episode_0152

“There is an intelligence group that I personally run. And, recently, some questionable information came in from that intelligence group.”

“What you mean by questionable information is… … ?”

“First of all, before I say that, let me first talk about a man named Marquis Kurid. That person is the leader of the noble faction and is like the second most powerful person in the noble faction. Are you a brat who takes issue with the royal family at every turn and does outrageous things?”

Seeing him speak with an expression of genuine displeasure, I was convinced that this was not the first time that the Marquis of Kurid had clashed with the royal family. If it wasn’t for that, there was no way I would have shown my displeasure like that.

The muscles around his nose twitched and the Crown Prince clicked his tongue and continued his explanation.

“First of all, information has recently come in that the Marquis of Kurid has been actively meeting with certified warlocks.”

“… … ?”

I tilted my head at the crown prince’s words. I wondered if what I heard was true.

If nothing else, it was because of the part where he met a certified warlock. Even thinking about it myself as a certified warlock, to be honest, there was no reason for a noble to go around meeting a certified warlock.

If I had only met one person, I would have thought it would have been because of the funeral, but there was no reason I could think of to meet many people. I couldn’t curse someone or make something that could harm them.

If there was any possibility, they could meet to save the cursed person, but if that were the reason, there was no way the Crown Prince would show such an overreaction.

But the crown prince’s words were not over yet.

“After contacting several certified warlocks, the tax regulations suddenly changed in the Marquis of Kurid’s territory. It was done so that the territory residents could pay part of their taxes with blood.”

“… … Blood, are you talking about it? Blood?”

“Yes. Don’t you know this well? They say they are running a blood collection project in conjunction with a temple? I heard that the results of helping the poor are quite high, and the lords who cooperate with temples and blood collection projects are very happy.”

I nodded at the Crown Prince’s knowing look during the blood collection business. Although it was not a large amount, it was an amount that the poor could save little by little and take on new challenges. In fact, the temples and lords liked it.

However, the crown prince seemed to have not wanted to talk about the blood collection business, so he continued talking immediately.

“At first, I wondered why on earth they were doing that, but several possibilities came to mind. But what you said a moment ago turned one of those possibilities into a certainty.”

There was one thing that came to mind in the Crown Prince’s words: confidence.

“No way, that Marquis of Kurid is trying to follow me… … Is it true?”

“With very high probability.”

“No… … . this… … .”

The crown prince’s confident words left me speechless.

To be honest, I thought that a competitor might arise because the blacksmith shop was attacked and internal information was obtained, but I never imagined that I would hear such a story in such a sudden situation.

“When I first found out that he was meeting with certified warlocks, it was just a suspicion. It could be like this – how much? But as I got more and more information, my doubts grew into doubts. And, the story that your blacksmith shop was attacked turned suspicion into certainty.”

The Crown Prince shared with me the information he had obtained.

He met with certified warlocks. Among them, the last certified warlock he met again several times, began collecting blood as taxes, purchased slaves in large quantities, and stockpiled firewood flowers at an excessive level to prepare for the winter. It was information.

Each piece of information may seem meaningless, but when viewed as a whole, it is a piece of information that boils down to one thing.

“It’s clear that you really want to follow me… … .”

“That’s right. There is no reason to collect blood as taxes unless it is intended to strengthen the capabilities of warlocks in a short period of time. It looks like they did a lot of research on you.”

At the crown prince’s words, I sighed deeply without realizing it. I was shocked for a moment, but the Crown Prince seemed to be letting out a long sigh as well.

“Is there any way to stop what Marquis Kurid is trying to do?”

“For now. You can make excuses for providing blood to a warlock, but… … . When I asked some priests who were close to me, they said the chances were not high. Is that because they didn’t forcibly extort blood from the territory’s residents? They say the problem is that they gave you the option to replace part of your taxes with blood. No, it’s a problem because it’s not a problem.”

They said that they could not raise an issue even through the temple because they were allowed to do whatever they wanted regardless of whether they paid money or blood.

It could have been a problem if the Marquis of Kurid had used the blood to do something bad, but it was also said that there would be no problem if he created undead and used them as labor in return.

“You can’t take issue with people copying what I do… … There won’t be any, right?”

“I would like to do that, but the noble faction will fiercely resist.”

I’m the original, so don’t copy me! I wanted to stop him by shouting, but in reality, I couldn’t. This was partly because the Crown Prince said that the aristocratic faction seemed to be fully supporting it, but also because there was no law to force it. It seems like that was possible in my past life, but unfortunately, there was no such method in this world.

