The Academy's Deceased Ate It All

The door of the alchemy club was firmly locked.

I knocked a few times, thinking what the hell, and the door opened with a clanking sound from inside.

Cass Lyle, who looked very excited, greeted me inside.

“Come on in, quickly.”

“Uh, yes.”

Almost pulling me in, he closed the door and locked it again.

When I looked at him to ask him if it was okay to do this, even though it was still a club, he answered one step ahead of me.

"I informed everyone that the door would be closed today for organizing internal materials. So it's okay."

Of course, it's a lie.

After adding that, he immediately took out a letter from his inner pocket and put it on the table.

“What is this?”

I expected it, but when I pretended not to know and asked him, he answered with a small breath.

“A letter from Professor Blesbuck.”

“Wait, really?”

"Yes."

I put down the things I was carrying, walked closer, and looked at it.

The letter, which was written in a considerably excellent handwriting, was crumpled, as if he had read it again and again.

“But why me… ?”

“The professor asked you to read it too, and that's how she started the first sentence."

When I looked where he was pointing, it was written at the top, 'Look with the child who was preparing cleaning with us.'

“Potion of Purification.”

He muttered quietly.

"There are some alchemists on the European side who call the potion of purification cleaning. And she's from there, and so am I... Above all, you were the only one who made the potion of purification as the three of us.”

Listening to him, I examined the letter.

What the hell, most of the contents were written with meaningless words or gibberish, such as utility bill payment date, insect breeding logs, how to cook ramen deliciously, and the expected plot of a reserved drama.

"It seems to be a code.”

"That's right. Here is the interpretation.”

I took the paper he handed me and read it quickly.

No, to be precise, I stopped just before I did.

"What is this?"

“…I couldn't interpret what on earth it means from here. Perhaps she was asking you to interpret it.”

Contrary to Cass Lyle's very serious expression, I kept my mouth shut.

If it was originally the development of the original story to find the hidden meaning by combining the letters from wrong spelling and spacing, this time it seemed my existence had been added and hidden in a different way.

I read her letter slowly, looking as serious as possible.

[Hokssi molgeuni yokwi samnyam deureun mot bokkkealhal ssyokssyo bonnaelge. Nr al neun jak jilhae hok ikwo….] [1]

"Cough."

I coughed because I thought I was going to burst out laughing for a moment.

I couldn't stand the thought that she, a member of the Night Clan and someone who has the ability to be one of the best among the existing alchemists, would have written these words in an excellent handwriting, eagerly.

"What's wrong?"

“No, ahem. Can you give me some paper? I will interpret it right away.”

“Oh, here it is.”

I immediately wrote down her words in an easy-to-understand way.

There was a lot of mess in the consonant cluster, sentences with strangely written spaces, consonants and vowels, and even with words arranged back and forth, but I was able to interpret it without difficulty.

"Here."

"Wait a minute."

When I handed it over, Cass Lyle immediately took it as if snatching it and read it out.

"Just in case, I'll write it so that people here won't recognize it. I'm doing well. Actually, I tried to contact you a few days ago, but suddenly I felt a gaze and had to hide myself, so I was late. It's safe now, so don't worry. I'm really sorry for disappearing without saying anything...….”

He read the letter out over and over again with the momentum of memorizing its contents.

And after a while, he muttered with a relieved expression on his face as if it were really fortunate.

"Thank God… she seems to be safe. Seeing that the letter also contains the words that she prepared to write in case of this kind of situation, I'm sure she wrote it herself.”

The content of the letter started with a simple greeting, and said that she could not explain where she was and what was going on right now, but that she would explain it later, and that since the urgent fire has been extinguished, she would continue to be in touch in the future.

"I'm glad she's safe."

"So….”

Cass Lyle carefully folded the letter and put it in his inner pocket.

Then he pulled out a chair and sat down on it, sighing once more.

“Thank you, Ji-Hyuk.”

"What do you mean thank you, I didn't do anything….”

At those words, he was silent for a moment, then suddenly apologized to me.

“And I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

"Actually, there were more things that came separately for you and me."

With those words, he pulled out a letter from his pocket and held it to me.

"The letter said to give it to you only when I interpreted what came for both of us… I unintentionally deceived you. I'm sorry."

I could feel that there was something else besides the letter in the envelope I had received.

I tried to open it right away, but he reached out and stopped me.

“It said to open it when you are alone. And it also said that if you need help, I should help you as much as possible."

With those words, Cass Lyle looked at me with a gaze that seemed to ask, do you have anything to ask for?

Perhaps because he knew Alice Blesbuck's current situation, his expression and atmosphere were very gentle.

For some reason, I felt like he would say okay if I asked him to be a joint guarantor for me now.

"Ah."

"Is there something you need?"

"Yes. Was it 3 protyle, don't you have that?”

“Why that all of a sudden?”

3 protyle is one of the important theories in alchemy, referring to salt, sulfur, and mercury respectively.

