151: Selections are made carefully, that’s the talk.

The massive paddle of the steamship turned slowly.

"Made it this far, huh."

"Yeah. All thanks to Kyle."

"Thanks to your older brother Craft and Leifan and the others too."

Kyle looked on with satisfaction at the steamship.

The significance of completing a giant iron ship, one that could stand up to aquatic monsters, was immense—especially now, with the bridge still a ways off.

From the bridge of the slowly moving giant vessel, Raidock and the others waved.

We waved back hard, sending them off.

"Raidock! I’m counting on you!"

"Just patrolling the other side—what, you think I’d mess up something like that?!"

Yeah, fair point.

With Eva and her two sisters now in Raidock’s party, they weren’t going to fail at something as simple as a preliminary scout.

The steamship carrying Raidock and the others was heading across the great river, testing its engines as it went.

Why all this was happening? Because King Van had entrusted us with the mission to send envoys to the small nations on the northern side of the great river, to establish formal relations.

And somehow, Van himself had told me to pick the members of the envoy party.

The envoy team hadn’t been decided yet, but Raidock’s party was already set as their escort. Obviously.

So we’d sent them ahead to the opposite bank—still mostly unknown to us—to set up a base camp and thin out the monsters in the area.

Once the envoy was confirmed, we’d meet up at that base camp and move north together through the small nations.

After the steamship vanished beyond the horizon, I turned back toward Kyle, who’d been standing beside me watching it go.

“So, about the envoy mission—still not convinced?”

“Yes. I’m going.”

Right.

Of all the people, Kyle insists on going himself. No arguing.

Normally, a lord wouldn’t allow such a thing—sending himself into unknown territory, risk of anything. But Kyle’s got his reasons.

“Like I’ve said before, there’s no steward here capable of political judgment in my place. The civil servant the king sent is competent, but not enough to truly understand the land’s needs.”

“Still….”

I frown, and Kyle looks up at me with stubborn resolve.

Normally, I’d never allow it. But no better alternative’s come up.

“…Let me think about it a bit more.”

I don’t wait for his reply. I turn and head toward the Production Guild.

Inside the guild building, merchants and traders line up at the front desk, staff scrambling to keep up.

I waved lightly and stepped inside. Leifan and the Guild Master were bustling about.

“Ah, Craft. Raidock and the others left safely, right?”

“Yeah. All good. More importantly, about Kyle…”

Leifan looked up from his paperwork.

“So he’s really sticking with us?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t seem like he’s backing out.”

“I get why Kyle’s doing it, though.”

There’s no one left in Goldendown who could carry out the king’s orders. And Van probably wants Kyle to go himself. Maybe Van’s still unsure. That’s why he shoved the job of picking the delegation on me instead of Kyle.

I grumbled, “Don’t shove a job like that on a production guild member!”—and right away, the excuse I’d bet they’d prepared in advance shot back: “It’s part of frontier development. No problem.” So I swallowed my complaints and took the damn job.

Still couldn't make up my mind, though.

The embassy’s departure can’t be put off much longer, can it?

"Yeah. We need to set off within a month, so we’d better pick the team in just a few days."

Even if Kyle were to head off to the small nations, there’s no one else who can handle Goldendown. So Kyle’s gotta stay.

I was going to convince him, but when Kyle just flat-out said he’d come along, I didn’t have the guts to tell him no.

Hmm. Let's set Kyle aside for now and think about the other members besides Raidock.

I was thinking I’d go, though.

Having Leifan here would be a huge help, but is the Guild really gonna be okay?

I glanced at the Guild Master, buried under paperwork, on the verge of tears.

Just to clarify, Synthelie came with the Master from Golden Dune—her a capable and trusted aide.

“Hey, Guild Master. You think it’s alright if I take Leifan with me?”

The Master looked up, as if fleeing the papers.

“Huh? Well, we’ll manage. There aren’t many who’ve got both skill and strength, so Leifan’s about the only one we can send into dangerous zones. Plus, lately, tons of skilled craftsmen have been moving in. We can split the production work. …Except for a few gear pieces that only Leifan can make.”

“Then Leifan’s settled.”

“Yeah! But then, isn’t Craft-kun around? Shouldn’t that be enough?”

"Yeah, but if I don’t bring Jitarou along, he’ll probably make a fuss later."

"Aaah."

Leifan squinted, letting out a low hum.

He probably figured it’d be trouble if he didn’t invite him.

"Whether Kyle goes or not, having Jitarou around makes all the difference in battle."

"Since getting the Hunter’s Crest, Jitarou’s gotten seriously strong."

That’s right. Jitarou wasn’t just a hunter anymore—he’d become top-tier at ranger-type skills too.

Soral’s upgrade from Ranger to Artemis’s Crest did leave a small gap in exploration capability, but Jitarou’s got that covered now.

"…Well, guess we’re stuck bringing him along."

"Yeah."

He’s more than enough for escort duty. Just gotta keep an eye on him so we don’t embarrass ourselves.

"What about Alphard and Persia?"

"Alphard’s our defense. Absolutely keeping him. Persia too—she stays for Maina."

"Right."

"Even if Kyle shows up, we’ve got enough strength as-is."

"Yep."

"We’re keeping Professor Javir too. Otherwise, potion supply’ll stall."

"Can’t even imagine if Javir wasn’t here."

"Damn right."

Thanks to the Sunset Alchemist’s sigil, I can churn out legendary-grade potions by the bucket. No one else could fill that gap. Not even close.

Sure, material quality drops, output shrinks—but Professor Javir can still make equivalent-grade or standard-quality stuff.

That’s something no other alchemist can pull off.

No wonder he’s the master. If he’d had the Sunset Sigil, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.

"Then there’s Ryuuko."

"Ryuuko-san?"

Ryuuko’s a humanoid familiar, crafted by Professor Javir—artificial golem, artificial monster, even a Dragon Tooth Warrior. Basically, she’s a whole damn buffet.

She looks like a human, acts like a human—pure maid, down to the last detail.

Thanks to the personality data for the world’s finest maid, handed down by the professor, she’s a humanoid familiar with the skills of the ultimate maid, working at my estate.

“Yeah. Whether you’re going or not, someone’s gotta take care of the little things, right? Like when we were hunting for mithril ore, I relied on Leifan too much for cooking and all that.”

I’ve gotta admit, tagging along with Leifan, I’ve been kind of spoiled lately. That’s something to think about.

“Hmm. I’d love to have Ryuuko around, but… can I really protect her? She’s just a regular maid, after all.”

"Of course. She's an important teammate, so I'm gonna protect her... "

I tighten my face there.

"Even in the worst case, it's better than letting Kyle's maid or butler die, right?"

I don't wanna say that.

I don't even think I could choose to abandon a companion.

Still, if I have to think about worst-case scenarios, Ryuuko’s the only one left.

After all, her strength’s no different from a regular person (............) so.

"Still, Raidock’s here too, so I reckon we’ll be fine."

"Yeah, that’s true."

With that settled, everyone else was decided.

Nine of us: Raidock, Solal, Eva, Camille, Marilyn, me, Leifan, Jitarou, Ryuuko.

And ten total, adding a deputy to handle negotiations in Kyle’s place.

With this crew, we should make it to the far north—Mizoho Shrine Nation—no matter what comes up.

So that’s how we moved forward with our preparations.

Serial resumption.

Next Monday, December 28, the latest volume—Volume 5—is out!

I wrote a whole bunch fresh for this one—get ready for it!

This arc finally sees us leave the Golden Dune!

Your thoughts, reviews—anything like that really fuels me!