The Chocolate Alchemist
“Miss! It’s time for dinner.”
“Yeah. I’ll be right out.”
It was a bit early for dinner, but I was starving, so the coachman’s announcement felt like the best news in the world.
The road to the next city was long and rough again. For someone with as little stamina as me, long-distance travel itself was pure torture.
Of course, even though the kids from the combat class rode in carriages too, they often hopped out to walk and chat with the knights or stretch their bodies whenever they felt like it.
[Master, tonight’s dinner is cream stew.]
[Really? That’s my favorite.]
Rai, who had gone ahead to check the menu, delivered the happy news straight into my mind.
Since we had restocked ingredients not long ago in the previous village, the meals were quite generous. I climbed down from the carriage and shuffled over to join the food distribution line.
The line was split into two. One side was for the comprehensive class, the other for the combat class kids.
It hadn’t always been separated like that, but because the two classes tended to be wary of each other, it had naturally split. No one had ordered it, yet both the lines and the meals ended up completely divided.
I, of course, joined the comprehensive class line.
“It’s her. That one.”
“I heard she almost got killed by the Bee Swarm.”
“For real? I knew she was unlucky, but still…”
I could hear the combat class kids from the next line whispering. They never get tired of this, do they? Come to think of it, most of the kids who mocked me were from the combat class.
The comprehensive class kids didn’t exactly curse me, but they didn’t approach me either.
It was an undeniable fact that I didn’t really fit in with my classmates and remained somewhat of an outsider.
Before I knew it, it was my turn. I received a bowl of stew packed with ingredients, some bread, and an apple. I glanced briefly at the kids eating in their little cliques under the trees, then turned toward the carriage.
“You murderer.”
But one particularly clear voice stopped me in my tracks. Without thinking, I halted and turned my head to find the owner of the voice.
Let’s see… this little rat-faced brat…
I was trying to keep my expression neutral, but I couldn’t stop the corner of my mouth from twitching.
A boy with purple hair was glaring at me with fierce intensity.
Just by looking at him, it was obvious he wanted to show off how brave he was.
“I’m talking to you. They say you killed someone?”
Strictly speaking, I didn’t kill anyone, you stupid purple idiot.
“I heard it from the adults.”
“So what?”
“What do you mean, ‘so what’? Killing people is wrong! Don’t you even know that? I heard the comprehensive class kids were supposed to be geniuses, but I guess not all of them are. How dumb!”
Who’s calling who dumb?
The purple-haired boy looked very familiar. He was always at the center of the group that badmouthed me.
Seeing the thin gauntlets on his hands, he was probably from the combat division, and there was a high chance he was friends with that Leo kid who got eliminated because of me.
This tiny punk seemed to expect me to be shocked by his accusation or run away crying, but I was simply annoyed.
It looked like he had no idea just how nasty my temper could get.
“Who decided that killing people is always wrong?”
“It’s common sense, obviously!”
“Oh really? So you’re never going to kill anyone? No matter what situation comes up?”
“Of course not. I’m going to be a righteous person. Violence should be solved through conversation.”
“Pfft.”
Is that even possible? In this world, of all places…
“…What are you laughing at!”
If there was one thing I had realized from this incident, it was that this world was far more dangerous and brutal than the one I had lived in during my previous life.
It was a place that strictly followed the law of survival of the fittest.
Humans weren’t even the strongest creatures, yet humans were still strong, violent, and primitive.
There was so much chaos that even stronger violence existed to suppress it.
The way nobles could so easily cut off commoners’ heads looked like nothing but a reign of terror to me.
To survive, you had no choice but to kill first. I had been nothing but a child until now.
The academy was a safe cage, a greenhouse. The moment you stepped outside, all kinds of dangers lurked.
There was a reason nobles stuck together like that.
“Your way of thinking is just so admirable. You know what? I should write a letter to the Bee Swarm. I’ll tell them I know a kid who’ll die peacefully without resisting. They’d love that.”
“…What?”
“The Bee Swarm loves young nobles, I hear.”
“Who would be scared of something like that! You’re disgusting! No wonder you’re a murderer!”
Hey, your legs are shaking.
“Those guys, you see, they hate nobles so much that they cut them down from the root…”
“Shut up! Shut your mouth!”
I took a bold step toward him.
“Oh, and did you know? They say the Bee Swarm soaks the eyeballs of the nobles they kill in liquor and drinks it.”
“Y-you’re lying!”
Of course I was making it up. I just knew plenty of scary urban legends that kids would be terrified of. It was basic knowledge for any Korean student.
“And they say they cut off the heads and display them on shelves like decorations.”
“Waaah! Teacher Dinel!”
I hadn’t even gotten to the really scary parts yet and he was already running away. What a pathetic coward.
“Jeanie Crowell!”
I watched him scamper off to tattle on me, then snorted and bit into my bread.
Talking about severed heads had killed my appetite, though.
I was sitting alone inside the carriage, forcing myself to eat, when it happened.
[Master, someone…]
With a clatter, the carriage door opened and some girl barged inside without permission. It happened faster than Rai could even finish his mental warning.
