Copy Skills with Affinity!

Chapter 79

Production

“It’s been a while, Lord Aiden!”

Aiden let out a small chuckle as he watched Ganesha take off her silk hat and greet him.

She still had that slippery smoothness about her, never showing a single opening…

“It’s been a while since you visited the black market, hasn’t it? I think the last time you came to the Capital was ages ago.”

“……”

Really.

He wished she’d stop making it so obvious that she dug into every single thing he did.

“Just think of it as fan devotion. Like a patron’s privilege.”

“Stalking is a privilege now?”

“It’s admiration. I’d appreciate it if you took it positively—”

“I don’t need any kind of support, so I’ll just be leav—”

“—Right, right. That was a poor joke. My apologies.”

“……”

As Aiden narrowed his eyes at Ganesha coolly apologizing without batting an eye, she suddenly looped her arm through his and pulled him along.

“Come on, now! Let’s go! I already scouted out a great place!”

And just like that, Aiden was dragged into the black market with a sour expression, matching her pace.

To be honest, walking around with Ganesha was a rather fascinating experience.

The deeper you went into the black market, the more infamous it became for its layers upon layers of security procedures and identity verification.

Some even said the security was stricter than the Imperial Palace itself.

But with Ganesha, no one stood in their way. Instead, the guards recognized her and recoiled, hastily opening the doors in a repeating pattern.

‘…She really is a big shot.’

Mulling over that impression again, Aiden let himself be escorted by Ganesha into the building ahead.

For a building located inside such a flashy district, its exterior was suspiciously plain and unadorned. But the moment he took a step inside, the pungent smell of molten metal and gunpowder hit him all at once.

“Hm.”

Everyone inside wore disheveled clothes and had dark circles under their eyes, yet the clarity in their expressions remained untouched by the layers of fatigue.

Rather, they looked like people completely engrossed in something they truly loved.

To an outsider, it might just look like a bunch of workaholic weirdos crammed into a corner of the building, but Aiden had a rough idea.

This building was the goose that laid the golden eggs.

‘It doesn’t feel like your typical forge, though.’

Unlike traditional smithies where blacksmiths earnestly pounded iron, this place felt more like a research lab.

The focus seemed to lean more toward theory than actual equipment crafting.

“Allow me to introduce you.”

With that, Ganesha began casually walking deeper into the building.

“This is the ‘Workshop.’ We recently signed an official contract with them for one of the businesses I own.”

Yeah. I knew that.

I also knew that the equipment developed here would have a notable impact on the main storyline.

There’s even a saying, “It all leads back to the Workshop,” because when you break down the specs of those overpowered items in the original game, most of them had passed through here at least once.

That insane device Ganesha showed me recently, the one that looked like a hologram and was generations ahead of its time—thinking about it now, that probably came from here too.

“Oh? Lady Ganesha?”

Just then, a man in a white coat spotted us and rushed over.

Like the others, he was clearly worn out, dark circles heavy under his eyes. But there was a faint trace of neatness to him, enough to suggest he held some public-facing role.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Sia.”

“Goodness, you should’ve told me you were coming! Would you like to try out one of our new prototypes?”

The way he jumped straight into equipment talk with a beaming smile confirmed it—this guy was absolutely a geek.

Ganesha let out a bitter smile and shook her head.

“I came for a more important matter today. Would you like to be introduced?”

With that, she turned her head toward me.

“This is Mr. Aiden Kellermain, whom I’m currently sponsoring.”

“……”

“He’s an important person. I highly recommend you get acquainted with him.”

As soon as she said that, Sia’s eyes widened in disbelief, and Aiden felt a sharp throb in his temple.

The Merchant of Death was officially known as a lone wolf, someone who didn’t form personal ties with anyone.

So…

If she was now making it clear that she approved of him, then no matter what her real relationship with Aiden was, others would likely take it as a sign: Aiden was someone major—someone worth treating with utmost respect.

“I-I didn’t recognize you…”

“……”

The guy just bit his tongue from nerves.

“M-my apologies. Please, come on inside!”

And with that, Sia hurriedly led us into a room that looked like some kind of reception lounge.

He brought in tea with trembling hands, like he had the leader of a nation sitting before him.

“You… really don’t have to be so nervous.”

I reached out and took the teacup that was about to spill.

“Make yourself at home. Relax a little while you’re at it.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m not a species supremacist, you know.”

“……”

Sia shot Ganesha a look of utter bewilderment, to which she burst out laughing.

“Seriously, I meet all kinds of people in this line of work, but this is a first. How did you even know that?”

“L-Lady Ganesha? Did you… tell him—?”

“Just to be clear, I never said a word.”

“Then how…?”

“Mr. Sia, that’s just how he is. You should assume he knows anything you’re trying to hide.”

“……”

“I got a taste of that myself not too long ago.”

