Equipment Printing School Mage
Page 102
"……Oh."
[Sieg, Silver, please let Mr. Papier go. We're just a hair's breadth away from getting into trouble.]
They obviously had no reason to annoy the Gond Master Craftsman who had always maintained neutrality.
[Huh? Oh! Okay, okay.]
Gutenberg leaned slightly to the side, tapped his fingers, chanted a spell, and nodded. "Very good, the final misunderstanding has been resolved. Everyone, please do not come to this area again. That's all."
Emiya breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course, this is a complete misunderstanding."
At this moment, a breeze blew past Gutenberg, bringing with it a strange smell.
It's not human body odor, but the smell of some substance that is not so rare on Earth.
Often seen during large festivals...
And on the shooting range.
To put it bluntly, it's the smell of gunpowder.
So there was such a thing in Feren? This world was becoming more and more bizarre to him.
Emilia hesitated for a moment, quietly took a few steps back, and gestured to Mars: [Do you smell it? ]
[If I had to say, there was a strange smell... eggs? Sulfur? But there was also a strange smell of urine... Smells are hard to describe, so I don't know what it is.]
Emiya hesitated for a moment, but still asked: "By the way, what do they use to create a festive atmosphere during celebrations on the Sword Coast?"
What a jumpy question! Of course, they'd have bards singing, circuses performing, and ordinary people partying with drunken revelry and singing and dancing. For more extravagant moments, they'd have mages and priests cast dazzling spells. If it were in a special place, there would be unique and varied rituals—this question is too broad.
[Not that kind...] Emiya gestured with her hands reaching outwards. [Made with alchemy?]
[Maybe, but alchemical artifacts are overpriced and have a very personal style, so I don't really pay attention to this aspect.]
In other words, there were no fireworks.
It would be strange if the Gond people smelled of gunpowder.
At this time, Master Craftsman Gunde had already walked a little further away with Miss Silver Shield, but at some point, the master craftsman quietly stopped.
When he saw Emilia's gesture, Gutenberg's eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
The next second, a steel machine floating in the air suddenly appeared behind Master Gutenberg.
The machine was roughly a sphere, its rust-free silver shell gleaming brightly, almost as tall as a floor. Connected to it were at least five or six massive, freely movable arms.
As soon as this huge machine appeared, it immediately reached its arms into the pockets of Master Craftsman Gutenberg.
Then, when these arms were pulled out again, each of them was holding a strange machine.
It was essentially a regular hollow metal tube, except that the walls were quite thick. The back half of the tube was joined to the solid wood, and near the joint were some oddly shaped metal bends nailed in.
There was only a dark shadow in the hollow tube.
To put it in terms that Earthlings can understand - Master Craftsman Gutenberg instantly took out seven or eight large flintlock rifles, which were of huge caliber and would require a gun rack for normal use.
And these large-caliber flintlock rifles were now pointed at Emilia and Mars.
Although Emilia had never seen a real gun—well, he had seen one now—modern people still knew what to do when faced with the black muzzle of a gun.
"Shield spell!" He rolled to the other side almost immediately, struggling to add a shield to himself, hoping that magic would be effective enough when facing gunpowder.
If he was hit by such a large musket, he would be scattered all over the ground in an instant! He had no hope for the effectiveness of the shield technique.
【Get out of the way! 】
Of course, Emilia reminded Mars in time, but Mars obviously had no experience.
The paladin hesitated for a moment, then cast a shield spell. He drew his sword and stood before him, ready to block, while angrily shouting, "Master Gutenberg, what are you doing?!"
Halfway through his words, Mars finally reacted: "...Is that a musket?"
"...Humph, so you heard about flintlock rifles from somewhere? That's normal, as these weapons aren't completely unavailable. But that kid over there seems to know way too much about them." Seeing the two's reactions, Gutenberg chuckled, stuffed the flintlock rifle back into his pocket, and pointed behind him with his right hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, don't you want to know the secrets of the Gund Church?"
A cold sweat suddenly broke out on Emilia's head.
Clearly, in Faerûn, at least in the current state of Faerûn, flintlock rifles were not common knowledge. At least not something a passing adventurer would know. Even someone as knowledgeable as Mars took a moment to realize what Gutenberg was holding. Apparently, even in Candlekeep, this kind of knowledge was virtually unknown.
And Emilia's familiarity with firearms has obviously gone too far.
At the same time, the secret that Shiji and Papier have been keeping is gunpowder... This area is obviously the secret base of the Gond Church, and it is related to gunpowder.
"No, no, no, I don't want to know!" Emilia shook her head violently. "I just... my hometown has some knowledge of this, and I've heard and seen it all before, so I know a little bit about it!"
"Perhaps. Admittedly, smoke-generating powder isn't unique to the Gond Church, but I'm sorry, your location is too sensitive." Gutenberg and the massive machinery behind him waved his hand heavily. "Everyone, I sincerely invite you to join me in visiting the Gond Church's secret base. There, let's clear up all misunderstandings."
