Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Five: National Foundation Festival
“—On this blessed day, when we honor King Sybilla, founder of the Earthfill Kingdom and its protector, I, a descendant of King Sybilla and the shield that protects the nation, command you. Those who possess the power to defend the nation, investigate the Royal Capital’s dungeon.”
A splendid ball was being held in the royal palace. Flags and tapestries swayed, adorned with crests of a dragon and a pegasus.
Indeed, long ago, to defeat the dragon on the fiftieth floor of the dungeon, King Sybilla had fought alongside a pegasus as his familiar.
“As the sword that protects the nation, I shall overcome any difficulty and surely return with good tidings, Your Majesty.”
The one who answered as representative was Prince Boromias, the second prince who held the position of Knight Commander of the Royal Knight Order. He was also appointed as the leader of this dungeon expedition, and he happened to be Waltride’s elder brother.
“To you, the sword that protects the nation, I bestow the royal family’s heirloom, the magic blade Fairial Kris.”
“What an honor!”
“I shall prepare rewards befitting your deeds and await good news.”
“Please leave everything to this Boromias!”
When Boromias received the short sword from the king, he turned to face the audience lined up behind him and drew the sword from its intricately carved wooden sheath.
The blade rippled like a wave, with patterns engraved along its edge.
From where Karen was listening to the king’s speech while surrounded by members of the Ehlertt family in a corner of the dance hall, she couldn’t tell what the design represented, but she could see it was a beautiful blade, worthy of being a royal heirloom.
“Does His Majesty intend to make the second prince the crown prince?”
“That would be troublesome for our house.”
When Karen looked toward Helfried and Alise’s whispers, Alise quietly informed Karen, "He’s the one who has been obstructing Sieg’s treatment.”
“Those without power should die. Those without the strength to survive on their own should be weeded out—he has strong beliefs like that.”
“Oh…”
He might be the kind of person who would cause Karen trouble if he rose to power as well.
Until now, whoever became king wouldn’t have mattered to Karen as just a commoner, but now that she was a C-rank alchemist, the situation was different.
“To the prosperity and glory of the Earthfill Kingdom, to the fight to protect human territory, to the shields and swords that protect the nation—cheers!”
At the king’s signal, Karen also raised her cup and took a sip of the wine inside. After finishing the toast, she noticed people turning on their heels and leaving.
“Let’s go too, Ms. Karen.”
“Yes, Lady Alise.”
Karen was also one of those who turned on their heels.
Since she had been invited by the king, she had to participate in the National Foundation Festival.
However, regarding the dungeon investigation team, there were mountains of work that had to be completed beforehand. The more important a person was to be requested to participate in the investigation team, the more work they had to leave behind, making time precious. Therefore, they had been told it was acceptable to leave immediately after fulfilling the minimum social obligations.
Karen, who had been nervous when she heard she would have to participate in something like a court ball, gratefully took the opportunity to leave. Besides, she truly had things she needed to do.
“Lady Karen, the president of the Gubert Trading Company and his son are trying to approach us. What shall we do?”
“Oh—”
Karen had become a C-rank alchemist. She was an advanced alchemist.
In contrast, the Gubert Trading Company was a B-rank trading company, and Isaac was merely the son of that house, with no particular special abilities of his own.
Probably, Karen and Isaac’s positions had now reversed.
At the beginning of next month, a protest statement from the Alchemists’ Guild against the Gubert Trading Company was scheduled to be announced, and perhaps they had caught wind of that. Isaac and the Gubert Trading Company would likely be driven into an increasingly difficult situation. Perhaps they intended to apologize to Karen beforehand and ask her to mediate the situation—
“I’m busy, so let’s ignore them and get going quickly.”
“As you wish.”
She truly was busy, and there were people waiting for her.
Without even glancing in the direction Sara had indicated, Karen walked straight toward their destination with Alise and Helfried.
“I’m sorry for troubling you all to gather here.”
“That should be our line, Lady Karen. It would be more efficient for us to gather here than to trouble a C-rank alchemist like yourself to come to us.”
Invitations to the National Foundation Festival had been sent to nobles throughout the kingdom. Naturally, families with children suffering from the Bloodline Blessing were also invited, so with the Ehlertt family’s coordination, they had borrowed a room in the royal palace this time for Karen to meet with the children she was treating and their parents.
Inside the room, little children in dresses and tailcoats were gathered.
This was Karen’s final examination before departing on the dungeon expedition.
She set up a screen in one corner of the room and examined each child one by one, asking about their recent condition and discussing policies for while Karen was away.
She didn’t know how long the dungeon investigation would take. To be safe, she had brewed enough fever-reducing potions to last six months, even if everyone continued needing them at the same pace as before.
However, Karen’s cooking potions didn’t last extremely long, so it was uncertain how much potency would remain after six months. Not even a year had passed since it was discovered that Karen could make potions from non-magical ingredients. Therefore, the experimentation had been insufficient.
Once all the consultations were finished, Karen turned to the assembled nobles and spoke:
“I’ve made many different types of fever-reducing potions and left them with the Ehlertt family. If you need them while I’m away, please visit Lord Helfried.”
“Very well.”
“Lady Karen, are you going somewhere?”
“Please don’t go, Lady Karen.”
The children spoke up one after another with worried faces, causing Karen’s eyebrows to droop. From the children’s perspective, she was the only alchemist who could make medicine to relieve their suffering. If Karen entered the dangerous dungeon and never returned, they might have to endure the same suffering as before again.
“I’m sorry. I have to go.”
“Don’t trouble Lady Karen. She is going to the dungeon for the sake of protecting our nation.”
While Karen was relieved that the noble parents took this stance, it was also painful to make the children endure this.
“I don’t mind about myself—but my little sister might end up like me too!”
“She’s only just been born, so we don’t know yet, right?”
Still, even as the mother said that, her expression betrayed a hint of anxiety.
“It’s fine if it’s me, but I can’t stand the thought of my sister going through this pain!”
“Me too! I don’t want my little brother to become like this either!”
“Please don’t go, Lady Karen. I don’t care if you stop treating me—just please stay.”
The children crowded around, trying to hold Karen back. Following the teachings their parents had always given them, not for themselves, but for others.
Karen hesitated about whether to mention Harald. Only he had learned to reproduce Karen’s non-magical ingredient potions. Though less potent than Karen’s, they were still genuine, effective potions.
However, Harald’s position was too unstable and weak. Still, if it would reassure these devoted children—just as Karen was about to speak, the door opened with a hesitant knock.
“Excuse me… Ms. Karen, are you here?”
“Master? What’s the matter?”
It was Yuluyana who entered stealthily, unusually hesitant. Yuluyana, who had been arrogant even in front of the king, wouldn’t normally show consideration for the nobles gathered here.
He came over to Karen and fidgeted nervously. When the perceptive children read the atmosphere and moved away from her, Yuluyana whispered quietly:
“I’m sorry… Harald can no longer make non-magical ingredient potions.”
“What!? H-How come!?”
“Um, I’m not really sure… At first, I thought maybe I’d made him use too much magical power, so I even gave him a magical power recovery potion, but…”
Of course, Yuluyana had shown Harald no mercy while Karen was away, apparently making him read paper after paper, assigning tasks, and piling on demands.
As a result, the minor healing potion Harald had almost managed to complete fell further and further from becoming a proper potion, until at last he couldn’t even make the non-magical ones he had once succeeded in producing.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Yuluyana made a cutesy "teehee" gesture.
Karen had never heard such an awful, insincere “Did I do something?” in her life.
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