Chapter 41

“Sia.”

“Yes.”

“Prepare the soul contract.”

“Understood.”

At that, Sia pulled a small dagger from her bosom. She drew blood from her own finger with it, then let it drip onto the table.

The blood instantly took on a certain shape, gradually transforming into the form of a Transmutation Circle.

“B—blood? She’s using blood to perform alchemy?”

At that, Jane Smith began to look horrified.

“Ah, right. I never introduced Sia, who came with me. Since we’ll be working together now, I suppose I should at least make the introduction.”

Saying that, Jaeha smiled.

“This one’s name is Sia. Age…… about 3 months now?”

“That’s a little hurtful, Master. I’m already past 3 months and 10 days, you know.”

At Sia’s words, Jaeha smiled calmly and looked at her beside him as he spoke.

“Right. About 100 days then. Anyway, this one…… is something I created.”

Gulp.

“A homunculus.”

As Jaeha finished speaking, their expressions gradually turned to shock.

Chapter 13

“A—a, a, a homunculus, you say.”

“That’s what people commonly call the pinnacle of alchemy, the essence of alchemy, everything about alchemy—something that can only be created by raising the legendary elixir and philosopher’s stone to a perfect level and synthesizing them together.”

“Then that blood……”

At their follow-up question, Sia answered with a smile.

“Yes, that’s right. This is the essence of alchemy—the philosopher’s stone that forms my body meeting the elixir that circulates through me and purifies. A single drop can turn stone into gold. Even with nothing at all, I can easily transmute base metals.”

Having said that, Sia produced a piece of paper in an instant.

“You know what this is, right?”

As Jaeha’s tone shifted, they looked at him.

“What? You said you’d come under me. I can’t very well use polite speech with my own subordinates, can I?”

“Y—yes, that’s right.”

“Th—this can’t be……”

“It’s the thing alchemists of the past used when making contracts. Its name is……”

“A soul contract. When a contract is made by mutual agreement, neither party can act in violation of it under any circumstances, and even if one of the contractors dies, the remaining party must still fulfill the terms of the contract. That’s the kind of item it is.”

“It was commonly called the devil’s contract as well, and it’s said that nobles used it frequently in politics during the Middle Ages. Do you know how to use it?”

“I believe the contract is completed by signing and then dropping blood onto it.”

“Sia will have written out all the terms. She’s smart, so she’ll have set it up without any loopholes.”

“Don’t worry!”

At that, Sia smiled and puffed out her chest proudly.

“You said 225 people. Explain it to them. And bring back their signatures.”

“Understood.”

“And Sia, some blood.”

“Yes.”

At that, Sia transmuted a small glass vial the size of a finger and filled it with her blood.

“Take that with you. Even if you don’t know alchemy circles, you know the basics of alchemy. With just that, you could turn at least a lump of stone into gold. Even if gold is too difficult, you should be able to manage silver.”

“Y—yes.”

At that, they swallowed hard and carefully received the vial, tucking it into their bosoms.

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

Saying that, Jaeha rose from his seat.

* * *

Returning home, Jaeha sprawled out on the sofa. And Sia asked him, looking at him like that.

“I don’t know if what they said about not having a faction is true, but did you really need to go out of your way to build one?”

At Sia’s words, Jaeha looked at her.

“Honestly, there’s nothing I couldn’t do alone. I can get stronger anyway.”

“That’s right. But then why……”

“Why?”

“Unlike you, Master, I’ve been alive for less than 4 months. So I don’t really understand.”

“Well, if I had to explain it, the number one reason is that it’s a hassle.”

“Yes.”

“Without a faction, I’d have to do everything myself. Right now, the old man handles most of the annoying stuff, but as time passes, there’s a good chance we’ll drift apart from that place too…… and then.”

“You’d have to deal with the annoying stuff yourself?”

“Right. And as I said before, the old man’s organization, Umbratio, is basically a criminal group. So given time, they’ll either start a rebellion or get caught by the authorities—one of the two.”

“And when that happens, things could get troublesome?”

“You could see it that way. Besides—”

“Yes.”

“In the end, I’m only human. Trying to cover ten fingers with one hand is bound to wear me out.”

“I think you’d manage just fine, Master.”

“I’ve said it time and again—there’s no such thing as 100% in this world. And if there’s an easier path, why take the hard one? Besides, they don’t seem like they’ll be a minus in my life going forward.”

“That’s true.”

Saying that, Jaeha rose from his seat and looked at the spirits flitting around him, playing around.

