I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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About 8 days ago.

As soon as Leon Clendor disembarked from the battleship, he expressed his discomfort.

He was undoubtedly a guest invited by the Princess, yet he was being greeted by a mere subject instead of her.

“…I’m sorry. Her Highness the Princess has urgent state matters to attend to and could not make it. However, I, the head of this expedition, will serve you adequately, so I hope you can forgive this.”

Thus, Elena skillfully bowed her head and tried to soothe Leon.

It was a typical diplomatic move to let it go, considering a Grand Mage recognized by the Magic Society was bowing his head.

“Hmm. Is that so? But it raises questions. Is there truly a state matter more urgent than meeting the descendant of the Sea God?”

However, Prince Leon of Clendor was determined to fight for his pride until the end.

He even mentioned the only religion of Clendor, ‘the Sea God.’

“Didn’t the Empire seek the Sea God’s power? I’m asking if you can succeed in this expedition without the Sea God’s assistance. Look.”

Leon smirked and pointed to the battleship he rode in on.

His cabinet minister signaled the attendants behind him, which led the attendants to swiftly send a signal.

It was a signal to activate the spell inscribed on the battleship.

-Bam!

At that moment, a blue aura erupted from the entire battleship, and it began to strengthen.

Shields formed on every part except the cannon openings, and the cannon openings were replaced with even more powerful weaponry.

Currently, the only nation capable of showcasing such technology was none other than the Clendor Kingdom, proud of its lineage from the Sea God.

“Now, look. Hearing about the exploration of the ‘Sea Wall,’ we’ve upgraded our fleet immensely. With this ship, no sea monster in the Magentani Strait can harm us.”

Leon said this while curling his lips into a smile.

Elena and Ilreya’s expressions hardened.

“We’ve shown our sincerity in this way. We’ve prepared powerful battleships needed by your Empire. Therefore, shouldn’t your royal family come out to greet us at the visit of a royal from our nation?”

A shadow fell across Elena’s face.

She could clearly see through Leon’s childish provocation.

His words insinuated that the Clendor Kingdom’s status was no different from that of the Empire.

Moreover, he labeled himself a royal, indirectly conveying that the Empire could not dare to look down upon the Clendor Kingdom by showcasing the power of his battleship.

He intended to make this an acknowledgment through diplomatic superiority.

-Swoosh.

Thus, Elena shot a glance at the furious Ilreya.

Since ancient times, Ilreya’s Southern Territory had suffered from numerous pirate raids by the Clendor Kingdom, so she couldn’t help but react sensitively to Leon’s provocation.

However, for the greater good, she had to swallow her anger and bow her head.

“I sincerely apologize once again. For the development of both nations, I hope you can forgive this anger. More than that, you must be tired from your long journey. How about we have a meal first? We have prepared a special dinner for the descendant of the Sea God.”

Elena put on a well-crafted smile and bowed her head once more.

Her most critical mission was to enter the Sea Wall and uncover the secrets of the ancient spells, so she could put her pride aside at any time.

“Hmm…”

As Elena continuously lowered her stance, Leon stroked his chin and looked at Ilreya.

He was urging her to bow her head too.

“…Please.”

Thus, Ilreya had no choice but to bow her head as well.

Having been given the imperial command to achieve the diplomatic assignment, she had to follow through.

Ilreya barely endured this humiliation, thinking that she wasn’t bowing to Leon but to His Majesty the Emperor.

“Well, I suppose we can do this. I’ll do it for the sake of your faces. So, where shall we go?”

Confirming that both the Grand Mage and the Grand Duke of the South had bowed their heads, Leon asked for their location with a satisfied smile.

Soon, Elena escorted Leon to a banquet hall filled with a feast, and Leon beamed at the splendidly arranged table and the scene of beauty and music.

It seemed worthy of a passing grade.

“Phew… As expected, this isn’t easy.”

While Leon enjoyed the drinks and dances.

Elena and Ilreya exited the banquet hall and let out a long sigh.

After scraping their pride right from the first visit, they still had to host Leon for another three days.

“I want to behead that guy right now…”

Especially for Ilreya, this hospitality was nothing short of torment.

From the days when the Cruel Duke’s family was not even known as the Cruel Kingdom, Clendor and her family had been enemies.

“I understand. But the Empire needs Clendor’s battleships. Please, hold back your anger for just three days.”

Ilreya glanced at Elena, who was looking at her with a troubled expression.

Despite being the Princess’s teacher and a Grand Mage, she remembered how many times Elena had bowed her head.

With a sigh, Ilreya said, “I’ll agree. Just for three days. That’s all…”

Today included, there were exactly three days left.

Moreover, since they were scheduled to leave for the capital the day after tomorrow afternoon, there was barely a day and a half left, excluding today.

Ilreya thought she only had to endure for 36 hours and encouraged herself.

***

“It’s been a while since I last went to the Academy.”

In the temporary office.

Edgar, who had sunk into a leather chair, muttered to himself.

Suddenly realizing it had already been eight days since he left the Academy.

“I need to conduct experiments…”

Why did he miss his research lab after just a few days away?

Edgar recalled the days he had spent intimately working with Fix.

Every day, calculating some ideas or inspirations theoretically and then proving them through experiments had been Edgar’s long-standing habit and joy.

However, having been unable to do that for eight days made him itch all over.

After all, there were so many things he wanted to develop at this very moment.

“Well, this is more important for now.”

