Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 242

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-Two: Karen’s Room

The room she was shown to was different from the one last time.

“Lady Karen, this will be your room.”

“It’s bigger than before. Is it because I became B-rank?”

Not only was it spacious, but the furnishings also looked quite fine. As a result of visiting various noble estates for commissions, Karen’s eye was becoming more discerning. Unlike the room where she had stayed at the Ehlertt mansion in the royal capital, she could somehow tell this was a room of noble grade rather than commoner grade.

Karen had been in Alise’s bedroom in the royal capital, and this room might be comparable even to that one. Perhaps her treatment had improved because Karen had been promoted to a B-rank alchemist. Or maybe it was the Ehlertt people’s sense of duty, and they had simply prepared this room out of gratitude to Karen.

At Karen’s speculation, Sara showed a meaningful smile.

“Yes, I suppose that’s part of it.”

“Huh, there’s something else? What? What is it?”

“You’ll find out eventually.”

Sara left the room quickly after setting down the luggage. She seemed to have gone to guide Sepl and Urte, who had come with Karen. They were apparently shown to a room nearby, as cheers could be heard from beyond the door of a room slightly ajar. It seemed they had prepared nice rooms for Karen’s adventurer escorts as well.

While smiling at the joyful voices, Karen looked around the room. But she couldn’t figure out what else there might be about this room. To begin with, the room she had stayed in before was in the East Wing, managed by Sieg. Then who in the Ehlertt household managed this West Wing—?

At that moment, Karen’s thoughts were interrupted by a sound she heard outside the window. Thinking she heard voices arguing, Karen opened the window and looked down. An open plaza was set up there. Seeing the target range, Karen deduced it was a training ground for the Ehlertt Earldom’s knights.

A moment later, perhaps because the wind direction changed, voices from the training ground reached Karen.

“Your concern is unnecessary! Your swordsmanship is not the kind knights should learn!”

The rough male voice that reached her ears received no rebuttal from the one being addressed. But Karen’s heart realized who was being subjected to those words even before seeing the figure.

—After seeing Karen off to her room, where had Julius gone?

Karen rushed out of the room and headed for the training ground. Just as she left the mansion, Sepl and Urte, who had jumped down from the window, caught up with her.

“Little Karen, if you’re going out, let us know.”

“Ah, sorry. I’m still not used to being guarded…”

“You can go wherever you want, Karen. We’ll make sure we can keep up.”

Karen headed to the training ground with Sepl and Urte. On the way, she met Julius returning from the training ground to the West Wing.

“Mr. Julius!”

“Karen, why the rush? There’s only the knights’ training ground ahead, you know?”

Julius, his eyes wide, looked as gentle-faced as always. But was it just Karen’s imagination that there seemed to be a shadow in those golden eyes?

“I heard voices. Mr. Julius, are you all right?”

“Are you perhaps talking about just now? How embarrassing that you heard. But it’s nothing serious.”

“Is that so? Didn’t it sound like something unpleasant was being said to you?”

“I heard they want to make the knight order stronger. I offered to instruct them, but my original swordsmanship is rather unique, so the captain who knows this simply declined.”

“That’s…”

Karen recalled the sight of Julius fighting Thor in the dungeon. Certainly, that wasn’t the kind of fighting style knights would emulate. At Karen’s hesitation, Julius smiled wryly.

“I have mastered knightly swordsmanship as well, but I’m not particularly strong when using it.”

“But you won the swordsmanship tournament in that state.”

“The truly strong are out fighting monsters in dungeons or beyond the influence zones. For a swordsmanship tournament meant to make a name for oneself, that level is enough to win.”

If Lyos, who had competed in the same tournament and been defeated, heard this, he would surely be furious, but Julius seemed to mean it seriously.

“There is no swordsmanship of mine worth learning, and if they were to adopt my personal style, it would likely trouble them as knights. They seemed desperate, so I tried to offer help, but it appears I only caused a disturbance.”

Julius said this calmly. As if it were nothing important. But the voice Karen had heard held no respect for Julius.

“—The owner of that voice just now was the captain of the Ehlertt knights, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. He’s been protecting the Ehlertt territory for a long time.”

Such a person had said that Julius’s swordsmanship was not what the knights should learn. Julius had called the form he showed in his battle with Thor his true form. That form, which he had said was different from what Karen believed in, the captain surely knew of it too.

Julius had believed that Karen would fear that form. Perhaps that was because he had already experienced being feared and shunned. Julius was widely known in the royal capital as the greatest marriage candidate among the three kingdoms. If he had experienced being disliked, the only place that could have happened was in the Ehlertt territory.

The fact that the man was still the captain of the knights meant he hadn’t been on Horst’s side. He must be an ally of Helfried’s. Even so, Karen couldn’t help but glare at the training ground. Looking down at such a Karen, Julius whispered:

“By the way, Karen, do you like your new room?”

“Huh? Yes. I thought it was a lovely room, but…”

Julius was obviously trying to change the subject, and Karen responded warily. He moved his face closer, and Karen braced herself.

She was no longer the Karen of before, whose brain would melt and be fooled by everything just because Julius’s beautiful face was brought close.

“Across the hallway from yours is my room."

“…Huh?”

At Karen’s blank expression, unable to grasp the meaning of his words, Julius narrowed his eyes.

