Chapter 184

The Viceroy Workshop
There was a magic tool production factory also known as Alicetia’s source of wealth. Many of its employees were orphans, as it was established to support them.

The old orphanage had already been repaired, and the drafty winds and leaks had been resolved. Mad was working in one of the orphanage's rooms. He was the workshop chief, and it had already been decided that he would later be promoted to factory chief.

Currently, the Viceroy Workshop had moved to a prefabricated, semi-cylindrical (fish cake-shaped) factory building constructed outside what could barely be called a prayer room in the orphanage.

This was due to the continued expansion of the royal capital and the installation of the first mana furnace, which had begun supplying mana to the city. Thanks to this, numerous mana-powered stoves could now be operated, and over 300 people were currently working at the Viceroy Workshop. Most of them were children under 15 years old.

Because of that, Mad, who originally looked after the orphanage children, was placed at the top. From his perspective, however, being suddenly promoted had left him utterly bewildered.

Merchants and nobles he had once thought of as being up in the clouds now came bowing their heads to him. Naturally, having become Alicetia’s subordinate, he was assigned Roy—Ponpoko’s son—as his instructor. Officially, he was also there to monitor him. Roy had already become deeply devoted to Alicetia and showed no mercy to traitors. Some of the orphans, tempted by money, tried to steal the magic stoves, but they either got caught by Roy or were apprehended by the Viceroy Guard.

Some thefts did occur, but the outer perimeter of the Viceroy Workshop was lined with magic devices called keystones. If a magic range was taken past that boundary, it would self-destruct, making theft impossible. Even storing them with spatial magic would destroy them.

Thus, Mad was receiving elite training in management from Roy. He was also being educated in a manner suitable for one of Alicetia’s subordinates.

“Sloppy handwriting is one thing, but I won’t allow calculation errors.”

“Just… let me rest a little. More importantly, why am I the one in charge? Wouldn’t you be fine for the job?”

Mad groaned, resting his head on a document that had been sent back for revision.

“I’ve got other responsibilities, so that’s not an option. Once your training is over, I’ll be transferred to another department.

Besides, you should see your position at the top as a good opportunity. You won’t get another chance at such favorable treatment. And don’t you have someone to protect? Would you really be okay with leaving this orphanage in the hands of someone who doesn’t know it?”

Mad had no rebuttal. Though only an apprentice workshop chief, his salary was more than decent. In other words, Mad had become fairly wealthy. Naturally, the children working here were also well-paid. In fact, given their background in the slums, they were being paid almost too generously. The work wasn’t harsh enough to warrant complaints, either. For these children who had lived with the fear of dying any day, this was practically heaven.

The seamstresses formally hired by Alicetia were no exception. Having earned the status of craftsmen belonging to the Viceroy Company, they were no longer slum dwellers.

Moreover, the kingdom had started intervening in the slums themselves, and the long-neglected public safety had greatly improved. Criminals were now put to work in the mines. Gilbert was all smiles about that.

Those who worked in the workshop started their days early. Work began at 7AM, and finished by 4PM, but the children began their studies afterward. Working while studying wasn’t unusual in this world. However, slum children who had never studied before couldn’t read, write, or do arithmetic.

Therefore, Alicetia spared no expense and prepared excellent teachers and top-class educational materials (made by Alicetia herself).

It was for the slum children. While they could continue working for the Viceroy Company in the future, Alicetia wanted to give them options. The freedom to better themselves and walk the path they chose.

Mad, however, was an exception. It had already been decided that he would eventually become the factory chief. So, every day, he continued to learn from Roy. Having him as the head of the workshop gave the children reassurance that they would not be unfairly exploited.

Mad leaned back against the high-quality chair and let out a sigh. From morning till night, he was the busiest of them all. He was learning not just negotiation tactics for dealing with nobles and merchants, but also advanced business management. Following Roy’s policies, he was even studying martial arts.

A merchant wasn’t just someone to be protected by guards. They needed the strength to protect themselves.

On top of that, Alicetia (or rather, her clone) had recently been visiting daily.

“I invented something new—set up a production line, would you?”

“Next, make a line for this one too.”

“This one as well, thanks.”

Every single day, Alicetia (clone) brought cutting-edge inventions.

"Hey... don't tell me there’s more than one Princess?"

To Mad's question, Roy replied proudly.

"Let me ask you in return—when did you start assuming there was only one Princess? Someone as exceptional as the Princess could easily multiply, no?"

Mad couldn’t help but think, “Isn’t this guy a little too obsessed with the Princess?” Normally, people don’t multiply. Yet none of the adults around Mad ever questioned it. Even if he asked, they’d just say, "Because she's the Princess."

In fact, it was a frequent topic of discussion even in the royal capital, but it always ended with the same answer. At some point, Alicetia had become a concept. No matter what happened, no one was surprised—because it was Alicetia. Everyone would just think, “Wow, that’s amazing”, and move on.

This tolerance for Alicetia’s abnormality was one of Arland’s strengths.

And Arland, which accepted Alicetia, began rapidly—at an unbelievable speed—to advance in technological power. Though they accepted her abnormality, the citizens who witnessed it firsthand strove daily to become people worthy of being cherished by her.

Because of this, many technologies were beginning to spread. One such example was Mari, who was currently studying in the same room. She was groaning as she pored over a mountain of reference books.

"You okay?"

Mad was a bit worried about his childhood friend, who had been groaning like this since morning lately.

"... I think I’m okay. But this stuff is really hard."

Mari wanted to become like Alicetia. That had already been reported to Alicetia by her teacher. Including the fact that, despite being unable to use magic at present, Mari possessed mana rivaling that of Sylvia.

She had so much mana that it seemed strange she had been wasting away in the slums. But the amount of mana a person has—especially a magician who has never used magic—is not something a normal magician can assess. Her mana circuits were mostly closed, making the flow of mana invisible. That’s why a magician from the Magic Corps had been dispatched to examine her.

Right now, she was studying the academic foundation necessary for using magic. Without knowledge, using magic could result in it going out of control. And the greater the mana, the harder it is to control. Given that Mari currently had mana on par with Sylvia, she needed to be thoroughly taught the basics, or she would likely go out of control the moment she used magic.

Moreover, since she had never used magic before, she also needed training to gradually open her mana circuits. If opened all at once, her immense mana would surge through her body and injure her. This training helped her gradually acclimate her body to her mana.

"Ugh... This isn’t the kind of magician I imagined."

Mari sighed. She had thought being a magician meant performing dazzling feats like Alicetia.

But the reality was more like being an intellectual laborer. Alicetia was just an outlier. Also, while magicians were seen as glorious, the kind who charged into the front lines were only Alicetia and the Magic Corps. A magician’s true role was support from the rear, not heroic deeds.

Roy watched Mari and evaluated her. From his perspective, Mari was a bit frightening. What she was learning was excessively advanced—at a level that most teachers couldn’t even teach. Aside from the periodic direct instruction from Alicetia (or her clone), she was studying everything on her own. Yes, self-study. Even though Roy couldn’t understand the formulas, Mari could—formulas that Alicetia had written as clearly as possible. Whether it was due to her complete lack of prior knowledge or her natural talent was unknown, but she absorbed knowledge like a sponge soaking up water. Mari wasn’t normal either.

And so, Mari too became a prodigy who would leave her name in the history of Arland—as the disciple of a Sage.

What do you think about this chapter?