Academy (3)
When the conversation turned to what we should do next, even Emma—who until then hadn't seemed particularly interested—drew closer.
"Honestly, I don't see why we need to avoid the Academy so carefully," I said.
They were supposed to be a gathering of intellectuals, after all. Surely they wouldn't do anything truly terrible?
"It's simply a matter of caution," Maximilian replied.
"I agree that we should steer clear," Sister Mary added.
Both Maximilian and Sister Mary clearly wanted nothing to do with the Academy. I was on the indifferent side—or, if pressed, the side that preferred we simply go about our business without fretting over them. With two against and one ambivalent, the deciding vote effectively fell to Emma.
"What do you think?"
She could be a bit airheaded, but she'd received a proper education, and when a real decision needed making, she usually came through.
"Hmm. I think safety is what matters most."
"...Right."
In other words, she wanted us to avoid the Academy—same as the other two.
"Sigh. Nobody's on my side."
I let out a long breath, and Maximilian looked slightly flustered.
"Well…"
"It's fine."
Then, out of nowhere, he brought up something I hadn't even asked about.
"I did mention that a prince is traveling with the Academy party, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did."
"That prince is the problem."
And just like that, we were off on a political tangent I had zero interest in.
To put it briefly: as a second son with an older brother ahead of him, the Second Prince had been raised to serve as a vassal. He himself, however, had never given up on the throne.
What did that have to do with danger? Well—given my identity, everything. A prince who secured the Saintess of the Metis Church would have a very real shot at the crown.
"And the Second Prince will stop at nothing to build his faction—including seducing women," Maximilian continued.
Apparently there had been victims. He tended not to touch nobles whose families would make a mess of the aftermath, but commoners with something useful to offer had been forcibly abducted more than once.
"And that's allowed?"
"He handles it quietly."
Though he'd overdone it enough that rumors had started circulating. The usual scheme, as I understood it, was to charm the child of a wealthy merchant and then squeeze money out of the parents.
"He's doing that kind of thing to chase the throne?"
"Yes. Using the money to buy off neutral nobles, or to peel members away from the aristocratic faction."
Of course, neither the First Prince nor the king had simply sat back and watched—but the Second Prince had still gathered enough support to call it a proper faction. At present, he was attending the Academy, recruiting any useful nobles or commoners he could find.
"So… we want to avoid the Second Prince."
The Meyer barony might sit out on the kingdom's fringes, but it was still a noble house—worth recruiting, potentially. And if my existence came to light, the danger was very real.
"What a tiresome person."
"I don't follow central politics closely myself, so I couldn't say what the situation is now."
All he knew for certain was that the Second Prince's character left much to be desired—chasing women since his early teens, abducting people, using threats, and so on.
"I suppose a parent finds it hard to see their own child clearly…"
Behavior like that ought to have earned some kind of punishment from the royal family. And yet nothing seemed to have been done.
"Haha…"
If he really was that dissolute, I could understand why Maximilian and Sister Mary were so worried. Just as Sister Mary had feared—he was a dangerous man. And with real political power behind him, the kind of threat that was genuinely hard to deal with.
"So what do we do?"
"Waiting for the Academy to leave is a problem, and leaving first is also a problem. It's difficult either way."
If we left early and their schedule changed, we might cross paths anyway. If we waited for them to go, there was no guarantee nothing would happen in the meantime.
"Wouldn't leaving be safer?" Maximilian suggested.
His idea was that if we didn't head straight for the capital—if we took a more roundabout route—we could eliminate any chance of running into them.
"I think staying here is better," Sister Mary countered.
We'd already had an unpleasant incident not long ago. Going somewhere else was no guarantee of greater safety or comfort than what we had here.
Both options carried risk. It was a hard call. The choice was mine. What should I do?
"We'll stay here."
I made my decision. Since neither path was free of problems, it seemed better to simply remain where we were and keep working on my experiments. If I stayed indoors as much as possible—sending Maximilian or Emma out on errands—wouldn't that keep us safe enough?
"Understood."
I had no idea how long we'd end up staying… but I'd need to be careful with money.
Once the discussion was over, I turned my attention back to alchemy. I had enough sulfur for one more batch, a fairly comfortable supply of Attunement Agent, various herbs and twigs I'd packed just in case, and—lastly—ash powder.
"Hmm."
After that dull conversation, I couldn't seem to get excited about any combination.
"You mentioned you were trying to make gunpowder?" Maximilian asked.
"Yes. I only have enough sulfur left for one more attempt, so I'm stuck."
"What combinations have you tried?"
I gave him a rough explanation. Maybe he'd come up with something useful?
"Hmm…"
Maximilian fell silent, his expression thoughtful. The silence stretched long enough to make the atmosphere a little awkward.
"W-what about… adding wood?"
"Wood?"