“Your room is the room for the person who will become my wife, Karen.”

Julius looked down with an amused smile at Karen, who stood there dumbfounded.

Karen looked at the room on the second floor where the prepared room was, looked at Julius, looked at the room on the second floor again, and then screamed.

“Kyaaaa!”

Letting out a gleeful shriek, Karen broke into a run toward the room. She had been completely unaware that it was such a room and hadn’t looked at it properly at all. At the sight of Karen dashing off in a beeline to examine the room, Julius followed after her, laughing.

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 241

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-One: Arrival

“Mmm, the air is cold!”

Karen took Julius’s hand and stepped down from the carriage, stretched her arms above her head, wearing a warm, fluffy coat and the gloves she’d received from Sieg.

Her body was stiff from being jolted in the carriage for so long. Even so, since the territorial capital at the westernmost end of the Ehlertt land was only five days northeast from the royal capital, the journey was relatively easy. Irmlinde’s territory, where Waltride had headed, apparently took a month one way by regular carriage.

The Ehlertt territory was only five days away, yet perhaps due to its proximity to the northern Bruyère mountain range, winters here were colder than those in the royal capital. The frozen winds from the mountain peaks might be blowing down on the territory.

“Your cheeks are red, Karen.”

“Mr. Julius, the tip of your nose is also a bit red.”

And her earring was freezing cold, feeling like her ear might fall off. When Karen gently channeled magical power into her earring, Julius’s eyes widened.

“Karen?”

“Did your ear get warm?”

Julius looked astonished, then smiled. The next moment, Karen’s ear grew gently warm.

“…That was my first time channeling magical power into it.”

As Julius whispered this, Karen also lowered her voice.

“Why don’t we casually infuse magical power like this from time to time?”

“To warm each other’s ears?”

Julius chuckled softly. Looking up at him, Karen narrowed her eyes.

When Julius had gone missing in the dungeon, his magical power had been depleted, and he hadn’t been in any condition to channel magical power into his earring. But even if he had been overflowing with magical power, Karen didn’t think Julius would have asked her for help.

So that someday Julius could infuse magical power into the earring to call for Karen’s help—this would serve as practice for that.

“Yes. Since it’s cold… just occasionally, when you remember, please channel magical power to warm my ear.”

“All right.”

Though there was no need for it, they smiled at each other over this small promise made in lowered voices like sharing a secret, then headed toward the mansion.

“Welcome, Lady Karen. Welcome home, Master Julius. And to all of you, thank you for coming.”

The one who said this was Volker, who had come out from the mansion to greet them. Volker was the butler of the Ehlertt household in the royal capital. If she recalled correctly, he had remained at the royal capital residence last year.

“So this year, you’re here as well, Mr. Volker?”

“We reorganized the personnel at the territorial capital mansion this time, so the number of servants has decreased significantly. That is why I have come here this year.”

“…I see.”

Karen immediately understood. Last year in the Ehlertt territory, Horst Brahm’s influence had reached every corner. Surely the servants were no exception. With Horst’s crimes, the influence of the former Earl Winfried’s faction had weakened. Taking this opportunity, Helfried had decided to replace personnel.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Horst wasn’t the only noble who had participated in the dungeon scheme. Thus, while the Ehlertt Earldom bore the stigma of producing a criminal, it had escaped severe punishment through adjustment of interests with the royal family, much like other territories.

It wasn’t any specific territory at fault—the blame was being placed on the weak who were born without magical power. The incident had taken on that tone.

As a result, nobles with little or no magical power—despite having no involvement—were probably finding life uncomfortable in their own lands. They might already be receiving terrible treatment.

Karen had promised Horst she would stop this. However, so far, she hadn’t found a way to do so.

In Karen’s estimation, there existed potions in this world that could only be made by those who understood the state of having no magical power. The more useful those potions were, the less harsh the treatment of people born without magical power would become. However, she hadn’t established a method to prove this.

“You’re sure it’s fine for my party to lodge here as well?”

“Of course. As Lady Karen’s younger brother and his party members, we have been ordered by our lord to extend Ehlertt’s full hospitality to you. Even without that, it is our pleasure to host a B-rank adventurer party such as yours.”

Volker said this in response to Thor’s question. Thor’s party members, who had been moving their bodies by stretching and doing squats after getting off the carriage like Karen, caught up.

“Ms. Wanda! And…”

“I be Odo.”

A dwarf with black hair and a thick black beard, carrying a giant axe on his back. Like all dwarves, he was short, and his age was indeterminate due to the beard covering most of his face, but he seemed younger than Urgo from the magical tool shop.

“I’m Luis. Ms. Karen, you’re cute even in different clothes from usual—why are you kicking me, Leader!? I haven’t done anything yet!”

The one speaking in a flirtatious tone and giving her a suggestive look was a fairly handsome man with brown hair and blue eyes. He was clutching his shin with teary eyes after receiving a low kick from Thor. With light equipment and a bow on his back, he was probably an archer.

“I’m Chris. I might look like an old guy, but I’m the lowest-ranking member here, so if you need anything, just send me running.”

As he himself said, he was an old man with gray hair mixed with white. He had a worn-out appearance and wore a tired expression. He was about the same height as Julius, with a more solidly built frame than Julius. Being a B-rank adventurer and looking like that, he might actually be quite elderly. He carried a longsword and shield.

