Twilight Alchemist 63

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63. There's Such A Thing As Too Much Of A Surprise, Isn't It?

I was summoned by Kyle that day and visited his mansion. Ryuuko, one of the maids, was also invited today.

Being called over wasn't uncommon, but Kyle's demeanor was clearly different that day.

Since recovering from his illness, Kyle had been smiling more, but on this day, he was radiating a brilliant smile.

It seemed something good had happened.

Was it because the third wheat harvest went well?

I was the only one summoned, but Leafan was already in the room.

This was normal, but Leafan seemed even happier than usual, which felt odd.

Anyway, we sat down for tea, and as usual, Myrna climbed onto my lap.

Myrna seemed unusually cheerful, swishing her head around.

A lady should be more modest, you know?

But it's fine since she seems happy.

Behind Kyle stood Persia and Alphard.

Alphard doubled as head of the military and Kyle's guard, but with Degard Bismack being competent, he seemed to handle most things. It's good to delegate tasks if you can.

Both of them had their usual serious expressions, but there was something relaxed about their mouths.

What could it be?

We finished our tea and got down to business. After wrapping up recent reports, Kyle couldn't contain his excitement and stood up.

"Craft-sama! I have something I want you to see!"

"Oh?"

It seemed we were finally getting to the point.

"Then please follow me!"

Kyle first led us out of the mansion.

I thought whatever he wanted to show us might be in the garden, but we walked straight through the garden and out of the main gate.

If we were going on a trip, there wasn't even a carriage prepared.

Without hesitation, Kyle led us along the wall surrounding the garden and mansion. Then, right next to it, there was another wall with the same design as Kyle's mansion.

It was just as big as Kyle's mansion.

Of course, I knew construction had started months ago to build this wall.

The inside of the wall got covered with a huge cloth, so I didn't know what was being built, but I assumed it was either an extension of Kyle's mansion or a separate mansion for guests.

The fact that they had put up a cloth partition indicated they didn't want the dust from the construction to fly onto Kyle's property.

It seemed like today was the unveiling of this new mansion or separate residence.

But there was something that bothered me.

Everyone seemed to know about it except Ryuuko and me.

I couldn't imagine Kyle keeping secrets from me. So it just felt strange.

At the entrance of the new mansion, there was indeed the same gate structure as Kyle's mansion. However, Kyle's crest hadn't been engraved on it.

By the way, when I say crest, I mean a family crest or symbol, not the emblem floating on the left hand.

Would they engrave the crest after the unveiling?

For nobles, the crest represents their family is essential, so it's unthinkable not to engrave it on flags or gateposts.

As I puzzled over this, I noticed there were many craftsmen behind the wall.

Each craftsman stood in front of a rope holding down the cloth covering the mansion, so there was no doubt that the unveiling was about to happen.

I waved to some craftsmen I knew, and they waved back with enthusiasm.

They were delighted to work for Kyle, so their good mood was understandable.

"Craft-sama, please stand there."

"What?"

The place they indicated was right in the middle of the opened gate. Logically, it should be where Kyle stands.

"Is this...?"

"It's fine. Please stand there."

"Uh, okay."

I stood there involuntarily because of Kyle's unusually strong tone.

Kyle stood to my right, and Myrna stood to my left.

Myrna, don't tug on your cloak so rhythmically. It might come off.

"Now, everyone! Please!"

"""Ohhhhh!"""

The craftsmen responded to Kyle's signal and pulled the ropes.

And then...

"Huh?"

It was indeed a mansion.

It was a very elaborate mansion, combining the elegance and grandeur of the royal capital, just like Kyle's mansion next door.

It was the same three stories high, and the roof and window decorations were very similar.

So far, nothing has been surprising.

But this building was different.

It had several distinctive features that set it apart from Kyle's mansion.

The most notable was the semicircular architecture attached to the left and right sides of the mansion. This style, which included two alchemy rooms, was supposed to be proposed by Professor Javil.

Could you say it was like splitting a tower vertically and attaching it to the left and right sides of the mansion?

The semicircular part was only up to the second floor, and from its top, several long chimneys protruded.

Also, from the windowless structure, I immediately understood the function of the rooms inside.

"Could it be... alchemy rooms?"

"As expected of Craft-oniisama!"

"No, no, no! Isn't it exactly like the 'Ideal Alchemy Mansion' described in Professor Javil's book?! The base is Kyle's mansion, but the additional parts are exactly the same as the alchemy rooms in the professor's book! There's no way I wouldn't recognize it!"

