The cavern hadn’t collapsed, nor had an earthquake ravaged through the castle. In the first place, it would be ridiculous if someone’s (more specifically, Mereli’s) rumbling stomach could produce such disasters.

Right now, Mereli and I are comfortably enjoying a rather humble meal. Curled up underneath a thick layer of blankets with only her head sticking out, Mereli chewed on a piece of bread like a starved chipmunk. Her bloated cheeks were covered in tiny crumbs, while her almond shaped eyes continually stared at me throughout the whole process.

Like her, I was also eating a piece of bread. The bread in question was stale, hard, and somehow bitter. It was the rough, grainy type of bread that was meant to last for months without rotting. Usually, you’d see it rationed out to troops in the middle of war, or distributed during a famine.

I don’t recall ever eating this type of bread before, so you could say it was a rather novel experience, although not one that I enjoyed. Even though I didn’t like it, considering the fact that it came from Mereli’s dwindling food supply, I held my tongue back and silently ate without complaint.

Actually, the bread wasn’t all that bad, at least in comparison to a few of the other loaves that I found within that old rucksack of hers. I’m thankful enough that I escaped the privilege of eating my first mold infested meal.

I once again reflected on how poor this girl’s living conditions were, while a silent sigh leaked out from my parched throat.

After swallowing down the loaf in three bites, I wiped the saliva off my lips and focused my attention towards the book in front of me. This was the book Mereli was carrying around earlier today. After asking her about it, she was kind enough to let me read it.

While the front cover was blank, flipping to the first page revealed the real title of the book.

[The Greatest Alchemical Compendium in the Entire World. Property of Marl Taizi. Mereli DON’T touch!]

The words were all handwritten in a somewhat informal script. The letters were foreign, and the words were alien. Yet, despite all that, I could still read the sentences, and understand the meaning behind the arrogant words scribbled sloppily on the page. It was a completely weird, and discomforting experience.

Looking back, I was mildly surprised to see that everything was handwritten, although truth be told, in the back of my mind, this was something that I had long expected from the very beginning. And just like the rest of my expectations, this book really did deal with the arcane art of alchemy.

The concept of alchemy wasn’t something I was very familiar with, but at the same time, it wasn’t an entirely new idea either.

Even on earth, alchemy used to exist. Of course, the alchemy back then wasn’t like the romanticized versions often seen in books and movies. The real thing was a lot less exciting, more closely resembling chemistry or biology.

In fact, alchemy was known as the predecessor to modern chemistry, with the former eventually dying out completely in favor of the more scientifically accurate alternative. It was only later in time that alchemy morphed into the version most people were familiar with. Now, when people think of alchemy, they think of magic circles, ancient herbs, and crazy old men. Regardless of how it turned out, all the same, alchemy was an integral and irreplaceable notch in humanity’s long past.

At least, for Earth it was.

There, alchemy was a diverse field of study that dealt with a mixture of science and magic. From what I could recall, it mainly focused on making gold, creating the philosopher’s stone, and finding immortality. Artificial life was probably mixed in somewhere in there too, but I’m not too certain.

Yes, Alchemy was an amazing thing, at least from a “normal” person’s perspective. It was amazing, so by extension, this book should be something amazing too, but…

“Calling it the greatest… Isn’t that a bit too much?” I mumbled to myself with a frown.

It felt like I was reading the delusional novel of a middle schooler. Reading this felt seriously embarrassing for some reason, like I was digging up some dark, and all too regrettable history… even though I don’t actually remember anything.

Could it be… I have repressed memories?

While I thought about such inconsequential things, my eye’s locked onto the name of the owner.

“Mereli, who is Marl Taizi?” I curiously asked.

Mereli’s eyes widened. She hurriedly swallowed the piece of bread in her mouth, before she answered. “Miss Sage is father’s sage.”

“A Sage?” Another unfamiliar term.

Mereli nodded her head. “Father said she was a witch, but Miss Sage called herself a sage, so Mereli calls her Miss Sage.”

“Witches and Sages…” Witches were generally considered a female only occupation that dealt with the dark side of the arcane. Things like brewing magical potions and casting hexes. I think their counterparts were something like warlock or wizard. Again, it was another fantasy term that belonged in a movie, and not real life.

“If she’s a witch, then that means the owner of this book was a girl…” I thoughtlessly mumbled to myself.

“No, wrong!” A high-pitched voice echoed through the cavern. I knitted my brow, as I turned towards the source of the voice.

“Lady, a lady!” Mereli shook her head and shouted. “Not a girl, Miss Sage isn’t a girl, she’s a lady!”

Caught off guard by her sudden intensity, I reflexively leaned my body away. My eyes widened, while an incredulous expression flashed through my face.

Mereli’s fuming expression stopped for a moment, before she looked up at me with curious eyes. With a weird smile, she asked, “Do you not know?”

I unconsciously frowned. “Am I missing something? Do I not know what?”

There was a brief, almost impossible to notice glitter in her eyes, before Mereli clicked her tongue. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Since you don’t know, it can’t be helped.” She spoke with a somewhat overbearing tone. “Because you don’t know, Mereli will tell you.”

Posturing like there’s no tomorrow, the little lady magnanimously explained. “Mereli is a girl because she’s still small, and hasn’t grown up yet. Miss Sage is a lady, because she’s old and has boobs on her chest.”

Like any of that matters…

Although I wanted to say it, although I wanted to say it really badly, Mereli was smiling like she was having fun, so I couldn’t say it!