“I’m Wanda, a mage. I’ll be intruding for a while.”

Thor was probably the youngest among them. Yet he was their leader. It was a strange sight, no matter how many times she saw it, and Karen blinked repeatedly.

She had barely exchanged greetings with anyone except Wanda. They had been made to wait in the royal capital until recently, indulging Thor’s selfish wish to stay by Karen’s side until her supporters were decided. And on top of that, they had followed her all the way to the Ehlertt territory.

That said, Karen was not their objective.

“We can explore the local dungeon, right?”

“We would be grateful if you would. The dungeon’s dormancy period has already ended, and the lowest floor is believed to have gone deeper than the twentieth floor.”

“So the lowest level is the thirtieth, then?”

“Most likely.”

“Sounds just right for us now.”

Thor turned to his companions and grinned. Conquering the thirtieth floor. That was the condition for a B-rank adventurer to rise to A-rank.

Not only Thor, but Wanda, Odo, Luis, and Chris all wore fearless smiles. Though it would undoubtedly be a dangerous journey, there was no sign of anxiety. Rather, they seemed to be looking forward to it.

Thor had never been afraid of dungeons. Because of that, he seemed to stand out not only among his peers but among adventurers in general, but his party members appeared much the same.

Watching their backs as they entered the mansion, Karen narrowed her eyes.

“…Thor finally has friends who understand him, huh.”

“No, no, no, is that really such a cute story?”

“As Sepl said, that’s a gathering of terrifying lunatics.”

Sepl and Urte had exasperated looks on their faces. They had come along as Karen’s supporters. Even to them, Thor and his party apparently seemed bizarre. As a sister whose brother was being called a lunatic, Karen said with a sour face:

“Well, we’ll just stick to gathering potion materials bit by bit on the first floors.”

“Please do. I’m about to become a father. Don’t think you can go deeper just because I’m here.”

“Are you underestimating what a supporter does?”

“I’ll protect you with my life if anything happens to you! But at least once! Just once, I don’t want to cross dangerous bridges until I can hold my child!”

“Okay, okay.”

From the start, Natalia had told her not to use the two as adventurers. They were solely supporters of an alchemist.

“Well then, Karen, I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, Mr. Julius. See you later.”

Parting with Julius, who was going to put away his luggage, Karen also headed to her room. A maid called out to Karen:

“Lady Karen, I’ll show you to your room. We’ve also prepared rooms for your two supporters, so please follow me.”

“Ah, Sara! Long time no see! Have you eaten the curry fried bread yet?”

“Everyone in Ehlertt has eaten it. I purchased it from the bakery. It was very delicious and well-received. Mr. Sieg in particular seemed to enjoy it, and I’ve already been ordered to purchase it several times.”

“Hehehe. Really? If everyone knew the next Earl of Ehlertt liked it, they’d all be shocked!”

Imagining the surprised faces of her commoner friends’ family, who ran the bakery, Karen’s shoulders shook. Sara smiled at Karen, took her luggage, and began walking.

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 240

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Chapter Two Hundred and Forty: The Kingdom’s Laws (Diehild’s POV)

“How did I appear in the eyes of Alchemist Karen, I wonder?”

In the bathing room of the queen’s palace, Queen Diehild was having her body washed. She unhesitatingly exposed her ageless, voluptuous body that seemed impossible to believe had borne six children starting from her thirties, as the clinging rose fragrance was washed away.

What was being lathered on her body was the beauty soap, one of the princess-branded cosmetics set sold by Alchemist Karen. This soap potion with the same fragrance as the flower Karen called chamomile was apparently impossible to reproduce even by her disciple, and continued to be out of stock.

Those who couldn’t obtain this soap had no choice but to purchase ordinary soap—not potions—from merchants who made soap following the recipe Karen had made public. Even soap without potion effects apparently improved skin luster and maintained cleanliness better when used. Solid soap without fragrance was already incorporated as strategic supplies for both the Royal Knights and the Royal Guard. It was reportedly valued for being easier to handle than soft soap and better at removing dirt.

The knight orders reportedly requested soap potion deliveries from particularly talented E-rank alchemists building their delivery records, yet so far, no one else had succeeded in supplying this soap potion.

Even C-rank alchemists who accepted individual requests couldn’t make it, and B-rank alchemists had such high pride that they disliked being forced to use others’ recipes, so they couldn’t be compelled. However, even if they were forced, they probably couldn’t make it anyway. Diehild had also asked the royal alchemists, but even they said they still couldn’t make that potion.

Some nobles tried to pressure Karen, but that was stopped somewhere before Diehild even needed to intervene. Especially when high-ranking adventurers from the Adventurers’ Guild got involved, even the royal family couldn’t track the flow of power.

After Diehild’s body was washed, the court ladies withdrew. Only three ladies-in-waiting remained at Diehild’s side as she reclined in the bathtub, and they answered Diehild’s question.

“As an ordinary commoner girl, she would likely feel honored that Your Majesty spoke to her so amiably.”

“As the daughter of an adventurer who couldn’t have a search party sent for him due to his low rank, she likely felt disgust at the motherly face Your Majesty showed toward Her Highness Waltride, who receives attention despite not fulfilling her duties.”

“As Her Highness Waltride’s friend, she may have been pained by Your Majesty’s coldheartedness.”

