Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 199: Elandor Ferras

After lunch, Astrid and Charlotte continued to discuss the topic of the airship. After hearing her niece’s overall concept, Charlotte quickly realized they needed more professional talents.

The craftsmen needed to build the airship, the blacksmiths who knew how to carve magic patterns, and the senior mages who could inscribe magic circles. The last one she could handle, but the former needed to be recruited.

Leaving the restaurant, looking at the scorching sun above, Charlotte used the wind to disperse the heat around herself, Astrid, and Lyra, and slowly spoke.

"Little Astr, I’ll take you to meet someone."

Feeling a shadow above her head, Astrid turned her head to see Lyra standing behind her. Since she was naturally taller than Lyra, and with the high heels she was wearing, the latter had to slightly raise her arm to keep the parasol further from Astrid’s head.

"Someone who can help us build the airship?" Astrid said.

Hearing this, Charlotte nodded, the smooth wind brushing through her hair, carrying a faint fragrance in the air.

"His name is Elandor Ferras, a professor of magical devices at the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, with the strength of a peak level Magnus, capable of handling most magic circles alone, and also an excellent blacksmith."

"Elandor was very close to Little Astr’s mother, my close friend Fanya, you could say Fanya’s magical devices inventions saved him from countless boring days."

"If he sees this drawing, he’ll probably be so excited he won’t be able to sleep all night."

Following Charlotte through the streets, the two didn’t leave the western district for the magic academy, but continued deeper into the city.

"Elandor is very easy to get along with, especially since Little Astr is Fanya’s daughter."

Hearing the countess’s words, Astrid nodded silently. After getting in touch with Charlotte, she had almost learned all of her social circle, and Elandor Ferras was naturally no exception.

Elandor was 125 years old, a typical academic, although born into nobility, his interests were not in clothes, hats, silk, gems, or perfume, but in unknown academic fields and developing novel magical devices.

Such a person had no clear political tendencies or factional alignment, but from his passion for magical devices, once the restrictions were enacted, this research-obsessed blacksmith would definitely find it extremely troublesome. Under this premise, there was no reason for him not to join them.

Arriving in front of a secluded courtyard, Charlotte informed the servants of their visit. After half a minute, several male servants led them into Elandor’s magical workshop.

Astrid had thought that Elandor’s place for researching magical devices would be similar to a blacksmith’s shop, with waves of heat and metal slag scattered everywhere from quenching, but upon arrival, she realized she was wrong.

Blacksmiths forging weapons and armor couldn’t do without fire, but Elandor had long since transformed, and magical devices didn’t require such large-scale operations, just a few more magic barriers to prevent energy leakage would suffice.

"Elandor, I have something new to show you." Charlotte said.

Entering the room, Astrid saw a black-haired man with a pale face, wearing a gray-brown carved robe and square glasses, sitting at the table.

Hearing Charlotte’s voice and Astrid’s clicking footsteps, Elandor silently put down the magic wand in his hand, raised his eyes, his gaze falling on the pair of pupils very similar to Fanya’s, and slowly spoke.

"Good afternoon, Princess Astrid."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Elandor."

After Astrid greeted him, Elandor turned to look at Charlotte.

"What, a new magical device design?"

"Yes, strictly speaking, it’s just a concept, but this idea is quite stunning."

"There are few things that make you say that... Please, have a seat..."

Elandor took the drawing, and the first time he saw the sky behind the airship, he was stunned, his eyes quickly becoming serious, then he frowned and looked down bit by bit.

Fire attribute crystal stones heating the air to provide buoyancy, wind attribute crystal stones responsible for controlling the direction and speed of movement, the passenger compartment below could carry people or goods.

Looking at the cold and reserved annotations, and then at the lifelike airship in the picture, Elandor’s eyes showed a rare trace of fanaticism.

This was a magical beast capable of conquering the sky.

After a moment, he asked the same question Charlotte had asked at the dining table, how the fire attribute crystal stones provided buoyancy.

Hearing this, Charlotte pursed her lips and remained silent, her gaze falling on Astrid. This small action was noticed by Elandor, who instantly understood something.

The concept of this airship did not come from Charlotte, but from the imperial princess in front of him, Astrid Calliste, who was said to have completely failed to inherit her mother’s low-key personality.

"Mr. Elandor, it’s like this..."

