# Chapter 78
After that, Arden immersed himself completely in construction. He worked behind the hotel, losing all track of time. If Rite hadn’t forcibly dragged him away at mealtimes and bedtime, he would have stayed up all night.
News about Arden seemed to have spread throughout the village, as people occasionally came to visit. When Rite managed to coax Arden into returning to their room to rest a little, Adriang would knock on the door. As a result, Rite’s impression of Adriang only worsened. From the beginning, Adriang hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just that Adriang happened to be present whenever Rite’s mood soured.
The visitors all carried armfuls of various items. Some brought snacks, while others brought farming tools or engineering items, thinking they might be helpful. Arden didn’t refuse them, but carefully selected what he needed.
After spending a day like this, early the next morning when Rite woke up, the adjacent bed was empty.
“…Where did he go again?”
With a voice thick with drowsiness and a face full of irritation, Rite jumped up and looked around. Seeing that the blueprints that had been messily placed on the table were gone, it seemed Arden had gone outside.
“Good morning, Dennear! Eden already got up to finish…”
“I know.”
Rite quickly changed clothes and stomped down the stairs as Adriang greeted him. Despite the friendly greeting, Rite didn’t even glance at him and went straight out of the hotel.
“Perhaps… am I being disliked?”
There was no one to listen to Adriang’s muttering.
As Rite approached the backyard, Arden’s sounds became clearer. The sound of tightening nuts with a spanner, the clashing of metal pieces, the rhythmic sound of gears meshing together. And just as Rite turned the corner, he heard the sound of steam escaping.
Rite’s feet froze at the sight of that sharp profile visible through the smoke. Whenever Arden concentrated on something, his characteristically gloomy impression disappeared. Rite loved that ease that only someone with confidence and stubbornness in their work could possess.
Every time Arden’s hands and arms moved, there was a clicking sound. Rite could have sculpted those hands exactly. He was confident he could reproduce not only how long they were, how thick they were, and where the calluses were embedded, but even every single line on the palms.
“Arden.”
Calling out to Arden was somewhat impulsive. Arden’s figure was like a painting, and Rite couldn’t stay still. He wanted to shatter all that stillness and pull Arden to his side.
At Rite’s call, Arden stopped what he was doing and turned his head. No matter how much he was concentrating on something, he would immediately turn his head at Rite’s call. It was a habit ingrained in his life, like the calluses on his hands.
Belatedly realizing he’d been called ‘Arden,’ he quickly glanced around. Though he confirmed no one was there, he narrowed his eyes sharply and bit his lower lip. It was a habit that appeared when he was about to scold Rite.
“Eden.”
Arden corrected the name, but Rite didn’t care.
“Did you get some sleep?”
“Yes. I’m almost done. It’ll be finished after a little more work. Wait over there.”
At those words, Rite sat down obediently on a nearby wooden box and watched Arden. If Arden had told him to eat breakfast first, Rite had planned to be petulant with him for leaving the room without him.
“Wait over there.” That one sentence made Rite feel better. The fact that he could be part of the same picture that included Arden excited him.
The appearance of the machine, even viewed generously, couldn’t even be considered ordinary. Like a patchwork of old cloths, the colors were all different and completely unharmonious. It was the natural result of cutting and attaching blades and connecting a pump that had been used for applying chemicals to crops.
After confirming that the carriage engine started, Arden took off his gloves and approached Rite.
“Is it finished?”
“Yes. I don’t know if it will work properly.”
“It’s okay if it doesn’t.”
Despite Rite’s words, Arden’s worry didn’t disappear. His face was dark as he neatly folded and set down his gloves.
“The weather is also a problem. It’s still cold, so I’m worried it might fall as snow instead of rain.”
“Would snow be bad?”
“I haven’t done thorough experiments, so I don’t know the exact figures, but the effect would be reduced.”
Rite nibbled on his lower lip. During their time in Menden, no, throughout his childhood in the cabin, he had never been helpful to Arden. Rather, he had only been a burden.
This time, he wasn’t a hindrance or a help, but he was the one who had dragged Arden into this situation and made him struggle. While Arden drew blueprints and built the machine, all he could do was watch.
“…I’m sorry.”
Arden’s eyes widened at Rite’s apology. He stared blankly at Rite sitting on the box, then shifted his gaze around.
No matter how he thought about it, Rite hadn’t done anything wrong. Unable to find an answer, Arden asked aloud.
“For what?”
“If I could use magic skillfully, you wouldn’t have to struggle alone.”
“Why should you be sorry for that? It’s natural to be inexperienced when you’ve never been taught.”
“But…”
“If anything, I’m the one who didn’t even notice your talent all this time. You have nothing to apologize for.”
