Looking at the time, Are should have finished her shift by now.
Lucoco followed her daily routine, crossing the increasingly quiet courtyard and heading toward the chapel.
She intended to return to the housing provided by the religious order with Are to begin their daily alchemy studies.
According to their plan, they would stay in the royal capital for two to three months.
Their primary goal was to get a clear picture of the specific situations within each territory of the Versadis Kingdom.
Are was well-respected due to her status and had secured a temporary position within the order.
With this convenience, she could learn many secrets and rumors from the order’s library and documents.
Her daily work consisted of bestowing blessings upon noble lords and listening to gossip in the confessional… no, she was listening to the voices of those “lost souls.”
Then, she would offer guidance based on the corresponding answers in a thick book titled *The Confessor’s Guide to Spiritual Comfort*.
Truth be told, that tiny cubicle was sometimes more practical than the dusty bookshelves.
When night fell, she would accompany Lucoco on their special nighttime activities.
As for Lucoco, she spent her mornings wandering around town, eavesdropping on conversations, and occasionally acting cute to coax information out of people.
If she was lucky, she might even beat up a thug in an alleyway to add to the “performance quotas” of the guard officers, especially after dark…
Beside Are stood an old man who looked quite familiar.
Oh, it was that old man from the maintenance workshop.
It had been less than ten days—was it already fixed?
As expected of the chief mechanic of the royal capital!
—
“Hello, Grandpa Kazan!”
Lucoco immediately switched to her sweet persona and jogged over to greet him.
“Ah, little Sister Morning Light, good afternoon!”
Kazan’s wrinkled face smoothed out as he smiled like a blooming wild chrysanthemum.
‘Hmm… that smile is a bit too purposeful.’
Lucoco looked at the old man’s floral face and asked tentatively with a hint of expectation, “Grandpa Kazan, is my Floating Skiff fixed?”
Kazan’s smile instantly froze into an awkward expression, and his hand instinctively scratched his thinning hair.
“Uh… about that… it isn’t fixed yet. However, I actually have something I need to talk to you about.”
‘Oh, so it isn’t fixed yet…’
A small wave of disappointment washed over her, but the sugary-sweet smile on her face didn’t budge an inch.
“Lu—”
Are spoke up at the right moment, catching herself before she used Lucoco’s real name.
“Grandpa Kazan has invited us to his home as guests.”
“Really? That sounds great!”
Lucoco acted like an excited child.
She seemingly brushed her hand against the bracelet on her wrist, and the wicker basket in her hand vanished silently.
Kazan paused, a flicker of solemnity appearing in the depths of his eyes.
—
The meal at Kazan’s table could only be described as heroic.
In short: everything was huge!
There were massive chunks of meat, simple wooden bowls and cups larger than Lucoco’s face, a giant pot of meat soup, and generous portions of bread and naan.
Are maintained an elegant posture, chewing slowly and occasionally using a plain white handkerchief to wipe the oil from Lucoco’s cheeks.
Meanwhile, Lucoco, who had long since discarded her eyepatch, was currently clutching a piece of bone-in meat as thick as a thigh and burying her face in it.
She loved this style the most and had zero concern for her table manners.
First, this old man was treating them to a meal, which meant he definitely wanted something from her, so there was no need to be polite.
Second, the old man’s cooking was simply too good.
It smelled amazing!
“The food Grandpa Kazan made is too delicious… mmm…!”
Lucoco’s mouth was stuffed full as she mumbled her praise.
“Hahaha! If it’s good, eat more! Here, don’t choke.”
Seeing Lucoco eating with such joy and satisfaction—a far cry from her usual quiet and pure appearance—Kazan laughed heartily and personally poured her a large cup of refreshing grape juice.
The more Kazan looked at this little sister now, the more he liked her.
He had heard the guards gossiping earlier, saying that this girl would use her innocent face to lure creeps into alleys.
After giving them a brutal beating, she would conveniently “confiscate” their purses and equipment.
She often “operated” during the evening and night… helping the guards catch quite a few “volunteers.”
He hadn’t believed it before, but now he was starting to.
“Morning Light,” Kazan finally cut to the chase once the atmosphere was right.
“I wanted to talk to you about your Floating Skiff.”
