Chapter 37 – Winning People (1)

An attendant dispatched for the successful candidates of the Beginner Magic Engineer Qualification Exam.

They were people who accompanied every single move of the candidates to prevent crimes or accidents targeting them until the day before the license was issued.

In other words, they could be called bodyguards.

But why on earth did the Immortal Embers leave a one-day buffer between the announcement of results and the issuance of licenses?

Publicly announcing the candidates’ personal details made them inevitable targets for some rebellious elements, which even led to a waste of administrative power through the reinforcement of police personnel and the dispatch of bodyguard-cum-attendants.

The reason was not found in the books I had read at the library.

‘They said it was to keep other embers in check and to secure preferential negotiation rights.’

According to what I had overheard from the conversations of people chatting in the library, that was the case.

‘Thinking about it that way, it makes sense. It is not a waste of administrative power, but a proper use of it.’

Using the single day required until the license issuance as a pretext, they assigned attendants to the prospective magic engineers.

Naturally, they were not mere attendants. They were tailored negotiators who had completed thorough analysis and preparation to win over the candidates to the Immortal Embers.

During the given day, they proposed terms and rewards that would sway the candidates.

There was no room for scouts from other embers to intervene in this process, as contact with outsiders was fundamentally blocked under the pretext of personal safety.

I finally understand why there were so many scouts from other embers at the forum.

For them, that was the only opportunity.

‘I do not know whose head it came from, but it is extremely clever.’

If so, then even the grand public disclosure of scores and identities was a pretext to dispatch attendants, and wasn’t it an open intention to steal away talent from other embers?

‘If my guess is correct, then my tailored attendant is this woman.’

The woman who introduced herself as Natasha McGrain.

Herman Melville had said on the surface that he would assign an attendant for Demian, but there was no way that was really the case.

Because I was the one plotting things here right now.

‘And Herman Melville himself directly said that he was trying to recruit me.’

Honey traps—assigning someone with an appearance that no man could help but be enticed by—must have been for that reason.

Moreover, I was also a hot-blooded nineteen-year-old youth, so she could be called a perfectly tailored attendant.

“Lord Aylen Vale?”

Even now, isn’t Natasha’s alluring voice tickling my ears?

Some might say it was just my delusion, but I could certainly be sure that it was the case.

In real history, there were many cases where honey traps succeeded to the point of overthrowing a nation.

For instance, isn’t there the famous anecdote of Diaochan from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, who drove a wedge between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu?

A man’s sexual desire was such a hard impulse to resist; the phrase ‘a beauty that ruins a state’ did not exist for nothing.

However, prior to all those suspicions and doubts, there was something to verify.

“Matters to handle? I do not quite understand what you mean…”

When I asked innocently, Natasha took a step closer to me with a look of understanding.

It was a distance so close that our breaths touched each other’s skin.

“I apologize. However, since there are many listening ears, please forgive me for being forced to commit such rudeness.”

“…?”

At that moment, standing on her tiptoes, she gently pulled the back of my neck with her slender, fair hand.

“…!”

The dizzyingly sweet scent wafting from the nape of her neck seemed to paralyze my sense of smell.

However, I knew there was no other impure intention in this action.

“You must have received the order to head to the Magic Ember. I received the order to help you. Will this suffice?”

That was because she knew the conversation I had shared with Herman Melville in private.

It was clear proof that she was his person.

The many listening ears must refer to ‘them’ whom Herman Melville mentioned, and her bold action would be to deceive others with a honey trap.

“Because I couldn’t identify who was enemy and who was ally… I am the one who is sorry for doubting you.”

“No. I was rather surprised that it went exactly as the Dean said.”

Natasha McGrain took a step back, gently wearing a smile on her fair face.

‘Exactly as Herman Melville said? Did he expect me to act like this?’

Although I had thought he was an extraordinary figure since he was the greatest magic engineer in the history of the ice age, he was simultaneously one of the most powerful figures of this era.

Not only in magic engineering, but his schemes themselves had to be deep.

Just then, Will Ford approached my side and spoke.

“It seems eating together today is out of the question.”

“Huh?”

“An attendant was just assigned to me too. It’s someone you know as well.”

Someone I know.

The only people I had any connection with in this ember were Carlyle, Heimdall, and Herman Melville.

Above all, the boy did not know that, did he?

‘Namiya? Or Jack Daniel?’

While I was conjuring up unlikely names, a somewhat familiar voice was heard.

“Good to see you, Aylen Vale. You know who I am, right? I would be disappointed if you said you didn’t.”

Bexel Mitro.

He was the intermediate magic engineer who had served as the chief invigilator for Exam Room 170, where Will Ford and I took the test.

“As someone aspiring to be a magic engineer, how could I not recognize Lord Bexel Mitro, the creator of the portable core battery? Greetings. I am Aylen Vale, from a nameless ember.”

“Thank you for remembering!”

“Since you remember my humble name, I am the one who is overwhelmed.”

