episode_0207

“Andrew, are you going to move right away?”

“It would be better that way. It would be best to resolve it as quickly as possible.”

When Amy asked if I was going to move right away, I nodded.

To be honest, there is no evidence that the Marquis of Kurid did anything, and it is just a conspiracy theory, but there was no harm in resolving this matter quickly.

All the problems that came up like conspiracy theories could be easily solved just by quickly ending the Territory War.

“Hey, I thought we’d hang out together for a long time.”

“Just finish this job and rest for a while. At that time, take it easy.”

“Boss. Absolutely.”

Seeing Jienna looking at me as if to make a promise, I smiled and nodded.

I also had the same desire to rest and enjoy a relaxing time with the two of us.

“First, I will go to the Magic Tower first. I have to send the princess and the alchemists to the capital first. We need to move them all to the capital’s magic tower and allow the production of alchemy liquid to proceed in the capital.”

“Please come back.”

“Ah, let’s go together. I will also stop by the guild and ask the guys who are good scouts to get some information about Viscount Tarr. It would also be helpful to identify the source of confidence in waging a territory war.”

Checking Viscount Tarr’s information was bound to be helpful.

He took Amy to the mercenary guild, saying that he would provide support so that the Hood Mercenaries could properly carry out their scouting mission.

And, as I passed by the mercenary guild, I headed towards the Magic Tower.

Since she was a princess who could be said to be crazy about alchemy, all she had to do to find it was go to the Magic Tower. Not only did they create a room in the school hall where they could provide lodging and stay there, but even the occasional exercise was done within the magic tower.

“Viscount Steel? What happened?”

Even now, as if he was exercising, he was walking up and down the stairs wearing clothes made of elastic fiber that were comfortable no matter how rough he moved.

He was vigorously stirring what appeared to be alchemy with his hands.

“What is that… … No, that’s not it. Princess, I have a story to tell you. Do you have time?”

“Uh… … . About thirty minutes is okay. What I’m making now needs to be stirred for another 30 minutes. It’s sensitive to mana, so I can’t stir it with an artifact, so I’m stirring it myself. After 30 minutes, you have to do the next task.”

“30 minutes… … .”

“If you don’t mind being next to me while I do my next work, I can spare about two hours.”

He roughly nodded when the princess said that he could have a conversation while doing alchemy. I don’t know if we could finish the conversation within thirty minutes, but two hours would have been enough.

“Then let’s go to the school president’s office.”

“… … By the way, what are you making with that thing you’re stirring?”

“Oh, this? It is an alchemy solution that allows metal plating. The thing that is being stirred is the alchemy liquid that is melting the metal into a form that can be plated.”

“Plating?”

“Yes. Among the things Viscount Steele requested was making metal that wouldn’t rust, right? Is that one of the ways to study that method? They say tin doesn’t rust. But just using notes wouldn’t satisfy Viscount Steele… … . So, I’m trying to plate tin on ordinary metal.”

“Ah… … .”

Even though I wasn’t paying much attention, I felt satisfied that I was doing my research diligently.

“Then, can all metals be plated?”

“If you use this alchemy liquid, you can cover it even if it is not made of metal. It is possible to plating both wood and stone. It is a form of temporarily turning metal into paint and applying it to the surface. ah! Or are you talking about the metal used for plating? That’s not it. Only a few metals are possible, including gold and tin. Erythronium is also possible.”

I thought it was fascinating to hear that plating was possible on wood and stone. In addition, since it was said that erythronium plating was also possible, I was curious to see how much performance would be improved when erythronium plating was applied.

But what was important right now wasn’t plating, so I got to the point as soon as I followed the princess into the school president’s office.

“Princess. I’m sorry, but I think you’ll have to stay in the capital for a while.”

“… … yes? Go back to the capital?”

“Oh, that doesn’t mean they’re kicking the princess out, so you don’t have to be too surprised.”

“But why are you suddenly asking me to return to the capital?”

“I’m in a bit of a troubled situation right now, so there’s nothing I can do about it. Viscount Tarr declared a territorial war… … .”

When I told them that there would be a territory war, the princess nodded as if she understood.

“Still, isn’t there enough time for the territory war to begin in earnest?”

