Evening. The three of us had come to Serena's house. This country has the Canovarian Alchemy Academy in the center, and to the north is the aristocratic district. My house is in the center, so the three of us are currently moving north.


''Well, Elle your mother might say something, but don't worry about it...''
Hmm?　Yeah, I get it. I guess it's a social call.
'Yes I hope so...'
'Serena's mother would want her Master to marry her daughter. If I were a parent myself, I wouldn't leave someone like my master alone.


　And Serena reveals her anxiety. Whenever I go to Serena's house, I ask her when she and Serena are going to be engaged?　Today?　Today? He comes at me unobtrusively like this. She's very kind, she's a good baker, and she's a good mother, but Serena seems to be a bit of a pain in the ass.

　I guess it's a bit of a rebellion. I walked around with that in mind when I arrived at Serena's house.


　The grounds are quite large, with a fountain in the garden and a huge mansion behind it. I've been here many times, but I'm always impressed.


''........Oh, it's still huge......''
Well I'll just go get changed and wait for you in your usual spot.
Okay. I understand.


　Serena said and walked into the mansion.


'Well, let's go ahead then, Fred.
'Yes!　Master!

　It's always this garden at Serena's house where we always train in alchemy. It's because it's safer than the hard ground, even if we are thrown or blown up.

　And by the way, Fred and I are already in rough clothes that are easy to move around in. Selena is always dressed up when she goes out, so she's in the process of changing her clothes now.


''Oh my goodness, Elle-sama and Fred-sama. Welcome to our home.
Miss Kate, it's been a long time.
It's good to see you after yesterday. Sorry to bother you, Miss Kate.


　I call him Mr. Kate because I'm an aristocrat, in case you're wondering. Fred is closer to me than I am to him, so I call him Mr. Kate.

"How do you like my daughter, Master Elle?
'Yes. I've been helping you set up your workshop today. I really appreciate it.
Oh my!　A workshop!　The workshop of a jasper-class "Bluesteller" alchemist. It must be quite a feat.
No, I'm just working my way up the ladder as usual.
''Humility. Master Elle's alchemy is truly amazing. And your crops are truly amazing. Let us know when you're ready for a real venture. I'm sure our family can help you.
Well, well, thank you.


　She bows her head and smiles at me. I find the soft, age-appropriate atmosphere soothing. Then Fred, who was next to me, speaks to me secretly.

''.......Master, don't be fooled. If you're going to rely on it, it's better to rely on the Baltic family than the Brew family. There is no doubt about this.''

　I'm sure I'm the only one who can hear this voice. But she's got a good ear, and she immediately enters the conversation.


'Oh dear?　Fred?　What's that supposed to mean?　Hey?


　Yeah, I'm scared. She's smiling tremendously, but her eyes aren't smiling. I don't know what's going to happen to this.......just as I was thinking, Serena came over.


''Mother!　I haven't contacted you today, so why here!
''Hmm. I have sensed El-sama's presence here. Are you making any progress on the matter?
'No ... well ...'
'Good thing. Once you've created a preexisting situation, I'll solidify my surroundings and guide you to your goal. You will achieve it, I promise.
'But ... me and Elle don't have that kind of relationship ...'
Bullshit. I've seen it all before.


　For some reason they're arguing, but it's over quickly and Serena's mother leaves just like that.

'Well then ... take your time, both of you.

　She behaved gracefully until the end. I wonder if Serena will be like that in the future.


'Then let's do it!　Fred, can we start with me first?
Yes. I'll give it to you.


　Thus begins our training.



　§§ §


....
....

　We stare at each other and walk around to see what's going on. The training is to take one from me. It's a simple rule. Any means of attack is acceptable. However, the use of alchemy cannot be done beforehand.


　Normally, the alchemy used by knights is to strengthen the body beforehand. But what we're working on now is focusing on using alchemy while in battle.


''.........Haha!


　Serena closes the distance. Fast. In just one step, she's in my bosom, and she tries to punch her fist through my pigeon tail.


''You're ... sweet, Serena.
...Hey!


　I swooped in and dodged the attack by shifting myself a bit as it was. Then I delivered a kick to her rattling torso as hard as I could.





　Serena is blown backwards, holding back the pain as she goes. But it's not a fatal wound in terms of feel. The moment she felt my attack coming, she activated her alchemy. She concentrated the surrounding First Pledge《Prima Terrier》to her torso to mitigate my attack.


''........Serena, you're making progress. If it was you until now, it would have ended here.
''.......this is just the beginning!


　And so, for the next half hour or so, I beat up Serena rather seriously.

　No, I'm not bullying her, okay?　It's just that he wants me to really come to him. I relaxed enough to not be found out, but I fought pretty seriously.


