Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 316

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Chapter Three Hundred and Sixteen: Dream of the Magicless 3

“—The people I have been in contact with are, in all likelihood, not the ones you are describing, Lady Karen—they are not the ones attempting to create the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“Eeh!?”

Karen couldn’t help but cry out.

“B-But! This medal with magical power in the negative range—surely that was made by the Children of Dark Night!?”

“It may well have been. They seem reluctant to say anything plainly, but it appears they do conduct some degree of trade with them. Even so, the people I have been in contact with are not the Children of Dark Night.”

“They’re not?”

Karen blinked.

“They are the people of a hidden village—those without magical power who have drawn together and live quiet, modest lives. They are simple, ordinary people. The idea of attempting something as grand as creating the Philosopher’s Stone would never enter their minds.”

“Perhaps they just haven’t told you, Director—”

“Lady Karen, there are actually far more people without magical power in this world than most realize. Ordinary people merely choose to look away. They have their own beliefs, form various settlements, and even come into conflict with one another.”

August sat upright and answered Karen firmly as she tried to press the issue.

Karen suddenly realized something.

“…You mean, just like those of us who have magical power?”

“Yes. What I know of is only the hidden village. And they are, if anything, at odds with the Children of Dark Night. Because the Children of Dark Night treat children as tools…”

August said it with an expression like he was biting into something bitter.

“Come to think of it, you mentioned before that you were trying to stop the Children of Dark Night from abducting children.”

“I know nothing about the Children of the Dark Night, nor about the Philosopher’s Stone you mentioned, Lady Karen.”

“I see…”

“They use this medal as a mark to seek me out in times of need, or to take in the children without magical power that I have sheltered—those with nowhere else to go—and find them a place to belong. Whether that is truly a happy thing for the children, I cannot say, as I have no right to visit their hidden village myself. But the reality is that there are no other options.”

People without magical power formed several distinct groups, each with their own independent aims. When put plainly like that, it was obvious enough. August had simply established contact with one group of magicless people for the sake of children with no place to go—he had no connection to the Children of Dark Night.

Karen felt the strength drain out of her as the lead toward the Philosopher’s Stone she had thought she was grasping slipped away. If she had been able to meet with someone high up in the Children of Dark Night, there was something she had wanted to ask.

What was the wish they hoped to fulfill with the Philosopher’s Stone?

“If you have no connection to the Children of Dark Night, you could have been upfront about things.”

“Still, I was introduced to the hidden village through Lord Horst, so there is a shadow over it… And besides, to most people, the Children of the Dark Night and the people of the hidden villages are all the same simply because they are magicless.”

Karen, too, had assumed that the Children of Dark Night were simply where people without magical power ended up after being cast out by society. But that was not the case; the world those people inhabited was far broader than she had imagined.

“Lady Karen, are you not going to take me into custody?”

“Of course not! I only came to talk. Well—I’m not sure what would happen if the people of Ehlertt found out, which is why I came alone… but someone like you is needed. Without someone like you, there would be children who truly have nowhere to turn.”

Karen held out her hand, and August took it and rose to his feet. He gave Karen a priest’s bow.

“I am deeply grateful for your generosity, Lady Karen.”

“In my case, it’s less generosity than simply putting my goals first.”

“Regardless of the reason, there are very few who will accept others as you do. The goddess’s teachings hold that a person’s worth is not determined by the degree of their magical power—and yet the reality is that even the temples harbor the contradiction of requiring at least C-rank magical power to become a priest at all.”

August said it with a weary smile. No doubt this was one of the contradictions August himself had struggled with after pursuing the priesthood with his sincere ideals.

“From the bottom of my heart, I pray that your efforts succeed, Lady Karen, and that the day comes when children no longer need to live in hiding to survive.”

“Well, I certainly want it to succeed so I can put all those kids to work and make a fortune skimming off the top!”

Karen blurted it out in an embarrassed attempt at deflection—and in that moment, a faint sound came from the doorway. Both Karen and August turned to look.

“I wasn’t paid yet, so…”

It was Teresa.

Karen had gotten fairly good at concealing her own presence lately, but sensing others was still entirely beyond her. Karen drew a sharp breath—and August had gone even paler than she had.

“Teresa, how much did you hear?”

“—The Children of Dark Night are trying to make the Philosopher’s Stone? The Philosopher’s Stone is the magic stone that can grant any wish, right?”

“They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. They are people you must never go near, Teresa.”

August tried to hold her back in a firm tone—as if he was certain that Teresa, having overheard their conversation, was about to go straight to the Children of Dark Night.

Certainly, for those dissatisfied with society and dreaming of overturning it, there might be no destination other than the Children of the Dark Night—yet as Karen thought that, something about her own reasoning caught her attention.

