episode_0168

“This is… … ?”

“Ah, this is the place the princess will use from now on. Since it is a magic tower for the alchemy school, wouldn’t it be natural for the top floor to be the space for the school leader?”

“Oh my.”

I don’t know if it was because she said she would be allowed to use the 8th floor, the top floor of the Magic Tower, but the princess looked around with a very touched face.

However, it was evident here that he was a person who was truly immersed in alchemy. He was muttering things like what tools to put there and how to change the structure to be good for alchemy here.

“Kuhm… … . Princess.”

However, because the princess was looking around in fascination, the guard knight stopped her again. He seemed to think that if things continued like this, the conversation would never even begin.

I had similar thoughts, so I led everyone to the school president’s office that I had prepared in advance. Simple furniture had been arranged in advance inside the school president’s office, so it was perfect for conversation.

However, although what was being discussed may have been quite important, not everyone went inside the school president’s office.

“I’m sorry, but I wish everyone else would be ignored and only the Knight Commander, myself, and Viscount Steele would talk.”

They wanted to have a conversation with only three people, including me, the princess, and the leader of the knights guarding the princess.

Of course, Amy, who had come up to the top floor with me, also said that she didn’t want me to go into the school president’s office.

“Why? no way… … .”

And, Amy, who realized that she was excluded, gently grabbed my sleeve and gave the princess a wary look. I wondered why that was, but it seemed like it was because the princess was talking about getting married a little while ago.

The princess also seemed to understand that part and smiled awkwardly.

“I’m sorry. But you don’t need to worry. To begin with, I am not in a position where I can do whatever I want to get married. Moreover, when you become a princess, you can marry a nobleman of at least a count or higher for the sake of the royal family’s prestige, so please don’t hate her too much.”

“… … Sorry.”

When the princess, and not someone else, said she was sorry, Amy looked surprised but quickly nodded. And when he realized that his behavior was very rude, he apologized as well.

“No. Attacked by a married man… … ? Well, anyway, it’s my fault.”

“Wow, princess. Express yourself… … .”

“What do you think?”

The princess, who smiled brightly even as the guard knight called the knight commander looked embarrassed, lightly held Amy’s hand as if to tell her not to worry.

Amy must have been quite at ease by seeing the princess like that, and smiled softly as she held her hand.

“Then let’s go in first.”

After looking at the princess who seemed to be exchanging glances with Amy for a moment, he immediately led the princess and the knight leader into the school president’s office.

I don’t know if they were trying to prevent anyone from eavesdropping on the conversations going on inside the school president’s office, but knights appeared to be guarding the front door. As the door closed, I could no longer see those people, and the princess and I sat down facing each other.

“First of all, your brother is the one who requested this conversation… … . This is because there are items and letters that you asked me to deliver to Viscount Steele.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“Chief of the Knights?”

As the princess was puzzled by the sudden mention of the crown prince, she gestured to the knight commander. Then the knight commander brought a box. Earlier, while the princess was talking to Amy, several knights seemed to have entered the school president’s office, and it seemed like they had placed something there.

“What is this?”

“To be honest, I don’t know either. I’m simply on my way to Viscount Steele’s territory, so I’m just following my brother’s words to tell me.”

The princess, who said she had no idea, took out a small letter from a bag she had brought with her. The letter was sealed with wax, but there was no sign of it being opened.

“This is the letter my brother asked me to deliver to Viscount Steele. I don’t know the content, but if you have anything to say to your brother after reading the content, please let me know.”

I was surprised by the crown prince’s action of simply using the princess as a messenger, but it seemed like the best way to talk while maintaining security. Since a branch of the Alchemy School has been established in my territory, if I deliver the letter through the visiting princess as the head of the school, there will be less unnecessary suspicion.

Anyway, seeing the princess look like she could open it as much as she wanted, I opened the letter right away. With a sound, the wax was torn, and the letter paper inside was revealed.

As it was sent by the Crown Prince, the quality of the paper was quite good. The texture was superior to any paper I had ever touched. It made me think that most fabrics couldn’t be softer than this.

But since the texture wasn’t important, I checked it out right away. However, the contents of the letter were quite different from what I expected. I thought it would start with all sorts of rhetoric, but the main point was written from the beginning.

The content was very simple; it was news that the Marquis of Kurid had actually started producing iron products through a certified warlock. Of course, it was news that would raise eyebrows, but that was not the only content of the letter.

[I will send you some of the iron products that I have secretly secured, so you can check the difference in level and, if there are any areas that need to be strengthened in your blacksmith shop, reinforce them further to secure competitiveness. For reference, according to the royal blacksmiths, the level is still crude.]

Exactly, the identity of the box that the knight commander had brought nearby was contained in the letter. It was clear that it contained products manufactured by the Marquis of Kurid, which the crown prince had secretly secured.

