Chapter 48

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Antonio returned home from the treatment clinic, but his injuries were not fully healed. The priest at the clinic had said it would take about five days to fully recover.

The priest had used magic to reconnect two broken ribs, but the area was still fragile and required continued treatment. It seemed that lying still and receiving the healing magic once a day would be enough, so Antonio decided to have Ricardo cast the healing magic at home. When he heard that staying at the clinic and receiving the healing magic from the priest would cost two gold coins for five days, Antonio insisted on going home.

Ricardo thought there was no need to worry about money, but in the end, Antonio decided to be treated at home.

When the family saw Antonio return with his injuries, they were all worried.

"Are you really okay?"

Julia, looking worried, asked as she saw her son lying on the bed, wrapped in bandages.

"I'm fine. The priest said I'll be fully recovered in five days."

Serge and Pamela also looked anxious when they saw Antonio.

"Don't make such faces. I'm fine."

Pamela held Antonio's hand, tears in her eyes.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little, but it will heal soon, so don't worry."

Serge and Pamela seemed to relax after hearing Antonio's words.

Seeing this, Ricardo felt anger welling up inside him again.

"Ricardo, you look scary. The guards will catch the culprit, so leave it to them."

Antonio's words calmed Ricardo's anger a bit.

"...Alright."

While continuing to recover at home, Ricardo thought about how to strengthen Antonio.

When asked what kind of person he wanted to be, Antonio had said he wanted to become a leading expert in cultivating demon trees. Ricardo thought it would be meaningless to train him as a magician type. However, Antonio needed to learn the magic of "Life," which was essential for cultivating demon trees.

Among the "Life" magic, there was a spell called "Accelerated Thinking." This spell was not highly regarded by magicians because it only increased the speed of one's thoughts for about five minutes.

Ricardo came up with the idea of using "Accelerated Thinking" to train Antonio. He went out to the garden and tried it on himself.

"Glory, Life, Jube Rofami, Baligeshmei"

At that moment, Monta's movements, running towards him, seemed to slow down. It felt like watching in slow motion. When he tried to take a step, his body didn't move as he expected.

Even when he tried to walk normally, his legs didn't move smoothly. It felt like moving in water.

He moved his body for five minutes in this state. Since his senses and body movements were not in sync, he had to control his muscles carefully to maintain balance.

Monta, standing on two legs, tilted his head and asked.

"Quka, Que Qu" (Rica, what are you doing?)

Monta's chirping sounded different from usual.

"I'm just trying out a strange spell."

"Quka Ke" (Your movements are weird.)

"Don't worry, it's a spell like that."

"Que" (I see.)

After five minutes, his senses and thoughts returned to normal. Despite the short time, he felt fatigue in his muscles. It seemed he had overexerted himself trying to move his body to match his accelerated thoughts.

"If I keep up this training, I might be able to move faster."

Muttering to himself, he visualized the effects of "Accelerated Thinking." He remembered that martial arts experts move without any wasted motion. He had heard that it's impossible to dodge such efficient attacks.

Using "Accelerated Thinking" for training would allow him to strengthen his muscles while also practicing to eliminate wasted movements. He reached this conclusion.

That day, he activated "Accelerated Thinking" multiple times and practiced combat training, shadow boxing against imaginary enemies. He repeated the same movements many times, aiming for efficient motion, and gradually corrected his movements.

After about an hour of training, he stopped, exhausted.

The next morning, when Ricardo woke up, his whole body was sore.

"Ita-ta... What is this muscle pain... Is it from that training?"

He felt intense pain even getting out of bed. His leg muscles were particularly damaged, making it difficult to walk.

He remembered reading a paper that said muscle pain from training should not be healed with "Healing" magic, as it would interfere with the muscle strengthening process called "supercompensation."

After managing to finish his meal, he headed to the Magician's Guild. By this time, the magician certification exam was over, and Ricardo had been reassigned to the Alchemy Bureau. His assigned laboratory was on the third floor, in a corner room. Massimo was on the second floor, so they rarely saw each other, but when they did, Massimo glared at him with a nasty look, which Ricardo found annoying.

