Chapter 45

It has been a month since Tika and Nate became my servants.

"Oh... Oh! – Oh!?"

In front of the large square of the Alse Island Government Hall.

There, Serena was disappearing and reappearing right before my eyes, then disappearing again.

"Chew! That's amazing! Chew!"

Next to her, the rat girl Tia was also repeatedly appearing and disappearing. She changed her pose every time she appeared, so it was entertaining to watch.

Behind them stood a massive silver pillar in the center of the fountain. The pillar, which was about three times the height of a person, towered over us.

I looked up at the pillar, which was adorned with floral patterns, and muttered.

"Alright, it's a success."

Yuri, who was standing next to me, nodded.

"Yes! Now we can travel between Alse and Lobrion on our own!"

This pillar was made of mithril.

There were two others; one was placed in the courtyard of the Lobrion base.

The other was intended for the imperial capital and was currently stored in my *Pandora Box*. I had already set it up in a forest near the deserted capital and confirmed that travel between the capital and the forest was possible.

In other words, this was a magical device that could use teleportation magic—essentially, a teleportation pillar.

"It must have been difficult to gather so much mithril... I'm impressed that you managed to create something like this."

It was a pillar of the size used in temples.

Given that Yuri and the others had been making massive iron chains, it was probably only possible because of the superhuman strength and forging skills of the blue-haired people.

Impressed, Yuri said with a slightly surprised look.

"No, no, Master Alex, you're the one who's amazing... You can instantly imbue a pillar of this size with *Teleportation* and easily store it in your *Pandora Box*..."

"I'm used to using *Teleportation*... I'm also surprised by the *Pandora Box*. I didn't expect it to hold so much."

It has been a month since the battle with the angel and since Tika and Nate joined me.

During that time, I continued to train and experiment with dark magic.

One of those experiments was to determine how much the *Pandora Box* could hold.

Fortunately, Alse had an endless supply of water from the sea.

So I kept collecting seawater...

When I had collected enough water to fill a large pond, I became frightened and stopped the experiment.

It was hard to see any limit.

At once, I could collect about as much as this pillar in size and weight.

However, if I collected it slowly, there seemed to be no limit at all.

Thinking about it now, I still get a chill, but Elysia boasts to Yuri.

"Master Alex is still amazing! ...He's still growing in many ways."

"Don't treat me like a child..."

Elysia smiles happily at my response, a little too happily for my comfort.

"Anyway, I'll try going to Lobrion... now."

In an instant, I arrived in the courtyard of Lobrion.

"Thanks to this base, it's very convenient."

From above, the courtyard is surrounded by buildings, so the pillar and the teleportation process are not visible from the town.

Elysia and Yuri soon teleported over as well.

"This will make transporting mithril much easier. We can do it even without Master Alex being here!"

Yuri said.

Until now, I had been using the *Pandora Box* to transport mithril ore, but from now on, the slimes will bring it here.

"Next, I want to place one in the imperial capital... but I need to secure a base for the pillar. For that, I need to prepare more money and acquire land."

I need to buy or rent a house or land in the capital from merchants or others.

However, land in the capital is highly sought after and difficult to obtain, even at a high price.

Aside from my father, I could ask my brother, the fourth prince Virtus, for a vacant house. He would probably give it to me for the right price.

"Anyway, we'll have to work hard to earn more money."

Elysia and Yuri nod at my words.

Yuri speaks up.

"There's a giant shell in the mainland, right? I think it's called a Killer Shell."

"Hmm. It occasionally drops large pearls. We could make rings with mithril and gold and attach them."

"It could sell for a good price... hehehe."

Yuri and I couldn't help but grin.

Just then, a blue-haired boy ran over from the base.

"Ah, Master Alex! It's perfect timing! A messenger from the Duke of Lobrion has come! They want you to go to the Duke's castle immediately! It seems an imperial envoy has arrived!"

"An imperial envoy, you say?"

They must have come to deliver a message from the emperor.

...It's likely they're trying to call me back.

It has been a month since the battle with the angel. It wouldn't be surprising if Burius in the capital has concluded that Tika and Nate's assassination attempt on me has failed...

He might have told the emperor to call me back.

I immediately headed to the Duke of Lobrion's castle.

In the grand hall of the Duke of Lobrion's castle, the throne at the far end, where the Duke usually sits, was occupied by an envoy in white robes.

As I knelt, the envoy stood and declared loudly.

"By imperial decree... Prince Alex, the Sixth Prince, you are to return to the palace immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

I bowed to the envoy as a matter of protocol.

Seeing the envoy bow in return, I asked.

"Envoy, thank you for your hard work... but why me?"

"I cannot fathom the emperor's will."

The envoy answered curtly.

They can't say the reason.

Usually, a reason would be given...

This is likely due to the influence of Burius or Louis.

In any case, I can't defy the emperor now.

I'll return to the palace in about two weeks.

I had thought I could live a comfortable life in Alse...

I left the Duke of Lobrion's castle, thinking about this.