Greatest Alchemist? Chapter 580

 The King wishes to send people

Since the birth of his three daughters, Takumi secluded himself in the Sanctuary even more.

There have been periodic deliveries to the Papeck Company in Volton, but those have also decreased because the Papeck Company began trading with Sanctuary by way of carriage.
He started his own company and opened a store in the Royal Capital, yet despite coming to check and restock inventory, he was never seen.

King Valkyra was not the only one who wanted to send a gift for the children’s birth and strengthen relations.
However, it was difficult for the ruler of a country to give a commoner without a title a gift for the birth of their child.

It would be strange to lump the Guardian of the Spirit Tree and Keeper of the Sanctuary with other commoners, but it was no small number of nobles in Valkyra Kingdom that were displeased by the preferential treatment.
In particular, the nobles belonging to the Noble faction who were unable to partake in the graces of the Sanctuary were negative towards Takumi.

As for King Valkyra, Takumi’s store in the capital was doing well and he wanted to continue to build a good relationship with the young man. Takumi was an adventurer, but because he was also based in Volton, he could be said to be a citizen of Valkyra Kingdom. King Valkyra wants to continue to build a firm relationship with Takumi so it wouldn’t waver in his seclusion in the Sanctuary. The existence of the Papeck Company connected to Takumi and now the Sanctuary, as well as the store that Takumi himself had established were important to Valkyra Kingdom.

It was then that information came in that the Queen of Yggurle Kingdom had been staying in the Sanctuary for a long time.

「The President of the Papeck Company was surprised. She was staying in Mister Iruma’s mansion, and was affectionate towards the child that Lady Sophia had given birth to.」
「The Elves rarely had children, after all. They have very few chances to attend to a child. Likely the first for Queen Lumia after Princess Mimir.」
「Yes. Especially given how Queen Lumia lives in the royal palace, she has even less chances to come in contact with children.」

King Valkyra and Prime Minister Simon had a private conversation about the information from Papeck.

「We must make a greater effort in strengthening our influence on Mister Iruma.」
「……what about dispatching civil officials?」
「Civil officials?」
「Yes. In the past, Mister Iruma could get by as long as he processes documents related to patents and tax relating to his products, but it is different for him now.」
「Yeah, the population in the Sanctuary had increased considerably.」

King Valkyra realized what Simon was implying.

「Yes. According to Mister Papeck, the population in the Sanctuary was increasing and it could be considered a small country considering the size of the land, and Mister Iruma is struggling with it.」

When the people living in the Sanctuary were of the size of a village, Takumi had no problem providing everything for them one-sidedly. However, as the people of various races increased, now having exceeded the population in Volton, the residents have also begun paying a small tax. The workload was now too much for Takumi and his small group of people to handle.

「It’s close to managing a country. He is likely lacking in civil officials.」
「Indeed. Consider it is a chance to offer a favor.」

At present, there are plenty of products being exported from the Sanctuary, such as salt, Spirit Tree related materials, various medicinal herbs, Sanctuary-grown fruits, a variety of alcohol, woodwork created by Elves, arms produced by Dwarves, the magic devices created by Takumi and Laeva, and many others aside from these. Takumi trades these products with the Papeck Company and many countries.

Takumi distributes to producers based on sales.

It was fine when the residents of the Sanctuary were self-sufficient and wasn’t affected by a monetary economy, but according to the Papeck Company President, they were having trouble because of the obvious lack of hands.

「Well, the Sanctuary residents don’t want rewards though.」
「What do you mean?」
「They seem to be happy and content with just living in the Sanctuary. They seem to work to show their appreciation for Mister Iruma.」
「……how enviable.」
「Well, in that case, he must be in want of excellent civil officials.」

Jealous, King Valkyra sighed and returned to the topic.

「Personnel selection would be difficult.」
「Yes. The ones we want most must be excellent and of good virtue to pass through the Sanctuary barrier.」
「Precisely so.」

In order to stay in the Sanctuary, one must be deemed acceptable by the Great Spirits. It would have been simple enough if it was just about excellence, but many of those excellent people were strangely prideful, greedy, and had all sorts of quirks.

「Let’s find someone somehow.」
「Please. If possible, it would be nice if they could increase the wine trade though.」
「……Your Majesty, if you’re that direct……」

And so, King Valkyra and Simon began their search for personnel to send to the Sanctuary. However, Lomaria Kingdom and Yggurle Kingdom were also making their move.

Previous | TOC | Next
Up to 5 advanced chapters are available on Patreon.