　My impression was that the introduction of alchemy into the actual battle was still only defensive and not usable for attack.


''Haha... haha... haha... Elle, you're too strong...''


　Serena is lying in the garden in a large figure. I, on the other hand, am not even out of breath.

　The use of alchemy was previously thought to be something that came with an alchemy formation, but I can use alchemy without an alchemy formation. It is activated by simply drawing a clear mental image in your brain.


　Of course, not everything can be just like the image. What's important is the amount of the First Quality 《Prima Materia》 and the way to put the magic power into it. I need to have a good balance between the two.


　In my previous lecture, I told you that the three important things were the mental image, the First Quality, the "prima-teria," and the magic power, and this is what I meant. When those three are in the right condition, alchemy will be activated. It's not a universal power.


　And I'm just unusually good at handling it. In a battle without alchemy, Serena would kill me instantly. But with alchemy to strengthen my body, plus I can use alchemy no-time while fighting. The amount of magic power isn't much, so I can't use it continuously, but I can create a wall in front of my opponent and so on.


　Even now, several raised grounds have been created.

　I can essentially create something out of nothing. Strictly speaking, as long as I have enough of the First Quality, then I can forge anything. However, the First Quality 《Prima Materia》 is prevalent in this world, and an ordinary alchemist can't smelt something out of nothing like that. That's why we make use of what we have here to fight like this. If you have earth, you can use earth, if you have water, you can use water, and if you have fire, you can use fire more easily for smelting.


''As expected of you, Master, your alchemy is still in play.
Well, I use it every day. Not in combat, but in research.
''Huh ... really bullshit strength. You'll be at the top of your game as soon as you come to the Order, won't you?


　As me and Fred are having a conversation, Selina comes over to us, finally catching her breath.


'So, how was your day?　Overall.
''You're getting used to alchemy without an alchemy formation. But you're still only able to show its true value on the defensive side. You're imagining an alchemy formation when you're attacking, right?　Maybe defense is an instinctive act of protection, so it's easy to do. But attack is different. As I always say, it's important to have the right balance of mental image, the First Quality 《Prima Materia》 and magic power. Serena's putting too much magic power in a hurry. It's leaking out all around. A guy like me can use that magic power as a stepping stone and use it to create an alchemy. This is fatal in battle. They aren't using their own magic power. From now on, it might be a good idea to focus on magic power manipulation. Your mental image, which was an issue before, is much better, and you should try your best to keep it up.
As usual, your analysis is uncanny.
They're easy compared to crops. It's easier to analyze crops because they don't have the same obvious flaws as humans do. With humans, it's easier to analyze them because they're just like us. What would I do if I were you?　And if you imagine that, the advice comes naturally.
''Huh I know you're talented, but you're really quirky.
'Master!　Now with me!　Do it with me!


　Fred's tension is unusually high and I have a bad feeling about today.

　Actually, this Fred. He's about the same in combat power as me. I'm still stronger than him, but he makes up for his poor alchemy with his physical abilities and standing. But when I say poorly trained in alchemy, I mean more than me. Fred, who is already a platinum 《platinum》 alchemist, is the best alchemist in this country.

　In short, he is a genius in battle. This guy...


Okay!　Come on in for real!
I'm coming!　Master!!!!!




　And an hour later.........



''Master is as strong as ever... haha... haha... even though I really went for the win today...''


　There was a large amount of icebergs and melted and crushed ice scattered around me. My specialty in alchemy is ice. I'm good at creating ice from the First Pledge 《Prima Materia》. Fred, on the other hand, may be the blood of the house, but fire. He can create fire from the First Quality, the Prima Materia.

　Realizing that we wouldn't be able to settle this in a martial battle, we used alchemy on each other.

　We smelted a large quantity of ice gravel and unleashed it on Fred. Fred blocks it with a wall of fire and charges at me.

　It was obvious that I was at a disadvantage in the cross-range, so I smelted an iceberg around me and kept my distance from that guy. And in the end, it ended with Fred's magic power running out. Fred has more magic power than me, but I can use it more efficiently. That was the only difference between winning and losing. Probably, I won't be able to beat Fred in a year's time.


''Um.......are you two okay?''
I need water!
I need some water.


　Me and Fred asked each other for water. I'm very thirsty now. I want to quench that thirst a little.

　And that's it for today.

　Yeah I'm seriously tired.........today........


''Yes, here's some water.''
Thank God.
Thank you.

　And so we were well hydrated. Fred's strength is probably one of the best in the country now. Fighting while using alchemy will surely become more important in the future. But with Fred there, I could teach him. I'll be able to focus on the crops. Yeah, I hope so....

　While I was thinking about this, Selena's mother comes in.

'Oh my goodness, it's so fancy.......please use our bath.

　My struggles had just begun.