episode_0217

I rode a zombie wyvern high in the sky and watched for a moment as countless mercenaries were stampeding out of the city.

It spread to the Viscounty of Tar and watched the movements of the mercenaries who would figure out the true situation of the Viscounty, and then made the zombie wyverns move again.

The zombie wyvern, which was circling in the sky because it could not fly while standing still, accelerated rapidly toward the capital as soon as my command was given. The acceleration was so fast that the surrounding air felt oppressed.

“Wait a minute, take those people down to the store too.”

Meanwhile, I noticed a carriage with the royal emblem moving at some distance away. It was a group of officials in charge of the territory, and they decided to take them to the capital.

Although the territory war was officially over, there was no harm in finishing the administrative procedures and reporting to the royal family as quickly as possible.

“Ugh! iced coffee… … Evil?”

As they quickly went down to the ground, the management group, who thought it was a wyvern attack, screamed and then made vague noises. That sight was so funny that I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

However, he quickly explained the situation to the official and his companions, who seemed to have come to their senses. I’m thinking of going to the capital, and I’ll take you with me.

“Thank you!”

Being able to shorten what was supposed to be a long trip to just a few days was a temptation that was hard to resist. The official nodded his head vigorously, as if he had been waiting, and quickly approached me as if he was going to get on the zombie wyvern I was on. Of course, the soldiers and others also did not hide their expressions of great joy.

After laughing lightly again at that sight, the official and his companions packed up their luggage, including the carriage, and flew towards the capital again.

As we were moving, there was a bit of an awkward atmosphere because we didn’t have anything to say, but time passed very quickly and before we knew it, we were approaching the capital’s walls.

“Let’s go over there.”

Following my instructions, a zombie wyvern landed right in front of the castle wall. Not only did the zombie wyverns land, but the carriages and luggage that had been attached to the zombie wyverns also landed on the ground.

“I’ll see you again next time if I get a chance.”

“If you see me again, it means that you are going to fight for territory… … .”

“Then let’s not look further.”

He jokingly declared isolation and roughly waved his hand at the officials as he crossed the capital city walls. First of all, since I am a nobleman, it was not difficult for me to pass the inspection of the castle wall. Since I came in bare-chested and without any luggage in the first place, there was no need to get caught at the inspection.

And, after crossing the castle wall and entering the capital, I headed straight to the magic tower where the princess would be.

The area around the Magic Tower was quite bustling. There were people who seemed to be touring the huge magic tower that is rare in this world, and there were also many people who wanted to buy various magic items sold on the first floor of the magic tower.

But I wasn’t swayed by those people. In terms of scale, the one in my city was bigger, and I wasn’t particularly interested in the magic items being sold.

Anyway, I moved to where the alchemy school was, avoiding quite a lot of people. Since the princess had already granted me the status of a guest, it was not difficult to enter the magic tower.

Since my memory is not bad, I went straight to the place where the alchemy school was located without getting lost and approached the princess’s space, the alchemy school director’s office.

Quaaang-!

And, the moment I tried to open the door to the school president’s office, the door that was about 10cm away had disappeared. No, it didn’t exactly disappear; it fell off the door frame and became lodged in the wall on the other side.

If I had moved just a second faster, or if my body had been bigger and longer, I would have been stuck in the opposite wall along with the door.

“… … Hehehe.”

I don’t know if I should say it was thanks to this, but I had even forgotten to exhale the breath I had taken in without realizing it. I realized that fact too late and took a deep breath.

I could clearly feel my heart beating like crazy because I could have died or been seriously injured if I had made a mistake. I could clearly feel my heart beating and blood spreading throughout my body.

“Viscount Steel?”

And, perhaps because I took such a deep breath, the princess found me. Through the gap where the door was blown off a little while ago.

“What would Viscount Steel think… … . Oh, is the territory war over already? I thought Viscount Steel would win, but he’s really fast.”

The princess smiled brightly and waved her hand lightly, as if she didn’t know that the door had disappeared with the explosion a moment ago.

Seeing that, I unconsciously waved my hand.

“Oh, no, not this one… … . Princess. What was that just now?”

“Just now? ah! Did you get it right?”

“… … I didn’t get hit, but I almost got hit.”

“Phew, I’m glad I didn’t get hit. Sometimes there are explosions like this during experiments… … .”

The sight of the princess smiling lightly as if she was embarrassed reminded me of our first meeting. There was an explosion here too back then. Although there is a bit of a difference… … .

As I was nodding my head while reminiscing about the past, I heard a crunching sound.

When I asked what that meant, I heard that the shield the princess had created with shield magic was breaking into small pieces. It seemed like three layers had been hit, not just one, but two of them were crumbling.

“What on earth did you make to achieve this explosive power?”

