Homecoming (2)
Several days had passed since I created the Blue Attunement Agent.
In that time I had diligently reviewed every recipe I knew, substituting the Attunement Agent wherever water would normally go. Most combinations failed, yet a few succeeded. One of them was the Lily of the Valley formula—except I had no idea what the finished product was actually for.
I knew neither its purpose nor its effects, only that it could still be compounded when Blue Attunement Agent replaced water. The potency had almost certainly increased… but without knowing what it did, the whole thing was maddening. I even tried tasting it myself to find out, only for Sister Mary to stop me, as expected.
Cigarettes were another success. Replacing water with Blue Attunement Agent worked perfectly and made the aroma far richer.
Beyond that I had discovered nothing new and uncovered no fresh recipes.
“This really is hard…”
Maybe all the constant thinking these past few days was catching up with me.
“You’ve been pushing yourself lately. Please rest a little.”
Sister Mary and Priest Daniel seemed to have settled into life here without trouble. The one who was struggling was actually my older sister.
Restless, was she?
There was no proper training ground near the old bookstore, and a morning run alone clearly wasn’t enough for her.
Not that I could help. Even jogging wore me out!
Anyway, today I planned only simple experiments.
I wanted to find a use for the leftover Mystic Herb. A herb that carried cold within it—what I was hoping for was the ice-attribute bomb from a certain Atelier game.
With barbarians liable to invade at any moment, I wanted an offensive option besides Fram.
That was only the wish, of course. So far I had made zero progress.
“Mystic Herb again?”
“Yes. I’m trying to make something that uses this chill—this cold energy.”
“Is that so? If anything isn’t working, ask me anytime.”
The Master’s advice would certainly help. Creating Blue Attunement Agent in the first place had been possible only because of his knowledge. You really couldn’t dismiss the experience of someone older.
“Yes, I definitely will.”
“Good. I also examined that magic combination you devised. It was quite powerful.”
Ah—the fusion spell that stacked whirlwinds and ground everything to pieces?
“The problem is that without control as exceptional as yours, it is a spell that can easily destroy its own caster.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Yes. Spinning two whirlwinds in opposite directions and holding them together requires a degree of fine control ordinary mages simply do not possess. Truly, even though you are my disciple, your talent is so outstanding it is almost frightening.”
The Master said this, then lightly patted my head and stroked my hair.
Well, double casting was never easy…
Anyway! Time to concentrate for real.
All right—let’s begin the experiment.
I started with the most basic step: combining Attunement Agent and Mystic Herb.
“Blue Attunement Agent, is it?”
“Yes. Please make a generous amount.”
I left the production of Attunement Agent to Sister Mary and began testing combinations with the Mystic Herb myself.
I tried a 1:2 ratio of Mystic Herb to Attunement Agent. A promising reaction appeared for a moment, then collapsed. The proportions were clearly wrong.
“Hmm… more, or less?”
I simply didn’t know…
I decided to reduce first. Cutting the amount of Mystic Herb weakened the reaction as well, and of course the combination failed.
“Reducing isn’t the answer.”
This time I reduced the Attunement Agent instead. The reaction grew stronger, yet still fell short and failed.
Rather than keep making tiny adjustments and failing over and over, maybe I should try one large change.
“Let’s try a 1:1 ratio.”
From the very first moment the 1:1 mixture of Attunement Agent and Mystic Herb reacted beautifully. The reaction continued without break, and the combination succeeded.
The problem was…
“What exactly changed…?”
The rainbow light that always appeared on a successful combination had shone. Yet the contents themselves? A blue liquid barely different from Blue Attunement Agent.
No—perhaps a shade lighter? The Attunement Agent had a deeper color, not cloudy but rich.
The new liquid was still blue, yet pale—almost sky-blue—and carried a faint chill.
I set the freshly finished Attunement Agent Sister Mary had just made beside it for comparison.
“Ugh, this is difficult.”
“Is this a new product?”
“Yes—something made with Mystic Herb—but I have no idea what it actually is.”
Side by side the difference was clear. Attunement Agent was transparent blue; mine was lighter yet opaque.
“Eating it would be dangerous, wouldn’t it?”
“Considering Mystic Herb can be brewed into tea, there probably wouldn’t be any major problem… Still, I’m worried.”
What to do… First I transferred some of the liquid into a glass bottle and left the rest in the pot.
I stirred what remained with a stick, then let a drop fall onto my fingertip.
“It’s cold…”
It was winter, yet the liquid itself was cold. Not ice-cold, but unmistakably chilly.
“The power of the Mystic Herb?”
“Most likely.”
