Now that I think about it, I think my wife was talking about something when she was yelling earlier… I was so scared that I couldn’t hear her well. Ian raised his eyebrows.
“What did you say about your wife?”
“…Can you help me?”
“Do you think it’s right for you to ask her what she’s doing and how she’s going to help you without asking you to help her?”
Whoa, Dermin took a deep breath like a typhoon. If you make up your mind and breathe out, it seems like a small child will fly away.
“Let me explain.”
He opened his mouth briefly. The story that came out of his mouth was simple, but it was uncomfortable to hear. Dermin’s wife was a witch. The two fell in love with each other because of what they had in common, and eventually got married. Fortunately, they were not greedy and their abilities were quite similar, so they managed to earn enough money to make a living. However, it was said that recently, a servant of the Alpensia family decided that her wife’s abilities were useful and took her by force. Dermin was indignant at their behavior, which was almost like forced labor, and went to him several times to ask for his wife back, but instead they sent soldiers at night to assassinate him. As I stared at him in silence, dumbfounded and bewildered, Dermin opened his mouth again.
“After that, I investigated in many ways, and coincidentally, this story was circulating among alchemists.”
Dermin tilted his upper body just above the table and narrowed his eyes.
“…They say that many alchemists and witches are gathered on the property owned by Pierrot.”
I looked at Ian. He tilted his chin with his sunken eyes.
“So?”
“I don’t know the details, but there is a very secret experiment going on in that premises. I don’t know if they are doing it, but if you listen to the people around you, they are very sensitive to rumors and their internal surveillance is fierce. Moreover, the Akpensia family It is said that knights of are protecting that place. I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, so I can’t be sure.”
I reached out to the table and lifted my body. Ian eased my slightly uncomfortable body and placed it back on his thighs. You seem to be handling me too skillfully? I had the illusion that I was light because he carried me freely, as if he were handling a newborn child. I’m a little heavy, but that’s not the important thing.
“Then I told Count Nemir…”
“In the process of the Alpensia family gathering alchemists, the alchemist who was researching with Count Nemir ended up in the net.”
“…unlucky.”
In other words, how did the Alpensia family find out about the research that the Aztain family and Count Nemir were conducting together and naturally interfere with me? Citing many reasons? Berylte’s behavior, which was still so petty and disgusting, made me laugh out loud.
“In that case, Dermin.”
I was slightly concerned about Ian’s hand gently wrapping around my waist, but I opened my mouth to remind myself of the urgent matter. I glanced down at him and placed my palm on top of Ian’s. It was meant to be cleaned up, but Ian placed his palm on top of it again and smiled, completely trapping me in his arms… Wow. I’m worried about belly fat there, inside.
“Dermin, what do you think the Marquis of Alpensia and the Pierrot clan secretly gathered alchemists and witches to do?”
“I’m not sure, but the reason alchemists and witches are ostracized is because they don’t have the right level of knowledge. They are trying to do something by secretly gathering those of us who generally study the apostolic science. It will be clear to do so.”
“For example?”
“A human experiment.”
Ian and I frowned.
“Human experimentation was done secretly 200 years ago, but it has long since disappeared due to religious doctrine. However, some alchemists may conduct it in secret. Even if you tell them not to do it, not everyone will listen…”
“…And?”
“Another reason why alchemy came into the spotlight is the transformation of metals. In other words, it would be like turning lead into gold.”
“Isn’t that impossible?”
“It is a situation where it has been concluded that it is impossible. Not only the opinions of alchemy and witches, but also wizards have unanimously reached this conclusion.”
The eyebrows narrowed. It made no sense to conduct research on making gold again when the conclusion had already been reached. I looked at Dermin and he nodded and then opened his mouth again.
“Actually, the first two stories are just assumptions and I think they are a little different.”
“How is it different?”
Dermin seemed to be more cautious as he looked around.
“I think maybe…”
He spoke in a very small voice, but loud enough for us to hear.
“I think they might be planning something that could upset the balance of the country.”
Ian’s hand holding my waist was weak but strong. I also agreed with what he said.
“For example?”
“If it’s a preparation of the essence of fire… how about it?”
There are many incidents that can shake the foundation of a nation. But the fact that he specifically mentioned the essence of fire…
“You must be feeling sick, right?”
“Of course.”
It means you heard something or saw something.
“Recently, the key ingredients needed to prepare the Essence of Fire have been drying up in the market.”
“Key ingredient?”
“Yes. The essence of fire is a very unstable ore. So, to make a bomb using this essence of fire, two key ingredients are required. One is a chemical ingredient that causes the ore to explode… In other words, it is gunpowder. And one of the ingredients used in this gunpowder, sulfur, has been running out recently.”
