Don't mess with alchemy, please! part 1

"What is all this?"

Ryu stood in front of a myriad of glass vials, flasks, pipes and otherwordly stuff.

"It's lab equipment I made myself"

Ayumi replied with her chest puffed out, then Hiraku faked a cough.

"With some help from my lovely husband"

She continued, now it was Hiraku's turn to puff his chest out, but instead of funny he looked proud and gallant. Ryu was left speechless, somehow he fully grasped how did most of the utensils and equipment worked.

"This is like the distiller you had made for me, but it looks much more sophisticated!"

"Exactly! that's why I've been nagging you to come"

"You can't blame me for thinking you just wanted me to cook for you guys"

Ryu shrugged, but only Hiraku laughed, Ayumi's mouth started to water instantly giving away that he was right on track and the lab was nothing but a cheap excuse.

"Fine, I'll cook something, but first tell me how did you manage to build something like this?"

"I was a professor back on my world, my job required me to study long hours only to put old theories to the test. Now, instead, everyday is filled with the joy of discovering something entirely new"

"What exactly is a professor?"

Ayumi giggled at Ryu's question.

"I forgot you don't have memories, even if you were from our world you wouldn't know. Its a job where you have to learn and then teach stuff to other people. I wasn't particularly interested in teaching, what I enjoyed the most was to go beyond what people from before knew"

"Sounds interesting"

Ryu yawned earning him a strong bump on the head that Ayumi only managed after jumping with all her might. Ryu was a head taller than her, and even if she was used to Hiraku who's also tall, Ryu was a bit taller than her husband.

"Can I play with this? what does this do? how do you turn this on? is this..."

Ryu hopped from one piece of equipment to the next asking questions in rapid succession, so fast that Ayumi couldn't even speak before he made another.

"Calm down, if you want to use this equipment there are some rules you must follow"

Ayumi's words seemed to have hurt Ryu and he lowered his shoulders with a disappointed expression.

"Don't worry, is nothing out of the ordinary, it's just that It was hard to make all this and you need to be especially careful when handling the equipment. Most of this is so delicate that if you use too much strength when graving it, it could break. Rules are always wear a lab coat, keep everything as clean as possible, never perform experiments without safety and take proper notes of everything you discover"

Ryu pondered Ayumi's rules for a minute and then replied.

"I got two questions, what is a lab coat and isn't it dangerous to make notes? what happens if someone discovers them and steals your knowledge?"

"Well, we don't have lab coats, but it's clothes you wear only inside the lab. About the notes, i write them in a language only me and my husband know so it's impossible for other people to steal our knowledge"

Ayumi said after showing Ryu a piece of paper with characters that looked strange, yet Ryu could understand them perfectly.

"According to what's written here, in order to shape the crystal you need to submit it to a steady amount of heat and avoid drastic temperature changes. I see... it all makes sense now!"

"Wait, young Ryu, how are you able to read this!? this is a language from our world, you weren't supposed to understand it!"

Hiraku showed a wide smile when he spoke, Ryu too smiled at the implication that perhaps he was from the same world as them. It was just a small piece of information, yet it was the first time he got even close to learn something from his past.

"Master Ayumi, I'm sorry to barge in but I heard your discussion and I think you may be wrong"

Sophie said after making a polite bow.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Yes, well... we used to have many different languages, but when the obelisk everyone gained the ability to read, write and understand any language"

"Hold on Sophie, how is this possible!? I thought we were special because of... nevermind, please tell me more"

Ayumi urged Sophie to speak.

"Its not that there aren't different languages, they still exist, but we don't even speak about them anymore. Even if someone came up with a new language, it would still be translated. The obelisk grants its blessings towards every races"

"What exactly are those blessings and how is it possible that we're finding out about this just now?"

Ayumi's exasperation showed in her voice tone, but she tried to keep her poker face nonetheless.

"This blessings are common knowledge, we can understand any language, we receive divine messages whenever we grow stronger and we can access different craftmen stations. And you're just learning about this because you didn't ask master Ayumi, I would've gladly filled you in. Please excuse my incompetence"

Sophie performed a deep bow that allowed anyone in the lab to see her chest, the sudden movement made the two soft mounds bounce showing how firm they were. Even Ayumi stared at her as long as she could without being noticed. Only once the mesmerizing sight disappeared from her eyes did Ayumi snap out of it and poked at Hiraku's side with her elbow.

"Ryu, do you think it'd be ok to tell her everything? she has earned my full trust"

Ayumi said to Ryu, who was still staring at Sophie's breasts without even caring after being caught.

"Hey! what are you looking at perv?"

"I'm sorry, if I have to be honest, I'm amazed at how firm they are"

"Thank you mister Ryu, it's an honor being complimented by you"

Sophie said without showing a hint of emotion, but her words sparked in Ayumi both envy and jealousy at the same time.

"I mean it Ryu, come on, you're never like this!"

"oh yes, sorry sorry Ayumi, I don't know what got into me. But I swear I meant no offense, it was plain curiosity. About what you said, I'm not sure if we can make that decision without asking the others. But, on the other hand, we can't wait for them to confirm every choice we make"

"That, young Ryu, is exactly why I asked you to be our leader in the first place. At first I thought it suspicious that you showed up to our... camp claiming to have been hurt by a wild animal without a single wound on you, I really think you were sent to us by 'him' to help us in our darkest hour. You helped us take decisions swiftly and without hesitation, your confidence has helped us many times over and I'm sure everyone will agree with whatever you decide"

Hiraku spoke with a serious and ceremonious tone.

"Then, proceed Ayumi"

"Sophie, we're not from here"

Sophie remained emotionless, her cold attitude made her look like a distant beauty.

"I already knew that master Ayumi"

"No I mean, we're not from this world"

Sophie remained the same. Ayumi was at a loss of words, she didn't know how to better explain herself without sounding like a crazy woman.

"Ayumi, you should start from the beginning and don't be so vague"

"If you think you can do better then do it yourself!"

She jumped at Ryu hitting his chest with her fists, but still caring to not put enough strength to avoid hurting him by accident.

"Ok, calm down will you? Sophie, what Ayumi means is that they are heroes summoned from another world by a god. They used to live peaceful lives on their world, but were summoned in the wilderness with only the clothes they were wearing"

"I see, please continue"

"They were given different classes, like warrior, archer, thief, mage..."

At the mention of the mage class Sophie's expression went from that of a peaceful lake to a fiery blaze.

"I knew it! I knew master Ayumi was a mage but I wasn't able to confirm it!"

She jumped in excitement, making everyone wonder how was it even possible that her bosom didn't jiggle much without a bra on.

"So, I tell you we're from another world and you have no reaction, but when Ryu tells you I'm a mage you erupt in joy?"

"It's not that, It's just that it had crossed my mind that you were from another world. What other explanation could there be for all this knowledge you bring with you? Even something as simple as the stone canal you made for the waste is something huge that could potentially change the world. I have a couple questions, if you don't mind"

"of course"

Ayumi replied.

"I meant for mister Ryu"

Sophie glared at Ryu for a long second and then started shooting questions one after the other.

"What is your class? how come you're the weakest yet everyone considers you their leader? where did you learn the business strategy you applied on the tavern? and more importantly, do you know how does any of this have something to do with the way Master Ayumi eats but doesn't get fat?"

"Sadly, I can only answer your last question. She spends a lot of mana and in order to recover it, she needs to consume a lot of food"

"I see, so, eating can help you recover mana"

"No, not directly at least. You eat to recover energy and that energy can transform into stamina or in mana"

Sophie's jaw hit the floor.