She suddenly untangled herself from the blankets, and sat up. She crossed her arms, and flashed a somewhat smug smile on her face. It might just be my imagination, but this little girl had an expression as if she was looking down on me. “So, you don’t even know that? It looks like Mereli is smarter than you, hu hu hu…”

Even though she was acting haughty and putting on airs, because it was cute, I’ll let it slide. If there’s an opportunity in the future, I’ll teach her about humility, but right now, seeing her overbearing style of cuteness, I’ll just silently enjoy the show for the time being.

“Yes, yes, Mereli is the smartest, isn’t she?” I placated the little girl with a pat on the head. Her expression softened, while an absentminded smile floated to her face.

Even though she can be haughty, it’s surprisingly easy to control her. Patting her head seems to have the largest effect, kind of like petting a cat… although cats aren’t nearly this easy to satisfy.

“So, can you tell me what Miss Sage was like?” I asked after I pulled back my hand.

She had a somewhat disappointed expression, as she stared longingly at my hand. After a few seconds, she regained her focus, and thought for a moment. Almost immediately, Mereli frowned before answering, “She’s no good.”

“No good?”

Mereli tersely nodded her head. “A bad person. Miss Sage is definitely no good.”

A bad person?

Was she one of those alchemists who liked to experiment on people? Things like fusing different living beings together, creating hybrid chimeras, or feeding poison to a person in the guise of an experiment. Was she the type of alchemist you’d see working for a shady evil organization, or as the mid boss in some mediocre RPG? That type of bad?

“She’s a grumpy person who always bullies Mereli.”

“She—she bullied you?” I felt my face cramping up.

Mereli furiously nodded her head. “She wouldn’t let Mereli play around, and she always told me not to touch her things. She’s very selfish, even though Mereli asked nicely, she still wouldn’t let me play with them.”

I could only wryly smile after hearing her frustrated words. It was understandable. Who would willingly let a child play around with dangerous alchemical ingredients? More so, Mereli was probably the daughter of her employer. If she somehow injured the boss’s daughter, then I could only imagine the headache this Miss Sage would have experienced.

“She sure does sound awful.” I tactfully agreed.

“Yes, yes, Miss Sage was awful.” Mereli continued to badmouth with ample enthusiasm. “That’s why, that’s why you can’t be like that, okay? You have to listen to Mereli, and you have to give Mereli all the candies that you find. You also have to share your things, okay? And you absolutely, definitely can’t bully Mereli, and, um… um…”

While Mereli was looking at me with eyes resembling a puppy who wanted more attention, I tuned out her endless rambling, and turned my focus back towards the book.

[The Greatest Alchemical Compendium in the Entire World. Property of Marl Taizi. Mereli DON’T touch!]

Seeing the words specifically addressed to Mereli, I couldn’t help but feel that this book was more of a person’s personal journal rather than something like a textbook or instruction manual.

Flipping through the subsequent pages, I discovered that it was a bit of both. Sometimes the author of the book would write their personal thoughts, while other times they’d have an organized entry that resembled a recipe list from a cook book, or a procedural outline from a lab manual. Notes and little reminders were scattered across the corners of the pages, while a variety of different topics, such as botany, geology, biology, medicine, and many more, littered the entirety of the book.

Again, I was able to confirm that I really was able to read and understand the language of the text before me. Even though there was still a vague feeling as if I was looking at something foreign, the information simply existed in my head. While I was thankful for this ability, it still perplexed me to no end.

Worrying about it won’t lead to anything, so for now… let’s ignore it.

Mindlessly flipping through the book, I skimmed through numerous pages, before I finally arrived at the thing that I was looking for.

[Entry 095: Homunculus: Introduction, Usage, and Creation]

[A homunculus is a form of artificial life, created through alchemical process.

Because of its easy production method, and generally weak combat potential, they are mainly used as day laborers, or as servants for wealthy families. The creation of a homunculus is relatively simply, with the only real requirement being the necessary mana power from the creator. Because their starting materials are more or less reusable, homunculi are informally termed as the recyclable servant or as disposable humans. They are convenient for dangerous experiments where the threat of death is relatively high.]

“A homunculus sounds a bit… pathetic.” I sighed in self-derision.

A weak, disposable, and most heartbreaking of all, a convenient race. Rather than actually calling it a legitimate race or species, homunculi sounded more like items. Inanimate animate items, whose birth, and all too easy death lay completely at the hands of their creators.

How should I feel about this? What type of emotion was proper? Despair at my own race? Frustration at their weakness? Maybe anger towards their injustice?

I don’t know. Even if I complain about it, there wasn’t really anything I could do. It’s the same basic logic of lamenting over the fact that I was born human, although in this case, it would be the fact that I was a homunculus.

I shook my head, and turned my attention back over towards the book. Underneath all the formal text, was a little note, scribbled sloppily on the bottom of the page, detailing some more information.

[This mainly applies to general class homunculus.

It is possible to change their traits based on modification of either the ingredients or the mana circle. Still, this makes them really convenient in a different sense. Increasing the combat potential isn’t very cost effective, so this route is almost never taken, but through modification, it is possible to directly transcribe information into their heads, allowing a homunculus to possess certain skills or knowledge without having to waste time or resources teaching them. Because of this, they make good assistants, butlers, maids, and children’s companions.]

“Transcribed information… is this why I can read?” I mumbled thoughtlessly to myself.

My sudden knowledge always confounded me, but if the necessary information really was transcribed during my inception, then it would at least provide one plausible explanation. Although that didn’t necessarily explain all these memories of mine…

Aside from that, the next page contained the actual process of my creation, as well as the all-important ingredients list.

Reading through it, I couldn’t help but let out another sigh.