Facing Lilith’s wine-red eyes that seemed to see right through her, Helos felt her little thoughts laid bare. She was indeed in enormous trouble.
The issue of “will” was like an invisible wall, stalling all her research at a bottleneck.
While Professor Graham had pointed her in a direction, his theory of “will distorting reality” was too abstract, forcing her to seek another method more suited to herself.
She also instinctively glanced around.
The lawn in front of the Main Building was spacious. Most students had already headed towards the cafeteria, and no one was paying attention to their conversation.
Teacher Lilith… she was well-traveled and knowledgeable, and as a professor of noble history and etiquette, might she have a different perspective on a concept as mental/spiritual as “will,” distinct from a “tech-obsessed maniac” like Graham?
After hesitating for a moment, Helos decided to ask.
She decided to only discuss the problem itself, omitting all details about Ultimate Alchemy and Graham’s Specimen Room.
“Teacher, I have indeed encountered some academic difficulties.”
She chose her words carefully, trying to make it sound like an ordinary student’s curiosity.
“Recently, while studying an alchemy text, I found it repeatedly mentioned a very vague concept—’will guidance activation.’ The book says an alchemist’s will can alter a substance’s form, activating it.”
Helos furrowed her brow slightly, showing a confused expression.
“I don’t quite understand… how does something like ‘will’ get ‘injected’ into matter? I’ve tried many methods, but they’ve all failed.”
After hearing her question, the gentle smile on Lilith’s face didn’t fade but deepened instead.
A flash of understanding passed through her wine-red eyes, as if she had long anticipated this confusion.
“My dear Miss Helos, what puzzles you is precisely the most core, and most enchanting, aspect of alchemy.”
Lilith didn’t answer immediately. Instead, holding her skirt, she turned gracefully and pointed to a white marble pavilion not far away, bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
“This place is too busy for academic discussion.”
Her voice was as soft as the evening breeze.
“If you don’t mind, let’s go sit and talk over there.”
Helos had no reason to refuse.
“…Alright.”
The two walked one after the other across the lawn and entered the quiet pavilion.
The last rays of the setting sun spilled down from the pavilion’s dome, outlining the contours of Lilith’s profile in shifting light and shadow.
She sat down slowly, her posture still impeccable.
“Miss Helos, I heard Professor Graham mention this matter. It seems he invited you to join the alchemy association?”
Lilith looked up at her. After Helos nodded, her wine-red eyes seemed to grow even deeper in the twilight.
“Then Professor Graham must have told you that those failed alchemical products became distorted and ran amok because their creators injected ‘fear’ or ‘hatred’ into their will, correct?”
Helos was startled.
She hadn’t expected Lilith to know even this.
“H-How do you know?”
“Hehe.”
Lilith covered her lips with a light laugh.
“My father was his classmate at the Academy back in the day. I’ve heard a thing or two about that old stick-in-the-mud Graham and his collection of ‘heretical’ alchemy.”
She seemed quite satisfied with the surprise on Helos’s face and continued in her instructive tone:
“But, Miss Helos, have you considered that ‘will’ is not merely the ‘obsession’ or ‘hatred’ you understand?”
“Resentment is the lowest, most chaotic form of will. It can indeed ‘activate’ objects, as you mentioned encountering in the Olivius City tomb. But that kind of ‘activation’ is passive and chaotic, and what’s born from it is most likely only monsters.”
“True ‘will guidance’ is not the crude act of ‘injecting’ your own emotions into the materials as you imagine.”
Lilith shook her head gently, her voice becoming soft yet filled with a strange magic.
“It is a form of ‘resonance,’ child.”
“Resonance?”
Helos subconsciously repeated the word.
“Correct. You must make your alchemical creation ‘desire’ your will, just as an instrument desires the musician’s hands, or a canvas desires the painter’s colors.”
Lilith smiled.
“You need a ‘medium,’ a ‘stage’ that allows you and the material to achieve perfect resonance.”
“This ‘medium’… does it refer to intense emotion?”
Helos ventured, thinking of the powerful resentment contained within the ruby necklace.
“Yes, but not entirely.”
Lilith’s smile turned somewhat mysterious.
