Ch.441Chapter 441 – Maria Medimaker (2)

The weight felt on my hand.

A rainbow-colored gem.

I don’t know when it appeared in my hand.

But I immediately recognized what it was.

‘The Philosopher’s Stone.’

The gem I had been unable to find any proper trace of was now resting in my hand.

Perhaps because it was directly touching my skin, I could feel a slightly warm energy circulating through my body.

As I gazed down at the gem, mesmerized by its mysterious aura, a gentle-looking hand suddenly reached down before me.

Naturally, it was Sera’s hand.

“Mr. Kay, here.”

“Sorry.”

I had been so distracted by the stone that I hadn’t paid attention to Sera.

I immediately shifted my gaze from the gem, took Sera’s hand, and stood up.

Her hand was soft yet somehow sturdy as it pulled me up. Sera examined my body briefly before speaking quietly.

“Fortunately, you don’t seem to be hurt or have anything wrong with you.”

“Yeah. Actually, I feel like my condition has improved.”

I showed her the gem in my hand as I spoke.

Sera looked at the stone for a moment and said quietly.

“This is…”

“The Philosopher’s Stone, I believe.”

Sera remained silent for a moment, staring at the gem.

Then she slowly nodded and said.

“…It seems to be the real thing.”

“Can you be sure?”

“I received a failed version from Dvel at Rubrum’s lair before. The one my grandmother made.”

Quietly, Sera reached into her chest and showed me the gem that Dvel had shown us before.

I could definitely feel that the light and energy were similar.

The difference was that while it felt similar, it didn’t seem to have the direct energy that the real one had.

“Dvel said it was a failure, but that it was incredibly close. I guess this is what she meant.”

Sera gently placed her hand on the Philosopher’s Stone.

She closed her eyes, seemingly feeling the energy emanating from it.

Then.

Sera bowed her head deeply and said quietly.

“With this, I can save you, Mr. Kay…”

A slightly tearful voice escaped from Sera’s lips.

I moved my hand to gently stroke her head and said quietly.

“Everything’s going to be alright now, Sera.”

“…Yes.”

Sera smiled slightly at my reassuring words.

She raised her head again and rubbed her eyes a little.

Soon she seemed to have calmed down and looked at me with a smile, and seeing her like that, I quietly asked.

“When did this stone appear in my hand?”

“I don’t know. Actually, when I regained consciousness, I saw you lying down, so I immediately rushed over to check on you. The others still seem to be unconscious.”

After saying this, Sera pointed to our surroundings.

I could see our companions either leaning against something or lying comfortably on the ground.

Thankfully, everyone’s faces looked peaceful, but…

‘I didn’t expect Sia and Chris to be asleep too.’

I shuddered slightly at the sight of those two—a Demon Lord and a Goddess—sleeping.

It meant that Maria’s magic was powerful enough to affect even them.

“She must have used the energy contained in the Philosopher’s Stone. That’s how she was able to cast magic powerful enough to put even a Demon Lord and a Goddess to sleep.”

Sera explained that there was no other explanation.

“Will they be alright?”

“They’ll wake up soon now that the energy source is gone.”

And as if to prove Sera’s explanation correct, Sia and Chris began to stir and slowly started to get up.

With half-closed eyes, like people who had just woken up from sleep, they began to look around.

“…What’s this.”

“Huh? Why was I asleep?!”

Sia seemed relatively calm, having quickly regained her senses, while Chris appeared genuinely surprised.

And as if Chris’s voice had been a signal, Beatrice and Eve also began to show signs of waking, and Lizanis and Noah, who were a bit further away, started to get up as well.

Watching them, I smiled slightly and said.

“Good morning.”

“…Joking at a time like this.”

Eve looked at me with a slight smile.

Then in the next moment, her eyes sharpened as she pointed at the gem in my hand.

“Kay, is that…”

“Yes.”

Only now noticing the gem, everyone’s attention focused on me.

Then, with Sera’s confirmation backing it, I slowly spoke its name.

“It’s the Philosopher’s Stone.”

For a moment, silence fell around us.

Then, Eve was the first to speak.

“…It’s real, right, Sera?”

“Yes, it is.”

