As I became more engrossed in my research, time passed quickly. Before I knew it, it was time for each knight order to finish their exploration and return.
“Your Highness, here I come.”
“Yeah. Come in, Michael.”
“I’m back... Eve.”
Michael narrowed his eyes as he crossed the threshold. He was displeased with me, who was working at my desk.
“Even if you rest.”
“I was bored just sitting still. Don’t worry, I’m just doing it enough so that you don’t get tired.”
A nagging lover was unattractive. Michael swallowed what he wanted to say with a small sigh.
Michael turned his gaze to the documents scattered here and there on the desk. What caught his eye was the structural diagram of the sealing stone.
“By the way, I have some good news.”
“What is it?”
“We found a fourth sealing stone on our side. Unfortunately, it wasn’t broken.”
“Wow, there’s only one left. You’ve worked hard, Michael. I guess I’ll have to go to the Knight of Punishment soon.”
“I really hope you do so. The members of the guild will be honored if you personally congratulate them for their hard work.”
As of now, only Brigitte and the Knights of the Blood Wall have not found a single Seal Stone.
Michael also gave some peripheral news.
“I ran into the Third Princess as I was passing through the hallway. She yelled at me for being so noisy, and then made a displeased face after hearing my report.”
“Sister? That’s really good news.”
A faint smile appeared on my face, but I soon changed my expression to a serious one.
“She was in a sensitive state because of the mana core, so she went to the exploration achievement. Now that she's lost, she must be really angry. We have to be careful for the time being.”
“Don’t worry. I will definitely protect you.”
“Well? Shouldn’t I protect Michael?”
I replied as if I was joking, but I was half sincere. Brigitte was venting her anger.
If so, it would be more likely to touch Michael, the direct subordinate, rather than me.
That was the royal tradition, and it directly touched me now.
It must have been a big burden for Brigitte as well.
There was a precedent. Brigitte was also the mastermind behind the incident that led to Michael's false union.
Michael's lips slightly curled as memories of that time came back vividly.
“If she does that again, I’ll bury her with gardening magic.”
“I'll try.”
At that time, he was worried that he would become a burden to Eve, who was just a powerless Princess, so he suffered alone.
Now, his faith in her protection was strong.
It was soon dinnertime, so she needed to finish up her research work. Eve gathered her papers together and filed them away.
Michael cleverly caught a piece of paper that had flown out of the desk. He then scanned the densely written text with serious eyes.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Michael handed the paper to Eve without hesitation. Eve let out a small laugh.
“It’s easier than I thought.”
“I do not wish to commit the disloyalty of distrusting my lord’s words, but regarding alchemy, weren’t you a genius? It’s hard to believe that genius says it’s easy.”
“Huh. Michael, sit in front.”
I made a gesture of tapping the stool opposite me. Michael, like a well-trained knight, obediently sat down. But it seemed he couldn't shake off his doubts.
“Homunculus doesn’t seem like a suitable candidate for an alchemy disciple.”
“I think it would be good to know the basics. You might have to deal with it when you find a broken sealing stone.”
“If you say so.”
Only then did Michael take on the attitude of a serious student and listen attentively.
“From what I can tell, there are only two reasons for a seal stone to fail: either the power is disconnected and the circuitry is not getting enough mana, or the target coordinates are in the wrong place.”
“Your Highness, here I come.”
“Yeah. Come in, Michael.”
“I’m back... Eve.”
Michael narrowed his eyes as he crossed the threshold. He was displeased with me, who was working at my desk.
“Even if you rest.”
“I was bored just sitting still. Don’t worry, I’m just doing it enough so that you don’t get tired.”
A nagging lover was unattractive. Michael swallowed what he wanted to say with a small sigh.
Michael turned his gaze to the documents scattered here and there on the desk. What caught his eye was the structural diagram of the sealing stone.
“By the way, I have some good news.”
“What is it?”
“We found a fourth sealing stone on our side. Unfortunately, it wasn’t broken.”