Listening to Princess Astrid repeat the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, Elandor’s expression became more and more surprised. Thinking that he indeed had similar tools here, he silently recited a magic spell, and a hot flame lit up.

Watching Elandor use a bag of unknown material to simulate a hot air balloon taking off, Astrid placed her hand on her thigh, quietly waiting.

After simply confirming the feasibility, Elandor frowned even more, but from his overall facial expression, he was very excited now.

This principle was not complicated, the key was whether one could think of it. Astrid’s concept gave him a brand new inspiration.

"To make such a large inflatable airbag requires a lot of highly elastic materials..."

"Maybe the skin of the Sabertooth Wolf could work, they inflate their bodies when encountering enemies, gaining explosive strength."

"The ropes connecting the two ends are best made from the tendons of the Magic Rage Bear, such a large weight, ordinary ropes simply can’t bear it."

While calmly analyzing, Elandor suppressed the fire in his heart.

He could vaguely feel that this beast would bring earth-shaking changes to the empire.

The Sabertooth Wolves are pack creatures led by an alpha wolf, located in the Ash Wasteland near the western edge of the empire.

Besides the elemental crystals common to all magical beasts, their fur, claws, and fangs are excellent magical materials, often used in brewing potions or carving staffs.

The other magical beast Elandor mentioned, the Ragebear, is even rarer within the borders of the Valeria Empire and mostly hides deep within the magical beast forests, rarely appearing.

These two magical beasts share a common trait: their magical materials are scarce in the market and come with a hefty price tag.

Acquiring them requires not only substantial funds but also a wide network of connections both are indispensable.

Upon hearing this, Astrid lightly tapped her knee with her fingertip, straightened her back, and shifted her crossed black-stockinged legs, the sharp click of her high heels echoing on the tiled floor.

Sabertooth Wolves pelts... there are quite a few in the national treasury...

Elise had previously provided her with a list of magical materials in the national treasury.

These items were categorized by the administrators into four tiers based on their rarity: national treasures, prized collections, rare, and common.

By this standard, Sabertooth Wolf pelts fell into the lower end of the third tier, meaning they were among the more abundant rare materials.

As the emperor’s most beloved princess, Astrid naturally had the authority to take materials from the third tier of the treasury.

However, even for the third princess Astrid, taking too much at once required prior approval from Hibbort, along with a clear explanation of the intended use.

Her previous conversation with Hibbort had been private, and no one knew what the father and daughter had discussed. It might have been as casual as their usual public exchanges about daily life, so naturally, no one would assume that the upcoming article on magical devices in the monthly journal was at the emperor’s behest.

Now, if she explicitly informed Hibbort of her purpose, regardless of his decision, it would send a clear signal to those watching.

Although Astrid knew deep down that Hibbort leaned toward the reformist faction, his stance toward the nobility had always been ambiguous.

Forcing Hibbort to take a stand by misusing treasury resources might benefit her, but it could also easily provoke the emperor’s displeasure.

Even if her previous persona wouldn’t have considered this.

After some thought, Astrid decided not to resort to using treasury resources unless absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, she had recently earned a considerable amount from the perfume trade and advertising campaigns, so she shouldn’t lack startup funds.

"I will do my best to gather the materials you mentioned, Mr. Elandor," Astrid said.

The Velmont family had promised her more purchasing channels and greater stock availability. In other words, as long as she had enough money, they could get her anything.

Elandor glanced up at Astrid briefly before returning to the concept drawings in his hands.

"Princess Astrid, there’s no need to rush to gather the materials. Building such a massive airship will require a significant amount of resources. Sabertooth Wolf pelts and Ragebear tendons are relatively scarce, but there might be cheaper alternatives."

"Ironwood branches could also connect the upper gasbag to the lower hull, though they’re slightly inferior in strength and flexibility compared to tendons, but it’s worth a try."

"To reduce weight, the passenger platform should avoid metal and use lighter Windcall Wood instead..."

Compared to Elandor, a professional blacksmith, Astrid and Charlotte, who proposed the concept and were responsible for the magical arrays, seemed more like spectators.

It was clear that Elandor was also very interested in the airship. When the man finally paused, Charlotte spoke softly.

"Elandor, the purpose of our visit is to seek your help."

"I hope you can bring this colossal creation to life, not just leave it on paper."