I made up magic and taught a world-destroying witch?

The smile on Karl's face gradually disappeared. After all, those old men who sat in the White Stone Tower every day and those in Gray Iron Alley who dealt with survival every day were not originally on the same path.

He didn't care about the intricacies of the academy; those things had little to do with someone like him who made a living through his skills.

But the name Joseph Grantham is different. It's already spread throughout the area around Greydove Town. He's the Empire's youngest archmage, the one who supposedly brought the three princesses to a demonstration class and created new magical achievements!

Grey Pigeon Town is right next to the Royal Academy, so news of this spreads faster than tools can be cheapened, especially among those who rely on the academy's students for their livelihood. Everyone knows that the academy has recently launched an incredible new project.

Most people just listened to it, made a few boasts about it in the tavern, and very few actually saw him in person. No one expected that the legendary great magician would actually be standing at the door of Taylor's blacksmith shop.

Joseph maintained a calm expression, but his heart was already exhausted. His prepared identity as an ordinary passerby was cut short by Mia before he could even utter a word.

The man in goggles reacted the fastest. He immediately squeezed out of the crowd from the Dwarf Merchant Guild's side, walked up to Joseph, and spoke to him in a much more polite tone than before.

"Are you Professor Grantham?"

Joseph glanced at him.

Is it still not too late to say it now? Obviously not.

Because people around them had already started whispering among themselves.

"Is it really that Grantham?"

"Looks like he's that age."

"Why are professors from the Royal Academy here in Gray Iron Lane?"

"I heard that his new magic project involved taking in the Taylor family's daughter."

"Isn't Namia a dropout now?"

"Nonsense, he's a student of a great mage."

Joseph could only nod.

"Just passing by."

He said briefly. In situations like this, the shorter the words, the safer it is; saying even one more word could be misinterpreted.

  

Unfortunately, those present clearly did not intend to ensure his safety.

The man in the goggles' eyes changed instantly.

A great magician, who was also in charge of the new magic project, arrived in Grey Iron Alley with the Taylor family's daughter, just as the Dwarf Merchant Guild's low-magic axle was malfunctioning.

This is just passing by? This is clearly the best arrangement fate could have for their Dwarf Merchant Guild!

The bearded merchant immediately realized what was happening, and his anger subsided somewhat. He could argue with the dwarf merchant guild because he felt he had paid for it, but he subconsciously lowered his voice in front of the Royal Academy's grand mage.

"Professor Grantham?" the bearded businessman forced a smile and struck up a conversation.

"You've come at the right time. You're a big shot in the academy and someone who works on new magic, so you must know about these low-magic things."

Could you please take a look? Is the problem with this device actually with the Dwarf Merchant Guild, or is it something they're saying we malfunctioned?"

Joseph: "..."

No, he doesn't understand.

He's just here to buy some broken instruments to put on his desk and fool the association's review process. Don't suddenly dump after-sales issues on him!

The man in goggles immediately complained, "This is just a minor repair issue!"

As he spoke, he looked at Mia again, initially somewhat doubtful but quickly seeming to have figured something out.

This is a student personally trained by Professor Grantham. I heard that the Taylor family's daughter even demonstrated new magic in their demonstration class. Moreover, the Taylor family is skilled in magical scraps and traditional forging structures.

So, letting her do the disassembly and inspection first doesn't seem like a bad idea?

The man with the goggles thought about it more and more and it made more sense.

The main problem is that there's no other way right now. They can't contact Buck, and Miss Penny's people aren't there either. The exhibition starts tomorrow, and they can't just carry this low-magic axle back to the Ministry of Works Square as is and then say in front of everyone, "Sorry, our merchant guild's stuff is smoking, please come back another day."

The faces of the Dwarf Merchant Guild can be directly removed and sold as scrap metal.

"Miss Taylor," the man in goggles suddenly said.

"Since you are Professor Grantham's student and Mr. Taylor's daughter, perhaps you could help us with a basic disassembly inspection first."

"Me?" Mia was stunned.

"We only need to confirm the connection status between the secondary axle, the buffer plate, and the low-magic crystal core," the goggles-wearing man said quickly.

"You just need to help me pinpoint the problem."

Upon hearing this, the bearded merchant immediately nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes. Let's see what's wrong first. As long as we can clearly explain what's broken, there's still hope before tomorrow's presentation."