“Wow, there’s only one left. You’ve worked hard, Michael. I guess I’ll have to go to the Knight of Punishment soon.”
“I really hope you do so. The members of the guild will be honored if you personally congratulate them for their hard work.”
As of now, only Brigitte and the Knights of the Blood Wall have not found a single Seal Stone.
Michael also gave some peripheral news.
“I ran into the Third Princess as I was passing through the hallway. She yelled at me for being so noisy, and then made a displeased face after hearing my report.”
“Sister? That’s really good news.”
A faint smile appeared on my face, but I soon changed my expression to a serious one.
“She was in a sensitive state because of the mana core, so she went to the exploration achievement. Now that she's lost, she must be really angry. We have to be careful for the time being.”
“Don’t worry. I will definitely protect you.”
“Well? Shouldn’t I protect Michael?”
I replied as if I was joking, but I was half sincere. Brigitte was venting her anger.
If so, it would be more likely to touch Michael, the direct subordinate, rather than me.
That was the royal tradition, and it directly touched me now.
It must have been a big burden for Brigitte as well.
There was a precedent. Brigitte was also the mastermind behind the incident that led to Michael's false union.
Michael's lips slightly curled as memories of that time came back vividly.
“If she does that again, I’ll bury her with gardening magic.”
“I'll try.”
At that time, he was worried that he would become a burden to Eve, who was just a powerless Princess, so he suffered alone.
Now, his faith in her protection was strong.
It was soon dinnertime, so she needed to finish up her research work. Eve gathered her papers together and filed them away.
Michael cleverly caught a piece of paper that had flown out of the desk. He then scanned the densely written text with serious eyes.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Michael handed the paper to Eve without hesitation. Eve let out a small laugh.
“It’s easier than I thought.”
“I do not wish to commit the disloyalty of distrusting my lord’s words, but regarding alchemy, weren’t you a genius? It’s hard to believe that genius says it’s easy.”
“Huh. Michael, sit in front.”
I made a gesture of tapping the stool opposite me. Michael, like a well-trained knight, obediently sat down. But it seemed he couldn't shake off his doubts.
“Homunculus doesn’t seem like a suitable candidate for an alchemy disciple.”
“I think it would be good to know the basics. You might have to deal with it when you find a broken sealing stone.”
“If you say so.”
Only then did Michael take on the attitude of a serious student and listen attentively.
“From what I can tell, there are only two reasons for a seal stone to fail: either the power is disconnected and the circuitry is not getting enough mana, or the target coordinates are in the wrong place.”
“Hmm, the former seems more likely.”
“That’s right. And it’s easy to fix. All you have to do is re-supply the mana. Then the sealing stone will try to reactivate itself and regain its function. But there’s a problem. This reactivation ritual won’t be controlled from the outside.”
“Ah, so it’s a sealing stone that was originally designed to function on its own, so it ignores human intervention.”
“Yeah. Just in case, does Michael know how to destroy an alchemical ritual?”
“Destruction? If that’s the case..."
Michael was a homunculus who knew nothing about alchemy, so what he knew was a very simple method.
“I was taught to break the soft spots.”
“That’s right. That’s correct.”
I clapped my hands. It was to boost the students' morale for the difficult material that was about to follow.
Both magic and alchemy rely on math and language, alchemy, especially algebra and geometry. If both disciplines are about translating shapes into formulas, alchemy is the reverse process. That's where it comes in. In other words, the planes of the grid are coordinates, and the shapes, curves, and straight lines that make up the grid are formulas that contain alchemical information.”
“Curves and straight lines can be seen as formulas containing alchemical information.”
“It wasn’t just a pretty geometric pattern.”
“Yes. It is the alchemical language expressed in the language of geometry. That is why the fusion line is the fatal weakness of alchemy.”
Back to the topic of destruction laws.
“Normally, if you break half of it or 25% of it, you paralyze the soft tissue. If it's inked, I'll overlay it, if it's engraved or embossed, I'll break it, and if it's too hard for me to do, I'll distort it.”
