CH 568

Alchemy and dark magic.

Undead and alchemy.

I couldn't figure out the relevance between the two, and neither could Harriet.

Initially, we decided to call the Sarkegaar from the Allied Forces' base to the Temple. Harriet planned to deduce any meaningful connections between the clues through a meeting with the Council of Elders.

The lord of Saturday, Antirianus.

And the lord of Friday, Luvien.

Both vampire families had long been studying alchemy.

Thus, we could somewhat guess what the empire was planning through the vampire lords.

Whether Sarkegaar breaking into the laboratory came first, or a highly probable inference emerged from the Council of Elders' meeting, we couldn't know.

Ultimately, we needed to find out what possibilities the empire was exploring.

If it could help in the war, that would be great, but it was also important to determine whether it would pose a threat to us later on.

And then.

"Uhm..."

After a long night, I returned to Ellen's room.

Caught by Harriet as a transformed cat, I arrived at the imperial palace still in my feline form since I'd have to change back into a cat anyway.

It was morning.

The warm winter sunlight illuminated Ellen's face.

Lying down, Ellen stretched out as if she were struggling to keep her eyes open.

Trying to wake a dead body, her stretching was almost like convulsions.

From head to toe, stretched out straight, Ellen began to shiver.

-Purr

Was she not going to break something while stretching like this?

Was she having a seizure?

"Uhm...ugh..."

After wriggling for quite some time, Ellen glanced around the room with her eyes wide open, still lying down.

Was she looking for me?

-Meow

"..."

Without even rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Ellen picked me up from the bedside and placed me on her chest, hugging me tightly.

Well...

Honestly.

I'm getting used to it...

This feeling doesn't even make me flustered anymore...

I'm sorry...

"Sleep well..."

-Meow!

No.

Hey!

Was this the flow of waking up?

Ellen closed her eyes and slept for another two hours.

------

Ellen was as limp as a jellyfish.

It was good to see her completely relaxed, but...

Somehow.

It was as if she had died(?).

Ellen opened her eyes in a disheveled state and sat me down. She hugged her pillow without even properly washing up and stared intently at me.

Despite her total mess, she was still human... and because of that.

Seeing her always sharp self now in such disarray... she was just adorable...

Without saying anything.

Suddenly, she stroked my head and waist for a while.

She poked my nose for a while.

Suddenly, she opened her mouth wide and buried her face in my neck for a while.

It was like she spent the whole day zoning out, staring at a cat, and feeling content.

Aren't you hungry?

-Purr

She kept making that noise.

But it seemed like even eating was a hassle, and Ellen just stared blankly at me.

Was she broken?

Was she ruined?

Was this a sign that the cat should make a gradual exit for a great outcome? Did Ellen become someone who found everything bothersome because of the cat?

In the end, they found themselves in a strange situation, observing each other.

Watching her suddenly pick up the cat and roll around on the bed alone, it seemed that Ellen still had some of her normal self left, and it was a pleasant sight.

She hadn't completely changed, and if she wanted to, she could act like a child at any time.

Still, she couldn't spend the entire day like that, could she?

Grrr

Her stomach growled loudly, but she continued to lounge about.

"I'm hungry..."

She mumbled, but instead of complaining, she should go eat!

In the end, finding herself caught between her reluctance to get up and her hunger, she rolled around in an utterly pitiful state. I gave Ellen's cheek a few playful punches.

Smack, smack!

"???"

Meow!

After getting hit a few times, Ellen's eyes widened as she stared at me intently.

Ellen, rather defiantly, stuck out her cheek as if asking for more.

It seemed that my "cat punch" had backfired.

Want to be scolded?

Haaaa!

"…Fine."

Finally, as if understanding something, Ellen grumbled as she got up and headed to the shower.

------

After getting up, washing, and changing into her casual clothes, Ellen emerged into the hallway.

Having lazed around for so long, lunchtime was fast approaching. Ellen walked down the hall, checking to make sure I was following.

It seemed that she planned to feed me while eating her own lunch.

There was something different about the A-class dormitory since yesterday.

