Leave a comment

The day after the entrance ceremony, classes began.

Based on the pre-admission academic assessment and our desired majors, our classes and curriculum were predetermined. Alfe and I, both scholarship students, remained in the same class as we were in elementary school. Apart from the foundational subjects, there were specialized subjects available. I opted for alchemy while Alfe chose magic.

I made my way to the classroom for the first alchemy class. The relatively spacious room, with seats arranged in tiers, was filled with students who had transferred from middle school to St. Salaius. I had assumed that the magic class would be more popular, so I was surprised to see about forty students present.

Nevertheless, since I had no intention or need to socialize with anyone other than Alfe, I decided to take a seat at the back of the classroom. The tiered seating arrangement meant I didn’t need to worry about sitting at the front due to my height.

However, being alone in the classroom, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversations of other students. While I would have ignored them during my time as Glass, I figured I might as well eavesdrop now, even though I wasn’t sure how the information gathered here would be useful.

As I pondered this, the bell signaling the start of class rang, and Mr. Lionel entered the room.

“…His white coat gives him a cool vibe¹.”
“He seems like a gentle teacher.”

It seemed that the students who had transferred from middle school were giving him favorable evaluations as a cool yet gentle teacher. His trademark white coat remained unchanged, and it caught me off guard since that was the impression I had of him all along.

(Well, indeed…)

Naturally, considering I’ve known Mr. Lionel for six years, dating back to elementary school, seeing him again after all this time, I sensed a considerably matured aura about him, compared to the impression of a good-natured young man he had when we first met.

“I’m Lionel, who will be in charge of alchemy classes for the next three years. Here at this middle school, I’m also a first-year like all of you. Let’s together strive to deepen our research as alchemists.”

Receiving the teacher’s characteristically bright and easy-to-understand greeting, some students responded with enthusiasm. After that, unrelated questions started popping up, so I ignored them and began flipping through the textbook.

While my elementary school knowledge posed no problems, I needed to be extra cautious with the middle school knowledge, particularly when it came to the history of alchemy, to avoid accidentally revealing information from my time as Glass.

Having quickly skimmed through the appendix and table of contents, I turned to the section on homunculi. It seemed that we would engage in simple experiments in middle school, but for now, I decided to study the overview.

According to the textbook’s description:

Homunculi are artificial life forms created approximately seven hundred years ago by the renowned alchemist Albion Paracelsus. They possess organic tissues similar to humans and operate based on easily conditioned input information. Generally, they have short lifespans², varying individually but typically living for around twenty years.

The research and development of homunculi by alchemists have been pursued for the purpose of mass-producing ideal human resources. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution two hundred years ago, the mass production technology of homunculi³ significantly improved. In the war between the Arcadia Empire and the Carleil Holy Kingdom, mass-produced homunculus soldiers were heavily deployed to the front lines⁴.

As the war intensified, homunculi were used as disposable pilots of suicide weapons⁵, resulting in a significant number of casualties. Outcries from human rights organizations worldwide against these atrocities led to the addition of restrictions on the production and possession of homunculi in the international law⁶ known as the “Verse Treaty.”

This knowledge aligned with the literature I chose with the help of the librarian upon entering elementary school.

However, the homunculi known to Glass were a field of study aimed at immortality. The intended purpose of the perfect homunculus body should have been to accept human souls. However, it seemed all that information had been erased by the Kamut. Even textbooks that mention the history of homunculi research categorized it solely as research into human resources.

Although I’ve learned my lesson from my end in the past life, witnessing the eradication of such taboo subjects from history wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“…Leafa.”
“A-Alfe…?”
“What’s wrong? Lunch break’s already here, and everyone’s gone, you know?”

Upon being addressed, I glanced around the classroom, only to find myself alone. Lost in thought while reading the textbook, I must have missed the lunch break without realizing it.

Considering it was the first day, there probably hadn’t been much important material taught. However, as a middle schooler, I felt I should at least copy down the notes from the board. Yet, it wouldn’t be fair to keep Alfe waiting.

After a moment of consideration, I decided to memorize the contents of the board and review them later. Judging by the textbook, it would probably be just a few pages at the beginning.

“…Are you interested in that?” As she stared at the timeline of homunculi on the open page, Alfe asked.

“Yeah, just a little.” Even though it was Alfe, I couldn’t exactly tell her I was recalling unpleasant memories from my past life.

“…Anyway, I’ve been thinking of trying alchemy again after a long time, and there’s something I wanted to ask you, Alfe.” As the daughter of Mrs. Judy, who was skilled in cooking, Alfe probably had more knowledge about cooking than I did.

“What is it? You can ask me anything.”
“If there was a frying pan that could make cooking easier, do you think it would be useful?”
“Can you really make something like that!?”

Alfe’s eyes sparkled in response to my question. She seemed quite interested.

“Probably. It’s still in the theoretical stage, but I’ve been thinking it would be interesting if it could be done through alchemy. What kind of features do you think would be good?”
“…Hmm, maybe one that doesn’t stick⁷, or easy temperature control…?”

As I thought, Alfe’s answer was spot on.

“Like quick heating, or maintaining temperature even when adding cold ingredients?”
“Yeah!”

In that case, it might be a good idea to coat the surface of the frying pan with a mixture of fire magic stones melted down in an alchemy pot.

Using fire magic stones with glass-like properties would not only enhance the durability of the frying pan but also provide chemical resistance derived from glass. This would make it resistant to acids and salts, making it less likely to affect the taste and flavor of the ingredients.

Regarding the feature of preventing sticking, it would be a good idea to include an auto-cleaning function. During cooking, it could tolerate some degree of sticking, and then clean easily afterward to save effort. By incorporating a simplified formula at the bottom of the frying pan that reacts with water and aether, it should only activate under the right conditions.

“…Hey, Leafa. I want to use that too.” Seemingly impatient with my long deliberation, Alfe let out a coaxing voice.

“Of course. I’d be happy if more people could use it.”
“Thank you, Leafa! I love you!”

Alfe hugged me tightly, causing me to fall backward onto my chair.

“W-Wait, Alfe! I haven’t even made it yet.”
“I’m just happy about Leafa’s feelings.”

Alfe, who was sitting on the chair next to mine, continued to cling to me. Due to the difference in our sizes, I was completely overwhelmed and pressed down onto the chair.

Good grief, Alfe needed to learn a bit about moderation soon.

1. Robinxen: Elpsycongroo.
2. Robinxen: Wait these are proper organic beings then… not psuedo-robots?
3. Robinxen: YOU ARE MASS PRODUCING ACTUAL LIVING LABOUR?! THERE IS A NAME FOR THIS!
4. Robinxen: HELLO?! ETHICS?! DO YOU HAVE THEM?!
5. Robinxen: DEAR GOD IT GETS WORSE?!
6. Robinxen: Oh thank the divines…
7. Silva: they do not have non-stick pan yet?