The Current Emperor of the Borus Empire, Leonious Bell

Outwardly, he appeared to be an extremely impulsive person, but those who truly knew the Emperor were aware that he was anything but impulsive.

A prime example of this was the war with the neighboring kingdom of Silvania, which broke out a few years ago due to what seemed like a rash decision by the Emperor.

However, few knew that the war was actually a calculated move to check the growing power of the nobility, which had become stronger during the prolonged period of peace following the Empire’s unification.

But even such a calculated Emperor had something that did not go according to his plans.

That was the issue of succession.

In the Empire, the principle of primogeniture was strictly observed, even more rigorously than among the noble families.

While a succession dispute among nobles would only result in a family feud, a succession dispute within the royal family could lead to civil war.

Thus, following the principle of primogeniture, the eldest son, Alex, was appointed Crown Prince.

The problem, however, was that the talents of his younger siblings, Princess Iolyn and the third prince, Edrick, were exceptional.

Both were not only highly intelligent but also had flawless personalities, attracting many followers.

On top of that, Prince Edrick had demonstrated remarkable talent in swordsmanship, even impressing Kallen, the Sword Saint of the Empire and his mentor.

In contrast, Crown Prince Alex was neither incompetent nor particularly outstanding.

If that had been the extent of it, it would have been fine.

Being the eldest son was already a significant advantage, and that alone would have been enough.

However, after his mother, the Empress, passed away when he was young, Alex began to go astray.

These days, people more commonly whispered about the "wastrel" than the Crown Prince.

At first, the Emperor tried to be understanding, considering the profound sense of loss a child feels when they lose their mother.

But even the Emperor's patience had its limits.

Recently, Alex's jealousy of his siblings' achievements had reached a critical point.

From the Emperor's perspective, Princess Iolyn had long ago declared that she had no interest in the position of Crown Princess.

Yet Alex continued to display such pettiness toward a sibling who wasn’t even a rival.

He was narrow-minded to an intolerable degree.

"Let them in."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Yustaf Heindel and Harun Coelho, enter the audience chamber!"

The Emperor had recently sent Alex on a tour of the provinces to clear his head. Whether he had come to some realization during that time, Alex had been relatively quiet lately.

So, the Emperor decided to give him a chance and allowed him to observe the meeting in the audience chamber.

Normally, Alex would have been too restless to sit through such a serious gathering, but today, the Emperor was pleased to see that he was paying attention.

"Your Majesty, I hope you have been well."

"It’s been a while, Sir Yustaf. I must admit, when I heard you urgently requested my presence, it made me a bit anxious."

The Emperor’s joke elicited a small ripple of laughter in the chamber.

After all, the last time Yustaf Heindel had visited the palace, it was to ask to step down from his position as Tower Master.

The position of Tower Master was traditionally decided by the votes of the members, without any intervention from the royal family.

But since no one among the members wanted to vote for anyone other than Yustaf, there hadn’t been any other candidates, and Yustaf had held the position for over twenty years.

So, when Yustaf came to the palace, pleading to be appointed as the headmaster of the Imperial Academy instead, even the Emperor had a tough time making that happen.

Remembering that occasion, the Emperor made the joke.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. This time, it’s not a personal matter; it might be something that concerns the safety of the Empire."

"...What do you mean?"

The lighthearted atmosphere in the audience chamber immediately turned cold.

Not only did the ministers fall silent, but the Emperor's expression also grew stern.

"We’re still in the realm of speculation, but it seems that the dark wizards have begun to stir again."

"Dark wizards? You mean there are still remnants left?"

"As you know, those tainted by evil often reemerge even after their roots have been eradicated."

The Emperor’s hand moved to his temple.

Just as the troublesome Crown Prince had finally quieted down, now there was talk of dark wizards resurfacing.

A headache that had subsided for a while began to creep back.

"If you’re mentioning dark wizards, I trust you have a reason for it."

At the Emperor's words, Yustaf looked over at Harun.

Harun then unrolled a long scroll, revealing a circle filled with strange symbols and letters.

"What is that? Is it a transmutation circle? No, it looks more like a magic circle."

"This is a newly created transmutation circle."

"A newly created transmutation circle?"

"Yes. This is a combination of magic and alchemy. According to the analysis by myself and Guildmaster Harun, it is a transmutation circle that produces something."

All eyes were on Yustaf as he spoke.

A new transmutation circle combined with magic was intriguing indeed.

If announced, it would be an astonishing discovery.

"What does it produce that makes you associate it with dark wizards?"

