Chapter 23: The High-Craftsman

“Hiya! Nice to meetcha!” The owner of the voice—a cute dwarven girl—had a pair of pronounced golden irises, shielded by circular spectacles.

She had a body that seemed almost mismatched in proportions—a slender frame, small stature, yet robust features that extended into curves.

Matching her eyes, her hair gleamed gold, trimmed to a bob cut. It ‘bobbed’ a little as her head swayed. “‘Zat you, Ayame?

“Yes, Elana! It’s me!” Ayame bubbly replied,  running over and hugging her tightly. “We haven’t seen each other in forever.”

“An’ that one—ya brother, eh?”  She tilted her head as her eyes scanned him from head to toe. S  noticed the strange black object sticking out of right pocket. “So the rumors… they’re true, huh?”

“What rumors?!” Ayame asked with a playful suspicion in her voice.

“We got ourselves a new Hero!” Elena now studied Meisatsu in detail. “They say he carries ‘round a weird black weapon.”

So… cute! As Elena's eyes remained trained on him, Meisatsu couldn’t help but get exceedingly nervous. Despite his best efforts to banish his twisted thoughts. If only she’d join my party, I’d be one step closer to being like main character in a light novel…

“You alright there?” Elena asked Meisatsu, who had been staring hard at her chest area. “Somethin’ botherin’ ya?”

A white cloth, like an apron, draped over her figure, accentuating her undeniably robust chest. It took every ounce of willpower for him to suppress the influx of indecent thoughts.

Oh hell yes! But Meisatsu forced himself to respond, “I uh…just, d-don’t see a lot of dwarves…”

Nice save, me!!!

Ayame, sensing Meisatsu’s impure gaze was directed at someone else—and not herself—clamped down on his shoulder, kindly explaining, “Of course you don’t. They’re what people call a minority race.”

Did I bring up a touchy subject…?

“It’s true,” Elena said calmly, running her hand over a drawing board near her. “A long time ago, when the Demon King brought war on the world, he destroyed countless nations, sinking them into the sea with his battles…”

“What do you mean by, ‘destroyed’?”

“There used to be a lot more continents than there are now, but he wiped them out, leaving the four we know today.”

“Yeah, forcing many races to settle in random groups scattered across other lands,” Ayame sighed. “Just terrible… There was a time Vampires were said to exist, and Merpeople too.”

Thinking about it, Meisatsu noticed that, besides the dog and cat ears or pointy ears, some people had wings like fairies. Occasionally, a pair of antennae would sprout from someone’s head like an insect’s.

And now, he was speaking with a dwarf...

“Sorry, I didn’t know…” Meisatsu apologized, mostly because he had used such a sensitive topic to cover up his lewd thoughts.

“Forget that!” Elena waved the matter off quickly.

In an attempt to liven the mood, Meisatsu hurriedly asked, “So, how do you two know each other?”

Ayame and Elena faced each other, then broke into a shared laughter.

“I think it was last year. I decided to go to Beetho to have a look around,” Elena giggled, recalling the memory. “But when it was time to go home, I found out my money had been stolen.”

“Oh, so you were stuck…” Meisatsu glanced at Ayame, then added, “And she helped you get back?”

Ayame grinned knowingly, folding her arms. “I helped her get back or right!”

Both ladies now had the same crazy expression plastered on their faces, making Meisatsu painfully aware that it was no ordinary favor.

“You see, I’ve always wanted to fly. So—”

Meisatsu cut Elena off. “Don’t tell me!!!”

“That’s right,” Ayame said, trying to hold back a laugh. “She came to the Guild, and I just happened to be the one she talked to. She asked if I could take her to Bac… and if I could fly too!”

The two laughed.

Meisatsu was mortified knowing what that implied. Isn’t that like taking an international flight… On a person?!

“Good thing we had that map!” Wheezing, Elena wiped her teary eyes before getting back to business. “So, what brings you two here?”

“We’re here for a Magi-Mobile!” Ayame responded, slinging an arm around Meisatsu. “It’s for him!”

“I see… Then, follow me.” She motioned them to do so while heading to a door at the back.

✦✦✦

Once opened, it revealed a wide workspace, well lit by conical lamps lining the ceiling. Several people in robes moved large metallic contraptions with magic—clearly, they were Mages.

There were humans, dwarves, even elves. About total workforce of about forty.

They all wore the same orange robes, with the name of Elena’s workshop stitched across their backs. Scattered across different corners of the room were drawing boards, blueprints still pinned on them.

Using various spells, they lifted what looked like the frameworks of different vehicles. In another section of the space, finished ones were lined up neatly.

“Is that a Lamb—” A loud clash of a heavy contraption being dropped drowned out his sentence. “……”

He shrugged off the interruption. “Ooh and that one looks like a McLar—”

CLANK!

“Sorry!” He called out from where he stood.

Well played...

Giving the expansive workspace a look around, he noticed some of the Mages casting a spell on a circular piece of wood. A beat later, the round item began to take on a more rubbery sheen… They had just made—cast?—tires.

That’s pretty wild…

He then scanned the assorted collection of Magi-Mobiles, only to discover something truly irksome.

There were…

No motorcycles.

For a world with a magic system advanced enough to replicate cars from his previous world—though the source of inspiration remained unclear—Meisatsu couldn’t understand how a two-wheeled version hadn’t been developed.

As he pondered, it became apparent that he hadn’t even seen a single bicycle since starting life in this world—regardless of the current medieval-esque era.

