Chapter 391 Royal Banquet II
"Hmm. I see you have great talent, and I would like to send you to the Academy. However, it's unfortunate that you can't go. I heard that Lady Sara was the one who removed the professors from the Academy. Are you upset about not being able to attend?"
'What? What are you talking about?'
"I didn't drive them out; I simply reported to the knights that someone entered my private property without permission."
"I heard they applied for a meeting in advance."
"I had no intention of meeting them, so I politely declined. Since they entered without permission, I believe my actions were justified."
"But they are the professors of the Academy. It would have been a valuable opportunity for your alchemist as well. Were you that upset by their rude letter?"
'I see. The king knows about the contents of the letters.'
"I thought they were rude, but I wasn't that upset. To be honest, I had forgotten about them until they came to visit."
"However, cutting off communication with other alchemists is not how someone in a position of power should act."
"With all due respect, we have not cut off communication with the alchemists."
"You refused to meet with them, didn't you?"
"That is true for Professor McKellen and the others, but I am still in contact with other alchemists at the Academy. Although it is not through the Academy, I do have personal interactions, and some even come all the way to Grandchester."
"Hmm. If that's the case, it seems you are reflecting on this. Would you consider forgiving them and resuming communication?"
This statement made Sara smile slightly at the king for the first time... or rather, she scoffed at him.
"Your Majesty, as I mentioned earlier, we are not angry about rude behavior, but we find it a waste of time to talk to those who cannot understand the content. Isn't it natural to prioritize those who can ask questions after understanding our paper or present their own arguments?"
"So you're saying that the professors at the Academy don't understand the content? What a proud way to speak."
"If Your Majesty says so, then it must be true. We sent our paper because we want to share our research results with the Academy. Of course, how it is received depends on the reader, but at the same time, we will not engage with those who cannot share our values."
A loud bang echoed in the room as someone slammed their hand on the table.
"A girl like you should not meddle in adult matters. I heard you were just taken in as an orphan, but your arrogant ignorance is too much to bear."
"Then, to avoid further disgrace, I will take my leave."
"What!"
Sara quietly stood up and gracefully bowed to the king with the highest courtesy. Of course, she was fully intent on leaving.
"Marquis Grandchester! What kind of education are you giving your granddaughter?"
"I do not understand your intent."
"I'm talking about your granddaughter's disrespectful attitude."
"Your Majesty, you say it is disrespectful, but what exactly is disrespectful about Sara?"
Marquis Grandchester glanced at Sara, who was still bowing her head, and quietly stood up. He walked over to her and picked her up.
"Grandfather! This is not good; it will become a problem for the entire Grandchester family!"
"It doesn't matter. You are right."
"What did you say?!"
The king grew even angrier.
"Is it wrong to remove those who tried to invade my land without permission?"
"That is not wrong."
"Is it wrong for me to choose my own guests?"
"I am saying it is wrong to let a little girl who knows nothing make such decisions. Moreover, she does not listen to adults."
"Your Majesty, Sara only wanted to save time from the academy professors after listening to Your Majesty's words."
"Why are you saying that? I understand that the young female alchemist from Maiden's Tower is a bit talented. But that is only because of the materials left by her ancestor, Paracelsus. Just because she succeeded in researching magic stones does not mean she can look down on the academy. That is nothing but disrespecting the authority of the country."
Sara tapped Marquis Grandchester's chest lightly, showing that she wanted to be put down. Reluctantly, Marquis Grandchester slowly set her down.
"Your Majesty, I did not mean to look down on the academy. I am just saying it is pointless to talk to someone who cannot understand our technology."
"Why should a little girl like you decide that?"
"My alchemist is in the tower I own."
"You're employing her through the Sophia Merchant Guild, right?"
"No. I have been directly employing her since before the Sophia Merchant Guild was established. Maiden's Tower is contracted by the Sophia Merchant Guild."
The king turned to Sophia.
"Sophia, is Lady Sara's story true?"
"Yes, it is."
"I see. But why do you keep an alchemist with Lady Sara?"
"The alchemist herself wishes to continue working at Maiden's Tower, so I can't just force her to be directly employed."
"You know this isn't child's play!"
"May I ask, what problem is there with Maiden's Tower being with Miss Sara?"
Sophia tilted her head in confusion.
"If you don't keep her close, you won't be able to control her research or her interactions with other alchemists."
"Since I'm already extremely busy managing the merchant guild, trying to control the maidens' research would only add to my workload. It's definitely easier for our merchant guild to delegate the work."
"But she's just an 8-year-old girl!"
"If results can be achieved, age and gender don't matter."
"How unreasonable. Is this child so clueless that she can't understand the importance of things? She should stop whimsically messing with the adults."
'Yeah. It's definitely a crazy task for a normal 8-year-old. I can see that the king is saying something sensible.'
"I must respectfully ask, Your Majesty, you don't seriously think Miss Sara is just a normal 8-year-old girl, do you?"
"I do think she's a smart child, but..."
"It seems Your Majesty haven't read the paper on magic stones. It says, 'Magic has no specific traits; what we see as traits depends on how the magic is used. Lady Sara Grandchester has proven this through her experiments"
"What?!"
"In other words, Miss Sara is a co-researcher and is as knowledgeable about the research as the alchemist who wrote the paper. Therefore, our merchant guild has entrusted the work to Maiden's Tower."
Today, Sophia is a golem, so she explains the situation calmly without showing any emotion in front of the king.
"Sophia, that's going too far. I definitely don't understand things as well as Alicia does. When I'm in front of such a genius alchemist, I'm reminded that I'm just a little girl. Besides, the reason I could come up with a hypothesis about the attributes of magic is that I read Paracelsus's materials."
"Thinking about it, maybe it's unreasonable for an 8-year-old to even be able to read those materials."