Emilia had already started to touch Miss Imoen's ring, but when she heard Gutenberg's ambiguous statement, she couldn't help but stop.
If things really got out of control, he should not have taken out the ring, but should have destroyed it immediately - if he was misunderstood by the Gond Church and the originally neutral Gond Church went to the opposite side, then he would have really caused a disaster.
Emilia was silent for a moment, then stood up, calmed her breathing, and replied, "Master Gutenberg, I ask you to swear to the God of Craftsmen that as long as we can prove that we have nothing to do with the secrets of the Gund Church, we can leave freely."
Maybe, this is an opportunity.
Amyia thought.
With the aid of magic, he could prove he had nothing to do with the Gond Church's secrets. Therefore, his situation wasn't actually dangerous. The Gond Church wasn't known for its disregard for human life. Furthermore, Gutenberg admitted that gunpowder wasn't a secret unique to the Gond Church.
Grand Master Gutenberg of the Gund Church was undoubtedly one of the city's most powerful fighters. However, he had previously maintained an absolute isolationist attitude, unwilling to get involved in any faction-based affairs. He had even previously shown no signs of favoritism or disfavor.
But this time, Gutenberg doesn't seem to be keeping people at a distance anymore -
He didn't think Mr. Apodale could easily win over the entire Gond Church. If Shi Ji hadn't lied to them, then the Grand Duke of Silver Shield was clearly a political animal—the kind who wouldn't easily take sides.
At the same time, it is obvious that the Gund Church cannot be a monolithic entity, or in other words, the influence of Grand Master Gutenberg, who has stayed in the church for a longer time, is almost impossible to be greater than that of Grand Tolerant Silver Shield.
Then, the opportunity to have an in-depth exchange with the master craftsman Gutenberg, an opportunity that will never come again if missed, seems to be right before our eyes.
The Secret of the Gonder Church
Several steampunk-style mechanical arms were inserted into the ground, slowly groping around, and then the joints all bent downward.
"—Boom!"
A secret door hidden under the sand and soil was lifted up high, and the soil on it was thrown to the side.
Amid the rustling sound of sand falling to the ground, Emilia looked at the rust on the secret door and coughed lightly:
"[There are things in this world that can be done without magic], I thought the secret door here would be powered by water."
"Of course this base is hydraulic, but..." Gutenberg answered almost habitually, glancing back at the same time.
Behind him, Papier and Shi Ji were following him, not daring to breathe.
Although Gutenberg did not seem to be the kind of high-ranking official who particularly liked to use pressure, the gap between Baldur's Gate, and even the pinnacle of the entire Gond faith, and these two novices who had not even entered the gate was still too huge.
"—But this secret door has been covered in dirt for decades! Now, because of a certain kid, I have to run out from underneath it!" Gutenberg roared, "Shiji Silvershield! What's wrong with your brain?! Why did you go here from the Black Gate? And you, Papier! Who allowed you to come out and help her without permission? This base has been exposed to outsiders, and you two must bear at least half of the responsibility!"
These two novice monks have no channels to contact each other, so there must be a middleman.
However, this middleman is likely to have close ties with the Silver Shield family and is beyond Gutenberg's jurisdiction.
"Yes... I'm very sorry. I know I was wrong." Shi Ji didn't dare to show any of her original strength in front of her boss's boss. At this moment, she could only keep apologizing without even raising her head.
Instead, Papier whispered, "Master Craftsman... and outsiders..."
"How dare you talk back!"
Gutenberg's robotic arm waved over Papier's forehead in a protesting gesture, then he grabbed his collar, lifted him up into the air, and shook him violently. "This area may be desolate, but it's not completely deserted! If you two hadn't secretly attracted their attention, they wouldn't have discovered this place for decades!"
Just as the priest of the God of Craftsmen was scolding the two young men at the lowest level of the church with words as harsh as a heavy artillery bombardment, Emiya and his group took the opportunity to take in everything in this secret base.
The Gond Church clearly had considerable experience in digging. Beneath the secret door lay not a small hut that could only accommodate a few people, but a long, spacious tunnel that was clearly lacking in decoration. The sides of the tunnel were hung with eternal torches, and streams of light stretched forward, guiding them in their direction.
"Hmph..." Yin, who had always scoffed at Gond's creed, curled his lips at the layers of magical auras and said, "In the end, we still have to use magical constant-fire torches here."
This passage was spacious enough for the machinery behind Gutenberg to pass easily—or, conversely, the specifications of this passage were clearly based on the range of divine magic unique to the Gond Church. Papier, still being held by the machinery, couldn't help but turn his head and refute, "That's a misunderstanding! We only encourage the use of methods other than divine magic, not oppose it!"
