Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 589: Section 405: Mechanical Mind (Part 5)

Chapter 589: Section 405: Mechanical Mind (Part 5)

Ferreiro walked through the Church’s main gate and noticed Colin moving the sad Apprentice’s corpse onto a stretcher. "The second one this week, completely devoid of any accidents or injuries." Margaret said as Ferreiro approached, "I’ve heard other churches are experiencing the same thing."

"I have just come back from the Mage Tower. There was a case there too. Based on what we know now, there have been nearly eleven Apprentices who have met untimely deaths in the past ten days. The causes of their deaths are a mystery, no injuries, nor records of long-term training, their daily routines were very normal, and they were aged between ten and fifteen." Ferreiro spoke all at once, then took the report Margaret handed him, "Let’s do a thorough post-mortem this afternoon. The last kid didn’t make it through the surgery, but this time we must do a comprehensive check. By the way, where are their parents?"

"They have no parents, this child was a war orphan. He arrived in Carterburg with the refugee wave coming from the North," Margaret said.

Ferreiro frowned slightly, "The last child was also an orphan, seems like a Northern refugee as well... Colin, here’s a list, go ask the other churches and the Mage Tower to see if those kids are also orphans of this kind."

"... You think there’s something wrong with the identities of these kids?"

"Yes, under such circumstances, it’s hard not to be suspicious."

So Colin took the list and ran out of the Church, while Margaret looked at Old Ferreiro, "Mr. Ferreiro, do you suspect that..."

"Northern refugees, war orphans, these are excuses that are very easy for people to believe. I’m even considering some extremely loathsome possibilities, but all of this needs a theoretical basis, and right now, I’m missing a youngster who can help me connect the dots..." Ferreiro said, his thoughts drifting to Malin.

How was it that the child wasn’t here?

The old elf adjusted his collar, signaling his new Apprentice to keep up.

This child was somewhat dull, though he had skillful hands, Ferreiro didn’t know how far he could go in this field.

Malin... was the most talented student. He was patient, meticulous, and had hands that, in Ferreiro’s eyes, were made of gold.

It’s just a pity, this child was too talented, so exceptional that Ferreiro couldn’t keep him, and in just a few short years, he had become a fifth-ring Mage in the Mage Tower, with double Transcendent Sequences, possessing the strong physical qualities of a Sword Dancer... More importantly, he was also a powerful Psychic.

For an ordinary person, having just one of these abilities would suffice for a class leap, but him... he could stomach the hardest meals, could sleep outdoors, and even mingle with the lowest-ranking soldiers... You couldn’t associate him with a Transcendent, a Bishop, a Noble, or a Prince.

Hoffman, you lucky bastard.

____________

Nova flipped through the Farole scripture’s Resident Evil reader, a novel written by Malin that was now doubly recommended by the Church of Justice and the Benevolent Church. The book contained a lot of knowledge on protective measures against epidemics, of course, excluding the special case of using Holy Mulberry Leaf or World Tree tender leaves to cleanse oneself of the plague and emerge unscathed from an epidemic area—clearly something only Malin himself could achieve.

Regardless, the content of this thing was written in layman’s terms, and Mr. Leon earned the title of "Reaper" among readers for the places he went to blew up.

However, this Reaper was two-sided; wherever Mr. Leon went, the human and Chaos factions raced to pile up the dead.

What a headache.

"When Mr. Malin comes back, he must write the latest Chapter," said Lillim, lying on a small chair while stroking the leopard cub in her arms—these cubs had reached the curious stage. As a little lamb, Lillim would normally have an innate fear and repulsion towards such carnivorous wild beasts, but she had long gotten used to sleeping with Maya. As for the cubs, they were just too adorable.

And being Malin’s pets, it was clear this leopard family was not going to bite her, so Lillim quickly started to accept them, even more happily than Clovis.

Bunny Girl could now only settle for the joy of stroking the cubs, definitely not wanting to embrace them.

"Malin always goes off to handle things alone, huh," Nova raised her head to ask.

"Yeah, but we’re all used to it. After all, without sufficient strength, going along would just be getting in Mr. Malin’s way," Clovis, who was reading the Mage Tower daily, casually answered Nova’s question.

"Why do you always refer to him as Mr. Malin?"

"It’s a custom in Sydney. Faye is the narrator of our sisterhood," Jessica explained.

"Narrator?" Nova seemed confused.

"It means leader. Faye can address Malin by his name directly, and so can Maya, actually, because she has been with Mr. Malin the longest and naturally has that right. Before when Faye was ill, we sent Maya because after Faye, who is the chief, she’s the next in rank. Since we’re sisters after all, our purpose is to bear strong offspring with Malin’s bloodline. Speaking of which, since Malin has acknowledged our status, we should show him enough respect. But you, Nova, are different. You are a queen, bringing a whole nation as a dowry, so you naturally have the right to call Malin by his name directly."

Lillim’s remarks left Nova silent for a moment: "You all really dote on Malin too much."

"Isn’t Mr. Malin adorable when he turns into a child?" Clovis looked up at Nova.

The princess thought for a moment and nodded vigorously: "Indeed, the other day when I saw Malin like that, it felt like my heart was melting."

"So, just imagine young Malin’s look, that cute appearance mixed with a touch of handsomeness," Jessica said.

Nova pondered and decided to nod—she had seen the cute little Malin and even the youthful Malin. Indeed, he had the charm of a child and the handsomeness that a young man should possess. Really... had she not met Malin in person, Nova wouldn’t have fallen for him.

"Mr. Malin, once grown up, is a very handsome gentleman," Lillim said with a trace of regret: "It’s just that he’s too tall. I prefer the childlike Mr. Malin because I can truly embrace him."

Nova smiled—indeed, lovers should indeed share true embraces: "I understand, but I still prefer young Mr. Malin."

All of them were girls, and sharing personal preferences was part of friendship, after all.

"By the way, what kind of Mr. Malin does Rewo like?" Lillim turned to look at Rewo, who was curled up on the windowsill like a little leopard cub, basking in the sunlight.

"The gentlemanly Mr. Malin, I like him the most," Rewo said without lifting her head.

"And what about Maya?" Lillim looked towards the other windowsill where Maya was busy brushing the spotted hide.

"The youthful brother is the best. When brother first came to our house, he wasn’t even as tall as me," Maya said frowning: "I haven’t been growing much taller recently. My Divine Master tutor wrote to me, saying this is the price to be paid for her Shaman’s way."

"I wish I were a little shorter too," Jessica said, somewhat enviously—as a werewolf, she was now the tallest among the sisters.

Just then, Faye walked in, her arrival drawing the attention of all the girls.

Lillim repeated what she had said.

Faye simply smiled in response.

"Children make choices; I want them all."