Magi Craft Meister Chapter 678

Magi Craft Meister
Chapter 678 – Arm
The morning of December 7th, which John (Laojun) had eagerly awaited, finally arrived.
The breakfast served consisted of rice porridge, miso soup, a raw egg, pickled greens, grilled dried fish, and roasted green tea.
It was a complete Japanese-style meal.
John Dini, being an automaton, ate everything without any preference or dislike, which greatly pleased the elderly woman who served him.
“Our guest seems to enjoy our food.”
She said, with a slight accent, explaining that her family ran a rice farm.
John wanted to hear more, but Daro arrived, cutting their conversation short.
“Good morning, John. I’m sorry to rush you, but are you ready to go?”
It was just before 8 AM, and the Chief had already started his duties.
“This way, please.”
What John saw next was… a rickshaw.
A robust rickshaw puller was drawing it. This was possible because of the paved roads. John and Daro got into the rickshaw and headed to the Chief.
The Chief was located in a building called the Assembly Palace.
This building housed the Parliament and served as the de facto executive office.
After a ten-minute rickshaw ride, the two arrived at the Assembly Palace. Since they had arranged their visit in advance, the gatekeeper let them in immediately.
“Please, go ahead.”
First, they were introduced to the Parliament. After a ten-minute wait, they were led into the meeting room.
“Welcome, Sir John Dini.”
Eighteen legislators were seated around a round table. They all had dark brown hair and tan skin, wearing clothes resembling jinbei.
“Pleased to meet you. I am John Dini. It is an honor to meet you.”
“Please, don’t be formal. Take a seat over there. Daro, you did well. Please wait in the anteroom.”
The legislator at the far end spoke. John sat down in the vacant seat at the round table as instructed, and Daro left the room.
Of the eighteen legislators, thirteen were men and five were women, with ages ranging from their thirties to sixties.
There seemed to be something placed on the round table, but it was covered with a cloth, making it indiscernible.
The legislator at the far end appeared to be both the chairman and the spokesperson.
“Let’s be straightforward. We are in dire need of an excellent… no, a superlative Magismith. We sincerely hope that you will fulfill that role.”
“Yes, I will do my best.”
John bowed his head. However, the chairman shook his head.
“No, effort alone will not suffice. …Let us show you this.”
At the chairman’s signal, one of the legislators removed the cloth covering the object on the round table.
“This is…”
It was the arm of a golem.
“This is something we used, but it broke. For instance, could you repair this?”
The legislator who removed the cloth asked with a worried expression.
“Let me take a look.”
John picked up the arm.
It had a skeletal structure and muscles. While the shoulder joint was missing, the elbow joint remained intact.
The bones corresponding to the radius and ulna were present, and the wrist resembled a ball joint.
(This is…? It appears to be quite old. However, the skeletal structure resembles that of a human… But it’s definitely not the work of the Magi Craft Meister…)
As John wore a look of disbelief at the sight before him, the chairman was about to express his disappointment when…
“I can fix it. However, repairing just the arm won’t solve the issue, right? Where is the main body?”
John raised his head and replied. He had decided that if he couldn’t do it here, it would be the end of the discussion. The fact was, he should be able to fix it, and dwelling on its origins here wouldn’t lead to any conclusions.
“R-Really? You can fix it?”
“Is that true?”
“It can’t be a lie!”
The previously quiet room suddenly buzzed with excitement. After allowing the commotion to continue for a while, the chairman banged on the round table to quiet everyone down.
“Sir John, you’re not lying, are you? We’ve come too far to turn back now. I’ll ask you once more. Can you fix it?”
“I can fix it.”
With John’s firm affirmation, the murmurs among the legislators resumed.
“Understood. Then, you shall meet with the chief. He will instruct you on what to do.”
The chairman pointed to the door at the back.
“There’s a staircase beyond that door. Descend the stairs, and you’ll find the chief’s room. Speak with him there. You don’t need to knock; I’ll inform him.”
“Got it.”
There was no point in probing how the communication would be done now.
As John stood up without hesitation, the assembled legislators watched him with hopeful eyes.
The other side of the door was eerily quiet. John’s footsteps echoed as he descended the stairs.
On the door at the end, the characters read ‘Chief’.
With the anticipation of soon finding answers to these mysteries, John opened the door with hope.
“Welcome, Magismith John Dini.”
There was a large desk, and behind it sat an elderly man, presumably the chief. There was also a young woman who seemed to be a secretary.
“I heard from the chairman. He said you declared you can fix that arm.”
“Yes.”
“I see. Well, please, have a seat.”
Separated by the desk, John took a seat directly opposite the chief.
Observing his counterpart, John noted that while the man’s hair had likely been a chestnut color, most of it had turned white. He appeared to be around sixty years old. His skin tone was slightly tan like the others, and his eyes were also brown.
There was a vigor in his voice, and he exuded authority befitting his position.
“First, let me introduce myself. I am Hiro Mutu. I’ve been serving as the chief here in Mitsuho for five years.”
Considering the term was said to be two years, John pondered whether this was his third term. It indicated his competence to a certain extent.
“Now, I’d like to confirm something. Can you take a look at this?”
Hiro took out another Golem’s arm.
“Another Golem’s arm, I see.”
John wondered if there was some particular reason for the emphasis on repairing Golems.
“Exactly. Now, I’d like to hear your opinion after seeing it.”
John took the arm in hand and observed it. Like the one before, this arm seemed to be well-made.
“The material is steel, isn’t it? Modeled after the human forearm, it seems to have a high degree of freedom.”
“Hmm, anything else?”
“Yes, … the muscles seem to have deteriorated considerably. It wouldn’t be useful as it is. Replacement is necessary.”
“Can you do it?”
“Yes, as long as I have the materials.”
“Is that so?”
Chief Hiro seemed either deeply moved or overwhelmed, placing a hand on his face and looking down.
“Um, what’s going on?”
Curious, John asked, and Hiro lifted his face. His eyes were moist, and his face flushed.
“… It seems we’ve finally found what we’ve been searching for.”
“Huh?”
“I have only one request for you. Just pass through that door over there.”
Hiro pointed to another door further inside the office.
“After that, I want you to ask the entity on the other side. But first, I’d like to answer your questions. Do you have any?”
John felt he was getting closer to the core of the matter.
“Well…”
He wondered if he could find answers to questions about language and words here. Where did the artifacts and magical tools, sometimes seen as out-of-place objects, come from? What was the truth behind the invasion three hundred years ago?
Although he had many questions he wanted to ask, the question John chose to start with was,
“Do you know someone named Adrianna Balbora Ceci?”
“Adrianna Balbora Ceci… Hmm, I’m sorry. I don’t know her. It feels like I’ve heard the name somewhere, but I can’t recall.”
“I see…”
John’s prediction that Adrianna Balbora Ceci, the former Magi Craft Meister, might have done something in the past turned out to be wrong.
“Well then, that’s all for now. I might ask again when I return.”
John stood up and nodded.
“Is that so… I hope you come back safely.”
Although his wording bothered John a bit, he headed towards the door indicated by Chief Hiro.
“He mentioned an ‘entity’… Could it be non-human?”
John approached the door, hand ready to open it.