198: You know, there’s stuff about the past you don’t want to talk about, right?

The grand opening ceremony for the Dōn Bridge.

The massive banner stretched across read exactly that.

It was a festival.

Sure, some might say it’s the wrong time for something like this, but the Imperial Army and the monsters aren’t moving much these days. No immediate threat from their side.

To the officials, it’s an emergency. To the townsfolk, it’s just another day. Nearly every resident of Goldendōn had some hand in building the Dōn Bridge, so skipping the opening ceremony would’ve stirred up complaints.

Now, a quick geography lesson.

North of Goldendōn—the administrative city of the Elixir territory governed by Kyle—flows a massive, long river, as wide as a lake, stretching from west to east.

...Recently, it was named the Dōn River, so from now on, we’ll call this river the Dōn River. Naturally, the one who named it was that bastard King Van.

If I’d pointed out, “Wait, it didn’t have a name until recently?” I was told, “Well, who’d bother giving a name to a river no one’s even properly reached, let alone surveyed?”

...Yeah, fair point.

Anyway, a bridge has been built across the Dōn River—the very river that’s made travel between nations nearly impossible. That’s a historical breakthrough, no doubt about it.

That’s what Professor Javir taught me.

No, I get it to some extent. It’s an incredible bridge!

“Fool. You understand nothing!”

“Huh? Did I say that out loud?”

“Spilling it all out, aren’t you?”

Hmm. I swear, sometimes my thoughts just leak out. Gotta watch that.

"The completion of the Dōn Bridge marks two historic achievements."

"One of them… is the scale, right?"

"Exactly. It's a structure unparalleled in history—world's first built atop a vast, treacherous river with complex currents, and massive beyond anything seen before."

Professor Jābir added, "Probably," before stating that, as a single structure, it was likely the largest in the world.

The bridge stretched farther than the horizon, wide enough to fit ten carriages side by side. Yeah, that was massive.

Not only had nearly all the settlers from Goldendōn been assigned to it, but they'd also summoned massive numbers of laborers from the capital via the transfer gate—probably over half a million workers involved in the construction.

Alchemy-hardened stone and Leifan’s technology. All sorts of factors—guards from the Adventurer’s Guild, and so on—came together and sped things up. Result? Finished in less than a year.

“Yeah, I get how amazing the Dōn Bridge is. But what’s the other historic achievement?”

“You just muttered it yourself a second ago. We can travel to other countries without special means now. Sure, there are still plenty of tough spots on the other side…”

“Right. Still, it’s all connected now, huh.”

“Aye. Now we’ve even got steamships powered by steam engines and moisture-evaporation potions. Before that? No way to cross such a wide river at all.”

“Can’t magic handle something like that?”

"Um. So, communications with other nations were handled by a select few adventurers or elite forces from the kingdoms—those capable of solving such problems with magic or other means."

"Aah, I see."

I’d never really heard much about foreign lands before. But thinking about it, it makes perfect sense.

"One of those exceptions is Lord Bairoroad, the Marquis of the Frontier—the late father of Kyle."

I leaned in close to the teacher’s ear, careful not to be overheard by the crowd gathered at the ceremony.

Though honestly, with the festival noise, I doubted anyone else would hear anyway.

"Chit! Too close!"

"Isn’t it generally secret that the Marquis is a Dragon Knight? Without something like flight, travel between nations was nearly impossible."

Jabir老师 clapped a hand over his ear and jumped back from me.

"M-Me, the ears! They’re off-limits!"

What’s so bad about them?

"Uh, well, without some special method, traveling between nations is pretty much impossible... Wait, isn't there this thing—some kind of gathering—held every few years?"

He clutched one ear, glaring up at me.

"Indeed. I devised the system myself, and let me tell you, it was a nightmare. The scholars from the three major powers—the Kingdom of Maugaria, the Duvatten Empire, and the Zebias Union Kingdom—only gathered together once in total..."

"Wait—what!?"