Although we had never even held a conversation to the point where Bexel’s remark about being disappointed felt awkward, we greeted each other warmly.

‘This man… possessed immense influence.’

Rather than knowing details about Bexel, I had heard rumors about him while idling in the library.

As one of the elite five led by Herman Melville, his reputation and support rate as a magic engineer transcended the field, even influencing politics.

‘There were also fairly frequent mentions of him in books related to politics or public welfare.’

Although I could not read his thesis as I could not go up to the upper floor where intermediate magic engineering theses were kept, his name indeed appeared occasionally even in books of entirely different fields.

Since such a man approached first without formality, there was no need to draw a line, and it could rather be considered a good thing.

“I like your humility as well. But do not lower yourself like that from now on. For in the future, people will recognize you not just as Aylen Vale, but as the top-scoring magic engineer of the qualification exam.”

He meant that since I was the magic engineer who had taken top honors in the qualification exam administered by the ‘Immortal Embers,’ I should not lower myself carelessly and tarnish even the honor of the embers.

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

“Right. Passing the exam at nineteen is surprising enough, but you are also quick-witted, which I like very much.”

Bexel Mitro patted my shoulder with a carefree laugh.

It was the complete opposite of his icy appearance in the exam room.

Perhaps the appearance in the exam room was his true self.

This is why people are terrifying.

They might laugh in front of you while sharpening their blades behind your back.

However, his dagger would not point at me for the time being. As one of Herman Melville’s people, he would highly likely be friendly toward me.

Aside from that, I was also a prospective magic engineer who had achieved an outstanding result.

There was no senior who disliked a junior who was both talented and polite.

However.

‘Of all people, to have this man come as an attendant… It reeks of something fishy.’

They might not have intended it, but I was also included in the trajectory along which Bexel would swing his blade.

It was true when a man of this influence came as an exam invigilator… but now that he came as a mere attendant, his purpose was obvious.

Bexel was the expression of Herman Melville’s determination to recruit at least the runner-up, Will Ford, after missing out on the top scorer.

‘Although it is unlikely Will Ford will change his word, I cannot help but be concerned.’

Though I do not like it, there is no particular worry.

Because Will Ford will never betray me.

“Anyway, see you later. Since we will be seeing each other’s faces until we get sick of it anyway.”

Look at him even now.

Isn’t he speaking in such a roundabout way to tell me not to worry?

I bowed and greeted the departing boy Will, his younger sister Williana, and Bexel.

The remaining ones were three: myself, my attendant Natasha, and Namiya.

“Aren’t you going, Ms. Namiya?”

“Oh, right. I should go.”

“The way back is long, so travel safely.”

“…Then I will go first.”

Namiya departed with a somehow lonely back.

I planned to stop by either the bookstore or her house the day before departure.

It was partly to repay the debt owed to Namiya for granting the favor, but also because I intended to ask her, who ran the bookstore, for regular distribution of magic engineering books.

Finally, I was left alone with Natasha, and only then could I bring up the main point.

“I do not know if you are aware, but the matter is complicated, so there are many things to pack. The city is so large that I do not know if I can go around it all.”

I meant the magic engineering golem, a miracle of magic engineering that could only be made by someone at the upper-intermediate level or higher.

However, making such a thing in our ember was absolutely impossible.

Although I might somehow manage to create the blueprints, there was no factory, equipment, or technicians with professional skills to manufacture it.

That was why, when I had gone to negotiate with Demian over the recommendation letter, I shouted that wouldn’t it be enough to just have the blueprints for now.

Since the production would be the leadership’s responsibility anyway.

However, I intended to secure the contract directly and actually build the magic engineering golem. For I would use the golem’s production as a stepping stone to become a leader.

“Where is the place that sells tools and materials related to magic engineering prosthetic limbs? I would prefer a store that sells a wide variety of items…”

Based on the book [Upper-Intermediate: Convergence of Medicine, Ergonomics, and Magic Engineering] that I had dropped as a clue to Demian back then.

‘Although the efficiency is too low compared to other tasks to do right now… it is something I must do.’

It would be a very laborious task, both temporally and mentally.

However, if I could just manufacture it, not only would I gain the citizens’ support for me, but I could also dramatically boost my value and reputation as a magic engineer.

The scoundrel son of the Head of the Magic Engineering Department, becoming the magic engineer to save the ember!

It is quite plausible, isn’t it?

Although it was against the pursuit of extreme efficiency, to me personally, there was no task more valuable than this.

However, there were more than just one or two things to prepare.

Just as I was about to urge Natasha and head to the store.

“Before that, shall we go to a quiet place first? More than anything, I want to know what kind of thing Lord Aylen has…”

Natasha McGrain suddenly tempted me in a coquettish voice while caressing my chest.

I was flustered for a moment, but managed my expression in an instant, and spoke while holding her slender hand.

“That wouldn’t be bad either. I was also just becoming very curious about what Ms. Natasha’s weapon is.”

Right now, here, someone is monitoring us.