This story was inspired and based off of two things. First, an anime named Kino No Tabi. Second, a picture drawn by the following pixiv user.
users/2497307 (The one with the red plane)
Also, the characters will have no specific classes in this.
Anyways, enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They belong to their respective owners.
Once upon a time, there was a world filled with many different towns that contained many different cultures. Amongst those, there was a small town, who knows where, known for its creation of ideas and products. Now, this here town was filled with loving people. Well, mostly loving people. You see, there were these two engineering businesses that were always fighting with each other. Let's call these businesses… Gearworks and The Titanium Welder. Yes, now, Gearworks and The Titanium Welder drove away all the tourists because of their great quarrels. Soon enough, the whole town was cleansed of tourism, and the townsfolk became enraged by these two businesses. Of course, that didn't stop these two. In fact, that only fired up their competition. Now what were they fighting for… oh yes! They were fighting over a title that had been passed on for generations— The Town Engineer. This title was only given by the mayor of the town, and only to the best business of them all. Of course, the mayor was too angry to give it to either of them. And still, the two businesses continued to fight.
Well, they did stop fighting eventually.
And one business did earn that title.
And soon enough, the town became peaceful and tourists returned. And everyone lived happily ever after.
The End.
…What? You want to know MORE? But this story is dreadfully long!
…Alright, I'll tell you the story. But don't blame me if you don't get your time back!
It all started one normal, but not so average, morning…
The golden sun rose along the horizon, peaking through the framed windows on the wall. On a wooden desk, there were scraps of metal and gears. Boxes of tools overflowed from under the desk. Multiple machines and devices sat across the wooden floor, collecting dust. Now, that peaking sun slowly inched its way along the floor, eventually revealing the light brown laced boots of a young boy, let's say seventeen years old, who was currently wiping off one of his brand new inventions while sitting in a brown leather chair. This young boy had bright red hair with aviator goggles keeping some of his bangs out of his face. His brown flannel pants were stuck into his boots, and his legs were covered by a green attachment that also went inside the boots. This redhead wore an olive green shirt with white fluff on his shoulders and on the ends of his sleeves, and a green handkerchief flowing from the neckline. Hanging on his brown belt was a wooden dream catcher that had white feathers with brown tips.
While our young boy whistled while polishing his invention, the brown door to the building swung open. The sun's bright rays flew in, as well as a yellow bird that landed on the man's head. A girl wearing a black and white Victorian dress, matching shoes, pink stockings, a black tie, a frilly choker, and a kitty pocket on her side stood in the doorframe. Her hair was tied into two low pigtails with a short ponytail hanging from the top, back area of her head. In walked the calm, mannered, and sophistic—
"Elsword, you huge jerk! You were supposed to meet me at my place yesterday!" The purple haired girl, who just walked in, yelled at the redhead— wait a second. That's not calm OR sophisticated. And yelling is certainly NOT mannered.
The redhead, named Elsword, gave the purple girl a toothy smile over his shoulder. "Sorry Aisha. I was busy finishing up my new invention," he raised the object in his hand to show the girl.
The device was a tiny cube with a red button on top. Upon Elsword pressing the button, the cube unfolded and transformed into a toy with wheels and wings. Elsword threw the toy into the air, and it flew around in circles, landing back on the wooden table using the landing wheels.
Elsword spun in his chair while the toy flew around, stopping to look at Aisha once it landed. He placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. "Whatcha' think? It'll bring The Titanium Welder to shame, right?"
Aisha sighed, her shoulders drooping. These two people here have been friends since Elsword was born and they work alongside each other in their business called Gearworks. Naturally, she fell in love with her childhood friend like all those good tales. And naturally, she's been constantly rejected by him. It's no secret she likes him. But on the bright side, his rejections make her work harder!
"I think you work to hard. You don't spend enough time with me…" Aisha told him with disappointment. She walked and fell onto the floor in front of Elsword, landing on her tush.
Elsword leaned forward in his chair and flicked the girls forehead. "I can't date my worker. You'd be a distraction to me." He gave her a wink that made her flick him back.
While these two... odd people were talking, a blonde girl had walked into the room. This girl wore a blue beret with a black rim and metal rectangle with a paw print on it, and a maroon colored outfit consisting of a shirt and short. She lugged the satchel she was carrying onto another wooden desk at another side of the room and unwrapped a long yellow scarf from her neck and placed it with the bag. She bent down and retied her red shoes.
"Hey Chung," Elsword said, finally noticing the blonde boy— Oh. This person isn't a girl, but a boy.
Chung waved back and opened a drawer, pulling out two blue gauntlets and an apron. Using three black strings, he tied the gauntlets to his wrists and the apron around his waist. "Sorry I'm late today. A gear on my bike broke off while I was off getting materials."
Aisha, recovered from her sorrow, stood and smiled sweetly at Chung. "It's no problem!"
Elsword stood from his chair and picked up his gloves. "It's not a big deal Chung, so long as you're here." He pulled the brown leather onto his hands and picked up a wrench. "Now let's get working."
A scorching flame emitted from the blow torch as Elsword expertly cut a sheet of metal. The welding mask on his face reflected the blue and orange light from the flame. Bits and pieces flew from his work spot and onto the floor.
Aisha was sketching up blueprints quickly. The paper depicted a broom with wheels and a dusting pan attached to a mini car. She grimaced before erasing her plans with a giant eraser.
At another end of the room, Chung was screwing in one last screw on a cannon before placing it with all the other weapons he had made. He placed his hands on his hips and smiled, slowly backing up to admire all his fine works from a distance. Chung ended up bumping into the corner of a small table with a potted plant on top. He groaned in pain as he clutched his side where he had been jabbed.
