Beware the Rose Duchy?

“Of course, I’m not trying to start an academic debate with you. I just wanted to remind you of the risks involved in doing this.”

Lan Qingyou, who was no saint herself, gave a rare word of caution.

“Don’t worry, I know what you mean. I won’t say anything on that front, but I do have the Philosopher's Stone.”

As she spoke, Alisa pulled out a crimson, angular stone about half the size of a palm.

“With this, there’s no need to toil away searching for rare materials anymore. In a way, it is the universal material.”

“...”

Lan Qingyou fell silent the moment she saw the Philosopher's Stone in the other woman's hand.

Universal, indeed.

If a crystal condensed from hundreds of thousands or even millions of souls couldn't be universal, she didn't know what could be.

In truth, the Philosopher's Stone was simply an upgraded version of a Soul Crystal.

However, there was absolutely no comparison between the two in terms of 'quantity' or 'quality.'

Of course, Lan Qingyou wasn't calling the other woman cruel.

In fact, in her view, no method was wrong when dealing with enemies.

After all, survival in any world was the same: it was either you or them, and there was no room for mercy.

“Forget it, let’s not talk about that. What about the other synthesis beasts? Why don’t I see them?”

Seeing that Alisa had her own ways of handling things, Lan Qingyou naturally dropped the subject.

In the end, one had to protect their own life; no one else could truly help.

Even her previous warning felt a bit hollow to Lan Qingyou.

So, she changed the subject, not pressing further about the Philosopher's Stone.

“I let them roam free. They can do whatever they want. If the Hydra weren’t so interesting to look at, I wouldn't have kept even it around.”

Alisa didn't care; she was as free-spirited as they came.

Hearing this made Lan Qingyou’s scalp tingle slightly.

“Right, back to the main topic. Since you’ve brought the Emerald Tablet to set terms, I assume you’ve prepared the items?”

Without even a pause to adjust her mood or expression, Alisa asked Lan Qingyou in the same casual tone she had used to talk about 'roaming free.'

However, Lan Qingyou was no pushover. The moment serious business was mentioned, she turned professional as well.

“Of course.”

With that, she produced the contract she had asked Chu Yuan to help draft the previous night.

They signed two copies, each using their own crystal pen to sign their names. Just like that, the transaction was complete.

With everyone getting what they needed, the smiles on their faces grew much warmer.

Alisa, in particular, held the Emerald Tablet close, refusing to let go.

Lan Qingyou was much the same. She immediately began happily skimming through the several research reports and documents Alisa had handed over. To say she was eager would be an understatement.

In this trade, Lan Qingyou had exchanged a World Item for over thirty technologies, including the [Portal Magic Research Report], [Biological Alchemy Overview], and the [Chimera Synthesis Technology Collection], as well as several self-developed spells.

She even received the method for crafting the 'Philosopher's Stone,' the greatest trump card that the Aurelius family had pursued for generations.

It could be said that she had profited immensely.

However, the first clan leader of the Aurelius family had only heard rumors of the Philosopher's Stone from others. They hadn't realized that on the Kalim continent, the Philosopher's Stone was merely a top-tier material in the alchemy world that could substitute for other materials.

While it was indeed powerful, it wasn't enough to grant eternal youth.

Much less something like bringing the dead back to life.

Therefore, Lan Qingyou didn't care much about that particular technology.

But if she ever found herself short of a top-tier material while upgrading her shelter, it could serve as a useful emergency resource.

In any case, besides the various transmigrators and evolved beings, this continent was still home to many races that had degenerated to the point where they could hardly be called human.

If she truly lacked materials, she could just reach out and snatch some, refining them in an instant. It wouldn't be much trouble at all.

That was right.

Lan Qingyou had never been a 'good' person.

While she hadn't reached the point of doing anything by any means necessary to achieve her goals,

she was a person who knew how to adapt.

As for whether it was worth trading a World Item like the Emerald Tablet for technology, only she knew for sure.

But for Lan Qingyou, while this World Item was indeed important to an alchemist,

there was no denying that beyond the attribute bonuses, the Emerald Tablet itself and the thirteen maxims inscribed upon it held no reference value for her.

To put it simply, she had spent no less than ten months looking at it in the Gloomy Forest, and she hadn't been able to decipher a thing.

That was why Lan Qingyou had the idea of trading the Emerald Tablet for technology.

At the time, she had only thought about getting portal magic, as she needed it for her current situation.

But after coming out and calming down, she felt that would be a losing trade.

Thus, the current deal to trade for all the technologies was born.

Exchanging a static object for so many foundations and self-developed spells was, in Lan Qingyou's opinion, well worth it.

After all, no matter how precious a World Item was, it could be made—like Ingrid’s Golden Horn of Giallihu.

But knowledge was something that could be passed down eternally.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Finishing the last of the tea in her cup, Lan Qingyou hopped onto her magic broom.

“Leaving already?”

“Yeah. The business is done, so I might as well wander around a bit.”

“Wander around? Not using the teleportation circle?”

“Correct.”

Lan Qingyou nodded seriously.

After returning yesterday, she had realized she was slightly out of touch with the Kalim continent.

Since everyone had come to this world with the knowledge of a mature civilization, it was only natural that development would be rapid.

But being out of touch was not what Lan Qingyou wanted.

Now that she was out and had the materials in hand,

she might as well follow Adele’s example and travel. She could learn about the local customs while quickly catching up on how the world had changed during her ten-month absence.

“In that case, you should be careful of the people from the Rose Duchy.”

“The Rose Duchy?”

This was a term she was hearing for the first time, and it sounded quite fresh.

“A bunch of madmen wearing clothes embroidered with red roses. they claimed a piece of land for themselves and broke away from the Supreme Council to establish their own duchy.”

“This independence isn’t just territorial. They’ve decoupled from the Supreme Council in terms of economy, currency, and everything else. They don’t even recognize the Supreme Council’s legitimacy.”

Alisa shrugged, clearly not caring much about such matters.

“How petty.”

“Hmm?”

“If it were me, I’d start as a Kingdom at the very least. What’s the point of being a Duchy? Picking and choosing like that, it’s neither here nor there.”

Lan Qingyou spoke with disdain.

“What about the Supreme Council? Didn’t they step in to crush them? I doubt they’d like someone snatching power from their hands.”

“They tried, but they were defeated by mana-disrupting technology. In fact, quite a few of the Supreme Council’s warriors became warriors for the duchy on the spot after being captured.”