153: Something like "the main character always shows up late," huh?

Inside one of the many hidden rooms built within the castle, Kyle, me, the teacher, Maina, and the guards Alphard and Persia followed behind.

Since we were setting up the transfer array, Head Court Alchemist Master Batista and his likely apprentices came along too.

Among those apprentices was someone I recognized.

Elra Rulia, once a student of Professor Jabir, who had visited Goldendone once before for an inspection.

Since she knew what Professor Jabir was like before his current state, she should be older than me, yet she looked remarkably young.

Today, with Batista around, Elra was quiet, just following along.

"Still, to complete such a magnificent castle in such a short time—those craftsmen from this territory are truly exceptional."

"Yes. The production guildmaster currently preparing the hidden rooms is especially outstanding."

"Ah. Alchemically hardened rock’s been in use in the capital for a while now, but it’s still not widespread."

"Is that so?"

Huh?

That’s not quite what I heard. I thought I remembered hearing from Van that they were desperately mass-producing it in the capital.

"Indeed. I’ve heard of alchemical methods that even non-Sunset alchemists from Jabir can manage, but they’re still dependent on magical power. And handling those intricate magical sigils? Only someone like me, Jabir, or my beloved disciples. Ordinary alchemists running shops in towns? They’d struggle to mass-produce it. Still, we’ve got their cooperation."

"I… didn’t know that."

I’d been listening quietly to Kyle and Old Batista’s conversation. A little surprised, honestly.

I’d spent ages refining the alchemical method with Jabir-sensei for our paper, and even then, it was too hard for the average alchemist.

Jabir-sensei, who’d seen right through me, just shook his shoulders in disbelief.

“Honestly… I was debating with you whether or not to publish the alchemical hardrock, given it could be used in war. Did you forget that?”

“Remembered, yeah. But since it’s mainly defensive, I figured it was safe to publish.”

“Idiot. Not just that—top-tier alchemists are needed to make it, and mass production’s impossible. That’s why we’re publishing.”

“Ah, I see. I missed that connection.”

Smart thinking, Jabir-sensei! Really thinking things through!

“Even with top-tier skill, if you can’t think beyond your own work, you’re still second-rate as an alchemist.”

“I’ll work harder.”

I think my conversation caught Kyle’s ear—he turned around.

“Mass production’d need a ton of mana. Alchemy’s all about equivalent exchange, after all.”

Kyle smiled back, but instead, we—Master and old man and Elra the alchemist—each wore faces like we’d bitten into a sour lemon.

"Uh… did I say something weird?"

"Master Kyle, that’s a serious misunderstanding. I don’t know how such a notion became common sense, but the core principle of alchemy is *‘One is all, all is one.’*"

"One is all… all is one, huh?"

Hmm. We alchemists believe all things in the world stem from a single source, which we call the Prime Matter. Understanding, creating, or extracting this Prime Matter is our ultimate goal—the final destination. If we could only grasp the Prime Matter, we could shape any substance or phenomenon in this world at will. Right now, we’re barely able to confirm phenomena we suspect are born from the Prime Matter. It’s said the Prime Matter exists in four states—moist, dry, hot, cold. This idea closely resembles the mage’s four elements—earth, water, fire, wind—so it’s fair to say we’re getting close to the truth. The theory holds that when pneuma, or spiritual energy, is added to these states, it’s the force binding them together that we call mana—

Seemed like I’d ended up stuck in the middle of a lecture meant for me—freaked out and called out before it even got going.

"Sir, sir…"

I’d love to hear it, but now’s not the time.

Persia, stop glowing with excitement and stop him!

Just as I was panicking, old Batista stepped in with a dry chuckle.

"Jabir. Leave it be. Kyle’s already turned pale."

"Ugh? Oh, sorry. I just—"

Batista waved a hand, shushing Jabir, then turned back to Kyle.

"Kyle. To sum up Jabir’s rambling—just understand we aim not for equal exchange, but total unity. The rest? Ignore it."

"No, it’s fascinating. I’d love to hear more when I’ve got time. But we’re nearly there."

Just in time, we arrived at the hidden chamber we’d been looking for.

One of the statues lining the corridor slowly shifted, and we stepped into a room of decent size.

Inside, Leifan was already waiting on one knee, having finished preparing everything.

“This is Leifan, the one she mentioned earlier.”

"Hmm. Then let’s get started right away. I’ll need you to help set up the transfer array, along with Rael.”

“With pleasure.”

Leifan and I, named specifically, joined Lady Elra in setting up the transfer array.

We were instructed to place the magic device embedded with a large gemstone at each of the six points of the star-shaped rune drawn on the floor.

“This transfer device is rare even among the royal family, so be careful with it.”

“Y-yeah, I know.”

Funny thing—back when I was still an adventurer, I heard about a magic item pulled from a massive dungeon. Rare as hell, even among the royal family. The kingdom pays top coin for it.

You can’t do jack with it yourself, though. No magic array knowledge? Just scrap. Worthless.

The moment me and Leifan carefully picked up the magic device, without breaking it—

“Whoa!?!”

From the mark on my left hand, knowledge poured in like a flood, flooding straight into my brain.

I glanced over. Leifan’s eyes were wide the same way.

Only alchemy stuff came to me—but Leifan? Definitely smithing knowledge, flowing straight into him.

“Huh? What’s wrong? You’re not—”

Old man Batista locked eyes on me, sharp as a blade. Guess the whisper from the mark didn’t go unnoticed.

“Ah… um… I figured out how to make the magical devices for the teleportation array…”

“What… what was that?”

Old man Batista’s mouth dropped open. I get it.

“B-But… that’s impossible… You’re telling me you figured out how to make the teleportation devices that even us alchemists and mages have spent years trying to crack… and gave up on?”

“Um… it’s not just that… I also figured out how to make the higher-tier… ‘Teleportation Gate’ thing…”

““Whaaat!?””

The old man and Elra both shrieked in shock.

Jabir, on the other hand, just frowned, shaking his head.

“Honestly, you….”

“Ah… um… did I do something wrong?”

“You should’ve kept quiet here… and come to me later, in private.”

The teacher rubbed his temple with a grimace, like his head was splitting open.

"Ah… Well, whatever. So what’s the difference between a transfer gate and a transfer array, then?"

I can't do mental gymnastics, Professor!

Still, if you're chasing the truth of the world, you gotta figure this out somehow.

"Um, well. Transfer arrays can only send a few people at a time, and each transfer needs six high-quality mana stones. But transfer gates—once linked, you can keep going back and forth freely until the mana stones run out, no limit on how many people or how much weight."

"Wha… what?!"

It wasn’t Javir, but Grandpa Battista who looked stunned.

"Starting a transfer gate requires a Cyclops-class mana stone—lasts about an hour, apparently. Depends on the gate’s size, though."

A gate big enough for a person to walk through lasts about an hour.

If it’s big enough for a carriage, the time drops sharply.

Still, it should use less mana stone than the teleportation array. Seems like the array was basically just a simplified version of a teleport gate. Maybe it used to be something you could carry around back in the day.

"Interesting, but first we need to set up the array and get His Majesty here."

"Right. Craft brother... uh, Craft. Please set it up."

"Understood."

We regrouped, and I used the communication device— an artifact passed down through the royal family, not one I made—to contact Van. The moment we did, the array reacted as if it had been waiting for us.

"Wahahaha! I'm here!"

Van appeared with his usual ridiculous pose, flanked by two guards.

Same old you, huh!

Latest five volumes, released Monday the 28th!

Today's wild ride was none other than Master Jabil~w