The Mochi Test and the Lightning Reckoning
"All right. Go ahead and drink it."
At Serian’s command, Kaizen stared down at the potion in his hand.
"……."
Gulp.
Kaizen swallowed dryly as he gazed at the vial. As a soldier, obeying a superior’s order without hesitation was the very definition of duty. Moreover, this was a potion personally crafted and bestowed upon him by the goddess he worshipped—Serian herself. Even so, he couldn’t help but hesitate for a brief moment.
And for good reason…! The potion he’d consumed at dawn had tasted like absolute dogshit!
It had been so bad that while Serian was diligently brewing, he’d seriously considered making a run for it. But this was in front of countless onlookers. And right before him stood none other than Lady Serian, watching his every move.
A man like Kaizen could not back down now.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Gulp—
Gulp… gulp…?
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
Sluuuuurp…!
"Kyaah…! This is delicious!"
The flavor was completely different from before. What on earth had happened? The last one had definitely tasted like garbage—how was this possible?
"How is it?" Serian asked.
"It’s excellent. Especially compared to the earlier one that tasted like sh—"
"Like sh?"
"Ahem. I mean, it’s vastly improved in flavor compared to the previous one."
Aah—what am I even saying? It’s nothing special.
Serian thought it was only natural. The Rubber Potion Mk. 1 had been made with zero consideration for taste. Chorong, the Mimic Slime famous for its legendary gluttony that could swallow just about anything in one bite, had hated the rubber tree sap so intensely that it was inevitable the potion—made using part of Chorong’s body that had absorbed that sap—would taste terrible.
But this time, to get Chorong to consume the rubber sap, they had fed the slime an entire box of those expensive honey balls alongside it. As a result, the flavor of the main rubber-slime ingredient had changed, which in turn transformed the potion’s taste. Since honey balls were sweet, it only made sense that the potion would taste sweet too.
Exactly. After investing an astronomical sum to include a generous amount of one of the three greatest delicacies in the world, there was no way Rubber Potion Mk. 2 could taste anything less than absolutely divine!
"Okay, okay—time for the tests."
Serian grabbed Kaizen and stretcheeeeeed him out.
"Uwooooooh—!"
The alchemical team members erupted in thunderous cheers at the sight.
"M-me too! I want to stretch him!"
"Me too! Let me have a turn!"
The alchemy staff swarmed forward, each taking turns pulling Kaizen’s body with delighted gasps. Who could resist the sight of a ridiculously handsome, hot guy transformed into a stretchy mochi doll?
As everyone took turns stretching and releasing him, the laboratory atmosphere quickly devolved into pure, unfiltered chaos. The sight of Kaizen’s body being yanked in every direction like some kind of plaything left Marquis Edan utterly stunned.
No matter how long it’s been since I last involved myself with alchemy, have the Empire’s alchemical standards truly advanced this far…? (They had not.)
Marquis Edan resolved to subscribe to an Imperial Alchemy newsletter so he wouldn’t fall behind on current trends.
Stretch. Pull. Squish. Squish.
Sluuuuuuuuuuurp.
After enduring the merciless stretching assault from so many people, Kaizen finally couldn’t take it anymore.
"Um… excuse me, could you all please stop now?"
Sluuuuurp. Plop. Plop.
Everyone released their grip. Even Serian—who had joined in at some point and was gleefully yanking him this way and that—finally let go.
Sluuuuurp. Plop.
Whoops! She had been having so much fun she’d forgotten—this was actually a person(?).
The moment their living toy spoke, the alchemy team members snapped out of their childlike trance as if doused with cold water.
"Ahem. Khm."
One by one, they cleared their throats and returned to their seats.
"…Truly remarkable," Hersene marveled. "The muscles and organs function normally, yet the body stretches like bread dough…"
"Y-yes, it’s incredible."
Still embarrassed about having played with Kaizen so enthusiastically, they each offered a comment, as if to prove they had only been conducting serious experimental observation.