Overturn. An upside-down tree—

Teresa poked Karen and snapped her out of her thoughts before she could sink into them.

“Hey. You were willing to let Teacher off the hook—even though he might have ties to criminals—because you wanted information about the Philosopher’s Stone, right?”

“Hm? Well—I suppose so.”

Karen nodded, caught off guard by the unexpected question. Teresa let out a long breath.

“So you really are someone who’ll do anything for alchemy. You’re not pitying me at all—you genuinely want to know the truth of things. And you’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”

Teresa said it with something almost like amusement, a lilt in her voice, then looked up at Karen and smiled. It was the first childlike smile Karen had ever seen from Teresa.

“Whatever it takes… That’s awesome! You’re cool—and totally nuts!”

Teresa looked up into Karen’s eyes with a dreamy expression and said:

“…Fine. I’ll be your lab rat, Karen.”

“Don’t make it sound so awful! Just become an adventurer and accept my support!”

“Kyahahahaha!”

It was the laugh of a little troublemaker getting scolded for a prank—and beneath it, there was still an innocent, childlike charm lingering in her smile.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 315

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Chapter Three Hundred and Fifteen: Dream of the Magicless 2

Karen and August moved to the temple adjoining the orphanage.

“Lady Karen—or should I address you Lady Himmel?”

“I’m still not used to either form, so either is fine.”

“Then, Lady Karen it is. What is the matter so confidential that you wished for the room to be cleared? Is it about the children?”

August spoke with such evident anxiety that his genuine concern for the children’s futures came through clearly, and Karen was quick to set his mind at ease.

“It isn’t about the children. Though it may be connected, in some way…”

Karen came into the sanctuary, looked around the room, and said:

“You don’t display a goddess statue in this temple.”

August looked caught off guard by the question, but answered:

“No… as no one knows what the goddess looks like. If we displayed a statue modeled after the human form, it would make it harder for members of other races to come and worship.”

“You’re considerate not only toward children without magical power, but toward other races as well. The temple in the royal capital has a goddess statue in the form of a human woman.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s wrong, either. Most races depict their goddess in the form of a woman of their own kind—statues, portraits, objects of devotion. But on my own insistence as temple director, we display a stone tablet bearing the goddess’s tree.”

With that, August looked up at the tablet. Karen looked up at it as well. Carved into the stone slab was a stylized image of a tree. Above, countless branches spread outward; below, countless roots extended downward. The design was simple enough that, flipped upside down, one might not immediately notice the difference.

“Is this the World Tree?”

“The elves believe so. But there are sects that argue otherwise. Since it would be inconvenient for humans if the World Tree managed by the elves were considered the goddess’s tree, the prevailing view in human nations is that they are separate things.”

“Which do you believe, Director?”

“I also believe it is different from the World Tree. I think this tree is simply an ancient people’s imagined diagram of the stairway one must ascend to reach the goddess.”

“I see, I see.”

Karen wandered around the tablet, observing the carving from various angles—and found it. Behind the slab.

“Perhaps you wished to confess a private trouble before the goddess, Lady Karen? If you would like a portrait of the goddess, we have one in storage—I could have it brought at once—”

“No, no, nothing like that. Thank you for your kindness.”

When Karen picked up the object hidden behind the tablet and looked at August, his face had gone deathly pale. He looked as though he had aged ten or twenty years in an instant, and Karen, who had been preparing to question him, found herself somewhat taken aback.

“This wooden coin—a medal? You know what this is, don’t you?”

“How did you come to find that…?”

“I ascended the steps recently. After ascending, I became able to sense the location of things with an extremely small amount of magical power—things that don’t just have none, but have magical power in the negative range. Ordinary people can’t even perceive their existence. And yet you already knew this thing was here.”

If he had tried to play ignorant, she would have had no choice but to draw it out of him—but August was already visibly devastated.

“Is what’s carved on it the goddess’s tree?”

“—To them, it is the goddess’s tree. But unlike the one we know, it is upside down.”

“That does feel rather… blasphemous, doesn’t it? My guess is that only the Children of Dark Night would be able to make something like this. Could this be their symbol?”

“So you’ve come to arrest me.”

Before Karen had even pronounced any judgment, August bowed his head as though he had already resigned himself.

“It is true that I had contact with people closely associated with them. I have heard that it was the Children of Dark Night who threw the royal capital dungeon into chaos before, and who have now caused dungeons across the land to collapse. Given this piece of evidence, I cannot blame anyone for suspecting me of ties to the Children of Dark Night. But the orphanage’s children are innocent. So I beg you—”

“Please wait, Director. Why do you think I came here alone?”