“I think the purpose is to stall me by wasting time under the pretext of a territory war. In order to end the territory war as quickly as possible, it would be good for the princess to stay in the capital for a while… … .”

“… … all right. Still, can you give it a day or two? I need to have time to finish the alchemy I was doing and organize it.”

“I can give you that much time.”

The princess pursed her lips but nodded as if she understood. It seemed like he was aware that this was an unavoidable situation.

“You can come back after the territory battle is over, right?”

“As much as you want. Rather, I will come pick you up, so you don’t have to worry.”

There was no problem in coming back as long as this matter was completed. No, rather, the problem was that it didn’t come back.

The main contributor to the overwhelming competitiveness in the market is the magic tower, but the princess, the head of the magic tower, could not be given up.

“Good. Then, I will do my best to ensure that the Territory War begins as quickly as possible.”

“Oh! I would really appreciate it if you could do that.”

Even so, I wondered if I should at least lobby to get permission for the Yeongjijeon as quickly as possible, but I was very glad to hear that the princess would solve that problem.

As if alchemy wasn’t enough, the sight of the princess helping with administrative aspects was endearing.

Somehow, it occurred to me that it would be very disappointing if the princess were to marry someone else, whether through an arranged marriage or a love marriage.

But it wasn’t something I could do anything about, so I shook my head and shook off the distracting thoughts.

“Then, could the princess tell a story to the other alchemists?”

“Don’t worry. We will prepare it as soon as possible.”

Perhaps thinking that preparing quickly and heading to the capital would ultimately allow her to return sooner, the princess looked as if she would urge the alchemists at any moment.

Even the movement of the hand that was stirring the plating liquid became faster.

Looking at the princess like that, we talked about a few more things. It was something like a request to continue producing elixirs and other alchemy liquids even after going to the capital.

The princess said that time was running out and moved on to the next task, but somehow she was able to finish the whole story.

And, after finishing the story, the princess immediately called all the alchemists, explained that they had to return to the capital, and began preparing to leave the magic tower in my city for a while.

After two more days had passed, just as the princess had wanted, the princess and other alchemists were ready to return to the capital.

Of course, the way to send the princess and other alchemists to the capital was to use zombie wyverns. Since I had to finish the job as quickly as possible, I had no choice but to use the zombie wyvern.

Of course, since each of them had an armful of alchemy tools and such, all three zombie wyverns had to be used.

Still, I don’t know if it was because the three of them shared the burden, but they were able to reach the capital fairly quickly compared to the number of people and the weight of their luggage.

“Viscount Steel! Let’s go straight to the royal castle.”

And as soon as I arrived at the capital, the princess held my hand and moved toward the capital as if leading me. He left the luggage he had brought with him to another alchemist and went with me to the castle.

The sole purpose is to ensure that my territory war begins quickly and ends at least a day early.

Thanks to this, it was possible to meet the crown prince while he was at work.

“Oh! This is someone! Why did you come to the royal castle again? … .”

“Brother. Viscount Steel said he would declare a territorial war, so please give permission as quickly as possible.”

“Chemis. I pretended to know Viscount Steele before you did, but it’s a bit strange that you didn’t say hello either… … .”

“The noble faction might interfere. So, I hope you take care of it right away.”

Thanks to the princess who pushed forward as if she would push away everything that got in her way, the crown prince looked at me and the princess alternately with a look of great bewilderment.

In the end, it was only after I explained the things I had inferred, starting with the fact that Viscount Tar had sent an envoy to mention the Territory Battle, even though it was at the level of a conspiracy theory, that the crown prince was able to understand the situation.

“I understand. Permission for territorial warfare will be granted as quickly as possible.”

Fortunately, though, it wasn’t difficult to get permission for the territory.

It wasn’t simply that the princess was helping me or that the crown prince favored me. It was obvious that Viscount Tar had received support from other nobles of the noble faction, so my intention was to win the territory war and destroy all of them to reduce the power of the noble faction.

But whatever the reason, the important thing was that the territory war was clearly permitted.

I rode the zombie wyvern and flew high into the sky with a very relaxed mind.

And, next to me, there was an official who was trembling and terrified because of the height. It was an official announcing that the territory war had been approved. He was scheduled to go back and forth between my territory and Viscount Tarr’s territory to announce the start of the territory war.