I was genuinely stunned. I’d thought they met every few years.

"That time, it was hosted in the Duvatten Empire. Transporting dignitaries across the empire while keeping them safe... You, who’ve spent years开拓ing the frontier, might have some idea just how dangerous and grueling that journey was."

"...An ordeal beyond imagination. A long, perilous trip, indeed."

"The Kingdom of Magaria had the court alchemist, Battista—the one using that usual method. Well, after publishing his findings at the academy, he became my apprentice."

"Amazing teacher."

He puffs out his chest, grinning. Kind of adorable, really.

"...What disgraceful thought are you having?"

"Impossible!"

You didn’t even say it out loud!

Master Jabil sighs, continuing.

"Never mind. From the Zebias Confederation, a witch named Margret, second-in-command among court mages, joined us."

"A witch?"

"Aye. She bears the witch’s sigil. Colorful, so her magic’s exceptionally strong. Rumor has it she’s got abilities of both mage and alchemist combined."

"That’s rare."

My teacher nods.

"Her talent was undeniable, her strength unquestionable—but..."

He hesitates, mid-sentence.

"Ah, well. She was one of those cases where talent and personality don’t match up."

"What happened?"

"I don’t wanna remember it!"

He shouted it like he was spitting out something bitter. Definitely not something he wanted to recall.

"I was really stuck with Margret’s antics, I tell you!"

"I’m curious."

"Ah… well. It was a lot of stuff. The adventurer guarding her wasn’t exactly top-tier, either."

"Crossing so many treacherous passes to get to the Empire? She must’ve been pretty good."

"Hmph. The one guarding Margret was an A-rank adventurer."

"Wait—A-rank?!"

That’s impressive. A-rank titles are practically never granted, thanks to all the political crap.

Meaning she was about on Raidock’s level. Or maybe even higher—otherwise, it’d have been impossible for someone from the distant Allied Kingdom to make it this far.

"Handsome as hell, and the whole party was full of women."

Break it off.

I blurted it out without thinking. The teacher gave a wry smile and shrugged his shoulders.

The conference itself was quite meaningful, but holding it was a real hassle. After that, we just started sending papers back and forth.

There's nothing we can do about it, really.

Guarding people while moving is harder than just carrying papers.

Sending an A-rank adventurer every time is a heavy burden, both for national defense and the budget.

Hmm. The discussion itself was so excellent, I’d like to hold it again.

I'm fine.

Hmm?

The teacher, who’d been shaking his head, looked up at my words.

"This place, Golden Dune, is almost at the center of the three nations. The Great Dune Bridge is complete. Steamships are running too. Once the roads are properly maintained, travel should be a lot easier than before. If we defeat the Imperial Army and can negotiate peace again, we could hold the festival once more."

The teacher let out a slow, impressed sigh.

"Ah. So you've started using that head of yours, have you?"

"I mean, I am an alchemist, after all."

"Keep at it."

Why, exactly, did that feel like a subtle dig?

As I tilted my head, Leifan—somehow having joined us without me noticing—cut in.

"Guess it's just daily habits, you know?"

Still not getting it.

"Anyway, the ceremony's about to start!"

"Oh, right. Finally."

Long streamers hung across the bridge.

After Kyle’s speech, the ribbon-cutting happens—apparently, one of the chosen participants is me, Leifan, and Professor Javir.

Also invited is General Shingen from the Mizoho Shrine Nation, who contributed greatly to the bridge’s construction.

Various other high-ranking officials were called too, but I don’t know most of them. Seems like nobles who funded the project, though Zaid handled all the details, so I’m not even sure who they are.

Of course, King Van is here too.

But since this is Kyle’s moment, Van’s just supposed to be a guest of honor.

Van’s bastard—spends nearly every day in the castle, so being invited feels off, honestly.

The typo report feature? Totally useless. Might as well disable it.

Honestly, I’d appreciate it most if someone just mentioned it in the comment section.