Karen stopped him before he could lower his forehead to the floor and stared at him with wide eyes. Harald had been with her on the way here, but right now they were going separately. There was a carriage waiting outside, but if she had come to arrest August, coming unarmed and alone was far too careless.

Karen knelt down before the bewildered August, brought herself to his eye level, and smiled.

“I came here because I want you to introduce me to those people.”

“Introduce? But why—”

“They’re trying to make the Philosopher’s Stone. In a way that probably only they can—I want to be able to make the Philosopher’s Stone too. So I want to meet them. I want to meet them and talk!”

Karen said it with her eyes shining, the way someone might speak of a dream. August stared up at Karen the alchemist, utterly dumbfounded.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 314

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Chapter Three Hundred and Fourteen: Dream of the Magicless

“Huh? As if I’d go. I don’t want to become some alchemist’s servant.”

“Teresa! Stop being so rude.”

“What? I’m just saying I don’t want to go.”

Karen was at the orphanage in Ehlertt’s territorial capital. She was speaking with one of the children there—a girl named Teresa—about taking her in, if she was willing.

Unlike the children who had been driven out by lords of other territories, Karen had respected their individual wishes. As a result, Teresa—the girl who had played a prank on Karen and Julius when they had once stopped by the orphanage to make a donation—was the only one who had refused Karen’s offer.

All the other children had wanted to go with Karen. Harald, who had come from the royal capital and taken charge of managing the unexpectedly large number of children gathering under Karen, had told them his own story firsthand, and that had made the difference.

But Teresa hadn’t budged an inch. Scolded by the orphanage director, August, and still sprawled on the sofa with an air of complete indifference—that was Teresa.

Karen studied her carefully.

“Even though every other child has said they’ll come with me?”

“So what!”

Teresa glared at Karen and snorted.

“Believing that idiotic story about how someone became an alchemist even though he was born with F-rank magical power or even lower. That’s impossible! Everyone’s been fooled—what a bunch of idiots!”

August grabbed Teresa by the shoulders, turned her to face him, and shook her.

“Teresa! I told you to stop! This lady earned distinction at the hunting festival and became a titled noble! Mind your tongue!”

“…The hunting festival? Even though she’s an alchemist?”

August’s scolding went in one ear and out the other—but for the first time that day, Teresa looked directly up at Karen’s face. It was the manner of a child from the adventurers’ quarter, twisted and guarded, dismissing the weak and only lending an ear to the strong.

“Can you fight?”

“I can’t fight. But I made potions from materials I gathered on-site and contributed to the party that way.”

“What kind of monster did you hunt?”

“A black dragon.”

Teresa’s eyes lit up for just a moment—then her expression curdled.

“You think I’m stupid? That’s a legendary monster, the one the Ehlertt ancestors defeated! Don’t go feeding me pointless lies. I get enough tall tales like that at the tavern.”

The news of the black dragon’s re-subjugation should have already been spreading through Ehlertt as quite a significant rumor—but apparently, Teresa had written it off as nonsense.

Teresa let out a world-weary sigh and rose from the sofa.

“Teresa, where are you going?”

“Back to my room. I told you I’m not going, so we’re done here, aren’t we?”

It did weigh on Karen to leave Teresa behind when every other child had chosen to come with her. But she had no intention of forcing her. It wasn’t as though Karen especially needed Teresa to come.

—Though August was looking at Karen with something close to pleading in his eyes.

“Oh? Or are you telling me to leave the orphanage, Director? That’s fine too. I’m a trainee adventurer, after all. It’s not like I need to come back here.”

“Teresa, you’re too young to be an adventurer.”

August said it with sad eyes. Teresa paid him no mind.

“It’s not exactly rare to have someone my age going into dungeons.”

“That’s true. My little brother was already going into dungeons by the time he was ten.”

“See, exactly!”

“But that was only because he had someone looking after him.”

“…You’re saying that to an orphan?”

Teresa looked up at Karen with dark eyes, and Karen answered without flinching:

“I didn’t say a parent. A guardian. My brother wasn’t taken into the dungeon by a parent either. Our parents had already gone missing by the time he was ten.”

“…So?”

“That’s why the local adventurers in the area looked out for him in the dungeon. Do you have adventurers like that—ones who’d look after you?”

“…”

“If not, you should stop going into dungeons.”

“That’s none of your business… could you stay out of things that don’t concern you?”

Teresa glared at her, and Karen glanced at August. He gave a feeble shake of his head—he had tried to stop her many times before, no doubt.

Because if no one stopped her, this girl would die before long. Not in the distant future, but soon.

Karen had no particular obligation to do anything more for her. But—

“I’m done—”

“No, wait just a moment. I’m thinking about something.”

“What is your problem!? I’m not just sitting around doing nothing, you know! I’ll charge you for my time!”