“Mmm? Go ahead, Grandpa Kazan.”
Lucoco’s cheeks were bulging as she raised her sparkling eyes to look at him.
Kazan took a deep breath, deciding not to beat around the bush.
“Can you let me study your Floating Skiff for a while? I won’t charge you any repair fees, and I can even help you unlock other permissions on the skiff! If you’re willing to sell it, I can offer you a price of fifteen Crystal Coins.”
Lucoco’s eyes widened instantly.
She forgot to chew the large piece of meat she had just torn off, letting it hang from her lips as she stared at Kazan in disbelief.
What was that?
Fifteen Crystal Coins?
That was nearly half of her entire net worth!
“Uh… that’s fifteen per year, for thirty consecutive years… That’s most of my remaining income every year after expenses…”
Kazan rubbed his hands together, looking at her expectantly.
—
‘Holy crap! Is this old man for real? Is that Floating Skiff really that valuable? And he didn’t even try to rob me?’
*Slurp.*
Lucoco swallowed the massive chunk of meat without even chewing.
It was like a snake swallowing prey; a visible lump traveled down her slender neck.
Kazan’s eyelids twitched, and he nearly reached out to pat her back.
“G-Grandpa Kazan,” Lucoco said, soothing her throat.
“Usually, a Floating Skiff… isn’t five hundred gold coins enough?”
Kazan let out a long breath and looked away from her throat, his expression becoming extremely serious.
“Girl, that Floating Skiff of yours is no ordinary piece of equipment. It’s a thing built by those madmen back during the Late Bloody Era…”
“Is it very powerful?”
Lucoco asked curiously, unable to understand.
“It’s not a matter of whether it’s powerful or not.”
Kazan shook his head, his eyes flickering with the fanatical light unique to mechanics.
“It’s… special, romantic, cool, and dangerous!”
“I didn’t really feel it. I just thought it was a bit sturdy. When it went out of control before, it crashed into and killed a small Earth Dragon,” Lucoco said naturally.
Kazan instinctively looked around and lowered his voice.
“That’s because most of its functions are locked! Only the basic movement functions are active. Or rather, that thing isn’t a Floating Skiff at all… at least, it wasn’t designed for that purpose when it was created.”
He leaned in closer, his gaze burning and earnest.
“Will you sell it? If not… let me take it apart… carefully and friendly-like… *cough*, I mean, let me study it properly, alright? Since you need to travel during this time, I can give you a latest-model hover steam car to use instead? Can you make do with that for now?”
His tone was slightly suggestive, like he was trying to entice a child.
Lucoco tilted her head and thought for a moment.
“I don’t want to sell it… if you want to study it, Sister Are and I will be staying in the Versadis Kingdom for two years at most. Is that enough time?”
“Enough! More than enough! Does this mean you agree, Morning Light?”
Kazan was overjoyed.
“Yes!”
Lucoco nodded, her smile genuine.
“I’m very happy to have a connection with such an amazing master like Grandpa Kazan!”
“Hahaha! I’m also very happy to know little Morning Light! Oh, you’ve done me a huge favor.”
Kazan suddenly became high-spirited.
“Oh?”
Lucoco blinked.
“You should know about the Estella Magic Construct Combat Tournament held every five years, right?”
“I’ve heard of it! Unfortunately, I’m too young, so I’ve never seen it live.”
“Hehe, this year,” Kazan patted his thigh self-deprecatingly, “I was ground into the dirt by my old rival! I couldn’t even squeeze into the top eight! Hahahaha!”
“Grandpa Kazan is so strange. You lost, yet you’re laughing so happily.”
“Girl, I might be old,” Kazan patted his chest, speaking with heroic spirit, “but the blood flowing here is no less hot than a young man’s! Hahaha!”
“Can my Floating Skiff help?”
“I won’t keep you in the dark…”
Kazan leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping even lower.
“That treasure of yours shouldn’t be called a Floating Skiff. It should be called an Annihilator… during the Late Bloody Era, they had another title: the White Devil.”
‘Huh?’
Lucoco’s heart stirred, and she blurted out, “Then is there a Red Comet?”
“…Mmm?”
Kazan paused, his gaze deep and probing as he looked at Lucoco.
