Chapter 31: Chain of Hatred Part 5

Time passed.

Now that the seasons have begun to shift gradually from spring to summer,

The sun that rose in the morning had started to stretch longer. Just like the dark circles under Professor Georg’s eyes.

It was one of those mornings when the sunlight began pouring down early.

“Someone’s dead.”

“It’s been a while…”

“Should we file the report first?”

“Preserve the scene before anything else.”

An unidentified corpse lay sprawled on the ground in a gruesome state.

The students, worn and weathered by experience, were absurdly calm despite discovering a body.

It was a tragic reflection of this cruel reality.

And I was no different.

“I wonder if this means afternoon classes will be canceled.”

Even a murder no longer stirred any particular emotion in me.

What truly occupied my mind was completing Ariel’s medicine.

Since everything had been at a standstill, it was impossible not to be bothered by it.

And besides, I had already expected something like this to happen.

The presence of Saintess Tillis, the technological partnership to investigate Ex Machina’s mechanical devices, and the resulting influx of outsiders—

Too many incidents and people had poured in, and chaos inevitably followed.

That chaos had even left Olga Hermod unsure of how to respond, so there were surely those waiting to exploit that opening.

It was fitting that the Cradle had ranked number one for “places terrorists most want to hit” over the past year.

“Yuna.”

“Hmm?”

Yuna appeared the moment I called her. Did she have nothing else to do?

I asked her. She was an assassin, so she usually heard and saw many things.

If things turned out differently from what I’d expected, I might need to be more cautious.

“The dead guy was a dark mage from Under Chain. He used to belong to a gang called the Goren Family, but after being annihilated by the Saintess, he had apparently been chasing after her ever since.”

“Hmm, that’s enough.”

Fortunately, it had turned out just as I expected.

He must have gotten himself killed trying to take revenge on Tillis.

Lately, too many unpredictable things had been happening, so I’d been on edge. But in a way, this was welcome news.

Someone who deserved to die was dead.

That was enough for now.

“Oh my, is it already this late? I’m sorry. Because of my personal problems, I’ve ended up staining the campus. I was hoping to clean everything up before anyone arrived…”

As I passed by the crime scene, Saintess Tillis appeared in the distance, dragging a large sack behind her.

“Since I was the one who brought him down, I’ll take responsibility and clean up after myself.”

The purpose of the sack was obvious. She was clearly planning to stuff the corpse in there and haul it away.

Tillis smiled brightly, and there wasn’t even a shadow of guilt on her face.

“As expected of the Saintess!”

The surrounding students were busy praising her as well.

This world had gone completely mad.

“If only the dead guy had been an Ex Machina researcher instead.”

Then we wouldn’t have had to watch this absurd spectacle for so long. What a shame.

I couldn’t help but wonder if thinking like that meant I wasn’t quite sane either.

“Let’s go. We’ll be late for class.”

“I don’t go to class.”

“Me neither.”

I was just going to show up and sleep anyway.

***

After school.

As usual, I headed to the alchemy workshop Ars Magna, carrying a complicated mix of thoughts with me.

But the one who greeted me wasn’t Professor Georg, nor his slave Senior Jabir.

“Ah, Student Johan. Welcome. Perfect timing. Do you happen to know where Professor Georg has gone?”

“Has he run off again?”

“…Yes. I already knew that Professor Georg wasn’t exactly the most responsible adult, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”

“He’s probably just exhausted. I’m sure he’ll come back once he clears his head a little.”

“I hope so… but, well, this is the fifth time he’s run off.”

“Good grief.”

That many exoduses without me even knowing?

If he’s failed that many times but still kept trying, he must really be hiding for good this time. I know nothing about it.

Just as I was racking my brain, trying to avoid getting dragged into this mess—

“Master.”

A woman stepped out from the workshop.

Tangled black hair. Dull yellow eyes clouded with a murky color.

She wasn’t a student from the Cradle. I didn’t recognize her face

And yet, she looked oddly familiar.

“Hm? Ah, Emily, right? Did you take a look inside?”

“I don’t think he’s hiding in there. Should I check somewhere else?”

“No, it’s fine. Seems he’s made up his mind to disappear this time, so don’t waste your energy.”

“Yes.”

…Emily?

