The Alchemist And The Dispatched Devil (5)

“Star Lake is said to be the site where a meteorite fell in ancient times, and it is famous because its water and the surrounding sand carry traces of mana and can be processed into alchemical materials.”

Villa explained while blinking on and off.

To me, it was more of an Oh, really? kind of explanation, but unfortunately, I was probably the only one listening.

Mitt had charged straight toward the water with Zaras the moment we arrived, cheering all the way,

“Wait, what exactly is going on here?! When you said we were going to Star Lake, I assumed we were gathering materials, but this looks more like we came here to play! And what is this outfit?!”

Meanwhile, Pallas’s face was bright red, and… I could not tell whether she was angry or embarrassed.

Despite that, she was still properly wearing it, and for the record, the outfit she was talking about was a swimsuit.

I had Mitt make them, though Villa had handled the designs properly, so there was nothing to worry about.

They had turned out either cute or functionally elegant, depending on the design.

About two months had passed since Zaras asked me for help and I first met Pallas.

Even after our agreed two weeks had ended, I had visited Pallas countless times, and Villa had never hesitated to offer her advice.

I had also properly reintroduced Mitt and Pallas, who had already known each other as classmates.

Apparently, after seeing just how dramatically Mitt had grown compared with when they were classmates, Pallas had come to recognize her as a true rival.

Well, their exact relationship did not particularly matter to me.

But I wanted the two of them to properly understand that there was someone their own age walking the same path right beside them.

That was why I brought them together, and today marked our second excursion away from town.

“It’s called a swimsuit. I don’t know whether this world already had them, but, well, Mitt made these, so I guess they exist now. They’re outfits designed so you can move in the water without much resistance. Ordinary clothes cling to you and make it hard to move.”

I explained it with a perfectly serious expression.

Of course, I had Villa design proper modern-style swimsuits, so this also doubled as a little visual treat for me, but that probably was not something I should say aloud.

Pallas was wearing a practical swimsuit that looked like something meant for competitive swimming, but she was slender—or rather…

For a girl her age, she was awfully thin.

…She said she had started eating properly lately, but it would still take some time before she approached a healthy average.

Mitt, meanwhile, had a decent amount of softness to her figure.

Her body had developed in a feminine way, but because of her height, she still inevitably gave off a cute impression.

She had chosen a cute one-piece swimsuit to wear.

“That’s not what I meant… but fine. Rest is important. You taught me that. Still, this swimsuit is interesting. It repels water, it isn’t transparent, and it stretches. Mitt… she can make things like this too…”

Pallas said that while tugging at the neckline of her swimsuit, which was extremely dangerous.

I really thought this girl, who spent all her time shut away in a laboratory doing research, needed someone to teach her some common sense.

As I watched the girls from a distance while they rested beneath the shade of a tree after tiring themselves out playing in the water, Zaras quietly stepped up beside me.

“Lept-sama, Mitt-san really is a good girl, isn’t she?”

I nodded at Zaras’s words.

There was absolutely no room for doubt about that.

She had plenty of flaws, but her good qualities more than made up for them.

“Yeah. Pallas is a good girl too.”

And the same was true of Pallas.

As I said that, I picked up a pebble from the ground and hurled it with all my strength.

The pebble tore through the air, struck an aquatic monster that had approached the shoreline with a sharp crack, and shattered.

I could not help laughing at the sight of the monster fleeing in a panic.

“She really is. Thank you, Lept-sama. Pallas-san has completely recovered her form—no, she’s doing even better than before. And so, I have a proposal…”

Zaras chose her words carefully, looking somewhat conflicted.

I probably knew what she wanted to say, but for now, I decided to wait and let Zaras say it herself.

“…Would you be willing to ask Vermission-san, their master, to cancel the prizes we’re supposed to receive depending on who wins?”

What Zaras finally said after steeling herself was more or less exactly what I had expected.

She really was surprisingly easy to read despite how she looked.

“Are you sure you’re okay with that, Zaras? I thought you wanted a body with a cute appearance.”

At my words, Zaras’s eyes widened just slightly.

Over by the water, Mitt had started running toward the shore again, and Pallas followed behind her with an expression that said, Honestly…

I sensed neither the presence nor the mana signature of any monsters in the water around where they were headed.

“You knew…?”

Zaras let the words slip out almost like a groan, and I nodded.

After all, I did consider Zaras a fairly good friend.

“Yeah. From the way you look at other people and various other things. More importantly, Zaras, you’re much more of a girl than you seem to realize.”

Seeing Zaras open and close her mouth in shock, I could not help laughing.

I had gotten to see a rather rare expression from her, but perhaps I should say something a little more serious as well.

“Mm. But you know, even if we refuse the prizes, nothing will change. The Academy will still evaluate them and rank one above the other. And even though the two of them are becoming friends, they’re still working hard to surpass each other.”

No, saying nothing would change was not quite right.

There would probably be negative consequences if we decided not to accept any prize.

After all, Mitt knew—or at least believed—that the prize I wanted was a body for Villa.

So if we got rid of the prize, she would probably be disappointed.

“Mitt is working hard because she thinks the prize I want is a body for Villa. So I think you should do the same, Zaras. Pallas knows that you’re acting with her best interests in mind.”

Besides, I had a little something in mind myself.

You could say I had a secret plan up my sleeve.

“Um, Lept-sama… the way you said ‘she thinks’ makes it sound like that isn’t actually what you want.”

…A secret plan was supposed to stay secret.