Rubber Man Project 10
"This crazy old man!!!"
The marquis had seated a man and was now blasting him with electricity. It looked as though he were carrying out an actual execution on an electric chair! To think he would even bring out a high-grade artifact and attack at full power.
Chiiing. The lightning stone in Edan’s hand trembled faintly and lost its glow, having exhausted its stored power. It would likely take a great deal of time to recharge it with lightning-attribute mana before it could be used again.
Serian had escaped the spell’s range with astonishing reflexes. Cough, cough. Fortunately, the onlookers had stayed outside the blast radius; they were merely coughing repeatedly, otherwise unharmed. But the spot where Kaizen had stood was now thick with black smoke, the floor around it scorched pitch-black.
Did that bastard actually intend to kill the lieutenant colonel?
Serian glared at Marquis Edan. He looked perfectly satisfied with the magic he had unleashed, calmly stroking his mustache with a serene expression.
This wasn’t the time for that…!
"Lieutenant Colonel!!!"
Serian plunged into the smoke. Damn it… I can’t see anything. Where was he? Taking a direct hit from magic of that level meant it was probably already too late. His body might be charred, or his heart might have stopped from the electric shock.
…Still, I have to save him somehow.
Even if soldiers often died meaningless deaths while obeying orders, this mission had never been Kaizen’s to begin with, and Serian wasn’t his direct superior. She had simply asked the sturdiest person nearby for help, assuming nothing would go wrong. He had accepted the request without a single complaint, even when summoned at dawn. If he died here, Serian knew she would be tormented by guilt for the rest of her life.
…Please, just stay alive. Please!
If he was still breathing, Serian was determined to save him by any means necessary. Yet—
Huh?
When she released mana to search for Kaizen in the pitch-black smoke, she felt an overwhelming amount of mana pulsing at the center of the haze.
What is that…?
Thud… Thud…
????
The mass of mana was walking forward, pushing through the smoke.
"…What?!"
Someone in the audience cried out in shock. Why? What was happening?! Serian rushed out of the smoke to assess the situation.
"Lieutenant Colonel. Are you all right?"
The figure emerging from the smoke was none other than Kaizen, completely unscathed. Not a single wound or scorch mark marred his body.
????
What? A bug? The voltage from the marquis’s spell far exceeded what the rubber potion should have been able to withstand. He should have been burned to a crisp.
This can’t be happening????
But something was strange. Behind the perfectly fine Kaizen, a halo seemed to be shining.
This is… holy power?!
Could it be that Lieutenant Colonel Kaizen was actually a saint blessed by some transcendent being…? In his moment of crisis, some supreme existence watching over him had taken pity and used its authority to revive him just as he reached death’s door.
—Child, your time has not yet come.
If that were the case, it made sense that he could walk away from such powerful magic without a scratch. Serian recalled the constellation novels she had read for fun in her previous life!
[The Constellation ‘Ruler of the Battlefield’ is pleased with your resurrection.]
Anyone hearing that would probably tell her to stop spouting nonsense—but Serian herself had been reincarnated into another world! From her perspective, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
It’s real…
Looking closely, he really had changed. Not only was there a halo, but his skin had become as clear and flawless as white jade, as though he had been reborn!
Hmm… Reborn, so he was basically like a baby. Of course a baby would have dewy, glowing skin..!
"…. Did something happen?"
Our poor Lieutenant Colonel Kaizen, who had died and come back to life, didn’t even remember what had just occurred. Just as Serian was about to explain, [It is thanks to the sponsorship of the Constellation ‘Hatkai Is the Best’ that you were reborn], the alchemy team members all cried out in admiration toward her.
"To create such a powerful potion… You’re truly amazing, Lady Serian!"
"Th-this is…!"
"Is this… truly the power of our alchemy?"
Hersene stood with her mouth agape, unable to believe the sight before her eyes. All because of a potion? How could rubber possibly withstand such voltage?
Just as Serian was about to say it probably wasn’t the potion’s doing, she noticed something odd.
Huh? Looking more carefully…
It wasn’t that Kaizen’s skin had become dewy and translucent like a baby’s. Light was actually radiating from his body itself.
…What is this.
"Kyaaaaah—!"
While Serian stood bewildered, another scream erupted from the alchemy team.
"Oh my, oh my."
The lower half of the figure walking out of the smoke had its pants completely burned away. Glowing Kaizen stared at Serian in confusion, as if wondering why everyone was making such a fuss again.
"Down there. Down there."
"Yes?"
"Cover the lower half first, please."
Serian held out the uniform jacket she had taken off. His gaze slowly traveled downward from her face.
"…!"