Together with Sister Mary I examined the finished product carefully—and discovered something.
When I infused Holy Power, the liquid froze solid.
“What a curious property.”
It was exactly the sort of effect I had hoped for, yet still astonishing. Next I tested whether the freezing ability would work inside other liquids.
I created water with magic, poured it into a wide bowl, and mixed in a little of the finished product.
Tiny amounts produced almost no reaction even with Holy Power—only a slight cooling. As I increased the quantity, the water grew cold even without Holy Power. Infusing Holy Power then formed a thin film of ice, and with still more of the liquid the entire bowl froze solid.
“The performance is incredible.”
Even Sister Mary looked impressed.
I didn’t stop there. I took a piece of the frozen mixture—the ice of water and liquid combined—and put it in my mouth. Sister Mary tried to stop me, but I simply popped it in.
“Julian, how can you eat that directly?!”
“It’s fiiine.”
A wave of cold swept through my mouth. The taste was nothing special—just ordinary ice.
I let the cold ice melt slowly on my tongue.
“It’s just ice.”
“Is that so…?”
Sister Mary’s tone had gone frosty. My carelessness had clearly displeased her.
“W-Well, someone had to check.”
“There is no need to use the Saintess’s body for that. That useless Daniel can do it.”
Even though only the two of us were present, that was still harsh.
“What crime has Daniel committed?”
“That is precisely what an assistant is for.”
Sister Mary declared it coldly. Arguing was useless…
“Anyway, it’s a liquid safe to consume.”
I looked at what remained.
As for a name… what should I call it?
Something simple—Cooling Agent?
I asked the others for suggestions, but everyone agreed that the plain name Cooling Agent was perfectly fine.
“Then this is hereby named Cooling Agent!”
Looking at the growing stock of Cooling Agent, a quiet smile rose to my lips.
Time to write it down.
A little more time passed after I created the Cooling Agent. Winter was truly ending; spring had drawn near enough that the trees around the old bookstore were beginning to show new life.
I spent those days wondering what my next schedule should be now that spring had arrived, and what research to pursue next—until an unexpected visitor appeared.
Actually, not unexpected. More like the person who was bound to come had finally come.
“Young Master?”
The visitor to the old bookstore was Young Master Maximilian.
His clothes, however, were different from usual. Before he had simply worn somewhat nicer garments; now he was dressed in fabric of clearly superior quality. Well, he had come home—he was entitled to fine clothes.
“Have you been well?”
The Young Master looked a little sad… or perhaps a little angry.
“I’ve been fine. Have you been well yourself, Young Master? Aren’t you busy preparing against the barbarian invasion? It does feel like it’s been quite a while.”
More than ten days—about two weeks? Or maybe a bit longer…
“I’m glad you’ve been well.”
He said he was glad, yet his expression was full of quiet disappointment.
“But why did you never come visit even once?”
Huh? The Young Master suddenly said something strange.
“Pardon?”
“Why didn’t you come to see me—at the barony?”
Umm…? Was that even a question?
“Pardon me?”
Had that been what he was upset about?
“Well, I’m a commoner, aren’t I? How can a commoner simply go call on a noble?”
No matter that we had traveled together as companions and grown somewhat close, that would still have been improper. Especially when the Baron and Baroness themselves lived there. It was not a place one could casually visit.
The Young Master’s eyes went round and his mouth fell open in pure astonishment.
“Why are you reacting like that all of a sudden?”
I might be the Saintess of the Church, but by kingdom rank I was a commoner—and I had lived as one for a long time.
“Commoner…”
“W-Would you like to come inside first?”
I opened the bookstore door wide and invited him in.
“Ah—no. I only made a little time to stop by today.”
“Is that so?”
“W-Well… my parents and my younger sister don’t mind at all, so anytime—anytime at all—you may visit.”
“Come now, how could I?”
I did rather want to see Lady Amelie again. We were fellow disciples under the same Master, after all; I was curious how much she had grown…
Still, I could not simply walk into a noble residence uninvited.
“I see…”
I could not understand why he looked so disappointed.
“Anyway, it’s been a while.”
“Yes. What have you been doing all this time?”
I told him I had been researching alchemy.
“And you, Young Master?”
“I have been training and drilling the soldiers.”
As expected.
“Then… will you be heading to the border soon?”
“It seems so, in the near future.”
“W-Well… do your best.”
We exchanged a few more trivial words in the doorway, then the Young Master left with a regretful expression, saying he had no more time. Having spent months side by side with him, I felt a small emptiness now that he was gone.
But he was a busy man, so I did not try to keep him.
Well… it wasn’t as though we would never see each other again…