Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

The king fell silent upon hearing this and listened attentively to Isaac's words.

"Package D mainly means annihilation, or to put it bluntly, complete annihilation," Isaac suddenly laughed, his smile unusually eerie.

Upon hearing this, the king swallowed hard.

"It means wiping out everyone Flügel can see, taking over all their territories, and erasing their countries, along with their names, from the map. That way, they won't sign any peace treaties, since a non-existent country can't sign any agreements."

At this point, Isaac revealed a long-absent sinister grin.

You're crazy...

The king is now facing Isaac's madness head-on, and he feels a sense of fear.

"Don't panic. The final choice is in your hands. Whether they live or die is up to you. I can annihilate 50,000 troops by myself in Mazig City. I can still control the life and death of this small country of Fruger."

Isaac patted the king on the shoulder and said confidently. Isaac would never have dared to say this before, but now, with the Philosopher's Stone in hand, he couldn't help but feel a little arrogant.

At this moment, King Rhodesells vaguely felt that he had the illusion of having the power to decide the life and death of a country with his words.

Isaac continued to persuade him, "Think about it, you and Frugel have been at odds for a long time. If you take over that land, not only will Rhodesel's status on the continent be more than just that of a small country, but future generations will also praise your achievements. This is something that none of the previous kings have been able to do."

Isaac's voice was like the whisper of a demon, slowly eroding the king's sanity.

After a moment of internal struggle, the king exhaled a breath of stale air and said in a deep voice, "I choose B: take back the territory they seized."

“Alright, since you’ve made this choice, then the goal will be to reclaim the western and eastern territories.” Isaac said, putting the booklet away.

"Thank you for your help, Your Excellency Isaac." The king slumped into his chair, this choice having exhausted all his strength.

Chapter 72: Princess Charlotte

The king's choice was within Isaac's expectations, but it was also the most dangerous one.

Option A simply requires letting them know that Rhodesells is a tough nut to crack, then a little manipulation will suffice, allowing for peaceful coexistence in the future without damaging relationships.

Plan C would reduce them to a small amount of territory, so that even if they were unwilling, they would not dare to resist, thus achieving a permanent solution.

The reason why Isaac prefers Plan D is because it's really simple. You basically don't need to use your brain; just keep attacking. Once the enemy is wiped out, you don't have to worry about anything.

After all, Isaac never formally went to school. He could definitely be called an expert in alchemy and military tactics, but as for politics... anyone could beat him ten times over.

As for Option B, its advantage lies in the fact that after reclaiming the lost territory, the two countries will have roughly equal territorial area and overall strength, thus balancing each other out and neither daring to make a move against the other. Peace can be maintained for a very long time. However, it is very difficult to say whether Flüger on the other side can swallow this insult. Isaac will have to think about this carefully.

“I hate using my brain the most!” Isaac complained as he walked in the backyard of the palace.

It was already past midnight, and the sky was dark.

After leaving the king's study, Isaac and Violet prepared to return to the accommodations arranged for him.

Suddenly, Isaac said, "Come out, I've seen you."

The bushes behind them suddenly rustled, and a timid figure emerged.

Princess Charlotte had no idea how she had been discovered. She slowly walked from behind the bushes to Isaac, holding up her long skirt with both hands.

"So it's Your Highness the Princess. By the way, why are you hiding? This is the royal palace."

"..." In fact, Princess Charlotte herself did not know why she was hiding. The palace was her home, and if anyone was going to hide, it should be her.

"If Your Highness has nothing else to do, I'll head back now." Isaac really wanted to go to his room and lie in bed like a couch potato.

"Excuse me, alchemist... are you free tonight?" The princess covered her face with her folding fan to hide her blushing face from him.

She didn't know Isaac's name yet, so she could only call him 'Mr. Alchemist'.

“Just call me Isaac,” Isaac said. “I’m busy tonight.”

"..."

I personally invited you, and this is the kind of answer you give?

"What brings you tonight, Mr. Isaac?" the princess asked tentatively, trying to be patient.

"Yes, I can go back to my warm bed and sleep soundly until dawn."

Princess Charlotte's face turned even redder, this time from anger.

"So, if Your Highness has nothing else, I'll be going now..."

"Something's wrong! Come with me to the pavilion in the back garden right now, right now!" The princess gave a light 'humph,' then lifted her skirt and ran angrily towards the back garden.

Isaac and Violet stared blankly at the princess as she ran away.

Isaac: "What's wrong with her?"

Violet: "I don't know."

Although neither of them knew what the princess wanted to do, they decided to go and see for themselves first.

The gazebo in the back garden. The moonlight shining on it made it look exceptionally beautiful.

The three sat in the pavilion, looking at each other.

"Your Highness, didn't you have something to say? Please speak freely."

"Why is she here too?" Princess Charlotte asked, pointing at Violet with her fan.

“Oh, Violet? She’s my subordinate, it’s quite common for her to be by my side, isn’t it?” Isaac said nonchalantly.

“That’s right. As Mr. Isaac’s subordinate, I should protect his safety at all times,” Violet said.