When Eve asked with disbelief, Sera nodded with certainty.

Eve then slowly approached and carefully lifted the Philosopher’s Stone from my hand.

Perhaps feeling the strange energy coursing through her body, she trembled slightly and spoke in a somewhat choked voice.

“We really got it.”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t a dream, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

Eve remained silent for a moment.

And then, the next moment.

Eve hugged me tightly.

“Thank goodness!”

Her voice was slightly wet with emotion.

I placed my hand on her shoulder to calm her and said with a quiet smile.

“I’m not going to die now.”

“Of course you’re not…!”

Eve exclaimed with a slightly tearful voice, her face buried against my chest.

As I comforted her while she kept her face buried and her shoulders trembling slightly, I noticed that Sera and Chris had approached and quietly placed their hands on my shoulders.

Then Chris said with a slight smile.

“I wanted to be there too.”

“Shall we take turns?”

Chris nodded with a smile at Sera’s suggestion.

Pretending not to have heard their conversation, I turned my head and saw Beatrice smiling at me from a short distance away.

Like Eve, Sera, and Chris, Beatrice’s face was full of relief as she spoke.

“…I’m glad, Helmet.”

Soon Beatrice approached me, and Eve, perhaps feeling embarrassed, slowly raised her face and began to move slightly away from me.

One by one, smiles spread, and a warm atmosphere enveloped us.

And as if infected by our mood, Sia was quietly smiling as she watched us, and a bit further back, Noah and Lizanis were also smiling as they looked at us.

As we shared our joy, the sound of something heavy being dragged was heard, followed by a voice.

[It seems He has acknowledged you all.]

Sophia addressed us from the corridor.

Despite being quite damaged, she had somehow managed to walk here.

Beatrice immediately regarded her with suspicion and said.

“What, are you going to resist until the very end?”

[At this point, the probability of me winning against all of you combined is infinitesimally close to zero.]

After saying this, Sophia looked at Sera.

[I came here to inform you that as of this moment, my command authority has changed.]

“Your command authority has changed?”

[Yes.]

Sophia stated calmly.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out the cause.

“Because we obtained the Philosopher’s Stone.”

[A guardian with nothing to protect is meaningless.]

It seemed that as a golem created to protect the Philosopher’s Stone, she no longer had a reason to continue her mission now that the stone was in our possession.

While I was relieved that she no longer seemed hostile, Sophia looked at Sera again.

[As of now, the master of this place, and my master, is Seraphina Medimaker.]

“Me?”

[Maria Medimaker instructed that everything be transferred to you once this mission was complete.]

Sophia said this and bowed her head again.

[From now on, I and all the golems under my command will follow Seraphina’s orders. Also, with Seraphina becoming our master, I inform you that all of Maria Medimaker’s legacy has been officially transferred to Seraphina Medimaker.]

Sera remained silent for a moment.

She seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden announcement, so I quietly called out to her.

“Sera.”

“Ah, yes!”

Sera quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat lightly.

Then, as if wanting to buy some time to think, she looked at Sophia and said.

“Well, um, could you guide us to the exit first, Sophia?”

[I will guide you.]

Sophia bowed her head and passed by us slightly.

Then as she extended her hand, one of the walls opened, revealing another passage.

[Please come this way.]

Though her body was damaged and she swayed a little, Sophia waited for us with the disciplined posture of a butler.

“Will it be alright?”

“Probably.”

I quietly answered Chris’s question, as the other party didn’t seem to have any hostile intentions.

Soon we looked at each other, nodded slightly, and entered the passage.

At first, I thought it was just an empty corridor, but after a short while, Lizanis frowned and said quietly.

“Be careful, I smell chemicals.”

[It’s a preservative made by Maria through alchemy. It’s a bit expensive in terms of materials, but its effect is almost the same as preservation magic.]

Sophia immediately answered us, as if wanting to prove there was no danger.

Still, we were slightly tense at the sudden smell of chemicals, when we noticed that the scenery around the corridor had changed.

“These are all…”

[Golems.]

At some point, countless golems were lined up around us.

Judging by the material, which wasn’t simple stone, they seemed to be elite golems like the ones we had faced earlier, rather than like Sophia.

