“Anyway, an untrustworthy bastard. You hurry up and install the device to break the dark magic.”

Now that the student group capable of subduing the terrorists had arrived, it was time to enter the central tower and rescue the alchemists who had been taken hostage.

“You’re putting me to work as soon as I arrive?”

At Kuran’s order, Bolton grumbled as he opened the lid of a large wooden box placed on the floor.

Inside were complex components whose purpose was unknown.

As Rukna craned her neck to look inside, Bolton explained each component he took out.

This is a high-grade magic stone, a glass flask engraved with magic circles, an elixir to amplify magical power, a piston to adjust elixir volume, this is a magic stone crusher……

As Bolton irritably put down the items, Kuran, who had been drinking tea, briefly set down his cup and struck Bolton’s crown with the staff he was holding.

“You numbskull. I told you those tools can break, so you should always handle them carefully!”

Kuran scolded Bolton, calling him a numbskull.

“Ah, really. Please stop calling me that, Master! It’s embarrassing when there are people listening.”

Bolton grumbled, glancing at Rukna once before his gaze met Rukna’s narrowed eyes.

“……So this is why you call me a numbskull every day.”

“Hey! Your case is different. I’m the great sage’s twenty-fourth beloved disciple, and you’re a real numbskull.”

Bolton asserted his skills, saying why else would the great sage entrust him with installing such a mechanical device.

At that, Kuran’s staff struck the crown of his conceited disciple once more.

“This numbskull still hasn’t fixed his arrogant way of speaking.”

“But it’s true! How many elixirs have I invented!”

“You’re built like a numbskull too, why are you so talkative?”

Alchemists considered sunken cheeks, hunched backs, pale complexions, dark eye circles, and thin bodies virtues due to their immersion in research.

These were far from Bolton’s overall healthy complexion and robust build.

“Only alchemists think big builds are stupid. Outside, skinny men aren’t popular with women. Men like me and Matian are much more popular.”

Bolton slyly grouped Matian with himself.

“That can’t be. I’ve never seen you with a girlfriend.”

“That’s because my standards are high.”

“Deceive those you can deceive.”

Kuran gestured with his chin toward Rukna and Matian.

The women from the Isle of Wisdom who were guarding the central tower with the men had surrounded the skinny Rukna, marveling that he was the best husband material.

“Your turtle neck is perfect, where are you from? Want to live by the water with me?”

At those words, Rukna touched his neck and straightened his spine.

It seems he came with modern human ailments when he was possessed.

“What kind of mermaid do you prefer? Fish? Cephalopods? Crustaceans?”

“Th-those questions are a bit scary, haha.”

Rukna censored whether it was okay to be saying such things in this serious terrorist situation, and quietly answered, “I like humans.”

His pale complexion seemed to add to Rukna’s charm, as the mermaids squealed and acted like excited fangirls who had discovered their bias.

Beside him, Matian was also receiving somewhat harsh but positive evaluations, with comments like “His broad shoulders and excessively upright posture aren’t great, but his face is passable.”

But despite the mermaids’ interest, Matian stood like a stone pillar, showing no reaction to the point of being cruel.

His cold eyes only moved when Rukna let out a scream, “Eek!”

‘This is a mess.’

The mermaids were touching Rukna’s shoulders and arms.

Someone had torn off a button from Rukna’s cadet uniform shirt as a trophy, revealing fair skin and a straight collarbone through the open shirt.

Matian, who had been momentarily captivated by that sight, hurriedly came to his senses and shooed away the mermaids.

“Please keep your distance, ladies. The cadets of the military academy refrain from contact with women to maintain a pious mind for training.”

It was something Chad would have scoffed at if he heard, but Matian politely declined contact with a calm face.

The women who had been surrounding Rukna in a circle awkwardly returned to their places.

“You’re causing trouble as soon as you arrive.”

Matian approached Rukna, removed one of the medals pinned to his own jacket lapel, and used it to fasten Rukna’s shirt where the button had fallen off, closing the front.

“Th…anks.”

Rukna swallowed dryly as he thanked him.

Whenever Matian’s well-manicured fingertips touched his neck, Rukna had to slightly raise his head, feeling strangely tense.

“Listen carefully, Rukna.”

At that moment, Matian began to recite the future plans in a low voice.

“When the spatial distortion magic is dispelled, I’ll enter the tower with the other cadets.”

“I’m going with you, right?”

“No. You stay here with Chad.”

“Why?”

“I’m suspicious of why the terrorists are holing up in that tower. They probably aim to pollute the water ether, but I think there’s a hidden reason.”

