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The following morning…

The suspiciously free king, Andassis the Seventh, personally led me to one of the underground laboratories in the castle.

On the king’s orders, the laboratory was cleaned out yesterday, and from the various jars and implements stored around, this used to be a warehouse for alchemical supplies.

But why, oh why, did this laboratory have to be underground? An alchemical warehouse made sense; it would allow me easy access to any potential reagents, but why the cliche, villainesque setting of an underground lab? For secrecy reasons? Maybe the experiments need to be shielded from atmospheric radiation? As if!

On a side note, Sersan had Doris forcefully assigned to me under the guise of, “Lady Mona must have a personal maid of her own.” That was why she was now here with me, in this dusty, moldy, and clearly bad-for-the-skin environment. There was no doubt as to how serious she took this new assignment. Or rather, her usual flippant attitude disappeared when she realised we were going to the lab. Even her eyes grew sharp at the word… for a spy to be that obvious, geez.

Andassis the Seventh did not seem to mind Doris’s presence, though he seemed to have his own thoughts which he kept silent. And while Andassis was the king of the whole kingdom, strictly speaking, Doris was Sersan’s servant.

The king had already taken the lead by forcing an apartment on me, now that his son had forced a maid onto me, regardless of whether she was here to be an incompetent spy or not, this was a good chance for to nurture a relationship with me, all the while annoying his father as payback.

What a father and son pair…

There looked to be about a dozen people awaiting our arrival in the lab, but there were only two who mattered, everyone else was just an apprentice or assistant.

The first of the two was a tall, lanky alchemist who specialised in constructs like golems, Meister Amori. He was a sixty year old man, said to be the distant uncle of Andassis the Seventh.

The last figure of note was barely 150 cm tall, a dwarf that looked like a winter melon. This was the blacksmith meister, Meister Belud Stonehammer. My first impression of him was that he didn’t look like a dwarf. He was taller than I expected, and had muscles that were more stonelike than his name. His rugged face was semi-hidden behind a well-braided beard that his race would probably consider beautiful, and only his race. His eyes twinkled like a lecher, made worse by the pungent stench of alcohol wafting off him visibly… That was just the first impression too. After getting to know him better, I only disliked this so-called genius who managed to forge an epic-grade weapon before forty more…

“Yo~ Your Royalness, you seem chipper today. Hmm? Who is this beauty I see?”

Not long after we entered the underground laboratory, the dwarf meister greeted Andassis with a boisterous call. In fact, his tone seemed almost belittling. Clearly, this dwarf did not think much of the king.

Before coming, the king had taken the liberty to briefly introduce these two to me. He mentioned one was a master of blacksmithing while the other was a master of alchemy. However, he did not mention their races. And in my mind, the image of a dwarf was a more reserved, shorter humanoid. One who probably kept his word and had an adorably apologetic face. Well… that was until I met this old dwarf…

“Meister Stonehammer, this is the research partner I wish to introduce today.” Andassis the Seventh answered respectfully, or at least on the surface he did so.

“Ho~ You never mentioned our associate would be so… stunning!”

This dwarf was only tall enough to reach my chest, but the eyes he gave me were just deplorable. Regardless of whether or not I was actually a girl, I was offended by his inappropriate gaze -anyone would.

“Belud, stow that ugly mug of yours, you’re a disgrace to all dwarf blacksmiths.” Finally, just as I was about to smack that short pervert, Meister Amori stood out. “Please do not mind him, not all dwarves are like… that.”

So some of them are then?

“Hey, how was I being a disgrace to my race? I was just too shocked by the beauty of this lady here.” The dwarf turned to the king. “How about introducing us, Your Royalness, I’m dying to know this lady!”

Ugh… how much of a pervert do you have to be to mention someone’s appearance twice like that…

“Haha, Meister Stonehammer, you’re as vigorous as always, I see. This is Lady Mo Na…” The king started introducing me to those present. However, he did not mention my otherworldly identity.

Thanks to his introduction, I also learnt the rough situation regarding this lab.

In total, there would be 15 people working on this project, including me. Two of them had already been introduced to me. The remaining 12 were all apprentices and assistants, or just laborers…

For craftsmen, titles were shared amongst the different disciplines, whether blacksmithing or alchemy. From low to high, these were Apprentice, Novice, Journeyman, Expert, Meister, Grandmeister.

The two of them were naturally of the second highest ranking. They would be the equivalent of overlords, and only craftsmen who had created an epic-grade implement could lay claim to such a prestigious title. Such was the stringent nature of acquiring this title within the Western Human Realms. Not everyone could call themselves a meister.

“Well then, I hope the two of you will cooperate with Lady Mo Na. I have to take my leave now, there are matters of state awaiting me.” Now that he was done introducing everyone, Andassis the Seventh bade his farewells and left, though not before throwing a glance towards Meister Amori. Following that, he left with his maid and bodyguard.

From his behavior, he was clearly in a rush… but why not just send someone to escort me here…

Shameless Self-promotion

I hate this novel.

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