"…Heinrich?"

"Ah, Ellen."

For some reason, Heinrich seemed to have just arrived.

"I decided to take a break here during the winter."

"I see."

Heinrich glanced at me and nodded, as if he understood the situation. It seemed that a few more would continue to return over the winter.

If this trend continued, in a little more time, everyone might come back to the temple to live.

Ellen pointed her finger not towards the dormitory dining hall, but down the hallway.

"We can eat in the banquet hall. The dormitory dining halls are closed."

"Ah... I see? That makes sense, now that I think about it."

Heinrich seemed to agree with Ellen's explanation and followed her to eat.

I wonder how things are at the Kernstadt military garrison.

Ever since I learned that Louise von Schwarz wouldn't kill Heinrich, I hadn't been concerned about it.

Heinrich's expression didn't seem to be overshadowed by any serious issue, so it seemed there wasn't anything noteworthy.

I don't know much about it, but Louise von Schwarz seemed quite blunt.

Surprisingly, he didn't seem to be causing any trouble either.

Frankly, Heinrich's problems were none of my concern or responsibility anymore.

"You're the only one in our dormitory, right?"

Heinrich probably didn't know the situation of the Royal Class since he was part of the Kernstadt military. Of course, he should know everything he needs to know.

"Yeah."

"What about B-class?"

"Ludwig, Dettomorian, Christina, Anna, and Louis. There should be five of them. I don't know if anyone else came."

"That's quite a lot."

"Yeah."

Heinrich seemed quite surprised that the number of returning B-class members was as high as five.

"Anyway... You must have really taken a liking to him?"

Heinrich alternated between looking at me and Ellen.

"He's cute, isn't he?"

Ellen walked quietly, then suddenly blurted out.

------

At lunchtime, the banquet hall was devoid of the three researchers. They must have gone to the university research building after breakfast.

Naturally, Ludwig, who was on guard duty, was not there either, nor could Dettomorian be seen, as he was probably doing his own tasks.

"Hmm?"

Heinrich tilted his head when he noticed that none of their classmates were present in the dormitory, despite there being five B-class students in total.

"Where did everyone go?"

Heinrich asked, sitting across from Ellen as he fetched his meal.

"Ludwig is doing guard duty. The other three seem to be working on some kind of magic research. As for Dettomorian... he has his own separate tasks too."

Ellen seemed to know what Dettomorian was doing as well. Heinrich narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

"Guard duty? With his condition?"

"Yes."

"…I hope he'll be alright?"

Heinrich muttered quietly, seemingly worried that even as a superhuman, Ludwig might not be well-suited for guard duty with his current physical state.

Ellen thought that there would probably be no situation dangerous enough for Ludwig.

Although his combat prowess had decreased, as long as he could still do Magic Body Strengthening and was as skilled as before, he wouldn't be defeated easily. In fact, Ludwig could likely perform the tasks of an entire guard squad with just his left arm, regardless of the overall guard level.

His reputation for excellence wasn't unfounded.

From the moment Ludwig was assigned, he would have been treated as an elite among elites.

Heinrich finished his meal, and I ate the scrambled eggs Ellen had prepared for me.

Accepting food from others had become so natural that it was starting to feel less significant – a dangerous thought.

Anyway, Ellen and Heinrich were back.

With the return of Erich, Cayer, and others, the atmosphere of the old Temple would slowly be restored. Even if it were just a limited break.

"Hmm…"

Heinrich seemed lost in thought as he paused eating during his meal.

"What's wrong?"

At Ellen's question, Heinrich tilted his head.

"Well... I'm just wondering if it's right for me to be idling here."

"…?"

"Ludwig is doing guard duty with his condition, and it feels wrong for me to just relax…"

No.

If you came to rest, then rest! Why try to follow someone who isn't resting?

Just rest when you need to!

If you weren't going to rest, why did you come back here in the first place?

However,

"I was actually thinking about getting active soon too."

It seemed Ellen had the same idea.

I had been wondering why she had been so relaxed today.

Ellen, were you also planning on doing something after resting?