“I’ll give you some pocket money afterward, so stay there.”

“Well, that changes things.”

Teresa’s mood shifted at once, and she perched back down on the sofa with a cheerful little grin. Karen looked down at her with a thoughtful "hmm.”

Even if Karen left here and forgot all about Teresa, and Teresa died afterward—Karen bore no responsibility for it. She would feel sorry, but that would be all. She was accustomed enough to how this world worked that it wouldn’t leave much of a bitter taste.

But Teresa had something unusual about her—an abnormality that didn’t buckle even under Julius’s pressure. People with that kind of quality, it was said, tended to grow into formidable adventurers. But without magical power, Teresa would likely die before ever getting there.

“…What a waste.”

“Of the money? There’s no taking back the pocket money at this point. Director’s my witness—and he’s a priest, so it’s practically a promise made before the goddess herself, you know?”

“What’s a waste is your life, Teresa.”

“Oh, sure, sure. Are you satisfied now? Want me to say ‘thank you so much for your kindness toward someone like me, abandoned even by her own parents’?”

Karen ignored the sarcasm and said:

“Would you let me be your sponsor?”

“…What?”

Suspicion and bewilderment. Teresa was looking at her like she was an idiot.

“Believe it or not, I’m currently the sponsor of the Crimson Thunder—the party that just conquered the thirtieth floor of the territorial capital’s dungeon.”

“…Huh? Excuse me?”

The idiot stare wavered slightly. She probably knew that adventurers had no tolerance for outright lies.

“Though how much I actually contributed to the conquest as a sponsor is honestly debatable.”

Teresa swallowed and said:

“…Saying something like that as a lie would get you killed by adventurers. …You’re serious?”

“Completely serious.”

“What do you want from me?”

Deep suspicion before any hint of joy. Teresa stared at Karen with eyes full of distrust. Talking to a child abandoned even by her own parents about love, ethics, or morality would only backfire.

So Karen decided to say exactly what she meant, without any pretense.

“I have a hypothesis—that the less magical power a person is born with, the stronger they can become if they manage to grow.”

Teresa reacted with a sharp, barely suppressed flinch. Karen, already half-submerged in her own thoughts, pressed on without paying it any mind.

“Technically, you’re supposed to need at least C-rank magical power to become an alchemist—B-rank is considered ideal. But I made potions with D-rank. That was already considered exceptional—prodigious, even—and yet my apprentice made potions with F-rank magical power, and with E-rank joined the Alchemists’ Guild and even advanced the steps. The less base magical power a person has, the less they may need to wield it. That’s my current hypothesis.”

“W-Wait. What are you talking about?”

Karen surfaced from her own thoughts and looked up to find Teresa wearing an expression of sheer fright. To Teresa, Karen’s words were in some sense hope—and if they were wrong, despair.

Karen looked at her without the slightest softening.

“I’m talking about the fundamental truths of this world.”

“—You mean… alchemy?”

“I want to become your sponsor, keep you from dying too easily, and use that time to test whether my hypothesis is right or wrong.”

She wasn’t going to show her only possibilities, offer her only hope, and soothe Teresa’s heart with comfort. Teresa was surely sick of that kind of thing by now.

“As an alchemist, I want to use your life to verify the principles of this world.”

Without asking or expecting Teresa to believe in her—knowing she probably couldn’t believe in anything—Karen simply thrust her own desire forward.

“That’s why I want you to accept my proposal.”

“You’d be my sponsor and… the price would be… being used for your… experiment?”

“It’s an experiment, but all you have to do is use my potions and survive and grow stronger.”

“This is way too convenient…”

Teresa bit her lower lip and looked down for a moment. Then she murmured:

“…Let me think about it.”

There was nothing more Karen could do for Teresa today. Karen gave a small nod.

“Let me know when you’ve made up your mind.”

And for the real purpose of the visit, Karen left Teresa behind and stepped out of the room with August.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 313

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Chapter Three Hundred and Thirteen: Beauty in Knight’s Attire

At first glance, one might have taken her for a slender, fine-featured young man. But she was too slender for a boy, too composed, with an air of maturity about her. Karen had no acquaintance matching that description, so it was strange to feel such a sense of familiarity with someone she should never have met.

Looking closer, she realized it was Ottilie.

Ottilie strode toward her with wide, brisk steps—the walk of a man, quick and purposeful.

She stopped in front of Karen, her smile deepening further. Her bearing, her every movement, was that of a male noble. Her lips, naturally colored, were somehow all the more alluring for it, and Karen felt her pulse quicken as she instinctively braced herself.

Her dark, slightly wavy hair was bound back in a single tie, and she stood with composed dignity—the very picture of a beauty in men’s clothing.

