“Then, I will take my leave.”
Count Bradley, who had brought the item ordered by the Emperor, exited the Emperor’s chamber, his thoughts lingering on Rupert.
It was possible that Rupert could have succeeded him as a courtier.
Now, for the first time, the Emperor had taken an interest in the comic book Rupert had created.
‘That comic book has finally concluded; I’d like to see it myself.’
As soon as the Emperor’s command was issued, the limited edition set of Iron-Blooded Alchemist was procured.
Count Julius, a devoted reader of Iron-Blooded Alchemist, had read all the concluding volumes that morning.
So, he was very curious about the Emperor’s reaction.
‘This could be His Highness’s story.’
Being close to the Emperor, he could understand the conflicting emotions between the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
Julius believed the answer was contained within this book.
###
“This…”
The man couldn’t continue his words. Closing the last page of the book, he felt an emotional wave like never before.
He thought of his first love, Rosa, from next door, and memories of playing in the fields with childhood friends came flooding back.
‘Is it regret or emptiness?’
This feeling, which he couldn’t express accurately, didn’t seem to belong solely to him.
Every new release day of Iron-Blooded Alchemist, people would gather to read comics together, and it was a common sight.
Usually, after finishing, they’d excitedly chat or even argue about various comic books.
However, today, despite everyone having read the book, the atmosphere was so quiet it felt eerie.
Was the book boring?
No, everyone’s expression reflected disappointment rather than annoyance or anger.
“Brother!!”
Alphonse Elric cried out pitifully, but Edward was pinned under a collapsed wall and couldn’t escape.
He needed to activate the alchemical circle to clear the wall, but he couldn’t let go as another wall was blocking him.
Slowly approaching Edward was the fairy from the flask that had swallowed the God.
This was a life-or-death crisis.
– Clear a path for me.
Shaking her head was the Eastern Princess, Mao, in response to Alphonse’s words.
Yet, at his indication that the end was near, Mao, with tears streaming down her face, threw a dagger at Edward’s golem leg pinned beneath the wall.
“What is this… No, Alphonse!!!”
“We have to win, brother.”
Smack!
With a sound of clashing iron armor, dust began to fade from his toes.
In contrast, for a fleeting moment, Edward’s golem leg that was pinned beneath the wall vanished, allowing him to escape.
Edward merely howled towards his younger brother.
– Is this what you’re satisfied with?
A scrawny boy guarding the gates of heaven.
Alphonse answered.
“Yeah, you can trust me now.”
The fairy from the flask looked incredibly powerful.
Yet, scenes where the brothers and characters battled against it, sometimes sacrificing, sometimes using wisdom, and sometimes relying on faith, gripped the viewers tightly.
Especially, the final exchange between the protagonist Edward and the gatekeeper was neither sad nor funny but left everyone in tears.
“Alchemists thought they were omnipotent, living in delusions as if they were gods.”
It took away the sight from a soldier who dreamed of the Empire’s future, a child from a mentor who once dreamed of becoming an adult, and warmth from a brother who just wished to embrace his mother again.
“So, through my journey to regain what was lost, I realized it had been beside me all along.”
– Use the Philosopher’s Stone. With that, you can bring back your brother and even your mother.
“No.”
At the gatekeeper’s words, Edward shook his head.
– So, what will you sacrifice in return? You haven’t forgotten the law of equivalent exchange, have you, Alchemist?
“Hey, here’s the cost.”
Edward pointed behind him with his finger, and the gatekeeper smirked at his form.
– You’re not aware that if you give that up, you’ll revert back to being an ordinary human, are you?
“I was an ordinary human from the start. Weak, incapable of protecting even a little girl.”
– Ha ha ha!!!
The gatekeeper burst into a loud laugh at Edward’s answer.
Though he had no face, the satisfaction of the response was palpable.
– You’ve realized, Alchemist! Take everything.
“Neither the fairy in the flask nor the alchemist is all-powerful.”
“The gatekeeper was never deceitful from the beginning. All were so focused on the surface that they couldn’t see the essence.”
“A common person unable to protect a single little girl…”
The interpretations regarding the final part differed between them.
However, what Iron-Blooded Alchemist aimed to convey was something everyone could feel.
“People grow through trials.”
“Arrogance and challenge are distinctly different; the fairy in the flask was arrogant while the protagonist never ceased to challenge despite his trials.”
“Ugh… And that last scene was just insane.”
As time passed, people began recognizing the lingering echoes of the conclusion brought by Iron-Blooded Alchemist and started lively discussions again.
Thus, they continued talking about comic books far into the night longer than usual.
Finally, having finished all their discussions, they realized a terrifying fact.
“But what do we do now?”
That there was no more Iron-Blooded Alchemist.
###
Amelia had several dreams upon entering the Imperial Academy.
For instance, imagining that she would coincidentally take classes alongside Rupert and sit right next to him.
– Oh my.
She had hoped to diligently take notes together and casually bump hands, or ask each other questions during assignments and share small talk.
“Thank you for signing up for my class, Miss Amelia. I look forward to your participation.”
