Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 261: One Hundred and Ninety-Two: The Name of the Person (Part Two)

Chapter 261: One Hundred and Ninety-Two: The Name of the Person (Part Two)

Karn Doppler accompanied his sisters from the Church of the Goddess of Benevolent to the competition this time. He himself was a member of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest in Higgs City. His team had failed to qualify in the selection process of the Serent Plains parish in the Western Administrative Province. So, with nothing else to occupy him, he could only serve as a bodyguard for his sisters as they made their way east.

"Compared to you, it seems you live quite free and easy," the young man remarked as he looked at Malin’s carriage, somewhat sentimentally adding, "It’s strange to say, but even though Carterburg is just a small region, it has its own parish. You guys don’t even have to go through a selection process."

At this, Malin himself grew curious—indeed, Carterburg’s parish was unique in the entire Sydney Union... no, actually, it was the only one of its kind in the entire Western Human World.

In general, parishes are categorized by entire regions, such as Karn’s Serent Plains parish, which spans the vast plains covering the entirety of the north of the Western Administrative Province. After having been established as a parish, about one-third of the towns were included in it. According to Karn, the competition for selection felt as grand as going to the Central Administrative Province for the finals. Teams from various cities and towns would first compete for three months, then the champion would be chosen, reinforced, and sent in the strongest condition to the Central Administrative Province.

As for Carterburg, to the north, it bordered Slonnie Forest, inhabited by both humans and elves. To the east, it abutted the vast plains, where towns of humans, half-humans, and gnomes were scattered like stars across the sky. To the west lay Tovto Hills, with cities of dwarves nestled within. These dwarves were a naturalized race within the borders of the Sydney Union, with several dwarf legions in the army of the Sydney Union. Of course, when the dwarves of the Royal Court and Chaos started their operations, these dwarves would also contribute manpower and supplies.

Slonnie Forest, the great plains, and Tovto all had their own parishes, whereas Carterburg Parish only included Carterburg itself and a very small plot of nearby land.

What merits and abilities did Carterburg have to establish its own unique parish?

However, this question was obviously one that Malin would not find an answer to. After Karn sighed, he joined his sisters on the Church of the Goddess of Benevolent’s train.

"Speaking of which, Carterburg really is strange." Clovis leaned against the window. Having listened to Malin and Karn’s conversation, the bunny girl thought doubtfully, "I seem to have never questioned why."

"Maybe it’s because Carterburg has its unique specialties, after all, it’s the only nearby port." Faye offered her opinion, which Malin agreed with wholeheartedly—indeed, upon reflection, perhaps it was the port’s uniqueness.

"By the way, you bought so many clothes for Jessica, what about us?" Lillim turned her gaze away from the wolf girl, who was holding her bag and taking three little ones back to their compartment, and looked toward the bags in Malin’s hands.

Malin nodded, placing four bags divided equally in front of them: "I chose them for you myself."

Maya was the first to open her bag, pulling out a beautiful leather robe lined with all-elven silk and temperature-control magical embroidery. The sturdy leather, sourced from an Earth Dragon, even had a hood adorned with a pure energy stone—it was a standard Shaman’s leather robe: "It’s beautiful, brother. Thank you." The little leopard girl gave her brother a peck on the cheek.

Malin felt healed by the gesture and thought—it was truly the merit of a large city to be able to buy such fine things. Although the customer who ordered it hadn’t lived to pick it up, Malin had still reduced the loss for the shop’s owner. It could be said that both parties to the transaction were very satisfied.

Lillim was the second to open her bag, from which she pulled out a trench coat with an oversized hood—unlike Maya’s, it was a very standard trench coat, a cheap item. But then Lillim also drew a small vest out of the bag: "Earth Dragon leather?" She knew the material with just one touch.

```

"Yes, a stab-proof vest with a neck guard, I think it’s very suitable for members of the Church of the Goddess of Benevolent like you." Malin smiled at Lillim—the garment had been personally modified by him, lined with an elf silk shirt suitable for both winter warmth and summer coolness. Malin pulled out a piece of soft belly leather from an Earth Dragon, noted Lillim’s measurements, and then drew a pattern for the old master to cut by hand.

The elderly master had expressed that he had never seen such steady hands in his long life; Malin could only respond with a smile.

The little lamb threw herself into a hug around Malin’s head, fortunately not using her horns for a startlingly close call with a physical transcendence: "Thank you, dear."

She pecked Malin on the cheek and then quickly drew the curtains of the carriage, cheerfully starting to put on the garment right in front of Malin.

"Eh, what’s this?" Clovis pulled out what appeared to be a heavy-duty jumpsuit, and with Malin’s explanation, she understood its use—it was a combat suit modified by Malin. The front of the jumpsuit featured a double layer of Earth Dragon skin, with a spacer woven from Spider Mother’s silk thread between the layers, which could stop bullets. Malin’s idea was for this Bunny Girl to avoid danger as much as possible; she wasn’t like Lillim, who could stand comfortably behind the team, bundling herself in support and protection spells, nor was she like Maya who would invoke an Elemental Avatar of the earth so potent that even bullets would fall off like mud.

Clovis finished undressing and then slipped into the jumpsuit, only to realize that the cuffs were also sealed, leaving only copper rings and holes through which her claws could pass.

It fit perfectly and did not interfere with her spellcasting at all.

When Clovis pulled up the hood, she discovered it also had a face mask, made of soft wood coaxed into shape by the village’s tender branches. From the outside, one couldn’t see anything within, but Clovis could see Malin’s outline from inside—displayed in a red humanoid projection.

"I have one of these too," said Faye as she opened her gift. Without hesitation, she stripped down and climbed into her jumpsuit: "My legs aren’t the same as Clovis’s, hers seem to have swollen quite a bit." The girl had just zipped up the back of her suit, prepared by Malin, when she noticed the difference between their legs.

"Clovis’s legs have some deformity in the reverse joints, so I made hers a bit wider to conceal that," Malin explained, while he gently ruffled Lillim’s hair: "I was going to make one for you as well, Lillim, but there wasn’t enough material. I thought about it and decided to first outfit your sisters, as they stand in front of you and can provide cover. Once we get back to Carterburg, I’ll make one for you too. Wear these for the competition."

The girls all nodded eagerly, promising to pin their opponents to the ground during the fight.

With that assurance, Malin began preparing dinner, making sure the girls were well-fed before the train left Lileni City that evening.

Heading east, Malin made his customary rounds through the carriages after lights out, checking on the Apprentice’s compartment for Instructor Emmet Selkirk and ensuring the brazen youngsters were asleep. After syncing up with Instructor Selkirk, he returned to his own compartment.

Upon entering, Malin found the girls all huddled together on his bed.

"It’s a bit cold tonight, let’s all sleep together, Mr. Malin," Lillim said, as she flicked the heater on and off in front of Malin.

