Come on!　Let me take it off!　Elle!　Quickly!
Crops, give me the power...


　I close my eyes and in a crosshairs motion, I pray to the god of crops.

　And here I activate my original alchemy. It's an alchemy that allows you to perceive space without opening your vision. It was originally adapted from the discovery of the First Quality Primamateria, which allows me to completely understand the First Quality around me. This unusual ability appeared to me as I studied crops. In this state, I can only see silhouettes, and no visual information, such as clear colors and shapes, can be received.


　Well, that means I can fulfill Fee's request with my eyes closed.


　After all, crops are great. If I hadn't been studying crops at the Academy, I would be in a tight spot by now. But I can still do it. I can do it.

　I quickly go to the bathroom and borrow a towel and tie it around my eyes, covering them. Hard. Yes, hard. I don't want to get in a weird relationship with Fee here. He's my friend. So I should take a stand.


"Here, say "bang" to me.
Yeah ... banzai!

　It's happening. The greatest difficulty in my history has begun. Although there was no information from my sight, I sensed the First Pledge 《Primamateria》 and dexterously slipped off her clothes.

''Alright!　It's off!　Take a bath!　Can Elle join us?
'Oh...'

　It doesn't matter now. With that in mind, I headed for the bath.

"Mmm-hmmm.
How does that feel, Fee, huh?
'Yes!　Elle's good at washing up!


　I was washing Fee's back. Fee's was completely naked, but I was dressed. If I didn't, I had a bad feeling about something.


'Isn't Elle going to take a bath?'
Oh I'll go in when I get to my house.
Hmm. Really?


　Hey, is this guy really drunk?　Are you on some kind of sick drug or something?　It's so far removed from his usual words and actions that I think so. It's true that Fee is a bit out of the loop...but is this something that's potentially dormant?

　Well, I can't help but think about it.


'Okay, I'm up, Fee.'
Yeah!


　I feel like I'm taking care of a relative's child....

　Then I got him changed into his adorable bear pajamas, brushed his teeth, and brought Fee to bed.

'Oh no!　Can you sleep with me?　Please.....

　That's what I said with my wolverine eyes, but I've already finished lifting the wards. My mission is over, too. I take the towel and finally get my usual visual information.

　Huh ... that was a real disaster. Please don't let Fee remember this.........

　And while I'm doing this, the time is around midnight. I have plans to go home and do another crop data collection.

　I should go home for the day.


"Fee. I'll be back. I'll sleep with you some other time, okay?
'Yeah ... if you say so Elle ... goodnight, Elle.
"Oh. Good night, Fee.


　The moment I was about to open the door, I could already hear Fee breathing in his sleep.

　He must have been really tired. Stress from repeated hardship. I'd be happy if I could relieve some of that stress.


　Then I went back to my house. Well, it's next door.


　Ping-pong. Pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po, pin-po.



　The intercom is ringing all the time with a pin drop. Who's hitting it that hard?　Our intercom is not a continuous game....

　I look at the clock on my bedside table and see that it's 10am.

　Did I sleep a little too much because it's a holiday? Well, I had a lot of things going on yesterday and it was late. I came home and studied the crops for two hours, and it was 2:30am when I went to bed.

　I'd like to get some more sleep, but I have some important things to do today. Maybe I'll get up while I answer the intercom.

　Then I head for the door, still a little foggy-headed.

Yes, sir. Fluffy........what's the matter?　What can I do for you?
'Squeak, squeak, squeak!　Squeak, squeak, squeak!　Hear, hear!
"...?　You're showing off your monkey act?
'Yesterday!　You remember, don't you!


　Fee comes to me with a bright red face and says so. He's also a sleeper, or maybe he's just getting out of bed, but he's wearing adorable bear pajamas. Oh, come to think of it, I looked at this guy's shelves last night and found a lot of cute pajamas," said Fee, as he came over to her, blushing even more. As I was thinking about it, Fee came at me with an even redder face.


'Wow, forget it!　Forget about yesterday, Elle!
I can't do memory manipulation with an alchemy. It's impossible. Well, it was an experience, right?　From now on, you'll have to be more careful with your drinking.
Ummm... so, did you see it?
'No, you know I can assess my surroundings without vision, right?
Yes, but ... you remember the outline, the shape, right?
It's better than being seen in person. If this is what you call s*xual harassment, I'm going to cry. And because of Fee's super advanced wards, I couldn't go home.
'Uh ... I'm sorry. It's my fault on all fronts.


