The Chronicles of a Lost Man in His Forties Founding a Nation ~Commonsense is Hindering Me From Becoming TUEE~ Chapter 106

There's some notes at the end of the chapter.

Introduction to Alchemy

It's been seven days since returning to Jiiteas castle.

I took care of several issues in that time.

First was inspecting the workers and the dwarves craftsmen that came to the castle in my absence.

My first priority is dealing with the Dark beast king and the cultist now that they are aiming for my life.

Naturally It’s impossible to read the minds of the whole crew with the “ESP Medal”. For starters, when going on patrol I use the “Detect Enemy” spell to check for any signs of hostility among the people, but so far we haven’t found anyone.

Furthermore, I had Leiha and the dark elves search for anyone acting suspicious, and yet we found no one.

I’m also grateful for the help of the War tribe’s scouts. They just reported no problems on their end so I’m feeling a bit relieved.

For the time being, the dark elves and the war tribe will have to remain vigilant for any cultists trying to infiltrate.

As a countermeasure, I placed “Invisible Demons” in dozens of key positions around the castle in the span of three days. The command given to the demons was: “Restrain anyone who attacks others”, I wanted something more specific like capturing intruders but the demons can’t recognize that kind of precise command.

The next issue at hand was to secure provisions.

So far, there’s about 70 people from the War tribe freeloading, additionally another 150 people and 50 warriors from the Schultz refugees, and furthermore the personal subordinates of Elizabel that came from Fillsand, we are now close to 400 people family.

With the dwarves and the workers the number goes up to 700 people, somehow we managed to provide them with food from Lelis but their needs keep growing.

I turned pale when Irudo reported that the stock ran out in a few days.

I apologized to Sedam, currently the castle keeper, for not stocking enough provisions, but even if I did apologized, at least I should have let him know when it was decided that the Schultz tribe would be coming to the castle.

Without Irudos’ experience this castle would truly be ruined.

Anyhow, Elizabel and her subordinates are now working on this issue.

For the time being, we bought the grains and the livestock throughout the negotiations with Jule and the Carb.o.n.e.ra Knights.

Here in Cedia, compared to modern day j.a.pan, the food is the most important mercancy.

We paid a fair price the goods, but it was all thanks to her diplomatic abilities that we managed to procure so much food in a short amount of time.

Although I realized how dreadful of deal was that, still Irudo and Mora have better understanding of business than me.

However Elizabel also said: “The costs are higher than I thought, the prices for food seems to be gradually rising in this region.”

There’s no helping it this time, but we should start producing our own food as soon as possible thought, I’m expecting the people from Schultz to help with that.

Speaking of Elizabel, she along with her subordinates are heading to Lelis.

With the purpose of expanding the relations between me and the alliance against the dark beats with Leis and the “Luce Union”, a federation of cities in the surroundings of lake Luce.

She said she’s going to visit the princ.i.p.al cities in the union for next month or so.

Mr. Browse, the chairperson from Lelis already made the necessary arrangements, I also think it’s better to send an outstanding diplomat, so I sent Elizabel.

Going with her are Ted, 5 soldiers, her subordinates and the young Nocks who’s in charge of procuring the food. Just in case I also sent 2 of the dark elves to escort them.

In addition to the issue at hand, in order to construct the trade route with the castle, every day without rest I continue to create giants and stone and iron walls.

Well I might be only chanting spells, but it still takes close to an hour to finish. It’s a pretty mentally exhausting job.

It’s thanks to the chief of the Dowlon and his high spirits, the dwarves and the workers that we were able to overcome such hards.h.i.+ps, thanks to them the expansion to the castle and the foundation of the trade route to Battleaxe city is now completed.

Balbo, the chief of the house of builders, was saying: [Listen! From tomorrow onwards we’ll be making the foundation of the trade route from Battleaxe to Fillsand! We’ll be using that snake* of yours to make a tunnel at once!] Afterwards I received several thankful words.

With that, the work to be done after returning should be less.

Since a while now I wanted to take care of that matter.

[Then. Ladies and gentlemen, starting today the cla.s.ses for learning to produce golems are finally starting]

[[[Yes!!]]]

[Let’s begin]

At the hall of the main tower.

Sitting in the bench in front of are three of the former magic cadets answering cheerfully.

They were Log, the boy with black hair and a st.u.r.dy physique, Daya the blonde girl with a sharp look and lastly Tel, the timid boy with brown hair.

Originally they were subjects of something resembling human experimentation by the magicians guild, and I ended taking up care of them. On the condition that I teach them how to manufacture the golems.

In a way, it was a deal to have the branch chief Heliodor give up on the magic soldiers, but those three still were full of determination.

No wonder, they want to create the golems for fighting the dark beast and get revenge for the killing of their parents and becoming orphans.

Even me, it would be great if I would deploy golems in every city so they could protect the people from the dark beast.

On the back is Claura. I tend to forget, but the reason the magicians guild sent her to the castle was to learn to produce golems and to learn sorcery.

It’s been about two months since Claura the kids came to the castle, but we haven’t be able to practice one bit.

Really, it’s not like I’ve been ignoring them.

To produce golems, It’s necessary to know the basis of Alchemy, so in order for the kids to be able to read the book “Introduction to Alchemy” I asked the warrior priest, Thrad, to teach them to read.

Of course, I might call it alchemy, but it completely different from the alchemy (as the precursor to chemistry) back on Earth.

Back in the day, the game master and me pointlessly gathered material to use as reference at the library to create the “Rules for the creation of magic items with fake alchemy”. Then the “guardian” would transfer those rules to me and would manifest in reality as a “Real Skill”.

Or that was suppose to be case.

[I’m so sorry Margils-sama...]