"Oh." Yin asked perfunctorily, "What does that mean?"
"Divine magic is not everyone's power after all! If we want the glory of Gond to reach more people, technology that is independent of divine power is an indispensable aid!"
Yin sneered: "What a strange idea! If there is not enough divine power, shouldn't we expand the size of the church and hire more priests? Wuwuwu——"
Emiya silently covered Yin's mouth, stopping someone from talking nonsense.
Although Yin had never talked much about her vision of the world, from her few words, Emilia could probably guess what kind of world this guy would like most: magic would be a part of every life, and she didn't care whether it was arcane or divine.
Where on earth could she develop such an ideal in life?
If he doesn't take action, this guy will definitely make everyone in the Gunde Church present furious.
"Hey, Miss Yin, is it really okay to point your finger and curse like that?" Sig asked in the telepathic connection. "Are you really not afraid of that old man with ten arms getting mad?"
"As long as the debate remains focused on creed, there's no problem," Mars replied. "This kind of quarrel isn't uncommon. Whoever strikes first at this point appears guilty. An archbishop, having lost a religious debate, attacked young people of another faith... Generally speaking, with the exception of the evil church, archbishops of various churches still have a minimum of reserve."
And that was exactly what happened. Gutenberg just let out a long sigh and looked back at Emilia.
Then, his gaze towards Emiya became quite unfriendly.
"..."
Emiya couldn't help but sigh as she listened to Sig's sympathetic comfort.
He had never thought he was good at speaking, but now he understood that everything required comparison.
[Don't just stand there!] Miss Sigg, the only normal person on the team, who was just a bit greedy, was so angry that she kicked Emiya's calf. [If you don't go up and try to get close to her, you're going to be harassed to death in a while!]
How to get close to someone?
[Talk about topics the other person likes! Daily life, weapons, equipment, tools, and even tolerate their sarcasm! Also, I don't understand what that old priest is suspecting you of, so don't do anything suspicious!]
After turning a corner, they arrived at the real gate of the base.
It was a flawless golden gate, with a huge Gond gear painted in the center.
Emiya took a deep breath.
His head couldn't even reach the bottom edge of the gears - the door was as high as several stories.
The scale of this underground base far exceeded his expectations. If the entire underground base had the same exaggerated specifications as this door, then perhaps this base was even larger than the two temples in the upper city combined.
Emiya asked, "Excuse me, this base is..."
He hesitated for a moment, then used a more complimentary term: "Is this a place that truly accommodates the amazing talents of the people of Gond?"
The Supreme Miracle Hall and the Miracle Hall were already quite large, dozens or even dozens of times larger than the small churches of the Twin Hymns in the outer city. They were more than enough to serve as regular churches, accommodating the lives, prayers, and training of believers and priests.
But the people of Gond are clearly unusual—a group of artisans who need extra space to practice their craft.
And, further still—if these Gonds were interested in firearms, they would also need a place to store gunpowder—and, of course, a shooting range.
These dangerous things are obviously not suitable for storage in the core of the upper city.
"—Hmph." Gutenberg snorted heavily, "Some cleverness... Unfortunately, at this time, the more clever people are, the more dangerous they are."
The huge mechanical arm pressed a hidden switch, and the door opened with a bang with the sound of gears turning.
The fragrance of trees, the roughness of rocks, and the raw smell of metal.
The smell of the three materials entered Emilia's mouth and nose, as if several invisible big hands were rushing towards her face, making her almost unable to help but reach out to cover her mouth and nose.
Mars pursed his lips and let out a sigh. "The people of Gond have long occupied the throne of the First Church in such a wealthy city as Baldur's Gate, and have numerous means of profiting, yet they have still not expanded significantly and have always lived in two palaces... Now I know where all the money goes."
If anything, what was presented to them was a giant handicraft workshop that they had never seen before, or the prototype of a factory.
Even though this vast, boundless space had been divided into countless sections by the meticulously carved rock, they could still see countless tools placed against the walls, and countless instruments gleaming in the open doors. The strong smell of rust-proof grease wafted through every corner of the area.
Obviously, although there is no one here, it is not deserted.
Gutenberg shook his head. "This is the Gear Workshop, the secret base of the Gond people in Baldur's Gate..."
At this point, the old pastor sighed deeply. "In theory, outsiders are not welcome here. However, as the Gonde Church grows, I'm afraid it will become known to everyone sooner or later."
Emilia glanced indifferently at the dazzlingly vast space.
The walls of many rooms are not only engraved with the holy symbol of Gond, but also depicted with a silver shield.
Silver Shield.
However, this space was empty, without any human figure in sight, which was quite disproportionate to the vast space.
Emiya frowned. "I thought... I would see countless Gond priests at work...?"
"Nonsense! This is a place for private work and technical research! If all work were moved here, even a fool would guess that we, the people of Gond, have another base!"
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