Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Time passes.
Now, as the season gradually shifts from spring toward summer, the sun that rises in the morning grows longer, like the dark circles under Professor Georg’s eyes.
It was a morning when sunlight had already begun to pour down early.
“Someone died.”
“It’s been a while……”
“Should we report it first?”
“We should preserve the scene first.”
An unidentified corpse lay sprawled on the ground in a gruesome state.
For students who had discovered a body, they were unnervingly calm, worn down to the point of indifference.
This cruel reality is lamentable.
And I am no different.
“I wonder if afternoon classes will be canceled.”
Even with a murder case breaking out, I felt no particular emotion anymore.
Right now, I’m more concerned about completing Ariel’s medicine.
Since it’s been stuck at a standstill, it can’t help but weigh on my mind.
Besides, I had already expected something like this to happen.
The Saintess, Tillis. The investigation into Ex Machina’s mechanical devices and the resulting technological cooperation. The outsiders coming and going because of it.
Too many incidents and too many people had gathered, creating chaos.
Even Olga Hermod was unable to properly get a grip on things because of that chaos, so there must have been plenty of people looking to exploit the gap.
It befits the Cradle, which had been ranked number one as “the place most people would want to commit terrorism in” for the past year.
“Yuna.”
“Yeah?”
Now she appears just by being called. Does she really have nothing to do?
I asked her, since as an assassin she must have seen and heard various information.
If things differed from my expectations, I might need to be cautious.
“The one who died was a black mage from the Under Chain. He originally belonged to a gang called the Gorn Family, and after being wiped out by the Saintess, he’s apparently been chasing after her ever since.”
“Hmm, that’s enough.”
Thankfully, it matches my expectations.
He must have picked a fight with Tillis for revenge and died just like that.
Recently, too many things have been deviating from expectations, so I’ve been cautious, but this at least is a small piece of good news.
Someone who deserved to die has died.
For now, that’s enough.
“Ah, it’s already this late? I’m sorry. I ended up dirtying the campus because of a personal matter. I was trying to clean it up before everyone arrived……”
As we passed by the scene, the Saintess Tillis appeared in the distance, dragging a large sack behind her.
“This man is someone I defeated, so I’ll take responsibility and handle the cleanup as well.”
It was obvious what the sack was for. She was clearly planning to put the body in it and move it.
There wasn’t a trace of guilt on Tillis’s brightly smiling face.
“As expected of the Saintess!”
The students watching were busy praising her.
What a mad world.
“It would’ve been better if the one who died was a researcher from Ex Machina.”
Then I wouldn’t have to watch this farce for so long.
Am I also far from normal for thinking that?
“Let’s go, we’ll be late for class.”
“I’m not attending class.”
“Me neither.”
I’ll just mark attendance and sleep.
After school.
As usual, carrying a complicated state of mind, I headed to the alchemy workshop, Ars Magna.
But the one who greeted me wasn’t Professor Georg, nor Javir senior, his slave.
“Ah, student Johan. Welcome. This is good timing. Do you happen to know where Professor Georg went?”
“Did he run away?”
“……Yes. I knew he wasn’t very adult-like, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”
“He’s probably just tired. Once he clears his head, won’t he come back on his own?”
“I hope so…… but this is already the fifth time he’s run away.”
“Oh dear.”
Five exoduses I didn’t even know about?
Considering he kept trying after failing that many times, he must really be hiding well this time.
It’s none of my business.
While I was thinking of ways to avoid getting involved—
“Master.”
A woman walked out from inside the workshop.
Messy black hair, dull yellow eyes.
She’s not a student of the Cradle. A face I’ve never seen before.
Yet somehow, she feels familiar.
“Hmm? Ah, Emily. So, did you check inside?”
“It doesn’t seem like he’s hiding in there. Should we search elsewhere?”
“No, that’s enough. It seems he’s determined to hide this time, so let’s not waste our energy.”
“Yes.”
……Emily?
The moment I heard the name, I remembered.
Emily Robinhood.
The younger sister of Stan Robinhood, a close aide of Lobelia, and—
“……”
“Hmm? Emily, what are you doing? Ah! Are you bothered by student Johan?”
“Yes, a little.”
An executive of Ex Machina.
The moment I recognized that, it felt like the color drained from my face, but fortunately I quickly regained my composure.
It’s fine. She’s not someone who would harm me.
Ex Machina isn’t clearly a villainous organization, and even within it, the members’ tendencies differ greatly.
Emily is simply a genius affiliated with Ex Machina, and comparatively closer to being a good person.
“I read your research journal.”
“……My research?”
Compared to other Ex Machina researchers, she has a relatively proper sense of morality.
Of course, as expected of Ex Machina, her manners are completely nonexistent.
That’s how mad geniuses are.
“Yes. I happened to see it while looking around inside. It seemed interesting.”
“I apologize, student Johan. Emily? Didn’t I tell you not to look through others’ research journals without permission?”
“Did you?”
“Ah, it’s fine. It’s my fault for leaving it out where it could be seen.”
“Truly, I apologize, student Johan.”
Coran Lekias pressed his forehead, looking distressed.
Yes, raising a socially inept but intelligent beast must be difficult.
Anyway, Emily is unlikely to be the culprit behind this Ex Machina incident.
She has no reason to hate Tillis, and more importantly, the mechanical device that appeared this time is not her technology.
“May I continue speaking, Johan oppa?”
“Uh? Y-yeah……”
Is she just friendly, or is it because I’m older?
Hearing her use such a familiar term in such a flat tone caught me off guard.
It sounded so natural that I responded without thinking.
