Iron-Blooded Alchemist
Iron-Blooded Alchemist
Was life in a medieval fantasy world truly more boring than the modern age?
It was not an easy question to answer.
Of course, with all the entertainment provided by technologically advanced modern civilization, people today had an endless stream of things to enjoy.
But it would be a mistake to forget that a medieval fantasy world was plenty eventful in its own way.
For example, if a wild boar came down into a village in Korea, it would be a major incident covered on the news.
But this was a world where people saw a wild boar as a meal and gave thanks for their daily bread.
How could a world where even monsters descended upon human villages and attacked them, only to become tavern gossip, be called boring?
And when guillotine executions—something modern people saw only in manga or movies—were regular public events, medieval life clearly had areas modern civilization could not compete with.
In game terms, medieval fantasy stayed interesting because the difficulty was set to hardcore; modern civilization stayed interesting because it was packed with DLC.
"N-no!!! This isn't... you devil!!!"
In that sense, the release of <Iron-Blooded Alchemist> Volume 3 had effectively added brand-new DLC to this world.
"Nana!!!"
"Tucker, you son of a bitch, you're a creature that should not exist in this world!"
"What did I tell you? Even the name 'Chimera Alchemist' sounded ominous."
It had always been common for people who bought the new <Iron-Blooded Alchemist> volume first to gather in small groups and read it together.
But the reaction to Volume 3 was on a completely different level.
People had already been enthusiastic about the series, which was full of unconventional and novel entertainment.
Earlier developments had been predictable enough that “shocking” felt excessive. Volume 3 was different: it was like taking a lightning bolt straight to the head.
『"Ed...mund? Big Brother?"』
With just a single scene and a single line of dialogue, screams burst from the mouths of everyone gathered together reading the manga.
Some cursed.
Some said nothing at all.
Others gasped in admiration—it was a scene of utter chaos.
Eventually, the atmosphere settled and they resumed reading, only for exclamations and horror to spill out once more.
The newly introduced character, Skal.
A western native with the distinctive epithet “Deconstruction Alchemist,” his actions shocked readers all over again.
『'Alchemy is the power to create something? Is that why you turned that little girl into a chimera? Is such an atrocity the alchemy you worship?'』
The words of this persecuted man, consumed by resentment, expressed a kind of philosophy readers had never encountered before.
And despite clearly being the villain who killed Nana, who had been turned into a chimera, people began to be captivated by Skal.
And at the end came the empire’s Grand General, King Brandon.
His only previous appearance had been a brief one in Volume 2, when the protagonist brothers earned their Imperial Alchemist certification, so he had left little impression.
But
when he appeared swinging twin swords at terrifying speed and forced the formidable Skal to flee almost as soon as he attacked, readers fell for the sudden reversal all over again.
And then there was the shape of the eye glimpsed when he briefly removed the patch over one eye.
"That! Isn't that the symbol of the Artificial Human group?"
"Right! Luxuria of Lust from Volume 2 had that same symbol on her chest!"
"Could the Grand General have been an Artificial Human?"
Volume 3 was an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end.
Normally there should be breather sections and soft, lighthearted moments.
It never touched the brakes, and by the end of a single volume readers were breaking out in cold sweats.
And then people realized.
The fact that they would have to wait at least another month to read the next volume.
"Wouldn't the author have the next volume?"
At someone's sudden remark, the surroundings fell into silence.
Then they remembered that the author was a nobleman from a count’s family, and reality set back in.
No matter how badly they wanted to know what happened next, they could not exactly attack a nobleman.
Surely no one would be insane enough to risk their life breaking into a noble's mansion to read the next volume.
***
"You can throw me in prison! Just please tell me what happens next!!!"
The desperate voice of a man shouting his last words as he was dragged away by the guards.
Rupert watched the scene and let out a sigh.
"I knew better than to say something could never happen, but I still didn’t expect anyone to actually break in."
After <Iron-Blooded Alchemist> became a massive hit, I had expanded the territory guard and hired knights just in case. That turned out to be a very good decision.
With our old numbers, we probably would have missed an intruder like this.
"Aaaargh! How can you call yourself human! Bring Nana back to life! What did that poor child ever do wrong!"
"You know, don't you? How to make the Gold Transmutation Stone? Please, just give me a clue!"
"Why can't I use alchemy when I drew the Transmutation Circle from the manga exactly as it was!"
And it was not only people trying to steal a look at what happened next.
Every day, crowds came either to protest what happened in the manga or because they thought it was real and wanted me to reveal its secrets.