“S-So gorgeous…”

“Maybe I should dance next too!?”

“How can someone that attractive be a woman—I can’t believe it! I refuse to believe it!”

Karen caught Petra’s lament at the edge of her hearing.

The music for commoners had ended, and the next piece—something suited for nobles—was about to begin.

“Brother Julius, you’re dancing the lady’s part next!”

“Ugh—Thor, haven’t you gotten stronger since I last saw you!?”

“Couldn’t ascend the step for a while, but conquering the thirtieth floor of the dungeon finally did it!”

Julius, who had been trying to make his way back to Karen, was captured by Thor once more and dragged off. While Karen was distracted by the remarkable sight of Julius apparently being made to dance the lady’s part, Ottilie took Karen’s hand.

And pressed her lips to Karen’s fingers.

“Lady Karen, would you honor me with a dance?”

At close range, the striking beauty in men’s attire fixed her gaze on Karen, and Karen went scarlet—and by the time she had gathered her wits, she was already being escorted by Ottilie.

Ottilie took the man’s position as a matter of course and led. The dance had already begun. Before Karen could collect herself and voice the question on her mind, Ottilie spoke first:

“I placed third at the recent hunting festival.”

“What!? Did you really!?”

She had heard that Julius had won, but, on further reflection, she had never learned who had taken second and third.

“As my reward, I asked the Earl of Ehlertt to knight me.”

Karen blinked at her as they danced.

“Does that mean… you joined the knights’ order?”

“No. It’s just that only those who hold a title have the authority to confer knighthood upon a noble. So I asked the Earl of Ehlertt to be the one to knight me. However, if you had already become a titled lord, I would have preferred to ask you, Lady Karen.”

“But why—”

“You’re wondering why I am so fixed on you, right?”

Karen gave a small nod. There were many other things she was curious about as well. Ottilie’s parents were nobles with titles of their own—and yet she had gone to Helfried rather than to them for this.

But the thing she was most curious about was precisely why Ottilie was so intent on Karen.

“I have been going back and forth on it, but I shall come clean… might I have a moment of your time once the dance is over?”

“Of course.”

Karen answered and cast a glance toward Julius. At this distance, he would surely be able to hear, she thought as she looked over—and met the eyes of Julius, who was being expertly led by Thor into picture-perfect poses. Despite wearing a completely empty expression, he continued dancing flawlessly, and the sight brought a huge smile to Karen’s face.

“Same-sex dancing may well become the fashion in Ehlertt after tonight.”

Ottilie was watching the same scene and laughed quietly as she said it. Karen nodded in complete agreement.

“It does look like fun.”

The easy, cheerful time of dancing passed in no time at all. When the dance ended, Karen slipped out of the great hall with Ottilie.

“This way, Lady Karen. I also received permission from the Earl of Ehlertt to come and go from the manor as part of my reward.”

Ottilie led the way with the ease of someone who knew the grounds well. The Ehlertt Earldom’s manor in the royal capital was large, but the one in Ehlertt’s territorial capital was larger still by a considerable degree. On top of that, Karen had spent most of the previous year shut away in her room painting, so she still hadn’t gotten a full grasp of the estate’s layout.

Even so, she recognized the path they were taking.

“Are we headed to the annex where Lady Waltride stayed before…?”

“Yes—I was told it is where Her Highness the Princess used to reside.”

Past a stone-paved path, there stood an annex Karen recognized. Before they even stepped inside, Karen could hear the voices of children within.

Ottilie opened the door, and Karen followed her in. The moment they entered, all the children inside fell completely silent. They froze in place, suppressing even their breathing, watching Karen and Ottilie with wary, frightened eyes.

“These are the children you gathered, Lady Karen—those with little or no magical power. Though only a portion of them are here.”

“They’ve already arrived…”

“They should have arrived around this evening. My parents brought them—children from the Bell Viscounty and the neighboring territories.”

The tension in the room was palpable. These were children gathered without ever asking their wishes—brought here at Karen’s own whim. She believed it was better for them than where they had been. But the children had no way of knowing what their lives were about to become.

That was why Karen had to tell them.

She drew a breath, steadied herself—and just as she steeled herself to speak, one of the frozen children cried out:

“Huh!? Wait—…Big Sister!?”

“Yes, it’s me, your sister, Michael.”

The boy’s face lit up in an instant, then crumpled as if he might burst into tears. He ran to Ottilie and threw his arms around her, and sobbed aloud.

“My sister turned into a brotherrr!”

Ottilie hugged the boy as he wailed with dramatic abandon, then looked up at Karen:

“I will speak plainly. I wanted to serve at your side, Lady Karen—so that I could stay near this child.”