The three ladies-in-waiting each stated different opinions. All of them were quite plausible. What Karen had outwardly shown was the third emotion as Waltride’s friend, but there was also the possibility that it was an act.

“If Alchemist Karen’s behavior was an act, then my response today was truly half-hearted.”

However, whatever intention Karen might have been hiding, it probably wouldn’t have been a fatal mistake. She must have appeared as a queen who put the nation first—not favoring her daughter, yet not entirely free of maternal attachment.

Diehild let out a long, heavy sigh.

She knew that the Adventurers’ Guild had moved and detained an A-rank adventurer. That A-rank adventurer was a dungeon expedition participant who had lost her mental equilibrium after losing her partner, who was both a party member and her husband, in the dungeon expedition. The resentment wouldn’t have been strange if directed at the king, who had ordered the dungeon investigation. However, that resentment was directed at Karen, but before it could reach Karen, it was settled through the Adventurers’ Guild by someone’s intervention.

At A-rank, adventurers were treasures of humanity. Only those with even greater power or abilities were permitted to bend the will of such precious fighting forces. If all adventurers were to turn their backs, a nation would fall.

When Diehild was still a girl, there had been a country that perished that way.

“Still, what could possibly have happened in the dungeon to result in taming a pegasus? Waltride’s explanation made no sense.”

She had summoned Waltride to explain, but the girl grew frightened before Diehild and failed to give a coherent account. She said there had been a pegasus on the dungeon’s eighth floor. If one only heard the words that she had received the egg from a pegasus who had come to retrieve her child’s egg that had been kidnapped by those plotting to overthrow the Kingdom of Earthfill, it sounded just like the return of King Sybilla, but the reality was different. Upon closer questioning, it turned out Waltride had been unconscious for most of it and did not truly understand what happened.

The one who had arranged everything was Alchemist Karen. What exactly was this alchemist’s intention in creating this situation? Why did she have enough influence to move the Adventurers’ Guild? Was she the guild’s pawn?

“Until now, Waltride wasn’t given significant trials precisely because His Majesty had given up on her, but at this rate, there’s no telling what kind of trials His Majesty might impose.”

“Are you worried?”

“Worried? Indeed. I’m terribly worried that making Waltride stand out even more will cause the adventurers to abandon our kingdom.”

There once was a country called the Kingdom of Zektas. It was located far to the west—beyond the great river Granas, past Diehild’s birthplace, and even beyond the western forest.

This country had been abandoned by adventurers who could no longer endure the arrogance of the king and the tyranny of the nobles, and perished unable to stop a great stampede. Diehild hadn’t actually witnessed that state with her own eyes.

The western forest was part of the great central woodland of the continent, filled with numerous unconquered dungeons. Only capable adventurers—or a few people protected by them—could cross that forest. Even so, they had had diplomatic relations. But from a certain day, those diplomatic relations were severed.

What Diehild saw were the many adventurers crossing the forest. Skilled adventurers came to the Kingdom of Earthfill, to Diehild’s territory, crossing the forest while protecting only the people truly important to them.

“To adventurers, their homeland is not necessarily something they must protect. However, the stronger they are, the more accustomed they are to the goddess’s trials. Therefore, they will follow reasonable principles. We must not let them think our kingdom’s laws are unjust.”

Seeing her parents welcome and accept the adventurers who had crossed the forest with their families, Diehild decided to do the same on a national scale. For that purpose, she had gone through fierce struggles to become queen and was here. The king seemed to have his own thoughts, but Diehild wasn’t patient enough to wait for the results of those thoughts she wasn’t permitted to share.

When Diehild rose from the bathtub, the ladies-in-waiting wiped her body and draped a robe over her.

“Continue to monitor Waltride.”

Troublesomely, her bloodline was legitimate. The pegasus’ existence appeared like proof that the ancestral King Sybilla had acknowledged Waltride. If she had remained in her ugly form, not just fat but bloated and distorted in strange ways, it would have been one thing, but now, at least in appearance, she had come to closely resemble Diehild when she was a young woman who had won the queen’s position. To uninformed citizens—especially adventurers—Waltride would appear as an existence symbolizing the Royal Family.

“If Waltride acts against the Kingdom of Earthfill’s national interests—”

The softness and sweet scent of the newborn Waltride returned vividly to her memory, but as if averting her eyes, Diehild looked at the black-clad figures who had silently appeared behind her and knelt.

“—Do what must be done.”

After watching those who immediately vanished after responding "Yes", Diehild sat on a couch and drained the wine poured by her lady-in-waiting in one gulp.

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 239

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty-Nine: In the Palm of Her Hand

“Do you see that rose garden?”

“Yes.”

She was led out to the royal palace gardens. The Ehlertt Earldom’s gardens had been magnificent too, but as expected of the royal palace, the gardens were vast, yet meticulously maintained. Within a flower field of brilliantly blooming crimson roses, there was a small palace buried as if hidden among them.

A wind carrying a rich, sweet fragrance drifted to where Karen stood.

“That is called the Rose Palace. Do you know about that garden?”

“I feel like I’ve heard of it… But I can’t remember.”

“That is the palace of a poisonous woman.”

At the ominous word "poisonous woman," Karen straightened her back but couldn’t help thinking of one particular person. The First Consort, Benedicta.