The moment I heard that name, my memory kicked in.

Emily Robinhood.

The younger sister of Stan Robinhood, one of Lobelia’s close aides, and at the same time…

“……”

“Hmm? Emily, what are you doing? Ah! Is Student Johan bothering you?”

“A little, yes.”

A high-ranking member of Ex Machina.

The instant I realized that, the blood drained from my face. But fortunately, I quickly regained my composure.

It’s fine. She’s not someone who’d mean me harm.

Ex Machina wasn’t exactly a clear villain group, and even within the organization, its members had wildly different temperaments.

Emily was simply a genius who happened to be affiliated with Ex Machina and she leaned more toward the good side.

“I read your research journal.”

“…My research?”

Compared to the other researchers in Ex Machina, she at least had a relatively sound sense of morality.

Of course, true to Ex Machina’s nature, any sense of etiquette had long since gone out the window.

Well, that’s how mad geniuses usually were.

“Yes, I happened to come across it while looking around inside. It looked interesting.”

“I’m sorry, Student Johan. Emily? Haven’t I told you not to go through someone else’s research journal without permission?”

“Really?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m the one who left it out in plain sight.”

“Still, my apologies, Student Johan.”

Coran Lekias pressed a hand to his forehead as if he was visibly distressed. Yeah, taking in a smart but socially clueless beast must have been tough.

Anyway, Emily probably wasn’t the culprit behind this Ex Machina incident.

She had no reason to hate Tillis, and more importantly, the mechanical device that appeared this time wasn’t her work.

“May I continue, big brother Johan?”

“Uh? Y-Yeah…”

Maybe she was just sociable, or maybe it was because I was older.

Her flat voice calling me something so friendly caught me off guard.

It rolled off her tongue so naturally that I responded before I realized it.

Not that I wanted to get closer to her or anything…

“You’re conducting some unique research.”

“Oh…? Emily, did you have an interest in alchemy too?”

“No, not really. The research itself just seemed interesting.”

“I see.”

At her indifferent reply, Coran Lekias scratched his cheek.

Maybe their master-disciple relationship hadn’t been going on for that long? Then again, considering Emily’s status within Ex Machina, it wasn’t all that surprising.

It was probably just a whim driven by curiosity that led Emily to become Coran Lekias’s disciple.

“But now that I hear Emily found it interesting, even this old man is getting curious. Johan, if it’s not too much trouble, would you mind explaining it briefly?”

“Ah, well…”

The fact that I was looking for a cure for Transcendental Syndrome wasn’t exactly a secret.

I didn’t care if people found out.

It was unlikely anyone would connect this medicine to Ariel.

She had been hiding her condition from others, and I had a perfectly valid reason to be researching the syndrome due to past events.

That’s why I’ve been actively seeking help rather than keeping it all to myself.

I wasn’t exactly a genius, but people like Senior Jabir and a few others had exceptional minds.

“It’s just that the research is at a standstill. I’ve gotten close to completing it, but there’s a problem with the combination of the ingredients.”

Surprisingly, I was able to figure out the final form of the medicine early on.

The problem was, I had no way to create it.

You couldn’t just throw in a bunch of expensive ingredients and expect a miracle.

You had to consider everything. From ingredient order, neutralizers, catalysts, and more.

“There are two key ingredients at the core of the medicine, but they’re completely incompatible with each other, which makes synthesis very difficult.”

“What kind of ingredients are we talking about?”

“One is the heart of a phoenix, and the other is the blood of a frost giant. Both have extremely demanding temperature requirements, and I have to combine them.”

One burns with endless flame; the other flows like ice.

Having to make those two coexist…..it’s no wonder I felt stuck.

If the two were ever mixed by mistake, one could overpower the other, both could become useless, or in the worst-case scenario, there might even be an explosion. Who could know for sure?

“Huh… That definitely sounds difficult. If you want to satisfy both at the same time, you’ll need to find a different process.”

“Yes.”

In the end, I would probably have to create the necessary components of the two ingredients by combining and breaking them down with other ingredients.

The problem was, I had no idea how to make that happen just yet.

The process was likely going to be quite lengthy, too.

“I wish I could offer some advice, but I’m sorry. I have no expertise whatsoever when it comes to alchemy.”