“I was researching one of the things Viscount Steele wanted. Iron that doesn’t rust. At first, I tried to make it into a new alloy like erythronium, but it wasn’t easy, right? Even if we tried to make alloys, there were many problems here due to the lack of researchers and facilities.”

“That means… … . Are you saying that the explosion just occurred during the process of making an alloy that does not rust? … ?”

“Oh, that’s not the cause of the explosion. What I’m doing now is an explosion that occurred while researching a different method.”

“If it is a different method, are you trying to find a method other than alloy? Like things like mana iron elixir?”

I thought they were making an elixir using alchemy liquid, but the princess shook her head as if that wasn’t the case.

“The research I am doing now is about plating. Preventing iron from rusting doesn’t necessarily have to be done with alloys. Whether it was alloy or plating, all I had to do was achieve my goal. What… … . The plating shouldn’t come off though.”

“I’m working hard on that part,” he said, nodding at the princess smiling softly.

As the princess said, it didn’t matter whether it was alloy or plating as long as the results were right.

“Then, did the explosion just occur during the plating process?”

“Oh, to be exact, I was in the process of making an alchemy solution that melts metal and makes it ready for plating. I’ve been trying out various metals, and they suddenly react loudly and explode.”

The princess, who was so surprised that she used shield magic three times, was smiling brightly. If you see him smiling even though he might have died if it weren’t for the shield magic, it doesn’t seem like he was called crazy about alchemy for no reason.

“From now on, when doing alchemy, it would be better to prepare for safety before doing it.”

“I think that’s how it should be. In the past, the alchemy that was done only involved spilling chemicals or light explosions even if an accident occurred, but now very powerful explosions occur. Is it because of handling metal? I’m also curious about the relationship between alchemy and metals… … .”

The princess muttered various words to herself, as if a new curiosity had aroused her.

I did not restrain such a princess. This is because there were things that came to mind when I saw the explosion a little while ago. For example, the thought was that if explosions like now can be handled freely, wouldn’t it be possible to use them as a weapon dropped from above a zombie wyvern?

However, I don’t know whether to call this unfortunate or fortunate, but the time when the princess was lost in her own world and talking to herself was not very long. Of course, I had no choice but to give up my thoughts.

“Viscount Steel. The fact that you came here in person means that the territory war is over, right?”

“Yes. The Battle of Yeongji ended without any damage, and we are currently cleaning up after it. Even if it is called clean-up, it does not mean resolving war damage.”

“Then can I go back to Viscount Steele’s city right away?”

When I nodded at the princess who was looking at me as if telling me to say yes, she was so happy that she jumped up and down in her seat.

I wondered why they did that, but they said that if they caused an explosion of this magnitude, they would definitely be banned from entering the Magic Tower for a while so that they wouldn’t be able to do alchemy.

It occurred to me that people are so consistent.

“I’ll pack my bags right away!”

“Oh, you don’t have to rush. I have some extra work to do, so I have a few hours to spare.”

“If there is something to do, let’s go and do it quickly. I will tell this to other alchemists!”

The princess seemed to be more in a hurry than me and pushed my back as if to throw me out of the school president’s office. While I was thinking, “I was pushed out of the way in an instant, and I was able to see the princess packing her things in a hurry through the door stuck in the wall on the other side.”

I shook my head at that sight, but as the princess said, I moved on to do what I had to do.

“Is there anyone there? Someone please open the door… … .”

No, I tried to move it. That was until I heard the sound of a person coming from behind the door that was stuck in the wall on the other side. It seemed like there was another door where the door to the school president’s office was stuck.

I heard a knocking sound again asking me to open the door, so I immediately removed the door that was stuck in the wall. Even though pure strength wasn’t that great, using black magic wasn’t that difficult.

And, by removing the door to the school president’s office, which was the obstacle preventing the door from opening, I was finally able to find out the identity of the person trapped inside.

“No, why on earth doesn’t the door open…? … Viscount Steel?”

“That was Count Art, right? It’s been a while since I saw you.”

The person who was in a state of confinement rather than imprisonment due to the door of the school president’s office was Count Art.

She was the countess who came to my territory on behalf of the princess to sell me the elixir of strengthening steel and the elixir of iron mana, and like the princess, she was an alchemist who belonged to the Magic Tower’s alchemy school.

Of course, he was an alchemist of the alchemy school, but he did not work in the magic tower of my city. Not only was he a count, a title higher than mine, but he was also a lord with his own fiefdom.

Anyway, I gave a brief greeting to Count Art, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, and he also greeted me with a quick nod.

And, seeing Count Art’s dazed appearance, I decided to ask her for help. It was clear that Count Art, who had his own fiefdom and often stayed in the capital for alchemy, would be helpful in what I was trying to do.

It means finding people who want to purchase the Viscounty of Tar, which was taken as a trophy from the Territory War.