Thankfully, no confrontation arose between the two, as Master had to leave fast. As the Royal Court Magician, her schedule is packed to the minute.
In fact, she could only stay for a maximum of an hour and thirty minutes in our Viscounty.
Including her joining us for breakfast, she had already been here for over two hours. The "excuse" she used to pull me away was merely additional details on the crop rotation system, so even an hour was actually pushing it.
But even after she left, Miranda didn't release her hold on me, almost as if she were treating me like her teddy bear or something.
It wasn't uncomfortable being hugged like this, but...
"Mariana... Your Mana Drain..." My mana was nearly depleted.
"A-Ah! Sorry, Master Rex."
Thankfully, my voice seemed to snap her back to reality. She quickly let me go and stepped back, looking a bit flustered.
"This is that old hag's fault..."
She muttered discontentedly, along with a few more words I couldn't quite catch. Although I didn't hear everything, the first part alone was enough to make my face go pale.
"Ah, Miranda..."
I decided to address the problem early, trying to prevent a potential disaster in the future.
"As your master, I command you not to speak ill of my Master in front of others, especially in her presence. You must also keep the fact that she is teaching me magic a secret!"
These are the two basic requirements I have for her.
The first is to keep her safe from any "accidental" mishaps, and the second is to prevent my parents from worrying about me.
Of course, Miranda complied and bowed her head low.
"As you wish, Master."
As a slave bound by a magical contract, my words were essentially law for her. Unless the command contradicted the contract itself, she couldn't refuse to comply.
"Good."
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Then, I'll be going now. You should return to your duties as well."
With that, I turned and left... With Miranda quietly tagging along. Well, yeah, I should've guessed.
Anyway, now that I know Alchemy, there's no way I would just sit idly by!
'Comfortable life, here I come...!'
---
Alchemy is a branch of magic that involves changing the nature and shape of materials. The fundamentals can be categorized into two main areas.
The first is Material Synthesis.
This process uses mana to merge two or more materials into a single entity.
It's a bit challenging to describe. Think of it like combining hydrogen and oxygen to create water. Unlike a simple mixture, such as sugar in water, which can easily return to its original components, this process results in a "new" material.
The second area is Material Decomposition.
This involves reversing the process I just described, such as separating water back into hydrogen and oxygen. Essentially, it's used to break down materials that are meant to be permanently or strongly mixed.
In addition to these two areas, there are support spells known as "Soften," "Harden," and "Reform."
Their effects are straightforward. "Soften" makes materials moldable, like clay, "Harden" solidifies them to the desired hardness, and "Reform" changes their shapes.
Overall, these five aspects are the core of alchemy.
Without mastering all of them, I can't even consider creating anything meaningful with them.
And, of course, I plan to master them as quickly as possible.
To live a "civilized" life in this other world, one must put up with the lack of many essential comforts.
For instance, a toilet. Or perhaps a toilet. Finally, a toilet!
Digging a hole in the ground to do your business? That's what dogs do! It's not something a human should imitate!
If you're in the mountains, I might understand, but in the middle of the city? Absolutely not!
I've really endured well over these four years...
I want to pat myself on the back for how much I've put up with everything...
Anyway, as you might have guessed, my first project in alchemy is a modern bidet toilet!
I'll be pouring my heart and soul into transforming the knowledge I've just "gained" into actual skills!
The three extra spells were easily mastered. They are, essentially, similar to buff spells.
The Reform spell, on the other hand, felt close to how I use my Dominator's Hand, so that was completed without much trouble.
The problem now is...
"Synthesis and Decomposition, huh..."
These are quite tricky concepts to handle.
Synthesis requires a profound understanding of materials and a clear image of what you want to achieve, along with how to achieve it.
Using the water example from before, it's crucial to envision the combination of hydrogen and oxygen forming condensed, liquid water. This includes understanding electron sharing between molecules, their energy states, and so on.
I'm no genius, so of course, I don't know those details by heart... and I'm quite sure that no one in this other world does, either.
Yet, they can still utilize alchemy.
This means that it doesn't necessarily require an "accurate" image but rather a "strong" one—one that doesn't contradict nature, such as turning blood into water.
Even with the knowledge Master Krystal passed on to me, the general distinction is simply the name, image, and physical properties of the combined objects.
For example, combining copper and zinc to create brass. It is a common and easily made alloy, even without the help of alchemy.
"But what if I incorporate my chemistry knowledge... would that help?"
The typical image is just mixing the two substances into a blur, but...
"Well, I've got to try at least!"
Before me now is a glass of water, half full.
Around it, I drew the magic circle for synthesis. My goal is to combine the hydrogen and oxygen in the air to create enough water to fill the cup.
I licked my lips in excitement as I extended my hand toward the magic circle and shouted.
"Alright, let's start...!"
And then...
Five seconds later...
BOOM!
The annex exploded.
Yeah... I should've seen that coming.
To "combine" those gases, I first needed to "gather" them. And just to clarify, both of them are highly flammable.
What do you think happens when you suddenly gather highly flammable gas near a lamp with a brightly burning flame...? The answer is a massive explosion.
Anyway, thanks to my incredible luck, I survived the blast... at least.
"REEEEEX!!!"
But of course, I can't escape the long, angry lecture that's about to ensue.
Ah, Miranda? Thankfully, she's not here during my experiment since she was called to the main hall by Mother. I'm not sure why, though...