What happened to Elle?
It's just that...


　It's funny. Lately I have the feeling that Elle is hiding something from me in some way. It's only natural that I thought so, as this man has been acting strangely distant or suspicious for the past few days, in other words... something is wrong.


　It's not that I don't care about it, but I would later realize that this is just the beginning.



'Elle, please hurry up a bit!
Master!　As it is!
No, I can do it I can do it.


　Lunchtime. I was just walking through the courtyard of the academy when I saw Elle, Selena and Fred. I knew they were getting along with two of the three major noblemen (apparently Elle had beaten them to it), but what were those three doing?

　So I called out to him and looked at him.

'Elle, what are you doing?'
'Geez!　Fee!
'I told you so!　I'm going to stand out here!
'Master, I'll hold them off here!
What's going on here?


　Then I peeked upwards at what the three of them were doing their best to hide. And there was a carrot and an onion with arms and legs. No, I know. I know I'm not expressing myself very well. But it's just the way it is.


'What is this, Elle?'
Um ... toy-like?
'I think it's moving....is it crawling?　And those onions are kind of floating... are they really toys?
Oh my God, the toy.
Hmm. So, the toy...



　And in the next moment, the onion grabbed the carrot and flew high in the sky as it was.


'Well, not good!　It's still in the prototype stage!
What do you want to do?　Elle!
Master, what do you want to do?


　The three of us start to get pretty upset. Yeah, there's no way it's just a toy. I thought so, but by that moment it was too late.

　After that, the vegetables made a desperate escape.......and then they stopped moving. When I talked to Elle and the others, I asked them if they wanted to try incorporating intelligence into the vegetables since they were on the verge of perfecting a fully independent artificial intelligence.......I said it half-jokingly, and they succeeded. But it was still in the prototype stage and there was still room for improvement.


　But I decided to have the three of them submit a written reflection as punishment for making a lot of noise in the academy for nothing.


　At this time, my brain was thinking, isn't that a homunculus?　But for now, he decided not to think about it. I thought it would be wise to do so.


　And from then on, Elle showed her true colors. No, that might not be appropriate. In the first semester of the academy, he would cram theory into the first semester and go practical in the second semester... or so he said. But the labs exploded, the vegetables revolted, and it was a real mess. Each time I struggled day and night to rub out the events.


''Huh ... hah ... it's morning already ...''


　The next thing I know, a pleasant morning sun was shining in my lab. I've been up all night for the past few days, dealing with the scandal that Elle caused, and I've been up all night for four days. When I look in the mirror, I'm pretty much a bear, and I'm seriously dying.

　Without exaggeration, I had reached my limit. Fortunately, today is a holiday and there are no classes. Therefore, I was going to go home and take a shower and go to bed.


'I have to go home ... umm, go home ... and shower.'


　And I would just fall asleep at my desk.


'Fee!　Fee!　Hey, Fee!　This is a big deal!　It's the big deal of the century!
'Hmm. A little more...
'Fee!　It's a case!　It's a big deal that's going to rock the world!
"...Yeah?　Big deal?
'Oh. It's global.
...Did Elle wake you up?
Yeah.



　Even though I was asleep and awake, my consciousness was clearly awake. My brain was riddled with thoughts of how to deal with it. But I'm at the end of my rope. If I pushed myself any further, I would really break down. No, really, without exaggeration........


　But what Elle said to me was completely different from what I had in mind.


'Fee. It's finished.
What?
'Homunculus it's perfect this time. It won't stop working halfway through. It'll be up and running semi-permanently.
Well, does that mean you've succeeded in developing a fully independent artificial intelligence?
'Oh!　Finally, finally, we did it!
'Well, seriously!
'Oh!　Let's go!
Hey, hey!


　Elle looked excited and went straight to the lab as she gave me a princess hug. As I watched Elle running, being held in my arms, I understood the radiant look on his face. All the scandals I had been through had been for this moment. He always made excuses and said, "I'll make it through. I'll make it through, I promise," but that was true. It wasn't an excuse, it was a statement of intent to do what he said he was going to do.


　And when I went to the lab, there was ... Carrot. It was also crawling. Yeah, what's this?


What is this?
It's the proto.
Because it's a prototype?
'Yes!　Look, we've already exceeded twenty-four hours of operation!　It's perfect!　The cords in your body won't collapse either!　I'm going to activate the module too!　I've done it!
Wow, that's amazing...


　That's right. It's amazing. This is the greatest achievement in the history of alchemists. But I kind of cried out in relief.


'Fee, what's wrong?'
'No I'm glad you've worked so hard to get to this point. Elle.
Fee. You've been cleaning up after my reckless experiments all along, haven't you?　For me.
Did you know?
I've been at the Academy for a long time, you know. I know. Thanks, Fee.
Uh, yeah...


　Elle grabs my hand tightly. There is nothing but pure gratitude in her eyes. Perhaps I have fallen in love with this moment.

　I've been watching him for a long time. Now it's December and the year is coming to an end. I've watched and supported him in his hard work since April. There's not much I can do, but I'll do what I can. That's what being a teacher is all about. When I met Elle, it was the first time I felt like I was living a decent life. A teacher is only possible when there are students. Through Elle, I may have become a real teacher.


''Elle ... congratulations ... really congratulations ...''
Oh thank you, Fee.


　And we hugged each other tightly for a while.



　Then, as the year drew to a close, I submitted Elle's research findings to the association. Elle is currently a mere alchemist with no rank of any kind, but I can't ignore her anymore when it comes to this. Until now, she has passed the exam because it's too much trouble for her to take it, but I tried my best to convince her to take it, and she reluctantly agreed to take the exam. There are a written test and a practical test, but this time I evaluated the paper that Elle made instead of a written test. By the way, the practical test has already been completed, and the level is equivalent to a platinum level "platinum" alchemist. However, it is much higher than the standard level, and the content of the paper is also too advanced for any researcher to evaluate. But as a matter of fact, the homunculus is complete.


　And the Society's decision.......was to make him a Blue Star class "Bluesteller" alchemist.


　The "Blue Star" class alchemist is the founder of alchemy, but it is only a matter of formality. At that time, it was believed that every rank should have at least one alchemist of each rank, so it is said that he was forced to take up the position.

　However, this time, he had effectively appointed the first blue star class 《Bluesteller》 alchemist.

　This was a big news as the country had the first ever Blue Star-level "Bluesteller" alchemist.



''Congratulations, Elle.''
I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it's good to know that my research has been recognized. That said, I'd be happy to be involved in agriculture.
Oh, come on, get it together!　From now on, you're going to go by the name of a Blue Star class [Bluesteller] alchemist.


　And so Elle went to the press conference.

　Elwyd Willis. I met him. A lot has changed. I can't thank Elle enough. Our meeting was a fate ... a destiny.