"We couldn’t determine its exact nature. Until the transmutation is complete, all we know is that it’s something with immense power."

"Then why are you treating it with such caution if it’s just a new transmutation circle?"

At the Emperor’s question, Yustaf paused for a moment before speaking again.

"This transmutation circle requires an enormous sacrifice, unlike any previous ones. It’s almost like an equivalent exchange."

"Equivalent exchange?!"

To everyone’s surprise, the voice that responded came from where the Crown Prince was sitting.

As everyone turned their gaze toward him, Alex raised his hand, signaling them to continue.

"Sacrificing something enormous to transmute something with immense power."

A sacrifice—was it gold and silver treasures? Or perhaps rare ores or plants?

As the Emperor pondered potential sacrifices, a chilling realization struck him.

"Could it be…?"

"As Your Majesty has guessed, this transmutation circle requires human life as a sacrifice!"

At Yustaf’s words, the chamber fell into a profound silence.

Sacrificing human life.

Surely, only dark wizards would engage in such atrocities.

"Is this true?!"

Even the Emperor couldn’t hide his shock, his voice trembling.

"Guildmaster Harun and I spent several days analyzing it. To activate this transmutation circle, at least tens of thousands of lives would be needed."

"Where did you find this? Where did you discover it?"

Yustaf suddenly fell silent at the Emperor’s question.

"Speak up!"

"The thing is…."

Alex had recently toned down his reckless behavior.

It wasn’t that he suddenly decided to become someone fitting of the Crown Prince’s duties.

But after seeing someone in a similar situation as himself with his own eyes, his mindset had changed a little.

Realizing that there were people in the world who had suffered far more than he had, he started to see that he had been too absorbed in his own tragedy to notice those around him.

As a result, he stopped taking out his anger on others.

However, his resentment toward his father, the Emperor, remained.

That’s why he loathed participating in meetings like today’s audience chamber session.

The only positive aspect was that, unlike before, he found the affairs of the world somewhat interesting, making it less tedious.

As he observed the meeting, Alex's interest was piqued when Yustaf Heindel and Harun Coelho arrived.

The Empire’s greatest magician and alchemist together in the audience chamber.

It was certainly not a common occurrence.

Then came the shocking report.

When the term "equivalent exchange" came up, it was a phrase he recognized from the manga he had read, so he couldn’t help but shout out in excitement.

But the content of Yustaf’s report was gravely serious.

A transmutation circle that required the lives of tens of thousands of people as a sacrifice—it was horrifying just to hear about it.

"Where did you find this? Where did you discover it?"

"The thing is…."

"Speak up!"

Yustaf hesitated, while the Emperor pressed him for an answer.

The Crown Prince suddenly realized that the new transmutation circle drawn on the scroll held by Harun looked familiar.

"It was found in the book The Iron-Blooded Alchemist."

"The Iron-Blooded Alchemist?"

At Yustaf’s answer, murmurs spread through the chamber.

The Emperor seemed unaware, but the ministers all appeared to recognize the book’s name.

"Who published this work?"

"It’s not a scholarly work... it’s a manga."

"A manga? You mean those books made to teach children how to read?"

Alex noticed his father’s expression twisting.

It was the same expression he often wore when chastising Alex.

"Sir Yustaf! I trusted you, but you’re telling me that you based your research on that?"

"Your Majesty, please, try to understand. I know it’s hard to believe, but this book is…."

"How could you seriously report research based on such a book?"

The Emperor's frustrated expression and Yustaf's conflicted one were clear.

‘It’s not just a manga. It’s a story Rupert based on his own experiences!’

For some reason, Alex found himself wanting to side with Yustaf.

"Sigh, Yustaf and Sir Harun, do you have any other evidence?"

The Emperor, despite his rebuke, asked if they had any other proof.

But their answer disappointed him.

"In order to prepare and test this transmutation circle, it’s certain that people were sacrificed."

"And?"

"If we cooperate with the Empire’s intelligence service and the security forces to investigate areas where there have been disappearances or suspicious activity, we will surely find evidence."

The Emperor pondered Yustaf’s response.

The order of events was completely reversed. It would be one thing if they already had evidence.

But asking to mobilize the Empire’s administrative power to find evidence?

From what he had heard, this was no small-scale operation. If it turned out to be false, it would be a significant loss.

The Empire’s administrative power must not be wasted.

Not only dark wizards, but many other threats endangered the Empire’s security.

As the Emperor’s deliberation deepened, Yustaf and Harun’s expressions darkened.

They knew that basing their claims on a manga was far from credible.

But then, someone who no one expected stepped up.