CH 17

Examining the provided materials carefully.

First, there are three essential materials: mature wheat, wheat seeds, and water.

Having a base material for transmutation makes the process smoother, and when making improvements, it is impossible without the original material.

And water.

For some reason, this material, water, is the most important.

In Transmutation Art, liquid serves to connect the materials.

Water connects accurately and smoothly, oil connects strongly, and when water with impurities mixes, the characteristics of the mixed materials become stronger.

In most cases, transmutation without liquid does not work well and results in mediocre output.

Be careful not to cause an explosion, especially when attempting this for the first time.

“When I first started, I used to cause explosions often. I didn’t know the amount or type of liquid to use, so I mixed things randomly.”

I don’t have a master of Transmutation Art.

It seems normal for someone to learn from someone else, but it was difficult in my situation.

So I taught myself Transmutation Art based on the knowledge I acquired from books.

Looking back, I was quite reckless.

Even when causing a huge explosion that burned everything around me, I survived miraculously.

Now that I have confirmed the materials, I think it’s time to get started with the actual work. But before that…

“Oh, right.”

There was one more thing I needed to confirm before starting.

It was whether the Transmutation Circle could be activated or not.

It worked properly yesterday, but the reason why this place was abandoned in the first place was that the Transmutation Circle couldn’t be activated.

The reason being that the transmutation array inscribed in the Transmutation Circle was different from the usual one.

Now that I understand the content, I think I can activate it, but I need to confirm it just to be sure.

“Phew…”

I place my hand on the Transmutation Circle.

I focus my mind and imagine the activation of the transmutation array in my mind.

Then, the Transmutation Circle shows a soft glow.

“Alright. It’s working properly——”

“Wow.”

“——Hey, who?”

I unintentionally make a strange voice at the sound of a voice other than mine.

The direction of the voice I heard was from the window.

I knew whose voice it was right away, even though she was hiding in the windowpane.

It was the voice I just heard yesterday.

“Princess? What are you doing here?”

“Oh no! I’ve been found out.”

You were trying to hide, weren’t you?

Or rather, since when had she been watching?

I invited the Princess into my workshop.

“Good morning, Aria-oneesama.”

“G-Good morning, Princess.”

I’m not used to being called Onee-sama by the Princess.

“Well, why are you here?”

“Actually, I wanted to watch Onee-sama work. So I peeked in secretly.”

“I see.”

“Yes. I’m sorry, Onee-sama. I didn’t mean to disrupt your work, but…”

Princess Irina looks downcast.

I hurriedly comforted her.

“No, I don’t think you’re disrupting at all. If you want to watch, please come closer.”

“Really?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you very much, Aria-oneesama!”

This time, she directs an innocent smile towards me.

It’s dazzling.

It shines so brightly that it almost hurts my eyes.

For a moment, I thought the words “innocent and pure” were meant for this princess.

“Well, can I get to work then?”

“Yes, please!”

Saying that, she approached the Transmutation Circle.

Really close.

Close enough to reach her face from my hand.

“You might want to step back a bit, it might be too bright.”

“It’s okay! If it doesn’t bother you, I want to see it as close as possible.”

“Okay.”

I was very nervous.

I’ve been doing this alone for a long time, and I’m not used to being watched by someone else.

And the other person is a princess.

If it wasn’t Yuren-kun’s sister, I wouldn’t even be able to talk to her like this.

The more I think about it, the more nervous I get, so I take a deep breath.

Then, she imitated me and took a deep breath in the same way.

When our eyes met, she smiled kindly.

So cute…

The nervousness that was beginning to calm down flared up again.

I switch my mindset, knowing that I couldn’t let this continue.

I took out wheat, water, and yucca leaves.

“Aria-oneesama, what are those leaves for?”

“They’re yucca leaves. Since it’s a plant that is resistant to cold, I thought I’d try to synthesize it.”

“I see, Yucca, Yucca.”

The princess nods repeatedly.

She seems to be trying hard to remember it in her head.

Her gestures are also cute.

It’s very relaxing to watch.

But no, no!

I was thinking about something else again.

I need to focus on my work now.

“Phew…”

I exhale deeply.

I place my hand on the Transmutation Circle, check the materials one last time, close my eyes, and start the transmutation.

I activate the transmutation while imagining the completion.

The Transmutation Circle is enveloped in a soft light, and the materials are wrapped in light.

“Wow, Aria-oneesama’s transmutations are so beautiful.”

“Really? I think the others are just as good.”

“That’s not true. Aria-oneesama’s light is the most beautiful!”

“T-Thank you very much.”

That is probably the effect of this transmutation array.

As far as I have deciphered it, it has an effect of making the light produced during transmutation more vivid.

It has no effect on the transmutation itself.

Maybe the previous users were people who cared about coolness?

While thinking such thoughts, I maintain my image of transmutation.

Materials wrapped in light are consumed and come together as one.

“It’s done!”

“Okay.”

For now, it’s completed.

It’s a little too green, but it looks like the shape of wheat.

Next, I need to check if it’s harmless.

As I was about to move on to the next step, the Princess speaks up.

“Um, Onee-sama!”

“What is it?”

“If you don’t mind… I’d like to help you too!”

“…Eh?”

With this unexpected request, I can’t hide my perplexed expression.