Emiya and his group had relaxed a little, but when they heard this question, they almost tensed up at the same time.

And Shiji Silvershield's expression also tensed. He waved at Papier and then took a deep breath.

She bowed her head and said loudly: "...Master Craftsman, I wish to devote the rest of my life to the cause of Gond and sever all ties with the world!"

"Cough-cough!"

Gutenberg suddenly began to cough repeatedly and slapped his chest. "Where did you hear that? The Gund Church isn't isolated from the world. There's no such thing as dedicating one's life to the church!"

"Then please allow me to explain!" Shi Ji showed no sign of backing down. "I hope... the church will take me in."

"What the hell is going on here!" Gutenberg narrowed his eyes and waved his hand heavily. "Alright, Brother Shi Jichu, clearly state the reason for your misdeeds today! Your previous actions have already brought potential harm to the Church. You must not continue to be evasive in front of me."

Papier couldn't help but say, "Because the Grand Duke of Silver Shield is planning to arrange a marriage for Miss Shiji without any warning, betrothing her to an old man who is older than her parents!"

Shi Ji didn't refute, but just lowered her head a little.

"...Tsk." The wrinkles on Gutenberg's face suddenly became as numerous as chrysanthemums. But he still wanted to struggle a little, turned to Shi Ji and asked, "Is what he said true?"

"Really." Shi Ji said with her head down.

"From what I know, the atmosphere within the Silver Shield Family is actually quite good. Furthermore, with the power of the Silver Shield Family, there's no need to arrange a marriage with such a huge age gap. Who's the man? Tell me his name!"

"…Apodel Adrian."

"...? That paladin? Son of Bhaal, the hero of Baldur's Gate?" Gutenberg's face was instantly filled with disbelief. "How is this name connected to the Silver Shield? The Church of Gund has no connection with this paladin of Mystra."

"I don't know either! But after my father returned from the Council of Four, he immediately announced this decision! I don't want to marry someone who has already been made into a statue!"

"How much has happened at the Council of Four? Besides, even if you wanted to, it wouldn't be your turn," Gutenberg replied unhappily. "What is Grand Duke Silvershield thinking? If that Apodel were planning to get married, the brides-to-be from the Church of Good would be lined up from Evermeet to Cyre immediately! How could the Silvershields of Baldur's Gate even get a turn? This is completely putting both sides on the spot."

"That's what I asked, but my father was determined to arrange the engagement! Before I ran away, the family had even started writing invitations. It's outrageous!"

Emiya was also pondering this matter.

He couldn't see the necessity of this marriage... The Silver Shield family would gain almost nothing by marrying into Apodale.

In the Year of the Blue Fire, before the Arcane Scourge, the Church of Mystra was one of the most powerful on the continent. Its strongest paladin was almost certainly the idol of the entire church. Marrying a paladin at that time naturally brought immense prestige.

But in Faerun today, even the still functioning Temple of Mystra is hard to find. Of the hundreds of Knights of the Secret Fire, only Apodel is left. The once prosperous Church of Mystra has become a thing of the past, and even the goddess has no hope of resurrection.

Emilia did not understand the Grand Duke's intention by showing such a firm attitude at this time.

Moreover, the matter does not seem to have been made public. At least, Apodale himself has not received any contact.

...I hope the Grand Duke doesn't plan to propose marriage directly at the banquet in a few days.

"...Forget it." Gutenberg seemed to have no clue either, and finally could only sigh. "I can't send you back. For the time being, you stay in the Gear Workshop. But I must make it clear in advance - how long you can hide is up to you. I won't deliberately cover up for you."

"Then when the Flame Fist order is completed and this place becomes crowded, won't I be exposed immediately?" Miss Silver Shield hugged her head in distress and slowly squatted down.

Gutenberg shook his head, obviously not intending to give in on the matter, and turned to Emiya and others.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you all about this internal affairs. Judging from the results, it's true that I detained you all here for no reason. Well, you can ask for compensation, and I can do my best as a personal assistant—" Gutenberg shook his finger, "Of course, it's not unlimited."