“The poisonous woman lives in the Rose Palace. That garden is a rose garden that the poisonous woman tends with great care.”

She recalled that when Isaac had tried to pin false charges on her, Benedicta—the consort behind it—had been placed under house arrest by the king. The Rose Palace had come up at that time.

With unreadable eyes, the queen looked at the small palace buried in roses and spoke:

“I don’t know how she’s raising them, but the fragrance grows richer and sweeter each year. Even from here, the scent is this sweet. If you entered the garden, it would be filled with such a suffocating rose fragrance that you couldn’t even breathe. However, His Majesty’s nose seems to have grown accustomed to it. Lately, he apparently no longer even feels it’s strange. What about you?”

“From here, I just think it’s a very sweet fragrance.”

It must have a high aromatic component content. Karen thought it could probably be used for various things like perfume and potpourri, but since the queen’s tone regarding the rose garden was clearly critical, she didn’t say it aloud.

“Then, let us go inside.”

Ordering her ladies-in-waiting and court ladies, the queen entered the garden. As Karen followed after her, she looked around.

“Um, the First Consort is here, correct?”

It was none other than Karen who had thwarted the scheme in the dungeon that probably involved Benedicta. If they met, it wouldn’t end with just snide remarks. The queen glanced down at the anxious Karen.

“Rest assured. Today, the poisonous woman is not here. She has apparently gone riding with His Majesty.”

The queen said this calmly. Even though her husband had gone on a date with a woman other than herself, Karen found it unbelievable that she could remain so calm. If this were the norm among nobles and royalty, Karen would definitely be unable to live in noble society.

“In the Royal Guard, children of nobles that poisonous woman has carefully corrupted have infiltrated with His Majesty’s permission. His Majesty said that, too, is a trial, but recently that poisonous woman has finally corrupted even my son. According to His Majesty, my son could not overcome the trial.”

Karen guessed this was about Boromias, but of course, she kept silent. The queen continued advancing toward the small palace at the center of the rose garden. Just as the queen had said beforehand, the rose fragrance grew increasingly concentrated. It was a sweet scent that clung thickly to the lungs.

Just from breathing, Karen choked and couldn’t help coughing.

“Cough, s-sorry.”

“It matters not. —And so, my children are now fighting over succession rights to the throne of the Kingdom of Earthfill.”

“I-I see.”

Karen gave a perfunctory response while suppressing her cough. She didn’t understand why she was being told such things, and honestly speaking, she wasn’t interested. Karen was a commoner, and to commoners, rulers were people who had changed before you knew it, and even when they changed, it had nothing to do with you. Their policies certainly affected your life, but since you didn’t even hear about those policies in the first place, there was no real sense of it.

Having memories of her past life, Karen had some interest in politics. However, at her core, she believed that if the country adopted policies too harmful to you, you could simply leave. This was probably less from her past life’s way of thinking and more from the adventurer teachings she had received from her father.

When they reached the front of the Rose Palace, not only Karen but the ladies-in-waiting also seemed to be breathing with difficulty, and the queen covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

“It smells like completely rotten fruit. What kind of cultivation could drive roses to such madness… do you not think so?”

Saying this, the queen turned her back on the Rose Palace and began walking toward the garden exit. Karen felt she might vomit if she opened her mouth, and could not reply.

“Truly, this is not the time for siblings to be fighting. Our enemy to fight should always be monsters and the dungeon. Without that, we cannot maintain the territory of our kingdom.”

“You’re right.”

Karen answered while pinching her nose, but no one reproached her.

“And yet that poisonous woman uses the power given to her to rot and weaken this country from the inside for her own desires… As one raised by an adventurer, do you not find it detestable when those with power hinder others for their own selfish aims?”

“Yes… That’s right. It’s a way of doing things that adventurers hate. I don’t like it either.”

If you envied the strong, you should become stronger. If you envied those who surpassed the tenth dungeon floor, you should surpass the eleventh floor—that was the way of thinking. Someone who could only reach the ninth floor had no right to envy and harm someone who reached the tenth.

It was exactly the same method Isaac had used when he tried to frame Karen. Perhaps Benedicta had incited him to do it?

The queen left the rose garden, and Karen, with everyone, followed after. She immediately took a deep breath, but whether from the rose fragrance clinging to her body or from the nearby rose garden, Karen felt nauseous.

Even though when she had smelled it from outside, it had seemed like a pleasant fragrance.

“His Majesty overlooks that woman’s actions, deeming them trials. Because of this, you may continue to suffer in the future. I have no authority to stop it. However, even if it is His Majesty’s will, let me state clearly here that it differs from my will. If you are oppressed due to that woman’s power, rely on me. Though His Majesty has stripped me of authority, there may be ways I can help.”

“Th-Thank you very much.”

To the king, Benedicta was someone who gave trials to his children. Did he desire children who could overcome those trials? Or was it all just a pretext, and he was merely infatuated with the young and beautiful Benedicta?

The fact that the queen was making this offer might mean that Karen’s words hadn’t displeased her.

“Those who possess authority, magical power, and strength yet use them solely for their own pleasure, giving nothing back to the society that grants them everything—and those in power who indulge and protect such indolent people, granting them special treatment—commoners like you despise such people, do you not?”

“Well, yes.”

