Chapter 60

Postscript: Announcement

Special Increased Edition

"Welcome to Golden Dawn. My name is Kyle Gandar Bairode. Thank you for your long journey."

I was standing in line with Kyle and others in the courtyard of the Kyle residence. A few months after the Cockatrice incident, a special guest had arrived in Golden Dawn Village. The group on horseback was an inspection team from the capital of the Maugaria Kingdom. A cheerful middle-aged man stepped forward and bowed.

"No, no. The road was indeed long, but with the well-maintained streets, it was quite comfortable. I am the representative of the inspection team and the newly appointed Deputy Minister of the newly established Frontier Department, Mogue Mode. Please remember me."

"Yes, Lord Mode."

"Hehe, no need for 'Lord.' I would be delighted if you would call me by my name."

"Then I will call you Mogue. Please feel free to do the same with me."

"I will take you up on that, Lord Kyle."

Kyle and Deputy Minister Mogue shook hands amicably. Still, a Frontier Department? Is the country finally getting serious about frontier development? But as a royal official, Mogue is quite composed even when dealing with nobles. Is Mogue a noble as well?

"But, is it really alright not to have a welcoming ceremony?"

Kyle asked Mogue with some concern, but Mogue replied with a gentle smile.

"Yes, I would like to observe the town as it is as much as possible."

"As long as it's not impolite, but I am still young, so if I make any mistakes, I apologize."

"No, no, not at all."

Kyle then noticed the knights accompanying the inspection team looking at his two guards.

"The two at the back are my guards, Alphard and Persia."

The two introduced themselves with a silent bow. The knights were looking at their equipment. Alphard and Persia each carried two swords, one a famous sword from home, the other a masterpiece by Reifan, a hard mithril sword mixed with dragon materials. The aura they exuded was different. The knights who came as guards from the kingdom could tell at a glance.

"By any chance, are those magnificent swords you have at your waist the hard mithril ones mentioned in the report from the frontier lord?"

"Yes, but these are even more special."

"Really?"

"They are made even better by mixing dragon materials with hard mithril."

"That's impressive. They must be the works of the alchemist mentioned in the rumors."

"Yes, Craft... the alchemist and Reifan, an excellent blacksmith, collaborated on them."

"Ah, I see."

Mogue's eyes gleamed sharply despite his cheerful expression. Then, a woman in her thirties, dressed in a robe, stepped forward from the inspection team. She was a magician.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Kyle. I am Ella Luira, a court alchemist and a disciple of Jabeel Haryan. I would like to meet the alchemist named Craft...!"

"Ella, that's impolite."

Mogue chuckled at Ella, who had stepped forward without thinking. Ella's gaze was directed at me. I was the only one wearing a magician's robe.

"Excuse me, Lord Kyle."

"No, no, it's fine. You can call me Lord Ella?"

"Yes, it's an honor. So..."

"Calm down, Ella."

"Yes, yes."

"Don't worry. You're interested in... Craft the alchemist, right?"

"Yes! Lately, Jabeel's papers have been published one after another, and all of them were joint research with an alchemist named Craft."

Wow!

Mr. Jabeel really did include me in the joint research papers! I thought he might just list me as a collaborator, given how great he is. Mr. Jabeel is truly an amazing person!

"Lady Ella is very enthusiastic about research. Of course, I plan to introduce you later."

"That would be great!"

Ella's gaze was intensely focused on "Is Craft that person?" but Kyle seemed to put it off for later as there were other things to do. If he had introduced me then, Ella's barrage of questions would have taken up all the time.

Mogue wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Please forgive Ella's rudeness."

"No problem. First, let me show you to my residence. You can rest and then I'll give you a tour of the town."

"That's very kind of you."

Thus, the inspection team from the kingdom would tour Golden Dawn...

◆

"Wow, an incredible amount of alchemically hardened rock. Even the vertical walls and the towering buildings are all made of alchemically hardened rock, right?"

"Yes. Thanks to Craft the alchemist, all the main buildings in Golden Dawn are made of alchemically hardened rock. Some people even joke that the houses look like castle walls."

Kyle spoke amicably, but the inspection team was not at ease. They had passed through the massive gate and the walls on either side, and seen various buildings on their way to Kyle's residence.

The main street was lined with traditional-style buildings, for the sake of the landscape. Other buildings were made of alchemically hardened rock, most of them multi-story. Even a brief tour made it clear that the town was more impressive than the capital of the frontier lord, Gandar.

Currently, there are still many vacant lots within the walls, as planned construction is prioritized. It is designed to accommodate population growth. Once the third wall is completed, this issue will be resolved.

Mogue sighed.

"In the capital, the introduction of alchemically hardened rock has begun in some buildings. We realized how convenient it is to use. We are now working hard on mass production. Especially, its strength is remarkable, making it the best building material for walls."

"The capital is already producing it?"

"Yes, since the joint paper by Lord Jabeel and Lord Craft was published. All the alchemists in the capital are mobilized."

Hmm?

The paper should have included a modified recipe and process to make it possible for ordinary alchemists to create it, but does it really require so many people? Mr. Jabeel was also producing a lot, right?

