Silco

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Silco (希尔科)
Gender	Male
Origin	Jade Federation 12
Affiliation	Red Tide Fief; formerly apprenticed to a member of the Golden Marrow Guild 12 50
Occupation/Role	Alchemy Apprentice; steward and administrative assistant to Louis Calvin; demon marrow workshop worker 12 40 50
Status	Freed from slavery by Louis; wanted by the Golden Marrow Guild for stealing an alchemical formula 4 12
First Appearance	Identified by the Daily Intelligence System in Chapter 4; appears at the slave market in Chapter 7 4 7

Background / History

Theft and Flight

Silco was an alchemy apprentice in the Jade Federation who occasionally stole his mentor’s magic crystals for spending money. A mysterious black-market buyer offered him enough money for a secret formula to establish his own alchemy workshop. Unable to memorize the complex formula, Silco stole the document itself 12.

His mentor discovered the theft, and the Golden Marrow Guild issued a warrant. The buyer was captured and revealed Silco’s involvement. Fearing that capture could mean becoming a subject of alchemical experiments, Silco disguised himself as a slave and joined a trader’s transport, intending to escape after leaving the federation 12.

The traders thwarted his attempts to escape and repeatedly whipped him, turning his disguise into actual captivity. He concealed his alchemical training because revealing it could prompt them to sell him back to the guild 12.

Service in the Red Tide Fief

Louis’s Daily Intelligence System identified Silco before their meeting, allowing Louis to recognize him among the slaves at Frost Glaive City’s market. Louis bought him and later granted him freedom upon discovering that he could write and keep accounts, appointing him as an administrative assistant 4 7 12.

Silco helped conduct the settlement’s first reward ceremony by reading the selected workers’ names and handing Louis the contracts that were burned to free them. He subsequently surveyed more than a thousand residents, recording their skills in a carefully categorized ledger that Louis used to organize the fief’s workforce 10 11 12.

As one of only two literate people in the early settlement, Silco endured a nine-to-nine, six-days-a-week schedule. He recorded Louis’s plans for local industries and tallied fishing and smoked-fish production. Louis later appointed Sif as secretary partly to reduce his paperwork burden 13 19 23 28.

Return to Alchemical Work

Louis repeatedly hinted that the fief needed someone capable of preparing demon soil, eventually prompting Silco to acknowledge his knowledge. Silco claimed to have learned it at Church School, despite privately recognizing that the explanation was implausible. He agreed to help in exchange for one day off each week 23.

His ingredient list included demon marrow, contributing to Louis’s decision to clear the Frost Giants from the northwestern mining area. Once ore became available, Louis ordered the soil formula adjusted according to Silco’s advice. Silco later tested the mine’s first batch and confirmed that its purity exceeded expectations 23 26 40.

With three newly arrived alchemy apprentices, Silco established a rudimentary refining workshop near the mines. Their first week’s output was a barrel of refined demon marrow worth at least fifty gold coins. Louis rewarded Silco with twenty gold coins and each apprentice with ten 50.

Ahead of the suppression campaign, Louis ordered the team to make Demonflame Bombs using demon marrow and Ice Armor Bear crystals. Silco objected to consuming such valuable materials but accepted a two-day deadline and began research with the apprentices; the bombs’ completion is not shown in the supplied account 50.

Appearance

• Thin build: At the slave market, he is even thinner than the surrounding slaves and appears close to collapse 7.
• Disheveled gray hair: His hair obscures his face while he keeps his head lowered and avoids eye contact 7.
• Slouching posture: He habitually stands loosely or leans against nearby supports 12 50.
• Pronounced exhaustion: Heavy dark circles, yawning, and unsteady steps reflect his administrative workload. He looks more energetic after additional skilled workers arrive 12 19 50.

Personality

Silco is ambitious, self-interested, and convinced of his own alchemical promise. He dreams of becoming a master alchemist rather than spending his life as a frontier steward. Even after Louis frees him, he privately weighs opportunities to escape and pursue that ambition 12 23.

His complaints do not prevent him from doing careful work. Despite exhaustion and irritation with unhelpful survey responses, he produces a meticulously organized population ledger and faithfully records Louis’s instructions 12 13.

Silco initially regards Louis as an unusually softhearted noble, then develops admiration for his ability to organize people and resources. Gratitude coexists with his desire to leave, while his later objections to bomb-making show that he values efficient use of rare alchemical materials over Louis’s immediate military priorities 12 13 50.

Abilities & Skills

Administration and Accounting

Silco’s literacy makes him particularly useful during the fief’s early development 12 19.

• Records residents’ occupations and capabilities, including those of elderly people, women, and children 12.
• Keeps accounts and production records for fishing and smoked fish 12 23.
• Records instructions covering agriculture, fishing, livestock, security, and crafts 13.

Demon Soil Preparation

Silco knows how to prepare demon soil, described as a basic alchemical skill. Louis seeks his expertise because he lacks the precise proportions and treatment methods needed for Frostblood Redberry cultivation 23.

• Supplies a standard ingredient list incorporating demon marrow 23.
• Notes that substitutes are possible but would produce inferior results 23.
• Provides advice used to adjust the formula when local ore becomes available 26.

Demon Marrow Testing and Refining

Silco can assess ore purity and participates in refining it into a saleable powder 40 50.

• Tests ore in a solution whose dark-purple reaction indicates high purity 40.
• Helps establish the fief’s first refining process with three other apprentices 50.
• Early production is limited by shortages of equipment and manpower, alongside dangerous mining conditions 50.

Demonflame Bomb Production

Silco understands the material requirements for Demonflame Bombs and accepts responsibility for producing them under Louis’s orders 50.

• Identifies ignition cores and other materials as necessary in addition to demon marrow 50.
• Confirms that the supplied Ice Armor Bear crystals make production feasible 50.
• Argues that using the materials for weapons, armor, or magical items would yield greater value 50.

Relationships

• Louis Calvin — Purchaser, liberator, and employer. Louis knows Silco’s criminal background but initially conceals that knowledge to retain his administrative help. Silco appreciates his kindness, comes to respect his governance, and successfully negotiates weekly rest before taking on alchemical duties 12 13 23.
• Unnamed mentor — His former alchemy teacher and the owner of the stolen formula. The mentor’s discovery of the theft led to the guild’s warrant 12.
• Unnamed black-market buyer — Commissioned the theft by promising enough money for Silco’s own workshop, then exposed him after being captured 12.
• Sif — Fellow member of Louis’s administrative staff. Her appointment as secretary is intended partly to relieve Silco’s workload 28.
• Three newly arrived alchemy apprentices — Workshop colleagues who help him establish demon marrow refining and begin work on Demonflame Bombs 50.

Notable Quotes

“Fuck, I'm a future alchemist. How did I end up being a border lord's steward?” 12

“All right, but I have one condition. Give me one day off every week.” 23

“Using these two top-grade materials to make Demonflame Bombs... that would be an absolute waste!” 50