I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 52

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (53)

Seeing Ethan examining the equipment, Ilia swallowed hard and asked.

“How is it? I did my best to engrave the circuits on these items. Take a look at the sword first.”

Ethan raised the Nefron Greatsword. The principle behind the artifact’s activation was simple.

When the caster’s mana flowed through the engraved circuits, the magic embedded within would activate.

He infused it with fire mana. The weight of the sword in his hand felt much lighter.

“It’s fine.”

If the previous greatsword weighed about 7 kg, the current weight was about half that.

“Did you make it lighter?”

“That’s right!”

Perhaps because he answered hastily, Ilia let out a strange voice and quickly cleared his throat.

“Hmm! In addition, I’ve added a ‘maintenance’ property that constantly removes rust and foreign substances from the sword, reinforced its ‘cutting power,’ increased the metal’s ‘mana affinity,’ and engraved a formula that enhances its ‘fire resistance.’”

In short,

he had made sure that the sword would always be in top condition, even if it was used carelessly.

“Hm.”

Ilia flinched.

This was the result of all his craftsmanship.

Even if he sold it on the market, he could get at least ten times the price he had paid for it.

It was a well-crafted item. Nevertheless, Ethan’s expression was subtle.

His face was ambiguous, neither good nor bad. Seeing this, Ilia hurriedly said.

“I… I added excellent features to the gauntlets and greaves as well. That…”

“Repairs and weight reduction. Increased strength. Increased mana affinity. Increased fire resistance. I don’t know what the last one is.”

At Ethan’s words, Ilia finally began to show a proud expression.

“Ahem! Actually, the first five are just additional features. There’s a separate circuit that can be called the real core.”

“What is it?”

“Last time, I saw you use fire mana. Compared to the explosive energy you released in an instant, the energy contained in the weapon was limited, right?”

Ethan nodded.

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Pure flames, untainted by any negative emotions.

As he began to pioneer this realm, the temperature of the fire mana contained in his sword increased dramatically. Using the Nephrion Greatsword, he was able to withstand it.

However.

“It’s different after opening the Eight Rings.”

The Eight Rings unleashed the latent power within his body in an instant. The temperature that flowed out at that moment was so intense that even Nephrion, with its high affinity for fire, could not withstand it.

That was precisely why he never infused the greatsword with more than a certain amount of mana whenever he activated the Eight Rings.

If you’re not careful, the blade could melt.

“Hmph! I was right after all. That’s why I redrew the circuit. Equip the greatsword, gauntlets, and greaves, then open your power to the limit.”

There must be a reason he’s so confident.

Following Ilia’s instructions, he equipped the three pieces of equipment and unleashed his power.

“Fill it with fire mana to your limit. The blade will not melt.”

“Really?”

In an instant, explosive mana flowed out of the sword. It easily exceeded three meters in length.

The scorching heat spread out, but the office remained unchanged. Ilia had used his mana to block the heat.

At that moment, when he blew all his mana into the sword,

woo-woo-woo!

woo-woo-woo!

woo-woo-woo!

A delicate magic circle appeared above the three pieces of equipment.

Then, the heat from the sword blade, which had been rising like crazy, began to spread toward the gauntlet and greaves.

It was an amazing sight.

“He engraved a high-level magic circuit.”

The other two pieces of equipment shared the heat from the armor and withstood it.

I thought I understood why Poporen’s eyes were black. The magic circuit itself was extremely complex.

Both the magician who designed the circuit and the blacksmith who engraved it onto the armor must have suffered greatly.

Even the already sturdy mithril had to be engraved with countless formulas, so they must have worked overtime for two days straight.

Ilia shouted vigorously.

“How is my masterpiece? With this circuit engraved with the ‘high heat conduction spell’ that I developed myself, no matter how much flame you spew…”

Ilia’s voice, which had been full of confidence, gradually grew smaller as he spoke.

He thought that even the blunt Grand Duke would be surprised and open his eyes wide at this magic circuit.

That’s why, just a moment ago, he was planning to brag about how amazing the magic circuit he had just engraved was.

However, Ethan’s expression was much more subtle than he had expected.

“Spit out?”

“It… means you can use the sword… as you wish…”

“Is that so?”

His tone was too flat to express joy.

Ilya’s face quickly fell.

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“Could it be… it’s not that good?”

No.

This was not a result that could be described as merely “not that good.”

“Excellent.”

It was the best result that a grand magician could call a “masterpiece.”

Even if it had entered the stage of blossoming, the great sword could withstand the temperature.

However, the reason why Ethan did not express it openly was simple.

If he praised it too much, the grand magician’s ego would skyrocket.

He smiled meaningfully without responding.

“If it fails, it is definitely not my fault! It is because that idiot couldn’t engrave a satisfactory circuit!”

“No… No! What are you talking about? I really did my best… Ugh!”

“Shut up! If that’s the best you can do, then you’re definitely a useless blacksmith! If you had a dwarf king as your assistant, you would have been able to produce the best results!”