"The potential applications seem tremendous. Stretch, stretch. It feels quite pleasant… I mean, it appears to have a calming effect on the mind as well."
"....But wait a moment."
At that point, Marquis Edan, who had been observing from his seat, spoke up.
"Aren’t you all forgetting something?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"I was told I was coming to see something created to counter Astra’s lightning mages… Did I misunderstand the purpose?"
"Ah, that’s right…!" Hersene clapped her hands together as if she had completely forgotten.
Ah, right~ It seemed that for medieval people, the sensation of a soft, chewy mochi doll was simply too stimulating.
"Now that we’ve confirmed the rubber transformation, let’s test the lightning resistance."
Indeed. It was finally time for the highlight—testing the electrical resistance.
*
Serian moved the test to a different location. Within the Armaments Bureau, they chose the largest demonstration hall. In the center stood a specially reinforced wide platform designed to withstand various experiments, while Marquis Edan and the alchemy team members took seats in the observation gallery at a safe distance.
Serian led Kaizen onto the platform where every eye was focused.
"Ready?"
Without hesitation and in front of everyone, she took Kaizen’s hand.
Hmm… what’s this about?
Marquis Edan found it strange. They were supposedly testing lightning magic resistance, yet no lightning mage had been called in, and he saw no artifacts that could produce lightning magic.
…When are they bringing in the lightning mages? And why is she holding that young man’s hand?
The Marquis wondered if the girl and the soldier might actually be lovers. It wasn’t that he was the extreme type who assumed romance the moment he saw a man and woman together. But what reason would two fully grown adults have for holding hands if they weren’t romantically involved? Moreover, the girl showed no sign of embarrassment whatsoever. The soldier had flinched slightly, but that was all.
Could it be… the girl is the one pursuing him one-sidedly?
Or perhaps she was using her authority to toy with her subordinate and treat him as a plaything. Come to think of it, even when she had been touching the young man’s body earlier, the girl had shown strangely little restraint toward a male body.
Well, with such refined beauty, it was unlikely anyone would have left her alone. Having gained power from such a young age, she might have become drunk on authority and now freely toyed with a mere lieutenant colonel as her personal amusement.
Marquis Edan, growing bored while waiting for the lightning mage the alchemy team was supposedly preparing, entertained these impure fantasies that were entirely inappropriate for his age.
How long does she plan to keep holding his hand?
Serian kept her fingers interlaced with Kaizen’s, showing no intention of letting go. At first Edan had assumed she was holding her lover’s hand out of worry since he would be struck by lightning magic—but there was a limit to such things. With this many people present, to engage in such prolonged skinship! How scandalous!
…This won’t do.
In truth, there had never been any need to wait for a separate lightning mage. Edan Alberic himself was one of the Empire’s foremost lightning magic specialists. He had remained silent because it would have been undignified to step forward without being asked, but his patience had finally run out.
Just as Edan rose to his feet, intending to cast lightning magic at the young man—
"Uwooooh!"
Strange exclamations came from the surrounding staff.
…What? Did something happen?
The girl was still just holding the soldier’s hand, but blue sparks were flying from her fingers—fingers that weren’t even holding a staff.
"What… what is this?"
Marquis Edan couldn’t help but be shocked. That was…!
The Elhardt family’s secret technique—Instant Circuit Realization, said to be used by the family head, Arken Elhardt!
Arken Elhardt was a great mage who had made his name during the Empire’s wars of conquest. He was one of the few 10-star mages among the five great families. A hero of the Empire whom Edan himself had once respected.
When he had heard that this hero’s only daughter was devoting herself to armaments development and alchemy, he had felt considerable disappointment. He had wondered what kind of person the child of such a hero would grow up to be.
Tsk, tsk…
To think someone with such magnificent blood would end up cooped up in a room pounding hammers and mixing potions.
…But that hadn’t been the case at all!
He had taught his daughter lightning magic! And not just any lightning magic—together with his secret technique of Instant Circuit Realization!
