episode_0151

“I invest in that branch.”

When I said I would invest in creating a branch of the alchemy school, there was an immediate response.

“Viscount Steele, Your Highness will not like it.”

“Is it true?!”

The reactions of the two people who heard that they would invest were very different. Count Art looked at her as if she was crazy, and the princess smiled as if she was dying of joy.

“Viscount Steel! You have to think carefully. The head of the school said he was researching alchemy and training younger students, but in reality, he just needed a space where he could practice alchemy without being scolded by His Highness!”

“Hey, Count Art… … . Even so, I am a princess and the head of the school, so wouldn’t that be a bit harsh… … ?”

“It’s noisy! I don’t want to be called to Your Majesty again because of the head of the school!”

In particular, Count Art’s reaction was very violent. It was to the point where she was glaring at the princess, as if she was no longer a princess.

Thanks to this, the princess, who was smiling as if she was in a good mood, cringed a little.

Seeing the two people like that, he smiled slightly and spoke out the unfinished story. I never said I would make an unconditional investment.

“Of course, there are conditions. The place where the branch will be established is my territory, and the princess can visit the branch only after receiving permission from Her Majesty or the Crown Prince.”

When I told them about the conditions for the investment that I had not mentioned, their reactions changed. To be precise, it was as if the two people’s positions were opposite.

Count Arth smiled brightly, and the princess looked at me in disbelief. No, in a way, it felt like I had been betrayed.

“Well, under those conditions, it wouldn’t be bad, right? Even though we wanted to bring in more school members, it was difficult to teach them and give them space to do research.”

Count Art, who smiled brightly, nodded immediately. It was a completely different reaction than before.

It seemed like he had positive thoughts about creating a branch. The reason I opposed it was simply because I felt it was the same as providing a place for the king’s daughter, the princess, to have fun as she pleased.

However, in response to Count Art’s reaction, the princess, who was looking at me as if she had been betrayed, screamed in urgency.

“No, why do I, the head of the school, need someone else’s permission to visit the branch!”

“It won’t cost a penny or two to create a branch, so wouldn’t you be able to make a bad impression on His Majesty by investing in such a thing?”

“Well, that’s true, but… … .”

The princess appeared hesitant, as if she couldn’t bear to refute my words. While the king was displeased with the princess practicing alchemy, it was obvious that he would be displeased if she offered to provide a place where she could practice alchemy as she pleased.

No matter how much I was a princess, I couldn’t force the king to do something that I knew he wouldn’t like, so she just gave me a sad look. Ignoring Count Art, who was shooting me a sharp look next to me.

Of course, a branch could not be created unless the princess, the head of the alchemy school, gave permission. That’s why I couldn’t ignore the princess’s sorrowful eyes. In order to create a branch in my territory, the princess’s cooperation was essential.

“There is one way… … .”

“How? What is that!”

When I heard that there was a way, the princess gave me eyes sparkling with hope.

“I am asking the Crown Prince for help.”

“Dear brother… … ? Why is that a method? Don’t you know that even if you are your brother, there is no way you can express an opinion that goes against your highness, your father?”

The eyes that were full of hope immediately turned crooked. It was clear that the princess thought she would not be able to get help from the crown prince.

Seeing the princess like that, she smiled lightly and shook her head.

“It is difficult to give a definite answer, but it is not impossible. The royalists and the royal family have not benefited from my presence, right?”

“… … Now that I think about it, my brother has talked about Viscount Steele a few times.”

No matter how many times the crown prince brought up the story about me, the princess slowly nodded. But nodding like that lasted only for a moment.

“It doesn’t seem unlikely, but… … . However, I think it would be difficult to believe that your brother would bring up something that goes against Your Majesty’s opinion.”

It seemed like there was some possibility, but it seemed like they thought it would be impossible to actually get permission.

“Princess. Do you know that it is a collaboration?”

“If you are asking about the meaning of the word, I understand that it means two or more people or organizations working together to create something… … . Is that correct?”

“Yes. that’s right. And, this is something the princess should emphasize to the crown prince.”

The princess tilted her head when I told her to emphasize cooperation. It seemed as if he was asking what he was doing by emphasizing that.

“I want you to appeal to the benefits that will arise when my blacksmith Smith Skeleton and the princess’s alchemy school join forces. There may be things that can help, like the two elixirs I’m using right now. If more such things were to occur, wouldn’t it simply benefit me personally, but wouldn’t it also benefit the royalists and the royal family?”

