"Comrades are connected by an unbreakable soul! Gula, you abandoned your soul’s comrade!"

• How undeserving you are of the title, Greed, who desires everything!!!

 

"That Greedy Gula, even though he's a villain, you can’t completely hate him."

"He’s not the only one! Honestly, Invidia’s final moments as Envy were really touching."

"Invidia treated humans like toys, but in the end, he was jealous of even their imperfections."

The fans of Iron-blooded Alchemist in the empire had been living in a state of pure joy recently, as if every day were a festival.

Just the simultaneous release of volumes 5 and 6 was already an unbelievable miracle, but with volumes 7 and 8 being released at the same time as well, people never ran out of things to talk about.

They were especially drawn into the narrative that made even the villains, who were clearly portrayed as antagonists, seem irresistibly charming.

Moreover, since the story was now rushing towards its conclusion, the secrets that had been hidden all along were starting to be revealed one by one, driving fans into a frenzy.

“So the reason the ancient empire of Achaemenes was destroyed overnight was because of the fairy in the flask?”

“Where exactly did this ancient empire of Achaemenes exist?”

“Isn’t it just a fictional country? Didn’t the author explicitly mention that at the beginning of the book?”

Pointing at the text written at the front of the comic book he was holding, the man said, “Everything that appears in the story is a work of fiction.”

Everyone around him sneered.

“Do you believe that? This story is definitely based on real things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s a rumor going around that the black magicians actually tried to create the imperial transmutation circle from the story.”

“What?!”

“Apparently, the Crown Prince himself stopped a group of black magicians who were trying to sacrifice the citizens of the capital.”

“Oh! Now that you mention it, that’s why the Crown Prince’s right arm is…”

People recalled the Crown Prince’s triumphant appearance during the victory parade in the capital.

His steel arm looked exactly like the one the protagonist’s brother had in Iron-blooded Alchemist.

By now, people had started calling the Crown Prince ‘The Steel Prince.’

The former derogatory title of 'The Wastrel Prince' had long since disappeared, and he had become the hero who thwarted a villainous plan threatening the empire. His popularity was at its peak.

Especially among the soldiers who had fought alongside him against the Abyssal Cult, their admiration for him had reached the level of blind faith.

One young soldier, who had nearly lost his life to a tunnel snake but was saved thanks to the Crown Prince’s orders, even went on to apply for the Royal Guard.

Unlike common soldiers, only the elite could apply, so the young soldier, Crom, had been training his body and attending swordsmanship lessons at his own expense.

“You’re really working hard.”

“Of course! I want to become a soldier who can protect the Crown Prince as soon as possible.”

Even though Crom had only been training for about a month, he had already surpassed all the other trainees at the swordsmanship school, except for the instructor. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he answered brightly.

Crom had lost one of his arms to the tunnel snake, but he didn’t let it shake him. The memory of the Crown Prince, calmly ordering the soldiers to protect each other, was still fresh in his mind.

After witnessing such a heroic figure, Crom had only one thought: to repay the Crown Prince’s kindness by serving by his side.

With the hope of one day becoming a Royal Guard and seeing the Prince again, Crom refocused and swung his sword with renewed determination.

“A popularity vote... They're asking us to pick our top five favorite characters?”

The princess stared at the voting slip, holding a quill in one hand, deep in thought.

As soon as Jorge had delivered the new volume of Iron-blooded Alchemist to her, she had devoured it in one sitting and discovered a small note attached to the last page of the book.

Thinking it was another raffle ticket like before, she hurriedly checked it.

The princess still hadn’t gotten over missing out on the imperial-certified alchemist’s pocket watch merchandise last time, and if another limited-edition item were to come out, she was prepared to do whatever it took to get it.

But to her surprise, the note turned out to be a voting slip for the character popularity poll.

The back of the note asked her to vote for her top five favorite characters from Iron-blooded Alchemist.

This threw Eolin into a dilemma.

"They're going to send limited-edition figures to a few lucky voters?"

And that wasn’t all. If a character placed within the top three, a special figure of that character would be released.

Now, this vote was incredibly important.

"Personally, King Brandon and Kimberly have to be in there."

The characters who had captured Eolin’s heart were King Brandon, the Grand General of the Empire, and Kimberly, the Alchemist of Roses.

While both were undoubtedly villains by the world's standards, they were people with strong convictions.

Eolin had learned a lot from watching them, leaving a deep impression on her.

While both were undoubtedly villains by the world’s standards, they were people with strong convictions.

Eolin had learned a lot from watching them, leaving a deep impression on her.

“Is killing people through alchemy inhumane? But is it okay to kill them with swords and spears? Or is it that you're not prepared to kill thousands?”

“That’s...”

“Don’t look away from death. Watch the faces of the people you kill carefully, and never forget. They won’t forget you either.”

