Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong couldn’t help but sigh again. He pressed the back of his hand to Gita’s feverish forehead to check the temperature before dampening a new towel for her. Hilveld had informed him not long ago that the little girl had passed the critical phase, which was the only piece of good news of the day.

With that thought in mind, he couldn’t help but glance inside—

The back of the carriage was a small compartment, barely spacious enough for two people to turn around. Inside the room, Hilveld was sitting on a wooden chest, with her inseparable leather suitcase by her side. A few books were piled next to the suitcase, all of them knightly romance novels, some even translated from works on Earth.

She was looking down, absorbed in her book, occasionally turning a page lightly, the pages making a whooshing sound.

And as if feeling Fang Hong’s gaze, Hilveld looked up with some surprise, her voice crisp, ”What is it?”

”Nothing,” Fang Hong shook his head. ”Don’t you need to rest a bit?” It had been over thirty hours since Gita’s injury, and Hilveld had hardly closed her eyes. Even though she didn’t seem particularly lively, she didn’t look tired either.

”No need,” Hilveld said with a slight smile, her response as expected. ”But Captain Sir, you must be more tired than me, right? Are you done with your tasks?”

”Stop calling me Captain, Miss Hilveld,” Fang Hong sighed. ”Without even a ship, such a title would make us the laughingstock.”

”Then how about Captain?”

”That’s a bit of a stretch too.”

”Alright, Team Leader,” Hilveld said, closing her book and looking at him playfully, seemingly enjoying the chatter. ”You are better than I imagined, Mr. Ade.”

”— Better than imagined?” Fang Hong was puzzled for a moment.

”This position requires both capability and responsibility,” Hilveld spoke softly, ”I wanted to see what kind of person would inherit my father’s wishes, so I asked Miss Atira not to help you with these troubles. You won’t blame me, will you, Mr. Ade?”

Fang Hong shook his head.

His adventure group wasn’t just a romantic-sounding dream; it was a real responsibility. He was now beginning to understand Miss Sicape’s feelings; what she and Mr. Kroid bore was the trust of the entire team.

He glanced at the frail and thin Miss Natural Historian on the cot, feeling a vague sense in his heart that he should be doing even better.

Because Eteliria wasn’t just a fantastical journey; it was also all the difficulties and challenges the Pioneers had faced, the curiosity and exploration of the unknown, all based on courage and humanity’s conquest of itself.

It should be perfect and unyielding.

”Miss Hilveld, I might really be somewhat childish, just like she said—”

Fang Hong murmured to himself.

”What?” Hilveld blinked, gazing at him with curiosity.

But Fang Hong only looked up and gave her a faint smile.

Outside, lightning streaked across the night sky; the flickering forest cast pale light on the faces of the two inside. This might be the last thunderstorm after the onset of autumn, but it came at an inopportune time.

Within the cramped room, the candlelight was dim, flickering with the slow steps of the Burden Beasts of Gey Ridge.

Miss Fairy was sitting under the wisteria leaves—her usual spot—quietly watching the two, her emerald eyes seeming to reflect a layer of rain sheen, clear and touching. Humans always piqued her curiosity, like an endless trove of knowledge and treasures.

Mr. Knight seemed to have changed a bit, his heartbeat strong and steady, and she couldn’t quite decide which feeling she preferred more.

Droplets fell from the tip of the leaves like gemstones crashing onto the table, shattering into tiny pieces.

One can’t stay childish forever—

Hilveld put down the book, seemingly engrossed in watching Fang Hong turn back to continue with his tasks. It was the first time she had seen the young man so entirely absorbed.

On the table rested two rather peculiar Magic Guided Conductors.

Fang Hong bent down again, pulling out a box from under the simple wooden table. It contained a whole box of α Crystals, clinking against each other—he obviously didn’t need that many for himself.

But he already had an immature plan in mind.

The inexplicable attack had brought back many memories for Fang Hong, such as the Morning Dawn Star of that night, Elsa who died in front of him, and the girl’s eyes that refused to close in death.

It was the first time he recognized the dark underbelly beneath Eteliria’s glamorous surface, and so he refused to stand by and watch such a tragedy unfold on Atira and the others again. Fortunately, he was different from back then and understood what he should do.

First and foremost, he was an Alchemist, a craftsman, a maker. Fang Hong was acutely aware of the role of an Alchemist in a team, and this was the first part of his plan.

At that moment, Tianlan’s complaining voice came from outside, probably berating Luo Yu for not fixing the ceiling properly, leading to leaks on the platform. Soon thereafter, the two stopped and knocked on the door.

Fang Hong raised his head and said, ”Please come in.”

Only then did Luo Yu push the door and enter, with Tianlan huddled behind him. Following behind was the quiet Xiesta, who first cast a cautious glance at Fang Hong, then towards the area behind him.

Miss Fairy, of course, imperceptibly concealed her form—

Tianlan curiously peered from outside, ”Sister Hilveld, how is Gita doing?”

”All is well, she’s fortunate, there’s no infection,” Hilveld looked at the two and answered, ”She should wake up before dawn.”

”Mr. Ade,” Luo Yu then asked, ”do you have something for us, as Miss Xiesta told us to come?”

Fang Hong nodded, picking up the two Magic Guided Conductors from the table, and said to the two, ”Try these out.”

Luo Yu took one look at the object and was momentarily stunned. Tianlan, on the other hand, exclaimed with surprise, ”Ah, isn’t this Kane’s Anointment? Brother Ade, did you make this?”

Fang Hong nodded.

One of the Magic Guided Conductors in his hand was indeed a harp, only as long as a forearm but appeared very heavy. Unlike a typical harp, its arm structure was complex, covered with metal tubes, with three plugin interfaces lined up along the arm from bottom to top, housing a Peridot, a Crimson Energy Crystal, and a somewhat odd small gear assembly plugin.

This was a typical Kane’s Magic Harp, named after an alchemist from eleven centuries prior. It worked by utilizing the Magic Crystals connected to the twelve strings to manipulate Ether Magic Power, but its use required quite a specialized knowledge—this was the ability of Eteliria’s Bards.

Tianlan took the harp eagerly from Fang Hong’s hands, blinking and asking him, ”Brother Ade, is this for me?”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but chuckle. ”Otherwise, who would it be for?”

”Amazing!” Tianlan couldn’t help but squeal with joy, giving Fang Hong a tight hug, ”I love you to death, Brother Ade, I’ll treasure this as the best birthday gift ever!”

”Birthday?” Fang Hong was taken aback.

”Ah?” Tianlan was also startled, ”Isn’t this my birthday gift?”

Fang Hong hadn’t expected this at all and scratched his head in embarrassment, ”That… well, you can think of it that way if you want, it’s about time anyway—”

On the other hand, Luo Yu was much more astute. He took the object from Fang Hong’s hands and, after a detailed examination, discovered it was a modified Clockwork Fairy. However, unlike the typical spherical shell of a Clockwork Fairy, this one was diamond-shaped and looked more like a smaller version of an Annihilator Construct.

He looked up and asked, ”Is this for our use, Mr. Ade?”

”Huh?” Upon hearing Luo Yu’s question, Tianlan was taken aback, ”Brother Ade, you haven’t gotten confused, have you? Luo Yu and I are just trainees.”

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