"Yes! I asked Leafan to design it!"

Leafan proudly asserted.

"It was really tough. I looked at Professor Jabir's book, and he specified everything, like where the experimental tool shelves should be, materials should be divided into left and right living lines, separated underground and aboveground by type, and the smoke exhaust system for the alchemy pot was specified in detail. Craft-kun's professor is truly a genius. It really sank in." 

Leafan's boasting was evident from her face.

When I first got the book and was looking at it at the production guild, Leafan, who was peeking at it with keen interest, borrowed it. I wasn't familiar with the architecture and only remembered the exterior diagram.

And now, there was a mansion with alchemy rooms, just as described in Professor Javil's book, right before me.

What does this mean?

"Hey... Kyle. I don't think so, but..."

My voice must have trembled. I knew the answer, but I wanted him to deny it.

"Yes! Of course, it's a present for Craft-oniisama!!"

"""Wowwww!"""

"Congratulations, Craft!"

"That's great, Craft-kun!"

"Con-gra-tu-la-tions!"

It's not just about money.

Who, from where, could live next to the mansion of the ruling noble, in a mansion expanded beyond that?

"Don't worry!"

Kyle clenched his hands excitedly.

"W-What?"

"Look over there!"

When I looked where Kyle pointed, there was a corner where the fences of Kyle's mansion and this mansion overlapped.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed there was a door attached.

"We've installed a door that directly connects my mansion and Craft-sama's mansion, so there's no need to go out the main gate and take a detour!"

"W-Wait! What part of that is reassuring!? Consider security a little!"

That's not what I wanted to say! But it came out because of the momentum.

"Huh? It's Craft-oniisama's mansion, right? There's no problem with a direct connection, is there?"

"N-No! There's a lot of problems, isn't there!?"

I turned to Persia and Alphard in a panic, but they just gave me a wry smile.

No! Stop it! Guard duo!

"No, no, no! It's not like that! You can't just give me something so grand! How much does it cost!?"

It's not just about the money!

"Wait a minute! You can't give me something like this for free! How much did it cost!?"

It's not about money!

"I-I can't do this!"

"Impossible!"

"I-I'm telling you, I can't accept this!"

But they were drowned out by the craftsmen's cheering.

The craftsmen, who had tidied up the cloth and ropes, also gathered around and offered their congratulations.

I was completely stiff, but as soon as the paralysis wore off, I raised my voice.

"I-I can't accept something like this for free! How much does it cost!?"

It's not just about the money!

"Don't worry! Kyle-sama gave instructions to build this mansion secretly for Craft-sama, and we participated happily!"

"I did, I did! The craftsmen who couldn't participate in another construction this time were regretting it!"

"We had three times as many craftsmen as planned during the planning stage!"

"Even though the craftsmen's salaries are divided among the total construction budget and allocated to each workshop, none of the workshops are budging even though they're saying they'll receive less!"

"What!? It's for Craft-san! It's an honor to work on such a project!"

"Yeah! I got to do an honorable job!"

What!? What's going on!?

Oh no. With this flow, I'll have to accept it!

Anything will do! I need something to deny it!

"S-So! Even if you give me such a big mansion, I can't manage it! It's impossible even to clean it!"

"It's possible."

"Huh?"

I heard Ryuuko's voice from behind me.

She's a maid, the only one of her kind in the world, made with the technology of homunculi, golems, familiars, and dragon-tooth warriors.

Her beautiful green hair reflected the light.

What...?

"Don't worry. Leave it to me."

"Huh...? With this size? I won't clean it. With just Ryuuko..."

"It's no problem."

"L-Look! The garden is huge too! There's a magnificent garden and even a rose garden! It's impossible to maintain something like this!"

"It's possible. No problem."

N-No way.

Kyle's mansion, including the garden, was an estate suitable for the new Golden Dawn.

Due to the first city wall looming behind it, it looked small, but it was actually quite large.

Huh? Can Ryuuko maintain it alone?

As if she heard my thoughts, Ryuuko repeated herself.

"No problem. Master."

"T-That's... right."

"Yeah."

Is that so? Is it okay? My maid is amazing...

"I will move your belongings from the room in the production guild."

"Uh... okay."

Ryuuko walked away.

Kyle looked up at me with a beaming smile.

I could only respond with a somewhat strained smile.

"Thank you, Kyle."

"Yes!!"

And that's how I went from being a lodger at the production guild to owning a mansion and alchemy facilities of the same scale as a lord's.

What am I going to do with this?