Currently, the human alchemists staying in Florence are not only from the Saint Francisco and Pompei nations. The other military powerhouse of the Aegean Continent—the Saint Jose Empire on the East Coast—somehow found out about Florence's wealth and its offer of a 50/50 alchemy profit share. After the Twenty-Two Nations Alliance meeting, they shamelessly pushed their royal alchemy experts over as well.
Like Saint Francisco, Saint Jose is also a branch of the ancient Yest Human Empire. This country boasts the most advanced crossbow manufacturing technology in the Aegean, producing the renowned ten-shot crossbow cannon, dual-linked crossbows, and the scarab folding crossbow.