The only requirement for researchers in the Alchemy Bureau was to submit a paper every two years, which relieved Ricardo. He had accumulated enough research topics for over a decade.

Incidentally, the Duke Octavius's third son, Remigio, also became a researcher in the Alchemy Bureau. His paper submitted in winter had been recognized.

Ricardo entered his room on the third floor, looked around the barren room, and sat down. The room only had a desk, a chair, and a bookshelf, which was empty.

"What should I do about my brother's armor?"

Antonio usually wore loose training shirts and cargo pants for work. A hunting vest might be a good match.

"The problem is what material to use for the vest... Should I use something special?"

Ricardo thought about using the hide of a Nether Wolf. It was a very tough hide, resistant to ordinary blades, and quite expensive.

When they defeated the Nether Wolf, the corpse was taken to the castle as proof of the kill, but the hide, fangs, and claws were returned to Isarco and Ricardo. The hide was tanned and stored.

He thought about using this hide to make Antonio's vest, but he wanted it to look like a regular hunting vest, using the Nether Wolf hide as the inner lining.

"Having just a vest for armor feels a bit thin... Maybe I should buy a buckler or a gauntlet."

He could keep the gauntlet in his storage amethyst and take it out when needed. He decided to go buy a gauntlet immediately. He left the Magician's Guild and headed west to the market street. The first armor shop he found seemed to cater to nobles, with only ornate equipment on display.

When he asked the shopkeeper about the practicality of the gem-encrusted armor, he learned that it was for ceremonial use, and different equipment was used in actual combat. It seemed he had entered the wrong shop. He left and continued west, entering a shop that sold both new and used weapons and armor.

The shop seemed to handle both new and used items. He first looked at the new gauntlets but found none that seemed suitable for Antonio. He then checked the used items. Many gauntlets were made from the hides of magical beasts, with the most common being those made from the hardened hide of a tusker.

Most of the used gauntlets were damaged, making him hesitant to equip Antonio with them. Just as he was about to give up, he found a black, shiny gauntlet buried in a pile of used items.

"What's this?"

He pulled it out of the pile and saw it was a left-hand gauntlet made from the hide and a part of a magical beast. He asked a young shop assistant in his late teens.

"What kind of gauntlet is this?"

The assistant tilted his head.

"Oh, we bought this from a traveling merchant, so we don't know much about it."

The assistant didn't know much, but Ricardo recognized the part that seemed to be from a magical beast. ...Ah, this is the beak of the Wind Cutter bird that attacked them in the demon realm.

"This only has a left-hand gauntlet. Do you have a right-hand one?"

The assistant hesitated.

"If it's not in that pile, I think it's only the left-hand one."

It seemed to be a junk item. The price was one silver coin. The beak was only slightly scratched, but the hide was worn out.

Ricardo knew that the beak of a Wind Cutter bird was worth a gold coin. He bought it immediately. He had heard that the beak of a Wind Cutter bird was as strong as steel but felt as light as aluminum when he held it.

Ricardo headed to the workshop of Ubaldo, a leatherworker he met at Emilia's workshop. Ubaldo's workshop was small, but he was a skilled craftsman, and Emilia had vouched for him.

"Is anyone here?"

He called out as he entered the workshop, and a tall, abnormally thin young man came out from the back.

"Oh, it's Ricardo. What brings you here?"

Ricardo bowed slightly.

"I came because I have a job for you."

"What is it?"

"I need a vest made and a gauntlet repaired."

Ricardo explained what he wanted.

"In other words, you want a vest-type armor, right?"

"Yes, please use this material."

He handed Ubaldo the worn-out gauntlet and the Nether Wolf hide, which made Ubaldo's eyes widen in surprise.

"Is this the hide of a Nether Wolf?"

"Yes, please make it sturdy."

Ubaldo asked Antonio to come to the workshop to take measurements.