So, they can't ask for too much.

And Emilia almost immediately thought of a request that might be most beneficial to them at the moment.

They were asked to remain outside Baldur's Gate. But if they still wanted to help, wasn't the starting point right before their eyes?

"Well, Master Gutenberg... I want to ask you something," Emilia asked. "Can this place, called the Gear Workshop, accommodate outsiders?"

For example, during these few days, they will live in the secret base of the Gond Church.

"Outsiders? Of course there are. Craftsmen who pursue their craft are occasionally allowed to visit here. Why are you asking this—"

Halfway through his words, Master Gutenberg finally reacted.

Then, Master Gunde's roar resounded throughout the gear workshop.

"Are you treating this like a hotel?!"

The Price of Neutrality

"—You two, go to the practice room first." Master Gunde waved his hand at the two young men who had not yet been appointed priests. "You better do well on the exam in a few days, otherwise I don't mind holding you back for another year!"

After watching the two novice monks disappear around the corner, Gutenberg let out a long sigh.

"Then, it's your business." He frowned. "I'm guessing you're not some novice adventurer. You have at least one enemy watching you?"

That's true, otherwise, Emilia would not have made such an offensive suggestion.

Even if fledgling adventurers want to establish a relationship with the church, their first stop is often the Lucky Church that blesses adventurers, or the rather pro-foreign Church of the Moon and the Church of Dawn.

The Church of Craftsmen? Although the people of Gond have a good reputation, with almost no bad deeds spread throughout the world, at most they are considered to be idle and indulging in completely useless showpieces.

If adventurers come to visit, they will most likely be carrying muskets of various strange origins, hoping that the Gond Church can provide maintenance services for these strange weapons.

But no matter what, this church is definitely not a regular adventurer's destination.

Not to mention, a place like the Gear Shop isn't even a temple in the usual sense.

Emiya didn't hesitate, but spoke frankly, "Indeed. But it's not that dangerous—at least those who are looking for us won't look for us openly. So as long as we don't get discovered, we won't bring any disaster to the temple."

"Stop being vague and tell me the enemy's name! I'm a master craftsman who hammers his way through things, and I don't want to play tricks on you. Tell me the origins of your enemy. If they're just small fry, I might let you stay for a few days."

"...That's a difficult question. The identity of our enemy is actually quite vague, perhaps using a false name." Emilia hesitated. "Have you ever heard of the name 'Gods Not Gods Society'?"

"No." Master Gunde answered without hesitation. "What organization is it, and how did you get involved with it?"

This is where we need to get to the bottom of things.

Emilia made a final mental assessment.

Master Craftsman Gutenberg of Gond is a true Nine-Circle Priest. If we can even slightly deflect his stance, we might gain decisive assistance in the ensuing battle.

However, the aura of a craftsman was too strong on Master Gutenberg. He was now surrounded by tools, so he no longer had that sense of superiority, looking down on everyone.

Furthermore, the two sides weren't actually close, and Master Gutenberg had no requests for help from him. If Emiya wasn't sincere enough, the negotiations would easily fall apart. A Nine-Ringed Priest's willingness to engage in such a conversation was already quite approachable. If they continued to evade him, Gutenberg would likely expel them.

In order to show their sincerity, they probably cannot hide their identities from this master craftsman, and even the known information must be shared.

Emiya took a deep breath.

In his opinion, the enemy's power in Baldur's Gate couldn't possibly be infinite. Given a certain total strength, the more power they could attract, the less pressure the Apodales would face.

Eltoril has already learned a fair amount of information. Their activities will sooner or later be linked to the Friendly Arms. Their multiple identities won't last much longer.

Well, let's just leak my identity. If I could get help from the Gond Church by revealing my identity in advance, the benefits would be unimaginable.

Of course, there are risks.

However, the Church of Gond is the largest church in Baldur's Gate. It is simply a pipe dream to expect such a behemoth to devote resources to it without taking any risks.

Now the Realm of Honesty has been established within the Gond Church, which is the perfect place for negotiations.