As if reading my mind, the court alchemist Ella said,

"Really. Mr. Jabeel doesn't understand the high level of his own skills. There are few alchemists who can repeatedly produce such precise magical formulas..."

I see... Even that is tough.

Mr. Jabeel is truly amazing!

The guard knights of the inspection team looked at the walls and the town. The walls made of alchemically hardened rock were built in two layers, already making the town an impregnable fortress. The main part of the town was between the first and second walls. The third wall under construction was planned to enclose an area several times larger than the capital, and once this space was filled, it would become the largest city in the kingdom.

"There have been several monster attacks, so we changed our plans to prioritize the completion of the walls. As a result, the construction site for the fortress is still just a foundation."

The construction site for the fortress, planned behind Kyle's residence, had only the foundation completed with alchemically hardened rock, but its size far exceeded that of the royal castle in the capital. Mogue wiped his cold sweat.

"If the fortress to be built here is made entirely of alchemically hardened rock, what kind of monstrous fortress will it be? Just imagining it... it's, well, exciting, I guess."

His expression didn't seem very excited, but maybe that's just his usual look. If so, I'll have to work harder to make him more excited!

From the vacant lot for the fortress construction site, a voice could be heard. In one corner of the vast site, soldiers were lined up.

"That's my newly established army. Fortunately, a considerable number of adventurers have joined."

"Really? Adventurers, who seek freedom, joining a strict military?"

"Yes. They are all very experienced in combat, which is a great help."

In front of about a hundred soldiers, a man with the air of a seasoned veteran stood, carrying a double-handed axe on his back. Next to him stood a powerful tiger anthropoid.

The captain of the guard knights couldn't help but step forward.

"Does Lord Kyle's army employ anthropoids?"

"Yes."

In the kingdom, due to the church's request, efforts to eliminate anthropoid discrimination are ongoing, but they are not going well. The fact that anthropoids held important positions in this town made the captain look complicated.

"The overall command of the army is entrusted to Degaard Bismarck, a former adventurer and mercenary. The tiger anthropoid next to him is Tygar Gaidar, who was in the same party. Both have been very helpful during monster attacks."

"I see."

Under the gaze of the inspection team, especially the knights, the training continued. The commander, Degaard, shouted,

"Alright! Next, we'll do monster combat training! Attack the targets made of alchemically hardened rock!"

"“Yes, sir!!!”"

The archers moved in unison, shooting arrows. For some reason, the arrows pierced the alchemically hardened rock, which was harder than regular rock.

"That's..."

"The arrowheads are coated with Sharpness Oil."

"Even in training?"

"It seems so. I don't know much about the military, so I leave everything to Degaard."

"Hmm..."

Mogue, muttering about using the valuable Sharpness Oil even in training, frowned as he observed the training.

"Spear soldiers!"

At Degaard's command, the spear soldiers advanced in a line and thrust at the targets. The targets made of alchemically hardened rock were being chipped away by the spear soldiers.

"Infantry!"

This time, the spear soldiers stepped back, and the infantry charged forward. Several squads rushed towards the targets, and the soldiers, led by former adventurers, unleashed sword techniques.

"Explosive Assault Slash!"

"Blizzard Chaos Slash!"

"Powerful Strike!"

"Cross Slash!"

"Divine Speed Counter Slash!"

"Radiant Flash!"

The flying sword techniques made the knights and Mogue scream.

"Is... Is this the training of a frontier army!? This isn't a training scene of a knight order with emblem bearers!?"

"Is... Is this really infantry training?"

Another knight noticed a further fact.

"Look! Only a part of them have combat emblems!"

"What!? Even without emblems, everyone is using sword techniques!? This is insane!?"

The non-emblem soldiers, while not shattering the alchemically hardened rock in one hit, were increasing their attack power by repeatedly using sword techniques. The knights were wide-eyed and frozen in place. The alchemist Ella, excited, leaned forward.

"Could it be that those soldiers are regularly using the legendary-quality Stamina Potions?"

"Yes. We had limited their sale, including for training, but now we have resumed selling the legendary-quality Stamina Potions. They are supplied to the military, so everyone is using them regularly."

"Regularly using legendary-quality... This is the 'Training Consideration with Side-Effect-Free Stamina Potions' mentioned in Mr. Jabeel's paper, right?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with that paper..."

Kyle apologized honestly. It's okay, I'm not very familiar with papers either.

"Yes, I'm sorry! In simple terms, it suggests that if people can train without feeling fatigue, they can potentially become dozens of times stronger than ordinary people!"

"I see. That makes sense, based on my experience."

Kyle answered with a smile, but the inspection team was filled with fear.

"I... I want to go home..."

A very small voice, but someone among the knights was heard muttering.

"Next, I'll show you the academy."

The inspection team eagerly accepted Kyle's proposal, as if trying to escape. Of course, at the academy, they would also have their common sense shattered.

Hmm?

I won't hold back for Kyle's sake?

Book Publication Decided!

Published by M Novels on January 30th!

One of the reasons I couldn't update recently (^_^;)

I was dealing with personal issues and the book publication process, and I was really struggling.

The book version has been significantly revised!

Of course, it includes new content!

Stay tuned!!!