Chapter 42

“Uh, uh? Oh, hello.”

The boy greeted her so warmly that Elena momentarily wondered if she knew him. 

His curly hair was as orange as a carrot, his green eyes sparkled, and freckles were scattered across his nose and cheeks. He even wore round glasses. 

Still, his face was unfamiliar. In the end, she had to admit her confusion.

“Um, sorry, but do we know each other?”

The boy smiled brightly.

“No! Today’s the first time I’ve seen you.”

Elena thought Alice was sociable, but this boy was even more outgoing. And Elena wasn’t particularly good at handling such enthusiastic people.

As she awkwardly smiled and hesitated to speak, the boy introduced himself.

“My name is Thomas Edison. I’m in the 8th year of Alchemy.”

Thomas Edison… For some reason, his name gave off the impression of someone who would invent something extraordinary.

“Oh, hello. I’m Elena Bellote. 8th year of Magic.”

“I knew it!”

Thomas clapped his hands. The attention already directed toward them increased even more.

“I figured you were from another department since I didn’t recognize your face. You don’t have the build of someone from Swordsmanship, so I guessed Magic—and I was right!”

“Uh-huh. But what brings you here?”

“Oh, it’s a basic class, but I came because I found it interesting that a senior was attending.”

He pulled his chair closer to her. Reflexively, Elena shifted slightly away, but Thomas quickly closed the gap again.

“Why is a Magic student taking this class?”

She wondered if she should tell this stranger, but since it wasn’t a secret, she answered honestly.

“I need to learn about alchemy for my graduation thesis.”

Thomas’s eyes widened.

“Thesis? What kind of thesis?”

“Well…”

It was hard to explain, but Thomas smiled as if he understood.

“Are you inventing something?”

“You could say that. But why are you taking a basic class as an 8th-year?”

“To find someone like you!”

“What?”

Before Elena could fully process his words, Thomas grabbed her right hand with both of his.

“You said your name was Elena, right? Would you like to join my club?”

“A club? Out of nowhere…”

“I’m starting an invention club for my thesis! I needed a Magic student, so I signed up for a Magic class hoping to find someone like you.”

So, he wasn’t really attending the class; he had just dropped by.

“How about it? I’ll even tutor you in alchemy. Believe it or not, no one in the Alchemy Department doesn’t know the name Thomas Edison!”

“Uh-huh.”

Since she didn’t know anyone in the Alchemy Department, she couldn’t verify his claim.

“What do you think? I’ll help you, and you’ll help me.”

The sudden proposal left her unable to respond immediately.

“I’ll think about it.”

Just then, the professor entered the classroom. The professor glanced at Thomas sitting next to Elena and asked curiously.

“Thomas Edison, why are you in a basic class?”

Professors didn’t remember every student, but it seemed true that Thomas Edison was well-known.

“I just stopped by to meet a friend.”

Thomas laughed heartily. Elena didn’t know why she was suddenly his “friend,” but she nodded vaguely at the professor.

“Well, Mr. Edison. It’s fine to meet friends, but since class is starting, shouldn’t you leave?”

“Understood, Professor.”

Thomas stood up and winked at Elena before leaving.

As she watched him, she felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

It was the kind of unease that made her feel she’d inevitably get entangled with him.

***

‘Ah, this is hard.’

It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but Elena was always top of her class in written exams among the Magic students of her year.

So, she was confident about the theory portion of the Alchemy class. Moreover, since it was a basic course, she thought it would be easy to follow.

However, alchemy was a completely different field from magic. It was far from easy.

She reflected on her arrogance from an hour ago when she had underestimated another field.

‘I don’t know anyone in the Alchemy Department to ask for help.’

She didn’t know the professor well enough to approach them either.

Sighing deeply, she left the classroom, only to find someone blocking her path.

Predictably, it was Thomas Edison.

He put his arm around her shoulder in a friendly manner, as if they weren’t strangers who had just met that day.

“How was the class?”

“It was okay.”

“Your face says otherwise. Wasn’t it tough? Alchemy and magic are very different, after all.”

Was it that obvious? 

Elena sighed and confessed.

“To be honest, it was a bit difficult.”

“What about my offer? If you join my club, I’ll tutor you in alchemy. I’m a great teacher, you know?”

She was quite tempted. After attending the class, she realized that collaborating with an Alchemy student would be much more efficient than trying to learn everything herself in a year to create a toy train.