“Emotion is too broad and unstable. What you need is an ‘ultimate’ emotion, a pure ‘will’ that can transcend all other emotions.”
Looking into Helos’s light purple eyes filled with confusion, she slowly uttered the word.
“For example… an ultimate ‘charm.'”
“Charm?!”
Helos was completely stunned.
She felt her entire alchemy knowledge system was being shaken to its core.
What does charm have to do with research?
“If it were purely research, perhaps nothing. But what puzzles you now is ‘will guidance,’ so why would it have nothing to do with it?”
Lilith countered, her voice growing even more bewitching in the twilight.
“Miss Helos, think carefully. Isn’t charm itself the most powerful, most direct manifestation of will?”
“It can make others involuntarily attracted to you, enamored by you, driven mad for you. It can make cold reason yield and shake firm convictions.”
“When you can condense this unique ‘charm’ of yours to its peak—”
Lilith leaned forward slightly, her wine-red eyes gazing at her closely.
“You will no longer be crudely ‘injecting,’ but gracefully ‘bestowing.'”
“At that moment, you will become the ‘stage’ itself. You won’t need to force matter; all things will actively ‘activate’ for you because of your very existence.”
Lilith’s words were like a thunderclap in Helos’s chaotic mind.
This theory was utterly bizarre, completely beyond the scope of her knowledge from two lifetimes.
Will, charm, alchemy… these terms combined didn’t sound like a discussion of rigorous alchemy at all.
But she had to admit that, from a certain angle, Lilith’s words seemed to perfectly explain all her confusion.
Why couldn’t she reproduce the recipe?
Because she was only “manufacturing,” not “guiding.”
Why did “resentment” work?
Because it was an ultimate emotion.
If negative wills like “hatred” and “fear” could distort matter, then why couldn’t a positive, powerful will like “charm” “guide” matter?
Helos felt she had grasped a faint, elusive thread.
She felt she had gained some new insight.
Furthermore, she originally had an [Branch of Glamour Alchemy] yet to be unlocked. If she could make a breakthrough with this, wouldn’t it be feasible?
Looking at this elegant, wise teacher before her, Helos unconsciously let go of much of her worry.
Just as Helos was lost in her thoughts, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon.
Night had fallen.
The Academy’s magic lamps lit up one by one, their soft light spilling onto the pavilion’s railings.
The evening breeze brought a slight chill.
Helos snapped back to reality, realizing they had been talking for a long time.
She stood up from the bench and bowed to Lilith once more.
“Thank you very much, teacher. Your insights have given me great inspiration. I feel I’ve found a new direction.”
She paused, then added:
“It’s getting late. I’ll take my leave now and not disturb you any further.”
Just as Helos turned to leave, Lilith suddenly called out to her.
“Wait a moment, Miss Helos.”
Helos turned back, puzzled.
Lilith remained seated with her elegant posture, a gentle smile on her face. Her wine-red eyes, under the glow of the magic lamps, seemed deeper than the night itself.
“Next weekend, the royal family will be hosting a grand celebration.”
Lilith took out an exquisitely crafted invitation from her delicate lace handbag. It had complex gold edging.
“His Majesty the Emperor will attend personally. This can be said to be the most splendid banquet the royal family has held in nearly two years, gathering all the empire’s top nobles and talents.”
Smiling, she extended the invitation, which emitted a faint scent of ink, towards Helos.
“I happen to have an extra invitation. I think, as the noble daughter of the Olivias Family, you should rightfully attend such a grand occasion, shouldn’t you?”
Helos somewhat hesitantly took the weighty invitation.
“Me?”
“Miss Helos.”
Lilith’s voice grew even softer, as if carrying an irresistible magic.
“Aren’t you still confused about ‘will’ and ‘charm’?”
“You must believe in yourself. Your current charm is no less than anyone’s—it’s even stronger than theirs!”
She stood up, walked slowly to stand before Helos, leaned in slightly, and whispered in her ear, her warm breath brushing Helos’s earlobe.
“And this grand banquet, gathering the eyes of the entire empire, isn’t it just—”
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I’m suspicious of a woman named Lillith.