"You alright Chung?" Elsword asked with concern while he pulled the welding mask from his face.
Chung held up a hand to Elsword and waved away the approaching Aisha. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine…"
The table he had bumped into was positioned right by the door to Gearworks. As Chung attempted to regain his composure, the aforementioned door swung open and knocked the blonde down to the floor. Aisha gasped, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth. Elsword, first turning off the blow torch, dropped what he was doing and rushed to the scene. Chung laid knocked out on the floor. How lucky he was.
A silver haired lady stood in the door frame with the hand that had opened the door held out. Her shoulder length locks were covered by a white and gray beret that peaked out at two spots at the top. A matching coat was clasped together by a circular golden clasp, concealing a short red and black dress underneath. Red and black boots adorned her feet, accompanied by long black stockings. On her forehead was a shiny blue semi-sphere. Her face remained unfazed, despite the conked out boy on the floor.
"Is this an engineer business?" The lady asked staring straight at the angry Elsword. She walked in, leaving the door open.
Elsword balled up his fist and quickly began approaching the lady. "You don't even apologize for hurting my intern!" he directed his head to Chung, who was still on the floor.
She turned her head and looked at him. "He shouldn't have been standing there." The lady responded. She replied quickly to him without any hesitation. "And I believe you have not answered my question. Is this, or is this not, an engineer business?"
"I'll answer you when you apologize!"
"I do not believe that I owe anybody an apology."
"I-It's alright Elsword! I-I'm fine!" Chung assured as he, miraculously, appeared next to the bickering two. The boy's face was lightly tinted pink for a reason unexplained.
The silver-haired lady nodded at Chung. "Even your intern admits to being in good condition." The look in her eyes was placid, unfazed despite the way she had just been treated. "And isn't the customer always right?"
... Ouch. What a retort.
Elsword crossed his arms and grunted at what she had pointed out. There was really no point for him to fight a paying customer. "... How can we help you?"
Without answering the upset owner, the lady walked up to Chung's table where a small, unfinished gun laid. She picked it up and inspected it carefully. "Silver plating, sound suppressor, light-weight," She rotated the gun once, and her eye's flashed. She dropped the gun onto the table, breaking off a tiny piece. "Trash."
"Why you…!" Elsword began to pounce on the lady, but was held back by Aisha who was using all her strength. Chung gaped at the lady.
"This structure is on a list of ones that are impossible to function. This is better as scrap metal."
"B-but it works..." Chung mumbled while she walked over to one of Elsword's works.
Elsword began to fight Aisha's restraint even more as the lady took his cube from the table and pressed the red button. The cube unfolded into the red toy from before. "Fascinating..." She muttered with wide eyes. After her further inspection, she hurled it in the air. It flew circles and loops before gently landing on a random sheet of steel.
The lady, after watching the red toy fly around, turned to Elsword. "I haven't seen anything like this. I am genuinely intrigued by it." A sort of respect and laud was being given to him right now
"Uh... Thanks?" The owner replied, finally stopping struggling.
Elsword's loving friend released her grasp on the seventeen-year old and skipped forward to the lady. "Would you like to purchase it?" Aisha asked with a sweet voice. The lady nodded—
"N-No way! This is my prototype!" He lashed out at Aisha before turning back to the lady with the same anger. "It's not for sale!"
... And in seconds, the respect the lady had towards Elsword disappeared. Immediately, her expression became emotionless. "I shall pay any cost for this prototype then."
Aisha and Chung, the latter who had remained silent, looked at Elsword. That was a pretty huge offer the lady proposed. The redhead shook his head violently. He wasn't going to give up the fight just yet. "I said no!"
The customer returned the cube back to where she found it. "Alright. I have no business to bring here then. Good day."
Wait what? She's giving up?
The lady walked out of the still-open door. Aisha and Chung looked back and forth between their boss and lost customer. The purple-haired girl hit Elsword on the side of the head before running after the lady, Chung following her. Elsword, sighing, followed Aisha as well.
"Wait! We have other stuff you might want!" Aisha yelled while waving her hand.
"Yeah! Don't leave Miss!" Chung called from behind.
The lady turned around swiftly, the wind blowing her long coat and strands of hair. "I have no business with you. Good day."
"Minister, would you like to bring your business to the Titanium Welder~?"
Elsword and his two chasing companions stopped in their tracks to look at the source of the voice. A woman with light green hair that went to the middle of her back stood with her hand on her hip and a sign in her other that read "The Titanium Welder". She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and to say she stuck out in her environment would be an understatement. In a town with modest dressing, her outfits spoke louder than words. She wore brown daisy dukes and a crop top with white lace that revealed far to much skin on her midriff and chest. Her brown boots were covered by layers of fringe that shook every time she moved. Along with two black arm bands and matching brown gloves, she wore a long cape and large hat.
To sum it up, she was dressed as a skimpy cowgirl of sorts.
"Rena..." Elsword muttered while balling up his fists. Was there some bad blood here? Perhaps there will be a showdown like in those old western movies?
Ignoring Elsword, Rena skipped over to the silver-haired lady. "Hello there! I'm so sorry for the rude owner of Gearworks! He wouldn't know how to treat a customer if it saved his life!"
While standing in between the lady and the other three, Rena looked sideways at the three people from Gearworks with a a smug look on her face. "The Minister of Mechanics deserves better."
Upon hearing Rena's statement, Elsword and Aisha became horrified. "S-She's...?!"
The silver-haired lady stuck a hand into her white coat and pulled out a golden and shiny badge with the title on it.
"I am, indeed, The Minister of Mechanics. And you three are but mere imbeciles."