Poporen was really indignant.

He had stayed up all night to engrave the client’s circuit “perfectly.”

Was that all?

That picky wizard had nitpicked every single blow of the hammer, and he had struck the three items hundreds of times.

“Hmm. This should be fine. That picky guy will definitely be satisfied.”

Surely, just a moment ago, he had given him a satisfied smile and let him pass!

And now he was shifting all the blame onto himself. It was disgusting.

However, all Popolren could say was, “Ugh!”

Popolren’s lips trembled, and Ilia’s pupils trembled mercilessly as well.

Ethan smiled and nodded.

“It’s fine.”

“Th-Then…”

“You pass.”

Ilia’s eyes widened.

Popolence was so happy that the mana that had been blocking his mouth naturally disappeared.

“See! Even the Grand Duke would be satisfied with this masterpiece!”

“Hmph! You haven’t done anything, yet you’re shouting so loudly. Did you eat a pot of fire or something?” “I did something! Ugh!”

“Be quiet. Shut up.”

With a single glance, Ilia silenced Popolence and looked at Ethan.

“Hmm! Then I guess I can stay here?”

“Yes. Just don’t decorate the room too much.”

“……?”

A question mark appeared in Ilia’s eyes. Could he be treating her like a guest again? Just as her heart sank, he continued.

“I don’t plan on staying here long.”

“Do you mean you’re moving?”

“Probably.”

After defeating Duke Dekun, he would live in the duke’s inner castle. Hearing this, Ilia’s face lit up as she remembered something and asked.

“Then, I won’t be of any help…”

“No, you don’t need to. I can manage on my own.”

Therefore, there was no reason to have an 8th-circle mage follow me around and spread rumors throughout the neighborhood.

“…I see.”

At those words, Ilia bowed her head dejectedly.

Everyone belonging to the domain was diligently performing their duties.

Even Silvia, who had guided me here, was no exception.

What could be so busy that they were working all day long? Even Elena, the grand duchess, and Prexian, the administrator, were no exception.

But Ilia was different.

Perhaps because she was introduced as a guest invited from the Tower of Magic, no one gave her any work to do.

That was why Ilia felt a sense of fulfillment over the past two days, doing the work Ethan had assigned her. But now, that work was completely finished.

“What should I do?”

She was deep in thought when

“Your job will be to improve and develop our products. You’ll be implementing the ideas I give you. Would you like to give it a try?”

“…Yes!”

Ilia replied with sparkling eyes.

If she had a fixed job, she might be able to blend in with the others.

“Try making this.”

Ethan handed her a piece of paper.

There were items whose manufacturing methods were unknown, but whose approximate ingredients and effects were known, such as herbal potions.

Ilia’s job would be to create such items.

Ilia looked at the ingredients and their effects and nodded.

“I’ll restore it as soon as possible!”

“Okay. Good luck.”

Ilia exhaled and left the office with Poporen.

*

It had been two days since Poporen had made the items.

Meanwhile, the blacksmith and the merchants had set out for the capital.

“The seeds have been sown.”

Ethan had drafted the plan, and Silvia had fine-tuned the details, laying out their plan to enter the capital. Now, it was up to Viscount Bloten to see what kind of results they would get in the capital.

He summoned Silvia.

“Have you finished tidying up here?”

“Yes. Even if the Duke of Dekun takes over, we are prepared to restore normalcy within a few days.”

“Are you ready?”

“The knights are already assembled.”

The Duke of Dekun.

This time, he planned to move toward this place accompanied by the knights.

This was because the house of Dukun had many observers, so simple information disruption would not be enough.

The number of knights gathered this time was close to forty.

The house of Karagas.

And the house of Romenton.

This was because he had drafted the knights from these two places.

Ethan and Silvia, armed with the equipment they had obtained, climbed onto the carriage. Forty knights on horseback guarded them closely.

The one commanding them was Menhattan, the commander of the knights of the House of Karagas.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. Everyone, let’s go!”

The knights began to move toward the house of the viscount.

Two days passed.

They were able to cross the border of the viscount’s territory. They passed a small town and a medium-sized city that was practically the capital of the viscount’s territory.

The viscount owned two cities.

Their destination was Demorian, a medium-sized city that could be called the capital of the viscount’s territory.

After riding diligently, they came face to face with the medium-sized city.

Towering walls and soldiers defending them.

The medium-sized city was definitely on a different level from the small town.

The knights approached the city gate.

The sight of more than forty knights caused a commotion at the gate. Who could have brought such a large group of knights here?

Their confusion was short-lived.

When the guards on the walls saw the emblem on the knights’ flags, their eyes widened.

“Ah… The Ardan family?”

The Ardan family!

Flames adorned with gold thread blazed between the flags.

“The Crown Prince of the Ardan Duke has arrived! Open the gates!”

At those words, the commander of the outer defenses rolled his eyes.