Only then did Kaizen realize he was as naked as the baby in his hundred-day photo album and hurriedly snatched the jacket to wrap around his lower body. Fortunately, they managed to resolve the situation before the black smoke cleared completely, narrowly avoiding an impromptu “exhibition.” Despite his poker face, his ears had turned bright red.
Phew…
…At least the lieutenant colonel was alive, which was a relief. But what on earth just happened?
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Marquis Edan, who had been contentedly stroking his mustache, applauded as he approached.
“Hohoho! Truly remarkable, Lady Serian! I had no idea our empire’s alchemy had advanced to this level.”
What have they all been going on about since earlier?
The constant praise for the rubber potion was starting to grate on Serian’s nerves. It’s not because it’s rubber…
"…."
Wait a second.
Something felt off. She had assumed the light coming from Kaizen was due to holy power… but if that wasn’t the case, did that mean he hadn’t actually been resurrected? Serian erased the hypothesis of “Kaizen as the protagonist of a constellation novel” from her mind. Then was it really because of the potion she made??? No, if that were true, then her project—! The Second Prince’s ruin beam—! This couldn’t be happening!
Rubber… Rubber was supposed to burn when exposed to high voltage… That had been common sense…
Realizing her own knowledge might be wrong, Serian was struck by a profound shock. Was this actually true? Was rubber invincible, and she had been a fool who didn’t even know it…? For a moment, Serian saw the phantom of a great author from across the sea who once drew pirate manga in another world. He grinned mischievously and said to her,
『Rubber doesn’t conduct electricity—that’s common sense, friend. Keh keh keh!』
Serian was overcome with self-loathing. …Had she really been a complete idiot who didn’t know the first thing about science?
She shot to her feet. That can’t be right! At dawn, she had even run a rehearsal to ensure her plan wouldn’t fail. Back then, everything had gone without issue. Kaizen’s hand had been scorched!
Yes! The plan had been perfect! So there was only one answer. Someone must have figured out her operation and deliberately sabotaged it!
I’ll tear the Armaments Bureau apart if I have to—I will find that bastard and deal with them!
Lost in furious thought, Serian only came to her senses when she realized countless researchers had gathered around her, chanting praises of “the God of Alchemy, the Great Serian.”
"…. This is the same alchemy that always gets scolded?”
"Kya…! This is it. This is why I joined the alchemy department, knowing this day would come!"
"Wah kyaa pa! Long live Lady Serian!"
"Lady Serian… Could you perhaps explain how this is possible?"
Serian pushed through the sudden barrage of worship and questions and stood up.
“J-just a moment, I need a break!”
With that, she left the demonstration hall alone.
*
Shhhk, shhhk…!
How dare they interfere with my plan. I’ll find out who it was and make them pay.
Seething, Serian strode quickly toward the alchemy laboratory. Where could it be? Where is it? She searched every corner of the lab. There should have been some trace left behind in the materials or tools, but no matter how thoroughly she looked, there were no clues.
This doesn’t make sense…
Aside from setting up the materials and tools, Serian had made everything herself, so any change should have been obvious. Or did I make a mistake while creating it? But no matter how much she thought about it, she had followed the recipe exactly, without even a 1ml margin of error. According to her innate memory, every variable should have been controlled during the potion-making process. There had been no room for error.
Then it wasn’t here?
Right—if it wasn’t something that happened during the potion creation! The place Serian headed to was the cage where Chorong was kept. Thanks to the morning rehearsal, the second potion had been completed much faster, and Chorong was still in its rubber state. The rubber slime bounced over with a cheerful grin.
“Wait, Chorong. Now’s not the time to play.”
Serian pushed the slime away as it tried to nuzzle her face and examined it carefully. …Nothing seemed different?
Not this either?
She had been certain someone had done something to Chorong. Just as the slime, realizing there were no honey balls, lost interest and turned away—
…Huh?
At that moment, Serian noticed a faintly transparent pouch-like structure on the back of the rubber slime, filled with a semi-translucent liquid.
What is this…?
Don’t tell me—!
Only then did all the clues fall into place in Serian’s mind. She once again entered the memory palace library within her heart, just as she had with the moonstone. Ever since childhood, she had built a virtual palace in her mind to store memories visually. Thanks to this habit, she could remember anything she saw at a glance and recall it instantly whenever she wanted—allowing her to become a super-genius!
I’m sure I stored it around here.
The archives containing books she had read during her academy days. Specifically, the bottom shelf. The book describing insect-type magical beasts. There it is—Brain-Lightning Bug…!
—Brain-Lightning Bugs store nutrients in a ‘brain-honey sac’ located in their abdomen in preparation for times of food scarcity. This makes them highly prized as a top-tier culinary ingredient among gourmets.
That much is common knowledge.
Serian quickly scanned the text. Her eyes stopped on the page titled “Why They Are Called Brain-Lightning Bugs.”
