Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Just as Ah Sheng was feeling down, a girl ran towards them from a distance.

"Ah Sheng, are you alright?"

"Anjie?"

When Ah-Sheng, who was feeling down, saw the girl he regarded as an angel, he immediately looked up.

Ah, there are still good people in this place.

"I'm fine, I've basically been exonerated, thank you so much for your concern."

"It's good that you're alright."

Ange smiled, while turning her gaze to Isaac.

Their eyes met.

"...It really was you, Miss Spy."

"It's been a long time, Lieutenant General."

"Um???"

Ah Sheng looked at Isaac and then at Ange. He couldn't understand a word they were saying. Were they speaking in riddles?

Isaac asked, "How long have you been here?"

Anjie: "A year and a half."

Isaac: "I've been here for about four months."

Ah Sheng: "...Young Master, do you know Miss Anjie?"

“Yes,” Isaac laughed. “We’ve known each other for a while now.”

"Huh?"

"Ah Sheng, you should go to the classroom first. Teacher Cecil is very worried about you. It would be best if you went to let her know you're safe."

"Oh, right."

Ah Sheng clapped his hands and said to Isaac, "Young Master, I have to leave for a bit. I'll be back in a little while."

"Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."

After saying goodbye, he ran towards the teaching building, leaving only Ange and Fran behind.

Fran: "Do you need me to leave so you and this girl can flirt alone?"

"If you don't know how to use words, then shut up."

“Your Excellency, Lieutenant General,” Ange stepped forward and gestured invitingly, “Let me show you around the school.”

"it is good."

Angela led Isaac and Fran on a walk along the school's stone path, during which Angela would strike up a conversation with Isaac.

"Sir, is there a way to get back?"

“Yes, I can go back anytime I want,” Isaac said. “Should I take you back first?”

"..."

Ange thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I really need to go back. A year and a half has passed, and I don't know how things are in the Kingdom of Albion. Has the situation changed? The organization also thinks I've defected. If I go back now..."

At this point, he looked at Isaac's face and found that he didn't care at all.

"Don't you care? The situation must be in chaos after the commander-in-chief of Amestoris has been missing for so long."

"I don't care."

Isaac said calmly.

"Anyway, I've already compressed the time there, so it'll probably only be less than a day since I got back."

"..."

Anjie's eyes widened.

"what happened?"

"No, it's just that I've gained a deeper understanding of your strength."

Aren't you planning to go back?

“Let me go back with you,” Ange suddenly said with a smile. “You’re probably staying here because of something, aren’t you?”

"There is indeed one thing: my textbooks are lost, and I need to find them all before I can go back."

"The teaching materials, do you mean those you wrote in the room before?"

"Yes, do you have any leads?"

"I wouldn't call it a clue, but..."

Ange reached into her bosom and took out a bound booklet.

"I do have one of those chapters."

"..."

Chapter 1064: The Strange Tales of the Great Library

Why are my textbooks in your hands?

"When I came to my senses, I found it in my own hand."

Ange shook the booklet in her hand, and tiny sparks of electricity suddenly appeared on her body—a reaction unique to alchemy.

"According to my investigation, there is a magical rule in this world called the Book of Illusions, and your textbook seems to possess this power as well."

"It was a coincidence, I guess." Isaac took the textbook from Ange's hand. "You were the one who sent me the letter when Asheng was arrested, right?"

"Yes, I got your address from Asheng before, and wrote a letter after the incident. In order to ensure the speed of delivery, I used my alchemical abilities to create a speedboat to send the letter directly to the post office in London."

"It's really kind of you to make two trips back and forth."

Isaac smiled and loosely clenched his fist.

A flash of red lightning appeared, and a metallic sphere appeared in his hand.

"You should need this, right?"

"C ball?"

Taking the C ball from Isaac's hand, Ange habitually pressed the switch on it.

Enveloped in azure light, Anjie's body slowly floated up off the ground.

"Since you're still alive, why don't you go back to your old ways as a spy? You can help me investigate the whereabouts of my last textbook."

"Of course, no problem."

She spun the C ball a few times on her fingertips and then put it in her pocket. She had no reason to refuse the conditions Isaac had proposed.

"Can I help you gain 'chips' in this world?"

"Are you referring to the bargaining chip of the Republic of Albion? Or the princess's bargaining chip?"

"The princess's."

"Of course, but it depends on your performance."

"That's fine."

Ange also knew that the best way to help the princess overcome her current predicament on the way back was to rely on Isaac.

So when she learned there was a way back, she wasn't in a hurry to have Isaac send her back. On the contrary, if time there could be paused as Isaac suggested, she could use more time there to help the princess gain leverage for cooperation.

The two chatted as they walked, and they happened to arrive at the iconic library building of St. Margaret's Academy.

"This school even has buildings like this?"

"The St. Margaret's Grand Library has a vast collection of books," Ange explained. "It's one of the proudest buildings of St. Margaret's Academy, and there are quite a few strange tales associated with it."

“I’ve heard Ah Sheng say before that this school seems to have a lot of strange and inexplicable stories.”

"Hmm, for example, 'something ominous happened on the thirteenth step of the stairs.' I heard that there is a priest who hanged himself on the thirteenth step of the stairs, and he will drag the person to the underworld."

"It's inexplicable."

Isaac laughed, not taking the so-called ghost stories seriously.

"During your time in the Kingdom of Suvar, you must have heard about the country's Academy of Sciences and the Department of Paranormal Affairs."

"Yes, both the Department of the Supernatural and the Academy of Sciences are power institutions of the Kingdom of Suvar, and they check and balance each other. The head of the Department of the Supernatural is Marquis Albert de Blois, and the head of the Academy of Sciences is Cupid Roger."

After a pause, Ange continued to share the moral information she knew.

"The Academy of Sciences should have only risen to prominence a few years ago, and its influence is far less than that of the Department of the Supernatural. However, during the European war a few years ago, Suvar, as an Allied power, was attacked by German air forces, and the people of the Academy of Sciences led the way in defeating the German air force. Now, its influence in the kingdom has subtly surpassed that of the Department of the Supernatural."

"Do you know how the Paranormal Department deals with this?"

"I know. They're collecting things from neighboring countries that can help the Supernatural Department recover its strength, namely the Phantom Book. It's said they've even reached out to Britain."

"As expected of the Albion Republic's best spy, he even investigated something like this," Isaac laughed.

What Ange said was not much different from the information Isaac had, and was even more detailed.

It's fair to say that the power struggles within the Kingdom of Suvar were completely transparent to Ange, the spy.

Do you know where the books are located?

“If I’m not mistaken, he’s in Blois Castle,” Ange said. “However, recently, it seems that Albert de Blois, the leader of the Paranormal Department, has run into some trouble.”

"Ok?"

"He received the support of the King of Suvar during a meeting, and it seems that he showed the king some strange power. The funds for him to collect the Phantom Book were also provided to him by the kingdom."

"...Was it a month ago?"

"Yes."

After hearing what Ange said, Isaac probably knew what had happened.

It was at that time that Isaac used the Philosopher's Stone within him to turn Albert, who came to visit, into a half-humanoid.

"Looks like that guy used the power I gave him to get some benefits in return. He's not bad."