"Yes. To grow a flame, you need fuel, don't you?"
I'd already tried a combination with oil as fuel, and that had failed…
"Well, shall we give it a try?"
I wasn't coming up with anything better, so I might as well adopt his idea.
"All right. Then what ratio should we use?"
"R-ratio?"
"You're the one who suggested it."
After some deliberation, he recommended three parts Attunement Agent, one part sulfur, and one part wood.
"Not that I could increase the sulfur even if I wanted to—I've only got one batch left…"
I put the sulfur into the pot first, then cut the twigs into suitable sizes and added those. Next I filled the pot generously with Red Attunement Agent.
And then—the combination.
"Ohh…"
I could feel it. The sense of success. Had wood been the answer all along, not oil?
The process took longer than expected. This was clearly a difficult combination—Scrap Iron had taken time too. Still, watching the materials melt into a thick slurry was encouraging.
When the rainbow light faded from the pot, what remained was a black powder. I carefully leaned in and sniffed it. The moment the scent hit me, something stirred—a memory from my past life. A smell I'd known somewhere before. Familiar and yet not quite.
"Hmm…"
The surest test would be to put a flame to it directly…
"Just a little. Just a tiny bit."
I carefully pinched up some of the black powder and set it on the tip of my spear.
"Fire…"
I cast a simple flame spell and brought it to the powder. The powder reacted instantly—catching fire and flaring up in a bright burst. The amount was so small it burned out almost at once, but—
"It's gunpowder…"
There was no doubt. It was gunpowder.
"Did you truly succeed in making gunpowder?"
"Yes. The way it flared up on contact with fire—I'm certain."
I transferred the powder from the pot into a special pouch. The quantity was small, but it was an extremely dangerous substance. It needed careful handling.
"Mary, I'd like you to hold onto this."
"M-me?"
"Yes. It's dangerous, and if it ever needs to be used, you're the one who should use it."
Sister Mary could produce fire well enough. If a dangerous moment came, she could ignite the gunpowder as a counterattack.
"I have magic of my own, and the two of you are Knight Class—you wouldn't have much use for something like this anyway."
"Understood."
"Besides, now that I've locked down the recipe, I can mass-produce it as long as I have the materials. Don't feel burdened."
"I'm concerned precisely because it's dangerous."
Ah. That angle. She had a point—gunpowder was dangerous.
"Well, let's store it carefully for now. We might use it in other combinations later."
If I'd made gunpowder, the next challenge had to be bombs. Bombs…
Ideas suddenly started blooming one after another. I needed to write them down before I forgot! I diligently noted everything—starting with the gunpowder recipe and every idea that followed.
We might be stuck in this city for a few more days. Perfect time to keep researching alchemy.
Somehow, we'd ended up staying in this city longer than planned. At first it had been because of my body. Now it was for other reasons.
It wasn't uncomfortable or difficult. If anything, it was rather pleasant. What was there to complain about? I'd spent plenty of time living out of inns as an adventurer, and unlike those days, we had money to spare—and I wasn't alone, so loneliness never crept in.
Today, for a change, we weren't all moving as a group. The reason? Splitting up let us procure a wider variety of materials.
And the person currently with me was Sister Mary. I'd originally planned to go alone, but she'd insisted a bodyguard was necessary and volunteered herself. I didn't particularly care who came along, so I left them to sort it out… After a long, earnest discussion between Sister Mary and Maximilian, Sister Mary ended up at my side.
Maximilian had gone so far as to suggest she pair with Emma instead of me. Watching how hard he tried, I was more convinced than ever.
He was clearly interested in Sister Mary. That was why he kept trying to pair Emma and me together, wasn't it? If Emma and I formed a team, he and Sister Mary would naturally end up as the other pair.
For some reason, that put me in a foul mood.
Sister Mary had chosen to come with me, so Maximilian's little scheme had failed… Serves him right.
"Mia? Is that you, Mia?!"
We were walking down the street when a loud voice rang out behind us. Someone calling a name—one that had nothing to do with me—so I ignored it.
The next instant, a hand clamped down on my shoulder.
"Mia! Why are you ignoring me?"
The force on my shoulder was strong enough that I couldn't hold my ground. My body twisted around, and I got a look at the person gripping me.
Flashy blond hair, a handsome face, expensive-looking clothes, jeweled accessories—and escorts who looked like knights. A noble. And not an ordinary one, by the feel of him.
"You're… not Mia."
The young man—still carrying a trace of boyishness in his features—took one look at me, his face falling with disappointment, and gave me a shove. I'd already been off-balance; the push finished the job. I started to topple.
"Julian!"
Fortunately, Sister Mary caught me before I hit the ground.
What an utterly unpleasant man. I knew not every noble was like Maximilian… but did people this rude really exist?
He shot me a sidelong glance and walked off without so much as a word of apology.