The Alchemist of Roses, Kimberly, was certainly twisted, but he never romanticized his actions.

It was common for people to stab others in the back without hesitation, yet they would throw a fit when they were pricked by a mere needle. Kimberly was a character who clearly showed that if you wield a blade, you must also be prepared to be pierced by one.

Likewise, King Brandon, the empire’s Grand General and a synthetic human, moved Eolin in a different way.

“At least I chose my wife.”

When Lieutenant Eagle Eye mocked him for living his life according to a predetermined fate, Brandon acknowledged it but still declared that he had made his own choice.

That scene might not have resonated with others, but it struck a deep chord in Eolin.

She hadn’t chosen to be born a member of the royal family, but now that she was, she understood that she had to fulfill her duties as one.

Watching King Brandon, she felt a strange connection to him, sensing that they were alike in some way.

Even in a life laid out for him, there were things that he had chosen for himself.

Perhaps that meant she could also choose something for herself?

Of course, Eolin wasn’t aware yet that the comic book she had started reading out of curiosity and enjoyment was now having a significant influence on her.

For now, she was only daydreaming about the Kimberly figure with a sly grin and the double-bladed King Brandon figure, smiling happily at the thought.

“Lloyd Cavallo is being left out? Gather the Alchemists of Flame!”

“Didn’t I tell you Alex Eldrick would come through?! Look at this magnificent figure after his awakening. There has to be a figure of him in steel armor!”

“Why would anyone want figures of a bunch of dark, brooding men? The real trend is Windy Rox, Eagle Eye, and Lustful Luxria!”

Across the empire’s bustling streets, people were shouting and urging others to vote.

When the Iron-blooded Alchemist character popularity poll was announced, fans eager to see their favorite characters turned into figures were doing everything they could to encourage others to vote for their chosen characters.

Since only the top three characters would get figures, everyone was nervously trying to gather as many votes as possible for their picks, worried their favorite might not make the cut.

But since everyone had different favorites, it wasn’t easy to sway votes, no matter how much they promoted and advertised their picks.

So, some people decided to take a completely different approach.

“Well then, let’s begin the regular meeting of the Doujin Club.”

In a dimly lit room, decorated with luxurious items, a large round table stood in the center.

Seated around the table were several people, each wearing masks. Some wore simple ones, while others donned masks of characters from Iron-blooded Alchemist.

“The topic of today’s meeting is, of course, the popularity vote.”

“Indeed, this is something the Doujin Club must take a stance on.”

The Doujin Club, a gathering of noble manga enthusiasts, regularly held meetings where they discussed which goods to create or debated about content from their favorite comics.

However, with the monumental event of the Iron-blooded Alchemist popularity vote taking place, an emergency meeting was called to pool their opinions.

As the most passionate fans of the comic, the room was buzzing with excitement, to the point that a faint scent of sweat filled the air as they fiercely debated.

Their plan was simple.

Rather than trying to gather other people’s votes, they would simply buy as many copies of the comic as possible and use the extra voting slips themselves.

After all, they were already planning to buy multiple copies to increase their chances of winning limited-edition merchandise, so all they had to do was scale up that effort.

Of course, even a large number of purchases might not be enough to shift the tide, but everyone in the room was a wealthy noble, and especially those who spared no expense when it came to manga.

This made it highly likely that the characters they voted for would end up being selected.

The real problem was which characters to vote for, and that decision was to be made through discussion.

The debate became so heated that it nearly escalated into a fistfight.

Thud!

But thankfully, the new member, Eljawin, skillfully intervened, preventing the fight from breaking out.

After a long, drawn-out discussion, they finally agreed on which characters to vote for.

“Windy Rox, Edmund Eldrick, and the Prince of the East, Shin. Any objections?”

Having already gone through a fierce debate, everyone was too exhausted to object.

Still…

Why are we pushing for the Prince of the East, Shin?

Shin, a character from the Eastern Continent who had crossed over in search of the secret to immortality, wasn’t without his charm, but was he really a character worthy of having a figure made?

Shin must be included, Eljawin had insisted, after showcasing extraordinary martial skills to break up the earlier fight. Feeling intimidated, the other members had no choice but to comply.

Seeing how effortlessly Eljawin had subdued them, everyone felt that if they opposed her, they might not be able to handle her, so in the end, the Prince of the East was included.

Shin must be included.

The Third Prince, Edrick, seemed completely satisfied that his suggestion had been accepted. He was deeply immersed in the character of Shin, who, like him, was royalty.

By now, his mind was filled with thoughts of how he would display the Shin figure alongside the Windy Rox figure once they were made.

And while the empire was buzzing with excitement over the Iron-blooded Alchemist popularity vote, Rupert’s new book, Pinocchio, was suddenly announced for release.

Once again, people were lining up at every branch of the Yuren Trading Company.