"If you're going to ask me to make an elixir, then stop. I can't make it anymore."
"No."
"Or are you planning on recruiting me? It's useless even if you threatened to kill me, so stop that too."
"Not that either."
He had a history of producing new potions that were recognized as elixir.
Of course, it would be nice if I could recruit him, but I didn't come to this person for that purpose.
Grand Alchemist Gulpiro.
He appeared as a powerful ally in RaSa's main storyline, providing a big help to the allied faction once during an important time.
He was also a good man, as one could see from the way he helped the boy on the street earlier.
Therefore, even if it was not possible to attract him as an ally, it was good enough to protect him from danger.
Because now he probably…
"You must have come all the way to Calderic, avoiding the eyes of Santea."
Gulpiro clicked his tongue.
"You already know everything, so what are you asking?"
He was originally a member of the Santea faction.
Magic Tower, the largest and most powerful group of mages in Santea.
As an alchemist who originally belonged to that place, the Magic Tower and the Imperial Family betrayed him for some reason. It was an issue with the elixir.
And he saved his life and escaped from the chase, and in the future, he was not here in Calderic, but in the land of the South Continent.
I was curious and asked.
"Is there any reason to settle in the capital of the Sixth Lord?"
No matter how much I thought about it, Mahea was not a good place to settle down for him, regardless of his personality and other things.
Because it was a city where the Tyrant ruled, and there was even a 'slave gladiator' every day.
He shook his head and said.
"I happened to ended up here because of circumstances. I'm thinking of leaving as soon as possible."
"Then you can come to the capital of my territory."
I said so naturally.
Gulpiro looked at me with an absurd look.
"Didn't you say you will not recruit me?"
"It's not about recruiting, it literally means coming to the land that I rule."
"So what is that…"
"I want nothing, Gulpiro. I just want to protect you completely from the pursuit of Santea."
He said with a look that seemed more and more incomprehensible.
"You want nothing, but you're going to protect me? What do you mean?"
A Lord and no one else would protect him without asking for anything in return.
For him, of course, that would be unbelievable.
But what could I do, it's all true.
"Know this first, Gulpiro."
I decided to be honest about my thoughts.
It would not work anyway to attach clumsy reasons to a character like Gulpiro.
"You are one of the best alchemists on the continent. Such a person has turned his back on Santea and came to Calderic, and it's good for us just to keep you here. There is no reason Calderic should not take care of you."
"…Even if I have no intention of being your ally?"
"Yeah, because your opinion can change soon. To be honest, you can think of it as me scamming you."
I am well aware of Gulpiro's character.
Even in the main story of the game, he helped the players until the end because of a small debt that wasn't too big.
In a word, he was the type of person who couldn't live without paying back what he had received.
So it didn't matter if he didn't want to be allied with me right now.
Anyway, if I kept him by my side and continued to build trust between us, I could get help someday when I needed it.
"···A scam, huh."
Gulpiro let out a laugh.
"I don't know what to do when a Lord of Calderic say such a thing."
He said so, but he was a person no less than a Lord because of his continental fame.
It's just that, because of an alchemist's lack of power, he was forced to live in hiding from Santea's eyes.
"Can I smoke for a bit?"
Gulpiro pointed to the pipe he had put down.
I nodded, and he put the cigarette to his lips again.
He stared into the air with thoughtful eyes and smoked for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"Does the Overlord know of my existence?"
"No."
"Then what about the Sixth Lord?"
"He doesn't know either."
For some reason, Gulpiro let out a small sigh and continued.
"If I go to the Seventh Lord's territory, I guess I'll have to stay at the Lord's Castle?"
"It can be an option. But you can also stay in any place you wanted."
In an instant, the Alkimas Workshop came to mind.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to secretly connect Gulpiro with her.
Scarlett was a talented alchemist, and it would be great if she could learn even a bit of alchemy from Gulpiro.
As if in thought again, Gulpiro only smoked a cigarette for a while without saying a word.
Then, after a few minutes, he nodded slowly.
"Okay. I will go to Enrock just as you said, Seventh Lord. Even if I refuse anyway, you'll still keep your eyes on me."
…Well, I was not really planning to.
However, he seemed to have taken that into account in accepting my proposal, so I did not have to deny it.
I was about to say that he made a good decision, but before I could, he added,
"But before that, there is one condition."