In fact, when I lightly opened the box, I found that inside were several swords and a small hand shield.

However, as in the letter, the level still seemed crude. Even the things I made in my blacksmith shop in the early days were not of this quality, and were only slightly better than the few times I had made them as a demonstration when I was young.

For more details, you could send the items to researchers and ask them to determine the difference in level, but that’s what I saw right now.

Although it was not considered to be a level where we had to be very cautious yet, we decided not to let down our guard since technology originally increased as it was made.

‘… … ‘I need to start a textile business and bring it down completely before it grows any further.’

Therefore, the importance of the textile business has grown even more. There was a need to put Marquis Kurid to rest before he could gain know-how in metallurgy.

But I still wasn’t finished with the letter, so I read a little further.

The rest of the content was quite concise. There were instructions to forward a letter whenever you have an idea to deal with the Marquis of Kurid, or to obtain an estimate for the need to further strengthen the royal family’s military power.

It seemed that the Marquis of Kurid was trying to be on guard, as mass production of low-quality weapons through certified warlocks would create a large number of troops.

However, I thought the letter was finished, but there was something that seemed to have been added at the end, past the empty space on the letter.

[Probably my younger brother Chemis will try to spend this winter at your territory for some reason. From what I understand, the alchemists in the capital also gave instructions to come to your territory, giving various excuses. I would like to force you to bring him back, but if you use alchemy, you will be able to create something superior to Marquis Kurid, so I will ask you only for this winter. Still, if you just let me do the alchemy, I won’t cause you any trouble, so don’t worry.]

In other words, it was a request to take good care of the princess during the winter.

Of course, at first it felt quite burdensome to have the princess live in the city, but when I thought about it, it didn’t seem like a big deal. As the crown prince wrote in his letter, it seemed like there wouldn’t be any problem if they just let him do alchemy.

Besides, it would have been nice to have at least one more alchemist at the moment. Since alchemists were also participating in the research and development of metals, there was no harm in having many alchemists. Even if the alchemist is a princess.

Anyway, since there was nothing more to be written in the letter beyond asking for the princess to take care of her during the winter, he immediately folded the letter and took it away in his arms.

“I confirmed the letter and also confirmed the reason why you sent these items to me. Thanks to the princess, I was able to check important information quickly.”

“Nothing to say. By the way, is there anything I need to reply to you separately?”

“Oh, you asked for something special, so I’ll get it to you right away.”

Since I had requested a quote for weapons that would further strengthen the royal family’s military power, I was planning to take care of that. Since the desired item or quantity was written in the letter, all I had to do was calculate the price.

“No, no! You can take it slowly. Viscount Steel will have a lot of work to do, so let’s take it slow.”

However, the princess reacted loudly for no reason and emphasized that it was okay to take things slowly. I wondered why on earth he was doing that, but I quickly found out why. I also found out why the crown prince left a letter about the princess.

“Chlokkolok… … ! Knight Commander… … . I suddenly caught a cold and I don’t think I’ll be able to return to the capital. Cough! However, this is a letter that must be delivered to my brother before winter… … . Leader, please convey this to my brother on my behalf. If winter gets deeper, you might not be able to deliver the letter to your brother, right?”

The princess, who was intentionally coughing and coughing, and was playing tricks with an unnatural red face, seemed to be trying to remain in my territory.

He tried to remain alone, saying things like it was winter and he couldn’t go back to the capital with a cold, but he had to deliver the letter.

“Princess… … .”

The knight commander seemed to have already figured out what the princess was like, but the princess was still cooing and averting his gaze.

Of course, the knight commander also seemed to have heard something from the crown prince, and left with a small sigh, leaving behind a few guard knights. It was true that once winter began in earnest, letters could not be delivered due to snow or cold.

And, as if she didn’t know that the crown prince had known all of this from the beginning, the princess began to wander around the magic tower with her normal body right after the knight commander left.

The princess, who snooped everywhere from the basement to the top floor, the 8th floor, was very happy as if she had come to her own world. He seemed so happy that no one would interfere with his alchemy here that he smiled brightly every time he saw him.

Moreover, in the process, he seemed to have figured out that I had directed the development of a metal that would not rust through collaboration between alchemists and researchers.

“Viscount Steel! Is it okay if I help with the research?”

In addition, he seemed to be so interested in the research that he expressed his willingness to participate in it.

It was important for me to take over the Marquis of Kurid’s money, but it was also important to ensure that no one dared to catch up with me in metallurgy, so I willingly allowed it. This is because the princess possessed skills that did not make it possible for her to become the head of the school based on her status.

Thanks to this, it became easier to mobilize alchemists to help build a weaving mill, and it was possible to build a weaving mill building just before winter began in earnest and heavy snow fell.