episode_0030

“Oh god! Please descend upon us as our club member! Please! Pleeease!!”

“….!”

Not knowing what was going on, I could only feel awkward.

God… Descend…? What on earth is this girl talking about?

Was this some kind of cult club?

As the screams echoed loudly, a bewildered female student finally stood up as if coming to her senses.

She grabbed my sleeve and tried to stop the pale-haired girl who was holding onto me.

“Hey, hey Ellen…! Stop it!”

“Oh god…! Please! It has to be you-!”

“Yes, yes…?”

Seeing her not calming down, reluctantly, the rest of the female club members also stood up and restrained her.

“Aaah! Let go of this! Let go!”

“Ugh, this troublemaker…! Hey, Dorothy! Grab her there!”

“Ugh, such a nuisance….”

The members held onto her tightly.

Then, they forcefully pushed open the club room door and seemed to drag her somewhere.

“Aaaahhh! Nooooooo-!”

The scene resembled a third-rate villain being defeated by a hero before the arrival of a demon lord.

“Phew… Finally, some peace….”

“….”

Still unable to keep up with the situation, I stood there frozen in place.

The remaining female members noticed my confusion.

In the now empty club room, one of them nervously asked me,

“Sorry. Did we startle you…? Is that friend a bit odd? Did you come to inquire about the club?”

“Oh… Yes. Is this the Alchemy Club?”

“Yeah. That’s right. I’m the club president.”

So, it was indeed the Alchemy Club.

I was relieved that I had found the right place. Even though I didn’t know what had just happened, I didn’t really want to dig into it.

“So, what made you curious enough to come here?”

“Oh, um, by any chance…”

I took out the mana stone from my pocket.

“Can this mana stone be used for alchemy?”

Mana stones are commonly used as magical tool materials in alchemy, but the one I brought was different.

It was a stone that only responded to my mana.

Whether it would respond to my mana and allow me to shape it delicately or melt it to reassemble it into a tool was uncertain.

“Uh….”

She looked puzzled as soon as she saw the stone I handed her.

“This is a type of mana stone I’ve never seen before…? What kind of attribute does this have?”

“I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem to have a typical attribute…”

Typical mana stones have attributes like fire, water, wind, or earth, but this one didn’t seem to fit any of those categories.

“…Not a typical attribute? Then what is it?”

“This stone… responds only to my mana. And it seems like I can manipulate mana through it.”

“What?!”

She was visibly surprised and continued,

“I’ve never heard of such a stone! Where did you get something like this…?”

“I obtained it while working as an adventurer. Originally, I wanted to have a blacksmith embed it in a weapon, but since I don’t know any blacksmiths, I thought I might seek help through alchemy.”

“Whaaat?! You can’t just embed a stone like that in a weapon! That’s what cheap elemental stones are for!”

“Oh… is that so.”

In the story, Heddy used to embed it in weapons.

Was it because she lacked magical talent?

Perhaps it was a heroine-exclusive item, or maybe I just had too little information.

“Being able to manipulate mana is a huge deal! It could be of any attribute and could be practical depending on the situation! So, never embed it in a weapon!”

“Yes, yes….”

She leaned in uncomfortably close to my face as she spoke, making me feel uneasy.

“By the way, I understand now. You came to the Alchemy Club because you want to try processing this stone, right?”

“That’s correct.”

Since it’s the most relevant profession to mana stones.

The blacksmith’s connections might make it easier to build up here.

But they absolutely refuse to refine… I got unexpected information.

“So, can magic tools be made with this mana stone through alchemy?”

“Hmm….”

She turned around and crossed her arms.

Then she tapped one foot, tap-tap, as if in thought, then turned back to me and said,

“For now, I can’t do it.”

As expected.

It seems it only responds to my mana, so it can’t be processed.

I guess I’ll have to leave it to the blacksmith to embed it in a weapon.

Just as I was thinking that, she spoke again.

“But there is one assistant who seems like they could refine it.”

“…! Is that true?”

“Yeah. Want an introduction?”

“Yes! I definitely want an introduction.”

If it’s true, it could greatly benefit my specs.

In the future, I’ll have a lot to prepare for.

If it goes as the story of Ariel that I know…

A few years later, the Demon King will resurrect.

As I’ve always said, Cain will come seeking revenge for tormenting me… I need at least one plan.

The more items I have that can protect me, the better.

“After Cain awakens, there was a main quest where the foolish disciple Xi’an was publicly humiliated and educated by Master Gong… ”

Commonly known as the education quest.

I’m soon to be the subject of such education. That’s why I needed to be prepared.

Even if I disguise myself and try to avoid recognition, if I’m recognized, they will surely come looking for me.

“I can introduce you. We’re quite close, so to speak. But there’s a condition.”

“A condition…?”

“Yes.”

