157: You can't cut corners on prep.

The transfer gate's power was immense.

Designed to be wide enough for about five people to stand side by side, it was easily big enough for a handcart to pass through.

Even now, tons of alchemical hardstone medicine—something the capital had been short on—were being hauled out.

"...This is getting hard to keep secret, isn't it?"

Only trusted people from the capital were handling the cargo, but the constant flow was getting ridiculous.

Van and old Batista looked like they’d swallowed something bitter.

"Yeah. But unlike past artifacts, this one can be mass-produced. It’s smarter to focus on building a distribution network using the gate than trying to keep it hidden."

"Guess so. Makes moving around a lot easier, at least."

Thanks to that, Van’s bastard’s been showing up nonstop, dragging his luggage along.

Most of the time, though, he’s stuck in the office, working alongside Kyle.

Honestly, what’s the king even doing these days?

The transfer requires a lot of magic stones, but now that we’re right in the middle of the biggest magic stone quarry in Goldendown, we can refill directly—so the cost is plenty low.

After inspecting the transfer gate, we headed to the castle’s office.

There, Kyle and Zaid were working side by side.

Seemed like the tension between them had completely vanished—now it just felt natural.

Van dropped into his seat—why does the king’s desk even exist in this town, anyway?—and pulled out a stack of documents.

He stared at the numbers for a while, then let out a sigh and muttered under his breath.

But couldn’t we get a few more alchemists, somehow?

Jabir lifted his head at that.

“This is just rumor, mind you.”

He paused, then spoke slowly.

“According to old texts, there was once a village entirely made up of alchemists. Whether it’s true or not, no one knows for sure.”

“A village of alchemists?”

That’s wild.

Then again, back in the day, heraldry wasn’t exactly rare, so it’s not *that* shocking.

“Hmm. It’s an ancient tale, mostly lost to time. If that village still existed today, things might be different.”

“Still, humans almost went extinct once before. So yeah, probably not gonna happen.”

So, apparently humans were thriving back in the old days, but then got wiped out by monsters. More like nearly wiped out, really.

I was told by my teacher that only a few humans survived, slowly grew back, and finally reached today’s numbers. But almost no ancient tech remains.

“If there were still villages like that around, I’d go fetch them with three visits, no matter the trouble… but asking for something that’s gone? Pointless. Let Craft, Javir, and Batista handle it.”

“Think they’re not already doing enough!?”

“Haha! Yeah, fair point! I’ll be watching their next moves with interest!”

“Y-yes, sir…”

All I can see ahead is being personally handed another burden by the king himself. Gotta stay sharp—don’t let sweet talk land me some weird new role.

I’ll be a production guild member for life.

At the precise moment the conversation wound down, Zaid turned his face toward me.

“Craft.”

“What?”

“Even if the king usually lets his guard down, isn’t this a bit too much of a lack of manners?”

Yeah, well, I tried my best with the formal speech, but Van himself told me to stop.

You finally speak after so long—now you’re going after me personally?

Kyle lifts an eyebrow slightly.

He’s about to say something, annoyed by your tone toward me—but then he shuts up completely at your next words.

“The king might do well to reconsider his demeanor. Dignity is no small thing.”

Ohhh!

Wait—now you’re giving the king a lecture too!? No way! Seriously!?

Kyle and I just stood there, mouths hanging open, but Old Batista didn’t even blink. He kept right on going.

“Zaid’s right. Your Majesty should remember your position a little more—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll watch myself in front of people.”

“You always dodge like that, but as the nation’s representative, you should be—”

“Batista! Is this one good!? What’s next!?”

Old Batista sighed, shoulders slumping. He pulled a stack from the pile and handed it over.

“When the busy season’s over, I’ll give you proper royal training.”

“Hope that day ever comes.”

Van’s lazy words made Batista look up at the sky.

I leaned in, whispering to Batista.

“Uh… Zaid’s being kind of rude, isn’t he…?”

“No. He’s fine like that. When we made him work on the castle duties as punishment, he showed off his competence so well that he ended up working alongside the royal scribe in no time. Since then, he’s just been like that.”

“Really!?!”

Damn. I’m starting to respect him a bit now.

Huh. Turns out he’s not so bad after all.

Still a pain in the ass about nobles and status, though.

But he was brought in half-criminal, and yet he’s already working directly for the king… Zaid’s terrifying.

If he’s that capable, leaving the castle in his hands shouldn’t be a problem.

Kyle’s even putting extra effort into the handover, looks kinda happy about it.

“Hey, Your Majesty.”

“Van’s fine.”

Shot down instantly.

Zaid rubbed his forehead at that.

Yeah. No fixing that now. If you want to change him, do it next time.

"Ah, Van. How about taking Zaid instead of Kyle to that little country?"

"Denied."

"Immediate no? Why?"

Van looked up from the paperwork, chin pointed at Zaid.

"He's capable, sure. But only at doing assigned tasks. Not the kind who can think on his feet in unpredictable places. Kyle's got both. That's the difference."

"Sure, I'm glad Kyle's getting praised. But then, can't you send someone like that as an overseer?"

"Impossible. I've said it before—those frontier outposts we're building? I need people who can act on their own. We're the ones who want that kind of talent."

Van was spreading forts across the frontier to expand humanity's right to survive. Right. Yeah, it wasn't something that could be fixed with just warriors.

Negotiating with the small states, chipping away at the monsters' territory—neither of those can wait around for later.

Originally, kingdoms and empires had spread into regions with relatively few monsters. But now, with population growing, we’re forced to expand into danger zones just to survive.

Craft wheat—(seriously, can’t they change the name already?)—has solved the food problem to some extent, but it’s still just a band-aid fix.

"...So you’re asking me to go to Kyle, huh?"

"I think it’d be best. But I can’t say for sure."

"Huh. I see."

Guess I’ve got no choice but to make up my mind.

"Kyle."

I stand directly in front of him.

"I’ve picked the delegation members."

"Yes."

He looks up at me, a flicker of tension in his eyes.

"Members are me, Leifan, Ryuco, Raidock, Solal, Eva, Camille, Marilyn, Jitarou."

He paused mid-sentence, then Kyle’s face twisted into a nervous frown.

"Me too. This’ll be a tough journey. You ready?"

"Yes! Of course!"

And so, the delegation was set.

We’d depart as soon as Raidock’s reconnaissance was done!

No matter what comes, Kyle. I’ll protect you!

...

Still, I never thought trouble would start before we even entered the small nations.

What the hell’s going on?!

You thought it’d be smooth sailing, huh?

Too bad!

Thanks to you all, the Alchemy Series hit twenty million copies sold!

All thanks to you!

Heartfelt thanks!

Now, this wildly popular series is finally releasing its brand-new fifth volume tomorrow!

Wrote it from scratch! Packed it full of stuff!

Maina’s point of view?! (Was a nightmare to write!)

Confirm the facts that only appear in the book version!