Black Iron Magician

「Philosopher’s Blood, huh?」

「Yes, it’s a reward for clearing my trial. I gave Deris the same thing, so use it well~」

The day after the marital quarrel and Maria’s invasion, Haruna was given a bottle of crimson liquid by Maria in the underground training ground of Nell’s mansion. The content of the bottle, which is about the size of a perfume bottle, is Maria’s blood, which Deris had also received yesterday.

「I see, I should use it well, huh? …… How?」

Unlike Deris, Haruna doesn’t have the slightest knowledge of it, so she could only stare at the bottle from different angles without knowing how to use it. For Maria, it’s an expected reaction.

「You can ask Nell or my daughters about it. I’m not good at difficult things after all ♪」

「I-I see….」

「Well, I have given it to you, okay? Actually, I was planning to go home yesterday and make some adjustments for the next concert, but Deris and Nell were so funny that I ended up staying too long.」

「Um, did something happen yesterday? I felt that Shishō’s house was giving off a tremendous magic power and pressure. For some reason, it was completely off-limits all day long….」

「No, nothing happened. Right, Nell?」

「…… Well, it was just a small misunderstanding, so you don’t have to worry about it. Just concentrate on your training.」

「O-Okay.」

Looking at Nell, who seemed a little depressed, Haruna guessed that something had happened, and she stopped pursuing the matter any further.

「Well then, I will leave now. Haruharu, when you decide on the date of the battle, tell me first! I’ll be the first one to enter the venue!」

「Okay. Please look forward to it!」

「Yes! Bye bye!」

Hearing Haruna’s cheerful reply, Maria waved her hands in satisfaction and disappeared with the wind that came in from somewhere. After the typhoon named Maria has passed, peace returns to Nell’s residence.

「Good, she’s gone. Now, Chinatsu, Touko, it’s time to get up. I will explain about Maria’s blood to you all.」

「I-I’m still exhausted from the mock battle just now…」

「Three against two is tough…!」

As usual, Chinatsu and Touko collapsed on the floor of the training ground. Other than Alezel’s anti-Deris study camp and special sparring against Nell and Ursula, they spend the rest of the time collapsed on the training ground.

「How sloppy. Look at Haruna. She’s already recovered and standing up, you know?」

「Ehehe. I was sleeping when I collapsed!」

「S-She was recovering with the 『Pleasant Sleep』 skill like Lily-shishō, huh? No wonder she recovered so quickly…」

「I could recover my HP with magic, but it doesn’t work on the fatigue accumulated in the body…. I should have picked that skill…」

Haruna’s 『Pleasant Sleep』 skill, which she acquired from her early days, has now grown to a level 100+ 『Perfect Pleasant Sleep』. In other words, the ideal training environment for Haruna, where she can recover quickly when collapsed, has been completed.

On the other hand, Chinatsu and Touko could only regret that they don’t have the 『Pleasant Sleep』 skill. However, no matter how much they regret it, the fatigue won’t disappear. The two were unsteady, but they managed to get up and walk in front of Nell. They were clearly almost reached their limits. Perhaps it was unbearable to watch, Nell decided to have everyone sit down at the study table that they used for the study camp.

「Okay, listen carefully. Maria’s blood that she left earlier is worth as valuable as the philosopher’s stone as a catalyst. Do you know what a philosopher’s stone is, Chinatsu?」

「Ah, yes. I have a vague recollection of what it is. As I recall, by using it as a catalyst, it can freely change base metals into precious metals, make living things immortal, and so on…. Anyway, I think it is a stone that makes unrealistic things possible. I think it was a fictitious substance that existed only in stories and legends.」

「「Hee~, that’s amazing!」」

Haruna and Touko were impressed and their eyes were sparkling.

「Eh, a philosopher’s stone can do something like that? Maria’s blood is amazing, huh?」

Unlike those two, Nell had a blank expression on his face. Apparently, the answer was different from what Nell expected.

「N-No, it was the knowledge from my world, so it may be different here. And seeing your reaction, I’m convinced that it’s different.」

「Oh, I see. Then, I will explain it. The philosopher’s stone in this world is the same as Chinatsu’s answer in terms of rarity value. But, there’s a record that it was created by an alchemist in the past.」

「Eh, did it really exist?」

「Just between us, that person was the first king of Adelheit.」

「「「Eeehh!?」」」

The three voices echoed through the training ground.

「This country is rich in magic items, right? The one that laid the foundation for this is the philosopher’s stone. Well, it was small, about the size of a fist, and the stone itself seemed to be used up in the middle of developing the country to this point.」

「Wow~…. But it has built a fortune, no, a culture, right? It’s amazing.」

「Huh? Wait a minute. If that’s the case, it means that King Dias is his descendant, right?」

「That’s right. By the way, the main effects of the philosopher’s stone are different from what Chinatsu knows. One of its main effects is to increase the power of magic, extend the range of its effects, and greatly reduce the consumption of magic power. A fragment of the philosopher’s stone can compensate for all the magic power a top-class magician use in their lifetime, no matter how wildly they use their magic.」

「In other words, as long as I have this, I can use magic as much as I want, and everything will be strengthened, right?」

「I’m glad that you’re quick on the uptake. Well, with that amount, it will run out quickly if you keep firing magic of the Great Eight Demons-level…. Hmm, we only have Maria as an example, so it’s hard to explain.」

「Nell-shishō, you said that Maria’s blood is equivalent to the philosopher’s stone, but does it mean that all of her blood is like that?」

「Yeay, that’s right. Maria’s blood is special, and you can think of it as a liquid version of the philosopher’s stone that goes around her body. Deris told me that just one drop of her blood is worth more than a mansion or a castle. She’s truly a mass of abnormalities, a femme fatale. Well, she’s strangely highly conscious of it, so she doesn’t like to sell her blood.」

If Maria were to indiscriminately circulate her blood on the market, it’s easy to imagine that this alone would shake the world’s sense of values. The only thing that prevented this from happening was Maria’s high awareness of being an idol, and on this point, even Deris was honestly grateful.

「If Maria herself uses it, the blood would be regenerated instantly and she can use it infinitely. That’s why we can’t use her as a reference.」

「She can use it as much as she wants, huh. Now that I heard it again, she sure is absurd….」

「It all depends on how you deal with her. In fact, I was able to win with Deris, Haruna, and Alezel. Ah, we got off the topic.」

After clearing her throat, Nell continued her explanation.

「Next. The second main effect is the enhancement of magic items. You can use the philosopher’s stone as an energy source when making a magic item. Maria, who is simply strong physically, would never use this method, but Deris probably will use this method for the upcoming battle.」