"Knock-"

Ruiji knocked on the tightly knit double-walled carved wooden door.

The relief pattern on the door is symmetrical, and two witches in ornate robes, one holding a book and the other holding a staff, are carved to life.

"Please come in."

Shimoda-sensei's voice came from the office. It was so flat that there was no fluctuation at all, and I couldn't hear whether the mood was joy or anger.

There was a small sound of a mechanical device running behind the door, and the gears drove the relief on the door, and the book and staff in the witch's hand moved downward, just touching the relief in the shape of two hands stretched upward, as if the relief had detached from the state of the dead object and delivered the object in front of her.

Such a distinctive mechanical door is estimated to be a product of the British side.

Hailing from the age of steam, which is not too far or too close to the present, machinery and steam are some of the most memorable romances of English witches. A puff of white steam passed through his feet, heating the air beside him, and a thin layer of sweat oozed from Riji's cheeks, and his face was rosy.

The office was also air-conditioned, and the air conditioner was deliberately made in the shape of a mechanical statue of a female jackal god. The so-called jackal god is the Egyptian funeral god Anubis, a well-known ancient Egyptian mythological figure, with a fierce and majestic jackal head, but with a beautiful human female body.

The air-conditioner casing is brass-colored, in a classic steam-era style. Shimoda-sensei is not only passionate about Egyptian culture, but also passionate about the steam age.

She is the only one in this office, there is only one desk, and there is only a single surname "Shimoda" on the name plate at the door, so there is no trace of a second teacher using the office.

The office is large, a circle wider than a separate classroom, with several bookshelves and information shelves, shelves for alchemy materials, a display table for alchemical utensils, a set of sofas and coffee tables, and a glass case for decorations, almost like a dedicated research room.

The most striking thing is the large number of Egyptian-style objects that shimmer with golden light, each of which is expensive, and in the corner of the office is a three-meter-long and two-meter-wide pharaoh's golden coffin, which contains pillows and quilts, which should be where Shimoda-sensei lies during his lunch break. There are really witches in the world who like to sleep in coffins.

Being able to occupy such a luxurious office alone shows that Shimoda-sensei's identity is definitely not simple.

Witches who are qualified to teach at Waseda Witch High School must be outstanding, and teachers who do not have special positions can only work in an office crammed into the same office with others.

It is not a secret that Shimoda-sensei's family has money, she could have inherited a family fortune of 10 billion yen, and she came to the school to teach to experience life. Everything in the office costs five or six figures, and the level of luxury is staggering.

Alchemy is played by rich witches, and to some extent this sentence is not wrong.

All kinds of alchemy materials are a lot of expenses, and if you fail, you have to start over, some materials can be restored with magic, some can't, alchemy means loss, disappearance and transformation.

Just like a sharpshooter is fed with bullets, to train a good alchemist, a large number of materials are the basic condition. Without materials, no amount of talent or skill can be unleashed.

Shimoda-sensei stood at the alchemy table, holding a small metal weight, a balance that radiated a brass and silver sheen, and a tray on his right with some golden powder-like objects.

Neither the scales nor the weights are ordinary alchemy equipment that can be seen everywhere on the market, and Ruiji has no idea but envy.

Why are people at Waseda Witch High School so rich?

"Sakuma-san, please be seated."

"Okay, thanks."

Rij's body leans back on the soft light blue fabric sofa and hands her body to the comfortable backrest. There is a special purple sand tea set in the office, and the water in the teapot is just boiled to boil, and the power is automatically cut off.

Shimoda-sensei didn't seem to plan to use the magic of making tea, so he personally walked to the tea table, picked up the hot teapot, and poured water into the small patterned tea bowl.

Witches in China, Japan, and England all have tea-drinking cultures, and it is customary to make a pot of tea while entertaining guests. This tea is called Twining, which translates to Twining, and it is the oldest tea in the United Kingdom, which appeared in 1706 and was founded by Thomas Twining, a businesswoman who ran a tea business, and is still loved by the British royal family.

Today's Earl Grey is based on black tea, flavoured with bergamot oil, and blended to produce an extraordinarily strong aroma that is loved by the British.

During the Meiji period, witches who went to study in England brought this tea back to Japan, and it became the first choice for many witches' afternoon teas.

Although it's not afternoon, it's not bad to have a cup of tea.

"Please."

Two tea bowls filled with tea are placed on the table. A Japanese witch who drinks British tea in a Chinese tea set, the composition is a bit complicated.

"Thank you......"

Riji didn't know what to say.

This is the teacher's office, and there is a lingering sense of restraint in talking and doing things. In addition, Shimoda-sensei's evaluation among students is not high, and she is worried that this cup of black tea has a lethargic function.

Witches are not invincible gods, and they can be poisoned in some cases.

Wait for Shimoda to pick up the tea bowl first, as if to prove that there is no problem in this pot of tea, and drink it all.

"I don't do strange things to students in private. Most of the rumors don't match the truth, and there may be a lot of misunderstandings between us, and these misunderstandings will take time to unravel. ”

“……”

The atmosphere instantly became more awkward. This little bit of caution can't be hidden in front of the teacher at all, even if her own experience in the previous life is not as good as hers.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

When you take a sip, the mellow aroma of black tea and the freshness of bergamot complement each other.

Shimoda-sensei pulled out a document in a brown paper bag from a drawer, examined it, and placed it on the table.

"You take a look first."

"What is this?"

"Something should be helpful to you."

When the seal is opened, the title of the document comes into view.

The first is the "International Olympic Alchemy Contest Japan Division Special Document", the second is "Alchemy Contest Details", and the last is the registration form.

The Olympic Alchemy Competition, or Olympic Alchemy Competition for short, is an annual major event in the world of alchemy. The top three witches who enter the national competition through the audition of the sub-division will receive the qualification certificate of junior alchemist, and the difference is in the ranking reward.

The higher the ranking, the more rewards you will get.

It turned out to be an alchemy competition, not to do some strange things in private.

Ruiji breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't have faith, so forget it."

She didn't even look at the documents carefully, so she took them back and returned them to Shimoda.

There is no faith, and at the same time, there is no financial resources to support oneself in practicing alchemy. Alchemy classes at school can start with materials for free, and practice outside of school has to pay for yourself.

There is a witch who says that the money wasted by alchemy is better than taking it to Kabukicho, and Ruiji also thinks it is reasonable.