“Your words alone mean a lot. Thank you.”

There had to be a way somehow.

Eventually, if I just kept hammering away at all the possibilities, I’d succeed sooner or later.

I just didn’t know if Ariel could hold on until then.

“I don’t know if it’ll help, but if you really want to solve this, you should try visiting Professor Georg.”

“What…?”

I was about to ask exactly what she meant by that, but Emily turned around without another word and went to stand by Coran, as if the conversation was already over.

“Ahem! Well then, we’ll be going. Johan, I hope we’ll have a chance to meet again sometime.”

“Ah, yes. Please take care on your way back.”

Coran Lekias and Emily left the alchemy workshop just like that.

Rather than teacher and student, the two looked more like a grandfather and his granddaughter.

***

Following Emily’s advice, I decided to look for Professor Georg.

If it had been someone else who said it, maybe I would’ve brushed it off. But it came from Emily, an executive of Ex Machina.

She said she had no knowledge of alchemy, but that could’ve been a cover. Even if it wasn’t, she might have given me a valuable hint.

Either way, I had nothing to lose.

“Ah, so you were here?”

“Hmm?”

Finding Professor Georg hadn’t been all that difficult. After all, I had Yuna. Someone who popped up everywhere like Hong Gil-dong.

Yuna didn’t ask for anything in return for tracking down Professor Georg, but judging by the sly smile on her face, she was probably up to something.

Well, it wasn’t like I could do anything about it right away, and this much seemed harmless enough.

Yuna wouldn’t make an unreasonable demand over something this small anyway.

“What’s this, Johan? Did that old geezer tell you to come find me or something?”

“He didn’t say anything like that, but he is looking for you. Don’t make the old man suffer. Just take a decent break and go find him yourself.”

“I was gonna do that anyway, even if you didn’t say so, alright? Ugh… So, what brings you here?”

Professor Georg, who had been hiding in the corner of the storage room, stood up and asked. He looked like a complete wreck. He looked barely different from a shut-in.

Just by looking at his current state, anyone might have assumed he’d lost a family member.

“How’s the project you’ve been working on lately? Any progress?”

Emily had told me to go see Professor Georg. Of course, it wasn’t like he actually knew the answer.

If he did, he would’ve helped already.

Still, there had to be a clue.

That clue couldn’t have just appeared out of nowhere. There had to be some kind of connection.

As far as I could tell, the only lead was the analysis work on the metal material that Professor Georg had been handling.

An unknown alloy that didn’t rust, even when exposed to steam over long periods, and could withstand high pressure and heat.

Could uncovering the identity of that alloy help move my stalled experiment forward?

If the work turned out to be too difficult, I might even have to help Professor Georg myself.

“That? I finished that ages ago.”

“Huh? Then why…?”

However, an unexpected answer came back.

He said the analysis was already complete? Was this guy really that competent…?

No, more importantly…. if the analysis was already finished, then why was he still here like this?

“But no one believed me. So what could I do?”

What was he talking about now?

Could this be the nonsense of a man whose brain had melted from exhaustion?

Judging by Professor Georg’s appearance, that seemed more than likely…

“I really tried every possible method to uncover the identity of that metal.”

“Yes.”

“But it turned out to be just iron. Pure, high-grade iron with nothing special about it. Not even an alloy. And yet, both the Imperial Research Department and the Cradle keep accusing me of slacking off.”

Normally, I probably would’ve assumed Professor Georg had been cutting corners too, but something felt off.

Just looking at the state he was in, this clearly wasn’t the result of half-hearted work.

Which meant the metal really was just ordinary iron…

Then what was going on?

If the metal itself wasn’t special, then there must have been some external factor involved.

“Was it an Awakened ability?”

The only possibilities I could think of were magic or some kind of supernatural ability.

“How would I know? If I did, would I be hiding out like this? Not that anyone would believe me even if I told them.”

If it was an ability, then at the very least it would have to involve freely manipulating heat. I never heard of such an ability existing, but there was at least one thing that had become clear.

The answer to my problem didn’t lie in the material. It lay in the person.

Someone who had used an external force to control the transformation of simple iron.

In other words, the researcher from Ex Machina who orchestrated this whole thing was the one who held the key to solving my problem.