Plank, Ton, Patrick and Bob

In a city, far removed from the woods where Adam and Mereoleona met, the atmosphere is joyful, the festivities are soon to begin, and the people are happy, for the exam is soon to begin, amidst all of that commotion and joy, a carriage stands on a road, like a hermit's hut, cut off from the rest of the world.

Inside various smells clashed together, the smell of blood and sweat clashed with the smell of medicine and plants, the paints clashed with the oils, it was like a war zone.

Tools for painting in one corner, books and letters in another, hospital tools in yet another corner, herbology tools on a shelf, it was organized chaos.

And the main perpetrator of this could be seen standing in the middle of the carriage, a scalpel in his right hand he observed the little creature squirming on the table in front.

The creature appeared to be a squirrel, in its past life, for while it had squirrel-like features, it also looked like a rabbit and a hamster, the most disgusting thing, however, is that it had it's fur removed, showing what's underneath it while it's still alive.

"Very interesting." The man said as you might have guessed it's our amoral protagonist, 3 weeks have passed since he escaped from the fire lion, and in front of him is his newest experiment.

He combined a rabbit, a squirrel, and a hamster into one singular creature using alchemy, this is the first successful test subject so far.

Of course, he didn't immediately go and fuse 3 creatures, he started with 2, practicing on bunnies, hamsters, and squirrels enough until he decided to fuse 3 different creatures, there were many failures and disappointments, but this one is a great living specimen.

Some may ask why is he doing this? His answer would be, that he is pursuing knowledge, for as unfortunate as it may be his paranoia has prevented him from pursuing power.

His paranoia that Mereoleona is after him made it so that he was hesitant before attacking a village, afraid that it might lead back to him and that he would have to face a magic captain, or that it would slow him down too much, so he has not been killing as much.

So, unfortunately, he managed to get only 7 more villages, unlike the planned 21, bringing his total up to 12 367 souls, excluding the 2 he lost when he ran away, all of which are contained in the philosopher stone, he intentionally struck the big villages which are off the road, or rather not in the direction of the magic knight test to lessen the suspicion on him.

With that said, he has had plenty of free time in between those raids, free time he had decided to spend as wisely as possible.

He read and collected everything he could, whenever he raised a village he would triple check every house, he read every letter and book he could find, just so that he could squeeze out every possible bit of knowledge accessible to him.

He collected every coin, material, and item that he deemed worthy, nothing shall escape his greedy hands, he made sure of that.

He upgraded his arsenal, now possessing several sheets for different types of swords, as well as several weapons, all of which have been customized with certain powers.

His experiments, knowledge, and discoveries are all kept in a journal which he made sure to write in his mother language so that it would be very hard for anyone to read or decipher it.

Besides that, he also devoted time to his physical capabilities, discovering several interesting things about his body, like the fact that he can't get fat and is perpetually strong, yet can get stronger by working out.

That angered him quite a bit when he found out you know? As a kid, he always struggled with weight, now suddenly to be always ripped and jacked, at his peak at all time? It angered him that he had such cheats, it honestly did, although he calmed down later.

Lastly, he also devoted some time to more artistic pursuits, painting, blacksmithing, calligraphy, scrimshaw, sculpting, etc. all without the use of his alchemy, which would be cheating.

He found out that he has quite a talent when it comes to art, except singing which he also tried to improve, and that's quite ironic, in the last life he desperately wanted to be a painter, an artist, yet he had no talent, no skill, and no willpower to push onward, in this life, he is a prodigy by any means of description, life truly is unfair, isn't it?

But let's not think about matters of the past, shall we, instead let us see what he is doing currently.

Right now Adam is observing the squirrel's movements when it has its fur removed, it's quite fascinating to look at it, he also plans to dissect it later but that's only after making the most use of the animal, not to worry though, the animal is under no pain, he wouldn't be able to observe its natural movements if it was.

*Knock* *Knock*

It is then than a knock was heard on the carriage door, Adam eyed it suspiciously and picked up his Igneel sheth, putting on a mash he made his way towards the door fully intent on killing whoever is behind it if it turns out to be an enemy.

"Who is it?" He asked that as he used alchemy to clean himself of any blood, he pressed the Igneel sheth against the door as well, fully prepared to fire if it is an enemy.

"Sir Elrick, it is master Patrick's servant, sir, I am here to collect on your work." The man beyond the door said, which was accompanied by Adam opening an eyehole and looking thru it, indeed Patrick's head butler is right there waiting for him.

Releasing a relieved sigh from his mouth Adam put the sheet on to the table, looking around the room he tried to remember where he put that thing until it dawned on him, under the bed.

Sliding a hand under there he picked up a decently sized object wrapped in several layers of cloth, making sure that it's the correct object he went to the door again.

There were 4 locks on the door, all of which must be unlocked to allow the door to open up, that, as well as the mask and the different name, are all used to try and throw Mereoleona off track, he doesn't want to leave any gaps in his escape.

Opening up the locks and the door Adam is greeted by the blinding sun, his eyes readjusted rather quickly allowing him to once more observe the butler in front of him.

The butler is an older man, around his 50s of lesser stature, he has weak shoulders and a weak chin, hidden underneath quite some fat, he is balding and clean-shaven with white to gray hair.

