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Clouds and mist covered the Holy Capital, some moistening the Forest of the Unicorns, others gathering into streams that carved the Sidon Grand Canyon, and eventually disappearing into the distant sea or the Tenebrae Nemus.

That said, I’d always suspected something: with this much humidity and such poor drainage, might there be a substantial water source beneath the Holy Capital?

Beyond the door lay a stone corridor, just wide enough for three adults to walk side by side. As we continued down the seemingly endless path, our eyes were suddenly met with a pool of water—almost the size of a small lake.

Water… if it could still be called that. “What is this…?” A thick, vividly colored sludge, devoid of any transparency, filled the entire floor.

Even the magical light I’d conjured above my head couldn’t illuminate all the way across the room; that’s how vast this floor was, and how completely it was filled with the mysterious liquid.

Thankfully, it didn’t emit the kind of stench one might expect from its appearance, but it still looked far too hazardous to approach casually. Cestlavie seemed to feel the same. He held a talisman at the ready, cautiously prepared for the worst. Since it was too dangerous for Colin, we made sure he stayed in the corridor and asked Regulus, Sechs, and little Algernon to guard him.

“Hmmm, ooh, ahh…” Without hesitation, Coppelia stepped forward, dunked her hand casually into the liquid, stirred it around, then turned back to me with a voice that was equal parts impressed and exasperated. “This is all spoiled Alkahest.”

“Alkahest? The universal solvent used in the first step of alchemically creating a Philosopher’s Stone?”
“That’s right. Though, rather than a degraded version, it seems to have mutated into something unknown. Best not to touch it directly—you never know what it might do to flesh and blood.”

As she answered, she wiped the droplets from her arm with a cotton towel taken from her pocket—only for the towel to rapidly decay and rot away.

“Wait a second. How are we supposed to proceed through a floor like this?” Cestlavie asked in alarm, having watched the fate of the towel.

“It’s fine for me—I’m waterproof at a living standard level.”
“I can walk on water by combining spirit magic with water-elemental spells, so I’m fine too.”

“Don’t lump us normal people in with you eldritch things, especially with Colin here. Isn’t there a safer path?”

Cestlavie sighed. Wait… was I just classified as non-human, too?

“You may be right. Since we came straight here and didn’t encounter that stone golem, perhaps there’s a secret passage or hidden room nearby.”

“Couldn’t it be that the golem, like this one—” Cestlavie pointed at Coppelia, “—was able to move through the liquid just fine?”

“I don’t think so. The golem wasn’t wet when it appeared, and its clothing wouldn’t have survived contact with this stuff.”

Coppelia’s outfit was a special design by Dr. Victor, made from mithril thread, so it could endure this degraded Alkahest to a certain degree. But the golem’s outfit had been ordinary material like the towel, it should have disintegrated the moment it touched the fluid. Since it hadn’t, that meant it must’ve come through a different route.

“Hmm? Lady Clara, is there something in this bogus alkahest?” Coppelia asked, squinting into the goo, tilting her head with uncharacteristic uncertainty.

“I’m not sure… I don’t know if it’s the alchemy ingredients or the impurity in the solvent, but my mana Search Art is disoriented there. I can’t confirm anything. What about you, Cestlavie?”
“Same here. If I use talisman magic, the moment the talisman touches the liquid, it melts. I’ve got nothing.”

With a resigned sigh, Cestlavie raised both hands in surrender.

“Bogus as it is, it lives up to the name ‘Universal Solvent.’”

Then, something occurred to me. I bent down and picked up a fist-sized chunk of broken floor tile.

“Now that I think about it—why doesn’t this floor dissolve in the solvent?”

Well, even aqua regia, which can dissolve gold, won’t touch silver. So I figured maybe they used some special material. I examined the stone thoroughly, but it seemed like plain old natural rock.

“If this were the real thing, a pebble like that would be gone instantly. It’s probably degraded into something less dangerous.”

Spoken like someone who knows her alchemy, Coppelia replied with disdain.

“Well, there’s no point in standing around speculating. Let’s look for a secret passage or something.”

I casually tossed the stone aside and turned on my heel to lead Coppelia and Cestlavie—when it happened.

The stone traced a gentle arc, landed in the goo with a splash, and from that spot, bubbles began to rise. A second later, a vast black shape moved beneath the surface, causing the entire pool to churn violently.

“What the hell?! Jill, what did you do?!”
“As expected of Lady Clara! You’ve sniped something perfectly!”
“I-I didn’t do anything~~~~~!!”

As we stood frozen in panic, the churning surface swelled—and then it finally appeared.

♢♦♢♦♢

High in the Clorinda Mountains, where snow still clung to the peaks…

After traversing trackless terrain with the help of his stalwart companions, Luke finally arrived at his destination: a humble hut. The moment he sensed a presence within, the door creaked open—whether in welcome or wary caution—and out stepped an elderly man with long white hair and beard, so ascetic in appearance he could only be mistaken for a sage or hermit.

Luke respectfully bowed to the man.

“—Are you… could you truly be that person?”

The old man’s face, buried in wrinkles that made it impossible to guess his age, didn’t so much as twitch. He stared at Luke in silent appraisal.

“The one person who knows the whereabouts of Jill… You are His Holiness Pope Theodoros of the Saintess Church, are you not?”

The old man gave no answer—only a single, silent nod.