“…Who the hell are you?”
“Hi!”
“Wait a second, you can’t just barge into someone else’s carriage…”
“Do you like sweets? It’s not much, but consider it a gift.”
The girl with the flashy pink hair looked incredibly bold.
What she confidently held out was a chocolate box with elegant lettering on it.
“…Make yourself comfortable. After all, this is my carriage.”
“Thanks!”
If she had given me candy, I would never have let it slide, but in this world, chocolate was an ultra-luxury dessert even for nobles.
It was a high-class snack I had only tasted a few times myself. And she had brought an entire box, not just one or two pieces!
“You’re really giving all of this to me?”
Chocolate was expensive because the raw ingredients were rare and it melted easily, making storage difficult. There were no refrigerators or freezer wagons in this world, after all.
“Yep! Eat as much as you want.”
I didn’t refuse. I tore open the packaging right where I sat.
As I popped the little chocolates with pictures stamped on them into my mouth one after another, I wondered if this was how Rai felt when he saw rare metals.
“I’m so glad you like chocolate!”
“I like it because I barely ever get to eat it.”
The girl smiled warmly as she watched me. Now that I thought about it, I vaguely remembered seeing her a few times in the alchemy class. She might not know me well, but she could be close with Mia.
“I remember now. You’re from the alchemy division, right? Are you Mia’s friend?”
“Not exactly, but I wanted to ask you something, Jeanie.”
“Huh? When did we get close enough for you to call me Jeanie…”
“My family is the one that makes this chocolate. Have you heard of the Peiru family? My full name is Iruse Peiru.”
“…Ask me anything. What are you curious about?”
Two pieces of information clicked in my head at once.
The incredibly wealthy Peiru family, and the name Iruse—the one Mia considered her rival. Mia kept bringing her up, so even though I didn’t know her face, I definitely knew the name.
“Um, I have a lot of questions. Is that okay?”
“I’ll listen until I finish eating all this chocolate.”
“What if I give you a few more boxes in advance?”
“Since we’re friends, you can talk to me comfortably anytime.”
Until I got sick of chocolate, we were going to be the best of friends.
“I heard you actually met the Bee Swarm. What was it like? Did you really almost die? How did you survive?”
“That’s all you’re curious about?”
“And I heard your snake isn’t an ordinary snake… Could it be a Geumgangsa?”
“I don’t even know what a Geumgangsa is.”
The kids in the alchemy division were generally overflowing with curiosity and had insane passion for research. Even Mia preferred studying over playing.
Iruse seemed to be the same type.
Her eyes sparkled so brightly when she talked about Rai that it was almost burdensome.
“I heard a rumor that the snake is incredibly tough. They say even a sword can’t leave a scratch on it. And it understands human speech so well!”
“Rai is pretty tough, yeah.”
“Rai? Is that the snake’s name?”
“Yeah. He was probably around here somewhere… Huh? Rai? Where did he go?”
I slowly savored a piece of chocolate while looking for Rai. He had definitely been right next to me just a moment ago, but now he was gone.
Rai sometimes disappeared without a word. He must have gone hunting again. Even though what he ate was metal.
“Really? He was here?”
“Looks like he went off to hunt. He’s gone.”
“Aww, that’s too bad…”
“You… seem more interested in Rai than in me?”
“That’s right! Because I’m convinced that snake—no, Rai—is definitely a Geumgangsa!”
I had just picked up a random dead snake because I needed a corpse. How was I supposed to know what kind it was? And it wasn’t even a snake—it was a spirit.
“Geumgangsa?”
“You don’t know about Geumgangsa? It’s a snake from legends!”
I must have looked too indifferent, because Iruse started explaining with rising excitement.
This is bad. When Mia made that face, it usually took at least two hours.
“Geumgangsa only live in places where diamonds are found. Diamond is another word for geumgangseok. The longer they live, the harder their scales become, and they can live for hundreds of years! And when their scales are at their hardest, they’re said to be comparable to a dragon’s! Isn’t that amazing?”
“Wow…”
“Plus, they’re incredibly intelligent—much smarter than dogs or monsters!”
“Now that you mention it, that does sound like Rai.”
“Right? Geumgangsa are fantasy creatures so rare that no specimens even exist. According to legend, Emperor Mites’s helmet was made from Geumgangsa hide. It shone with brilliant rainbow colors and could be seen from far away.”
Of course a diamond helmet would shine. I kept eating chocolate, desperately hoping her explanation would end soon.
“But Rai is black, isn’t he? According to the books, Geumgangsa should have a milky-white color… So I decided to run an experiment first. Research lives and dies by experimentation, after all.
And wow, the sword actually bounced right off and the blade chipped!”
“…So you’re saying you… attacked Rai with a sword?”
“Yeah! But he was totally fine!”
[Huk, so that’s where I saw her before! Master, please don’t look for me!]
Rai’s trembling voice suddenly rang out from somewhere. I had a feeling I had let a truly terrifying girl into my carriage.
Iruse’s chatter had begun, and it showed no signs of stopping even as the carriage started moving again.