She smiled like a fox and twinkled her eyes.

“Hehe~.”

What kind of condition is she talking about?

She continued, pointing her finger at me.

“Kiss my hand.”

“What?”

For a moment, the condition seemed so trivial that I foolishly asked.

Kiss her hand…? Is that all it was?

I thought there would be some difficult condition attached.

But why insist on a hand kiss? Are people that lacking in manners?

…Anyway, the professor did say that joining at least one club is a must.

If she’s willing to introduce me and it’s just a hand kiss, then of course, I can do it.

There’s no club that particularly appeals to me, and even learning advanced skills like alchemy leaves me with spare time.

“If it’s okay with me, I’ll gladly accept. But are there no other conditions besides the hand kiss?”

“There are. You also have to pass a personality test… but after talking a few times, I think it’s fine. Just kiss my hand.”

“Okay…”

“Decision made! Nice to meet you. I’m Seria.”

It seemed like things were progressing quite randomly.

Well, it shouldn’t be a big problem.

“…I’m Sian.”

“This is a direct contact card from me. Use this to reach me when scheduling appointments.”

Not long after the decision to join the club, the members came back, and with Seria’s explanation, I officially became a member of the Alchemy Club.

Although I could join multiple clubs, I made sure to inform the club members before doing so.

Since there aren’t any clubs I particularly want to join and it seems like it would take up a lot of time, I won’t be participating in multiple clubs.

After exchanging welcoming greetings for joining the club,

I continued researching applied swordsmanship alone in the training ground until evening, where I met Hedy.

“I joined the Alchemy Club.”

After I spoke, she took a bite of the sandwich I bought earlier.

Both of us weren’t feeling hungry today, so we decided to sit outside on a bench and eat our sandwiches.

Upon hearing my words, Hedy looked surprised and stared at me while chewing her sandwich.

After she finished chewing and swallowing, she said,

“…Do you know alchemy?”

“No. I just needed it, so I decided to learn it.”

“That’s unusual… Why do you need it? Can’t you just buy magic tools?”

Alright. There’s no need to start from the basics and learn everything step by step.

Just like Hedy said, if you get rid of what you don’t need, that’s the end of it.

However, the magic stone I possessed was special. You couldn’t find a magical tool utilizing this anywhere else.

That’s why without setting an entrance fee, I couldn’t manufacture the magic tools using the magic stone I obtained in the previous underground labyrinth.

“If you want to request this, you have to set an entrance fee for obtaining a unique magic stone.”

“…Set an entrance fee?”

Hedy suddenly stops eating her sandwich.

“Don’t people usually ask for money? Why an entrance fee…?”

“I don’t know either. Is the membership low? Well, thanks to that, my funds are secure…”

I don’t know why they set an entrance fee as a condition, but it was a good thing since manufacturing a magical tool with such a unique magic stone would have cost a fortune.

“…By any chance, how’s the gender ratio in that club?”

“Huh?”

Hedy suddenly stares at me intently and asks a completely random question.

“It seems like there are more girls, why?”

“….”

Hedy’s eyes narrowed as she continued to eat her sandwich with a puzzled expression, looking at her. Suddenly, she got up from her seat and started walking towards the academy dormitory direction.

“What’s going on? Where are you going?”

“….”

Ignoring my question, she just kept walking straight ahead.

‘Why is she acting like this…?’

I thought about whether I had done something to upset her, but it didn’t seem like I had.

‘Surely not because of my answer about there being more girls…? Nah, that can’t be.’

Hedy is the heroine following Cain.

I should probably treat her well… maybe like a friend. Then what could have bothered her?

I kept thinking, but I couldn’t find an answer to my questions.

With one eyebrow raised, I could only watch her walk away while continuing to eat my sandwich in confusion.

***

For a few days, I coordinated the schedule with the club president Celia and Stitch.

The person who was supposed to introduce me heard about my magic stone and seemed interested, asking to arrange a meeting as soon as possible.

After four days of coordination, today has finally arrived. I could now make contact with that person as planned around this time…

I walked down the corridor towards the end of the 3rd floor where the club room is located.

Finally, will I figure out how to use this magic stone?

I hoped it would be practical in emergencies if I could manipulate magic. I have a lot to prepare for in the future.

I need to grow stronger.

As mentioned before, currently, I need to increase my strength to prepare for when the Demon Lord descends.

The heroes will go to capture the Demon Lord, but the direct subordinates of the Demon Lord who roam the streets each surpass ordinary specs.

…So, while preparing to avoid being humiliated by Cain, I also need to strengthen myself.

Lost in thought, I found myself standing in front of the club room door.

Through the visible window, I saw someone sitting alone.

‘Probably the person I’m supposed to meet.’

The silhouette appeared to be that of a woman.

With that in mind, I opened the door and entered.