Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 41: Thirty-six Sections: Night Talk (Part One)

Chapter 41: Thirty-six Sections: Night Talk (Part One)

Malin recounted the entire process of their arrival at the deserted stronghold to their eventual escape to Colin, leaving him utterly astounded. Colin sized Malin up and down: "You said you used several third-circle spells," he said. "Hasn’t your spiritual energy been depleted?"

"I feel like I could cast at least four more third-circle spells, if not more," Malin said, somewhat perplexed by his own spiritual energy pool—it seemed to be double the normal amount, and when casting Sacred Rites or Curse Formulas, the energy consumed was only about thirty percent of the usual, while Assistance Magic took up more, nearly fifty percent.

Only the Shaping Spell of his youngest brother used the normal seventy percent of spiritual energy.

"Your talent is unmatched, not just by me, but probably in this entire century," Colin, who had been overshadowed by Malin’s talent for some time, was now used to it.

Fifteen minutes later, Old Ferrero, riding his donkey, arrived at the city gate. He immediately checked on Malin, and once he confirmed that Malin was indeed safe and sound, proceeded to inspect the other young masters. When he got to Jon, Ferrero’s gaze nearly dissected him, causing the poor boy to nervously believe he couldn’t escape being burned after all.

But in the end, he passed the inspection, and with a terse "Approved," Old Ferrero rode his donkey back to the Church... reportedly to catch up on sleep.

Half-elves these days have learned the art of beauty sleep; the world is becoming a scarier place.

While making such complaints, Malin heard Colin’s voice: "In any case, everyone can get a good rest today. At dawn, we can take the route back to recover those bodies, if they are still there. After confirming the type of these different kinds, let’s start hunting them."

Since all the youngsters had escaped back on their own, Colin couldn’t possibly send the Punishers into the forest to fight the different kind in the middle of the night, so he disbanded the troops. The Punisher commanders from each church would be responsible for reporting the details of the incident to their superiors, and naturally, Malin was escorted back to the Church by Colin.

.........

Leon was picked up by his butler and brought home, where his family had already heard about the situation from the Church. Knowing that their young scion had almost inadvertently stepped into a Chaos Cult summoning site, Leon’s mother had fainted. Consequently, when Leon returned, he had to personally wake her up.

"How did you make it back alive? The Church’s Proxy said it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park where you went," Leon’s father, a colonel in the Union army of Sydney, had initially planned to join the Punishers in the forest after returning from the North for a vacation. He hadn’t expected to gear up only to find his son returning home unharmed.

"This time it’s all thanks to Malin Gaiate, whom Logan introduced to me. It was entirely due to his remarkable intuition that our party avoided walking into a death trap. If he hadn’t been there, we all would have died," said Leon, not holding back any details. With something so serious as this, he knew it wouldn’t take till the morning for all the major churches to get their hands on the firsthand reports and data. In such a situation, where deceiving those above and below was not an option, Leon felt he hadn’t lived long enough yet.

"Malin Gaiate, dear, have you heard of this boy?" Leon’s mother, now relieved to see her son safe, tossed aside her previous sorrow and helplessness upon hearing about her son’s savior, and naturally looked to her husband for answers.

"I don’t know, but I am acquainted with a certain Gaiate Jelent, a very formidable fellow. If he hadn’t been there a few years ago during the battle in a northern town, me and our staff would probably have been wiped out," said Leon’s father, raising his eyebrows: "Right, I heard he recently took in an adoptive son. Could it be him?"

"Isn’t his last name Jelent?" asked Leon’s mother, puzzled.

"No, his grandfather was Thanan, so putting the surname first is quite normal. He’s also accustomed to being called Gaiate," Leon’s father explained, looking at Leon: "You said Logan introduced him to you?"

"Yes, father, he and Logan are classmates," Leon proudly answered: "He is a formidable fellow, casting seven shaping and ten support spells."

"After all that, you could just say ’talented,’" Leon’s mother laughed and patted her son’s back: "My child, since you and your friends owe him a favor, how should you express your gratitude?"

"Of course, besides the initial thousand gold coins of commission, I’m planning to give an additional two thousand. That money will come from my account. I’ve helped quite a few people over the past few years, so I can afford it," Leon said.

"Then you’ll be penniless, won’t you?" laughed Leon’s father, shaking his head: "You’re my son. Mary, give the boy two thousand tomorrow. He’s responsible for his own thousand-coin commission, but it’s not yet time for him to handle his own ransom."

"Of course, dear, I knew you’d say that," Leon’s mother agreed, proud of their child’s actions that day.

"But I feel that’s still too cheap, Mary, our child is worth only two thousand coins," Leon’s father said, glaring at his son: "So, my son, if such a thing happens again, don’t price yourself too low. This time you met a kind and easily satisfied benefactor, but what if it isn’t him next time?"

"I must set my price high enough that the talented sir will not abandon me easily," Leon said seriously.

