A Creative Alchemist Enjoys His Freedom – After Being Banished from His Hometown, He Is Now Free to Create Magical Items with Incredible Effects Under the Control of the Demon King - Episode 15

Episode 15: “Interlude: Events in Imperial Territory (2)”

　──When Thor arrived in the Demon King’s territory, in the Dorgalian Empire──

　This was the Imperial Capital’s State Guest House.
　The nobles were enjoying the nighttime party there.

　Those who gathered were the most famous nobles in the empire.

　Among them, the one that had attracted the most attention was Duke Balga Regus.

“──Oh, Duke Balga Regus has arrived.”
“──As expected of the Empire’s highest-ranking noble. What a dignified presence.”
“──Rumour has it that he offered his son as a hostage to the Demon King’s territory for the sake of the Empire. What an act of loyalty…”

　As the Duke walked through the party venue, he heard the whispers of the nobles.

　Duke Regus’s strength ranked among the highest of the Imperial nobles.
　His swordsmanship involved immobilising enemies with water attribute magic and then slashing them with brute force.
　Its destructive power was acknowledged by all the nobles.

“Oh dear, I guess I’ve become too strong. It’s troublesome to attract too much attention.”

　The Duke shrugged.
　Next to him, the Duke’s butler was smiling a fawning smile.

“For someone like the Duke, this can’t be helped. Your help will be even more important in order to expand the Empire’s territory. The glory of the Duke’s family is yet to come.”
“Well. That person who was a stain on our family’s honour is gone now. The Duke’s household future looks bright.”
“……Y-Yes.”
“What? You seem a bit hesitant.”
“No, no. Ummm… Duke.”

　The butler asked timidly.

“…It’s about Thor’s 『Alchemy』 skill.”
“Huhh!?”

　The Duke glared sharply at the butler.

“Don’t mention him! He went to the Demon King’s territory as a nobleman and became a hostage. He was useful to the Empire as a nobleman. That’s all. Don’t ever mention his name again!!”
“Hiiii!”
“You’re ruining my fun. Bring me something to drink.”
“Y-Yes!”

　With a bow, the butler ran off to where the drinks were.

　The Duke looked around.
　The nobles looked his way, but he decided to ignore them.
　There were more important things──considering that the Duke prepared for the arrival of the guest of honour.

　The Third Princess, Her Highness Liana, was going to be attending today’s party.
　The Duke was to give the first greeting.

“Oh, Her Highness has come!!”

　After a while, the doors to the hall opened, and the Princess appeared in a dress.
　Cherry-coloured hair and blue eyes. This was Liana, the Third Princess of the Empire.
　Not only was she beautiful, she also possessed powerful light magical powers.
　The Princess looked around the hall, then at Duke Balga Regus,

“──There is someone here who is not worthy of being here. Drive him away.”

　She waved her hands as if she were looking at something dirty.

“””…Understand”””

　The guards grabbed the Duke’s arms.

“…Duke Regus. This is an order from Princess Liana. Please leave.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?! I’m Balga Regus!”
“I know. How about you come here now?”
“Yeah let go!!”

　The Duke shook off the guards’ hands.
　Then he started walking towards Princess Liana.

“Please wait, Your Highness! Why must I leave? What crime have I committed?!”
“Duke Regus. I don’t want to talk to you.”
“What exactly are you angry about?!”
“… How dare you say something like that?”

　Princess Liana looked at the Duke.
　Her blue eyes seemed to burn with anger.

“You put me and my friends in danger! How dare you say such things?”
“Danger?”
“Duke, I think I asked you to repair the magic sword. Do you remember?”
“Y-Yes.”

　The Duke nodded.
　He certainly thought that he had received such a request from the Imperial Court.
　Managing weapons was a butler’s job, so he should have left it to him, however…

“I received the magic sword from the Duke’s family, who said it had been repaired. However, the magic sword was unable to withstand my magical power, and the repaired parts… just fell apart and shattered!”
“Wh-what?!”
“And while fighting a demon beast.”

　The surrounding nobles became noisy at the Princess’s words.
　The nobles had fighting skills and had experience fighting demon beasts.
　They knew what it meant for a weapon to break in battle.

“I was nearly killed by a demon beast. I was saved thanks to my friends who protected me.”

　The Princess lowered her eyes in distress.

“After investigating later, I found out why the magic sword had broken. It was because a piece of metal had been added to the broken part. That piece blocked the flow of magic, and as a result, the sword itself… collapsed. I’m sure that the repairs were done by the Duke of Regus, correct?
“──Please wait a moment…”

　The Duke’s mind went blank.
　He could hear the voices of the nobles around him.