'Don't Try This At Home.'
Only now did I understand why pro wrestling back on Earth showed a warning before the match.
I did not even need to go as far as pro wrestling. I could finally believe those stories about actors who played villains in morning dramas getting kimchi slapped on the street.
Even modern people, who knew perfectly well that fiction was fiction, sometimes got carried away and caused trouble.
I had underestimated how strongly manga would affect people in this world, where many of them did not even think of it as fiction.
I had expected children to imitate lines or gestures at most. I had never imagined adults would take it this seriously.
"If this gets released, I might get murdered."
I thought that while looking at a figurine I had commissioned on pure otaku impulse, even though part of me had known from the start that it might be better sealed away.
A meticulously crafted figurine recreating the scene of Nana wrapping both arms around the neck of her pet dog, Alexandor.
It was so well made that I had briefly considered selling it, but judging by the current reaction, there was a 99% chance that would end in disaster.
Even my father, after reading Volume 3, had said—
"Rupert, Nana can come back to life, right? No, that was a silly question. You’re not a devil. There’s no way you’d give her such a cruel ending. Hahaha."
I could still vividly remember the look in Father’s eyes as he spoke, as if to say, “If you don’t bring her back, what kind of human being are you?”
Even the household servants had grown subtly colder toward me after reading the volume.
Even Sena, who had become Ada’s playmate, reacted after finishing Volume 3—
"M-Master Rupert, surely the reason you gave Lady Ada Rash wasn’t..."
"That’s not it!"
I had simply watched Ada playing with Poppy with a fond smile, and Sena had practically recoiled in horror.
"Rupert, now I believe it. You really are the most vicious human I’ve ever known."
After reading the manga, Kroon had also “complimented” me by saying I was the most human—and most vicious—human he had ever met.
If the manga had not been bringing in so much money, I might have collapsed from sheer frustration.
But whenever I looked at the towering pile of money the company head handed me and washed down a Vitality Potion, my mood improved almost instantly.
And now that Kroon had joined us, several technical bottlenecks had eased enough that I could finally guarantee the artisans proper rest.
"All right. Everyone, go home on time today."
The artisans practically jumped at the idea of leaving on time.
They only glanced at one another as if asking whether they were really allowed to go, so, in a generous mood, I gave them bonuses and practically shoved them out the door to enjoy time with their families.
"Then I’ll be off too."
"Not you, Kroon."
"Why? Why only me?!"
"You need to work. Don’t worry. I’ll stay with you."
I could forgive many things, but never the grudge of those receipts. A dwarf addicted to shopping could only be cured by an addiction to work, so with tears in my eyes I decided Kroon was not going home.
Maybe that was why Kroon had managed to produce such excellent figurine merchandise.
It was genuinely astonishing. Even with those stubby hands, a dwarf could shape details that human craftsmanship simply could not reproduce.
Kroon had wailed that he wanted to research the Golem Prosthesis instead of making dolls like these, but where did he think the research money was supposed to come from?
He needed to be a good dwarf and earn at least his own research budget.
'Once Iron-Blooded Alchemist is finished, I really could commission the Magic Tower to do the research.'
It was a sum I could never have contemplated before, but manga and merchandise sales were climbing at an incredible rate. Once the merchandise shop opened and began selling figurines too, it would be within reach.
Of course, it was still a considerable investment.
There was exactly one reason I was willing to pay the Magic Tower so much to commission research.
'Animation'
Manga was good, but the enjoyment animation provided was in a completely different realm.
Back on Earth, there had been an animation that recorded explosive success.
It was an anime called PeXt, and people unanimously pointed to one reason for its massive success.
It was simple: a character I loved would come alive and move.
Characters who had existed only as illustrations in the original game actually moved and spoke. Fans fell completely in love with that, and the anime became enormously popular.
That was the power and driving force of animation.
I wanted people in this world to share that thrill—the scenes I had once only imagined while reading manga unfolding before my own eyes.
Of course, that was still a long way off.
I had discussed it with the company head before, and the cost of producing everything needed for animation was much higher than I had expected.
In fact, I probably could not even have launched the manga business without help and funding from the imperial family.
'Come to think of it, the imperial family's money really was sweet.'
It felt like being a newbie getting carried by a max-level player in a high-level hunting ground.
If I could siphon off the imperial family’s money one more time, I could get the animation project moving in no time.
But tempting as that was, I had to restrain myself. Last time had worked only because the justification happened to fit perfectly.
If I tried to skim subsidies for no good reason, my head would end up on the guillotine.