The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith - Chapter 44

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 44: I’m Just Moving Laboratories

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She was surrounded by pitch-black darkness.

Far away, a pale thread was being drawn into the darkness.

Si-yeon reached for it.

As always, knowing she would not be able to grasp it and that it would scatter away.

But then.

Swish.

She caught it.

For the first time, she caught something that had always slipped away.

The thread in her hand was achingly warm.

Si-yeon clenched it tightly.

Afraid it would scatter away again.

Then the warmth slowly became someone’s hand.

The darkness gradually lifted, and something began to come into view.

Black hair. Cool, sharp eyes.

A small mole beneath one eye.

‘...Huh?’

The hand she was holding was his.

‘M-Master Do? How are you...?’

This was her room, wasn’t it?

He was sitting on the edge of her bed.

He did not answer. He simply looked down at Si-yeon in silence.

Thump. Thump.

He gently pulled her hand toward him. His face slowly drew closer.

Close enough for her to feel his breath.

She had no desire to avoid him.

As if bewitched, Si-yeon slowly closed her eyes.

Before long, something soft touched her lips.

And then.

“...!”

Flash!

Si-yeon opened her eyes.

It was warm.

Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, brightly filling the room.

With her cheek pressed against her pillow, Si-yeon lay still for a while.

It had already been several days.

Several days since she had last had that nightmare.

Since then, she had not had any more nightmares. Her soul had stopped leaving her body on its own, too.

But.

‘Ugh... Again.’

She had started having different dreams instead.

Overwhelmed by sudden embarrassment, Si-yeon buried her face in her pillow and kicked her feet.

‘I’m crazy, I’m crazy. Why do I keep acting like this?’

My heart is pounding so hard I’m going crazy.

I feel like I’m going crazy because I keep thinking about him.

“Phew...”

Si-yeon idly touched the necklace resting on her chest.

A turtle.

It was a tiny turtle with a deep blue-black sheen.

‘Hehe, it’s cute.’

How had he made something this cute?

He was cute, and even what he made was cute.

She lightly tapped the turtle with her fingertips.

Sigh...

‘Will I get to see him again?’

After completing the Ritual instrument, he had left the university.

Si-yeon felt around beside her pillow and picked up her phone.

At the very top of her contacts list was a number he had personally entered a few days ago.

Master Do.

‘Hehe...’

A smile spread across her face.

He had told her to contact him anytime the Ritual instrument broke.

He had also said he would contact her if there was something he wanted to ask.

Would someone like Master Do really have anything to ask her?

Thump.

‘Would it be okay if I contacted him first?’

Hehe...

Thump. Thump.

Then Si-yeon swiped up on her screen. It was a habit she had picked up recently.

The first thing she did after waking up was open Goblin Fire.

『Goblin Fire』

An anonymous forum where people from the Occult World gathered.

For the past few days, one story had filled the entire site.

[Breaking News] Unhaksan Mountain Barrier Collapse Prevented at the Last Moment... “It Was Do Emperor’s Ritual Instrument”

She had read the post for days.

By now, she could practically recite it from memory.

Even so, Si-yeon tapped it again.

She still could not believe it.

Deep within Unhaksan Mountain, the guardian deity the Myeongseong Family had served for generations had gone berserk. The Barrier surrounding the area had nearly collapsed.

Beyond that Barrier.

Countless homes were packed along the foot of the mountain.

If the Barrier had fallen.

If the rampaging divine beast had descended the mountain.

Just imagining it was horrifying.

They said everything had been stopped by a single Ritual instrument, a small gourd bottle.

“...”

A Ritual instrument that could absorb souls and seal a spirit beast with a physical form.

The Spell Formula inside it was her Spell Formula.

The one she had devoted her entire life to.

Everyone had only laughed at it and called it useless.

No matter how many times she read it, it still did not feel real.

‘The Spell Formula I made saved that many people?’

So many people.

Maybe that was why the nightmares that had tormented her every night had finally faded.

* * *

Spirit Invocation Studies Department, Research Building.

Creak.

The moment Si-yeon pushed open the door, every eye in the laboratory turned toward her.

“Oh, Si-yeon!”

“You’re here? Come over here.”

One of her classmates, who normally would not even return her greeting, approached in an overly sweet voice.

“Our superstar Si-yeon. Come here.”

Huh?

Before she could stop them, the classmate plopped Si-yeon onto their lap and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Hehe... Our Si-yeon.”

They even patted her head.

“Our Si-yeon is so cool. Didn’t I tell you? I knew you’d pull it off.”

