How to Live as a Tyrant’s Spoiled Brat Chapter 293

(293)

Isiah walked over to the display case containing the tentacle statue and looked at the documents.

[A black tentacle statue from a southern port city in the Empire. A symbol of a god that was worshipped in the region for a long time, or a memory of a declining doctrine that no one now worships.]

[Estimated to be from about 450 years ago. Can receive water blessings and helps with meditation practice. High risk of mental contamination when abused. Risk level 35]

He read a series of words and smiled awkwardly.

“Hmm. It doesn’t seem like something someone like Count Rudi would be interested in. Especially since I don’t remember it in particular.”

Rudy fell into thought without losing his smile.

'The southern part of the empire is connected to the Amirate that serves the old by land and sea routes. Smuggling through nomads and pirates is also frequent.'

'They openly wrote about the possibility of mental contamination. Of course, mental contamination does not mean erosion, but it is a state where you become very vulnerable to erosion. And there is no guarantee that mental contamination is everything.'

'Is this a plot by the Encroachers to enter the capital through Count Iseas? Or are Count Iseas and the princess already in cahoots? Or is this just a cool old relic that happened to come across?'

Rudy tried to see beyond his smile, but Count Isiah's squinted eyes would not allow any opening.

He held out his hand coolly.

“Instead of this, how about this? It’s a magical tool from the East. It’s the most popular one among those revealed today.”

Rudy looked at the magical tool his fingertips were pointing at.

It was a mask made of black cloth and black leather, and was shaped to cover from under the eyes to the neck.

Where the mouth was, a picture of teeth was drawn with red and white dye.

'It doesn't look like something Valen would like.'

Rudy thought so and tried to turn his attention away, but Isiah raised his voice as if asking to hear just one more word.

“That magical tool, ‘Ghost Mask,’ has a spiritualization function.”

That was definitely a tricky feature.

Even when I got off the carriage a few days ago, if I had used my spiritual transformation just at the moment of getting off, I could have avoided the danger of being shot by a crossbow.

“Then I’ll just take a look.”

Rudy walked up to the 'mask' and read the description.

[A mask worn by an assassin from the East. Once an object of fear, now awaits your touch.]

[Assumed to be a recent item. It can change its body into a spirit form for a short period of time, but in spirit form, it may be vulnerable to the eroder's mental waves or high-level lightning magic. Danger level 15]

There was no guarantee that it was all true, but it was useful information in its own right.

Because when entrusting emotions, you just have to ask if these functions or risks actually exist.

It was true that it was a popular item, as several numbers were already placed.

'It would be very useful if I could quickly escape or take a seat. It's a secret that every noble knows that I'm not an ordinary maid. It's also true that in order to maintain influence, I need a magical tool that's great enough to fool those who know.'

Rudy took a moment to guess the price.

If it was a magical tool that could be transformed into a spirit, it was definitely something better than Aquateg.

It might have been something Valencian could afford, but it wasn't something she could afford on her budget.

Of course, Valencian wouldn't be angry if you spent some gold.

But the most disgusting behavior that a maid or servant can display is to act as if the authority of the person being served is their own.

It is not worth considering handling the money of the person you serve as if it were your own.

'It's strange that such a magical tool appeared just when it was needed. The world doesn't always turn the way I want it to.'

Rudy looked at Count Isiah.

He was still smiling with a quizzical look on his face, saying, "How is it?"

Rudy came up with one last possibility.

'The black tentacle statue wasn't included in the calculations, and there's a chance that this is the real erosion magic tool-.'

“I would like to bid.”

“Excellent choice.”

“Will you give me the magic tool warranty and the warranty from the company that was in charge of purchasing and transporting it?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll bid on that black tentacle statue too.”

"……All right."

* * *

“So you brought it to me?”

Sereraji said while eating soup in the cafeteria of the general workshop.

Her blue and yellow eyes still sparkled with gunfire, but her cheeks were slightly more sunken in than when I last saw them.

