Alchemy has never been a beautiful thing.

Perhaps it often gives people the appearance of hope, such as the golden transformation, the elixir of life, and the artificial human, which symbolize the "wealth", "eternal life" and "creativity" that people yearn for, respectively.

But if you think about it more closely, they essentially symbolize "greed", "fear" and "control".

Of course, although it can be ugly, this ugliness is also pushing people to move forward, it is not good, but it is not bad.

After all, it's not ** that is ugly, it's people.

"Thank you, Noah! Thank you for your kindness to Luna...... However, I hope that you can go back and think about it, and take this opportunity to think about the 'Philosopher's Stone' for you and for us...... and what it means for everyone else. ”

To be honest, Noah didn't immediately understand the meaning of Maca's words, but after seeing Maka's solemn appearance, he realized that there must be something deep in it that he had not yet discovered.

So Noah left, with a stomach full of doubts.

Watching the fat man leave from the door, he forgot to take off his filter mask when he went out because his mind was full of what Maca had just said.

"Bang!"

With a flick of her hand, Maca closed the door again, then turned around and picked up the silver knife that had rested aside, and continued to cut the unknown plant stem.

And at this moment, with a soft "squeak", a figure walked out of the corner of the steaming potion preparation room.

"Maca, he...... Didn't he just say he could cure Luna? Why do you ......?"

It was Hermione, who had just been hiding in the cupboard in the corner. Because Maca had already sensed Noah coming from this side before, he let Hermione hide in advance, and Noah obviously didn't want too many people to know that he had obtained the Philosopher's Stone inheritance.

And now, hearing Hermione's somewhat hurried inquiry, Maca couldn't help but shake her head slightly, and replied softly:

"Noah came to Fort Blois because his father had him come...... As you may have heard, he has obtained the inheritance of Nicolamet, and has even gotten the rough embryo of the Philosopher's Stone. I think you should understand what his father meant when he called him to come to me and to Monsieur Blois. ”

"Uh," Hermione was stunned when she heard this, "Mr. Hohenheim, do you want you to protect Noah?" ”

"That's right! But as you should know, we don't even know how well we can protect ourselves these days. Maca sighed, "I don't know how Noah's father found out about Luna so quickly, maybe it was Mr. Blois, maybe it was Mr. Arkinbad. Either way, he did send me a 'big gift' that I couldn't refuse. ”

With that, Maca couldn't help but turn her head and spread her hand at Hermione.

"Since Noah can't stay with us forever, and I want to accept this gift with peace of mind. At the very least, then, I have to let Noah master an ability that can keep him safe under the coveted crowd before he leaves here. ”

But when asked how to protect yourself, the best answer is definitely not a "great force", at least according to Maca's current experience, it is definitely not the case.

"So," Hermione pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "are you trying to make him realize for himself that whoever he is may not be credible?" ”

"yes!" Maca smiled, "For many people, the charm of the Philosopher's Stone is unparalleled, you see! Even you and I are no exception, aren't we? ”

"We ...... We only ...... because of Luna."

Hermione didn't seem to agree with Maca's last words, but Maca waved her hand at her and said:

"It's all the same! It's all the same, for Luna's sake, I'm going to borrow Noah's Philosopher's Stone anyway. Believe it or not, if the fat man turns around and refuses to help, I'm going to force him to do him a favor? ”

"This"

Hermione habitually pushed her mask, thought about it for a moment, and then nodded seriously.

"Alright! I see, I believe! ”

"Hey, I'm just kidding," Maca couldn't help but smile wryly when she saw this, "Have more faith in Noah!" Well, by the way, I also have a little more confidence in my personality."

As he spoke, he heard the boiling sound on the other side of the cauldron subside again, and then he stopped talking slightly, and then separated another material and put it in.

"Stir it again, this time three times counterclockwise."

"Ahh Good. ”

When Hermione heard this, she hurriedly ran to the side of the crucible, picked up the stirring rod and waited. I watched the cauldron gurgle with a large amount of steam, and waited for the most intense reaction to pass, and then carefully reached in and drew a circle.

It wasn't long before she took the stirring rod and cleaned it with the reagent and put it back in the bucket next to the crucible.

The potion chamber was quiet again, except for the soft sound of maca clicking on the slices of stems.

“…… Maca? ”

I don't know how long it had been, but when Maca had already put down the silver knife and used a mortar to grind the liver of an animal instead, Hermione opened her mouth again.

"I'm still wondering, what exactly is this potion you prepared?" She hesitated, "This...... Doesn't look like it's a cure for Luna's magical imbalance, does it? ”

This time, however, Maca didn't answer Hermione's question as quickly as she had just done. He just lowered his head and grinded, completely grinding the fresh and tender liver into a pulp, and after a while, he said slowly:

"Yes! It's not for Luna, I have other uses. ”

For some reason, Maca was reluctant to say, even though it was the second time Hermione had asked the question. However, out of trust in Maca, she still suppressed the confusion and curiosity in her heart as much as possible.

Since Maca wouldn't say it, there must be a reason why he couldn't say it, at least Hermione thought so.

After a few more minutes, when the stirring had stopped, and the steam had ceased to steam from the sliced rhizome, Maca finally picked up his ground pulp-like liver and walked towards the crucible.

"Hermione, stand behind me and try to hold your breath...... The next medicine mist will be more toxic, and I will help you block it, but you still have to be just in case. ”

When Hermione was behind her back and ready, Maca poured all the slurry from the mortar into the cauldron. And in the next moment, a dark green mist burst out of the crucible with a "poof".