...When had they ever said that?

These were the same people who had whispered behind her back only a short while ago.

Now they were acting like they had always been close.

It was awkward and... uncomfortable.

“Are you free after this? We’re going out to eat.”

“Yeah, come with us. There are some things we want to ask you.”

Another classmate cut in from the side.

“Ah, I can’t hold it in anymore. Si-yeon, is it true?”

“What...?”

“That you and Master Do have something going on. I heard you two are really close?”

“Right, right. How do you know each other? Are you actually dating? That’s what people are saying on Goblin Fire. Someone said they saw you two go into your dorm room together.”

When had a ridiculous rumor like that started spreading?

Before Si-yeon could answer.

“Si-yeon.”

Another classmate called to her from across the room.

“The professor wants to see you.”

Perfect.

She had something to tell her advisor anyway.

* * *

“Oh, our Si-yeon is here.”

Her advisor was beaming.

It was an expression she had never seen before.

A pair of unfamiliar people were sitting on the sofa.

“Come sit down. Greet our guests too.”

The man and woman dressed in suits rose smoothly to their feet, politely bowed, and offered their business cards.

Si-yeon looked over the card she received.

[Chief Planning Officer, Cheonhwa Hall]

‘...Cheonhwa Hall?’

The advisor seated Si-yeon beside them, then eagerly began talking.

“I’ve already discussed everything with these people. Now, let’s hurry and finish your paper.”

“My paper?”

“Yes! I know how hard you have worked all this time. I’ll help you every step of the way, so let’s polish it up and list ourselves as co-authors.”

The advisor stroked their chin and added,

“Or we could write an entirely new one. A paper organizing Spell Formulas that can be inscribed on Ritual instruments. Let’s get it featured prominently in the main academic journal!”

“...?”

What were they talking about?

Seeing Si-yeon’s bewildered expression, the advisor casually waved a hand.

“Ah, of course. You do not need to reveal every detail of your proprietary techniques in the paper. You know how these things work. You briefly lay out the core principles and results. It has to go through review by the Occult Management Bureau and academia anyway.”

“...And who are these people?”

“Oh, right. As for these people here.”

The advisor gestured toward the Cheonhwa Hall employees.

“They came here in person because they want to produce Ritual instruments using your research. Our laboratory and Cheonhwa Hall will be signing an official industry-academia partnership agreement! Your share will be quite substantial too.”

The advisor warmly patted Si-yeon’s shoulder.

“Hohoho! Our Si-yeon is the blessing of this lab, a real treasure. Haha!”

“Of course.”

The Cheonhwa Hall employee placed a folder on the table with a businesslike smile.

“This is a contract concerning the use of your research results. Please take a look.”

[Cheonhwa Hall Technology Transfer and Exclusive License Agreement]

The contract stated that Cheonhwa Hall would be granted not only exclusive use of the technology, but all rights related to modifications and secondary processing as well.

And underneath that, in tiny print.

There was also a clause allowing the technology to be used in derivative products.

Si-yeon stared blankly at the contract.

“I read it all. They’re very favorable terms.”

It was absurd.

Her advisor had looked over her materials exactly once.

After that, they had never given her research another glance, calling it dangerous and useless.

And now.

‘What? Co-authorship... An industry-academia partnership agreement?’

“Wait.”

Si-yeon slowly raised her head.

“That won’t work.”

“Huh? What do you mean...?”

“I’m leaving this laboratory as of today.”

Si-yeon rose from her seat.

“That’s what I came here to tell you.”

“...What?”

The smile vanished from her advisor’s face.

Startled, they hurried to their feet.

“No, Si-yeon. Wait. Just wait a second. Why are you suddenly doing this?”

Si-yeon went straight to her desk and began packing her things.

Tap. Tap.

She silently put her books and materials into a box.

Her advisor hurried after her.

“I-I’m sorry, Si-yeon. You must have been upset, right? But think about this one more time. Okay? You... Do you know how far you’ve come?”

“...”

“Are you going to let all your hard work go to waste? You have to finish it. I’m telling you, I’ll follow up on everything!”

When Si-yeon gave no answer, her advisor’s voice became more desperate.

“You... Fine, fine. But if you leave like this, it’s all over! Huh?! Didn’t that Master Do or whatever develop all of this anyway? You can’t even finish the paper on your own!”

“...”

“If you walk out like this, you’ll really be nothing! Huh?!”

Tap.

After placing the last of her materials in the box, Si-yeon hugged it to her chest and turned around.

“I’m not quitting my research.”

