Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"No, no, no, you are not right about that."

Ferron shook his finger and said with a smile, "Although it's a real pity that I can't get the Philosopher's Stone, your shilling certainly won't make me lose money."

"How to say?"

“This is the only shilling left by an alchemist in the world. Its collection value far exceeds most of my collection. Moreover, once the fact that I have a transaction with you is confirmed, my reputation in the circle will also increase.”

Indeed, this was the case. Most of the nobles here wanted to cooperate with Isaac, or simply wanted to win over such an alchemist, but they basically had no opportunity to do so.

Ferron walked to the side, took the teddy bear off the shelf, and handed it to Isaac.

"Then, the deal is considered done."

"It's indeed settled, but to ensure the deal benefits both parties, I'll offer something in return."

As Isaac spoke, he grasped the crystal that Camilla had brought.

Blue lightning danced on the crystal, which, originally sharp and angular, began to twist and deform, eventually forming a statue of a young girl.

"Here you go."

Isaac threw the crystal statue over, and Ferron quickly stepped forward to catch it, afraid that it would scratch the table.

"This kind of thing is better as a memento for alchemists; money is not quite good enough as a collectible."

Picking up their teddy bears, Isaac and Camilla said goodbye to Ferron.

"Why give away the crystal when you could get the bear for just one shilling?"

After going outside, Camilla asked with some curiosity.

“The crystal must be handed over to Ferron, otherwise the Book of Equivalence will not recognize the transaction as valid,” Isaac explained. “Also, that phantom book is dangerous; you can hand it over now.”

"Well, I've gotten what I wanted anyway."

Camilla readily handed the Book of Isaac to him.

……

As the two walked out of the mansion, they ran into Dallian and Hugh, who had been searching for them all along the way.

"So you were already here?" Hugh was also surprised to see Isaac. "No wonder you asked me about Collector Ferron's residence. Did you already know Camilla would be here?"

"Guess."

Isaac smiled and took out the Book of Equivalence from behind his back, handing it to Hugh.

"An equivalent book? It seems things haven't gotten too serious after all."

Seeing that the Book of Illusions was in Isaac's hands and that Camilla was unharmed, Hughie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, what exactly do you want?" Dalian asked, "that you need to rely on the power of the Illusion Book."

"Of course it's this one!"

She took the teddy bear out of her handbag.

The teddy bear has an adorable, slightly goofy expression. Its originally brown fur has faded, giving it a unique sheen like a polar bear. Although it's a rather old plush toy, you can tell its previous owner showered it with love.

Dalian stared blankly at the doll.

"Isn't this an item that was auctioned off?"

"Yes, we got here by bartering. When we got the crystal, we wanted to try our luck, and then we met Isaac on the way."

Hugh: "...Don't do this kind of thing again, it feels very dangerous."

"Of course, because I've achieved my goal too~"

Camilla handed the teddy bear to Dallian.

"Here, this is the second gift."

"..."

"happy?"

"You really are a hopeless, stupid woman."

"What? I'm very hurt."

"Such an idiotic old man."

Is this a compliment?

"Just accept it, I'll do it reluctantly."

Although she was sharp-tongued, you could tell from Dalian's flushed face that she was very happy.

----------

Whether it was because of his meeting with Ferron yesterday or not, the news of Isaac and Ferron's deal over a teddy bear quickly spread throughout high society.

As Ferron had said before, he now had a much greater say in aristocratic circles, after all, he was 'the only collector qualified to trade with alchemists from the early 20th century'.

Now, whenever a visitor comes, Ferron shows him the crystal statue Isaac gave him to demonstrate how amazing he is.

At the same time, these people also learned that Isaac's purpose in making the deal with him was to exchange it for a teddy bear that was being auctioned at a marketplace, and so...

Isaac glanced at Dallian, who was lying on the sofa surrounded by teddy bears and looked blissfully happy, and was speechless for a moment.

Each of these teddy bears is a luxury item that fetched the price of a car at an auction, and some of them ended up here.

These nobles were willing to go to great lengths to become acquainted with Isaac.

"This... is too exaggerated."

Hugh looked at the pile of teddy bears covering the sofa, and his eyes kept twitching.

"My reputation seems to have spread far and wide."