“Found one you like?” Reading his troubled expression, Elena then asked, “If you have something in mind, I’d love to hear it.”

Meisatsu’s face turned dead serious—his features sharpened, becoming pronounced—

“I want a motorcycle…called a Harle—Darely Havidson!”

Two can play at that game!

“A what cycle?!” Elena’s brow furrowed, the word not giving her even the faintest clue... “Could you describe it? If you could add a rough sketch that’ll be great.”

She guided him to an idle drawing board, handing him a pencil. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Confidently grabbing the pencil, Meisatsu encountered one big problem…

He had only ever drawn guns!

In his previous world, he’d often fantasized about owning a model of every firearm known to man—both fictional and real—and would sketch the various models down to the very last, minute, detail.

He once watched a three-hour tutorial online on the fundamentals of drawing, all for the sake of guns.

Could I even draw one? He pondered, gripping the pencil. Well, YourTube, here goes nothing!

She showed him to an idle drawing board, handing him a pencil. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Confidently grabbing the pencil, Meisatsu encountered one big problem…

He had only ever drawn guns!

In his previous world, he’d often fantasized about owning a model of every firearm known to man—both fictional and real—and would sketch the designs down to the last, minute detail.

He had once watched a three-hour tutorial online on the fundamentals of drawing, all for the sake of guns.

Could I even draw one? he pondered, gripping the pencil. Well, YourTube, here goes nothing!

Ayame and Elena left him alone at the drawing board as he doodled away. They stepped outside the room to discuss some "pressing"matters.

“A custom order?” Closing the door behind her, Ayame asked further. “You take those?”

“Why not? Long as it’s doable!” Elena replied cheerfully.

“What about the cost…?”

“I’ll throw in a discount. One for ya Hero brother, and another for my friend.”

“You’re the best!” Ayame cheered, locking her friend in a hug and ruffling her hair.

✦✦✦

Two hours later…

“We’re back—!” Elena's eyes grew, wide as saucers, as she saw the pencil she had given Meisatsu reduced to a stub. “The heck happened here?!”

Three—impossibly detailed—isometric sketches of the same image were spaced out evenly on the paper. It looked so real that it seemed like a farce to say they weren’t.

Ayame puffed her chest proudly. “My Satsu can do anything!”

Still staring at his work, Meisatsu bluntly said, “I think I messed up the exhaust…”

“You?! Messed up??!” Elena snatched the paper from the board and buried her face in it. “This has to be one of the best sketches I’ve ever seen. Almost as good as mine—no, better!”

“Really? I didn’t put that much into it.”

“Ayame, whaddya say to lettin’ him work for me!”

Ayame’s brows flattened and her eyes hollowed. “That’s going too far…”

Her icy reply made Elena shiver. “Gotcha…”

“Can you build it?” Meisatsu asked as he placed the stub of a pencil back on the stand.“And can you give it a V2 engine?!”

His eyes began to sparkle like diamonds.

“Two wheels… This could make its way into the history books!!!” Grinning, she waved the sketch overhead.  “—What’s a VEE TWO engine?”

“It powers the bike. And it makes a—” He covered his mouth with his hands. “—potopopoto sound!”

“I don’t know what this ‘engine’ is, but we could use a magi-core.” She turned toward a glowing cube being levitated into a Magi-Mobile under construction. “That thing there’s a magi-core.”

Yellow lines, like circuits, ran along its surface, pulsing occasionally.

Meisatsu in awe exclaimed, “It’s glowing!”

“Because of magic. That stuff, when hooked up, serves as the power source.” Elena squinted. “But it doesn’t make any particular sound. Maybe we can use some sort of magic to handle that part.”

Meisatsu nodded enthusiastically. “Sounds good!”

“Now about the cost…" Elena swayed sided to side like a metronome, before adding, "I’ll take only eight-hundred platinum.”

“Wow…that’s pretty cheap!”

Ayame twitched where she stood, her hair standing on end. “Meisatsu…?”

“Yeah?”

“She said ‘platinum’…”

“Yeah, she did. So?” Finally processing the situation, his face drooped. “Oh… platinum…”

Doing the math, eight-hundred platinum came to a total of forty-thousand gold.

In one last, desperate attempt to haggle, Ayame asked, “Even with the discount?”

“Yeah. I’d normally charge ya a thousand, but I’ve lowered it quite a bit.”

After placing the payment on a small tray, one of Elena’s workers cast a spell over the coins scattered across its surface. They neatly stacked themselves into even piles. “The payment is complete.”

“Come back in four days!” Elena called, waving from the front of her workshop as they exited.

The sky over the city had taken on an orange hue. Evening quickly approached.

Strolling down the cobblestone roads, lit by glowing street lamps—probably powered by magic— that lined both sides, Ayame struck up a conversation. “Satsu, don’t you think it’s time you got some proper gear?”

“You think so?” He glanced down at his current attire—a white shirt with short sleeves, frayed at the edges, and a plain black pair of trousers.

Then he took a good look at Ayame.

A red, long-sleeved robe draped elegantly over her figure. The edges trimmed with soft, brownish fur. Beneath it, a lavender blouse peeked out, paired with a crisp red pleated skirt. Small silver clasps glimmered at her shoulders, catching the light from the lamps.

The difference between their appearances were like night and day.

“Maybe I do need some…”Meisatsu admitted.

“We could find a tailor who uses magic!” Ayame suggested as her eyes sparkled. “They could make something that’s both stylish, and useful.”

A few more minutes of ambling, and they stumbled upon a cozy inn, deciding it would be their lodging for the stay in Bac.