The blacksmiths who had been making sarcastic remarks just moments before were suddenly dumbfounded, and Karl's face turned even uglier.

"Wait a minute," he couldn't help but speak up, "You're really letting her touch you? She used to be a... in the academy's training area..."

"She is now Professor Grantham's student."

The man in goggles interrupted him, and Karl was speechless.

One of the local businessmen whispered:

"Yes, he's a student of a great mage now."

"Besides, the Taylor family is good at repairing broken magical parts."

"Let's take a look first, we don't necessarily have to make her fix it."

"There's a professor nearby."

"If Professor Grantham didn't object, then he must be confident."

Joseph: "..."

No, when did he stop objecting mean he was confident? He just hadn't had a chance to speak yet!

Do you guys all lack a buffer in your brains?

This thing is so important, it broke the day before the exhibition, and the craftsman in charge of debugging it went missing. Now, just because the great magician's student decided to let a blacksmith's daughter, who was just mocked for being able to spew fire, take it apart?

Is this low-magic axle a mechanical device, or a secondary axle that both groups of people lack in their minds?

Joseph even began to suspect that all this arguing was just a way for them to find someone to temporarily take over the blame.

Now that's great, we've found the person, and they even come with the endorsement of the Royal Academy.

Mia stood there, her fingers gripping the strap of her tool bag, the blush on her face not yet completely gone.

She was clearly a little nervous, holding the bouquet of flowers that had been forced upon her and looking at Joseph.

"gentlemen……"

Joseph looked at her.

He could see the anticipation and nervousness in Mia's eyes.

If he said no at this point, Mia would certainly listen. She almost blindly trusts him now, and he could pull her away from this wooden table with just a word.

Moreover, from a safety perspective, pulling it apart isn't wrong. The Dwarf Merchant Guild's equipment is broken, the merchants are waiting to demonstrate it, the person in charge of debugging it has disappeared, and a bunch of local blacksmiths are watching and laughing. This doesn't seem like a clean scene suitable for her to practice her skills.

And to be honest, whether this low-magic axle is broken or not is not entirely unrelated to his original plan. He was worried about not having anything to deal with the association's review in a month.

But Joseph decided to remain a non-stick pan for now, refusing to take the blame, take responsibility, or make any promises.

After all, you are responsible for your own life, and you can't just pin someone else's blame on you just because it seems plausible.

If this thing is actually broken during repairs, and it ends up being endorsed by this great magician, then things will get really messed up.

Joseph paused for a moment, gathering his emotions, and then said:

"This is a decision you make yourself."

Mia was stunned.

"You are first and foremost Mia Taylor, the Taylor family's daughter, and only then my student."

But neither of these things means you have to clean up someone else's mess.

The shop gradually quieted down. The group of people were waiting for him to say yes or no, but he said something unexpected.

Mia stared at him blankly.

"If you feel you don't understand it, you can refuse. Refusing won't affect Taylor's reputation, since you didn't accept this repair contract or receive this repair fee."

The expressions of both the man in goggles and the bearded businessman changed slightly.

Joseph, as if he hadn't seen it, continued:

"If you're just trying to prove you're not a dropout because of what others said, and you want to prove the Taylors aren't what they say they are, then you need to think even more carefully."

At this point, Joseph decided to put on another layer of armor to avoid getting himself involved.

"Iron can be reforged before the hammer falls. But once some words are spoken or some things are handled, it's not so easy to pretend they never happened."

Mia listened attentively; the gentleman was letting her make the decision herself! He trusted her.

Unlike the teachers of the past, who judged her as incapable beforehand, or who chased her away from all dangerous things out of concern that she would cause trouble.

Is the man asking her if she wants to choose for herself?

Mia glanced down at the flower in her arms, then at the small flower she had tucked between her fingers next to her tool bag.

She grew up in a blacksmith's shop. While others were still learning to read, she already knew what kind of iron blank would be heated unevenly and how a blade would crack when struck.

She dared not say that she understood the low-magic axle of the Dwarf Merchant Guild, but she suddenly felt that if she didn't even dare to take a look, she would probably still think of today when she stood next to the Master in the future.

She remembered that she had clearly brought her tool bag with the Taylor's sign hanging there, and she didn't even dare to look at it after she had brought everything into the shop; that would have been truly embarrassing.

"Sir, I want to give it a try," Mia said, making up her mind.