“──Well, why would the Duke of Regus do such shoddy repairs?”
“──Repairing a magic sword, right? I know it’s difficult. If you can’t do it, just say so…”
“──Don’t you understand how dangerous it is if your sword breaks during a battle, Duke?──”

　The Duke could hardly believe what was happening before his eyes.
　Something like this shouldn’t have happened.

　The Duke’s family got rid of the troublesome child.
　From now on, he was sure to ascend the path to glory.
　It was unacceptable that he should be criticised by the Princess and the nobles.

“I’m sure the alchemist who was in charge of the repairs did a sloppy job!!”

　So the Duke cried.

“These alchemists are like quirky blacksmiths. They thought they could get away with boasting about their useless skills. It’s the alchemists who should be punished! Isn’t that right!?”
“I thought the same thing, so I sent someone to the workshop, and they gave me this document.”

　Princess Liana nodded to her maid.
　The maid had a parchment in her hands. She handed it to the Princess.
　The Princess spread it out and showed it to all the nobles to see.

“Here is the document that proves it. 『It is difficult to completely repair this magic sword. Therefore, the Duke of Regus will ask the workshop to repair it so that its appearance looks good. All responsibility is taken by the Duke of Regus.』 There is also a sign of the Duke family’s insignia and the sign of the Duke’s butler. Ladies and gentlemen, please take a good look.”
“──Its!?”
“Oooooohhhh!?””

　The audience roared.
　The Princess continued.

“The alchemist of the workshop said that the magic sword had been completely repaired halfway through. However, there was a small defect, so it may have been broken from there.”

　The Princess nodded, and the maid handed her the broken magic sword.
　True to her words, most of the sword had shattered.
　All that remained was the handle and part of the blade.

“It’s strange. The only part that remained unbroken is the part that was 『perfectly repaired』. Only that part was able to withstand my 『Light Magic』. Thanks to that, I was able to somehow withstand the beast’s claws. Otherwise, I might have lost my life.”
“So, wasn’t Your Highness going to use the magic sword in the ceremony…?”
“Recently, 『Light Magic』 has become stronger, so it was decided to subjugate the demon beasts at the same time as the ceremony. I’m sure I’ve already contacted the Duke’s family about it, right?”
“…Uh, uuuuuuh.”
“Anyway, my life was practically saved by the person who performed a ‘perfect repair’ on my magic sword. It seems there are some alchemists who can use it too. I would like to use that person as my tool, so could you please tell me their name and where they are?”

　The Princess said.
　The Duke gritted his teeth.
　He did not know who had 『Perfectly Repaired』 the sword.
　Even if he knew, he couldn’t have said it.
　The alchemist who properly repaired the magic sword, Thor, had gone to the Demon King’s territory.
　What happened afterward was unknown.
　He thought he was already dead or might be in the prison of the Demon King’s territory.

　There was no way he could call him back now.

“…The one who first repaired that sword… was probably a drifter Alchemist I think so. I don’t know where he is.”
“Is that so? That’s unfortunate.”

　The Princess sighed.

“Either way, I don’t want to see your face. Get out. Refrain from appearing in front of the royal family for a while.”
“And your highness?”
“That’s all for now.”

　Princess Liana passed by the Duke without even a second glance.

“──Sorry for the fuss, everyone. Now, let’s continue the party.”

　When the Princess clapped her hands, the music started playing again.
　The nobles resumed their conversation as if the Duke did not exist.

　The guards dragged the Duke out of the building.
　Duke Regus was in a daze and unable to even resist.

　He was taken out of the State Guest House and left alone.
    That was the end.
    The guards also started their own work in the absence of the Duke.

“──Duke…”

　When he came to his senses, he saw his butler with a pale face standing next to him.

“…You… What have you done?!”

　Duke cried.

“You repaired the magic sword, but only to its appearance?! On top of that, you left evidence that it was so obvious… Don’t mess with me! It’s your fault that I’ve been humiliated!!”
“I’m so sorry!! But… I don’t think it’s possible to fix it…”
“Shut up! I don’t want to see your face. For a while, you will be confined in prison and will be dealt with later!!”
“Th-That’s not possible!?”
“Oh, the carriage and escorting soldiers have arrived. Just in time.”

　A carriage of the duke’s who heard the commotion arrives in front of the State Guest House.

“Take him away. Don’t let him appear before me for a while.”

　The Duke addressed his soldiers.
　The soldiers nodded and dragged the butler away.

“Duke… please forgive me…”

　The Duke got into the carriage, listening to the butler’s voice receding.

“This incident—no, this accident—has brought the Duke’s reputation to ruin. However, there are ways to recover from this.”

　Achieve results.
　He decided to show that his existence was a great benefit to the Empire.

“I have a plan. A plan to bring new profits to the Empire. If we can make good use of those foolish demons and demi-humans… we can restore our reputation. No, we can reach even greater heights.”

　Muttering to himself, the Duke headed towards his mansion.