Chapter 25: Prince Kurobuta Decides on a Policy

According to “World Genesis Alchemist”, Parallel Seth and “Great Sage” Merlin in their joint book, "An Introduction to Advanced Alchemy," the Philosopher's Stone is made of a powdered form of energy, which is then transformed into a miraculous elixir by mixing it with certain magical substances.

--A lecture room at the Royal Academy of Magic in Windstar—

Alchemy lectures usually take place here and the voice of an old male professor echoed from the stage like a sleep spell, mercilessly slamming students into the world of dreams.

In the front row of the lecture room, there was Brad, looking like he was about to fall asleep.

(...... Thinking about the future...)

For the past one month, I've been so busy with what's in front of me that I haven't had time to think. So why not make the most of this sleepy lecture time as thinking time?

Instead of listening to the lecture, Brad ran his quill across the parchment and began to assess his current situation and plan for the future.

(The first priority is to win the Sword Dance Festival.)

That was definitely the top priority.

After all, she was about to break off the engagement.

I don't know why Marie had suddenly said such a thing a month ago.

But when she told him she was breaking off the engagement, Brad simply didn't like it. Even if his relationship with her had nothing to do with his death, he still wanted to prevent her from breaking off the engagement.

(... But winning seems pretty likely)

According to my level scout, the level of the students around me who would be participating in the Sword Dance Festival tournament is generally in the 10-15 range. That's probably the average.

On the other hand, Brat's current level is 56.

That’s a level that’s comparable to the strongest class of human heroes and SS rank adventurers. The students of the academy are indeed no match for him.

Even Albert, a candidate for the festival, is at level 30. In the history of "Final Quest," Albert is not the winner of this tournament, but his opponent in the finals will probably be of a similar level, so there's no reason to doubt Brad's victory.

(At this rate, the four monster generals won't be a problem.)

Brad smiles with satisfaction.

If he continues to level and prepare himself well, he should be more than ready for the attack by the four monster generals that will be waiting for him in a few years.

(...but I’m worried about being alone?)

If I play your cards right, I may be able to defeat the four monster generals themselves even today. However, no matter how strong you become, the possibility of failure is not zero.

For example, if you’re blocked by an abnormal effect such as paralysis, it will be difficult to break it by yourself. At that point, it's game over.

Of course, I'm not going to neglect vigilance and countermeasures, but there’s a limit to what I can do alone.

(If that's the case, ...... what I need are friends.)

If I have a friend who’s durable enough to keep me from falling with a single blow even if i’m attacked by the strongest people in this world - the monster generals and heroes - I’ll be able to expand the scope of my strategy and feel much more secure.

(But it's not that easy to make reliable and powerful friends .......)

Brad's life is as you can see… He has no friends at all.

And his previous life was similar.

It's not that he didn't have any friends, because his job was to direct and connect people with each other, and he was outgoing and affable. However, it was only a superficial relationship, and I didn't have many friends that I went out of my way to drink or play with in private.

(If I had to guess, I'd say ... games are my friends.)

It makes me kind of sad.

Why is it that when you say "ball is my friend," you get the impression that you are a yang (outgoing) character, but when you say "game is my friend," you get the impression that you are a yin (reclusive) character?

Anyway, I almost think it would be impossible for me to make friends.

(......No wait, I have friends!!!)

Suddenly, my own hand comes into view and I remember.

In his hand was the rare item, the "Ring of the Monster tamer," glowing with a mysterious magic power.

With the power of this ring, I had tamed the monsters the other day.

There's no need to build a relationship with them like with humans and no need to worry about them betraying me. In addition, they have a wide variety of magic and skills, and if you train them, they will grow. They’re the perfect companions.

(When I think about it calmly, I can make the strongest army by using this ......?)

There’s no limit to the number of monsters you can tame, which means that the number of monsters that you tame can be increased and expanded to the size of an army. And if you teach these countless monsters how to level and strengthen each one of them, you can eventually build the strongest army that even surpasses the demon Lord's army.

After all, even goblins can evolve into goblin kings and become a force to be reckoned with. If you evolve a dragon or undead monster to the highest level, you can make each and every one of them as powerful as the four demon generals.

If he could create such a monster-like army of the strongest, he would no longer have to fear any death flags. Before Brad even makes a move, the monsters will smash the death flag that stands in front of him.

(Isn't that ... awesome?)

The more he thought about it, the more it tickled the middle-aged man in Brad. A legion of disaster-grade monsters, each one powerful enough to bring down a country. And then there's himself, who can overcome them with his overwhelming power and charisma. It's an exciting story, isn't it?

"I've decided. I'm going to do it!"

Brad made a clenched fist and stood up with a vigorous voice.

But at that moment, his expression tensed.

He realized that all the attention in the lecture room was on him at once.

(...... oops)

I had completely forgotten that I was in the middle of a lecture.

And I was being watched.

I hadn't been to school in a long time, and my appearance and bearing had changed so much that I was the center of attention.

While the classroom was silent with an awkward atmosphere,

"Oh… what is it Your Highness? Are you going to answer?”

