Only then did Gray realize that the little old man Balund was actually shorter than him. He didn't know if he had only just realized this, or if the other man had used some tricks to make him deliberately ignore it, or if the expression of kinship had made his sense of authority temporarily fade away.
The old man before him had lost the imposing presence of someone in a superior position, and seemed more like a neighboring elder speaking to him about something utterly ordinary:
" Gray, you already understand what you're about to face."
"I told you before you came in that you had a chance to back out, and that chance still exists until the coffin is completely closed."
"You already understand the significance of the Grand Foundry Master to the Graycast Corridor, so I have nothing more to say to you."
"Accept this mission and become the successor; or choose to refuse and return to your original life."
"Whichever you choose, Aiboke and I respect your decision."
"After all, we can't let someone who doesn't love the Graycast Corridor become the ruler of this power; that would bring disaster to everyone."
"Think it over carefully. There's no time limit."
After saying that, Balund seemed to have lost all his strength. A movable chair, fixed to a track by a bracket, came up behind him, and he plopped down on it, dozing off in public like an old man who had just finished his Farm Work.
Silence returned to the underground space; apart from the white noise of the machinery and the breathing of the people, there was no other sound.
Gray's face was serious, as stiff as a solid iron plate. In his mind, however, a series of debates had already begun. Both the accepting and rejecting personalities were doing their best to persuade the other. As a result, although Gray looked quite serious, his eyes were somewhat vacant.
A gaze fell upon Gray, and he vaguely sensed it, but he was somewhat unwilling, or rather, found it difficult to respond.
That came from his wife, Nora, who had followed him and Balund from the very beginning and had never uttered a single word until now.
Gray knew what she wanted to say, and he also knew that she knew he knew what she wanted to say.
Beneath the layers of nested dolls, neither of them uttered a word.
Choosing to become Grand Foundry Master is no different from choosing death, and no one wants their loved one to die; everyone knows this.
But who has the right to persuade Gray to give up?
Even Nora herself felt that if they were to switch places, she would most likely choose to take on this responsibility as well.
Both were common orphans in the Great Labyrinth City, the only difference being that one was raised by a mechanic's family and the other by a merchant family.
The Graycast Corridor holds extraordinary significance for them. Even if Gray's master were to be resurrected on the spot, he would most likely give Gray a thumbs up and say that it would be even better if he could do the job himself.
But when faced with death and separation, everyone feels a sense of reluctance, especially when this moment arrives suddenly.
One second they were on the high platform receiving cheers and applause from the citizens of the Great Labyrinth City, and the next they were facing the separation of life and death, separated by a metal coffin.
Such a disparity is far from something that most people can accept quickly.
And only now did Nora finally understand why she had been able to come here with them.
If one waits outside until Gray makes his choice and then learns the final result, one might live in the shadow of that day for the rest of their life.
"Click, click, click..."
The machine, which appeared to have a pendulum, was making perfectly normal, regular sounds.
The sound was always so faint that it would be subconsciously ignored, but at this moment it grew louder and louder in the ears of the two of them, almost comparable to the sudden thunderclaps in the Wilderness of Chaos.
Just as the sound was about to shatter his eardrums, Gray had been pondering for a long time, finally spoke:
"I'll take it..."
I have something to say!
A voice, arriving later but louder than his response, completely drowned out Gray's.
The old man, who was dozing in the high-backed chair, twitched and then woke up, tilting his head and looking at the two young men in front of him with an inquiring gaze.
Meanwhile, Gray was staring at Nora with astonishment, while she looked at Balund with an air of confidence:
"Mr. Balund, I think it would be better for me to take over the position of Grand Foundry Master rather than hand it over to him."
In a very short time, Nora, having made her decision, had already devised a whole argument that, while flawed upon closer examination, sounded plausible on the surface:
"Objectively speaking, the appearance of the Machine Spirit was a coincidence. I was also on the Antasia at the time and participated in the entire incident. Our escape was mainly due to the Machine Spirit, while the two of us did nothing except for navigation and driving."
"As for the discovery of the Grand Duke of Vampires, the credit for this should also belong to the two of us and the Antasia."
"Therefore, if we only consider our last achievement, our achievements should be roughly equal."
Before Balund could respond, Gray already had his opinion:
"No, what are you talking about...?"
"Shut up first."
Nora took a deep breath and continued:
"After the previous election, everyone in the Great Corridor is very familiar with Gray's face, so making him the apparent Grand Foundry Master and letting me enter that machine is a better choice—you can view my entire file. I've had extraordinary mechanical talent since childhood, and I've always been the most outstanding mechanical talent in the southern district of the Great Labyrinth City, without exception. If I hadn't been unwilling to undergo mechanical modifications, I should already be qualified as an intermediate craftsman or repairman. By any measure, I'm better than this guy who's so bad at studying that he can only become a merchant apprentice halfway through his career. Why not let me try my luck in that coffin?"
In her haste, Nora blurted out her innermost thoughts, but she was relieved to see that the Grand Foundry Master had no reaction.
Balund, now awake, looked Nora up and down and suddenly laughed.
His tone remained gentle:
" Nora Gris, you've certainly made a good excuse for yourself, but those are exactly the things I wanted to say to you."
What do you mean by this?
Nora was puzzled.
"There were originally two people who were Grand Foundry Master; one was given the name, and the other was given the substance."
Balund said slowly:
"I don't think Gray wants to see my old face every day, so he's going to replace my brother Aiboke, and you were supposed to replace me anyway."