Chapter 165: Bittersweet

Giliath demands your power stones!

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Tink. Tink. Tink.

As the soft beats of the echoing night and cicadas hummed in the surrounding area, a sole sound of beating metal with a hammer could be heard within a single gated building that lived in the outskirts of Crossbell, diverged on the Mainz Mountain Path that lead to Mainz Village.

Despite having such a secluded residence, many people were aware of who this house belonged to. The ever so evasive Meister of the Rosenberg Studio. Within the Rosenberg Studio in his main workshop, a pretty sweaty old man who sported a large white beard currently equipped with his factory gear could be seen tinkering away at a modern day anvil. A heated forge could be seen in the distance, as well as a very large hanger that could no longer be seen occupied by that giant mechanical doll, previously stretching meters into the air.

That doll was now gone, likely having have been moved somewhere away from the Rosenberg Studio. That was within reason, as it was currently receiving its final touches for having been built by one of the hidden Thirteen Workshops, supervised by one of Ouroboros' leading Anguis. That doll was his latest creation, built with the hands of the person who could currently being seen tinkering with what appeared to be a very rare ore that was not found in a lot of places in Zemuria.

After the forged ore from the fiery forge in the back began to take shape, it soon began to take the shape of a limb. This limb was a lot smaller than that giant doll that spanned meters into the air, it appeared more like a human child's arm if anything. As he hammered away, he scoffed a bit.

"Hmph, to think that crazy bastard would partner up with the alchemists of old. I thought they would have all kicked the bucket by now, but it seems I was wrong. The Crois family...", Meister Joerg uttered softly as he continued to meld smelted ore into what appeared to be a porcelain limb. It was strange for an ore like this to exist, but it did. Most of what Joerg used was used with the most exquisite materials found on Zemuria, and the most exotic. That is one of the key factors as to why Joerg's dolls sell for millions of mira to the most richest, aside from the fact that he was a master craftsman.

After tinkering with his anvil for a good while, he let the limb cool down. After reaching room temperature, he took the limb, which appeared to be an arm, and walked over to his work desk, which could be seen equipped various types of equipment. On the center of this desk appeared to be a new doll in the making.

This one was much more human-like, and a lot smaller than the giant mechanical doll Joerg built prior to this. The size of this doll was perhaps around Renne or Tio's height, perhaps a bit smaller in height. With a new porcelain arm in hand, he reached the half-finished doll, and tried to place it in the right arm socket. Yet after a short a amount of time, Joerg frowned, and quickly took it out.

Joerg then tossed the finished porcelain arm onto the ground, only to let it shatter into several pieces after. If one had a close look to where Joerg tossed this now broken arm, one could see a large pile of broken pieces, acting as if this wasn't the first go-around he tried to do.

"Still no good. I don't care how long it's going to take me to build this fellow. That bastard dared to show a creation of life, but that in itself was a form of technology that was thought to be long lost through the ages. I didn't think those alchemists would be able to create a homunculus like that...", Joerg uttered softly as he continued to observe the failed creation he just tried to insert. "At least, it seems it was managed in an entirely different workshop, considering I wasn't a part of it.", Joerg continued to say, trying to remember how KeA looked like when she first came to his studio alongside Professor Novartis.

"Either way, no matter what that bastard tried to do, these dolls of mine have reached the point to where they could match in appearance to that homunculus he brought. While I do not have that tech on hand, no doubt you will be my greatest creation to date, young one. I wonder, when will you be complete?", Joerg continued to say, only to observe the half-finished doll currently on his workshop desk.

Joerg saw a body frame, mostly the torso and hips built, as well as the head, which was pretty small. He also saw curly white hair attached to it, but it was still far from any of his completed projects and currently did not appear to have any sort of life breathing into it in its present stage.

Since that professor currently wasn't lurking around in Crossbell, Joerg found him in a a lull between events. He wasn't currently tasked to build any other Gordias-class designs like those that would appear in Azure, or future Soldats since that technology hasn't been brought to life yet. It hasn't been long since the real Franz passed away, and before he passed, he handed Professor Schmidt his Panzer Soldat blueprints, which would eventually usher the next era of mechanized weapons, These mechanized soldiers would eventually reached the hands of Zemuria's scattered countries, becoming an essential part of any of their militaries.

But right now, Joerg didn't care about what that professor was doing. All he really had interest now was the creation he was currently working. His sole companion that rested inside his workshop that wasn't a doll, Renne, could no longer be seen here. Renne had bid farewell to the master craftsman, together with a new destination in mind, which would be the next part of her life.

Joerg did not express emotion much, but he did feel bittersweet seeing Renne depart his workshop like that, ready to move onto the next portion of her life. Since she had become an Enforcer like she was tasked to do, she now had her next stage set, which was to be beside the person she wanted to be beside with.

While he had not met the person of interest in person, he knew he was not easy to get a hold of. But to his surprise, it wouldn't be farfetched to say he didn't have interest in hm.

"The Crown Prince of Liberl...I didn't think he'd be in cahoots with those snakes. At least he seems to have a good grasp of what happens in the bigger picture.", Joerg uttered to himself, only to pause looking at the half-finished doll in front of him. "Still, if you dare make Renne cry, I don't mind paying a visit to that castle of yours in person.", Joerg continued to say, still not revealing much emotion.

After saying that, Joerg looked back to his half-finished doll. He then proceeded to look out a window further to the side, only to realize that sunlight was starting to peak into his room. Joerg realized he had worked through the night again. Since he was further away from the lit forge, he took a moment to wipe the sweat on his forehead away. He then turned toward the doll a second time.

"I think this is good progress already so I'll stop here for now. When creating perfection, it shouldn't be rushed. I do wonder though, will you be able to breath life just like that homunculus, little Lapis?", Joerg continued to say, getting another look at the progress he had made thus far, only to sport a rare smile within his beard. As he said that, the dawn of the next day proceeded to start as the sunlight peered into his workshop...