“What are you planning to invent in the club?”

“A flying carriage!”

“What?”

“Doesn’t it sound fun? We have trains on land, but we still need boats to cross water. Wouldn’t it be convenient to have a flying carriage for crossing seas and lakes?”

Whether it was feasible or not, the idea itself was intriguing.

“What about you? Why are you taking an Alchemy class?”

Since he had shared his idea, Elena decided to share hers.

“I want to make a moving toy.”

“A toy?”

“Yes. The Bellote family has been in the toy business for generations. Ultimately, my goal is to create a moving toy train.”

“Wow.”

Thomas’s green eyes sparkled. Though he was much taller than her, his expression reminded her of Tony—a cheerful, innocent child.

“That sounds fun. I’ll help you.”

“Really?”

“Of course! Join my invention club, and let’s help each other out!”

Elena hesitated for a moment. But the conclusion came surprisingly quickly.

She needed an Alchemy student, and the only one she knew was Thomas Edison.

She wasn’t sure how skilled he was, but since their goals aligned, why not collaborate?

“Alright, I’ll join.”

“Yay!”

Thomas cheered loudly and then said something unexpected.

“Now, let’s find more members. Do you know anyone interested in joining a club?”

Elena asked suspiciously.

“More members? Why?”

“We need at least five members to officially form a club.”

“How many do we have now?”

“You and me.”

“What? It’s just the two of us?”

Thomas scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“No one in the Alchemy Department wants to join.”

Elena narrowed her eyes.

“Didn’t you say everyone in the Alchemy Department knows you?”

“They know me, but I didn’t say they’re friends with me.”

So, he was more of an infamous eccentric than a popular figure.

Elena sighed deeply.

She had thought her thesis preparation was going smoothly.

“Fine, I’ll look for people.”

Though she didn’t have many friends either, she figured she had better chances than Thomas.

***

The first person Elena tried to recruit was, of course, Alice.

“Invention club?”

“Yeah. Don’t you need to write a thesis too? Let’s do it together.”

Normally, Alice would have agreed without hesitation, but this time, she hesitated.

“Actually, I already joined another club.”

“Oh, really?”

Since Alice had already committed elsewhere, Elena couldn’t push further. Reluctantly, she decided to look for someone else.

However, finding someone suitable wasn’t easy. Penny had joined a club long ago, and her other friends weren’t interested in an invention club.

With little progress, Elena went to practice swordsmanship with Cedric.

Before spring break, they had trained together three times a week. Now, both were busier and met only once a week.

While practicing swordsmanship, Elena also worked on the mana control techniques Felix had taught her.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—while her swordsmanship remained stagnant, her mana control had improved significantly. She could now infuse mana into her dagger.

How effective this would be was another matter.

‘I can’t test it on a person.’

Elena subtly infused mana into her wooden sword. The ring on her finger glowed yellow, and a faint yellow light enveloped the wooden blade.

“What’s that? How did you do that?”

Cedric, who had arrived unnoticed, looked astonished at her glowing sword.

“Is that sword energy?”

Sword energy—a technique used by Swordmasters to condense mana. Though she had never seen it, she knew this wasn’t the same.

‘Sword energy is supposed to be much more destructive.’

And while this could only be maintained briefly, sword energy could last longer.

Elena quickly denied it.

“No, it’s not sword energy.”

She explained the principle briefly. Cedric looked at her with genuine envy.

“I wish I could do that.”

“If you can control mana, it should be possible.”

“My mana affinity isn’t great.”

“Then just become a Swordmaster quickly. I’m sure you can do it.”

She joked with a playful smile. At that moment, for reasons she couldn’t explain, Thomas’s face suddenly flashed in her mind.

As if trying to escape from something, she hurriedly asked.

“Cedric, have you joined a club?”

“Huh? No.”

“Then, are you interested in joining one?”

“Why are you asking? This feels suspicious.”

Cedric squinted playfully before laughing.

“Just kidding. Why do you ask?”

“I’m joining a club started by an Alchemy student, but we need more members to form it. You don’t have to do anything—just having your name on the list is enough.”

“How many more do you need?”

“Three, excluding me.”

“Hmm. Even if I join, you’d still need two more.”

“Right.”

It wasn’t until after she replied that she realized what Cedric meant.

“You’ll join?”

Cedric answered cheerfully.

“Sure. You need it for your thesis, right?”