Rudy nodded, vowing to himself that he would visit the workshop at least once every three days.

Sereraji licked her lips and said, “Hmm.”

“Well. If the spirit transformation is true, then you got it for quite a cheap price. I can pay that amount in exchange for researching the spirit transformation magic tools.”

“Thank you. I feel lucky.”

“Yeah. There must have been quite a few guys who didn’t bid on purpose to look good to you. Those masks are just for show.”

“Ahahaha. It is just as Your Majesty said. I have seen all these people somewhere before.”

“Let’s meet right away.”

Rudy took out a mask and a statue wrapped in cloth from his bag.

Sereraji picked up the mask, looked at it intently, and smiled brightly like a child.

“You bought it well. I’ll pay the remaining amount. You said you were Count Isiah? If you can bring in something like this, you must be quite a resourceful person. Topiol! Where is Topiol?”

A red-haired disciple came running out of breath from one table.

“I’ll go now!”

He was a former cadet gangster, and according to Sereraji, was 'a person of mediocre magical skills, but excelled at managing and expanding workshops and businesses.'

Rudy looked at him with pity, seeing that he had just taken a bite of a dish called 'Spicy and tangy broth with fried noodles in a twisted shape'.

“Master. Have you found it?”

“I’m going to write to Count Iseras. I told him I’d be visiting him often. Also write him a note telling him if there’s anything he’d like me to appraise.”

Rudy was momentarily taken aback.

“Your Majesty. That is-.”

If Count Iseras was the link to the Encroachers, it was obvious that the great wizard Sereraji, who had developed a magical tool to detect Encroachers, would pack up and run away as soon as he arrived.

“I am currently searching for suspicious traces among the court nobles as ordered by Lord Valen, but I think everyone will run away if someone like His Majesty descends.”

Sereraji lifted his chin.

“So are you saying we should leave alone the nobles who bring in these magical tools?”

The strange eyes sparkled, and Rudy shivered slightly.

“That’s not it-.”

“Well. If that’s what you’re saying, I got it. Topiol. Leave out the part about coming, and write that you can come if you want. Oh. Right. Rudy, since you’ll be coming often, if you have any of these things, just sweep them up. I can pay.”

She reversed her attitude so magically that Rudy breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

It seemed like I had to keep meeting with Count Iseras.

“Okay. Now let’s take a look at that tentacle statue. I wonder what power it has.”

“Oh, yes.”

Sereraji looked at the black tentacle statue as if he was looking at a 'ghost mask', tried running a little electricity through it, and even lifted his staff and scratched it with the jewel attached to it.

For a moment, she bit her lower lip lightly as if her pride had been hurt and shook her head.

“Rudy. I think we need to look into this a little more closely. Let’s go to the examination room on the 6th floor.”

She drank the remaining soup and called over a few of her disciples.

“It’s the 6th floor!”

It was a tone brimming with energy.

Rudy saw the disciples whose names had been called look on their faces for a brief moment as if the sky was falling, then take another bite of the food on their plates, then stand up, holding the bread in their hands.

She hated being a bother to others, so she felt deeply guilty about taking away the little bit of rest time her students had when they couldn't even eat properly.

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.'

“Your Majesty, there is no need to look at it in such detail.”

Sereraji shouted in a very excited tone.

“What are you talking about? This is something worth studying. I just ran a little current through it, and it doesn’t have the same vibrational coefficient as any other material in this world.”

"yes?"

“Yes. This too is a fragment of an old thing, just like the crystal. Give me that document too. I think I’ll have to meet the merchant.”

Rudy followed Sereraji to the 6th floor, feeling like he had been hit once.

The disciples, who heard that they were not of this world's material, rushed behind them, making noises like a herd of zombies.

“Your Majesty, Sereraji. Please do some physical training. You have become too weak.”

“You are a sword user, and I am a wizard.”