I don’t really want to get close, though.
“You’re conducting a unique line of research.”
“Oh……? Emily, do you also have knowledge in alchemy?”
“No, not really. I just found the research interesting.”
“Ah, I see.”
Coran scratched his cheek at Emily’s indifferent reply.
Perhaps their master-disciple relationship wasn’t very old.
Considering Emily’s status within Ex Machina, it wouldn’t be strange.
Becoming Coran’s disciple was probably just a whim born of curiosity.
“Still, if it’s a study that interests even Emily, this old man grows curious as well. Student Johan, if it’s not rude, could you explain it briefly?”
“Ah, yes, well……”
There’s no need to hide that I’m searching for a cure for transcendence disease.
It doesn’t matter if someone finds out.
It would be difficult for anyone to connect this medicine to Ariel anyway.
Ariel hides her symptoms, and I have sufficient reason from the past to study transcendence disease.
So rather than hiding it, I’ve been actively seeking help.
I may not be a genius, but some people, including Javir senior, have exceptional minds.
“However, I’ve hit a standstill. I’m close to completion, but there’s a problem with the composition.”
Surprisingly, the final form of the medicine was discovered early on.
The problem is that I don’t know how to create it.
You can’t just shove in expensive ingredients and expect a result. The order of reagents, neutralizers, catalysts, and various other factors must all be considered.
“There are two key reagents, but they’re opposites, so synthesizing them is difficult.”
“What kind of reagents are you using?”
“One is the heart of a phoenix, and the other is the blood of a frost giant. Both have strict temperature requirements, yet they must be combined.”
One is a burning heart, the other flowing ice.
They must coexist, so of course it’s frustrating.
If they’re mixed improperly, one may overpower the other, both may become unusable, or in the worst case, it might even explode.
“Hoo…… that is certainly difficult. To satisfy both simultaneously, you’ll need to find a different process.”
“Yes.”
In the end, I’ll likely have to combine and decompose the necessary aspects of the two materials through other reagents.
But no method comes to mind right now.
The process would likely be long as well.
“I’d like to offer advice, but I’m afraid I have no knowledge of alchemy.”
“Your words are enough.”
There must be a way.
If I keep forcing through possibilities, I’ll eventually succeed.
Though whether Ariel will last until then is another matter.
“I don’t know if it will help, but to solve this problem, you should go find Professor Georg.”
“What……?”
I tried to ask what she meant, but Emily turned away immediately as if the conversation was over and stood beside Coran.
“Ahem! Then we’ll be going, student Johan. If there’s another chance, I hope we can meet again.”
“Yes, please take care.”
Coran Lekias and Emily left the workshop.
Their appearance felt more like a grandfather and granddaughter than master and disciple.
Following Emily’s advice, I decided to look for Professor Georg.
If it were anyone else, it would be one thing, but this was coming from an executive of Ex Machina.
She said she had no knowledge of alchemy, but that could be a disguise, and even if not, she might have given me an important hint.
There’s nothing to lose anyway.
“Here you are.”
“Huh?”
Finding Professor Georg wasn’t difficult. I have Yuna, after all, who appears everywhere like Hong Gil-dong.
Yuna didn’t ask for anything in return for finding him, but judging from the smile on her lips, she must be plotting something.
Well, it’s not something I can deal with right now, so this much should be fine.
Yuna wouldn’t make an unreasonable request over something this small.
“What is it, Johan? Did that old man tell you to come find me?”
“He didn’t say that, but he is looking for you. Don’t make an old man suffer, just rest a bit and go back on your own.”
“I was going to do that anyway. Ugh…… so why are you here?”
Professor Georg, who had been hiding in a corner of the warehouse, stood up and asked.
He looked no different from a wreck.
At a glance, it looked like he had lost his entire family.
“How is the task you were recently assigned? Any results?”
Emily told me to find him. Of course, it’s unlikely that he knows the answer.
If he did, he would have helped already.
But there is a clue.
It didn’t appear out of nowhere, so there must be some causal connection.
The only thing I can think of is the analysis of the metal material he was assigned.
A mysterious alloy that doesn’t rust even after prolonged exposure to steam, and withstands high pressure and high heat.
Could the identity of that alloy help with my stalled experiment?
If it’s too difficult, I might have to help him instead.
“That? I finished it a long time ago.”
“What? Then why……?”
An unexpected answer came back.
He already finished the analysis? Is he really that capable……?
No, more importantly, if it’s done, why is he here like this?
“They don’t believe me. So what can I do?”
What does that even mean?
Is this the nonsense of someone whose brain has melted from exhaustion?
Looking at his state, that seems likely, but……
“I tried every possible method to figure out what that metal was, you know?”
“Yes.”
“But it was just iron. Nothing special, just high-purity iron. Not even an alloy. But the imperial research department and the Cradle keep nagging me, asking if I’m slacking off.”
Normally, I would have assumed he did a sloppy job, but something feels off.
Looking at him now, it doesn’t seem like he handled it carelessly.
Then that metal really is just ordinary iron……
What does that mean?
If the metal itself isn’t special, then an external factor must be involved.
“Is it an ability?”
The only possibilities are magic or some kind of supernatural ability.
“How would I know? If I knew that, would I be hiding here like this? They wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
If it’s an ability, then it would have to be one that can freely control heat.
I’ve never heard of such an ability, but one thing became clear.
The answer to my problem lies not in the material, but in a person.
Someone who used external power to control the transformation of ordinary iron.
In other words, the Ex Machina researcher behind this incident is the one who holds the answer to my problem.