It’s sulfur… Sulfur was rare in the Lirus Empire. First of all, there were no mountains surrounding volcanoes in the territory, so there were few places where sulfur could be collected.
“Sulfur was common in the border area of Trukalom. I also used to buy sulfur there all the time and continued to do so until recently, but for some reason, sulfur disappeared from the market. If the reason was to prepare the essence of fire, It works.”
“But there is no way to say that they would use sulfur to create the essence of fire. It would be more credible to say that they are secretly making a bomb.”
I spoke as rationally as possible. Making a bomb using sulfur was not that difficult. The Akpensia family would have made dozens of such things. Dermin nodded his head.
“True, but the second key ingredient is important.”
“What is it?”
“If the catalyst that explodes the essence of fire is gunpowder, then a shield is needed to protect the essence of fire. To protect the essence of fire bomb that has already been combined with the gunpowder, a metal that perfectly maintains internal stability is needed.”
Was there such a thing? If it was that strong, I thought the metal could absorb the shock even if an explosion occurred, but I tilted my head.
“Is there such a thing?”
“No, there isn’t.”
Are you kidding? When I narrowed my eyes, Dermin opened his mouth with a low smile.
“In fact, because there is no such metal, the essence of fire is a bomb that only wizards can refine. This is a problem that can be solved by hitting a wall of magic that cuts off the essence of fire from external shocks. Of course, the wizards you mentioned touched sulfur to make the bomb. I think it’s vulgar to touch it, because just by reciting one long spell, you can create a similar destructive power.”
“So the second key ingredient is meaningless??”
“No. In any case, we need to cut off the unstable essence of fire from the outside world. To do so, we cover the outside with a material called Tertai. It is light and surprisingly hard, so it has high defense power. Of course, it is not perfect. However, it has a lot of reserves and can be processed for moderate use. It’s easy. But now, in the empire, Titai has dried up. Because the Akpensia family has purchased them all.”
I bit my lip. The piece of the puzzle that started with counterfeit money spread to the Piero clan and the Marquis of Bepis, and eventually reached the Alpensia family. Sigh… His head hurt, so he leaned on Ian’s shoulder and closed his eyes. I just wanted to protect my family, but I wondered how I ended up getting caught up in something so important to the country. I had never even heard of a story like this in the past… Did Ian solve it on his own? When I raised my head and looked at his face, I saw Ian looking at me with concern. He smiled weakly and then lowered his head again. In fact, I wanted to ignore it all. I wanted to immediately stabilize the family business and protect my grandfather. He needed some time to get everything a little more organized before the day his grandfather passed away. Plus, I wanted to be with Ian a little more, but not in this way. just hoped that Ercia didn’t get involved with Beralt. In that case, not only the Aztain family but also the Nawajjaberdian family is in danger. In terms of character, I don’t know if I drew a line before that and said that Ian and I had no relationship… but in fact, it was difficult. I opened my eyes and looked at Dermin.
“How much money would it take to buy all the titanium on the market?”
“It may not be expensive, but the quantity is enormous. As a rough estimate, you would need approximately 10,000 gold coins.”
“It’s a lot…”
I muttered lowly, biting my lip, then raised my head and whispered into Ian’s ear.
“With that much gold, the gold coins paid for when the Akpensia family purchased titanium could all be counterfeit money.”
Not only that, but with the purchase of sulfur, even if just a thousand were released, the entire country would be turned upside down. If ten or even twenty times that much were released, the economy could have suffered greatly in the future. In that case, the Ajstain family…
“Is it possible to trace it back?”
After thinking about it for a moment, I looked at Dermin.
“Please tell me about the merchants you know who sell sulfur on a large scale and the merchants who sold titanium to the Alpensia family.”
“I will sort it out.”
“And if you know of any merchants in each region who have continued to do business with the Akpensia family until recently, please let us know as well.”
Dermin nodded his head and then looked at me. I opened my mouth because something came to mind.
“If we resolve this matter, your wife will be able to return safely. So, if you cooperate, we will do our best to resolve it. I think that will help you as well…”
“…thank you.”
When he thought the conversation was over, Ian jumped up. He hugged me and wrapped his arms around his neck in surprise. It’s a surprise… Why are you waking up suddenly?
“Then let’s go.”
He turned his body around and walked towards the door. Leaving behind Dermin’s voice saying goodbye, Ian opened the door and headed outside. The sunlight streamed down his back, so it wasn’t particularly dazzling because of the shadows, but it was difficult to keep his eyes open.
“…Would you please drop me off?”
“Why? Is your posture uncomfortable?”
“It’s not that, but…”
“Then?”
“My posture is comfortable, but the gaze of those around me…”
I felt like my face was going to burn from the countless gazes pouring in. As someone who had never been hugged by someone in my life, it was an unfamiliar situation that I could not bear.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 23.
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