Chapter 85: Do You Want It? It's Already Out of Production!

"The technology of Dunling?"

This place name has appeared far too frequently in recent life.

Recalling carefully, Professor Kalman's letter did mention some breakthrough in Dunling's glassmaking technology, producing entirely new glass instruments, which gave Mo Lisen the chance to find the black liquid.

At the time, Kraft hadn't thought it through; it turned out this breakthrough happened much earlier than imagined, and the level of advancement was a huge leap. He didn't know what "alchemical potion" caused a qualitative change in the purity of the glass, and the assembly craftsmanship also exceeded expectations.

Who would have thought that visiting a church would lead to encountering something so interesting. If the deity exists, it might truly be a selfless person, granting inspiration even to someone like him, whose ancestors for three generations haven't had a single believer, within the earthly dwelling of the Heavenly Father's will.

"Why say there will never be any more?" Could it possibly be that the church burned its bridges, making the creator vanish into thin air after the church was completed, thereby ensuring this became the sole work in the world?

Considering the characteristics of this era, it wasn't impossible. You know, some unique handwritten manuscripts embed the writer's finger bones into the cover, adorned with precious metals and gems, to show they are one of a kind.

Such cruel behavior is partly used by scripture copyists to express extreme piety, creating a treasure that can be collected in the church's precious vaults. Or is it more often voluntary?

What Kraft least wanted to hear was that the creator of this technology, along with the craft itself, had been erased; his beautiful dream of instruments would thus be dashed.

Fortunately, the situation was more optimistic than he had thought.

"I heard that shortly after the construction was completed, that alchemical potion ran out." The sentence, spoken in a cheerful tone, showed no sadness; the eunuch felt no regret or lament, reciting it like a broken verse of a hymn.

It was clear he approved of this discontinuation; the idea was not hard to understand: God is unique and supreme, so all works dedicated to God ought to be one of a kind. Once there is room for replication, the possibility of copying exists, losing the key value.

Just as the books with embedded finger bones are so, the glass wings should be so too; the functional imperfections offered by the eunuch can also be understood as a kind of price.

Regarding this concept, Kraft did not wish to argue with someone who had lived in a church since childhood and dedicated everything to serving the Heavenly Father. Although he was quite repulsed by rampant religious fanaticism, he did not mind continuing the conversation to learn some relevant information.

"Like the will of the deity?"

"Yes, I also believe it is a will." The effeminate man felt greatly comforted; this visitor possessed great insight, able to grasp the special nature of creating for the Lord. "The Lord granted him one opportunity; the peak work will remain forever unique, unsurpassable."

Crystal radiance spread over his slightly pale face, an unhealthy white, with blood color receding to edges barely visible, a fragile item made for God.

"He?" The listener took note, picking out a different pronoun.

The eunuch withdrew his gaze from the wings; on his face, white as if coated with powder, two thin lips lacking blood color opened and closed, strangely similar to the Bai Shi statue downstairs. "I am referring to the person who dedicated this masterpiece; the priest mentioned him."

"Oh? What does he do now?" This was what concerned Kraft; the craft and the person, he didn't ask for much, just having one left behind would suffice.

"That is unclear; I only happened to hear the priest mention him."

Kraft spread his hands, watching the reflection flow in his palm, the edges glowing with a ring of rainbow light. Before the singer could react, he shifted his gaze, masking his true purpose of merely fishing for information. "It sounds like you have a good relationship with the priests?"

"No, just quite familiar with Father Adrian." Speaking of this, the expression on his face relaxed a bit, showing some normal human warmth.

"He has a good relationship with that person, often meeting... together." Mid-sentence, he suddenly switched to an overly formal term; it seemed his relationship with Father Adrian was indeed close enough that he would deliberately avoid mentioning content he felt was inappropriate to discuss.

"As expected, pious people befriend those with equally firm faith. If possible, could you introduce me to both of them?"

Having obtained the needed information, Kraft tried to get straight to the point, hoping to meet that glass master with astonishing craftsmanship; perhaps the glass instruments he wanted could then be obtained? The hope for mass-producing microscope lenses rested on him.

Hearing an outsider affirm the priest's faith, the eunuch instead felt embarrassed, as if some not-too-serious but unmentionable reason prevented him from accepting praise on the priest's behalf.

"I am afraid I cannot make decisions on my own; if the Heavenly Father wills it, we will naturally meet." He politely declined Kraft's request and took his leave.

Kup listened to the entire dialogue in confusion, watching Kraft politely bid farewell to that person with a strange pronunciation and unclear gender.

"I thought you didn't particularly like these things?" He wondered if there was a misunderstanding, leading him to have a completely wrong perception of Kraft's views on faith, which would seriously interfere with future work.

Kraft, with his hands behind his back, led him back, asking in return: "What did you say?"

"The church; I thought your evaluation of all churches was not very good." Kup did not directly mention God; the two are indeed one, but saying "church" sounded less harsh—after all, there are plenty of dissatisfied people.

Stopping at the doorway of the room William had just entered, Kraft leaned against a pillar, looking again at the crystalline wings of the winged ring.

"I am only interested in that."

"Believe in God but not the church?" Kup rarely heard this phrasing; the idea of completely separating the two felt more dangerous than the heresy of not believing in God.

"Glass, Kup, look at this glass. Have you seen it anywhere else? I want the person who made this to make a set of instruments for me." Rejected, Kraft was not in a hurry; since he knew the priest's name, finding the person was only a matter of time.

The news that the creator of the wings was still in Comfort Harbor was an unexpectedly good thing; the information regarding the alchemical potion for the new generation of glass was right before his eyes. Even hearing it could no longer be produced could not stop his desire to try.

Furthermore, since the church did not currently need this craftsman, Kraft wanted to recruit the person to Wenden Port to help those colleagues who had been fiddling with a few lenses for half a day; exquisite craftsmanship could shine again in the calibration and improvement of microscopes.

"I understand." Kup nodded. As expected of Kraft, plotting to steal someone else's holy symbol wings in a church.

A moment later, William pushed the door open and stepped out, looking so refreshed that it was impossible to tell whether he had just left the port district or the confessional.

Kraft initiated a consultation with this regular visitor to Comfort Church: "Have you heard of Father Adrian?"

"Oh! You mean the drunk priest Adrian, right?"