Karen smiled wryly as she thought of the royal guards. The royal guards who had been "corrupted" by Benedicta. And Boromias, who was being drawn into their ranks after his failure was exploited. Benedicta was a common enemy of both Karen and the queen.

Karen had thought that facing a shared enemy might make the queen overlook certain things—but that assumption was wrong.

“I believe Waltride is precisely such an indolent person.”

“Ah…”

Karen had thought they were talking about the royal guards, but apparently, the queen had been talking about Waltride. Waltride possessed both authority and magical power. It was not that she lacked the desire to work hard for those who supported her. However, she ran away because she was afraid and didn’t want to fight.

The king indulged and forgave such a Waltride. That might be the same structure as the royal guards being indulged by Benedicta.

If even the queen had permitted Waltride’s indulgence, what would the other people think—never mind Karen, but the commoners who weren’t allowed to live unless they had ability and exercised that ability? How should the queen conduct herself before such people?

Was the reason she criticized her daughter in front of Karen really…

“As a mother, I cannot help but feel a kind of admiration that a person of ability like you would call Waltride a friend and defend her.”

Karen gasped, and the queen looked down at her from about the same height as Waltride.

“However, if you wish for that foolish daughter Waltride to become the next monarch, as queen, I cannot help but oppose it.”

“I absolutely don’t wish for that at all, so please rest assured. I think Lady Waltride becoming a ruler would be absolutely impossible. I think she herself doesn’t want to become it at all either.”

The queen’s expression twisted ever so slightly at Karen’s words, which should have been what she wanted to hear. If Karen’s assessment wasn’t wrong, it looked like a bitter expression.

“…You truly do seem to be a friend who knows my daughter well.”

Karen couldn’t tell whether this was a mere performance for Karen, who had called Waltride her friend. It felt like words laden with complex emotions—both as a mother and as a queen—and in the end, Karen could not bring herself to dislike the queen.

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 238

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty-Eight: Modest Wish

Karen was led to a room in the main palace building. She was guided to a seat prepared by the glass windows, and across from Karen, as she sat in her chair, sat the queen.

Queen Diehild. She was a woman with golden hair like a waterfall that closely resembled Waltride’s, and sharp, upturned red eyes that gave her a severe appearance. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties, but since the first prince, her eldest son, was supposedly in his thirties, that could not be her real age.

Karen shrank under her sharp, snake-like gaze. Even if the queen disliked Waltride, she wouldn’t suddenly kill Karen. If so, then what purpose did she have in bringing Karen here?

A lady-in-waiting prepared tea with practiced hands. The aroma made Karen widen her eyes.

“Chamomile…?”

“Alchemist Karen. I read your thesis—it was truly fascinating. Especially your latest recipe collection was interesting. I had the cooks actually make them, and they were all quite delicious.”

“I-I’m honored you made use of them.”

“This tea was prepared according to the instructions in the first thesis you wrote. Of course, it did not become a fever-reducing potion, but… how is the taste?”

When asked, Karen picked up the teacup she hadn’t yet touched and took a drink.

“…It’s delicious.”

“When it becomes a potion, does the taste change?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Then this chamomile tea is no different from the potions you make, except that it lacks magical effects?”

“Yes, I believe there’s no difference.”

As she answered questions in her area of expertise, Karen regained the composure to drink her tea. Diehild peered into her teacup with a puzzled expression, saying, "Oh, no difference?" That charming gesture somehow resembled Waltride.

“Hmm. I had the royal alchemists try making it as well, but even though they knew the ingredients and the effects were described, they said it did not become a potion even when made according to the recipe. That is why, I hear, your thesis was not recognized when you first published this fever-reducing potion paper.”

“That’s correct.”

Even now, it was doubtful whether it was truly recognized. Unless it was written in such a way that anyone could reproduce it as a potion, it would not be considered a proper paper. It was even allowed to use a secret code for this, but since the decoding method was not disclosed even to guild staff members, no one could truly interpret it, making verification impossible—but that was simply how things were done.

However, regarding this herbal tea potion, Karen had written down everything she could think of without using any cipher. There was nothing to encode, nor did she intend to fabricate meaningless ciphers just to make it appear proper.

According to Harald, there was a mistake in a piece of knowledge considered common among alchemists, and because Karen’s knowledge was the correct one, she alone could create such potions. If Karen were to pinpoint exactly which piece of knowledge it was, the goddess’s restriction might take effect, so she deliberately refrained from dwelling on it.

Conversely, until the goddess’s restriction was activated, Karen could share that knowledge with anyone around her as much as she wanted.

Diehild placed the teacup she had been holding on the desk and lowered her chin.

“I apologize that our kingdom’s Alchemists’ Guild failed to recognize the achievements of an alchemist as skilled as you.”

It took Karen some time to realize that the queen was bowing her head to her.

“Eh, what!? No, please raise your head! It’s just that I haven’t written a proper thesis, so please don’t worry about it!”

“I am grateful for your generous words, Alchemist Karen. However, it is a fact that we underestimated your abilities as an alchemist. That fact could become reason enough for you to abandon the Kingdom of Earthfill and transfer to another country’s Alchemists’ Guild.”

“Even then, that wouldn’t be a reason for me to transfer guilds.”

Perhaps Yuluyana, her master, might think differently—but Karen did not.

