to decide on our future plans and share information we've gathered so far.
And it's also where we'll be selecting a new Clan Master.
Fiona didn't mention it at Mr. Tyler's place because probably all the leaders of the [Four Great Families of the Seals] will be gathering for this meeting. From a security standpoint, this meeting is being kept as secret as possible.
In reality, the meeting and the selection of the new Clan Master are closely related to a certain incident.
That's because about 2 weeks ago, Logan Abrams, the Clan Master of the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫, and Ail Hermit suddenly disappeared.
When we investigated, we confirmed that the 2 of them had entered the [God's Remains Labyrinth] together.
The area around the [Seal Temple], where the labyrinth is located, is surrounded by a high and thick wall (or rather, a fortress), and there's only one path leading to the [Seal Temple]. Along that path, they check for exploration permits, and all records of who enters the labyrinth and when they return are kept.
According to those records, there's a record of Logan and the others entering the labyrinth, but there's no record of them coming out.
So, if we think about it normally, it's most likely that Logan and the others died in the labyrinth.
The reason why Logan and the others went into the labyrinth alone is still a mystery, and their whereabouts are also unknown. If they're really dead, their bodies wouldn't be left behind in the labyrinth, decomposing. It's like, we can't even be sure if they're really dead.
The one who was most upset by this fact was Lady Eva.
It's not unreasonable, considering they've been friends since childhood.
Thanks to her request, the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ decided to search for Logan and the others... but the problem is, we don't even know which floor they teleported to.
We had no choice but to divide the clan members into several teams and search from the 1st floor to the 46th floor, one by one.
I searched from the 41st floor to the 46th floor with Io Suleiman and Fiona, but we couldn't find the 2 of them. Instead, we found a ≪Wind Elemental Treant≫ that was flying around the 46th floor, and we discovered a certain "proof" that a pioneer with an unknown true identity was hiding on the 46th floor.
It's been 10 days since Logan and the others went missing, and the explorer guild and the heads of the [Four Great Families of the Seals] have judged that they're dead.
And because of that, a new Clan Master needs to be elected.
However, if we think about it, it's more problematic if Logan and the others are alive. That's because if they're alive, it's certain that they've escaped from the labyrinth, but there's only one way to do it without anyone knowing.
That's the "proof" we found on the 46th floor ―― a mysterious "teleportation circle" that was set up to be hidden on a certain island. If they use that, they might be able to escape from the labyrinth.
But if that's the case, it would mean that Logan and the others were enemies...
...Well, I don't know what the truth is, but personally, I'm skeptical about the theory that Logan and the others are dead.
No matter how skilled an explorer you are, you can still die suddenly in a labyrinth. I know that, but when I'm told that Logan and the others died, it just doesn't sit well with me.
For example, even if they were up against an enemy that was too strong for them to beat ―― whether it was a monster or a human, I don't know ―― I think they could've at least managed to escape. With their skills, they should've been able to do that much.
Logan, for one, didn't even use his full strength, and Ail was hiding his abilities when we were exploring the clan.
Even when we fought Ignitor, he didn't seem to be going all out.
So, can those guys really just die without leaving a trace?
I don't have any proof, but somehow, I get the feeling they're still alive. Honestly, I'm not worried about their safety.
Those 2 are like old men who can't be killed, no matter how hard you try.
In fact, they're the type who would show up again, kill us without batting an eye, and then act like nothing's wrong.
On the other hand, the impact of their disappearance is huge. We've already lost 12 people in the clan, and now that the Clan Master and a big-name member are gone, it's going to be tough to keep going for a while.
We need to elect a new Clan Master ASAP, and 3 people have been nominated for the position.
One is Io Suleiman.
He's the top candidate due to his strength, experience, and name value.
The second is Garon Gasterk.
He was chosen for his exceptional leadership skills in group battles.
And the third is me, Aaron Gale.
Apparently, I was chosen for my simple combat abilities and my role as a "brain" among explorers.
The clan members and supporters from the [Four Great Families of the Seals] will decide who becomes the new Clan Master through a majority vote.
Well, to be honest, I don't really want to be the Clan Master, so I'd rather just opt out...
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