The reason I knew this was because it was necessary when attacking the dungeon where another legacy of Shadow Walker, the Scorpion's Hoof, is hidden.

"Can I get a concentrate of those properties... in the form of a gem or a potion?"

He immediately nodded at my request.

“How much do you need?”

“I think a little is fine. About 1 to 2 uses?”

"Okay… Then I'll make it within four days at the latest. Anything else you need?”

When I said, nothing in particular right now, he nodded as if he understood.

“Then come see me later. If it's completed sooner than expected, I'll contact you. Oh, and if I get another letter from Professor Blesbuck.”

"Yes. I look forward to working with you."

"Thank you so much for coming even though I called you out of the blue.… I think I'll have to tell a lie as I did then, so I'll excuse myself."

Having said that, he got up from his seat and went in to organize the materials.

Once I came out, I had nothing to do, so I was thinking if I should grab a quick bite, go in, and play with Laune, when.

Homunculus, this is the first time in the world I have seen one with such a high level of perfection.

Hearing the sound that seemed to ring in my ear, I brought my right hand to my mouth and whispered.

"Shut up. Before I really kill you.”

That is too much... however, I do not want to die again, so I shall keep my mouth shut.

The guy intentionally made a hub* sound, and it was when I was encouraging myself not to fall for the cheap provocation. [2]

"As expected, you're here."

I heard a voice that sounded like a whisper.

The owner of the voice, who was sitting on the bench, stood up as if they were waiting and stood in my way.

That someone was none other than Jin Ye-Seul.

“… What, how did you know I'd come here?”

When I asked her that, Jin Ye-Seul replied in a nonchalant tone, as if it were no big deal.

“Since you walk this road the most, I just thought that you would come here on the basis of probability. I didn't do anything weird, so you don't have to worry.”

Then how the hell do you know that I've walked this road the most?

I couldn't dare to ask even that, so I nodded roughly.

“So what’s going on?”

“…….”

Jin Ye-Seul was silent.

She mumbled her lips, and began to agonize for a while.

Seeing that, I opened my mouth first, thinking perhaps.

"Are you perhaps here to ask me when we're going to find the next legacy?”

“… yes?"

"You don't have to worry too much, I was already preparing. I'll tell you when I'm done preparing....”

“It’s not like that.”

Jin Ye-Seul cut me off in the middle, showing that she was in a bad mood, which was rare.

Then she looked at me and asked in a voice that seemed to say she couldn't understand.

“Rather than that, shouldn't you rather bring up the talk about possible legacy late? Why the hell are you fidgety about not being able to give them to me quickly...!”

In the middle of shooting back like that, she let out a small sigh.

Then she took a deep breath and spoke to me.

Turning her head slightly and avoiding my gaze.

“… it, it's very difficult to learn a legacy.”

"What?"

“I mean, I can't seem to master the technique of the legacy I received last time on my own!”

Jin Ye-Seul, who half-shouted with her eyes closed, exhaled.

“… in a situation like this, it wouldn't make sense to get another legacy. So I'm here to ask you a favor."

She exhaled once and continued.

“Let's stop looking for other legacies until I've mastered the technique of the legacy. Instead, since this is entirely for my own adherence… I am, of course, willing to pay whatever price you want me to pay. I am also willing to pay more if you want.”

“… as I said before, I am not a descendent of Shadow Walker. So I really don't think I'll be of any help to you."

At those words, Jin Ye-Seul looked speechless.

But she immediately looked at the ground and said, raising her head proudly toward me.

“But I remember you using Henir’s shadow well? If you have that much sense, it would at least be better than me doing it myself.”

“…….”

“So, will you do it or not?"

After thinking for a moment at her words, I nodded.

It was in the hope that this would erase the guilt I felt toward her a little.

“I promise. I won't allow you to change your words later."

After waiting for my answer with an anxious look, she nodded as if satisfied.

“Then let’s practice tomorrow.”

“Wait, tomorrow, not the weekend?”

"Yes."

Jin Ye-Seul nodded.

“I want to learn the technique of the legacy as soon as possible.”

So don't be late tomorrow.

After saying those words, Jin Ye-Seul turned around, leaving the words that she would wait in the training room from the last time.

Then she disappeared as quickly as if she were running away that I wondered if she was worried that I would catch her.

Had she perhaps been waiting here all this time for saying this?

It was when I was looking at her back with a complicated gaze.

That woman is having a mental breakdown, isn't she?

The voice came again.

I was about to shoot back at him to shut up, but I changed my mind and wove the branches of the World Tree to make his mouth and eyes come out.

The guy immediately took a deep breath.

“I thank you for your mercy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The guy's eyes rolled around at my words.

“Literally. I do not know who did it, but there is a fair amount of fine work done on her mind. It has also hardened a long ago.”

Svengali muttered in a very businesslike tone.

“If you leave her like that, she will not last long. In three years, she would go crazy and die. More than that, I am curious about how on earth she has been keeping her rationality like that up until now."

“Now what the hell kind of bullsh*t….”

