Cerberus took the golden-yellow disc and examined it curiously. Although she didn't know what it was for, her instincts told her she liked it very much.
She hugged the disc and excitedly ran towards Sister Vulcan's room, wanting to share the gift she had just received with Sister Vulcan.
Sister Vulcan nodded at Kanna and her companions entering, gesturing for them to wait.
Watching the weapon being forged in front of them, the group stood quietly at a distance. Ten minutes later, Sister Vulcan wiped the sweat from her brow and stepped away from the workbench.
She first patted Cerberus's head, telling the excited dog, who had just received a gift, to calm down, then looked at the weapon on Kanna's back.
"It looks like you used it well this time."
As a craftsman, one can tell at a glance whether a weapon has been used, and Sister Vulcan was no exception.
Kanna took out the weapon from her back and handed it to Sister Vulcan. "This trip to Iberia, this weapon was a great help…"
"Don't speak yet, let me see." Looking at the weapon presented before her, even its creator was surprised.
To accommodate Kanna's exaggerated melee capabilities, this weapon was made incredibly strong. According to Sister Vulcan's intention, with normal combat intensity, it would take at least dozens of major battles for this weapon to show wear and tear. But after just one trip to Iberia, she saw that the weapon's blade, especially the ice sword side, was subtly chipped due to its greater sharpness. While the fire sword side followed the path of a heavy, unsharpened sword, its blade was covered in marks of wear and even tooth marks (left from eating sizzling plates). Just from the scars on this weapon, she could imagine what a difficult battle its user had endured.
"It seems the dangers in Iberia are not low! When you return from the Medical Department, how about you tell us about your trip with Kal'tsit. After all, judging by this weapon, your experience must have been very exciting. You can leave the weapon here! In its current state, it will take several days to return to its previous condition."
Sister Vulcan, familiar with Rhodes Island's procedures, was not in a hurry to know the story behind the weapon's scars. After confirming its condition, she patted Kanna's head.
"Mhm, mhm!" Seeing Sister Vulcan preparing to politely dismiss them to focus on the weapon, everyone started to leave.
Before leaving, Kanna suddenly remembered that Sister Vulcan had been the only one talking since they entered, and she had forgotten to give her gift. So, she pulled out a small gift for Sister Vulcan from her large box and walked back in.
"Oh! Is there anything else?"
Upon entering, she saw Sister Vulcan using a machine to hoist her Ice and Fire Song.
"This is a gift I brought you from Iberia. I hope you like it!" Kanna presented a stone almost as big as her head.
This stone was a deep blue color, with specks of golden light inside, making it look like a beautiful night sky.
Sister Vulcan was surprised to see the stone in Kanna's hand.
"Oh, Stardust. This is a good item, you went to a lot of trouble. However, this is a controlled substance in Iberia, and not something you can just pick up by the roadside. How did you get it?"
Then, under Sister Vulcan's explanation, Kanna and Cerberus, who was watching curiously nearby, learned that this mineral called Stardust was a unique resource of Iberia. Due to its excellent magical extensibility and enhancing effects on magic, this mineral was strictly restricted from leaving the country. It was also a crucial raw material for the Inquisitor's two weapons, the lantern and the hand cannon.
"An old man gave it to me before I left Iberia. It's an official gift, so there's no need to fear anyone coming to reclaim it." This item was one of the small gifts Saint Carmen had specially given Kanna before she left. At first, she just thought it was pretty, so she took it. On the way back, she set it aside as a gift for Sister Vulcan, thinking that as a weapon manufacturer for Rhodes Island, Sister Vulcan would definitely be interested in these strange minerals. She hadn't expected its origin to be so significant.
Seeing Sister Vulcan express considerable satisfaction with the gift, Kanna was very happy. Her steps were two points lighter as she bid farewell to the two and walked out again.
On the way from the Engineering Department to the Medical Department, Amiya recounted what had happened on Rhodes Island during Kal'tsit and Kanna's absence.
First, there was the Victoria search party that had forced the two to leave. When those people first arrived on the island, they were arrogant, acting as if they wouldn't leave until they had turned Rhodes Island upside down.
However, the reception personnel arranged by Rhodes Island for the meeting were Sarkaz who had survived the bloody battle in Kazdel and remained on Rhodes Island.
The search officials, who hadn't even begun to show off their power, were stared at twice by the Sarkaz, whose bloodlust and expressions clearly stated, "push us again, and you'll die." They instantly devolved from Aslan to Feline.
Then, the experienced and steady Outcast stepped forward and led them into the interior of Rhodes Island.
The subsequent search became very simple. Wherever Rhodes Island didn't want them to enter, two Sarkaz were stationed as guards, and the other party implicitly understood and skipped over those areas directly.
It wasn't that no search official had tried to play tricks, attempting to force Rhodes Island into compromise through false accusations. But under Amiya's Arts perception, these small maneuvers were completely exposed and easily thwarted. Thus, the Victoria search party, having gained nothing, left the Rhodes Island landship in disgrace.
Under Amiya's vivid narration, Kanna and her companions felt as if they had personally witnessed the other party's embarrassed, helpless, and uncomfortable expressions.
Amiya then spoke about the situation within Rhodes Island during this period. Amiya sadly said that due to Rhodes Island's special nature, many of the dispatched Operators were unable to obtain official permission from various countries to enter large mobile cities for supplies.
Many Operators had gone missing in the wilderness.
As the administrator of Rhodes Island, these messages used to be personally handled by Kal'tsit, but during her absence, Amiya bore these heavy responsibilities. Only then did she realize how difficult life was for everyone from Rhodes Island out in the field.
"Don't be so sad! You have to think this way: if there were no Rhodes Island, everyone's lives wouldn't be better than they are now. It's precisely because they believe in Rhodes Island's ideals that everyone gives their all. Instead of dwelling on your own weakness, why not think more about how to make Rhodes Island better in the future, isn't that right?!"
Kanna stood on her tiptoes and patted Amiya's head, then folded her arms and advised in an adult-like tone.
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