“Because of the recent events, your name has indeed spread quite far,” Hugh said with a smile. “When I attend tea parties with Darian, people often ask me how they can meet you.”

Aside from encountering clues in his textbook and wanting to go out to search for them, Isaac basically stayed hidden in Hugh's house and didn't go out.

Diswald's mansion is in a very remote place, and normal people wouldn't deliberately come here. But now, because of Isaac, the number of visitors has increased every day.

"Fortunately, those guys didn't come uninvited; they all sent a letter beforehand to indicate that they wanted to come here."

"But thanks to you, Isaac, some of the recent visitors have also brought over phantom books," Hugh said with a smile.

"Some people come under the guise of appraising magical books, but bring an ordinary antique book with them."

Isaac was tidying up the letters on the table; these were all coming soon.

"Ok?"

Isaac frowned and picked up one of the letters to read.

"Hughie."

"what happened?"

"How far has my name spread? Besides the nobles around London, are there any foreigners who know me?"

"Several European countries are very close to each other and have interactions with each other, so it's normal for them to know you."

"Really... This has even reached Suvar."

Isaac held up a letter in his hand.

The envelope was sealed with sealing wax, and the seal bore a family crest.

Who sent it?

“A man named Albert de Blois, who was apparently a marquis in Souval, said he wanted to see the alchemist no matter what.”

Chapter 1025: Think it over before you speak

The Diswald mansion has been getting quite a few visitors lately. A small group of them are there to borrow a phantom book from Hugh and Dallian, while others are there to ask Isaac for help.

With the attitude of helping if it's convenient and sending away with any excuse if it's not, Isaac's life was quite leisurely.

"Speaking of which, I do vaguely recall the surname Blois that you mentioned before, you damned alchemist."

Dallian seemed to remember something and found Isaac writing something on the table.

"Hmm? You've seen him before?"

"I have indeed seen it. It was before Wesley died. A marquis's son from Suvar came to us seeking the power of the Illusion Book."

"Oh, what kind of book does he want?"

“I’ve never heard of the kind of phantom book he’s looking for, and I can’t find anything I can lend him,” Dallian recalled. “It seems he wants to borrow a phantom book about ‘homunculus.’ There are indeed phantom books that meet his requirements, but they don’t exist on my bookshelf, and those books don’t meet his requirements either.”

"Does he have any requests?"

"How could such a phantom book possibly exist, using 'artificial human' technology to build an invincible and absolutely loyal army?"

"Using androids to create an army... what a foolish idea. Human wars should be ended by humans themselves, not by androids." Isaac scoffed at this idea.

"So you didn't lend it to him in the end?"

"No, I borrowed it. It's a magical book from Chinese Taoism called Luodun Lingbao Yiyuan, which can manipulate a large number of puppets at once."

"You still lent it to me."

"Of course I borrowed it, but it's been thirteen years now, and it's almost time to return the book."

Hughes then walked over with a teacup in his hand.

He sat on the sofa, leisurely sipping his tea, and said:

"Regarding the country of Suvar, the man named Albert de Blois is not only the current Marquis of the Kingdom of Suvar, but also the head of the country's 'Ministry of the Supernatural'."

"The Paranormal Department?"

"The council of the Kingdom of Suvar consists of the Department of the Supernatural and the Academy of Sciences. The Academy of Sciences advocates research into emerging technologies and industrialization, while the Department of the Supernatural seeks ancient powers to provide support for the country."

“Yes, it’s precisely because of his identity in the Supernatural Department that he can only rely on the power of the Phantom Book to gain a foothold in this era where science is gradually taking the lead.” Dalian took a sip of tea and said calmly, “Thinking about it this way, it’s not impossible that he’s looking for you, after all, you are the world’s only alchemist.”

"Want my help? It's not impossible," Isaac chuckled. "As long as he adheres to the principle of equivalent exchange, I can indeed lend him a hand."

"Speaking of which, what have you been writing since just now?"

When Dalian found Isaac, he was scribbling on a piece of paper, occasionally adding a few simple sketches of people.

“Oh, a friend of mine once told me that ‘a healthy soul needs to reside in a healthy body,’ so while I was searching for the lost textbooks, I also started writing a new version of the textbooks, and this book is the basis for the new version.”