Chapter 97: Mis?understanding (5)
Chapter 97: Mis?understanding (5)
As I tried to get up, Fay hurriedly pressed down on my head.
“Ah! I’m joking, I’m joking! You can stay as comfortable as you like! Yes! So don’t get up, just stay right there, Junior! Oh, right! Look at this!”
Then, with a bright smile, she held up a kitchen knife she had brought on the tray.
…What is this? Is she threatening me with a knife to keep me from getting up?
Just as my fingertips reflexively reached to confirm the presence of the protective magical tool in my pocket—
Fay continued in a voice brimming with pride.
“Ahem, ahem! Junior, do you know what this knife is?”
“Is it some kind of anti-magic dagger that ignores shields? Are you telling me to stay still if I don’t want to get stabbed…?”
“Wh-what?! Why would I do something like—ah.”
Only then did Fay realize how she looked. With a panicked expression, she quickly hid the kitchen knife behind her back.
“It’s a misunderstanding!”
“I see. So my heart, which trusted you, Senior Fay, was the misunderstanding? I understand perfectly.”
“Noooo… I wasn’t threatening you. See? That’s not what I meant at all….”
Fay’s tone trailed off in a way that felt somewhere between a tantrum and a pout.
Seeing the sheer sense of injustice dripping from her voice, it seemed she really wasn't trying to threaten me with a blade.
This time, I actually stood up from Elisha’s lap and shrugged.
“If it’s not a threat, then why did you suddenly pull out a knife?”
“To show off and report, of course!”
“Show off? Report?”
No matter how I looked at it, it just seemed like an ordinary kitchen knife. This?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Fay let out a sinister giggle and carefully held the knife out. This time, she made sure the handle was facing me so there would be no more misunderstandings.
“Hehe… This. I made it with alchemy.”
“…Really?”
“I’m serious! Want to test it? It’s alchemical steel.”
Alloys made through alchemy are called alchemical steel.
Of course, not all alchemical steel is created equal… but regardless, they all share one common characteristic.
They conduct mana exceptionally well.
Through special processes, they can be made to block mana instead, but that wasn't important right now.
I took the kitchen knife from Fay and slowly flowed my mana into it.
The mana seeped in as naturally as could be.
While it couldn't compare to rare metals like mithril, its conductivity was several times that of ordinary iron.
As I let the mana flow, I realized something. The handle was integrated.
It wasn't a blade fitted into a groove carved into a wooden handle. The blade and the handle were one continuous piece.
As if it had been born in this shape from the very beginning.
Thanks to that, the mana was distributed uniformly all the way to the handle.
“My god. This is the real deal.”
“Right? Well, Junior? Doesn't this make you feel like sponsoring me even more? Huh? Does it?”
Her neck seemed to stiffen with pride as she puffed out her chest and acted smug.
Well, she had every right to. She had produced results this quickly, after all.
Carla, who knew the goal of Fay’s research, touched the knife and marveled at it for a moment. Meanwhile, Elisha, the only one who didn't know what was going on, tilted her head.
“What is it? Is a knife made of alchemical steel really that impressive? It might be a bit expensive, but I don’t think it’s worth this much fuss….”
“It’s not the alchemical steel itself that’s impressive; it’s the fact that it was made through alchemy alone without any separate processes.”
“Pardon? You mean… it was transmuted directly into the shape of a kitchen knife? But the handle here looks like wood?”
“The wood must have been part of the transmutation materials.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“And yet, ta-da! It actually happened!”
“…….”
Elisha, who had been staring blankly at the knife, flowed her own mana into it and nodded.
“This is… certainly impressive. You’ve replaced the work of a blacksmith with alchemy alone. The efficiency of mass production through process simplification and labor cost reduction….”
“Ah, this isn't the goal, just a step in the process.”
“Pardon?”
I kindly provided supplementary explanation to Elisha, who was slightly off the mark.
“Don’t look at the knife itself. Think about the process used to make it.”
The process of melting iron, hammering it, and sharpening the blade was viewed as a series of transformations and replicated through alchemy.
What’s to stop her from doing the same in other fields?
In fact, because the method is different, she might be able to realize manufacturing techniques that were originally impossible.
As the realization dawned on her, Elisha wore a look of admiration.
“You were looking beyond this?”
“I plan to entrust all the equipment and consumables my party uses to Senior Fay from now on.”
“Aha? So you’re keeping an all-purpose crafter as an exclusive?”
As Elisha shifted her gaze, Fay twisted her body bashfully.