"..."

Princess Charlotte had already realized that these two people were trying to drive her crazy.

With a sigh, Princess Charlotte looked up at the stars and asked Isaac, "Mr. Isaac, do you think being a princess of a country is really a happy thing?"

“Of course not,” Isaac replied very quickly.

Princess Charlotte's eyes lit up: "You think so too?"

Isaac: "Of course, it would be wonderful if the princess kicked the king off the throne and became the queen herself."

Charlotte: "..."

How incredibly stupid of me to have sought out this person for a heart-to-heart talk.

"Does Your Highness feel that you don't like your current life?" Isaac asked.

"...I already realized from today's birthday banquet that no one came to celebrate my birthday. One after another, they came up to propose to me. They only care about whether they can marry me, the princess. They don't care about my feelings at all!" Princess Charlotte's emotions were slightly out of control, and tears streamed down her face.

After calming herself down, Princess Charlotte continued, "If I weren't a princess, even without this luxurious life, I would still have someone who truly wishes me well on my birthday, and I would probably have an ordinary romance in the future."

"As Princess Rhodesel, I'll probably have to marry a prince from another country for the sake of my nation in the future..."

Isaac looked at Princess Charlotte and said slowly, "I really envy you."

"?" Charlotte thought she hadn't heard clearly. Was she envious of her?

"I really envy you for being able to think of so many things when you were ten years old. I was rather slow when I was ten, and I was still thinking about how to survive." Isaac chuckled.

Charlotte stared wide-eyed at Isaac, who continued:

"Of course I won't tell you any nonsense like 'You should look at those people who can't even afford to eat and feel happy.' People who always compare themselves to those who are weaker than them to highlight their happiness are trash. If you feel unhappy, make yourself happy and create your future with your own hands."

Isaac pointed to himself: "Look at me, I've achieved what I have today through my own hard work, but to this day I still don't know what my birthday is."

"..."

“If you don’t want to be a tool in a political marriage, then fight for yourself and use your own will to destroy the obstacles that are blocking your happiness,” Isaac laughed. “Like I said before, you can be a queen instead of a princess.”

Princess Charlotte's eyes were brimming with light at that moment. Perhaps, as Isaac had said, why couldn't she be happier?

There's no need to wallow in self-pity because of the life you lose as a princess; instead, strive to pursue all happiness.

I, Charlotte Abelfreya Rhodesel, want both the life and the love I have now!

However, upon thinking of love, she blushed and said, "Mr. Isaac, um... there's something I'd like to say..."

As she turned around, she found that Isaac was nowhere to be seen.

Her cute cheeks puffed up instantly with anger, and she threw the fan in her hand to the ground: "That bastard!"

Isaac and his companion were already on their way back.

"These kids these days think so much because they don't have enough homework. Violet, you must never be like her."

"Yes."

Chapter 73: To Fight or Not to Fight

In fact, ever since Isaac arrived on this continent, he has doubted his current identity more than once.

If he were in Amestris, he would undoubtedly be a soldier, and obeying orders to fight on various battlefields would be commonplace. But since coming to this continent, to put it nicely, he's like a mercenary, going wherever there's a mission; to put it bluntly, he's like a brick, moved wherever he's needed.

I got up early this morning to attend a meeting at the palace, where I discussed with a group of palace ministers how to counter Flügel.

If Isaac were to say that there was no need for a meeting, the king could simply say "fight them" and all the problems would be solved. But war is, after all, linked to economics and politics, which are precisely where Isaac's knowledge is weakest.

"Let's listen to what they have to say first."

Upon arriving at the palace, we followed the palace soldiers to the conference room. We could hear voices coming from inside even before we entered.

“Your Majesty, please reconsider. Rashly confronting Flügel will not do us any good.”

"According to them, as long as we give them this territory, we will not be affected by the war."

It seemed there was some disagreement, so Isaac pushed the door open and went inside.

"Sorry I'm late."

Isaac went straight in without knocking. In the conference room, the king sat in the main seat, along with a dozen or so ministers dressed in magnificent attire.

The king, who had been frowning, instantly relaxed upon seeing Isaac's arrival. Meanwhile, the royal ministers glared at Isaac and demanded, "Who are you? Do you know where you are?"

Isaac completely ignored him, casually found a chair to sit down, and gestured for Violet to find a seat as well, acting as if he were at home.

"you……"

"It's alright, Your Excellency Isaac is no outsider." The king gestured to his ministers not to act rashly, then said to Isaac, "Your Excellency, you've come at the right time. Fruger had previously informed us that the war could be stopped."

"Oh? They're not fighting anymore? That's perfect, I can go back now." Isaac didn't seem to mind suddenly having no work to do.

“But…they made a request.” The king seemed somewhat troubled.

"Oh? What are your demands? I just heard about marking off the land, right? It's humiliating, but it's your country's business, so I won't interfere."

Isaac said he wouldn't care, and he really wouldn't interfere. He came here to help Rhodesel fight against Fruger, so if nothing happened in either place, Isaac could just go back and treat it as a vacation.