At those words, Rukna looked around.

All the armed alchemists and cadets were focused on surrounding the tower.

That meant other places were empty.

“Don’t tell me… they’re distracting our attention?”

“I didn’t expect you to guess it.”

Matian looked down at Rukna with wide eyes, his lips twisted crookedly.

Thinking this guy might not be as slow-witted as he seemed and could make a decent comrade, he continued the rest of his explanation.

“The terrorists will find it strange if I and the other cadets don’t enter the tower. So you, whose face isn’t known, need to move. As soon as we enter the tower, quietly go to Chad.”

“Somehow I feel like I’m getting a more dangerous mission than you.”

“Well. Whatever happens, you should be able to endure somehow with your current skills.”

With those words, Matian’s medal perfectly closed and fastened Rukna’s open shirt.

Bolton, who was nearly finished assembling the machine, glanced at Matian and Rukna and tilted his head.

‘Matian is taking care of someone else’s fallen shirt button?’

As far as Bolton knew, this had never happened before.

Is the world ending today for him to act like this?

“How long are you going to be distracted, you rascal!”

Only after being hit once by Sage Kuran’s staff did he come to his senses.

“Ah, really! It’s done.”

The completed machine looked like an hourglass made of glass and was slightly over 1m in size.

Inside the machine, intricately connected glass tubes and gears could be seen.

Bolton inserted five bottles of colorful elixirs into the glass tube that stuck up like a straw at the top of the machine, according to their volumes.

As the five-colored elixirs descended through the complexly twisted glass tubes, delicate gears began to turn, and when the elixirs reached the bottom, they mixed in perfect proportions, scattering sparkles.

It didn’t seem like much work to look at, but sweat was beading on Bolton’s forehead as he continuously adjusted the amount of elixir.

Soon, the elixirs gathered at the bottom turned into golden sand.

The machine floated in the air, then flipped upside down, and the golden sand fell down with a patter.

At the same time, the gloomy dark magic surrounding the tower began to become visible.

The black smoke that had been coiled around the entire tower like a snake was sucked into the hourglass.

The dark magic mixed with the golden sand and turned into gray sand, and when all the dark magic was absorbed, the space-distorting dark magic was naturally dispelled.

‘Amazing.’

But there was no time to admire it.

While people prepared to advance on the tower, Rukna had to quietly slip away.

Rukna paused briefly on her way to the inn where Chad was.

She happened to be passing by Fritz’s laboratory.

Fortunately, there was no one around to see.

‘This is perfect for delivering Professor Gail’s package.’

Rukna carefully knocked on the laboratory door. But there was no response from inside.

Finally, after glancing at the sign posted on the lab door, Rukna made an “Uh-oh” sound, and the tightly closed door swung open.

“Who the hell made that sound!”

An angry Fritz looked around before spotting Rukna and asking, “You again?”

“I’m sorry. I had to deliver this to you. It’s from Professor Gail.”

Rukna held out a worn leather package.

Recognizing it as his wife’s at a glance, Fritz hurriedly checked inside.

“I heard rumors that Gail became a teacher, so it was true. But you, how old are you?”

“18 years old.”

Upon hearing the answer, he scrutinized Rukna’s face.

“You look exactly like a 30-pointer.”

Fritz, who had suddenly struck Rukna, checked a fist-sized crystal ball in his pocket and silently cheered with his mouth wide open.

‘That looks like the orb attached to Professor Gail’s staff. As expected, it looks exactly like the Philosopher’s Stone that the Great Sage has.’

While Rukna was speculating on why Professor Gail had the Philosopher’s Stone, Fritz hastily hid the orb while cautiously looking around.

Even his gesture of unfolding the professor’s letter was careful.

‘Your husband is being extremely cautious. Is someone in the lab?’

As Rukna tried to check over his shoulder, Fritz made a ‘tsk’ sound and completely blocked Rukna’s view.

But his expression wasn’t good.

Fritz’s complexion, which had been joyful until just moments ago, grew increasingly grave as he read through the letter.

“This is outrageous.”

He trembled before starting to tear up the letter irritably.

Words like divorce and alimony could be glimpsed on the paper scraps falling to the floor.

‘Professor Gail offered that Philosopher’s Stone as alimony while separating from her husband.’

Fritz dropped a lit match onto the paper scraps, burning the letter completely.

Rukna, who could no longer waste time, silently nodded and turned to head to the inn where Chad was.

Bitter curses could be heard from behind, but Rukna didn’t look back.