The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 118

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 118
‘Maddix?’
“I’m clocking out!”
She bolted through the back door of the shop with a whoosh. At the same moment—bang!—the front door swung open.
“Asha!”
A blacksmith with rippling, taut muscles and long green hair carelessly tied back strutted in.
“Maddix!”
I rushed over to greet the familiar face I hadn’t seen in so long.
His eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Rubian? It’s been a while.”
“What brings you here… Eek!”
In that instant, my body shot upward.
Maddix had hoisted me up and was now turning me this way and that in mid-air.
“Hmm… I’ve been wanting to gift pretty metal scraps to someone. So that’s why, I see.”
Incomprehensible murmurs escaped his lips.
Ah, that’s right… word had spread throughout Zelocks that I was a girl.
I felt a bit flustered and tried to change the subject.
“Grandfather didn’t come?”
Our eyes met directly.
“Ah, Ballock has been banned from our blacksmith.”
“What? Why?”
I started to wipe the soot from his forehead with my sleeve but stopped short.
“Because his excessive bragging about his granddaughter gave everyone a nervous breakdown.”
“…”
“His granddaughter pride was a bit much. We all wanted to work with earplugs in.”
Ah, how embarrassing…
“Well, let me apologize on his behalf…”
“Come on, let’s go.”
In that moment, my body lifted once more.
Then I settled onto his thick neck.
“Ack! Why, why are you doing this?!”
With an unbothered expression, he glanced up at me.
“Well, my body moves on its own—I must have been brainwashed by Ballock. So just be my helmet. I’ll even forgive you if you make horn shapes with your fingers.”
“I don’t want to be a helmet!”
I really don’t! This is so embarrassing!
But falling seemed even more terrifying, so I gripped his deep green hair tightly. A satisfied hum rumbled from his throat.
I tried asking Kalid for help, but he only raised an eyebrow and mouthed, “Looks comfortable.”
That traitor!
“Oh, right! You came to see Asha, didn’t you?”
“Ah.”
My footsteps halted as I was about to leave the shop.
Maddix glanced around the interior, sweeping his gaze left and right.
Ugh. The room is spinning.
“It seems he’s not here. …How strange. Why does he always rush to leave the moment I arrive?”
His muttering continued.
I recalled the image of Uncle Maddix rushing over earlier, snorting through his nose.
Well, that blueprint fanatic would never leave Asha alone.
‘…Asha, I’m sorry.’
I knew, but I turned a blind eye….
Anyway, Uncle Maddix hoisted me onto his shoulders and headed toward the Blacksmith.
I felt the gaze of every person on the street upon me—it was mortifying, absolutely mortifying.
In my frustration, I rolled his long hair into tight spirals, transforming them into pointed horns.
After that brief and humiliating procession, we arrived at the Blacksmith.
“Well then, what shall we do….”
I hopped down to the ground as I spoke.
“Uncle, I have new blueprints for you! I actually got them from Asha beforehand!”
The muscular man with pointed horns now adorning his head placed his hand over his left chest, his face radiant with emotion.
“…I shall make Rubian my religion.”
“I refuse.”
Honestly, they’re all far too bothersome!
* * *
“Phew, it’s done. Finally!”
I wiped my forehead lightly.
The blue-glowing magic circle soon faded away.
Kalid shared his mana with me, then carried the completed magical artifact to a corner.
Now the bell in the Watchtower will need repairs, and Kalid will take this and install it!
“Huh, what’s that?”
As I was watching Kalid move about without much thought, I noticed something jutting out from his pocket.
The colorful hues seemed oddly familiar.
“Ah, I thought it was thrown away…. It’s definitely something Obron made.”
Kalid pulled out the Academy pamphlet and tossed it casually.
The text on the cover caught my eye once more.
‘Heart….’
That word—something I’d been bothered by for a while now.
“Target the heart. Do not miss. Everything you desire lies at this center.”
It felt like something was constantly nagging at me, like a splinter beneath my fingernail.
‘Come to think of it, that’s a strange thing to say. Isn’t it oddly elaborate for someone who came to kill you?’
I fell silent, lost in thought, my lips pressed together.
“…What you desire….”
‘What I desire?’
The Seventh in the original story.
What was it that she wanted?
As I pondered this, a hollow laugh escaped me.
‘Well… it was already decided, wasn’t it?’
I wasn’t the Seventh from the original story, yet after experiencing that dream, I came to understand certain things instinctively.
Things like her emotions and desires, for instance.
‘What the Seventh wanted. That was…’
Perhaps. Or quite naturally.
‘Didn’t she, like me, want to break free from the stigma?’
Even though she ultimately failed.
Then what if I reinterpreted Leviathan’s words?
Could it mean that the secret of the stigma that the Seventh desired lay in the ‘heart’ or ‘this center’?
