Seth ca up to the embassy to look for Leana.
"Seth, you finally show yourself."
"Ah, sorry, I heard you had arrived, but I wanted to finish sothing I wanted to show you."
"Show ?" she asked surprised and quickly caught sothing he tossed to her.
Looking at the thin in her hands was a fine, almost filigree gauntlet. It was made of a brilliant silver tal and studded with milky gems, that had a blue hue like the sea. Or the...
"Moon Stones?" she asked surprised.
She had seen quite a few of Seth's works, but they never struck her as lavish. This gauntlet on the other hand looked more like a piece of jewelry than a piece of armor. A little clueless she appraised the item he had thrown to her.
Leana was stumped looking at the item. The effects were already very powerful for a single glove, yet it was still lacking any sort of enchantnt. The princess could tell that all effects were the results of Seth's skills and the materials used.
What really stood out was the "Encroachnt of Lunacy". It was an effect that indirectly scaled with willpower. It used the vague term of conviction instead.
Leana quickly understood how terrifying this effect could be. It was madness, as at no point it made any judgnt about the wearer's convictions. As long as they were convinced, they would gain strength, and beco even more convinced. It was an effect that could outright turn soone into a lunatic, a zealot even.
All this, and this was just one item. What kind of things would a "Lunacy Set" be able to do? Seth showing this to her held several anings to the princess. What cald her the most, was that it was a huge sign of trust. It felt like he finally accepted her, maybe because their positions changed? Would she finally be able to find out more about this mysterious place called Minas Mar?
He also showed off his skills to her and that he was still growing, despite reaching the master ranks. Leana could tell, that the Tower Master had started delving deeper into the theory behind the synergistic relationships of materials based on the fact that he placed moonstones on the gauntlet, which was most likely the reason behind the fourth effect.
Maybe even his ambitions to walk even further on the path of a blacksmith?
"What do you think? It's the first piece of a new set I'm working on. When it's finished it will be an armor specialized for mages," he stated proudly.
"But what is this "Encroachnt of Lunacy"? It's not an enchantnt."
The blacksmith seed to deliberate for a mont before he continued.
"Since I hope for your full cooperation in the future. I will not hold any secrets from you," he said with a grin as if what he was going to tell her was sothing amusing.
"So what is it?"
"It's the special trait of Urth's , " he revealed. "Can you imagine it? Our moon's special aspect is literally madness. refined with the power of Urth's moon can turn you into a lunatic," he said with an ironic laugh.
Leana didn't voice it, but after seeing everything that happened in this world, it seed kind of fitting that this world's moon drove people crazy. Maybe not just people but the world as a whole. Of course, this was just her having a an thought and not an actual reason for anything.
"Yes, really ironic. You managed to find the thod to create on Urth?"
More surprising than the Moon of Madness, was the revelation that Seth already found out a thod to refine and create native . It was hard to imagine sobody could succeed so quickly in a world that did not know magic before.
"Well, Al did, with so help from the Theocracy of Chain," he said and explained how he looted a few chunks of failed from their stronghold, which the sorceress used to find a functioning thod.
"If it was the Theocracy, that makes sense," she mumbled
"They are quite the tallurgy freaks. Anyway, I guess Mary already brought you up to date?"
"Yes. Quite the chaos and it is partially my fault. The Scene completely evaded my attention," she lanted. She had to admit, that she had been too occupied by the overall situation, to even fathom that there was soone behind it.
"No need to bla yourself. We also only heard about it recently. Do you have any plans already?"
"I don't know what you take for, but I'm not a god. I need more ti to get into the thick of it all, okay?"
"I was just asking. You can take your ti since we will take ours to break past lv.90 in the Holy Land."
"Wait, you are already lv.90?" "Didn't you know? Most of us are."
"Did you already talk with soone about... your plans once your level rises?
"Bent offered so nebulous stuff, but I declined. I'm pretty sure sothing happens at lv.100, right? However, from Bent's stuttering, it sounded like it would be better not to know beforehand," he explained and also had to explain Bent's identity.
"I see. If you have a question after lv.95 you can ask . Regarding the Holy Land, I think you should invite the Adventurer Guild for Negotiations. It would be best to find a peaceful solution early on."
"You do already have plans after all," he smiled happily.
"Let's ask the guild for a eting tomorrow. You should use the night to so good rest. You look terrible."
"...Thanks," she answered sarcastically.
"Good night. Tomorrow will be a big day."
With that, he left her standing alone in the corridor.
"Yeah, good night..." she mumbled.
What did he an by a big day?
…
The answer ca the next morning, in the shape of a breakfast with the Lords of Minas Mar and a piece of parchnt placed beside her plate. She looked up shocked, after skimming through the docunt.
"This is!"
"Yeah, it's a simple soul contract. Please don't take it as a sign of distrust. Many of us have great trust in you, this is just to cover all our bases. Who knows what would happen if you get captured, or Chrona puts pressure on you? In that case, it will also be a good excuse and save you from committing treason against your dad."
Leana fell silent when Seth explained it. She had really seen it as a sign of distrust towards her, but in the end, it was really just a contract that blocked her from relaying sensitive information about Minas Mar. One with her soul at stake even, which made it very hard to break the oath with outside ans.
Taking her silence as a no, Seth took a breath and try to explain again, but Leana cut him off by simply signing it after a short sigh. Seeing that, all the expressions on the table relaxed and turned to bright smiles.
"Now then, can you tell how in the world you are able to use soul contracts? And what do you even intend to do with my soul if the worst cos to the worst? What is there even that you have to hide from, that necessitates these actions? And-"
Before she kept going, a small golden sothing flew at her face. The princess caught it by reflex and found that it was a small golden ring with the crest of Minas Mar on it.
"The Adventurer Guild will co by at noon. Fin will give you a tour. If you still have questions afterward, you can find at my workshop."
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