"No, it just felt like you were doubting me. Besides, my children can use a bit of magic as well—"

"Alright, bring them!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The captain responded instantly while leaning forward eagerly.

All they could do was hope he would not start making unreasonable demands of the children too.

"More importantly, why would you be disliked if you joined? You might even be called cool."

"I suppose so. I would like to be told that, but..."

For some reason, Qiong Xing suddenly held out his hand toward the captain, then took up the sword that had just been swung around and looked at them with slightly sparkling eyes.

"Does it suit me?"

"..."

"..."

There was no way.

They had seen many kinds of people before, but none who suited it less.

To begin with, the size of the sword did not match his body at all, and it looked quite heavy.

If anything, it seemed dangerous, like he might even harm his allies.

When Rohen nudged the captain as if asking what to do, even the captain himself looked at a loss, his gaze wandering.

"Uh, well... you know... if you are good at things like planning strategies, then maybe you are suited for..."

"Does that even give me a reason to join?"

"..."

"..."

They admitted defeat..

In the end, they asked him to at least come observe from time to time and share his opinions if he had any.

Only then did Qiong Xing finally nod.

After seeing him off, the captain and Rohen began discussing how to submit a new proposal for the mock battles.

...

"...A cooking pot?"

"Yes."

After parting with the others, Qiong Xing had come to ask Mr. Paulo where he could buy a pot, but the moment he mentioned it was for cooking, Mr. Paulo visibly lost enthusiasm.

It seemed he had been excited, thinking Qiong Xing had taken an interest in making things like healing potions.

"My grandmother said you would know more, so I came to ask. If possible, I would like something large and shallow."

"There are some, but... cooking, huh."

Rather than that, Mr. Paulo invited him to help with something, which made Qiong Xing smile.

"Perhaps another time. I would feel bad interrupting your work, so it is enough if you can just tell me where they are sold."

Since he had been told to come all the way to the castle, Qiong Xing had wondered what it was about, but it turned out Mr. Paulo worked in something like a pharmacology department there.

No wonder he often ran into him at the castle.

"What? Did you not come here to get a pot?"

"Yes, I did. That is why I would like you to tell me a shop."

Qiong Xing tilted his head at Mr. Paulo who looked at him with equal confusion.

"Huh? What is it?"

"He thought you came to receive a pot from him."

"...Ah, I see. So he thought I came to be given a pot, not to ask about a shop. No, I would not do that. It is something used for work, right? You should not just give such things away so easily. The prime minister is working hard, so you should do your best as well."

If it were Mr. Paulo’s personal item, then he had bought it because he needed it.

If it belonged to the castle, then it would be even more inappropriate to hand it over freely.

When Qiong Xing said as much, the two of them stared blankly for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter.

What was that about?

And more importantly who was this other person?

Although they had been talking normally, Qiong Xing began to wonder who the person was who had joined the conversation midway.

As he looked at him, the man suppressed a laugh and introduced himself.

"My apologies for the late introduction. I am Coelho Alquimista, a subordinate of Mr. Paulo. Please, call me Coelho."

"Thank you for introducing yourself. My name is Qiong Xing. It’s nice to meet you, Coelho— I mean, Mr. Alquimista..."

"You can call me Coelho just fine. More importantly, if there is something you want, just take it. Those over there are not from the castle. They are things I had made as a hobby. Most of them are failures since they are difficult to use."

It seemed he had experimented with various designs for mixing and preparation, but in the end concluded that the standard shapes were the best.

With that, Qiong Xing was shown the pile of so-called failed pots.

"Something shallow and wide... ah, Albe, what do you think about this one?"

"What do you mean what do I think? I do not even know what kind of dish you are trying to make."

That was fair.

He had intended to make it to show them, so there was no way Albe could answer.

After apologizing, Qiong Xing continued searching for something suitable.

"This one has a good shape, but the size is... this one has no handles, and this one is too deep. It needs to be just the right size for everyone to eat together... ah, this one! Coelho, this is the one!"

He held up the pot with a bright smile, declaring it was perfect, but all three of them gave wry smiles.

It seemed they thought he was a strange kid for being so happy just to receive a pot.

"I am not sure if I will do it well, but if it turns out right, let us all eat together, Coelho."

"That sounds good. Your cooking is delicious, so I will look forward to it."

After having obtained what he wanted, Qiong Xing left the castle in high spirits.

Next was finding the ingredients.

"That is quite an unusual grandchild you have."

Even if they were unnecessary items, he had not expected someone to be that happy about receiving them.

"Is he not interesting? That candy we talked about was also something that child came up with."

"I see."