Ummm... hmmm...

　Early morning.

　I bang the noisy alarm clock and try to get up out of bed anyway.


'Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...'


　Normally, I'm here to sleep twice. No, I guess it's not right to say always. This has been going on for over a week already.


　I look at my battered alarm clock, which has been battered by my constant beatings, and the time is before 4:00.

　Why am I up at this hour? That was obvious. Elle's morning farm work starts at 5 a.m. He is notoriously punctual, but he is surprisingly punctual when it comes to farming. That's why I had to get up at this time, including preparation and travel time.


'Alice-sama, are you awake?'
Salia ummmm.......something.
'You always try your best. I would have thought you would have given up sooner.
You know, for a woman there are times when you just can't give up.
Well....


　A woman stands next to the bed. It's my maid, Saria. She is my personal maid and has been taking care of me since I was a child. And although she complains about many things, she goes along with me in this seemingly reckless act of mine.

　She wears her long hair in a neat bun and her maid's uniform is spotless, and she stares at me in that way. I know it must be hard for Saria, but she wakes up before me to get ready for the day. I'm really indebted to her.


It's a good thing. I'm going to be leaving.
Yes. Have a good day.


　Saria gives me a reverent bow and sends me on my way.

　And so, disguised as usual in sunglasses and a straw hat, I stepped up to reach his house just past five o'clock.


　◇


'Good morning, Master Elle... what?


　I said hello and walked into the farm, but there was no one there. I looked at the watch on my left arm, but it was already past the usual time. But he was gone. When I was wondering what was going on, my sister, Liese, popped up on my face.


''Princess!　Good morning!
'Oh, Liese. Good morning.
My brother wouldn't be back here!
Oh, okay. Then where are you going?
'I'm probably at the Institute. Sometimes I'm staying in and doing research.
'I see. Thank you for telling me.
You're welcome!


　After receiving the information from Liese, I went to the institute on my way. Having visited his laboratory several times since then, I was already familiar with the path.

　Without getting lost at all, I entered the institute and proceeded through the building.

　When I reach the front of his laboratory in this way, I knock on the door with a knock on the door.


''........I wonder if he's not there?''


　I put my hand on the doorknob and looked.......it opened. It didn't seem to be locked, so maybe he's there.


''Oh, I'm sorry to bother you.''


　In a small voice, I slowly walk into his lab to see.

　And there it is.........


''Huh?　Master Elle and Fee?


　 They are propped up on the floor with their heads rubbing against the floor. The sight of them startled me, and with a gulp, Fee wakes up. There are large dark circles in his eyes and his hair is spread out in a messy mess.


'Ha!　You were unconscious!　Elle, Elle!
'I am ... the ... man ... king of ... crops ... no, I'm no longer ... god ... haha ... haha ... haha ... goooo ...'
'Don't be ridiculous!　Wake up!　Wake up!
'Yeah ... ah ...?　Why is Fee here...?　And Alice is there and....
'Yes, well, I mean, I wasn't in my usual place and I thought Lise would be here.'
Oh. Well I'm sorry. I've been staying in and doing some research.
'That wasn't just research, that wasn't just a runaway. Huh....I seriously didn't know what was going to happen...
What's going on?
As a matter of fact...


　The summary was this.

　He apparently succeeded in developing a fully independent artificial intelligence. And so he tried to put that artificial intelligence in something close to hand. And what he had by his side was a vegetable. Normally, he wouldn't take the outrageous step of inhabiting an artificial intelligence in a vegetable. That was something Elle herself knew. But days of all-nighters, and his malnourished body, no matter how much of a genius he was, had clouded his judgment.


　And so, almost in a dreamlike state, he put artificial intelligence into the vegetable. And it was a success. He had succeeded, it seems. A genius alchemist there, as expected of a genius alchemist.


　But here's the problem. The vegetable with artificial intelligence in it immediately ran out of the room and tried to escape. Elle sensed that it was a bad idea and contacted Fee. The two of them scrambled and managed to secure the vegetable... and it seems that they were too tired to sleep here.

　I was stunned to hear that story, but I was strangely convinced that he would be able to do it.


"By the way, my name is Proto. It's nice to meet you.
Huh........I see........


　A carrot, a carrot, lying on the desk with a cologne on it. From the side, it looks like there is just a carrot on the table, but for some reason, something that looks like a limb has grown out of it.

　I somehow stretched out my fingertips to look at it, and Proto touched my fingers with his little hand a bit. Then, for some reason, he pecked me repeatedly.


'Oh!'　Alice seems to have taken a liking to you!
"I'm not going to be able to... Hmmm. I don't really care about it...


　From this reaction, it seems that Fee doesn't like it.

　But still, this is a homunculus........I stare at the proto with deep emotion. I didn't think it was unheard of for a vegetable to have artificial intelligence, but it's amazing that it actually works with a will like this.

　He was, after all, the greatest genius alchemist of all time.

　And so Elwydd Willis used the results of this research to become the second azure-star class《Blue Star》 alchemist in the kingdom.

　At the same time, I also had another goal in mind.

　That is, I wanted to be like him...............I wanted to seriously study alchemy.