However, the biggest issue was that the Rupert she met again was a professor, not a student.
Due to their differing positions, the only time she could see Rupert was during liberal arts classes.
In a bid to at least see his face, Amelia had even signed up for the manga club he made.
And today, her roommate in the same room shared a bizarre rumor.
“Lady Bluewell, I heard that the teaching assistant who is Yustaf’s disciple threatened a student during class!”
Since it was the same department of magic, but Amelia had taken different classes aside from the compulsory major ones, she was intrigued by the first hearing of the story.
“Did that person threaten a student?”
If Yustaf’s disciple was what she remembered, then it had to be a woman named ‘Jenia.’
It was quite strange to hear that she, renowned among Yustaf’s formidable students for her outstanding talent, threatened a student.
Curiosity began to arise within her.
“I don’t know the details, but apparently the student spoke poorly of one of the professors.”
Amelia thought there were significantly too many naive pups at the Imperial Academy who were unaware of danger.
Nobles, especially those talented enough to enter the academy, exhibited an excessively arrogant and haughty demeanor.
The faculty recognized for their skill within the Empire should not be a subject for students, who were beneath them in either honor or ability, to discuss.
“What in the world could have been said?”
“Well, they fainted and were immediately taken to the infirmary to be treated by the healer, but thankfully it’s only said they fainted.”
“Certainly sounds a bit overboard.”
Of course, the student who insulted a professor was in the wrong, yet to the point of threatening and causing someone to be sent to the infirmary seemed excessive.
Amelia felt it was ridiculous.
‘If that person was insulted, I wouldn’t have held back either.’
Once again, Amelia fell deep into thought about Rupert.
Though she fundamentally disliked bringing harm to others, if someone conspired against Rupert, she felt like she could not hold back.
Thinking of Rupert, who had warmly embraced her during her troubles, still left a lingering warmth in her.
‘For him, I wish I could give my all, even if it meant incurring a debt.’
The last volume of Iron-Blooded Alchemist she received today.
In truth, while she preferred the fairy tale books Rupert had written previously, she read the comic books without fail since they were his works.
And seeing the end of that comic today, she couldn’t help but feel fluttering once more.
‘That was the most romantic confession I’ve ever seen.’
The line the protagonist conveyed bashfully to the female protagonist, Winry Rockbell, struck deep within her heart.
Unknowingly, she even began to visualize herself as the female protagonist and Rupert as the male protagonist.
When she thought of Rupert, she wished that the time for their liberal arts class would come quickly to see him.
And she wanted the club activities to start as well, to get closer to him.
Each passing day filled her with excitement while the waiting time felt weirdly boring, entering her like the warm weather of spring.
###
Bam!
In the now crumbling secret space of the Third Prince.
He had brought all his collections from the Imperial Family to the academy, so he needed a safe place to keep his items.
With the privileged consideration of having been assigned a relatively spacious accommodation, creating a secret space was not difficult anymore.
However, it felt odd that there were now numerous fist-sized holes punched into the walls.
The culprit of those marks, the Third Prince Edric, could no longer suppress his frustration and punched the wall again.
Bam!
The sturdy material meant it only made a dent, unlike a normal brick wall that could have collapsed from such a blow.
“… How can I move forward knowing the conclusion?”
Edric felt a deep sense of frustration and powerlessness for the first time ever.
Even after entering the academy, he had continued his hobbies, so of course, he’d bought the latest release of Iron-Blooded Alchemist today.
However, he hadn’t even dared to open the book yet.
Normally, he would cherish the limited edition and display the hardcover on a shelf before looking at the paperback.
But he couldn’t muster the courage to open the book.
– It was a good ending; the scene where Edward and Winry confessed to each other at the end was a masterpiece!
He had randomly overheard the content of the new release.
He knew it was the conclusion; the flow of the story led him to expect their last scene would have a happy ending.
But that was why he couldn’t open the book.
He was too afraid to see the conclusion.
The moment Winry would smile at the protagonist was too cruel for him.
Thus, while standing blankly, staring at the illustration of Winry affixed to the wall, Edric finally made a decision, sitting at the desk lit by magic lights.
He took out the book and finally opened the first page.
“If this is a trial, I shall accept it willingly.”
Edric drew courage from the figure of Winry. He believed this was a trial akin to what was shown in Iron-Blooded Alchemist.
‘Without pain, no one can learn anything. Winry, I will make even this pain mine. Only then will I become the true man suited for you when I overcome this suffering.’
– Wait for me, Winry, I will certainly come to meet you!
The translation tool has now been upgraded. It can now handle glossaries more effectively, reducing translation errors such as incorrect pronoun references and improving consistency with terms like character and place names.
How about that? Read https://cyborg-tl.com/series/the-protagonists-party-is-too-diligent/ and share your thoughts
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
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chapter 65? I think the numbering is wrong
Maybe consider retranslating older chapters with the improved tool
Good idea
Also this chapter is labeled wrong as 65
Thank you for the chapter…btw, translator, do you have a discord server for this novel?
No, too lazy too make one.
Why is this novel not appearing on searches or on the main page?
It got dmca
its time for steins gate series