"So, what are we gathered here for? I had some training to do, you know." Felix complained as he found himself standing in the middle of a warehouse in the Guild Peninsula early in the morning, just after their training—also known as beating.
"We are going to make something called a bra. It's a garment that's worn by women to hold their breasts up and in shape, so when they work around, they don't feel pain from extreme movements." Sylvester gave them a crash course about the undergarment.
"..."
"..."
But, the two boys stared at Sylvester with an annoyed look. They could not understand why they should be making something like that since none of them was a woman.
"Why would you need a bra?" Felix questioned.
"I don't need it, you musclehead. I need it for my mother and other women with large assets. Gabriel, even your sister could use it. And Felix, don't you want to get famous among highborn ladies? This is the way." Sylvester said, enticing them with personal benefits.
"I wonder what having breasts feels like," Gabriel muttered while rubbing his bearded chin suddenly.
Sylvester ignored and gathered a few materials he needed to make the whole thing. The process of making elastic was simple but took time and work. As for the undergarment, it was the easiest part because as long as he had the measurements, he just needed a tailor to do as he said.
Since they were working with a small amount of latex, they didn't need any heavy industrial equipment for pressing and mixing. So, they just used some metal hardened plates and stood on them.
Since there was also some heating involved, they had to use fire magic. Slowly but surely, they started to see the progress. Then, at last, sulfur was added and mixed at high temperatures to make the latex genuinely elastic. Natural latex was soft, sticky, and had less tensile strength, so it was unsuitable for clothing.
Then, before it fully hardened, they made a long and thin sheet of it and cut it into straps so they could be sewn with clothes. In a matter of six hours, they were able to make elastic, a thing that appeared so ordinary but could revolutionize how clothes worked.
Sylvester checked the end product and decided to try more variations of mixes later to get the best possible elastic.
"Can this be used for bow strings?" Gabriel wondered, seeing the elasticity of the material.
"No, this can still break under extreme stretches, so it's better to keep using the current materials. However, this is a great thing for clothes. Just imagine the pant's waist having these. You won't have to tie any knots then."
Knock Knock!
All of a sudden, their little invention factory was disturbed as a knock came. Sylvester walked to open the door to the warehouse and received words. Then he returned to the two boys with a piece of paper. "It seems our next mission has been finalized. We are called to the Administration office to get briefed about it."
"Finally! I was getting bored of sitting in the Holy Land now." Felix cheered and was already on his way out.
Sylvester quickly gathered all the materials they made and their evidence and then cleaned the place with water magic. He wished not to reveal the invention to others without the prospect of making money off of it.
It was afternoon by now, so they quickly headed to the administration office. Gabriel was not allowed, however, since he was not a Sanctum Inspector.
Inside, they were sent to meet the Saint Wazir, as Sanctum Inspector was a department directly under him. However, they also noticed something strange on their way.
"What's going on? Everyone seems to be running around." Felix wondered.
Sylvester also noticed it, and through the scents, he could feel anxiety among the people. 'Did something big happen?'
Eventually, they were allowed inside the office of Saint Wazir, and surprisingly, they also saw Saint Seer inside, the man Sylvester felt the most afraid of. Not because of power, but because of work. Saint Seer was the chief spymaster of the Pope. The man was supposed to know everything.
And Sylvester didn't like the gaze the man saw him with. It felt as if Saint Seer was always trying to find some dirt on him. But thankfully, with the ability to smell emotions, he was able to avoid it.
"May the holy light enlighten us all." Sylvester and Felix saluted them at the same time.
Saint Wazir, the old man, appeared to be on edge, as his face was devoid of all emotions, and he just blankly kept staring at the paperwork on the table.
'What the hell happened that even he's so stressed out?' Sylvester silently wondered and waited for instructions.
Cough!
Saint Seer coughed and spoke instead. "Welcome, priests. You are called here to be assigned a new mission. Saint Wazir will brief you about the initial details now."
Saint Wazir looked up and started monotonously speaking. "You two are to go to the Northern parts of Gracia Kingdom and solve a matter of great importance. The Gracia Kingdom seems to be imploding as we speak. Two counts are on the verge of an all-out war, and the unfortunate part is that both of them are brothers."
Sylvester took the paper holder from Saint Waziar and looked at the reports and the maps of the conflict zone, drawn by hand. He muttered after reading the names. "County of Jartel and County of Raftel? Aren't these near Pitfall Town?"
"Indeed." Saint Waziar continued with seriousness. "Both of them are actual brothers, but they've had land feuds as they believe their father didn't divide his territory correctly among them. The reality is that only Count Jartel was supposed to get all the lands as he was the firstborn. But for some reason, he decided to divide it into two. But Count Raftel, the second son, feels he was given less. While Count Jartel, the firstborn, feels Count Raftel got the best land as it's more fertile.
"It becomes even more troublesome because both belong to different duchies, hence implicating two dukes in this possible war—Duchy of Colorwood and Duchy of Zon. We cannot afford this. Hundreds and thousands of people will die if the war ensues."
