I was reborn as an orphan, But I won't let that stop me

Chapter 60

Now is the final day of the tournament where both magicians and sword users fight. This is the highlight of this advent as this decides who is the strongest of them all. Everything goes, you can even be a martial artist without a weapon and join. And becuse of this the audience is larger than the previous days as many only come just for this part of the tournament, the finally. Becuse Annette came 3 places at the swordsmen competition she is allowed to skip the first round and go straight to the second round and as such she doesn't need to come to the tournament until the first round is completed so she has about 3 hours before she needs to be there so she decides to go out and explore the market again, but this time she is focusing on magical items. So she goes around visiting shops to see if she can find anything special. If she does she will buy it and study it in order to see how it was created and how it functions. After all, she has little more than a year left until she can take the royal exam to become a magic state researcher. This occupation focuses on creating new types of magical tools for both the royal family and for the kingdom itself. They also are the largest producers of magical items in the kingdom not only becuse get funding from the royal family there is a special tax that is used for paying not only the magic state researchers but also the state magicians, state investigators, the army, and many more. 

The other reason that they are the largest producers in the kingdom is because people have to go through the Magic State Researchers Institute to get certified for each kind of product they sell. That is becuse if the magic item is made poorly it can explode. But it is perfectly legal to make one yourself, but you are not allowed to sell it to someone else. So not only does the Magic State Researchers Institute earn money from taxes but also from creating magic items and from the fee that peapole pay in order to get certified. It is safe to say that of all the state workers the Magic State Researchers Institute is the one who earns the most money but even though the support they get from taxes is only a little compared to others. Annette has been through 3 different shops at this point and has not found anything interesting, but there are about 4 shops left so he has not given up yet. And if she doesn't find anything she has decided to see if she can buy any useful book on the subject as that is probably much easier to find. But when she was on her way to the next shop she noticed what seemed to be a blacksmith but something seemed different as there were a lot of gems around, that were too big to use for jewelry, and the name of the shop wasn't typical for a smithery or a jewelry. So she decides to take a look since it is also a normal shop. 

Annette looked around at the wheres and she was expecting normal things like weapons, shields, armor, and maybe some nails and horseshoes. And she did see all those things but she also saw magic items. Magic items that not only used gems but also metal and looking at it she could tell that not only were the items here things she had never seen before but she could also tell that combining the magic gems with metal work made the effect of the item much stronger as the metal works in harmony with the magic gems and amplify the magic used for the item. That is not to say that other magic tools dont use metal but they dont have this effect,it is clear that only someone who specializes in both smithing and magic tools can make these masterpieces. Seeing her being so absorbed in the magic items the owner gets a little interested as he can tell that she has noticed just what is so special about his items.

"Girl, are you studying to take the Royal exam to become a magic state rechercher?" He asks. " Yes, how could you tell?" Annette asks curiously. " Haha, I am so old so how could not tell, only someone who is well-versed with magic tools can tell what is so special about my creations. And even so, and even fewer notices that it is my metalwork that made them so special. Since you seem too young to be already working I can only assume that you will take it next year." He says. "You are right, but how did you notice that I noticed that your metalwork was a huge part of it?" Annette asks. "Because you looked very surprised and it is safe to say that this is the only thing that could make you surprised about them." He answers. " I see," Annette answers. " Hey, why dont others make magic tools this way?" Annette asks him. "Because I am the one who created this method and my fellow researchers thought that I was crazy, so after 7 years of not producing anything decent I got fired and it took me another 4 years to finally make a breakthrough and another 3 years to perfect it. So I am the only one who knows how to do it." He says proudly. 

"I see, what a shame that I won't be able to learn it then," Annette says. Hearing this the man thinks for a while and then says: " How much time do you have?" 

"Me, well I planned to return tomorrow once I am done participating in the tournament, But in truth, I have another 3 months off," Annette answers. " You are a part of it?" He asks surprised. "Yes, I got 3 places in the swordsmanship tournament. So I skipped over to the second round." Annette says. " Hahaha, so young yet so strong. Say if you want I can teach you all that I can after you are done with the tournament if you decide to extend your visit." He says. " You would do that, why?" She asks surprised. " Well, first of you must be very talented to notice what is so special about my magic tool, second I have taken a liking to you and I have always prided myself on having a good eye. Third, if you can learn my secrets you can prove everyone wrong and face-slap those who did not believe in my theory and kicked me out for me. I can't do it myself since I have already been fired and can not join the Magic State Researchers Institute again. So using a disciple is the next best thing, what say you?"

Hearing this Annette doesn't hesitate at all, after all, she has enough money to stay for another 3 months so why not? She just needs to send a message back to the grand duke that she will be staying longer. So there is no problem, besides who in their right mind would reduce such a lifetime opportunity? " Yes, I agree, master." She says and they both happily talk about magic tools until it is time for Annette to return to the tournament as it is now 30 minutes until the second round begins. And she needs to be at least 10 minutes early so she must go now.