Volume 4 Chapter 17 Points Connect, and the Plan Accelerates
"I see... The Alchemist's Gun will be used like that, huh..."
When Lene returned from her errands in town, I told her about the Romanov Empire's research on the Alchemist's Gun.
She made a complicated face but didn't seem too shocked.
"It feels like I kind of expected this."
"Yeah. I didn't think it would be for civil war, but when I heard about the incidents in Marquis Burgmüller's territory, I knew there was no way to stop it."
So, Lene had already guessed this much.
The incidents in Marquis Burgmüller's territory were about the shooting events that I heard from Mr. Thor, not the Alchemist's Gun itself.
Thinking about it, she must have already made up her mind when she heard that story.
It seems she was thinking much more clearly than I was.
I was just being my usual overprotective self, worrying about her getting hurt.
"...But I think it will still take time to make a complete copy. Only I can create the ammunition potion. That recipe was a lucky accident."
"So, the chance of other alchemists reaching that point is low?"
"Yeah. I can't say much, but unless someone is doing some really niche mixing, it's unlikely."
Lene seemed to suggest that it was better not to share the details with me.
I was curious about what "niche mixing" meant.
"That said, they could think about substituting the ammunition potion with something else."
"Like gunpowder? Are there different types of that too?"
"Of course. The gunpowder I keep is special. It ignites through the Magic Power circuit of the Alchemist's Gun. But with other gunpowder, if you change the structure of the mechanism, you can still fire bullets. However, in that case, it won't have the automatic hit feature──"
Lene and I looked at each other.
"...Hey, isn't the shooting incident happening in Marquis Burgmüller's territory exactly that?"
According to what Mr. Thor said, the weapon used in the shooting incident was not the Alchemist's Gun, but just a regular gun without the automatic hit feature.
"...I thought so too. So that means──"
We clearly understood.
The dots connected.
And the occurrence of that incident was likely due to the secret actions of the Romanov Empire.
* * *
Even though I had just contacted them a few hours ago, I felt uneasy about reaching out again.
But I quickly used the Magic Stone of the Distant Bond to connect for long-distance communication to the Capital City.
His Majesty was in a meeting, so I spoke with His Excellency Prime Minister Schnorr.
He sighed, clearly troubled by how fast the Empire was moving.
It must be a headache for him.
Then, I immediately visited Lord Reichner to report the same thing.
As a result, it led to considering speeding up the construction work on the town's new outer wall.
"Hey, hey! Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Huntwerker! It's been a while!"
A muscular man with dark skin rushed into the room, looking flustered.
Despite his tough appearance, he greeted me with a friendly smile, happy to see me again.
He was Captain Karman of the flagship Neuvelt, which had returned to the western continent.
Well, both Lord Reichner and I just call him 'Captain.'
"It's great to see you again, Captain. I'm glad you made it back safely this time!"
I stood up and shook his hand firmly, feeling blessed to reunite.
As expected of the top sailors.
He was almost the same height as me at 198 centimeters.
"Yes! Last time, we lost one person during the voyage, but this time, everyone returned safely to Sartzstadt! It's all thanks to you, Lord Huntwerker! That magic stone helped keep us healthy!"
"I didn't do anything special──if I say that, Lord Reichner will get mad at me again. I'm just glad it helped!"
I replied with a wry smile, seeing the captain's joyful expression.
Before this voyage, I had given him some useful magic stones.
From the looks of it, the Magic Stone of Permafrost was quite helpful.
Just keeping that in the storage prevents food from spoiling.
"This time, Lord Reichner is away on another matter, so I will be talking with you and our coal scholar, Aine."
"Hey, please be nice to me!"
Aine was so nervous her voice came out all squeaky.
Why'd you make it a question?
"...Why are you so nervous?"
"B-Because, Mr. Ryuuji, you always have a different aura, I never thought I'd be involved in a noble's business!"
"...Just listen to the part about the coal, that's all you need."
He mumbled to himself, worrying over trivial things.
I've got a noble's reputation to think about too, you know.
"Yes, yes, that's right, Lord Huntwerker! Thanks to the magic stone I borrowed, talking with the locals went smoothly! I got what we wanted, and next time I should be able to bring what they desire!"
"That's good, sounds like it went well."
As soon as I sat down, the captain quickly showed me the catalog of items we acquired this time, talking a mile a minute.
I let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed the Magic Stone of Cashunat allowed for smooth conversations in unknown lands.
There's something I need to confirm.
"Captain, before we talk about the imports, there's something I need to check──are we sure the local port town doesn't belong to the Quechua Empire?"
"...Yes? How do you know about that?"
The captain looked genuinely surprised, his eyes wide open.
It seems it's true, then.
The Quechua Empire destroyed the Sakura Empire and──worships the Evil God Abnella as their one true god.
We'll have to be very careful if we're going to continue doing business.
"Then, Captain, there's something I need to tell you."
With that preface, I went on to tell him what I had heard about the Quechua Empire from Miloslaf.
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