Facing Gutenberg Emiya's eyes: "First of all, this organization is suspected to be a church, and the doctrine is not very clear, but I know that they worship a being called the Omniscient One, and they are near the Sword Coast-"

"Stop, stop, stop, stop." Gutenberg interrupted him before he could finish. "'Omniscient and One'? What do they mean? The God they believe in is omniscient and omnipotent, and is above all existence?"

Emiya replied, "We don't know much about it, but that's probably what they're promoting internally."

"That's outrageous." Gutenberg scratched his cheek with his mechanical arm. "...Could it be that the Church of Cyric is behind this again?"

Cyric, the God of Lies, is a bizarre existence known to everyone in Faerun.

He is so powerful that few gods can defy his might, but his actions are beyond imagination.

This god is best known for his creation of a remarkable book called the Cyricum. This book's power can convince all who read it, even gods themselves, that Cyric is supreme and unrivaled, worshipping him and obeying his commands.

Up to this point, the story is still a fairly ordinary, almost uninteresting villain story. But the second half is filled with the extraordinary things that only Cyric could do.

In short, Lord Xirik suddenly had an idea and decided to read the Xirui Sutra himself to see if he would be affected by it.

Then, the god proved one thing: gods can be affected by their own power.

The great god Cyric had successfully deceived him, and from then on he believed himself to be the most supreme and powerful god, driving almost all of his church mad and causing chaos among almost all the gods in Faerun.

Cyric is already one of the most powerful gods in Faerun. When he thinks he is supreme, the things he does are just crazy.

Now, there is actually another organization claiming to be the "omniscient and unique" existence. It is inevitable that Gutenberg will think in the direction of the Church of Cyric.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible," Emiya replied. "The Gods of Non-Gods would act cautiously and meticulously, which doesn't seem to be the style of the Church of Cyric."

"That means a new evil god has emerged." Gutenberg sighed angrily, then glared at Emiya. "You actually said it so directly... Do you think the Gund Church is the kind of force willing to stand up and fight against evil? Then you have very poor eyesight."

Gutenberg angrily found a seat and sat down. "I don't need to hide it: in my opinion, craftsmen should not be involved in politics. No matter who presides over the Council of Four, the Gund Church will provide unconditional support."

Mars said, "That's only natural. After all, the most powerful Duke in the Council of Four is Gond's Master Craftsman."

Gutenberg's eyebrows twitched involuntarily when he heard the name, and he waved his hand heavily. "It has nothing to do with the Grand Duke of Silver Shield. I just hope that the people of Gond can wake up in bed in peace in the morning and go to bed in bed at night."

His voice grew louder and louder: "--The people of Gond are different from those priests who either pray or preach!"

"They just hope that some big storms will hit the temple gate, giving these priests a chance to prove their piety. But we have ideals and goals, but we lack inspiration and time! We just hope that there will be no conflict and war in this world, so that no matter what we create, we can give full play to our imagination without worrying about the possible consequences!"

Gutenberg pulled out a musket, spun it a few times with his mechanical arm, and shouted, "Do you think the people of Gond can't see the potential of this power? But the people of Gond are not butchers, and Gond is not a god of slaughter! Who doesn't want their work to be known to everyone and change the face of the world? But we have neither the ability to predict the outcome nor the risk of changing the world! The people of Gond can only barely hide behind Baldur's Gate because we have always acted conservatively. Once we reach the peak of the storm, the people of Gond will not be able to protect themselves!"

The Gond Mastersmith waved his hand vigorously and turned away. "Sacrificing the lives and wisdom of the people of Gond for justice? Such passionate slogans are useless to us. Since you have been so open with me, I will keep you for one day."

It seems that the talks broke down.

"Troublesome, Captain!" Sig muttered over the telepathic link. "This guy is one of those hardworking, stubborn old men. He's meticulous about his job, but he won't listen to advice. I feel like this negotiation is hopeless."

[…If there's no hope, then there's no need to worry about gains or losses. Even if you fail, there's nothing to lose.]