No matter how much I thought about it, I could only sigh. However, I couldn’t just sigh forever.

And, it seemed to be the same for the Crown Prince as well. The crown prince sighed for a while and gestured to the back. At the twitching gesture, the princess, who had been quiet as if she wasn’t there, rushed over.

“Chemis. What did you say earlier?”

“Brother. Viscount Steele said that there were many benefits that could arise from combining Viscount Steele’s blacksmith shop, called Smithskeleton, with our school of alchemy.”

“Yes. Then Viscount Steele. I’m going to ask you. Is there anything wrong with what Kemis said? I’m asking if you whispered sweet words simply to build a friendship with Chemis, who has the status of a princess.”

I didn’t see him much, but he gave me a serious look, different from the light look he had shown so far. I nodded without hesitation at the look in his eyes that seemed to say, “Spew only the truth.”

To be honest, if you ask me that, I wonder if there would be anyone who would say, ‘I seduced the princess with sweet words to build a friendship with her!’

Anyway, I nodded and spoke in a voice full of confidence.

“As you can see by looking at Smith Skeleton right now, the products they sell as their main products are products made using elixirs created through alchemy. Of course, that elixir was created by the alchemy school of the Royal Magic Tower.”

“Ah, those elixirs. Yes, that was there. So, are you saying that more such elixirs can be created through connection with the alchemy school?”

“I can’t give you a definite answer because I didn’t make it. However, like the two types of elixirs created earlier, there is no law preventing helpful things from being created. In fact, even now, something that will be of great help to me is almost complete.”

At my words, the crown prince’s eyes turned to the princess. The princess, who noticed that everyone was looking at her, immediately gave a briefing and explained about alchemy that increases fuel efficiency.

“Hmm, I think it might be helpful in some way… … . However, if you really use alchemy, would it be possible to create a gap that Marquis Kurid cannot catch up with even if he imitates you?”

As there might be something that could give great strength to the noble faction, it seemed like the crown prince always wanted me to give assurance that I could overwhelm my opponent.

Since the power of the aristocratic faction was stronger not long ago, it was clear that they did not want the aristocratic faction to become dominant again.

And, I was able to give a definite answer on that part.

“If Marquis Kurid cannot use the results of alchemy, that will be a definite gap. The same goes for fuel efficiency.”

When I used 7 Firewood Flowers and Marquis Kurid used 10, the difference wasn’t simply the 3 Firewood Flowers. The cost of purchasing firewood flowers and transporting them to the point of use, the cost of storing them until they are used, etc. are all reduced.

If alchemy could not be used, the gap could not be narrowed. I might have to do my own research and follow along, but since I wasn’t playing around in the meantime, there was no need to worry about narrowing the gap.

When I explained it simply, the Crown Prince nodded. Looking at that, I decided to give a few more examples.

In this situation where a competitor is about to appear, alchemy could be a great weapon if I had it in my hands. Aside from the growing power of the royal family and the royalists, alchemy was essential to maintain a strong monopoly in the market.

” Thin body armor that blocks even ballistae, plate armor that blocks heat and allows fighting even in the scorching summer sun, and shields that absorb light and help with hiding when infiltrating. If you use alchemy, creating something like that is not a dream.”

“Aren’t those things that already exist as artifacts?”

“But you can’t make it as quickly and in large quantities as Smith Skeleton can. The advantage of using alchemy is that mass production is possible.”

“Oh, now that you say that, it makes alchemy feel quite useful. I thought it was the science of those who dream of turning stones into gold.”

“If used properly, alchemy can produce greater benefits than turning stone into gold.”

As I was appealing the usefulness of alchemy because of its necessity, the princess who had been listening quietly nodded her head eagerly as if what I was saying was correct. So much so that the gray hair fluttered around.

The crown prince looked a little displeased with the princess like that, but then nodded slightly. And, after nodding for a moment, the crown prince fixed his gaze on the princess again.

“Chemis, I will persuade you by telling you what you want. Establish a branch of the alchemy school in Viscount Steele’s territory, and collaborate with Viscount Steele’s Smithskeleton to create things that can create synergy.”

“Brother! Are you sure?”

The princess was delighted when the crown prince said he would help create a branch of the alchemy school. I could see how happy they were as I watched their eyes get bigger and the corners of their mouths gently curl in real time.