Thinking about it now, there were many strange things. The unnatural flow of air when Rite was in a bad mood, how that alien and disorderly feeling disappeared when Arden approached to comfort him—all the things he had found strange weren’t just feelings.
“And… I was too busy to mention it, but I also heard information about a magician.”
“When?”
“The first day we arrived in Menden. Before receiving the request.”
Arden recalled the conversation Irace had with Adriang. A bad-tempered magician in Idelven. The bad temper wasn’t a significant problem. Arden had never met anyone in a specialized profession like magician, engineer, doctor, alchemist, or astrologer who was described as normal. At least, that was his experience.
Of course, Arden had never seen a magician. There was an exclusive magician at the Imperial Palace, but they were as difficult to see as the Emperor. Still, this was a necessary step for their plan, so he could handle a bit of nastiness.
“They said he’s in Idelven. Since I’m hearing about this for the first time, he’s probably not very old. It means he started his activities after I was banished. Maybe… he could have come from elsewhere.”
“Will he be willing to help us?”
“…We’ll have to ask.”
Arden slightly evaded the answer. By now, the sun was up and beginning to shine on the previously dim village. After gathering their belongings, Arden and Rite climbed onto the modified carriage and moved to the center of the village.
People had gathered around Arden and Rite, making it feel like a parade. Some smiled and waved when they made eye contact, while others welcomed them with whistles.
Several children with faces full of admiration and curiosity followed along. Rite picked up the child showing the most enthusiastic interest at the front and sat him on his lap.
It was quite different from when they first arrived in Menden, when people were indifferent to them. They weren’t looking at Rite’s purple eyes with curiosity or glancing at Arden, the traitor.
“Eden! Dennear! We’ve been waiting for you.”
As they approached the village square, a crowd larger than those following them had gathered. Irace, spotting Arden and Rite, approached with a bright expression. Although their names were aliases, not their real names, neither Arden nor Rite was accustomed to such a warm welcome.
“Is this what you’ll use to make rain?”
Irace looked over the modified automatic carriage. Arden nodded and stepped down from the carriage.
“The exhaust attached to the back serves the same function as in other automatic carriages, but the one attached to the front looks like an exhaust but has a completely different purpose. This is used to shoot Aether up to where the clouds are.”
“This… must be the exhaust I stripped from my automatic carriage.”
Irace looked at it with a strange expression, as if various emotions were crossing her face.
“Since we don’t have much time, let’s start right away.”
At Arden’s words, Rite also got down from the automatic carriage with their belongings. When he handed the prepared pouch to Arden, Arden poured bright blue Aether crystals into his palm from inside the pouch.
Everyone gathered in the village watched Arden. Under their gaze, Arden began his preparations methodically.
Arden pulled a lever inside the carriage hard until it made a sound, then inserted a long rod into the exhaust.
“Remember what I’m doing carefully. I’ve written down instructions, but it’s much better to see it directly.”
Hearing Arden’s words, Irace hurriedly looked for her notebook and asked:
“It’s quite large. Can this really go up to the sky?”
“What actually contains the Aether is this small container in front. The largest container holds chemicals. When the chemical container finishes burning, it will ignite the fuse contained in the middle.”
Each container had a cone-shaped space emptied out and filled with gunpowder and Aether. The empty space increased the combustion surface area, providing stronger propulsion and energy.
Although it had been lengthened by connecting arrow shafts to the back, this would help it fly more stably by shifting the center of gravity to the rear.
“So the first chemical container will detach midway and fall to the ground, and the Aether can fly higher with the power contained in the second chemical container.”
As Arden explained, he pulled the handle hard, and a white string extended, lighting a lamp.
“This signal indicates it’s ready. If the lamp doesn’t light up, it means a step has gone wrong and needs to be redone.”
“The lamp light…”
Irace was busy recording Arden’s actions. Rite stood a step away, watching Arden.
“This, the largest lever, is the launch mechanism. If I made it properly, pulling this will launch it. Just to be cautious, don’t use it with anything else inserted. There’s a risk of malfunction. And…”
Arden, who had been explaining, turned around and looked at Rite. When their eyes met, the strangely tense expressions on both their faces softened slightly.
“You pull it.”
Arden’s words were unexpected. He stepped aside slightly and pointed to the lever with his hand.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why should I…”
“Don’t worry. It’ll probably work well.”
Rite bit his lower lip, rolling it inward. Arden had never been a considerate person from the beginning. While he could handle delicate and sensitive machines well, he struggled with people. He had no talent for predicting someone’s feelings and acting accordingly. Even when someone directly expressed their feelings to him, he didn’t know how to respond.
Yet this Arden was being considerate of him. As if he was mindful of the conversation they had just had.
Rite wondered what expression he was making. He couldn’t even guess what to name the emotion he was feeling now. None of the words he had read in books could perfectly describe his current feelings.