—During mating season, Brain-Lightning Bugs fly into thunderclouds and absorb unstable lightning mana.
—This unstable energy mixes with the honey inside the brain-honey sac, stabilizing into what is known as ‘Thunder Dew’ and stored there.
—This Thunder Dew becomes the source from which males emit their brightest and most intense light during courtship.
"…."
In other words—while they were widely known only as a high-class ingredient with delicious honey in their abdomen, Brain-Lightning Bugs were actually firefly-type magical beasts that absorbed and stored lightning mana from thunderclouds!
Serian examined Chorong once more. The semi-transparent pouch on its back was undoubtedly a structure mimicking the energy-storage organ of a Brain-Lightning Bug.
"There you are, Serian."
Kaizen and Ella entered the lab, having come to find her. Now that she thought about it…
"…Lieutenant Colonel! Hold on, take this off for a second."
Serian rushed over and yanked open Kaizen’s uniform shirt.
"Lady Serian…?"
"Serian, what’s wrong?"
Ella asked in surprise, but Serian was already unbuttoning his shirt and inspecting his body. She hadn’t noticed earlier because his body had been glowing! Before the lightning spell hit, Kaizen had been a lean, muscular man without an ounce of fat—but after absorbing the marquis’s lightning magic, he had transformed into a muscle-bound Norse thunder god, like Thor!
This… This is impossible.
Serian despaired as she realized all her hypotheses were correct. Just then, Hersene and her research team members also entered the room. One of them ran over and shouted,
“It’s true! Just as the Director said, something has appeared on the Mimic Slime’s back!”
“I-I actually had my doubts. No matter how new the material is, I wondered if it could really withstand a lightning strike as powerful as that…”
That was right! Even if they were medieval people, they were still the greatest scholars of this world who had studied magic. They acknowledged that Serian was a genius, but a potion with 100% lightning resistance? When they first read the project proposal, they too had thought—
‘Even so, this seems a bit…’
‘Right? It doesn’t make sense, does it?’
—and had doubted the rubber potion’s effects!
“But to convert lightning mana within the body and store it as energy!!!”
“With this method, excess electricity would immediately be converted into energy form and stored away!”
H-how did she…!
In truth, right after Serian left the demonstration hall, those who remained had engaged in an intense discussion about the astonishing results. It had started when Marquis Edan muttered, “My mana didn’t disappear—it seems to have been stored in that young man’s body.” Hearing those words, Golden Hand Hersene recalled a magical beast that absorbed and stored lightning mana. As far as she knew, there was only one such creature—
The Brain-Lightning Bug!
Despite her aging issues, as a genius alchemist who had devoted her life to the craft, she was well-versed in the physiology of Brain-Lightning Bugs!
“As expected, Lady Serian already knew that using a Brain-Lightning Bug would grant such properties and prepared it in advance, didn’t she?”
….!
Pandemonium erupted on all sides. Amid the chaos, Ella whispered foolishly,
“Tch, Serian! If that was the case, you should have told me beforehand!”
“Wow… So you fed it the honey ball knowing this from the very beginning!!”
One of the youngest alchemy researchers chimed in without reading the room.
"No, I was wondering why she was feeding it something so ridiculously expensive! Even if she was trying to bribe it with something tasty, there are much cheaper options available."
"…."
Serian couldn’t say a word.
“I was wondering if she was deliberately trying to inflate the budget… Ow!”
Thwack! Hersene mercilessly applied a joint lock to the young researcher.
“You idiot!”
Thwack! Thwack!
"That can’t be right!"
"Exactly. Our super-genius Chief Serian is working so hard for the empire!"
"That’s right! Deliberately increasing the budget? Where did you get such nonsense! Apologize right now!"
The senior researchers joined in, kicking the tactless junior’s shins indiscriminately.
“I-I’m sorry! This lowly one was short-sighted! Please forgive me….”
The junior pleaded tearfully. After soundly kicking the junior out, they felt a strange sense of satisfaction welling up.
Wow…. Kya….!
This was the living future of imperial alchemy—the skill of our alchemy team’s leader(?), Lady Elhardt…!
Yes! They felt as though they themselves had created this achievement, their chests swelling with pride!
Wow! Kya! Pa!
Lady Serian is the best!!
Feeling overwhelmed with emotion, they all turned to look at Serian’s expression. Even at this historic moment of invention, she wasn’t making a fuss—she simply wore her usual indifferent expression. That characteristic blank look, as if it were nothing special! Watching her, they saw in her detached demeanor the brilliant future of imperial alchemy.
This wasn’t the end. With that genius by their side…!
How far would the empire’s alchemy develop!!!
They could no longer hide their excitement at the thought that the long-neglected field of alchemy was finally about to flourish.