The king, having witnessed the exchange between Sara and Sophia, truly understood that Sara was a co-researcher.
"...Marquis Grandchester, what is happening with your granddaughter?"
"I am also amazed every day. As you know, it hasn't been long since I took her in."
This was the Marquis Grandchester's honest feeling. He had already gotten used to being surprised, but every day was filled with the unexpected.
"Your Majesty, what exactly do you want from us?"
"I want you to discuss with McKellen and work on better magic stone research."
"But, Your Majesty, I'm tired of being told by those who don't understand the basic theory to 'give me a refillable magic stone' and 'teach me how to make it'."
"I think it would be fine to just teach them how to make it."
"That is not possible."
"Then let me ask differently. Are you not planning to contribute the discovered technology to the country?"
'Oh, that's quite a direct question. How greedy.'
"The paper on refillable magic stones has already been submitted to the Academy. I will not disclose any more information."
"I've heard the theory is written, but isn't it true that the actual method and the magic circle for it have not been made public?"
"I intend to keep that technology secret for a while. We have a contract with the Sophia Merchant Guild."
"Wha──!"
Then Sophia slowly raised her face and spoke.
"Your Majesty, may I speak?"
"Go ahead."
"Technology for magic stones that can replenish magic power will be exclusively controlled by the Sophia Merchant Guild for the next 50 years."
"To make such an important contract without the country's approval!"
The king raised his voice in frustration, but Sophia continued to explain calmly, showing no concern.
"I believe we are not breaking any laws. Our merchant guild covers all research and development costs, so we can legally hold exclusive sales rights. It is uncommon for a contract to let us keep profits and give technology rights to the alchemists. We respect their wish to publish basic theories, and our guild will send the papers to the Academy. In the future, if someone finds a new way to create magic stones from those papers, the Sophia Merchant Guild will not claim rights to that technology."
Sophia paused for a moment... or at least it seemed like she did, but she wasn't actually breathing.
"Are you really suggesting that the nation of Avalon would demand a merchant to give up the technology developed with their own funds?"
"Then, if the royal family covers the development costs that the Sophia Merchant Guild has paid, will you agree to disclose the information?"
'I knew it. I thought he would say that.'
Sara gave a light glance to the golem Sophia, who nodded slightly in response.
"Are you saying that you will also cover the full costs of the magic stones used in the research and development?"
"Of course."
Sophia instructed the golem Grazioso, who was nearby, to bring over a box she had brought as a gift. The box was a heavy wooden cube, about 30 cm (≈ 11.8 in) on each side, with a clasp on the front. Grazioso carried it over with a cool expression, but the king's attendant was surprised by its weight and almost dropped it.
"Your Majesty, this is a tribute from our merchant guild. It is slightly smaller than what we used in our research and development, but please understand that this is the result of breaking and consuming several such items."
The king placed the box on the table, unfastened the clasp, and gently lifted the lid.
"What is this?!"
Inside the box, there was padding, and on top of a velvet layer sat a large glowing magic stone with light attributes. It was bigger than the one shown by the Young Marquis family at Grandchester Castle before the hunting tournament.
"This is a light attribute magic stone. I sincerely apologize, but we cannot replenish the magic power of that stone."
'It's easy to make it replenishable, though.'
"Y-You broke so many of these magic stones?"
"Yes, we did. We used over 20 light attribute magic stones alone, and if we count all attributes, it's more than 200. Many have turned to graphite and piled up. Since I inherited most of these stones, it's hard to determine their market value, but a rough estimate suggests they are worth at least 30 magic stones."
The king swallowed hard. The magic stone in front of him was a national treasure, yet it was being compared to 30 others. Even a rough estimate showed it could equal several years of Avalon's national budget. He doubted the royal treasury could cover such a cost.
"Are you serious about that?"
"It would be very wrong for me to lie. If the royal family agrees to pay, I will calculate the costs based on market prices. I have kept the graphite from the used magic stones as proof. I will not add any unfair charges. I can also show that the broken magic stones were once whole."
This explanation is a lie. The used magic stones have been reused, so there are none left. However, if necessary, I can easily create some fake magic stone fragments or graphite. Of course, this is all part of a pre-arranged plan, so Sophia, or rather Magi, speaks smoothly without hesitation.
"You're really a member of a fallen royal family, aren't you? To inherit such a legacy... And to develop new magic stone technology while throwing all that away... What a huge gamble this is..."
"I believe this research is worth that much. I am confident that I can generate profits that far exceed the investment, while also bringing about a major innovation that will fundamentally change people's lives."
The king and his advisors were quiet for a moment. The people from Grandchester thought Sophia was lying. However, they knew it was true that the magic stones were used up. They believed the new technology would lead to great changes, so Sara felt no guilt. They understood that the royal family could not pay for research and development.
"If you say that much, then I have no choice but to back down. But please don't sell that technology to other countries."
"Regarding that, I can only say it depends on the amount you are willing to pay. However, if I do sell it, I will also demand compensation for the profits we expect to gain in the future..."
"Hmph. No one could possibly pay that. Is that your final offer?"
"Indeed, it is."
Because she was a Magi, Sophia, who showed no emotional fluctuations, was creating a strange fear among those around her. Victoria was trying to maintain her expression while watching the exchange between the king and Sophia, but she was desperately hiding a chilling fear that ran down her spine.
'I want to praise my past self for deciding that this opponent should never be made an enemy. I can't believe she was such a monster. Should I be glad that Lysander didn't do something irreversible? No, he could never have done anything against Sophia in the first place.'
Her husband, Duke Arbal, was now remembering how his younger brother had been rude to Sophia, and he was sweating nervously.
'Lady Sara's birthday has to be celebrated with all our effort. Let's make sure Lysander is banned from attending.'
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