*****

As the carriage rattled away from the Order's encampment and back toward the Royal Capital, Master Clein’s brow remained deeply furrowed.

「To think a space was created where even time itself was distorted. From what you told me, it resembles a natural phenomenon that occurs when massive amounts of mana collide, but...」

After I shared the full details of what had happened inside the mist, he seemed to become even more perplexed. He had been lost in thought ever since.

Given that no one in this kingdom is currently capable of creating a Magic Item, I find it hard to believe that a human hand could craft a magic circle even more advanced than that. Yet, for a "natural phenomenon" to occur so close to the Capital—it was a baffling sight.

Deducing from my father’s words, there is undoubtedly a reason behind it. If he refers to it as a "Relic of the Past," then surely...

(I feel a bit sorry for Master Clein, who’s still agonizing over it, but I’ll leave the difficult thinking to him.)

After all, I want to be a proper apprentice and learn more about alchemy.

「Leon-kun. Would you mind telling me more about those Warding Stones from earlier?」

I had been holding back due to the emergency, but my "Alchemy-Lover Sensor" was pinging like crazy over those stones.

I’d never heard of an alchemical item that could not only protect one from miasma toxins but also generate a barrier. If it was a precious item, I needed to properly repay the debt of him saving my life.

To do that, I needed information first. It’s not that I just wanted to pry out of pure curiosity! I had to ask to uphold the honor of the nobility!

As I puffed out my chest with my forced justification, the quiet interior of the carriage was filled only with the sound of our movement. Leon pulled the small charm bag from his pocket.

Because he had used one during our escape, the three Warding Stones had been reduced to two.

「Warding Stones are items that, as the name suggests, can deploy a barrier. Just carrying them provides protection against weak magical interference and acts as a ward against evil. They have an effect quite similar to the Necklace of Warding.」

Looking at them again in a calmer setting, they appeared to be special stones treated with Enchantment. They were exquisitely crafted; if the benefits were truly that great, they were likely highly valuable items.

Even Master Clein, a Court Alchemist, didn't seem to have any, so they might be incredibly expensive...

What concerned me more, however, was the somewhat lonely expression on Leon’s face as he gazed at the stones. I remembered him saying he "didn't really want to use them."

「Were they... very important to you?」

「Well... Lady Vanessa gave them to me when she retired. To me, they’re something of a lucky charm.」

「I'm so sorry... I feel terrible that you had to use something with such sentimental value for my sake.」

「Please, don't worry about it. They can't be compared to your life, Mia-san. I still have two left, so I have no regrets.」

Looking at Leon as he explained with a wry smile, anyone could tell they were precious mementos. Unlike equipment like the Necklace of Warding, a Warding Stone vanishes once used. Perhaps that’s what felt so lonely and frightening to him.

It’s as if the proof of Vanessa-san’s life as an alchemist is disappearing, never to return.

(I've really done something awful...) Just as I was sinking into guilt, Master Clein, for some reason, let out a soft smile.

「It seems Mia wasn't the only one Vanessa entrusted her feelings to.」

Not understanding the meaning behind his words, Leon and I looked at each other and tilted our heads in unison.

「Vanessa-san's feelings? You mean the Warding Stones?」

「No, not those. Look closely at the bag the stones are in. That is what’s known as a 'Talisman of Purification.' It was the very item that inspired Vanessa to start making Magic Items.」

Both of us leaned in close to the charm bag, staring at it intently.

「Now that you mention it, I can feel a faint flow of mana.」

「I feel it too, but... did Lady Vanessa really make this?」

Leon furrowed his brow and groaned, and I couldn't blame him. Unlike the exquisitely crafted Warding Stones or the Necklace of Warding, this charm bag bore the marks of a clumsy, unrefined attempt at mana manipulation.

It was hard to believe they were made by the same person.

However, thinking of the earnest side of Vanessa-san, it felt very much like her.

「Perhaps she handed over the Talisman of Purification—the very first successful creation she was attached to—to you, Leon-kun.」

「I suspect the same,」 Master Clein added. 「Years ago, she bragged to me that she’d learned to perform Enchantments similar to those on Magic Items. This looks exactly like the talisman I saw back then.」

Perhaps she wanted to give the person she hoped would carry on her legacy—the one who was her support and her precious disciple—the item with the most heart behind it.

Rather than the Necklace of Warding, which carried the negative weight of her regrets, she wanted him to have the Talisman of Purification, where she had found her hope. She likely wanted him to keep looking forward precisely because he was so important to her.

「Whether she wanted you to walk the same path or simply wanted to show you the way forward, I don't know. But as long as Leon continues his work as an alchemist, Vanessa will never regret her retirement.」

「Lady Vanessa...」

Having understood that it was a truly special charm, Leon’s expression brightened. With his eyes slightly misty, he cradled the talisman gently in both hands.

As I watched him, I gripped my necklace—the one entrusted with a different set of feelings.

There was a clear reason why she hadn't given the necklace to Leon. Entrusting that unfinished necklace to me wasn't about passing on an alchemist's heart; I believe it was her lingering professional regrets that drove her to do it.

She simply couldn't suppress the desire to see a completed Magic Item.

「Vanessa-san... deep down, do you still want to do alchemy?」

The words slipped out of my mouth, but no one could know the answer. Perhaps only when the necklace is finished will she finally find her own answer.

However, I am the only one who can lead her to that point—the one who accepted her regrets.

Normally, I would be pessimistic, thinking, (How could an apprentice like me ever...?)

But as I recalled the words of Leon and Obaba-sama, I began to feel strongly that this was something only I could do.

『We call it a Magic Item when the power of the enchanted mana has been drawn out to its absolute limit.』

『Listen, child. Sacred Alchemy is the art of drawing out the performance of a substance to its ultimate extreme.』

I don't know how much of a burden it will be, but I'm certain the key to that method is—

*****

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