“I am telling you, it is true. Who can stand it when there is a big hole in their mind, and it is causing it to collapse as it is being dragged into another area like a drain? Have you ever seen a person whose mind has been cut out and collapsed like that and is still alive?”

The guy shot back in a rather frustrated voice as if it were unfair. 

“Hey, do you think that the human mind is some kind of assembly block doll? That even if there are missing parts, it can be okay?”

Svengali clicked his tongue and muttered as if it was ridiculous.

“I have heard this from somewhere, but I heard that you guys have different names for all the winds blowing in different directions, seasons, and regions? If so, how much more it would be for human emotion?”

“What kind of bullsh*t is that?”

“In short, human emotions are so delicate and ambiguous that it is difficult to even name them. Well, I wonder if you can understand it properly even if I say it in a lame way.”

Svengali, who clicked his tongue when I didn't answer, continued.

“That woman, that woman’s insides are definitely more distorted than ordinary people. And perhaps because of that distortion, such a rough measure was taken? However, hey, you know what?"

“What?”

"It is a little irrelevant, but… Everyone knows that rainbows are divided into red, orange, yellow... colors like this. You will know it when you see it again. That one is red, that one is orange. Like this.”

His eyes rolled around and stared at me.

"However, no one knows exactly where the boundaries of those colors are. At some point, red is orange, and orange is yellow. The same is true of the human mind. It changes at some point. You do not realize it has changed until it has changed."

The explanation was a little strange, but what I want to say is that it was really the worst way to go.

"In any case, they should have left it alone and rather changed the direction. To do it that way, simply put, is to scatter the rainbow itself just because you don't know the boundaries of the rainbow. If so, where can it stand?”

When I still didn't answer, he muttered as if frustrated.

He was well aware that he was still an object of distrust.

"Hey, I know how you feel, but do not ignore me too much. I am Svengali, the Seven Evil who controlled the human soul and mind. Of course, I have nothing to say if you condemn me for my senseless and rubbish philosophy, but at least I am more of an expert than you. And what am I going to do by deceiving you now with nonsense words?”

His eyes rolled once more.

“I am destined to be a parasite, taking nourishment from you, and with one wave of your hand, I will truly perish without a trace. I can not even bring back my past that you have already taken. If anything, it would be beneficial for me to give you a few words of advice and get some sun like this."

After he said that, I asked him with a sigh.

“… so, what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“It seems that the person who played tricks on that woman has excellent skills. They cut the distortion exactly as if they had cut it out with a knife. So it did not become a bigger problem."

He giggled and made a crunching sound.

Crunch-crunch.

“The human mind is not as clean as a number game. It has been mistaken in the substantial part. If they had known how sentimental the human mind is, they would not have done that.”

“I’m asking how to solve it now.”

“It is simple, you just have to put the cut-out part back in. It looks like they have put a constraint on it or sealed it somewhere, but all you have to do is un-constrain it and stuff it back in again."

However, you know.

“Even if something that has been separated for at least 10 years suddenly enters, it will not fit perfectly. Simply put...Yes, should I say compatibility differences? We will have to wait and see what the outcome will be."

However….

However, you know.

“With me, we can skillfully guide the direction of the outcome.”

“…….”

Svengali whispered quietly.

When our eyes met, his eyes seemed to be smiling for some reason.

"Any direction is fine, I am willing to prove my allegiance to you. If you give me a little permission, I can process the woman as much as you wish. From a loyal dog who will gladly give up her life at a word from you, to a puppet who will follow only your orders....”

"Hey."

I put in a branch of the World Tree and made his mouth disappear.

Seeing the guy with only eyes left looking at me in bewilderment, I reached out my hand.

When I grabbed his eyes as if to burst them, his eyes fluttered.

“I think you're having a big misunderstanding about something right now, but… Let’s go over that one thing.”

His eyes fluttered and moved cautiously.

“Do you think I kept you alive because you have any use value?”

“…….”

“Laune, I’m just holding you as insurance in case something happens to him. Since you, who was the main body, was harpooned, no one knows what will happen to that guy who is an alter ego.”

In addition, I am going to throw this guy to Laune if I have a chance later.

If I chop him up finely and let him absorb him, it won't do anything bad to him.

“Got it?"

So, tease your mouth* in moderation. [3]

After saying those words, I moved the branches of the World Tree so that he could speak again.

The guy opened his mouth carefully.

“… Yes, I shall keep it in mind, keep it in mind.”

Should a pet go against his master's mood?

After saying that, the guy closed his eyes and mouth.

“…….”

After staring at that figure for a moment, I put the branches of the World Tree back in.

If his purpose was to complicate my head, I could say he had accomplished it brilliantly.

My head was now filled with Jin Ye-Seul.

Whatever direction that was.

Rattle.

The bracelet Jin Ye-Jeong had given me made a small sound.

____________________________

[Note[1]: It doesn't really make any sense, I asked a native.]

[Note[2]: When you try talking with your mouth closed or you're gagged.]

[Note[3]: Cuss, animal mouth.]