Ottilie’s younger brother. The fact that he was here meant that Ottilie’s parents, the Viscount and Viscountess Bell, had discarded him.

“…If I were to say this openly, my father and mother would never forgive me. To those two, who believe in magical power above all else, this child’s existence is something that should never have been.”

Karen worried that the brother in Ottilie’s arms might be listening, but he was busy whimpering, "I still love you even if you’re my brother!" and didn’t appear to be particularly bothered.

“And so I had to keep up the pretense that everything I did was for the family’s sake. I had to act as though I was trying to become one of Master Julius’s lowest-ranking wives in order to protect the family—and that I merely wanted to get close to you, Lady Karen. The first part was an act, but the second was genuine. Aside from Horst, there was no one else willing to save children like Michael.”

Ottilie said it with a bitter smile. Karen held her breath and stared at her profile.

Horst Brahm. A noble with little magical power by ordinary standards—weak, by the world’s measure—and yet someone who had curried favor with the former Earl Winfried and schemed his way to the top, becoming the head elder of the Ehlertt Council of Elders. He was currently missing and charged with high treason. To speak of owing a debt to such a man took no small amount of resolve.

Ottilie was truly intending to confess everything to Karen.

“How did Horst… help children like these?”

“When the children came of age, that man would give them work. I do not know what kind of work, but…”

One of those jobs might have been as a cook in the Ehlertt’s household, Karen suddenly thought. The man who had put poison into the panacea curry she had made, and destroyed the panacea.

“It was because Horst was there that my parents were unable to discard this child until today. They watched his every expression, afraid of drawing his ire… If I am asked whether I had a connection to Horst, I cannot say that I did not. He shielded us. He helped us.”

The man who had, in his own way, been a guardian to powerless children, was gone. Karen had cornered him, and he had vanished.

“…Even so, Lady Karen—would you please keep me by your side? Allow me to serve you as a knight. Let me protect you, and the children—and my brother.”

“I look forward to having you with us, Lady Ottilie.”

Karen answered without a moment’s hesitation, and Ottilie’s expression flooded with relief. She pulled Michael tightly into her arms, and Michael, crushed against her chest, let out a strangled "Guehhh.”

The Translator’s Note

In Chapter 260, Ottilie’s father was an earl (伯爵); now he is a viscount (子爵).

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 312

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Chapter Three Hundred and Twelve: Wall Between Nobles and Commoners

Nearly all of those dancing in high spirits were commoners. It was probably because the music being played was the kind Karen recognized—the sort meant for common folk. The nobles kept their polite distance from the lively commoners, who danced without a trace of etiquette or propriety.

Given the very purpose of the New Year’s Festival—a gathering where nobles and commoners joined hands to protect the territory—it seemed a shame. And yet each group had clustered together with their own kind. But that was simply how things were.

Because this world, in every sense imaginable, drew a sharp line between those above and those below.

“Let’s dance too, Julius.”

“Could you give me one more song to watch? I’m almost at the point where I can follow their pattern.”

“Commoner dances are fine to muddle through. Nobody’s going to be embarrassed if you get it wrong.”

“I happen to like your proud expression too, Karen—the one you make when you feel pleased about me. That’s why I want to dance it perfectly.”

“Proud is one thing, but that sounds more like… a smug face.”

Being told that one of her less flattering expressions was his favorite left Karen with a complicated look on her face.

Julius chuckled softly.

“Even if you’d love me no matter what, I still find it adorable when you look proud because of me.”

“You’re pretty unusual too, Julius.”

Karen said it to hide her embarrassment. Julius smiled all the more warmly as he looked down at her, then began committing the commoner dances to memory. Just then, a conversation between adventurers drifted to Karen’s ears.

“Still, who would’ve thought that young master could laugh at an A-rank adventurer and get away with it?”

“He’s one bold heir. I like him.”

“Oh? So even adventurers can see it. Then Ehlertt’s in good hands.”

The adventurers who had been addressed fell quiet at once and stiffened. Even though the words themselves were positive, being approached by a noble was enough to make adventurers nervous.

Nevertheless, the adventurers who had been approached—by Alban—answered back despite their guarded expressions.

“…It’s good that Ehlertt is doing well. Makes it easier for us to brag to adventurers from other territories.”

“The only unfortunate thing is that the adventurer Young Master Sieg favors most isn’t from Ehlertt.”

“Tch. Way to hit where it hurts.”

“What I mean to say is that I would like you all to continue throwing yourselves into dungeon conquest. My own Court Viscounty has its share of territory. If there is anything you would like to see improved from an adventurer’s perspective, speak up. I, too, cannot afford to fall behind that upstart new lord fresh from the royal capital when it comes to managing a territory.”