“...?”

“I’m moving laboratories.”

“What... Moving? Where to?!”

“Professor Gu’s.”

For a moment, her advisor’s expression went blank.

“What, to that bastard...? Why?”

They looked genuinely unable to understand.

“What do I lack? My character, my knowledge. Ahem, even my looks.”

The advisor quickly glanced around at the other laboratory members.

“Ahaha...”

Everyone avoided their gaze.

Then the advisor’s eyes happened to land on the mirror hanging on the wall.

“...!”

They swept back their hair.

“If only I had a little more hair!”

Click.

Si-yeon left the laboratory with the box in her arms.

It was not worth listening to any longer.

Her advisor’s shout followed behind her.

“No! Don’t go! Song Si-yeon!”

* * *

At the Myeongseong Family’s main house, a family meeting was in full swing.

The first matter on the agenda had originally been identifying whoever had done that to their guardian deity.

...But no matter how much they put their heads together, they could not think of anyone.

The Myeongseong Family was a family without enemies.

They maintained amicable relations with all Twelve Great Houses. Though they did not compare to the Four Great Houses, their influence was by no means insignificant.

There was no one who would have a grudge against them.

They could not even determine the culprit’s motive, which made it all the more unsettling.

In any case, they decided to continue tracking down whoever was behind it.

The Occult Management Bureau had also launched a full investigation and was combing through everything, so they would surely find a lead soon.

That left only one matter.

What official stance should the Myeongseong Family take toward Master Do, the person who had done them such an enormous favor?

“Of course we must repay this debt! When has our family ever accepted help and pretended not to notice?”

“Exactly! Even if Professor Gu made the request privately, our family owes that person a tremendous debt.”

Cheon Myeong rested his chin on his hand and quietly watched the elders argue.

The elders passionately defending Master Do were normally among the strictest people imaginable.

The Myeongseong Family had been a distinguished family for generations.

These people valued family background and lineage above all else.

Yet they were now showering praise on a mere blacksmith with no family background, calling him the greatest blacksmith of the age.

‘Well... It can’t be helped. I feel the same way.’

If that person had been even a little later, Cheon Myeong would have had to send off the family’s guardian deity with his own hands yesterday.

The deity their family had served alongside its history since the time of their ancestors.

After seeing it happen firsthand, family background and bloodline had long since vanished from his mind.

That was right.

After that incident, Master Do had completely maxed out the Myeongseong Family’s favorability rating.

“Rather than this, why don’t our family provide him with regular support?”

“...That might be difficult. He belongs to the Tianshan Sect, after all. It might look improper. And would he even need money from us? He’s an Eul-tier artisan.”

“Good grief! How frustrating! If his mother is Korean, then he’s Korean, what are you talking about? Besides, if he’s going to operate on this land anyway, shouldn’t he have one reliable family backing him?”

“That’s true. The Four Great Houses have oppressed that young man enough already.”

“You’re right. Thinking about it now, those bastards are truly something else.”

Cheon Myeong swallowed a laugh at the sight.

‘Until yesterday, they were making a scene about how they could possibly trust a Ritual instrument made by a commoner...’

Who would have thought they could change this much?

...Still.

Openly supporting him was another issue.

The current system of family monopolies.

Why did the Occult Management Bureau tolerate the Four Great Houses that led it?

Cursed spirit incidents kept breaking out without end.

To respond to them, the Occult Management Bureau imposed mobilization obligations on the families.

In return, it gave influential families benefits befitting their status.

Turning a blind eye to the Four Great Houses’ monopoly to a certain extent was one of those benefits.

In that situation, openly supporting an outsider.

It was no different from openly challenging that system.

‘That... would be difficult.’

Then there was only one option.

“...Unofficially. We should quietly lend him our support.”

Cheon Myeong finally spoke.

“We should keep it from the Four Great Houses, but become the backing he needs. What if we provide anything he needs, whether it’s funding, information, or something else?”

“Ooh, if that is the Family Head’s will!”

The elders nodded with satisfied expressions.

And so, the family’s decision was made.

The Myeongseong Family would have Master Do’s back.

The meeting wrapped up without issue.

One by one, the elders withdrew.

Left alone in the main hall, Cheon Myeong quietly drank the tea that had gone cold.

...But there was one problem.

‘Damn it... How am I supposed to convey our intentions naturally?’

The family head could hardly visit an artisan of the Tianshan Sect himself.

Yet sending someone would be difficult too, since more than a few eyes were watching the family.

They needed a way to reach him quietly, but clearly.