For now, he had to endure.

After all, in just five days, the 14-day ‘temporary leave’ would also end, and he needed to finish as much as possible before then.

“Of course, I could apply for a leave of absence…”

However, as he was the lord of a territory, he could prioritize territorial matters over his studies.

As long as he intended, he could apply for a leave of absence and immerse himself in developing the territory.

“No way. What’s really important is the growth of the main NPC.”

Yet, Edgar thought the growth of the main NPC was of greater significance than the territory’s affairs.

His mission was ultimately to grow the main NPCs and stop the demon’s invasion.

“For now, I’ll make Fix the acting lord here.”

Thus, Edgar devised a clever plan.

Since he and Fix shared everything anyway, assigning Fix the responsibility for this place would allow for seamless factory development.

“I can just come in the evenings to get reports.”

Besides, being a Count, he could obtain permission to go out freely, unlike regular students.

Unlike a half-baked Count without territory, now he was a Count with quite a powerful force as Adela was his guardian.

The difference in authority was too vast to seek continual permission from the dormitory warden.

“Fix, would you like to be the acting lord?”

“Woof woof woof~?”

So, Edgar decided to assign Fix as the acting lord.

For the next five days of his stay, he would do as much as possible, and afterward, he would return to the territory each evening to report progress to Fix.

“Lord.”

At that moment, someone knocked on the door and called him.

It was Gric.

“I’ve gathered all 1,100 members of the Fix Engineering Corps.”

And Gric reported that all 1,100 members of the first organization Edgar formed, the ‘Fix Engineering Corps,’ were gathered.

Edgar acknowledged this and stepped outside the container box.

Currently, Edgar’s temporary office was a container box made of steel.

“Fix!”

As Edgar stepped outside, Gric slammed the bottom of his shovel on the ground and shouted, “Fix!”

Then, the 1,100 members of the Fix Engineering Corps, lined up in formation, echoed “Fix!” and slammed their shovels against the ground simultaneously.

It was like watching well-trained soldiers.

“Choosing Gric was definitely a good idea.”

Edgar smiled with satisfaction at this.

Having managed a band of 500 well enough, Gric would surely handle this task well, and his thoughts were confirmed.

Looking at the freshly formed engineering corps, they seemed well-trained.

“Greetings, I am Edgar Fix.”

Finally, Edgar started a suitably motivating speech.

Roughly, it was a speech about cleansing the misdeeds of the past and creating a new city.

“First, I shall give you your first task. You are to create wearable robots for yourselves.”

Having inspired the corps members’ sense of duty, Edgar began informing them about what they were to do.

What a wearable robot even was, why they had to make it, and a rough outline of how they planned to create it.

“Of course, it will be hard for you, who aren’t professional blacksmiths, to do this. So…”

Edgar explained that he had brought blacksmiths from the Eastern Territory.

Since the Fix Engineering Corps was inexperienced with iron and fire, they should assist the blacksmith he brought to gather basic knowledge.

“Well then, start right away.”

“Yes!”

Thus, Edgar’s direct engineering corps began working alongside the skilled blacksmith borrowed from the Eastern Territory.

Meanwhile, Edgar ordered a significant quantity of the grains acquired from Elena’s territory to be distributed across all territories.

To begin with, they spread all the food the lord had stockpiled, but for the long-hungry territory citizens, that alone wouldn’t suffice.

First, it was important to ensure the territory citizens were fed sufficiently to prevent them from starving.

That way, whether rebuilding the territory or using them for construction labor, he could utilize the workforce.

“For now, have I put out the urgent fire?”

Having taken all the necessary actions for the moment, Edgar returned to the office and began editing the blueprint for the wearable robots.

Due to the machines operating on complex mechanisms, he needed to explain it in easily understandable terms for the blacksmiths here.

“Fix, can you handle the back part?”

“Woof woof woof~!”

Thus, Edgar took on the arm parts.

Fix took on the back parts and began to sketch the blueprint.

He made it so easy to understand, it was almost like an IKEA furniture assembly manual, detailing the schematics part by part.

“Phew! Is this enough for the arm parts?”

How much time had passed?

After finishing the arm parts blueprint, Edgar approached Fix to check whether he was designing the most complex back parts well.

“Just as I thought.”

And indeed, Fix was his partner.

He was sketching the blueprint at almost the same level as Edgar.

“By the way… soon you’ll be the acting lord, so isn’t it a bit odd to continue using Fix as his name?”

However, Edgar had one concern.

It was the ambiguous naming regarding Fix.

After all, he was often referred to as ‘Lord Fix’ or ‘Count Fix.’

The lord is essentially the symbol of the family, and it is customary to elevate one’s title by adding ‘Lord’ or ‘Count’ after the family name.

“But then there’s Fix…”

The name was Fix.

When asked where ‘Lord Fix’ was, it would become confusing whether it referred to the acting lord Fix or the family head Fix.

“Of course, there are various distinctions like ‘Lord Acting’ or ‘Machine Fix,’ but…”

He despised such distinctions.

He disliked the feeling of his mind getting tangled over a single designation.

Thus, Edgar decided to give Fix a name.

“Hmm… Fix. Are you a boy or a girl?”

“Woof!?”

But before that.

Edgar asked jokingly about Fix’s gender.

He hadn’t even considered how burdensome this question would be for Fix.

“Woof woof woof…”

Fix’s mechanical life.

The greatest dilemma of a lifetime had begun.