Alban brought Karen up as a half-joking example. The adventurers who had been sulking looked up and cracked grins.

“…So we’ve both got a fire lit under us, then, have we?”

“It may be well and good to have drawn in a capable adventurer and alchemist from the royal capital, but neither nobles nor commoners enjoy hearing that Ehlertt recovered only thanks to them. For the pride of Ehlertt’s people, I’d like your cooperation.”

“Didn’t think I’d ever hear a noble say something like that to us.”

“In that case, there’s a policy I’ve been curious about for a while—”

Whatever the reason, the wall between nobles and commoners, between those above and below, was being removed all around the venue, and people were beginning to connect.

Karen was grinning to herself with quiet delight at the sight of it when Julius gently took her hand.

“Karen, the next song is starting. Will you dance with me?”

“Gladly!”

Commoner dances were a simple sequence of repeated steps—feet moving in rhythm, spinning round and round, and at the end a bow before parting ways and swapping partners. But married couples, or pairs like Karen and Julius, were perfectly free to keep the same partner throughout.

So Karen had fully intended to keep dancing with Julius—but partway through, Thor barged in and stole him away.

“Huh? Thor!?”

“Thor?!”

“Sis, you’re dancing with me next.”

Thor gave a casual wave as he said it and swept off a wide-eyed Julius, still blinking in disbelief. Julius, dancing on with a thoroughly bewildered expression, and Thor, dancing the lady’s part with perfect composure, drew roaring laughter from adventurers and nobles alike. Whether to dance with Julius or with Thor—not just adventurers but nobles too were caught up in the fun, and the number of people joining in kept growing. Mostly men.

Left behind with a dazed expression, Karen found someone bowing to her in time with the music. It was Sieg.

“Sister Karen, dance with me!”

“…Gladly!”

Karen thought for a moment, then decided that this was turning out to be fun in its own right, and nodded with a full smile.

“Oh, you’re quite good, Master Sieg.”

“Just Sieg. Drop the formal speech!”

Sieg smiled at her as they danced.

“Let’s be close like you and Thor from now on. We’re going to be a real family, after all!”

“In that case, you can call me your sister, Ms. Karen.”

“And you may call me your brother.”

Helfried and Alise had joined the dance at some point without Karen noticing and were now right behind her, delivering their additions in turn. Karen’s eyes went wide.

“Does that mean—Lady Alise and Lord Helfried as my sister-in-law and brother-in-law…!?”

“My, that has a nice ring to it.”

“Hmm. Not bad.”

“Sister Karen, what about me?”

“Is Sieg… really all right? Truly?”

“Yes! That’s exactly what I want!”

Sieg said it with a smile bright as a blooming flower, then bowed to Karen and made his way to his next dance partner. The male adventurer who happened to be in Sieg’s path and ended up paired with him looked absolutely startled—ordinarily, men and women partnered together.

Nearby, the voices of young noble girls could be heard begging their parents to let them try the commoner dances, having realized that joining the circle might mean a chance to dance with Sieg. With the quiet dignity of a future heir, Sieg was somehow getting a rough-and-tumble male adventurer to dance the lady’s part without any apparent effort.

As Karen felt a warm swell of feeling at how much Sieg had grown, the next to arrive—just as promised—was Thor. She and Thor had danced together often enough in the adventurers’ quarter that they moved together without needing to think. When they finished a thoroughly enjoyable dance, Thor said:

“There’s someone over there who keeps looking this way like she wants to dance with you, Sis.”

Karen turned around, curious, and her eyes went wide.

“Lady… Ottilie?”

There, for some reason dressed in men’s clothing—the formal attire of a knight—was Ottilie, who noticed Karen’s eyes on her and broke into a bright smile.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 311

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Chapter Three Hundred and Eleven: Day of Blessings 2

“He’s the younger brother of a baroness within the Ehlertt territory—he is hardly an outsider anymore!”

Alban noticed Karen’s gaze and gave her a nod. His knights followed suit, raising their voices in support.

“Indeed! Even if some find it hard to believe that Miss Karen participated in the black dragon subjugation party, it is an undeniable fact that she is the elder sister of an adventurer of A-rank caliber who conquered the thirtieth floor!”

“It’s practically the same as Ehlertt gaining an A-rank adventurer.”

“As the saying goes, if you wish to slay a dullahan, you begin by taking down its mount. Surely you can see what His Excellency the Earl intended by awarding Lady Karen a title!”

The nobles would likely have accepted it without issue if Licht or Julius had received the title. Because it was Karen, they had trouble accepting it. Even the nobles who recognized Karen as a capable alchemist must have found it difficult to swallow. In a world where those who fought—those who were strong—were the ones rewarded, Karen was an alchemist who could not fight.