“But you can’t get on board from the third floor.”

* * *

Sereraji's disciples analyzed the black tentacle statue in various ways.

“Bring me the reagent!”

“Where is the intelligence solution I used to melt His Majesty Valen’s scales last time?”

“Light a candle inside, because we’re going to remove the oxygen.”

Acids, bases, divine power, heating, cooling, passing electric current, comparing ancient texts… … .

The examination room was bustling for about three hours.

Finally, after undergoing a priestly examination, Sereraji came to a clear conclusion.

“Rudy. This is an old magic tool. It looks like the followers used it when praying.”

Rudy felt a chill run down his spine.

The events of a year ago raced through her mind again.

“So… … the capital was on the verge of destruction again?”

Sereraji shook her head as if to ask what he meant.

"no."

“Huh? You said it was an old magic tool.”

Rudy asked back with wide eyes, and Sereraji stroked Rudy's cheek with a serious expression as if she was doing something very important.

“Amon is old, and so is Eustatia. Most of the explanations written there were correct. It was a faith that was alive and well in the southern coastal cities until about 400 years ago, but it naturally declined when the Gwangmyeong Church came in full force.”

It meant that it was not an old thing with malicious intent or an old thing that was so far removed that it would corrupt humans just by existing.

Rudy breathed a sigh of relief.

“Then it really does give you the blessing of water, or help you meditate well?”

“Yes. But since the number of believers has decreased so much, I don’t know if it will be as effective as it was when it was widely followed. No matter how safe it is, it is still an unknown object, so it would be better not to use it for training, even if it is a collectible. Even if you call it meditation, it would be less effective than the meditation training that Lord Tentia taught.”

"ah."

“You can’t even imagine what kind of expression your little brother will make if you do something wrong. You’re going to have to buy it.”

"yes."

Sereraji concluded his remarks like that, and Rudy changed the subject.

“How’s the development going? You were making a magic tool for transfer.”

Swish.

In an instant, all the wizards in the examination room looked at Rudy.

“Huh, huh?”

Sereraji let out a deep sigh.

“There were so many unclear parts that I had no choice but to try them all out one by one. First, I drew 17,800 different drafts with silver ink, and selected 566 of them that seemed somewhat promising.”

"yes?"

Rudy thought he had misheard the unit.

There are 17,000 different designs?

Even if you subtract two zeros, it was still a large number.

“But since the lotus is such a delicate object, there is no other way than to make 566 of them one at a time.”

“It seems like a lot of gold went into it… … Is your budget okay?”

Sereraji breathed a sigh of relief.

“Fortunately, it can be reused. I even emptied some of my personal belongings. Also, His Majesty helped me a lot.”

She led Rudy to the fourth floor and opened a room for him to see.

“Ah, haha.”

Rudy was genuinely glad he hadn't become a wizard.

On each of the dozen tables were mountains of golden lotuses and parchment paper.

At one of the tables, Marquis Marcus was engraving circuits with a pencil and his assistants, looking quite tired.

The other eye was unfocused.

“Count Rudy? How are you?”

“Oh, hello, Your Excellency Marquis Marcus.”

“I wondered why no one had come back, and it turned out that the Count had come to visit. I don’t know if it’s okay to exploit a disabled person like this.”

Sereraji smiled brightly and clapped her hands.

Clap clap.

“Okay. Let’s all happily devote ourselves to the advancement of magic.”

The prisoners, or rather the disciples, who had finished their meal gathered again.

For a moment, Rudy thought that Sereraji was a villainous marmot.

But that thought melted away the moment he saw Sereraji sitting in front of Marcus, holding a pencil in his hand.

'You weren't a villain, you were a prison burglar.'

Still, it was fortunate that things seemed to be progressing steadily.

Then the blonde disciple Lorraine came in and shouted.

“Master Sereraji, I have discovered 132 additional drafts of possible model productions.”

Rudy decided to run away before he was dragged in.