Since then, Alice and I have been heading to the royal castle. It seems that there are books on fairy tales in the storeroom in the basement of the castle besides my own room.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Are you sure you want to do this?　As well as your room, I didn't expect to be shown the basement stacks.
'I've given the doctor a lot of trouble. In the meantime, I have my father's permission, so it's okay.
Well, that's okay.

　I guess it's called the merit of the injury. I didn't know that being inconvenienced by that idiot would lead to this place..................life is unknowable. But I can't forgive you for kidnapping the proto. Absolutely.

''Speaking of which, what are you going to do looking for a fairy tale?
Didn't I tell you?　To put it bluntly, I need it to solve a little labyrinthine mystery.
Huh...
'Yes. I want to unravel the state of the labyrinth, the state of alchemy, and the state of the world.
'What........you're awakened to the search for truth?　Did you hit your head in the labyrinth or something?
What?　You guys always get it wrong, but it all comes back to the crops. My project will be accomplished. That's why the labyrinth attack is essential. There is something else in there that is different from alchemy. No, maybe I should call it the prototype of alchemy.
So, is it magic?
'That's what I mean. If we look for lore, we might be able to get some truth to it.
''Huh........I see. That's the reason for trudging through the labyrinth... but I'm relieved that the doctor is the same as usual.
My beliefs are the same. I've always been and will always be a farmer ... and I'm just going to die.
I fell in love with him because he was such a hard worker....
What?　What?
'It's nothing!　Teacher silly!


　Alice says that and runs off. A lively one as always.

　And Wangcheng. I had come to Alice's room. A large room with a big bed, a bookcase and some desks. There is a large bed in a large room, a bookcase and some desks. All of them must be expensive, but it was a very simple room.

''Let's see, the fairytale books... this is where they are.
Thank God.

　I arrange all the books from the top of the bookshelf, where Alice pointed to, on the desk.

'I'll borrow your desk,'
Go ahead, go ahead. I'll do some work for the Academy.

　Alice says so, and I immerse myself in my world.

　Magic. It is a supernatural phenomenon, a reflection of what people want in the world. Wizards abounded in this world, and the world thrived on magic. There were a number of such stories, but I'm not quite sure of them. They all seem to have been made for children, and by the end, the descriptions of magic are gone. I can't blame them because they're meant to entertain children - I'll have to look at the underground stacks and such.

'Alice, I need to go to the basement.'
'I was hoping you would say that. It's just that what we have here is for children. What the teacher is looking for might be in the stacks.


　We came to the basement. But Alice is no longer there. Because she left and said, "I'll be in my room, let me know when you're done. The guy knows I'm serious, too, and he doesn't make fun of me. He's a very airheaded guy.

　And, well, that's not the point now about Alice. We should be looking for the lore now. I light a flame on my index finger. It's created by alchemy, but it's nothing like this. Then I look at the spine and search for it.

''........What is this?''

　What I found was a really old looking book. It was covered in dust and the title was hard to see. And it's a very thin book.

'....The Magic City, Arcadia?

　Yes. The title was "Magic City Arcadia". At any rate, I decided to read it.

　And this is what the book was about.

　This world was filled with magic. All kinds of creatures used magic, people used magic to build cities, and magic made them prosperous. But one day, some people gave up that magic. And those people used a technology called Kagak to meet their prosperity. Magic and Kagaku. Conflicting relationships. Then one day, a natural disaster strikes. It seems that a meteorite is going to crash on this earth. Magic and Kagaku temporarily cooperate to stop it, but in vain, their civilization collapses. However, the wizards have been advocating that they should not go to earth, but to heaven, and have fled to the heavens before the meteorite crashed. The name of that city is Arcadia, the magical city in the heavens. The remaining wizards lived there happily........

''Hmm........''

　I unfold my notebook and quickly write this content down. What is kagaku?　There's no doubt that the technology system was good enough to compete with magic, but I don't know how. At first glance, it's pictorial. It's just fantasy and fiction. Even the book has a blurb saying this is fiction. But I couldn't help but wonder. It's intuitive, but I knew that magic is something that goes hand in hand with alchemy.

　Then I explored all the books of lore, but I didn't find any more information than I did earlier. There was no particular description of the labyrinth either. The only thing written about the labyrinth is that it's a commonplace, mysterious underground facility. Well, that's probably why it's been said to be a mystery all the way to the present day.

　But the third labyrinth was captured, and we're well on our way to capturing the sixth labyrinth.

　Perhaps this is a turning point in history. I will change the nature of alchemy, and the labyrinth will change the nature of this world. It could be like that. Maybe I'm just mistaken that I'm at the center of it all, but history has definitely begun to advance. Starting with the labyrinth attack.

　The crops might also use this as an opportunity to grow in a big way.......hmmm.......

　Then I thanked Alice and decided to leave.

''Sensei, please come back anytime. I'll be waiting for you.
You've been a big help today. Thank you.

　Alice, unusually, didn't come over afterwards. She bowed politely and sent me off.

　It's nice to see Alice like this once in a while. No, I hope it's always like that....

　Thinking about this, I headed home.


　◇


Elle, I need to talk to you about something... okay?
I don't mind, but...

　Just as I was about to open the door to my house, I bumped into Fee. I don't mind that I've been eating dinner in Fee's room a lot lately... but I sense an oddly serious vibe.

　I walked over to the table in the living room and found Monica. She looks strangely nervous. And as the three of us take our seats, Fee starts talking.

'Elle, Monica took the test today and passed. And by the way, it was also an exam for the association's rank, which was quite difficult to pass, but she passed it. Monica is now a Platinum level alchemist of the association. At the same time, I'm going to be your second seminar student, okay?
...Monica?

　I didn't know anything about it. He just said he wanted to go to the kingdom one day and learn alchemy, but I didn't know it was so sudden....

　But maybe Monica had a thought, too. If her motivation for alchemy increased after meeting me and Fee, that's good. And Monica has good sense. I've always thought it was okay for me to teach her. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the labyrinth as well.

I'm sure you're right. An alchemist in an official society......................and a Platinum level. Isn't this the first time a subhuman has ever done this?
You're the first one in the country. There are others, but in the last few years, Monica might be the only one. And she's only 18 years old. That's going to attract a lot of attention. So, are you sure about Elle?

　Monica stares at me with nervous eyes.

　I can tell she's serious. She's going to have a tough time. It's a foreign land and a different race. Even though humans and sub-humans are close, they still live in a different civilization and culture. There will be a lot of confusion and hard times. There aren't even ten percent of sub-humans in this country. Nevertheless, Monica is going to take the test, pass it and get in. There's no way I'd turn that down. It's because I want to support anyone who is trying their best.

All right. I'll introduce you to Rita. Monica, welcome to the Academy. I will be responsible for making you a great alchemist. I am not yet a teacher, but I hope you will be.
Hey!　It's nice to meet you too!　Well....sir?
Teacher. Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad.
Yes!　Teacher!


　This is how Monica became the newest member of my seminar.