“Mmm… but it’s still a bit lacking. If you look closely, the edge isn't very sharp, and the weight balance is off.”
“Is that why you said the fruits of your labor are coming soon, rather than saying they’re already here?”
“Exactly. This is just a prototype. But once I improve the current issues, I’ll be able to make average-level equipment.”
“But we’re mages. We need things like staffs and wands more than ordinary weapons.”
“Ugh… the theory is in my head, but it’ll take some time to actually make them. I’ll need a lot more expensive materials, too.”
Well, that was only natural. Being a mage was an expensive profession to begin with.
“In other words, you need more research funds?”
“Hehe….”
I lightly patted the shoulder of the awkwardly laughing Fay.
“Since you’ve shown me results, I don’t intend to just say no. I’ll add an extra investment to the next sponsorship payment. But… you know the deal, right?”
“Yay! I got it! I’ll gear my next research toward magical equipment!”
Fay hopped up and down in excitement. Every time she did, her magnificent chest bounced along with her.
It was a truly powerful sight.
Even Carla and Elisha seemed overwhelmed by it; I chuckled at their momentarily frozen expressions and changed the subject.
“By the way, Senior Fay.”
“Yeah? What is it, Junior?”
“It’s about time you told me. Exactly what did you hear that made you turn me away at the door?”
“Ah… that… umm….”
After hesitating for a moment, Fay spoke in a cautious tone.
“It was a rumor that… Junior likes to turn high-born women into slaves and torment them, and that your tastes are so violent that the women who can’t endure it eventually break, so you’re always looking for new slaves… that’s what I heard.”
“No, you actually believed that?”
“B-but they said it so convincingly!”
According to what Fay said next:
My uncle saw it… someone’s father heard it… my cousin told me… and so on.
They had laid out the circumstances while mentioning their own relatives.
Since the Academy was full of children from high-ranking families who could actually access such information, it must have felt quite realistic.
The fact that the rumors weren't directly about what I was doing, but rather about the circumstances surrounding me, was also a problem.
It wasn't “Yandel is enjoying a life of debauchery with slaves at his mansion!”
Instead, it was:
Yandel bought a house far too large for one person to live in.
And everyone entering and leaving that house had a slave imprint on their neck.
Individually, these facts were nothing special, but when combined, they formed a plausible narrative.
That was likely why the rumors were distorting so quickly and in such a provocative direction.
Carla, having heard Fay’s story, nodded.
“I think I understand why Miss Fay misunderstood. People tend to doubt what they hear from others, but they believe what they deduce themselves is the truth.”
“Ah…!”
Startled by the sudden mention of herself, Fay fumbled for excuses with a wandering gaze.
“The thing is, right? You raise pigs to eat them, don’t you? You grow fruit to pick it… So, sponsoring me must mean that one day, when I become a great alchemist….”
“I’m going to turn the Great Alchemist Fay into my slave? How?”
“Uh… by finding some fault and telling me to cough up all the sponsorship money I’ve received so far? Since I wouldn't be able to find another place to sponsor me while letting me research freely, I’d eventually be unable to disobey you, Junior.”
“If you become a Great Alchemist, the Alchemist Guild will be begging to take you in….”
But Fay continued as if she couldn't hear my rebuttal.
“At first, you wouldn't make me do anything too extreme. You’d start with slightly embarrassing things so I wouldn't feel too much resistance. Like telling me to take off my lab coat or to use formal speech.”
“Hoh.”
“But it would gradually get worse. Eventually, I wouldn't even be able to dress properly, and I’m sure I’d be forbidden from walking on two legs!”
“Why would I even do that?”
Couldn't I just tell her to do it directly?
“Aaah… by then, I’d take obeying your orders for granted! Maybe I’d even be happy to obey! Because I’d have completely fallen into being a slave, body and soul!”
“…….”
“And so, finally, just like the slaves you take around with you now…… huh?”
Carla and Elisha were staring at her with fed-up expressions, perfectly well-dressed.
Sensing something was off, Fay faltered.
Taking the opportunity, I lowered my voice.
“Senior Fay.”
“Y-yes…?”
Then, I put on the most contemptuous expression I could muster.
“You certainly have a vivid imagination.”
“Ugh?!”
Did she finally realize her delusions had gone too far? Fay flinched as if she’d been pricked by a needle.
I delivered the finishing blow.
“At this point, isn't it more likely that you actually wanted to be my slave?”
“N-no! That’s not it… I….”
“So you’re into that kind of thing.”
“…Waaaaah!!”
Oops. I made Fay cry.