And so Thor was casually being used as a bargaining chip to get the nobles to accept Karen’s presence.

“Umm…”

Karen’s expression grew increasingly flustered. She was grateful for Alban and the other knights stepping in to defend her, but Thor had his own standing to consider. She was just about to try and put a stop to it when Thor, who had climbed the central staircase and now stood before Helfried, turned to address the hall.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go putting words in my mouth.”

Thor said it coolly. His voice wasn’t raised, yet it carried across the room with an odd clarity, and Karen could only smile wryly and think, “Well, that’s fair.”

There was no trace of polite speech in Thor’s words. He had used respectful language when first meeting Helfried at the Ehlertt family’s residence in the royal capital—but there was no longer any need for that.

“We’re adventurers who’ll be A-rank once the paperwork’s done. Just because Sis became a noble of Ehlertt doesn’t mean I belong to Ehlertt.”

A-rank adventurers no longer needed to bow their heads to nobles. Thor swept his gaze across the hall, silencing the room, then turned to face Helfried.

“Your Excellency, if you’re going to give us some kind of reward for clearing the thirtieth floor—could we change it to something I actually want?”

“—That depends on what it is, but we will do our best to honor the merits of your achievement.”

Helfried swallowed audibly. Thor stated his wish without any particular fuss:

“Then, could you get an Adventurers’ Guild set up in Sis’s territory?”

“Set one up?”

“Not a branch office—a full guild branch. Branch offices don’t allow membership registration. Get a proper guild branch established, and put some support behind Sis’s territory to make it happen.”

“…Membership registration?”

Helfried’s puzzled expression slowly gave way to widening surprise. Thor grinned at him and gave a nod.

“Yeah. If Sis’s territory gets an Adventurers’ Guild, I want to transfer my registration there!”

A moment of silence.

Then the room erupted.

“Ehlertt has actually done it—they’ve actually secured an A-rank adventurer!”

Simply because an adventurer belonged to a territory’s Adventurers’ Guild branch did not mean that the adventurer could be controlled at will. However, it certainly made it easier to request their services. Adventurers generally would not completely ignore the wishes of the lord whose territory housed their guild. In fact, if relations became that strained, the adventurer would simply transfer elsewhere. Just having a high-ranking adventurer registered with the territory brought prestige.

Above all, a guild with a renowned adventurer registered drew other adventurers in. That, in turn, kept the territory’s dungeon naturally stable and made the land a more livable place.

“Hey—I just said that’s not what I meant! I’m only affiliating with Sis—just Sis, got it?!”

Thor glared at the people of Ehlertt celebrating around him, then turned to Karen with a grin.

He had gone along with Alban’s argument to lend Karen more standing. By making it clear that he was affiliating with Karen and not Ehlertt, he was making it easier for Karen to be accepted.

“If that is truly the wish of you and the Crimson Thunder, I could ask for nothing more—but are all of you certain about this?”

Helfried asked to confirm, and the members of the Crimson Thunder nodded as if they had arranged it beforehand.

“Very well. As Earl of Ehlertt, I will do everything in my power to see your wish fulfilled.”

Another wave of cheers went up.

Whether it was for Thor’s sake or anything else… Karen had been accepted, at least for now.

By everyone present in this hall.

The moment that realization settled over her, the strength drained from Karen’s legs.

“Karen, are you all right?”

Julius caught her before she could fall and asked quietly. Karen gave a small nod.

“I think I was nervous… I thought I’d be fine no matter what anyone said, but…”

There was no way everyone would accept her.

Karen was a commoner. Her original magical power had been D-rank. When the people of Ehlertt first came to know of her, her alchemist rank had been E. And on top of all that, she had received a title and land simply for having been present at the defeat of a monster she hadn’t landed a single blow on.

She did not even consider it unfair that some people could not accept that. But Karen had a wish of her own.

“I wanted this special day with you, Julius… to be celebrated by everyone…!”

Tears spilled from Karen’s eyes, and she looked up at Julius with a weeping, watery smile.

“So many people celebrated us… I’m so glad… I’m so glad, Julius…!”

Julius stared at her for a long moment as she laughed through her tears, and then he nodded.

“…Yes. So am I. Truly, truly—…!”

A tear slipped from Julius’s golden eyes.

He noticed it himself and moved to hide it, looking faintly bewildered—and Karen, seeing him, cupped his face in both hands to cover his tears for him. The face that was beautiful even with tears shimmering in his eyes drew closer, and though it wasn’t quite what she had intended, Karen smiled and closed her eyes.

The curious gazes of the noble ladies pressed in from all sides. The young misses let out delighted cries. The adventurers called out their teasing.

Whatever the reason behind it, what surrounded them now was pure, unadulterated blessing.

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