While Sia struggled to make sense of the situation, Aiden casually sipped from his teacup.

He’d never really developed a taste for fancy drinks like tea, so he couldn’t tell exactly what flavor it was but he could tell it was expensive…

“…Hah. Well then.”

After some internal struggle, Sia finally lifted a hand to the side of his head.

By the time he lowered it, what had looked like an ordinary human ear had transformed into a pair of pointed ones.

Aiden nodded.

An elf. A long-lived species.

And more than that—a specialist when it came to the delicate process of “imbuing supernatural power.”

“Usually, people of the Empire freak out and act repulsed when they see demi-humans…”

“People like that aren’t even worth calling human anymore. That’s ancient history.”

It was well-known that demi-humans, who once ruled the old continent, had committed acts of oppression and tyranny against humanity. The history books all confirmed it.

But that was millennia ago. Hating them in the present day wasn’t just prejudice—it was borderline barbaric.

“Anyway, I came here because I’d like to request some work.”

With that, I pulled out the schematics I had prepared in advance.

“This is… a fascinating design.”

True to his nature, Sia showed no trace of the earlier tension as he studied the blueprint with a serious glint in his eye.

“The concept is clearly defined, but the design itself—it’s unusual. I can’t tell if it’s brilliant or simply clever.”

After poring over the schematics for a while, Sia slowly nodded.

“Of course, if we want to produce something that lives up to these expectations, there will be several hurdles to overcome.”

“Such as?”

“Well, first, we’ll need a highly skilled master. Ordinary craftsmanship won’t cut it. Whoever handles the materials I refine through magical processing needs to manage them flawlessly…”

“Oh, I can introduce someone like that.”

Ganesha raised her hand with a cheerful smile, and Sia’s expression grew even stranger.

“L-Lady Ganesha… if it’s someone from your circle, could it be—?”

“Hmm? Is there a problem?”

“N-No, not at all. It’s just… even among demi-humans, that person is quite a special case.”

“…?”

What the heck are they talking about?

I had no idea who they were talking about that made Sia so hesitant he could barely get the words out.

But before I had time to dwell on it, Sia continued speaking.

“We’ll also need several rare materials—things normally managed at the national level. Star metal… I suppose Lady Ganesha might’ve secured that much already. But we’ll still need a few more materials of equal value—”

Before he could even finish that sentence, I dropped the large sack I’d brought in front of me with a thud.

Then, something spilled out onto the reception room’s table with a rustling sound.

Ectoplasm.

“……”

“……”

Sia silently looked back and forth between the ectoplasm and me.

“…Is this—?”

“Ectoplasm.”

“…Really—?”

“It’s really ectoplasm.”

“……”

Sia covered his face with both hands in silence. He looked like he was about to have a respiratory crisis.

Just obtaining enough ectoplasm to fill a single basket would require years of camping out in spiritual hotspots across the continent and here it was, practically rolling across the table by the sackful.

Naturally. I’d crossed into the Otherworld and collected it myself.

…Telling him I gathered all this in under a minute probably wouldn’t be great for his health.

“…A-alright then. In that case, we still need a few additional materials. If we could just secure a few more rare substances to use as finishing agents—”

Before he could finish again, I tossed a few pieces onto the table.

Spirit Fragments of a fire spirit.

These were powerful enough to rival the cores of high-grade spirits.

“…Is this—?”

“Yes. It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”

“……”

“Oh, one more thing.”

I pulled out another pouch.

What came out was the core of that wolf-shaped spirit.

…This one was just as powerful as the fire spirit fragment.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“……”

Sia turned to Ganesha with a dazed look in his eyes.

His gaze clearly asked, Where the hell did this guy even come from? But Ganesha just shrugged.

“I told you, this is just the kind of person he is.”

…Well.

The way she said it with that proud tone made me think maybe that “fan devotion” she mentioned earlier had some genuine affection behind it.

“Mr. Aiden.”

Watching everything unfold, Sia finally opened his mouth after struggling for words.

“Please sign an exclusive contract with our workshop.”

“…Excuse me?”

“If I could work with just half of these materials, I’d sell my soul. I’ve had dozens of projects I had to abandon because I didn’t even have the raw resources to start…!”

“……”

“I’m begging you…!”

That voice held something beyond awe or fear toward me, someone sponsored by Ganesha.

It carried the despair and frustration of an engineer who had never been granted the time or budget to fully pursue his creations.

“…Uh, sure. Actually, I’ve got a little more of this stuff left over. If it’s okay with you, I could spare some—”

–System Message–

▶ Affection level with ‘Sia Maxwell’ has increased.

▶ This target cannot have their skill copied. As an alternative, you have received 1 Free Pass to Use the Workshop!

“……”

Apparently, the man’s pent-up passion and longing ran pretty deep.