Sylvester read the report and frowned soon after. "He wants an independent investigation into the murder?"
Saint Wazir nodded and handed him a new folder of papers. "Recently, the wife of Count Jartel was found dead in mysterious circumstances—naked and possibly violated. Count Jartel instantly accused his younger brother of the crime and vowed vengeance. He called for many investigations, but all led to no conclusions.
"So now, the responsibility lies on us to find the true criminal and stop two duchies in our backyard from possibly going to war."
Felix also read the reports and asked instantly. "Umm… but this is not a crime against the church, so why are the normal marshals or Holy army not sent to handle this?"
Saint Seer spoke just then, maintaining the creepy smile on his face while staring at Sylvester. "Oh, we have the utmost trust in Lord Bard. He has proven himself many times with his masterful deduction skills—finding the killer of Bright mothers, realizing the mental illness of the Sphinx Town, and the murder-accident in the Fallshoot village… I'm quite sure Lord Bard is the best investigator we have."
Sylvester remained silent as he felt a little bit of hate from the man, in addition to jealousy. Why was that there? He didn't know. All he knew was that he needed to add another name to the list of people he needed to kill in this quest to rise.
"I am giving you a platoon of twenty-two knights and three wizards for this assignment as you may have to face some sort of armed conflict during the work. You are authorized to arrest anyone as long as you are positive that they are the murderer." Sait Wazir finished giving his briefing. "Any questions?"
Sylvester shook his head without thinking much. As he was tenser about the Saint Seer and why the latter was being hostile towards him? Was he a part of the same faction that those Void Keepers claimed to be? Was even the highest level of authority under the Pope divided?
'It's still too early to judge. It's impossible to know if he's against me on behalf of himself or someone else.'
"I shall fulfill my duty, Saints. You can rely on me—I will find the murderer at the quickest." Sylvester saluted and turned around to leave as Saint Wazir seemed too busy to talk more.
The two walked all the way outside the building, but even outside, they noted various clergymen were rushing in. There was something big happening as all these rushing men were of Archbishop rank at the minimum.
'Did the war with Beastaria start already?' He wondered.
"Man, I will be so close to my home on this mission. Max, why not come to Sandwall and see my place?" Felix asked him.
But Sylvester's focus was only on the mission. "Maybe after we're done with this mission. For now, we should first go to Pitfall town. I know a few people there who can probably help us. Let's go and gather Gabriel and Sir Dolorem."
By evening, Sylvester had gathered the whole team and discussed what they needed for this new work.
"If I recall that time correctly, you may remember we saw a bloodied battlefield nine years ago while returning from Pitfall town. It was the work of these counts too. But we should still prepare for the worst-case scenario that there is a bloodling out there." Sir Dolorem said, knowing Sylvester's bad luck with the dark creatures.
"Agreed!" Gabriel and Felix blurted.
Sylvester looked at the map, however. "Sir Dolorem, since you are a commander of the Inquisitors, I give you the command of the men who shall come with us. Felix, you are also a Sanctum Inspector, so you will always be present in the other county when I am in one. We cannot afford any kind of delay in communication."
"Got it!" Felix wrote down things on his little booklet as well.
"What about Lady Aurora?" Gabriel asked.
Sylvester felt a headache developing instantly. She was too strong, which meant too careless regarding little matters. That's the problem with overly powerful people as they fail to see things normally. To them, it was all about whether they solved it with overwhelming strength or not.
"Let's discuss this with her tomorrow morning." Sylvester decided. "I need to head home now. Mum called me back earlier today for some reason."
"We're coming too." Felix and Gabriel chirped.
'Why would they want that? What's going on?' Sylvester visibly frowned as he smelled excitement from the two.
But he relented and took them along to the Bright Mother complex. However, as he entered the house, it was all dark, and nobody was there.
"Where did mum go?" He looked around in the rooms.
"Max! Look!" Felix exclaimed from the kitchen all of a sudden. "I found this note… it says Lady Xavia is on the terrace."
'Once again, why are they so excited?' Sylvester frowned and instantly raised his guard. He prepared to cast any spells if need be.
"Lead the way then." He ordered.
So, they started to climb the stairs. While Felix and Gabriel were calm, Sylvester was on edge. One floor, two floors… They soon arrived at the last door, beyond which was the terrace.
"Let's go, Max!" Felix shouted loudly and opened the door. "Follow me!"
Sylvester felt it was too strange the way Felix spoke. So he slowly stepped forward and stepped onto the terrace after the two.
Woosh!
"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Max!"
"..."
Sylvester jumped back in fright as the light crystals lit up and revealed a massive crowd of Bright mothers all around, smiling cheerfully and looking at him lovingly.
But Sylvester was quick to turn the surprise around. "Wait! Today is my birthday?"
"..."
400 GT = 1 Bonus chapter.
1 Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.
APE TOGETHER STRONG!