“Still, it remains true that we hindered one who possesses the power to protect the nation and sought to use it. Speak your wish. In place of those who treated you unjustly, I, as queen of the Earthfill Kingdom, shall reward you.”

Karen revised her view of the queen. She was not merely a terrifying mother who cast aside a daughter who did not suit her wishes. Yet, in a sense, she was exactly as Waltride had described.

A harsh person who considered a daughter useless to the kingdom’s protection as shameful and cut her off. In her youth, she had led a knight order herself into the dungeon and had experience conquering the tenth floor. In a world where adventurers who surpassed the tenth floor were respected as high-ranking, she was someone who had fought, risking her life without running or hiding.

Precisely because she was such a person, when it came to being useful to the kingdom’s protection, she wouldn’t hesitate even to bow her head and apologize to a commoner. And her attitude of not coddling even her blood-related daughter would appear fair in the eyes of adventurers.

In fact, the queen was popular among adventurers. Retired and veteran adventurers in particular admired her, and heroic tales of the queen were popular in taverns. Karen, too, had held a favorable impression of the queen.

Seeing her now, it was easy to understand why. Even while bowing her head, she was full of dignity, and while offering atonement to Karen, she remained proud. As the queen of this country supported by adventurers, she was surely a splendid and noble existence. As a citizen of the Kingdom of Earthfill, one should probably be glad that such a person wore the crown.

However—though she likely knew at least something of Karen and Waltride’s relationship, the queen never once brought up Waltride, and Karen quietly lowered her gaze.

“Then there is one thing I would like to request.”

“I cannot promise to grant any wish, but speak.”

“With your permission, I consider Lady Waltride my friend.”

The queen’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, but Karen felt the atmosphere among the ladies-in-waiting and court ladies standing by change.

“I know it is extremely presumptuous given our difference in status, but even so, I can’t help but wish for the happiness of one I consider a friend. I wish for her to live peacefully, without being condemned or scorned by anyone. — May I ask that Your Majesty simply be aware that I feel this way?”

She did not tell the queen not to speak ill of Waltride—she had no right to say such a thing. However, if the queen intended to respect and treat Karen as an important person to the kingdom, then viciously insulting her friend and causing her discomfort would contradict that intention. Of course, if she had no intention of treating Karen well or respecting her, she could do as she pleased.

—Numerous gazes fixed on Karen like gun barrels.

Karen swallowed hard at the oppressive feeling that was a different kind from being intimidated by adventurers. Without much pause, the queen answered:

“Very well. I shall grant your wish. The moment you voiced that wish, it was as good as granted.”

“…I am grateful.”

Karen said this while feeling her mouth go completely dry. The queen’s answer was flat, giving no indication whatsoever of what she was thinking.

Looking at the reactions of those around them, this wish might have displeased the queen. However, even if the queen was displeased, Karen couldn’t tell, and the queen showed no sign of trying to reproach Karen.

The queen stood up.

“Come with me.”

There was, of course, no option to refuse. Karen followed after her reluctantly, still feeling as though she were sitting on a bed of needles.

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 237

Previous chapter Index Next chapter

This marks the beginning of a new arc, "True Hunting Festival" (from chapter 237 to ongoing).

Section Seven: True Hunting Festival

Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty-Seven: Encounter at the Royal Palace

Karen arrived at the princess’s palace as usual and tilted her head when she saw Waltride looking no different than normal.

“I can’t tell whether the panacea cured you or if giving magical power to Weiss is suppressing the symptoms.”

“Ukyu?”

If left alone, the magical power welling up from Waltride’s body would run wild, accumulating in her body like waste products and causing her to swell up like a balloon and gain weight—she suffered from this kind of Bloodline Blessing.

With the detox potions Karen created, that magical power could be expelled. For this reason, Karen regularly made detox potions and delivered them to Waltride.

However, during their dungeon expedition, Waltride had eaten Karen’s panacea curry countless times. Karen had theorized that the power of the panacea she had consumed had stabilized Waltride’s magical power, eliminating the need to drink the detox potions. But given the circumstances, she hadn’t deliberately stopped the detox potions, thinking she would confirm it after leaving the dungeon.

In any case, although a week had already passed since they stopped the detox potions, there were no abnormalities in Waltride’s condition. Had the Bloodline Blessing been healed by the panacea, or was it thanks to Weiss?

“It would be cruel not to give magical power to Weiss, so I cannot confirm it.”

“Ukyu!”

Weiss—the baby pegasus Waltride had tamed in the dungeon. Just when Karen thought it was rolling around on Waltride’s lap, it flapped its small wings and flew over to cling to Karen instead. It was quite light for its volume. While Karen cuddled and soothed the pegasus, making "ukyuukyu" sounds, she pointed to the luggage she had brought.

“For now, I’ll leave the detox potions with Lady Dorotea and Lady Irmlinde, so please send me a letter if anything happens.”

“Must I part with you as well…?”

“Part? I’m just going to the Ehlertt territory, and you’re just going to Lady Irmlinde’s land, right?”

“But I thought you would come with me too…”

Seeing Waltride deflate, Weiss patted Karen’s knee. It didn’t hurt at all, but apparently, Weiss was scolding Karen.

“Lady Waltride is going to visit Lady Irmlinde’s family to get closer to her. If I, Lady Waltride’s best friend, went too, I’d only interfere.”