These elite golems were lined up along the corridor.

[These are the golems produced here.]

“You have a production facility?”

Sophia nodded at Beatrice’s question.

[There is a magical device that creates golems in the storage room beyond this corridor. After creating this seal, we’ve been continuously producing forces.]

“Is there no issue with materials?”

[This place has plenty of sturdy rocks suitable for golems. There are also metals that Sophia prepared. It wasn’t difficult to maintain steady production.]

So there was a reason for that enormous quantity.

At Sophia’s words, Sia quietly asked.

“Why focus so much on production?”

[Because the opponent is powerful.]

“I get the feeling there was more thought behind it than that.”

[I won’t deny that they were forces for contingencies.]

Sophia continued speaking in response to Sia’s comment.

[However, golem production will soon be halted. The magical power consumed in creating golems was supplied from the Philosopher’s Stone stored in the room you passed through. Now that the Philosopher’s Stone is in your possession, that magical device will cease to function. To prevent misuse, it’s set to automatically collapse once its function stops.]

“I don’t know whether to be relieved or slightly disappointed.”

“The Magic Tower would be desperate to have it, both for research purposes and for its monetary value.”

Beatrice agreed with Sera’s comment.

It was easy to imagine the immense value of a magical device that could continuously produce golems as long as there were sufficient materials and magical power, even without an owner.

At their words, Sophia quietly looked at Sera.

[Maria said that even if it disappeared from the world, Seraphina would be able to recreate it.]

“Me?”

[She said that her granddaughter would be able to surpass her. She left those words after this place was completed.]

At Sophia’s words, Sera bowed her head slightly, seemingly embarrassed.

‘Come to think of it, she said the same thing to me.’

I remembered Maria saying with confidence that Sera would be able to surpass her.

As I nodded quietly, thinking about the conversation I had with Maria just before obtaining the Philosopher’s Stone, a creaking sound came from Sophia’s body.

When Sera raised her head again, Sophia looked at her and said.

[Severe functional abnormality. I will freeze this body and continue guiding you using a surveillance golem.]

As soon as she finished speaking, Sophia fell forward.

And a round stone similar to what we had seen at the beginning popped out again.

Looking at the sphere, Sera asked.

“Is it possible to create a new body for Sophia with that magical device?”

[Impossible. The maximum it can create is elite golems. Special golems like me are not possible.]

Looking at Sera, Sophia continued.

[Originally, I was meant to be created as an artificial human called a homunculus, but Maria changed her approach midway and made me a golem because it might not be suitable for combat, and various technologies were applied in the process. Thanks to that, I can use magic with a golem’s body and have self-awareness, but I’m not suitable for mass production.]

After saying this, Sophia looked at her body lying on the ground and said.

[In particular, the mechanism I use as a power source is a very special organ that forcibly mimics the characteristics of a dragon’s heart. It’s not suitable for mass production.]

There was a hint of pride in her tone.

Looking at Sophia, I quietly said.

“Both you and your creator are impressive.”

[Thank you for the compliment.]

It was quite an unusual situation to receive thanks from a golem.

While thinking that it wasn’t a bad feeling, I noticed that we had reached the end of the corridor.

Sophia muttered something at the blocked door, and soon the door opened, revealing what was hidden inside.

“Wow…”

The exclamation came from Chris.

An incredibly spacious warehouse was filled with various items.

From a busy-looking device to what appeared to be ingredients for potions and precious-looking metals, it seemed to have everything.

Examining one of them, Beatrice quietly said.

“There are even materials that are hard to find nowadays.”

[These are items that Maria collected herself while traveling the world in her youth, and also substitutes she created. While those that were lost or completely disappeared before then couldn’t be helped, most of the items Maria discovered exist along with her research records.]

After saying this, Sophia looked at Sera.

[Everything here, Maria’s knowledge, all of it belongs to you, Seraphina Medimaker.]

“Grandmother…”

Sera looked around with slightly sad eyes.

Noticing that she was missing her grandmother, I quietly approached Sera and said.

“Your grandmother was an amazing person.”

“…Yes.”

Sera answered as she looked around with eyes slightly immersed in sentiment.