Chapter 672

Should I reveal it?
“I-I have no intention of harming Miss Cristea! I just want to ask about the magic tool used to process the Lars said to be made by the Duke’s family!”

Ronnie-sama clenched his fists, his trembling legs stiffening as he looked at me and spoke.

“You want to ask about the rice mill?”

I stepped forward, gently pushing aside Kurogane and Mashiro who were blocking my way.

“So that magic tool is called a rice mill, huh. Yes, that’s it. I want to know who made that rice mill.”

Ronnie-sama asked me with a desperate expression.

… Could it be, he thinks Master Marlen made it?
Actually, it was a joint creation by Galvano Ojisama and Owen-san, the magic tool maniac.

From what I’ve heard, Galvano Ojisama and Owen-san designed it together to suit its purpose—Galvano Ojisama shaped it, while Owen-san engraved it with his original techniques and magic circles to make it function.

Normally, magic tool craftsmen draw magic circles in hidden places, but Owen-san thinks that alone isn’t enough, so he cleverly incorporates intricate magical formulas into visible areas, disguising them as beautiful decorative patterns.

According to Ojisama who knows Owen-san well, he’s a “perverted genius of magic tools.”

His creations are excellent, but he apparently gets carried away talking endlessly about his love for magic tools to his clients, which made him a nuisance and got him kicked out of the royal capital.

By coincidence, he ended up in the craftsman district in our Ellisfeed territory and settled there after meeting Galvano Ojisama and Tilier-san.

As long as you overlook his obsessive talk about magic tools, the quality of his work is top-tier, so my pragmatic father places orders through Galvano Ojisama.

Also, clients who became fans of Owen-san’s tools seem to have heard rumors that he’s in Ellisfeed territory, and they come all the way here to place orders—so it sounds like he’s making enough to get by.

However, he apparently chooses only magic tools that are worth making, so the business mostly spreads through word of mouth, and his shop isn’t openly advertised.

But… is it okay to reveal all this about Owen-san here…?

I don’t know how a magic tool craftsman who was driven out of the royal capital would be regarded at the academy… Maybe I should just vaguely name Uncle and leave it at that.

“Our tools are commissioned from Galvano Ojisama.”

The moment I said that, murmurs erupted around us.
Huh? What’s going on?

“Galvano? As in *that* legendary blacksmith?!”
“Wait, isn’t he that eccentric guy who won’t accept a request to make weapons unless he’s in the mood, no matter how much money you offer?!”
“Didn’t he forge a sword for His Majesty back when he was Crown Prince, and it became a national treasure?!”
“A-and you had *that* legendary blacksmith make a magic tool to process Lars…?”
“T-The Ellisfeed Dukedom is seriously amazing…”

Uh, wait, what!?
How did this turn into *that* kind of evaluation!?

Prince Kaldor and the others, who couldn’t follow the conversation, turned to Oniisama for an explanation.
Ahhh, I’m so sorry for neglecting our guests.

Sure, Galvano Ojisama is rumored to be a legendary blacksmith, but to me, he’s just like a doting grandpa who spoils his granddaughter...

Even for this rice mill, I heard he accepted right away, saying, “I’ll make sure the little lady can eat all the rice she wants, whenever she wants. Leave it to me!”

He’s even developing a magic tool that cooks rice automatically… Wait, that’s basically a rice cooker, right? Seriously!?

Well, anyway—still, I can totally see people reacting like “You had a legendary blacksmith do *that*?!”

Shoot, maybe I should have kept the creators completely secret…?

“D-Did the legendary blacksmith Galvano really make that magic tool…!? No, a blacksmith should only be making the base structure. There must be a magic tool craftsman who helped bring it to life!”

Whoa, Ronnie-sama is sharp!

“I-I’d like to know who that magic tool craftsman is… p-please tell me.”

So he was suspecting Master Marlen was involved, huh?

“C-Could it be… that person is someone named Owen!?”
“Eh?”

Ronnie-sama, you know Owen-san!?

“Owen… you mean the one who was called a genius of magic tools?”
“Yeah, that’s him, but didn’t he get into some kind of trouble and get kicked out of the royal capital?”
“Right, right. A genius, sure, but I heard he was a real weirdo.”
“No way someone like that would be living in the Ellisfeed Dukedom, right?”

… Owen-san, even among the students in the magic tool course, you’re seen as a total weirdo.
Um, is it okay to reveal this after all?

“But still, some of the magic tools he made are left here, and they’re amazing…”
“Yeah, I get it. That’s what true functional beauty looks like.”
“Right? I wish I could watch him making one, just once.”

Oh? The second half of the comments are actually kind of positive.
Well, yeah. From a magic tool student’s perspective, he’s incredible.

Wait, maybe it is okay to reveal it after all?

“Miss Cristea, please tell me. Is Owen-san really involved?”

Ronnie-sama pleaded desperately.
Hmm… no point dodging the question anymore.

“Um… yes. Galvano Ojisama created the form, and Owen-sama processed it to make it function as a magic tool.”

My answer made the surrounding murmurs even louder. Huh!?

“No way! A joint project between a legendary blacksmith and a genius magic tool craftsman… How much must that cost!?”
“There’s no way we could ever afford something like that!”
“Man, the Ellisfeed Dukedom is on another level…”
“Lucky… I wanna see that magic tool up close…”

All these envious stares are really uncomfortable.

Ojisama doesn’t take much payment, and Owen-san prefers being paid in materials he needs for making magic tools—like magic stones or rare monster parts—so we usually give him stuff Kurogane and Mashiro hunted…
So for me, it’s pretty much free…

If I told them that, they’d totally say “That’s so unfair!” and I’m honestly scared of that.

“J-Just as the rumors said…! Miss Cristea!”
“Y-Yes!?”
“I have a request. Please let me see the magic tool Owen-san made. And if possible, I’d like to meet him!”
“... Huh?”

Whaaaaat~!?

What do you think about this chapter?