Apparently, today was Ellen's last day of relaxation.

No wonder she had been rolling around so lazily.

Ellen spoke as they bit into a sausage.

"I was planning to take a tour around the outskirts tomorrow. If you could take care of half of it, that would be great."

"Ah, alright. Let's do that."

The guy who wants to work as soon as he returns.

And the person who immediately assigns tasks to such a guy.

-Meow!

"Do you want to come along too?"

-Meow!

As an eating and playing animal, I was the most exasperated one.

------

Edina Capital Lazak, the royal city.

In the Council of Elders' conference room.

"Dark magic and alchemy. They are, in fact, inseparable."

As soon as the clue from Reinhardt was shared, Antirianus, the Lord of Saturday, revealed a sinister smile.

There were six present in total.

Five Vampire Lords and the scribe, Harriet de Saint Owan.

No more were needed. The subject of this meeting was magic - advanced magic, to be precise.

At Antirianus's words, Harriet twisted her lips, humming in disagreement.

"Is it really inseparable?"

"Don't you, the scribe, know very well that when any magic reaches its pinnacle, the fields inevitably become entwined?"

"I know that, but…"

"Even summoning a meteor requires simultaneous understanding of numerous magic disciplines; otherwise, it's impossible to perform. Alchemy and dark magic are just another example of such a relationship."

When any magic reaches its extreme, not only do two fields become entwined, but multiple fields also get mixed up.

If we were to consider it this way, all magic disciplines might be inseparable from one another.

"However, we need to know what the Empire is planning, not theories or concepts. We know that they are stealing the corpses of past heroes and warriors. Similar to how we resurrected the saints' remains into Death Knights and strengthened our forces. Something like that."

At those words, Eleris quietly opened her mouth.

"To create an advanced undead like the Death Knights, an alchemist's power isn't necessary, scribe. A necromancer alone would suffice. But if alchemy was indeed used… it means that something other than simple undead creation is taking place."

At her words, Gallarush grumbled with his arms crossed.

"However, it's too much to assume that just because an alchemist is involved, their work is directly related to alchemy. They could be conducting entirely separate research."

Only Christina's involvement as an alchemist had been confirmed.

"And, being an alchemist doesn't necessarily mean that she can only handle alchemy."

Anna had helped with Moonshine production, but Moonshine was not a product of dark magic.

Similarly, Christina might be assisting with research in dark magic, not alchemy. There was a clear possibility.

Were these two magic disciplines truly collaborating?

Or were they entirely separate research projects?

Or was it solely the work of dark magic?

"We must consider the worst-case scenario."

The one who added this remark was Luvien.

"Alchemy and dark magic are connected, and bones are being used. What could they possibly be doing with that? Shouldn't we think about that?"

"Indeed."

Whether or not such an event actually occurred, they needed to consider the worst possible situation.

It was their responsibility to predict whether this would threaten Edina.

Being optimistic about the situation held no meaning.

"Do the lords of Thursday and Saturday, who are well-versed in alchemy, have any ideas?"

"Thursday's alchemy is mainly focused on plants; it's mostly related to plant-based alchemy. It's more pure, you could say. Alchemy close to dark magic or forbidden arts is not our domain... So, to be honest, I have no idea."

In response to Harriet's question, Luvien shook her head.

Thursday.

Their alchemy, as mentioned, was a remarkably pure branch of the art.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the knowledge of plant-based alchemy occupies a significant portion of Lazak's current food supply.

There is little, if any, knowledge related to the undead and forbidden arts. After all, alchemy is a vast field of study within the magic disciplines.

Luvien seemed to have no ideas, and Harriet stared at Antirianus with a tense expression.

"Lord of Saturday, you…"

"Ah, I see you're expecting quite a lot from me."

"…It might be rude to say, but I think it's strange that you wouldn't know about this area, Lord of Saturday."

-Nod

At Harriet's words, everyone unanimously nodded in agreement.

Alchemy related to dark magic.

If there was anything wicked, malicious, or cruel, it wouldn't make sense if that perverted, twisted vampire, who couldn't help meddling, didn't know about it.