The Strongest Gun Magus: I Cast Bullet!-Chapter 82: Back on His Feet

The month of healing passed by.

Finally, Reinard could walk on his own feet and even return to the workshop he was renting. But why would he?

He got used to the place he was renting now, and he had the money to afford it. It was close to Marien, and for a moment, safer from possible attacks from the Order of Snow.

Even before Reynard’s cast was taken off, he rented a workshop and a pen for Chili near the inn. When he could finally walk again, this was where he went.

The materials for crafting Boom Powder and White Powders were already waiting for him there, as well as the payment: even more materials for Reynard’s own works, as well as several books.

Reynard wished that Amelia would appear in person. He didn’t lie, saying that he thought about her... More often than it was wise, perhaps.

He spoke with her briefly through the Repeating Bird instead, thanking her for the quick delivery and assuring her that he would get to work immediately.

At this moment, Marien had returned from her patrol and visited Reynard in the new workshop. She was just happy to see him walking around.

"Will you patrol with me in the future?" she asked. "Fights still happen sometimes... Especially when we start them! With your help, the Order of Winter will surely crush the Order of Snow. And then, we will loot all their recipes... Including the one for the sun cake ingredients!"

"Order of Winter? I don’t think we should be betting on THEM. Who, do you think, brought this?" Reynard gestured at several jars of crushed plants and foul-smelling rocks. "Hint—it wasn’t any of the Winter magi."

Marien frowned, walking around and examining the new workshop more carefully.

Most of the items here were the same tools that Reynard had been assembling and carrying around for the past many months of their life in Darland. Some shelves and workbenches were more recent or came with the workshop. The highlight of the place was a large alchemical oven, fit for making entire batches of potions, mixes, and other substances.

Right now, the largest of the workbenches had several books on it and jars of ingredients that Reynard didn’t have time to sort.

"Then... Was it Miss Gelum? Oh, was she here? I wish she weren’t so secretive! Now I feel really curious."

Reynard smirked.

"There’s so little we know about her, but I somehow trust her more than the heads of either of the two orders. Actually, I know more about HER than I know about the heads of the two orders... What were their names again?"

Marien shrugged.

"I didn’t bother remembering. Everybody just calls them by title or ’Master Gelum’. They are both from the Gelum dynasty, apparently."

"Typical. I bet this entire Order of Frost split began because the Loremaster of Frost had two children."

Marin nodded, turning reminiscent for a moment.

"Yes... I remember asking mom for a little sister... She said it’s not so simple. She didn’t have any siblings, either. I never asked grandpa about why. When she died, I became the only heiress... I wonder if some of the reason I didn’t have an aunt or an uncle was that he didn’t want to break the line of succession."

She shrugged and smiled more cheerfully.

"But of course, only worms and snakes would take the right of succession from their older siblings! If Miss Amelia’s predecessors were the true heirs to Gelum, then it’s all in her right to take what she’s owed." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Reynard raised his eyebrows.

"What makes you think they were? She claimed to be the true heir or something... But honestly, I am sure she would lie about this if it gave her more legitimacy."

Marien put a finger to her chin.

"Well... She’s so confident, she might as well be the real heir! And the Order of Winter says that the winners get to decide the truths and the lies. So if she wins, she has the truth!"

Reynard choked on air.

"My love, you can’t do this! It’s either the right of birth or the right of the strong! Decide on which ideology you are following at least!"

"The best one, of course!" Marien laughed. "I don’t care about the orders anyway. The Order of Winter is full of self-possessed bores, and the Order of Snow is even worse. At least Amelia is interesting!"

After saying this, she elegantly sat on the side of an empty workbench.

"So, what are you going to craft now that you can walk around, my prince? Another miraculous weapon?"

Reynard looked around the workshop and chuckled.

"Well, to start with, I will make a lot, a LOT of Boom Powder. Prepare yourself if you plan to stay and watch, the smoke will smell acrid."

***

The simple, manual alchemy took Reynard an entire week. Most of the White Powder and Boom Powder went either for his own arsenal or to Amelia, but he also made some simple bombs—hand grenades, really—and gifted them to the Order of Winter as a payment for their non-involvement with him.

A bribe like that could only work temporarily, but Reynard decided that it was better to gift them something BEFORE they came up with an annoying commission order for him to craft or started threatening him.

But afterward, Reynard finally had time for himself. Nobody was pestering him, and even the civil war had quietened down for now.

It was a perfect opportunity for the perfection of his knowledge that started while Reynard was on bed rest.

Reynard wanted to make his own spell.

Only Loremasters, the divine magi, could create entirely new Lores of magic and new red-class spells. But based on those red-class spells, other magi could create simpler yellow-class spells, which could serve as a base for white-class spells. And from those branched out the most primitive black-class spells.

Among Amelia’s books were a couple of black-class Spirit Lore and Fire Lore spells. With his own known spells, the help of Amelia’s, and the theory from "Thoughts on Advanced Magecraft", Reynard started making his first own magic.

It was going to truly be a spell that could contend with his guns...