"Right, remember that, my son. You can make money as long as you’re alive, but without life, all you have is just fodder for others’ after-dinner chat," said Leon’s father, with his mother adding, "But don’t feel guilty about Malin. You paid money, he expended effort. That’s business. He saved your life, you repay with gratitude. That’s friendship. So, congratulations, my child, you’ve gained a friendship. Maintain it well, along with Logan."

Leon nodded vigorously: "Father, mother, I understand."

.........

"Ragel, Father is calling for you," his elder brother said, standing in the shadow of the corridor looking at him. Ragel braced himself and followed his brother to the study.

Because the family members were so tall, the old house, dating back to the Middle Ages, now seemed somewhat small, to the extent that the two brothers had to duck their heads to enter the rooms.

The father sat in a large chair, with an Arcane Lamp lit on the long table, which allowed Gaiate to see clearly his father and mother were smiling.

"Gaiate, come, tell Mom what that Frost Giant half-blood you met was like."

Gaiate had already gotten used to the fact that his mother and father were not curious about his experiences, but about that kid named Malin Gaiate—after all, with three older brothers and two younger sisters, Gaiate, who couldn’t be high or low, was not particularly favored.

"He’s nothing like us, Mother, he’s just a small child, only up to my waist."

"You scoundrel, you couldn’t be deceiving us, could you? How could a Frost Giant’s half-blood be that short?" Gaiate’s older brother bluntly scolded.

"Do I need to deceive you about this, Brother Engel? The Church of the Goddess of Harvest is so big, you can ask anyone and they would know who Malin is." Gaiate felt his brother was simply being ridiculous. What was there for him to deceive about this?

"Engel, your brother certainly wouldn’t lie to us about this matter. I’ve also heard that he’s a very small child and doesn’t look anything like a Frost Giant’s half-blood at all," thankfully, this time their father spoke up.

So Engel stepped back two steps, knowing his place: "Father, but if the child is indeed as small as Gaiate says, our sister might not catch his eye then."

Gaiate was startled, then nearly spit out blood—so this was why they were asking about this: "Father, Mother, and Brother, I think your idea has no chance of coming to fruition."

"Gaiate!" "Engel, let your brother finish."

The mother’s words made the brother shut his mouth, and Gaiate smiled before sharing what he knew: "Although I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, according to Leon, who is Logan’s cousin and Malin’s classmate, Malin has two childhood sweethearts, one is a human and elf half-blood, the other is a Panthera. I think my sisters have no advantage against them at all. How could a child like Malin possibly fancy my sisters, who reach one meter eighty at the age of eleven, even taller than me a bit?" Gaiate, who had more dominant human genes in his blood, was not even as tall as his sisters.

Although he was actually the first in the whole family with the purest giant bloodline.

Being a little taller wasn’t really a problem after all, since everyone has their own preferences, but to Gaiate, what really held his sisters back was their all-round inferiority—just compare;

Malin, one meter twenty, with cowlick hair, ponytail, cute face, small and delicate figure yet possessing giant strength, skilled in exorcism, master of Spell Formations, godlike in gunnery, full of contrasting adorable points.

Faye, one meter forty, no cowlick hair, with long hair, cute face, slim and extremely shapely figure, skilled in social activities, master of Spell Formations, reputedly decent in gunnery, full of ladylike charm.

Maya, one meter thirty, no cowlick hair, with curly hair, cute face, petite yet extremely shapely figure, skilled in cooking, clueless about Spell Formations, reputedly excellent in crossbow, full of cute elements.

Sister, one meter eighty, no cowlick hair, no ponytail, embarrassing looks, huge and muscular figure, skilled in eating and gaining weight, clueless about Spell Formations, and shooting like a planetary Assassin, full of shameful elements.

Gaiate felt that, with Malin’s taste, unless he was blind, his sisters, with their arms as thick as his brothers’ waists, really stood no chance.

Moreover, from what Gaiate had seen with his own eyes, this little guy was very clever.

"Gaiate." The father’s call pulled Gaiate out of his musings, and he lowered his head: "Father, did you have something else to discuss with me?"

"This time, thanks to Malin, you were saved. Tell me, how much did you pay for your life?" The smile on the father’s face had disappeared unnoticed.

This pressured Gaiate greatly, and he strived to meet his father’s gaze: "Father, I’ve been working hard to earn money in recent years, so I can afford this sum."

"I know, but I want to know the amount, because I’m afraid my child has priced himself too cheaply." The father looked at his son, neither sad nor joyful.

"Uh... it’s three thousand." As he said this, Gaiate lowered his head, imagining his father’s rage.

He was just the fourth son, a middle child, always relying on his own efforts to get by.

"...was Malin satisfied?"

But the father’s question made Gaiate lift his head, somewhat embarrassed and puzzled: "He didn’t seem unhappy, after all, we a few scraped together almost fifteen thousand Mowish."

"That’s good then, Sara, my dear—give this child his life-money tomorrow," Gaiate’s father said as he stood up. Walking by Gaiate, he patted the shoulder of his fourth son: "Remember, my child, the friendship of the strong is a precious wealth in your life, cherish it well."

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