[I can understand basic letters... but I still can’t read that book...]

[I can’t read very well either...]

You could see the embarra.s.sment in Log and Daya, even Tel who could read was starting to tear up.

Well, (Even if the contents ware a product of the delusion of the game master and me in our student days), in Cedia it was an unknow craft that can produce potions and golems.

I guess it wasn’t something easy to read.

[Alright, open the book on page... let’s see... on page three]

[Yes]

[Hey, could you move your head aside?]

The kids were looking at the “Introduction to alchemy” that I opened up on the desk, Claura was also looking from the back.

I began the lesson I prepared last night.

[The creation of golems and potions is only a fraction of the discipline known as alchemy. Then I want you to think of alchemy as a technique or skill we wizards use to represent in a physical way the “spells” we forge in our minds]

[[[.........]]]

This explanation is probably boring to the kids, on the contrary Claura was attentively looking at the book and me.

[Then what is sorcery? It’s the ability to influence the natural world the “magic power” that resides within you.

In addition, sorcery allows you to use the “chaos” of the “Inner world” to change reality. The corridor that connects the “world” and the “chaos” and the “door of wizardly” that serves as a boundary, it might be closer to a magician's magic*.]

The world, huh? Maybe Earth and Cedia are worlds that were individually born from the chaos.

Eh?

... Just now, that thought. Something somewhere just clicked...

I somehow have the impression something important just flashed right in front of me.

[[.........]]

[Er, sorry, well continuing...]

Looking at the serious faces of the kids and Claure I immediately returned to the lecture.

Alchemy is not only the basis of sorcery, the real world as well all the matter it contains, is the result of temporary giving a form to the “chaos”, that’s the rule.

In other words, if you can manipulate the chaos, you can create all the matter in the world, you can even create matter that normally doesn’t exists.

Normally, physical beings cannot touch nor are aware of the chaos. Only wizards can make it through the domain of chaos inside one’s mind.

The thing about alchemy is that, a clump (or something akin to that) of chaos has the possibility of transforming into every kind of matter, following the next steps in order (that’s the setting/rule).

Chaos → Ether → Element (chemical) → Material (matter)

The Ether is a kind of “pure energy without any specific properties”, The elements are “energies that can take the properties of earth, water, fire and wind”.

(Now that I think about it I’ve been mixing in proper chemistry terms huh.....)

[...... Margils?]

[No, it’s nothing.

As I was saying...... by reducing the substance, or matter, you are drawing out the ether and the element, so if you now add the raw materials for potions and other items, you are now able to manifest the effects of the spell that otherwise are impossible in reality.]

To put it simply, if you add the element of fire to a sword you get the “Cursed sword of flames”, if you add the water element to common water it turns into a “healing potion”.

[Yep, if you said like that it becomes so much easier to get right?........]

[L-Log don’t say that.......]

[So, specifically, how do you take out the elements and the ether from the matter?]

[Simple, by smas.h.i.+ng, heating, dissolving, boiling....... after processing you can extract it.] 

Claura asked a bit impatiently.

I picked up the sack that was on the floor and then took out several tools from it. Log was whispering to Daya [See it was soo easy], but well nothing to fret about.

The small ones are beakers, flask, mortar, pitcher, an alcohol lamp, rasp and hammers.

The larger ones are a pot still, a filter and a brazier.

The long table is full of strange tools now.

[They somehow resemble the tools for making medicine]

[Ah, that’s probably right. I can’t show you now the essential “Alchemical furnace”, but I’ll show it to you in the future.]

In simple terms, an Alchemical furnace is a heating device. This tool in particular is a magic item that requires the chanting of a spell beforehand.

It’s a tool that’s as tall as child, after this I’ll ask Balbo and the carpenter Zek to make a lab for alchemy experimentation.

[For the time being, until the lab is completed, keep reading the introduction to alchemy and memorize how to use these tools.]

[[[Yes!!]]]

[..... ahhhh]

[Thank you for your hard work, my lord]

After giving the kids their homework and finis.h.i.+ng my first lecture I was in my room drinking tea.

Mora was busy so Leiha was the one serving the tea.

[I understand the theory but.... this chaos thing is a bit frightening right? Isn’t it dangerous?]

Sitting in front of me, drinking elegantly her tea, Claura asked.

Her beautiful eyebrows frowned a bit, Is Leihas’s tea bitter?

[Well, one has to be careful when creating golems, but I’m thinking on making the kids to learn first how to make potions.]

[Why is that?]

[One reason is to practice before making golems. And the other... well for financial reasons.]

[....... ah, so that’s why........]

[........]

For some reason there’s now this awkward silence.

There’s the thing with the shortage of supplies, and before expanding the trade route I want a stable source of income, that said, it was a realistic approach.

At that moment.

[Margils-sama, it’s time]

[....... ah..... yes....]

Irudo called to me.

It was the latest of my ever increasing tasks since the day I returned

A banquet to entertain “The guests that wish for a meeting with me” is now starting.

Notes:
1: regarding the snake, the original line is:
「よっしゃ！　明日からは戦斧郷からフィルサンドへの交易路の基礎工事だな！　さっそくあんたの長虫でトンネル堀りをしてもらうぞ！」

 I don't really understand why a snake thought? I don't remember one in the story so far nor I do know of a snake spell in D&D.

2: The full sentence:

それに対して魔法は、『世界の外』にある『混沌』を利用して現実そのものを変える技術、ということになる。『世界』と『混沌』を繋ぐ回廊であり境界でもある『魔導門』が、魔術師のいう魔術盤に近いかも知れないな」

3: And lastly, Lilly is cute. I just thought you should know that.

P.D.: Feel free to point any mistake in the grammar, or translation.