“Yeah. You said geometry. If the plane is distorted, the whole thing becomes distorted. It’s no longer the original coordinates and formulas.”
“Interesting. It could be useful if we ever need to disrupt alchemy using large-scale fusion circles.”
“That’s right. If you know the principle, you can deal with Yeonseongjin no matter what material it is drawn with.”
With that, my basic alchemy demolition lecture came to a short end. I concluded by saying.
“It’s a simple fact that alchemists know, but homunculus often don’t.”
“At the training school, they only taught magic and swordsmanship, so it was my first time hearing about it.”
“That's a shame because homunculus is actually the most vulnerable.”
Michael asked back as if he didn't understand at first.
I sighed softly as if I had to tell a rather uncomfortable story to explain.
“Unlike humans... Homunculus can be used as alchemical sacrifices. And they are excellent sacrifices at that.”
Indeed, it was a content that even Michael could not help but harden his expression.
“The first time... I heard it.”
“Yeah. Even in the royal family, only a few people know about it.”
I didn't want to talk for long, so I skipped the long, drawn-out explanation and jumped to the conclusion.
“They are not only coordinates and formulas but also vessels for ingredients and offerings, so you must be very careful not to step on them while they are activated.”
“Yeah. If you accidentally step on it, destroy any important alchemy rituals like I said before. Got it?”
“Of course. I have no intention of leaving you behind and dying early.”
“Yes, yes.”
I stroked Michael's hair as if to congratulate him on a job well done. Then he lowered his head to make it easier for me.
I was practicing while sitting cross-legged.
I opened my eyes after a long meditation and glanced back.
There was Michael, leaning against a wooden pillar.
“No one is there?”
“It’s just you and me within a 100-meter radius.”
It was the perfect environment for a secret meeting, but unfortunately, there was work to be done.
I sat up straight again and took a deep breath. I drew heavily from my now stable mana core.
The Arachne, a weaving system taught to Eve by the Sage of the Spruce Grove, was unfolding.
It was something that came out of Arachne itself, the silver-haired sword.
It was caused by the silver threads that make up the Arachne of silver flesh, the lines spreading out in such great numbers that they formed a plane.
Eve's Arachne was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Michael didn't feel overwhelmed.
Brrrrr.
A drop of sweat ran down my forehead as I concentrated.
I had previously wanted to further enhance the silver-clad Arachne.
I made up my mind. It doesn't end with unfolding the silver-clad Arachne, It was about moving in the direction and position I wanted.
Slurp. Slurp.
On the moonlit lake, shards of light as sharp as sword blades were dizzyingly half-mated. Countless silver threads moved so as not to interfere with each other's orbits, encircling everything around them more tightly.
The silver-fleshed Arachne halted, the encirclement of all things in the immediate area narrowing to a breathtaking distance.
The space between my eyebrows was tightly closed as if in pain. I was soon at his limit.
“Whoa...!”
As soon as I exhaled, the silver-clad Arachne was sucked in and pulled apart.
It was as if it was folding wings of light.
Michael approached me, who was out of breath.
“It was enormous. It was so large that it covered the entire lake. From the sheer number of possible outcomes to the precise coordinates, to the duration. Nothing is less than extraordinary. It’s overwhelming.”
“Oh, thank you. I think the duration could be increased by reducing the range.”
“The great sage of the spruce forest will be very pleased to see your accomplishments.”
"Yes?"
My delighted face soon turned wistful.
“That’s good. I have something to consider as well.”
Michael still harbored resentment about his past life where he was not respected.
"Ha ha ha..."
It was at that moment that I smiled awkwardly, thinking that there were still human relationships that needed to be resolved. Michael flinched.
“Eve.”
“Huh? Why... Huh, what?!”
I was so surprised that I almost screamed. Suddenly, Michael hugged me and jumped to the World Tree.
The two of us burrowed into the lush foliage and landed on a branch.
Michael said, putting his index finger to his lips.
“Shh, someone is coming.”
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