Yet how could such a young lady have already mastered that secret art…!
Crackle—!
Serian continued firing lightning magic at Kaizen, but he remained completely unfazed, his expression calm.
…Oh ho, so it’s true. It really works.
There was no doubt that the potion the young man had consumed dramatically increased his resistance to lightning magic. The mana with lightning properties couldn’t penetrate his body at all.
"…A monster. You’ve raised a monster, Arken."
***
Hmmm. Is this about enough?
Serian carefully adjusted the mana flowing from her hand, cautiously increasing the voltage of the lightning magic little by little.
I didn’t expect a lightning mage to get involved, but…
Originally she had planned to demonstrate only in front of the alchemy team, so she had intended to use a simple, moderately powered spell and casually fake her way through it. However, since a lightning mage—and not just any, but the Director of the Imperial Academy—had shown up, she realized she wouldn’t be able to fool him with half-hearted magic.
That was why she had spent more time than expected designing a brand-new lightning magic circuit. On the surface it looked incredibly powerful, but in reality the voltage wasn’t all that high.
It seemed fine up to this level earlier.
Serian observed the spectators’ reactions. Everyone appeared astonished that Kaizen was receiving no damage from the lightning magic. No one seemed to suspect that she was secretly adjusting the output. Not even the mustached old man she needed to watch out for.
Heh. Perfect. Everything was going according to plan. Most satisfying.
Fufufu.
She would mass-produce these seemingly perfect lightning-resistant potions that were actually useless. Then, when the war came and the potions were deployed only for their side to lose, the Second Prince would realize it had all been a waste of money and fly into a rage, firing off his Destruction Beam.
Everything was proceeding exactly as this genius had planned. Uahaha—
Right as Serian was cackling like a villain in her mind—
"Heh heh heh. A truly impressive achievement, Serian Elhardt."
Marquis Edan suddenly approached with a benevolent laugh.
"However—don’t you think this is still somewhat insufficient? I heard the opponent uses magic that calls down lightning bolts."
Twitch—!
…Did he notice?
No matter what, Marquis Edan was a lightning mage by origin and the Director of the Imperial Academy. Serian thought he had seen through the flashy, high-performance-looking but actually low-power, ultra-inefficient lightning magic she had improvised on the spot.
…This is exactly why I hate sharp-eyed mages!
Marquis Edan walked confidently toward Serian.
"Heh heh heh. Since you are not a lightning mage, I understand."
But in truth, he hadn’t been thinking much of anything. He simply felt that while the magic circle was precise, the power seemed slightly lacking. Even so, for a mage who hadn’t specialized in lightning magic, it was an extremely impressive level—worthy of praise.
Therefore, Marquis Edan had simply concluded that it was about time for him to step in.
After all, he had come all the way to the Armaments Bureau at the Second Prince’s personal request. If he returned without doing anything, he would literally become nothing more than “Marquis Edan, who went on a field trip to the Armaments Bureau with the Imperial Kindergarten’s newest class.” His dignity as Director of the Imperial Academy would never recover.
"It seems you simply haven’t reached that realm yet, so don’t be discouraged. I shall assist with the test."
Marquis Edan stamped his staff against the platform with a heavy thud. With practiced movements, he began drawing a circuit in the air. It was rough, yet it contained only the core elements of a lightning magic circuit—the style of a veteran mage!
Then he took out the necklace artifact hanging around his neck and gripped it in his hand.
It was an ultra-rare artifact: the Lightning Stone. An item that dramatically increased both the power and area of effect of lightning magic.
The moment Serian saw the artifact, her eyes widened and she cried out.
"W-wait, Marquis Edan!"
No—!! He’ll die if you do that!!!
"Heh heh. Just stay back. I will finish this."
"Descend—!! Judgment of Thunder!!"
Kwaaaaang—!!
With an ear-splitting roar, an overwhelming blue flash that seemed to blind the eyes swallowed the entire platform. It was unmistakably a power beyond what any mere human could withstand.