"Ah, if it isn't butler Bob, I am astounded by your work ethic, even now you work," Adam said some sweet as usual, noble courtesy, and whatnot, it's all just a bunch of flowery words, flattery, and meaningless ass-kissing, he much more likes a direct and head-on approach, less time is wasted that way.

That's also the reason why while he talked he also shoved the cloth into the butler's hands, less time wasted that way.

"My, my, you flatter me, sir Elrick, just doing my duty for my lord." The old man said, giving a brief chuckle as he said those words, although by this point his eyes had diverged down on to the cloth in hand, it is obvious that he too is excited for the item underneath.

"I do hope that nobleman Patrick is satisfied with my work," Adam said, his eyes narrowing and a slight smirk formed underneath his mask as he observed the butler, even in a kingdom such as this the disgusting practices of humankind continue, marvelous.

Bob paid him no mind, he just observed the item in hand with trembling hands, he bad uncovered part of it to look at it, he could barely stop a disgusting smile from forming on his face.

"Ho ho ho, I am quite certain that he will be more than just satisfied with it, until next time, Sir Elrick." He barely snapped back into reality as he bid Adam goodbye, settling the item comfortably and securely in his lap before the carriage went onward, as for what is the item in the cloth? That is for 3 people to know, Adam, Bob, and Patrick, well, technically 4, but the author doesn't count.

Adam closed back the door, locking it up with all 4 locks before sitting back in a chair, he honestly created art for nobles to give himself limitations, since limitations breed creativity, he didn't expect it to result like this.

Looking at the squirrel creature on his desk Adam suddenly lost his passion for research, taking it in his hands he put it up in a cage in the corner of the room, locking it up inside with water and food.

Instead, he decided to pursue some more artistic modes of expression for now, thus from one of the shelves up top he pulled out a box with various bones to work on.

The bones have all been processed already with his alchemy, making them the perfect material to use, luckily the candle is already lit, so with just a flick of his hand a needle appeared in it, he is ready to begin scrimshawing.

*Knock* *Knock*

Just when he was about to begin a knock on the door interrupted him once more, by this point his eyebrow twitched in annoyance, he is antisocial by nature, so two visitors a day is already too much for him.

"Who is it?" He released a sigh as he said that, knowing that turning someone who might be important down is not a good idea he gave up on relaxing for now.

'A lot of visitors today.' He thought to himself as he once again positioned himself in front of the door with Igneel in hand.

"It's the servant of tailor Plank, Ton sir, I have brought you your suit." The man said, once more Adam released a relieved sigh, although now it had some annoyance as well, he will die of stress this way, too many visitors.

Adam was a little relieved to hear that, at least the identity checks out, he did go to a tailor to have an outfit made for him, because everything else he has to wear is not appropriate for a formal event, nor anywhere besides villages and the forest, a high-class outfit will enable him to mingle better with the upper crust, not that he really wants to, but if he is forced to do it he might as well look fabulous while at it.

Opening up the eye hatch indeed it was Ton, Adam closed it back up before he unlocked the door, allowing him and Ton to be almost face to face, except that he was wearing a mask, and that he is higher up than Ton.

Ton in contrast to Bob is a fairly young man, in his 20s, he wears a monocle and is trying to grow out a mustache, unsuccessfully might I add, not that it would look good on his weal sunken in build.

"Thank you for delivering it to me, Ton, knowing master Plank it must have turned out marvelous." Adam bullshited again, flowery words get you thru a surprising amount of situations among the upper crust of society.

Although he shivered a little when he remembered Plank, that guy is way too hands-on and gropy, he heard that he is gay, and remembering the eyes he gave him, he can't help but agree with the rumors.

"Indeed it has, master Elerick, I must admit, it is one of our finest works yet," Ton said with a small guttural laugh as he handed over Adam the outfit, although Adam could see him struggling to do so, he seems to be clawing at it as he let go.

Adam narrowed his eyes at that, Ton is a motherfucker, obsessed with clothes yet unable to make them, he is also poor, he somehow wiggled himself in with Plank and can thus enjoy the good life, although that most likely happened by selling his body, not his skills.

Not that it bothers Adam exactly, he just found it a funny little thing about the tailor.

Examining the suit in his carriage Adam must admit, Plank might be gay but he sure as hell has a good fashion sense, or is it because he is gay? He doesn't exactly know.

Anyways, even Adam, someone who does not fashion concious at all finds the outfit nice and appealing, he smirked slightly at the suit before laying it down on the bed.

"Thank you again for the delivery, send my regards to Plank, will you?" Adam said as he fetched a purse and threw it at Ton, who quickly and clumsily caught it.

It is the rest of the payment that he owes Plank for making the suit, half was paid upfront and a half when it was finished, that's to ensure that neither Adam nor Plank scammed each other over.

Ton looked like he wanted to say something more but Adam just shut the door in his face, he has no time for any more social intersections.

"Now, where was I?" He asked himself as he sat back down and picked up a bone into his hand, the rest of the day was spent relaxing away, for he knew that after today, there will be no more relaxation, tomorrow is the Magic knight exam after all.