“And if the spirits are good people as you say, they won’t betray me. Well, not that they could anyway—we signed a soul contract.”

As he spoke, Jaeha turned his gaze toward Sia. Then he opened her status window to check.

[Sia]

[Trait: None]

[Total Ability: 999]

[Skill: Alchemy]

Sia’s status hadn’t changed much from the beginning. Jaeha was curious about the reason. Sia could do almost anything Jaeha could.

Even if those things didn’t show up in his status window. And yet, the fact that there was no change at all raised some questions for Jaeha. At the very least, his Trait should have unlocked by now.

Then Jaeha asked Sia.

“Why do you think no Trait has manifested for you?”

At Jaeha’s question, Sia thought for a moment before speaking.

“If I had to guess……”

“Yeah.”

“Could it be because I’m incomplete?”

“Incomplete?”

“Yes.”

“In what way?”

At Jaeha’s question, Sia thought for a moment before speaking.

“I think there might be some incomplete parts in how my body was configured.”

“Which parts?”

“Hmm, I can’t say exactly where.”

“Huh. Then what makes you think that?”

“Well. As you know well, Master, what makes up my body is elixir and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“Right.”

“The elixir circulates through my body, acting like blood while also serving several other roles. It helps when using alchemy too. And the Philosopher’s Stone acts like my internal organs.”

“Right.”

“But if the two haven’t properly fused, wouldn’t that be the cause?”

“And why haven’t the two fused properly?”

“If you think back to when you created me, Master……”

“You remember that?”

“Yes.”

“Hm. Well, go on and explain.”

“It seems like about half of my body structure was randomly determined by the system. To be precise, the internal parts of my body.”

“The internal parts?”

“Yes. Lately, my body has been feeling a bit creaky. So I wanted to check my condition, and since the topic came up, why not give it a try?”

“How?”

“You’re my creator, Master. So you can do it.”

At that, Jaeha nodded.

“What do I need to do?”

“Go up to the room.”

“Alright.”

At that, Jaeha rose from his seat and went up to the room. Once inside, Sia immediately began taking off her clothes and lay down on the bed. Then she looked at Jaeha and spoke.

“Please do it.”

“……Do what?”

“Hehehe!”

At that, Sia smiled, and Jaeha let out a small cough. Then he stood before her. A window appeared in front of him. The windows that floated up were simpler than he’d expected.

The problem was that they clearly showed what was wrong with Sia. In a human, bones, cartilage, and such existed inside the body and in the joints.

They served to absorb or disperse the recoil generated by movement. But in Sia’s case, none of those existed at all.

Sia’s body was currently an empty shell with nothing inside. The fact that she’d maintained her form for three months in that state was entirely thanks to the power of the Philosopher’s Stone and the elixir.

“Hm. I see. Yeah, that would definitely cause problems.”

Hearing Jaeha mutter, Sia looked at him.

“What should we do?”

“I think I’ll have to reconfigure you.”

“Me?”

“It’s not like reconfiguring you will erase your memories, so it doesn’t matter, right?”

“That’s true.”

“This time I’ll have to set not just your appearance, but your entire internal body as well.”

“Can you do it?”

“Who knows. I’ll have to try. It’s not like I won’t get more chances.”

“Hmph. So you’re saying you’re going to toy with my body?”

At Sia’s playful jab, Jaeha ignored it and spoke.

“Get dressed.”

“Yes.”

Then Jaeha turned on the computer and searched for human anatomy diagrams. There were a great many images, and plenty of them were quite detailed, but since Jaeha had no talent in that direction, he couldn’t customize all of them.

“Unfortunately, I’m hopeless when it comes to art.”

Muttering that to himself, Jaeha began studying the skeletal structure that would fill Sia’s body. Sia approached the studying Jaeha and looked at the computer alongside him. Before long, Sia spoke up.

“Master.”

“Hm?”

“I’d like my body to be made a bit unusual. Would it be possible for you to do that?”

“Unusual?”

“Yes.”

“I mean, unusual how?”

“Well, like adopting an elf’s body structure. Or a harpy’s would work too.”

Jaeha was about to brush her off as a bother, but after a moment’s thought, it didn’t seem bad at all. “It’s true that their body structures far surpass those of humans. If I’m going to make one anyway, it’d be better to make something sturdy and strong.”

“Right?”

Having said that, Jaeha rose from his seat and began searching for anatomical diagrams of elves, harpies, and other monsters called demi-humans.