“You’ve heard of ‘it’ too?”
“No… no,” Lucoco shook her head quickly, waving her hands.
“I was just guessing… since it’s called the White Devil, it felt like there would be a Red Comet as well…”
“Haha!”
Kazan shook his head and laughed.
“You actually guessed right! In the old, fragmented records, there truly was a codename called ‘Red Comet.’ …Supposedly, those mad designers actually built a prototype, but…”
Lucoco didn’t speak, simply staring at him expectantly.
Kazan sighed with regret.
“Sigh, actually… many Mechanics spend their entire lives searching for legendary ruins of it. But in all existing ancient books, the clues regarding the Red Comet are pitifully scarce! Everyone can only speculate. At the end of the Late Bloody Era, many of Estella’s precious technologies and master notes were destroyed. Not to mention a legend whose truth is unknown, only recorded in a few basic ancient texts.”
Lucoco was silent for a moment, her eyes fixed on Kazan.
“Grandpa Kazan, please make sure you fix it! You can study it for as many years as you want!”
She shifted her seat toward him and raised her small hands above her head, bowing to Kazan as if he were the God of Wealth.
“Hahaha! Fine, fine!”
Kazan was delighted and quickly supported her.
“I will definitely fix it for you!! And for my championship trophy in the next tournament!”
Thus, because of the topic of “men’s romance,” the old man and the young girl grew more and more compatible as they talked, nearly reaching the point of becoming family…
Are returned to the chapel in the afternoon, while Lucoco didn’t go home until evening.
In her Player Bag, there were two gifts from Kazan.
One was a basic Magic Crystal Hand Cannon, often seen in large-scale battles.
One Magic Crystal Stone could fire twenty shots, and it cost one gold coin.
Its power was equivalent to a D-rank Fireball spell.
The other was a standard-issue Magic Crystal Blade, which also consumed magic crystals.
One crystal could provide energy for up to one hour.
Its power was similar to Lucoco’s Magic Edge, but the advantage was that anyone could use it and it was easy to carry.
Of course, these two items weren’t things just anyone could afford.
Not counting the consumption, the total price for both pieces of equipment exceeded 200 gold coins.
It was clear how much Kazan liked Lucoco now.
The Magic Crystal Hand Cannon was 170 gold coins, while the Magic Edge was forty…
—
Lucoco played with her two treasures for a long while before finally putting them away with satisfaction.
Are returned and asked if Lucoco had any plans for the night, receiving the answer that they would be resting.
Then, Lucoco picked out certain parts of her encounter with Prince Adrian at the market and the unusual things she had observed to tell Are.
“So, you think someone is targeting the prince in the shadows?”
Are put down her copy of *The Confessor’s Guide to Spiritual Comfort*, looking thoughtful.
“A prince being able to wander out of the palace so easily by himself is unreasonable, isn’t it? And you’ve noticed them these past few nights too, haven’t you, Sister?”
“You mean… those ‘night walkers’ dressed entirely in black, as if they’re afraid people won’t realize they’re assassins?”
“I smell a conspiracy…”
The two of them proceeded to discuss the undercurrents that might be surging beneath the seemingly peaceful royal capital, giving up on the idea of going out to “stretch their muscles” tonight.
Meanwhile, on the streets where the lights were dimming and pedestrians were becoming scarce.
A small patrol of guards was looking around the street corners and alleys…
“Huh? How come we haven’t seen that little girl today?”
“That beautiful priestess lady isn’t around either.”
“Are they disguised so well today that our eyes can’t spot them?”
“Maybe they’re resting because it’s the Sabbath?”
“Yeah… they get to rest on the Sabbath while we have to trudge around until midnight…”
“No fun today?”
“We should thank those two ladies. Lately, even the rats on the streets have been better behaved.”
“The influence of the religious order is massive—if it were ordinary adventurers, they would have been locked up long ago!”
“Ultimately, it’s only because the palace permitted it that…”
“Stop!”
The patrol leader interrupted sharply, his eyes narrowing like a hawk as he stared in one direction.
“That one over there!”
“Halt! I’m talking to you!”
“You won’t get away!”
“Catch him!”
A figure wrapped in a black cloak that almost melded with the night darted across the street, vanishing into an alley.