"It's here," Komer's gaze drew everyone's attention to a plain four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage that slowly approached the Count's Mansion. On the door of the carriage, the clear insignia of a horse in full flight - an exclusive symbol of the Rosenborg Royal Family - was visible, and Komer strode confidently towards it.
Thomas was in a terrible mood, even his own sister could see that her brother seemed to have been defeated in his rivalry with Hoffman. Tracy herself also appeared to favor Prince Hoffman.
The gloomy mood directly affected Thomas's enthusiasm. He originally didn't want to attend this insignificant ball, but the thought of Tracy appearing at the evening party and having to leave for Jazair on the return journey tomorrow ultimately prevented him from controlling his emotions, and he accepted the invitation. Although he knew Hoffman would undoubtedly be by Tracy's side, he still wanted to see the angel in his heart one more time.
"Prince Thomas, Lady Dolomites, I'm pleased to see you." Komer said with a smile as he greeted a man and a woman who alighted from the carriage upon a servant opening the door.
"You? Baron Komer? You're attending the ball today as well?" The sullen prince asked with a raised eyebrow, quite rudely. It seemed even minor nobles like this had been invited; he regretted not declining the invitation outright.
"No, no, you misunderstand, Your Highness. I could never attend such high society events. I just heard you were departing for home tomorrow and wanted to give a small gift to Your Highness."
Komer could see the disdain in the other's eyes, while Princess Dolomites and a middle-aged man who looked like a steward cast their gazes upon him for the first time.
"A gift?" Thomas was utterly surprised, looking at Komer with undisguised skepticism, "Baron Komer, I think there must be some mistake. I'm not Prince Hoffman, Your Highness. You should probably be looking for him."
Thomas could not understand why a baron from the remote wastelands of the Kingdom of Nicosia would offer him a gift instead of their esteemed representative to the king, Prince Hoffman.
"Heh, Your Highness, surely you don't think I could mistake the recipient of my own gift?" Komer shook his head with a smile, "Gifts are for those who appreciate them." As he spoke, Komer had already handed the Crossbow Case given to him by Puber to the puzzled Prince Thomas.
Shrugging and seeing that the other party insisted, Thomas felt it impolite to refuse. However, he couldn't imagine what sort of gift the other man might have for him. He casually accepted the wooden box, and as soon as it was in his hands, Thomas immediately sensed something extraordinary about the object. Ah, this is Sand-sink Wood, and the carvings on the surface are actually Silver Stone Dingwen script used to engrave protective spells.
Although Thomas was neither a magician nor a mage, being a member of the Rosenborg Royal Family, he had been exposed to a considerable amount of knowledge regarding magic. In terms of magic, he considered himself to be at the level of a Magic Scholar, and he recognized the exquisite and sophisticated appearance of the crossbow.
Sand-sink Wood was not particularly valuable, but it was one of the best materials for preserving magical elements, suggesting that the contents inside were related to magic. The protective spell engraved in Silver Stone Dingwen script seemed to protect the items within the case from external magical forces. There was a small hole on the top of the case's front, which looked somewhat like that of a crossbow, a Crossbow Case indeed.
The moment he took it in his hands, Thomas's mind was utterly captivated by the object, and various analyses and judgments sprang to mind. The antiquated design of the wooden case and its slightly rounded edges indicated it had some years to it and seemed to be a weapon. More precisely, an assassination tool.
With a gentle press on the protruding button on the left side of the wooden case, it sprung open automatically, revealing a series of precisely fitting mechanisms and spare arrows.
Thomas's hands nearly started trembling as he stared at the ingeniously crafted device. At that moment, only the words 'harmony' and 'perfection' could describe the weapon before him. No, it shouldn't be called a weapon, but an artwork; to call it a weapon was to slander it, even though it indeed had the functionality of one.
The oil-black, shiny springs in the case glistened with a faint black light, emitting endless magical power. It was clear they were made of Magic Metal. Just a light touch with his fingers, Thomas could feel the magical power pulsating through the metal. The powerful springs alone told Thomas they were not something ordinary people could afford. Regardless of how difficult it was to obtain and smelt Magic Metal Ore, even if it was successfully forged, to craft it into a series of powerful springs was something few on the Continent could achieve.
It wasn't a matter of money, but the processing of Magic Metal on the Continent was a challenge. At least no mortal family could manage such a feat; only a few masterful Dwarf craftsmen could succeed. Yet Dwarves were notoriously difficult to deal with. To have them craft an item with great effort was even harder than finding a treasure at an Auction House because quite a number of quality items still circulated in the world.
The arrow shafts were made of Sunwood, which was not too unusual. Although scarce, Sunwood could be purchased. However, the arrowheads being made from Fire Gold were somewhat novel, and to organically combine Fire Gold with Sunwood would have required some effort. The fletching was also exceptional, made from feathers of the Wind Chime Bird, revered as a divine Wind System creature, rarely seen in the Continent and found only in the southern primitive forests. As swift as wind, their nests were built deep within cliff crevices, making them nearly impossible to capture. Using their feathers for fletching would certainly increase the arrow's speed, but it felt somewhat wasteful; after all, such celestial birds were exceedingly rare.