```

"Yeah, yeah, it’s so cold, I feel like I might have caught a cold too," Jessica agreed, trying her best to look somewhat chilly. The only problem was that her awakened bloodline made her immune to the cold, and without any training in acting, the wolf girl’s performance was a bit embarrassing.

"Mr. Malin, what are you waiting for?" asked Clovis while sneakily glancing at her palm... You didn’t write your lines on your hand, did you, my silly Bunny Girl? Aren’t you supposed to be a Mage?

"Malin, could it be that you’re too surprised?" Faye said, reaching under the blanket to pull out Maya’s thick tail: "Look, it’s so warm and fluffy."

Maya, who seemed to have been tickled, couldn’t stop laughing.

Malin was silent for a moment: "Where’s Matilda?"

"Mr. Malin, have you finally thought of me? You forgot to buy me a present today," the Big-eared Fox peeked out from the empty space in front of Maya.

I feel like you all are giving me a hard time, Malin.

......

"Hey, Malin... what’s wrong with you?" Logan, who was having breakfast in the dining car, looked at Malin, who had dark circles under his eyes, and asked with some confusion: "Why are you here? Aren’t some people preparing breakfast for you?"

"...They fought over the blanket last night and all caught a cold," explained Malin, suddenly feeling that these girls weren’t so much giving him a hard time as much as they were making things difficult for themselves.

"They did, but what about you?"

"I slept on the couch in my clothes, super hard, I didn’t sleep well at all," Malin also couldn’t figure out why he was being so delicate. It wasn’t like he hadn’t slept on concrete floors before. Yet, last night, he woke up several times feeling unexplainedly startled: "I came here to eat well, then I’ll go back and make porridge for them as they’re sick."

"...Being your girlfriend must be blissful," Miriam said enviously, then seemed to remember something and turned to glare at Logan: "You can’t cook, but Mr. Malin can make a feast, alright?"

Malin smiled, not quite sure what to say, and patted Logan on the shoulder, then turned to Miriam: "Miriam, even though Logan can’t cook, there’s no denying that he’s wholeheartedly devoted to you."

After he spoke, Malin discreetly kicked Logan’s shoe. Logan got the message and grinned like a pig’s head blooming in a pot.

After the meal, Malin returned to their compartment and made a light breakfast for the girls. He served each of the little ones a big bowl first, then brought the porridge into the room. At that time, the girls were lying on the bed, weak and listless, covered with their own blankets—Malin’s blanket was found on the floor that morning. The girls had opened the window and blown in the night wind, since they had turned off the heater. When Malin came in, they clung together in a huddle, and Malin felt like they were squeezing Clovis so tightly she could barely breathe.

Malin woke the girls one by one, feeding them the food. After cleaning up, he returned to the room to check their temperatures, then pulled out Bippo to take a picture of each girl with a spell that removed illness.

"I feel like I’ve come back to life," said Jessica, the first to speak up.

"Who turned off the heating last night? It’s still very cold at night," Faye said, looking at the ceiling, her face devoid of joy or sadness.

"It was me. I thought Mr. Malin would come in and warm up with us, but when he didn’t, I forgot to turn it on again. But who opened the window?" Lillim raised her question.

"I saw it was Jessica who opened it," Maya said, looking pale and ill.

"Jessica, are you an idiot?" Matilda asked, then let out a sneeze.

Malin was taken aback and then noticed something: "Matilda, you just sneezed."

"Yeah... No, wait, how could I sneeze? I’m a knight at the 8th stage of the Ladder of Justice. I’m immune to diseases!" The Big-eared Fox sat up as she said this, then flopped back onto the bed weakly: "How could I be sick..."

"You all rest here, I’m going to check on the kids." After speaking, Malin turned his head to check on the three little ones. Confirming they were fine, he told them to go back to their room immediately after eating and had Bippo give them a sickness-removing spell formation.

Returning to the front compartment, Malin had not yet seen Instructor Amet Sellke when he heard the coughing of many apprentices.

"Instructor, I think there’s a problem." Malin reported the situation to Instructor Amet Sellke, the old man nodded: "Indeed, there’s a problem. I asked the kids, they all caught colds because they slept with the heating off or the windows open last night. I’ve arranged for the train to head to the nearest station."

"What’s the nearest station?" Malin asked.

"Silent Hill Station," replied Instructor Amet Sellke.

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