What I meant was to appeal to the advantages that would arise from the establishment of an alchemy school in my territory. If it were possible to improve the performance of iron products or create a new type of metal, like the elixir we are using now, it would be possible to use it in many ways.

If goods were supplied only to the royalist faction and not to the aristocratic faction as is the case now, it could ultimately be of great benefit to the royal family.

I didn’t know if it would be possible if I appealed to that aspect. Plus, there was one more way to increase the odds.

“Of course, it would be better if you also promise not to visit the branch often.”

“No, I’m just trying to go to the branch, but you’re actually telling me to promise not to go to the branch often?”

When asked to promise not to go often, which was a way to increase the chances of getting permission, the princess immediately objected.

Since I was creating a branch where I could practice alchemy as I wanted, I didn’t want to promise to not go to the branch often.

“Anyway, you can’t come to the branch often even if it’s not because of permission, right? If I build it in my territory, there will be distance issues. It would take at least a month to go back and forth, and two or three months if you include the princess making various preparations.”

“Oh, I guess that’s true too.”

The princess nodded slowly at my words. I just reflexively got upset when I heard that I didn’t go often, but if you think about it one by one, it wasn’t a big problem. To put it bluntly, even if we only went back and forth four to six times, more than a year would have passed.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I can say I’ll go a few times a year.

Anyway, the princess was persuaded by my words and immediately got up from her seat.

“Let’s go see your brother right away!”

The princess got up from her seat, immediately told the crown prince that she was going to visit him, and then left the school president’s office.

In an instant, the princess, the head of the school, left, leaving Count Art alone in the school head’s room.

“Ugh. It’s getting annoying.”

And, after seeing that the princess had completely left, Count Art melted into the sofa and looked at me with a slight resentment.

I felt sorry for Count Art with his resentful eyes. Although the princess was in the position of head of the school, it was obvious that the work related to actually creating a branch would be done by the school members, including Count Art.

Still, since Count Art had responded positively to the idea of creating a branch, he did not say anything more. He didn’t even give me any more resentful looks.

“Viscount Steel. Now that this is over, why don’t we take a break in the break room for a moment? If you want, you can go out to see the capital. When the head of the school returns, I will send someone separately.”

Count Art, who had been sobbing on the sofa for a while, soon regained his strength and started talking as if asking him to choose what to do until the princess returns.

Seeing the capital city didn’t seem too bad, but I didn’t really feel like doing it. When I conveyed those thoughts, Count Art gave me the lounge used by the academy members.

As I was lying down in the lounge, relieving the fatigue I had accumulated on the way to the capital, at some point it started to get a little noisy outside. It felt like there was a commotion coming from outside the Magic Tower building.

And, the commotion moved from outside the Magic Tower to inside, and got closer to the lounge where I was. As I sneaked out of the lounge to see what the hell was going on, a group of people came into view.

“Oh! Viscount Steel! Were you there?”

That is, a group of people, including the Crown Prince, waving their hands at me as if they were happy to see me.

He looked shocked for a moment at the sight of the crown prince appearing out of nowhere, but quickly came to his senses and greeted him. We exchanged simple greetings and asked if it had been a while since we had seen each other.

“I didn’t expect to see you in the capital, but maybe that’s why I feel even more glad to see you. How have you been these days?”

“Thanks to the Crown Prince, we were doing well. There was one thing that happened, but it wasn’t a big problem.”

“Work? Looks like something bad happened.”

Seeing the crown prince’s reluctance to say anything, perhaps because he thought it was a sensitive issue, he immediately shook his head and told the story of the attack on the blacksmith shop.

They said that although the blacksmith shop was attacked and there was some material damage, there were no casualties or anything like that, and that although one of the attackers who figured out the structure of the blacksmith shop successfully escaped, no particularly important information was stolen.

“… … By any chance, did those raiders figure out that you were using undead to make iron products in your blacksmith shop?”

“Yes. But, well, it wasn’t that important.”

However, unlike me who said it was no big deal, the Crown Prince’s face immediately hardened after hearing my story. Even, a small muttering ‘damn’ could be heard from his mouth.

I wondered why he was doing that, but the crown prince immediately told me the reason.