　Schoon and depressed Fee. I've been lascivious to that point. I understand where you're coming from. But this hasn't been easy for me, either. I need you to understand that.


"So, what's the deal?
Hmm?
Was I pretty?
'No, I can only see your silhouette, so I can't tell if it's pretty or not.
''Well you're right ... haha, I wonder if this is how I'll be able to get married ...''
Well, it'll be a good match for you some day.
Yeah. I'm sorry for barging in on you like this. I'm going home. Bye.
Yeah.


　Fee continues to toddle back.


'Good!　Today is a big day!　Let's do it!


　I have important plans for this afternoon. Yes, I'm finally getting my workshop up and running!　This is how I finally took my first step toward independence.


　§ § §


Well that's about it for now.

　I've been coming to the basement of this apartment building. In truth, there is no such thing as a basement in the mansion I live in now, but I used alchemy to rebuild it and create it. Just in case, I've got permission from various parties. Besides, I built the basement in a slightly deeper area so as not to bother the people living here.


　It's as big as the whole floor, which is quite large. But in order to do extensive research, this size is necessary. I'll be working on reports in my room and experiments in this workshop.


　And while I was preparing for various things, two guests came in.


''Oh my........there really is such a thing as a basement, isn't there? This is a bit........really amazing.......
'Master!　It's been a while!　This is a celebration of my appointment as a lecturer. I have brought quality produce from our neighboring countries, as promised.


　Yes, it's Serena and Fred that I'm calling today. They both just had a day off today, so I asked them to come this way. It's not easy to set up a workshop by yourself.


I'm glad you're both here. You can leave that one there for Fred. It's very helpful. Thank you.
'No, no, I'm happy to help you, Master.
So what are we supposed to do?
We just need to set up the lab equipment for now.
Well, I know what I'm going to do. I'll make sure it's perfect.
'Master!　I'm happy to help!
Yeah, please. Let's do it then!　'Ew.'
""Oh!"


　Just like when we were students, the three of us started working on it.

　Most of the experimental equipment is large, and I could use alchemy to set it up on my own, but unfortunately I'm not a person with that much magic power. Rather than me, Serena and Fred have more magic power than me. That's why I called the two of them today.

　Let's start with the big apparatus. These are the instruments that I created myself. From a machine that measures the sugar content of crops to one that can accurately determine vital data. The smaller instruments are common ones, such as flasks and test tubes.


　And so after two hours of hard work, my workshop was complete.


　Yes ... it was finished. Thinking back, it was a long way to go. Ever since I was a student, it was my dream to have my own workshop, to stay in here and make the best produce I could.

　It's been a lot of things, really. I swore at an early age that I would be the best farmer in the world, and I learned that alchemy was the best way to improve the breed. Then I enrolled in the Canovarian Alchemy Institute and furthered my knowledge of alchemy. All in order to make my dreams come true. When I was a student, I made a lot of mistakes. There were times when I would waste my crops. Every time I shed tears, I promised myself that I would never let their sacrifice go to waste. I would never let their sacrifices go to waste, I promised myself that I would be the best farmer in the world. I would become the best farmer in the world....


　I was in tears as I was overcome with emotion.


'Oh........I've finally made it........'
'Master!　This is the workshop I dreamed of when I was in school!
Congratulations, Elle. I'm so happy for you. You're so close to your dream.
Boys ... uhhhh, thank you.


　Serena and Fred give me a few words of encouragement. Looking back, it wasn't a good meeting for either of them at first. I thought it was disturbing, to say the least. That's why I screwed them over head on. I was aware that I was more skilled in alchemy than they were, and that's why I thought that once they treated me badly, they wouldn't get involved again.


　But these two have been serious about supporting my dreams. From that moment on, they've been friends with me. I also miss the memories of doing stupid things with them. Even though it's not even a month since I graduated, somehow it feels like an awful long time ago.


'I'm going to make my dreams come true now. And I'm going to be the best farmer in the world.


　They smiled at me as I said this with tears in my eyes, and they smiled at me.

　Ahhh I have a really good friend.

　But then Serena pulls my hand away and goes to go up the stairs.


'Huh?　What's the matter, Serena?　I'm going to study 'flapping onions' now...
'You're supposed to be with me today to train.　He said he'd do it when this was over.
'Oh!　You said.....
'Master!　I also want my master to train me after so long!


　I know. Well, it's bad enough that you keep giving me things to do. Yeah.........oh, I wanted to study it right away.......


　Thus, without tightening up, I was taken away by Serena and Fred.