◆◆◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆

Meanwhile, Fargo and his group, who had obtained a magic scooter, were examining its mechanism at a subcontractor's workshop for the Merzario Trading Company.

"Have you figured out how it works yet?"

Fargo, growing impatient, asked Merzario.

"It's a completely new mechanism, and the magicians investigating it are at a loss."

Fargo became annoyed.

"Tch... They're useless."

The magicians were stuck in their investigation, unable to understand the clutch mechanism.

"We should take our time and thoroughly investigate it."

"Don't be ridiculous. If we do that, the second and third ones will be made, and it won't be special anymore."

Merzario's face darkened, knowing that a second one was already being made at Emilia's workshop.

"If only we had brought the man who was riding it when we stole it."

Fargo's ominous words made Merzario sigh.

"It's too late to say that now. The guards are looking for the culprit, so please be careful not to do anything rash."

"Hmph, you said that if we had the real thing, we could understand the mechanism. It's disappointing that you can't even make it move, let alone copy it."

Fargo's words stung Merzario's pride.

"Please wait. I only asked for more time. If you're in such a hurry, I'll do my best."

"Really? Then I'll wait a bit longer."

After Fargo left the workshop, Merzario thought deeply.

"Should I send someone to Emilia's workshop?"

He muttered and left the workshop quickly.

The next day, Ricardo and Bernardo visited Emilia's workshop. Bernardo had come to order a magic cannon for a noble, while Ricardo wanted to consult about a magic gun and waited for Emilia to be free.

"This time, it's a magic cannon that can cast the 'Storm Fang Array' spell."

"The goblin population has increased in the territory of the Boniperti Duke and is wandering near the town. The noble ordered it as a precaution."

"I understand the situation. I'll make it as soon as possible."

Ricardo thought that being a noble wasn't as easy as it seemed.

"What's your consultation, Ricardo?"

"It's about my brother. I want to prevent him from being attacked and injured again. I'm thinking about what kind of weapon to use for self-defense, but my brother doesn't like weapons with lethal power."

"...The easiest way would be to lower the power of the magic gun."

"But it's designed to deal with goblins and such."

"I don't think you need to worry about goblins in the capital, but it would be a waste to lower its power... How about adding a selector lever to switch the amount of magic power?"

Ricardo imagined using a low-power magic gun against an attacker. Lowering the power meant the attacker might not fall and could still attack. Human endurance varies, so it would be difficult to adjust it to just knock someone out.

Emilia suggested another idea.

"Then, how about aiming for the lower body at close range?"

Bernardo and Ricardo imagined being hit in the lower body by a magic gun and turned pale, crossing their legs.

"That's one way, I suppose."

Bernardo agreed verbally but didn't seem to like the idea. Ricardo felt the same. He shuddered at the thought of the shockwave hitting the groin.

"If only there was a weapon that could paralyze the body..."

Ricardo's words made Bernardo speak up.

"The tail of a Thunder Tiger."

"What's that?"

"It's known that the tail of a Thunder Tiger, a magical beast, can generate a lightning strike when infused with magic power."

"Really? That sounds useful. Can you get one?"

"I think it should be possible."

Bernardo promised to get the tail of a Thunder Tiger, so it seemed he could prepare the weapon. Ricardo felt relieved. All that was left was to train Antonio using "Accelerated Thinking"...

At that moment, someone entered the workshop.

"Excuse me, I'm Stanis, a merchant of magical tools. I have a request for Emilia."

Emilia greeted him.

"What is it?"

The merchant was dressed in a plain, unremarkable outfit. However, Bernardo gave him a sharp look.

"I heard you're developing a magic scooter. Could I observe it to broaden my knowledge?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't show you the development site."

"Then, could I observe a test run?"

Since the test run wasn't a secret, Emilia agreed. Stanis confirmed the date and left the workshop.

After seeing Stanis off, Bernardo said,

"That guy seemed suspicious. He's not a merchant."

Ricardo had a hunch. He left the workshop and started tailing Stanis.

He confirmed that Stanis entered the Merzario Trading Company.

2017/8/30 Typo correction