“Ukyu?”

“Will I really… be able to become… close friends…?”

As Karen talked with Weiss, Waltride said this while fidgeting. She had decided to go to Irmlinde’s territory first, timed with the hunting festival season, because she wanted to know more about her attendants.

“Even if they learn that I am a princess who is all appearance… will Irmlinde and Dorotea remain my friends…?”

Waltride said this with her green eyes wavering anxiously. Karen recalled how Irmlinde and Dorotea had acted in the dungeon and chuckled softly.

“I think you’ll be fine.”

“So you will not come with me after all…!?”

“I’m sorry, but I have important plans.”

“Which is more important—me or your plans!?”

“My plans!”

When Karen declared this firmly, Waltride’s face scrunched up tightly.

“Part of the reason I am going to Irmlinde’s territory is to distance myself from the succession dispute in the royal capital, you know!? Are you not worried about me being in such a delicate and dangerous position?”

“If something happens, just call for me, and I’ll rush over on a riding dragon.”

In this world, besides horses, there were also monsters used as mounts. Sleipnirs and large lizard-like creatures called riding dragons were tamed by humans. While Sleipnirs were difficult monsters to tame and rarely seen, riding dragons were fairly common, often seen pulling wagons.

Riding these riding dragons was said to be much faster than horses, but the ride quality was reportedly terrible. If her friend Waltride faced difficulties, Karen was prepared to ride even the most uncomfortable riding dragon through rough roads to help her. But still—

“Lady Waltride—these plans are truly important.”

“Kuu…!”

“We’re announcing my engagement to Mr. Julius at Ehlertt’s New Year Festival! I will declare before all the women who were born and raised in Ehlertt and have harbored faint admiration for him that I am his fiancée, and make them abandon all hope! There is no plan more important than this!”

Karen was half-convinced there must still be plenty more like that second or third Therese—that female adventurer from Ehlertt nobility they’d met in the dungeon.

“That’s exactly like you, Karen…!”

“Ukyu…!”

Waltride hung her head in defeat, with Weiss mimicking her. When Karen brought a cookie snack close to Weiss’s mouth, it immediately stopped mimicking and began eating deliciously. After enjoying the peaceful moment for a while, Karen left Waltride’s palace.

Either Irmlinde or Dorotea accompanied Karen when moving within the royal palace. On this day, it was Dorotea—and on the way back, in a corridor that was wide but not excessively so, there was no way to avoid a noble-looking woman and her entourage coming from the opposite direction.

Dorotea moved to the wall with a tense expression, bowed her head, and stood still. Karen did the same. If they had merely happened to pass by, the group would have continued on its way. However, the entourage stopped in front of Karen and Dorotea.

“Alchemist Karen, come with me. You—do not follow.”

“Her Highness Waltride has commanded me to escort Lady Karen back, so—”

“I said do not follow.”

The woman ordered Dorotea again when she tried to persist. Her tone held no irritation or anger, just flatness, yet it carried a dignity that made one feel they must obey.

“Since when have Waltride’s orders carried more weight than mine in this royal palace?”

Thinking it would be the end if she made eye contact, Karen wasn’t looking at this woman’s face. However, when she considered an authoritative woman of a generation older than Alise who called Waltride by name only, Karen could only think of one person.

“I apologize for displeasing Your Majesty the Queen.”

Dorotea apologized. She had said "the queen,"—Waltride’s biological mother, who had abandoned her. Waltride was loved by her father, the king, but disliked by the rest of her family. She had said that especially her biological mother, the queen, had been the first to abandon her.

What kind of existence was Karen, who fluttered about at her daughter’s side, to the queen who scorned her pathetic daughter? Even as Karen assumed she was probably disliked, she wondered if perhaps the queen was somewhere in her heart grateful to Karen, the alchemist who had healed her daughter’s Bloodline Blessing—when the queen said coldly:

“Does she think she has become greater than I, the queen, just because she has tamed a pegasus? Is that daughter of mine aiming for the throne by comparing herself to King Sybilla?”

“Her Highness Waltride would never think of defying Your Majesty the Queen.”

“Ha. Of course not.”

The queen mocked Dorotea’s words of defense.

“If that daughter of mine, the first princess, had the spirit to seize the throne, then perhaps the future of the Kingdom of Earthfill would be secure. But that pathetic daughter is incapable of such a thing. I was foolish to harbor even a thread of hope that she might have changed during the time I had not seen her, enough to tame a pegasus.”

Karen had taken Waltride’s words about being disliked by her family somewhat with a grain of salt. She understood not getting along with one’s siblings. However, she hadn’t quite grasped the idea of a hostile relationship with one’s biological mother. Karen had thought that perhaps the queen was merely keeping a distance to protect Waltride, who couldn’t fight. That she only appeared to hate her through masterful acting. But now Karen revised that thinking.

“Far from being the kingdom’s sword, she lacks even the resolve to be its shield—that I bore such a useless puppet from this womb is lamentable. Pathetic.”

The queen spat out these words and began walking. Her ladies-in-waiting and court ladies followed in a line behind her. No one looked back at Karen, but she probably was supposed to follow.

Right? When Karen confirmed this with Dorotea with a pitiful expression, Dorotea nodded deeply with a pale face.

Previous chapter Index Next chapter