Emilia looked at Gutenberg as he turned to leave and raised her voice, "Master Gutenberg, you might want to think about something again. A few days ago, we visited the Hall of Wonders and witnessed a bizarre murder. Do you think this murder was a coincidence?"

Gutenberg didn't look back. "Threatening me? That's not a good idea."

"Think again! Are we the real threat to the Gond Church? The deceased was Eltoril's rising star, yet he died in the Gond Temple, right before your eyes. Is that a coincidence?"

"Clap."

Gutenberg's steps suddenly paused, and Emiya's heartbeat quickened slightly due to the adrenaline.

Emilia had no confidence in convincing a rather stubborn old man with words alone.

But he could only hope that he, a craftsman, would not indulge in self-deception.

In the world of craftsmen, a hammer should not be used to cut down a tree, a plane should not be used to forge iron, and a bellows cannot flatten a giant tree.

If you can, you can; if you can’t, you can’t.

——It just so happened that the battering ram needed to break through Gutenberg’s psychological defenses was left behind by their enemies.

"Please let me tell you another little-known secret - just yesterday, we were attacked again by the same enemy. I was lucky enough to escape with my life. When we tried to interrogate the assassin, his body shattered, and the number engraved on the holy emblem of Baal continued to advance."

"It's only been a few days since the last murder. Flame Fist single-handedly took on the murder. You don't seem to be paying attention to the Council of Four. But I must remind you that Flame Fist is now a target of the Gods and Non-Gods. The current acting president is not in a good position within the Council of Four. Amidst a series of attacks, Flame Fist may not be able to hold on."

"If the Flame Fist fails to hold out, then the contract between the Flame Fist and the Gond Church may not be settled, which would be a significant blow to the Gond Church. Furthermore, if the protective system the Flame Fist invested heavily in ultimately fails to play its intended role in the war, it would also be a loss of prestige for the Gond Church."

"...!"

Gutenberg didn't turn around or answer, but the mechanical arm behind him had clenched its fist, and the metal squeezed against each other, making a squeaking sound.

Emiya immediately pressed the issue, "Master Gutenberg, in my opinion, if you're nearly cut by a planer while carpentry, you should wear protective gloves in addition to being thankful for your good luck."

"—!"

Hearing the last sentence, Gutenberg finally turned around in a rage. "I hate those half-knowledgeable people who still pretend to be pretentious in front of me. I don't need a layman teaching me how to be a carpenter! I take back what I just said. The Gear Workshop only allows craftsmen to visit and stay here temporarily! I don't care if you are a warrior mage, a noble lobbyist, a great druid in the forest, the most outstanding future star of some church, or a damned bard who is most favored by some lord in the south and can make flowers bloom with his song. I don't care. If you are not a craftsman, you can't stay here!"

Gutenberg pointed in the direction they came from and shouted without leaving any room for negotiation: "Get out!"

"...Then you said that last sentence a little too early." Emilia took a deep breath. "You haven't verified whether I am a craftsman yet."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. I have absolute discretion in this matter." Gutenberg was stunned for a moment, then his face showed the expected disdain. "I know exactly what you're planning... You plan to use some vaguely magical technique to turn the finest materials into garbage, and then shamelessly call yourself a craftsman. Let me tell you, it's not that easy!"

Gutenberg thought for a moment and held up three fingers. "You must give me a greatsword here. It must be seventy-three feet long and weigh four kilograms. The quality must be good enough for me to appreciate."

The master carpenter's eyes swept over everyone present.

The big guy with the tin can-like figure never takes off his helmet, and his expression is impossible to tell.

Yin was originally drowsy, but when he heard his challenging words, his eyes lit up.

As for the ignorant red-haired guy in front of him, his expression hardly changed from beginning to end.

The other dwarf girl covered her face tightly with her hands, her eyes full of worry.

...?

Could this guy just happen to be a craftsman? This little brat, no matter how you look at him, is either a noble or a mage… He actually seems to have calluses on his hands!

The master craftsman rolled his eyes and finally swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He changed the topic to one that even he felt was somewhat immoral.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like