Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 529 - 527: Molybdenite

Chapter 529: Chapter 527: Molybdenite

"You can tell me what exactly you want me to do now," Narled Clark said to Richard impatiently.

Richard did not immediately reply, but rather took out a Papyrus Scroll from his bosom and handed it over, "This is a list of some of the things I need. The quantity might not be very large, but there are many and varied types. To purchase them in Florence, you will need to visit dozens, if not hundreds, of places. Furthermore, there are special requirements for some of the items’ specifications. It’s all very tedious. What you need to do is buy these things and bring them back. Also, this is just the beginning of the task; I will give you a new list later for you to continue purchasing. Be prepared."

"Buying things, hmm." Narled looked at the Papyrus Scroll, "That’s not a problem." Suddenly she thought of something, looked at Richard, and said, "That said... you will give me money, right? You know, I only have a few silver coins on me. The few gold coins I did have, I gave them all to you. To buy the things on your list, I’m afraid it might not be enough."

"Of course, I will give you money," Richard said, tossing a Money Bag to Narled, "Money is not an issue. The main concern is time. What you need to do is bring back the items as quickly as possible, even if it means spending more."

"But you don’t have that much either, do you?" Narled weighed the Money Bag Richard gave her and, the next moment, opened it to take a look. Her eyes suddenly widened, "Gold Coins? And... Crystal Coins?!" By the end, Narled almost bit her tongue; she had thought it was just a bag of silver coins.

Richard then said, "I told you, money is not an issue—time is what’s most important. If this money isn’t enough, you can ask me for more."

"Alright, I’ll make sure to do a good job," Narled said, carefully putting away the Money Bag and walking toward the outside. Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she stopped, turning to Richard, "That said... do you really trust me that much? We’ve only just met, haven’t we? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll take your money and run off?"

Richard’s expression was calm: "Would you?"

"Of course not!" Narled answered loudly, "I give you my word."

Richard said, "There you have it then, go on now."

"Oh." With that, Narled finally left the house, but not even fifteen seconds passed before she quickly returned, pulled out the "Star Night Meditation Hat" from her bosom, and solemnly handed it to Richard, "I’ve thought it over, and leaving like this isn’t really responsible on my part. You should have a collateral for security. This item here is worth a lot of money. If I really did take your money and disappear, you could sell it for cash."

Richard was silent...

At that moment, Narled finally showed a relieved expression and walked out of the yard with large strides, "Alright, I’m really going now!"

Richard remained silent in response, because for someone so considerate and responsible toward others, he truly didn’t know what to say.

...

For the next few days, Narled was busy, constantly running through the streets and alleys of Florence, striving to purchase the various items on the list.

It took her three days to finally purchase everything; Richard immediately handed her a new list.

Without time to rest, Narled was busy again.

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed, and she had finally bought all the items.

...

Six days later.

Narled walked into the courtyard carrying a huge box, and with a "thud," she placed it on the ground. She said to Richard, "This is the last of the items you wanted. Take a look, is anything wrong?"

Richard walked up to the box, opened it, and glanced inside. He saw something white that looked like stones, but with a lower hardness—Asbestos—which he intended to use for high-temperature protection in certain areas of Eden.

Nodding his head, Richard said to Narled, "It’s correct, this is it." He then closed the box, took it into a room, and sealed it away.

Regarding Asbestos, he had to be careful. Although in modern Earth this substance was very common, it was highly toxic. Not to mention that once inhaled, asbestos dust was difficult to break down in the body, causing irreversible fibrosis of the lungs. Just the fact that asbestos is a carcinogen capable of causing malignant tumors was enough trouble, as he certainly didn’t want to go through chemotherapy or radiotherapy in the Medieval times.

Using something like rock wool or high silicon composite materials could replace asbestos, thus eliminating the potential danger. However, whether it was rock wool or high silicon composite materials, they were rather difficult to obtain. To avoid delaying the progress of many research projects, he had to make do with what was available, since not everything could be perfect.

Thinking this, Richard stepped out of the room and handed over the "Starry Sky Meditation Hat" that Narlyd had given him before. He spoke, "Alright, the favor you owed me is now repaid. Take your collateral and return from whence you came."

Narlyd blinked at Richard’s words but didn’t take it.

"What is it?" Richard’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"I think..." Narlyd looked serious in contemplation, and spoke slowly, "I think, although I have done quite a few things for you these past few days, it wasn’t hard since you paid me, and I didn’t even have to eat black bread. If we consider this, the help I gave you in exchange for my life saved doesn’t equal out. I think I should help you with something more."

Richard: "..." If anyone else had said this, he would definitely suspect that they were trying to stick around due to ulterior motives.

But for the girl, Narlyd, in front of him, the "Judgement Feather" in his arms was extremely hot, clearly indicating: she had no ulterior motives, and was simply pure, sincere, and seriously intending to repay the life-saving favor she owed.

In other words, her actions sprung entirely from her own moral compass -- feeling that working for seven days wasn’t as significant as having her life saved. She did not want to take advantage of anyone and was very firm about repaying the remaining debt of gratitude.

In that case...

Richard let out a sigh and looked at Narlyd, asking, "How much more do you feel you owe me?"

Narlyd considered and said, "It has to be half a life’s worth at least. I think I’ve repaid less than half."

"But there are only four days left, right? I recall you said that after ten days, you need to return to some Jungle Hut."

"Yes, so you must give me more and more important tasks to do in less time. I don’t want to go back in debt."

"Alright then, I do indeed have a task that fits your criteria." Richard said, "Currently, I am in need of an extremely rare mineral, well, just one, but it’s very very rare!

In the six days that you’ve been busy, I’ve also been occupied, but despite being busy for six days, I haven’t found this mineral. If you can bring me this mineral within the next four days, then you would have done me a great favor and amply repaid your debt."

"Are you sure?" Narlyd was skeptical.

"Positive."

"Then tell me what the mineral is. It’s not some iron or copper ore, is it?"

"Of course not, its name is... Molybdenite."

"Molybdenite?" Narlyd was stunned, clearly having never heard the name before.

"This is a name I’ve given it. Here in Florence, it might be called Gray Moonstone, due to its lead-gray appearance. To my understanding, it’s a very rare mineral with incredibly low yield and has some applications as a magical material. It is usually mined covertly, and once extracted, it ends up in the hands of wizards. This is also why I haven’t been able to find it in this short amount of time.

If you really are capable, then bring me some. Even if you can’t, just letting me know where it is would suffice. The specific details about it are all on this scroll..."

"Alright..."

...

After a while, Narlyd had one foot out the door, scroll in hand, and turned her head back to Richard inside, her voice firm, "I will definitely find the Molybdenite... err, the Gray Moonstone for you."

"I hope so." Richard said.

Narlyd walked out the door.

...