‘If targeting the heart wasn’t meant literally but as some kind of metaphor…’
My hand, which had been hanging limply, suddenly clenched with force.
Of course, it could have been an overly optimistic interpretation.
But there were no other clues to speak of.
“Kalid.”
I gathered the pamphlets scattered haphazardly across the floor.
“What are you doing? Don’t tell me… you want to go to the Capital?”
Kalid’s brows furrowed sharply.
“Roughly, yes.”
“Is there a clue there to solve your stigma problem? Did you figure something out?”
“I’m not sure.”
“…?”
“But I can’t stop thinking about this. I want to check it out myself.”
I tapped the Academy pamphlet.
Kalid, who had been reading the clearly hastily-prepared ‘Autumn Camp’ section, spoke with obvious reluctance.
“But we need to address the Capital’s mana problem first…”
Just as his low whisper was about to continue, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed up from the dark basement.
Maddix, who had approached in an instant, swung the workshop door wide open.
“Um, Rubian?”
He seemed somewhat hesitant, unlike his usual self.
‘What’s wrong?’
Normally, he would have rushed over excitedly, saying how fascinating and interesting it was. This was strange.
Now that I thought about it, he had spent longer than usual examining the blueprints.
“What’s the matter?”
“These blueprints are interesting, but they seem somewhat incomplete. Something appears to be missing… were these the only sheets you had?”
I nodded, looking at the parchment held in his stone-like hands.
“Yes, that’s all there was…”
“Hmm. I see.”
Watching Uncle smack his lips as if something were amiss, I suddenly realized that Asha had created this blueprint.
“Oh! Could it be that magic stones are needed? Since a Mage designed it!”
When I mentioned this fact, Uncle Maddix’s face lit up with excitement once more.
“Of course!”
With a rustle, Uncle unrolled the scroll across a large table.
We opened our eyes wide and searched for structures where magic stones might fit.
I didn’t really know how to read weapon blueprints well, but… if magic stones went in, it would be half similar to a magical artifact.
“I have a feeling it might be around here…”
“Hmm.”
‘Come to think of it, this blueprint…’
I scanned the entire blueprint anew. I’d been so rushed bringing it that I hadn’t even known what kind of blueprint it was.
“Is this a shield blueprint?”
Then Uncle nodded his head.
“That’s correct. The shape is ordinary, but the structure is quite unique.”
“I see…”
“But I was puzzled because the material wasn’t the kind typically used for shields. Of course! If we use magic stones, the power would circulate throughout, and the durability that was lacking would be compensated for!”
I closed my mouth.
‘No, that’s not it.’
My eyes darted dizzily across the blueprint.
‘This is… a shield-type weapon that stores power when struck and releases it.’
Perhaps it would be good against giant magical beasts? Like Ogres or Tribelops…
A chapter from the magical beast compendium that Liam had taught me through intensive study flashed through my mind.
‘The magic stone is probably what plays the role of storing that power…’
In that moment, a light bulb flashed in my head.
“Ah!”
When I jerked my head up, my eyes met perfectly with Kalid, who had been standing beside me with an indifferent expression.
“…What is it?”
“Absorption, release!”
“What?”
Mana!
I grabbed Kalid’s arm and whispered urgently. His shoulders jumped in surprise.
“What now!”
“Kalid, I found a way to get to the Capital!”
“What?”
The Capital Academy might hold the key to unraveling the secret of the mark.
But that place was a land where mana was scarce.
“Absorption, release!”
Couldn’t that be the solution?
I felt the cold sensation of the bracelet on his wrist and grinned.
* * *
“Oh, I see. That’s a fascinating idea. I’ll look into it!”
I recalled Asha’s eyes sparkling with brilliance.
After hearing about my new magical artifact, she immediately shut herself away in her dim laboratory.
‘If the concept is to store magical power beforehand and release it as needed… I should be able to manage even without ambient mana nearby, shouldn’t I?’
With proper adjustment, I might be able to function at a level comparable to Ipson.
‘The autumn camp is roughly ten days.’
Such a short duration meant I could technically survive without ambient mana.
I had actually spent several days in the Capital when I first met Father, after all.
‘But that was incredibly exhausting. And now I need to investigate every corner of the Academy.’
Both stamina and mana—neither could be allowed to deplete.
All that remained was convincing my family.
Father disliked the Capital nearly as much as I did, which worried me somewhat.
‘I’ll discuss it with him once he returns!’
According to Adolf, the subjugation campaign was proceeding smoothly. It seemed we would return in less than a month.
“Miss, a letter has arrived from the Capital!”
Just then, Hazel entered carrying a tray.
“A letter? From whom?”
I paused mid-sip of milk and tilted my head curiously. Before me lay a letter adorned with glittering gold leaf.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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