The professor asks after a moment sounding as if he was unsure of how to treat Brad, whose air had changed.

“Eh… ah… ah, that’s right. Leave it to me.”

"Then… I’m sorry, let’s have you answer for us. Please briefly describe the simple process by which Parallel Seth created the original material for the Philosopher's Stone in the beginning and the fatal flaw in the method that was later discovered.”

Brad had already said to leave it to him, but the professor gave him a purely difficult problem straight away, and his mind went blank.

I wonder if there is anyone who can answer this kind of question easily in the first place. If you're the most gifted student in the school or the top student, you may be able to answer this question, but Brad is not that kind of person, so there is no way he can answer it.

(Hey, ......, do you know, me?)

No, he didn't.

But when I calmed down and digested the question, I found that the question sounded familiar.

Then I realized that the answer to the question came out of my throat surprisingly easily.

"… The creation of the Philosopher's Stone requires two processes known as the 'Great Work'. The first is the extraction of the magical minerals Tectosial and Jugendite, which are rarely found in mines with high concentrations of magical power, and the second is the fusion of the extracted minerals. In both processes, Parallel Seth used Alkahest, a deleterious drug that dissolves all substances. That's why, although it succeeded in creating a material of the same quality as the Philosopher's Stone, it could not be made into a solid ... or in other words, a complete stone. That is its fatal flaw.”

Brad finished at once and took a breath.

Although there are some ambiguities, but I think that was the general idea.

The professor and the students all opened their mouths in disbelief when they heard Brad's unhurried answer. They looked incredulous.

"Oh… what a surprise! That's wonderful, just as you said! As expected of His Highness… the Prince of Pistel!”

“Let's all give him a round of applause!”

Perhaps it was because Brad had been so pathetic up until now. The professor was so moved by this gap that he even had tears in his eyes.

“I'm sure only an expert in the field could answer that in an instant…”

“I can't believe it! This is that black pig? What the hell is going on?”

Applause echoed throughout the lecture hall, and the students shouted one after another in astonishment.

It was understandable that they were astonished.

Up until now, Brad had been at the bottom of the class not only in magic and swordsmanship but also in academics. In spite of this, he was able to answer the questions that everyone else in the class couldn’t”

(I'm glad I got it. ......)

Brad, on the other hand, settled back in his seat and just let his mind wander.

Why was Brad able to answer the difficult question?

The reason is actually quite simple.

In Final Quest, there was a character known as "Uncle Know-It-All" who would give out trivia quizzes and if you answered them correctly, you would get a rare item, so in a previous life, Brad had desperately memorized the questions and answers. The answer to this question just happened to be among the miscellaneous knowledge he had memorized.

Unbelievably, there was an item that could only be obtained by answering a total of 300 questions in a row without making a single mistake, and by the time he had completed it, he had even memorized the question.

Brad was uncomfortable with the respectful glances from teachers and students, but he didn't feel bad as his efforts were recognized.

(I feel like I'm being misunderstood even more, but… I guess it's okay to make a good impression. It's time to think more about the legion now.)

The class resumed, and Brad returned to his thoughts.

(Anyway… the plan is to make the strongest legion with monsters, lead it and annihilate the demon king army… get completely freed from the death flag and live freely. That’s the ideal scenario for now…)

That’s my policy for the future

And for that to happen, it will be necessary to keep close contact with sky mountain monsters which are the core of the Brad Army(Temporary name).

It’s possible to communicate telepathically through the "monster tamer's ring", but that method of communication is not so good. If possible, I'd like to have a solid means of communication, such as a monster with communication skills like the Evil Eye or a magic tool. I'll have to prepare for that as well.

When I was thinking about setting up an army,

"......!

Boom!　

There was an explosive sound.

The students in the lecture room were suddenly buzzing, and they all looked out of the lighted windows to look at the magic training ground, with a cloud of dust in the center of it.

But it didn't look like an incident had occurred. There was no sign of panic among the students in the exercise hall. A professor or a student should have just used flashy magic as part of the lecture.

The students in the classroom seemed to understand that.

As often is the case. Everyone immediately lost interest in the scene outside and turned back to the professor who continued the lecture indifferently as if he did not hear the sound in the first place.

However, Brad did not avert his eyes from the training ground.

(Eh… is that?)

When the dust was almost clearing out…

I felt like I saw the gray cloaked figure I noticed at the square during the werewolf lord attack the previous day in the clearing dust.

And eventually, when the dust cleared out—

(----on second thought)

It’s not a mistake

There was certainly the figure wearing a gray cloak.

Immediately, I used the sight enhancement spell to get a clear view of the person.

It was a girl who was unnaturally beautiful.

Brad was familiar with this dignified appearance, her swaying long hair tied together behind her. No, it’s a face I’ve seen many times.

“… Carol, right?”

There was no doubt about it.

It was Carol Trafford, a female knight of the destroyed country. A child of one of the “Seven Heroes”, Cascade. She was a member of the hero’s party who became a companion at the end of “Final Quest”.

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