Chapter 47: The Room of Requirement and Alchemy's Bottleneck

Erwin smiled when he saw the look in the eyes of the two girls.

To his surprise, there was a spark of genuine wonder there, not tension.

He had been expecting awkward silence or sharp words, yet instead he found something far gentler.

Perhaps, he thought, Celestia might help ease the distance between them.

He waved his hand and gestured for them to come closer.
“Celestia, these are my friends. May I introduce you?”

As he spoke, Erwin gently placed his hand on Celestia’s horn, seeking her approval.

The unicorn tilted her head slightly, her horn glowing faintly with soft silver light.

The sacred energy within it could sense truth and malice, and what she felt from the two girls was nothing but kindness and curiosity.

She dipped her head lightly.

Her large blue eyes, clear as still lake water, rested calmly on Cho and Hermione.

Both girls froze for a moment, utterly captivated.

Then Cho stepped forward first, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Celestia, may I touch you?”

The unicorn regarded her quietly, then gave a small nod.

Cho approached as if in a dream.

Her steps were slow and reverent, each one filled with awe. When her hand finally brushed against Celestia’s silken coat, she drew in a quiet breath.

Her eyes closed, and an expression of peaceful joy crossed her face.

Hermione watched with wide eyes, torn between admiration and hesitation.

She wanted to step forward too, but pride and shyness held her back.

Erwin noticed at once.

Smiling gently, he said, “It’s alright, Hermione. You can try as well.”

Hermione hesitated only a moment longer before moving closer.

She reached out tentatively, her fingertips grazing the unicorn’s mane.

The texture was impossibly smooth, like cool light slipping through her fingers.

“Hehe,”

A soft laugh escaped her lips, unguarded and sincere.

Before long, both girls were sitting beside Celestia, brushing her mane and talking to her as if she were an old friend.

The unicorn responded with playful nudges and contented sounds, her presence weaving a gentle calm around them.

For a time, the tension that had weighed on them vanished completely.

Laughter replaced silence.

Watching them from a short distance, Erwin felt warmth bloom in his chest.

His earlier worries faded away.
Sure enough, Celestia truly was his lucky star.

As the sky deepened, the forest light dimmed to a soft orange.

Eventually, Cho and Hermione rose reluctantly, saying their goodbyes to Celestia, who gave a soft whine of farewell.

With lingering smiles, the three of them turned back toward the castle, walking together toward the Great Hall as the first stars began to appear overhead.

****

Two months passed.

The final exams were approaching, and Erwin's alchemy had hit a stop.

That night, Erwin lay in bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling with a frown.

'No, there isn't enough space in the dormitory. If there's any commotion, it'll be easily discovered.'

Erwin frowned, knowing that his alchemy experiment had reached its final stage.

There had been two explosions before, and although Erwin relied on his excellent reflexes to snuff the noise immediately, it was still somewhat unsafe.

After thinking it over, Erwin couldn't come up with a good solution.

Suddenly, a light flashed in his mind.

'Of course, the Room of Requirement!'

How could he have forgotten such a treasure?

Erwin tapped his forehead in frustration.

Without hesitation, he cast a [Disillusionment Charm] on himself and made his way to the eighth floor.

Then he found himself at a loss.

He only remembered that the Room of Requirement was on the eighth floor, but he didn't actually know its precise location.

Fortunately, he still remembered the entry conditions, so he could try them out systematically.

He began testing them one by one, wall by wall.

Finally, on the wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, he succeeded.

'I need a room where I can experiment with alchemy.'

When he finished the final recitation in his mind, a door suddenly appeared on the smooth wall.

Erwin knew this was the Room of Requirement.

Pushing open the door and walking in, he found a long experimental table in the middle of the otherwise empty room, with various tools arranged on its surface.

Seeing this, Erwin felt genuinely amazed.

It was unclear what the principle behind this room was, but there must be elements of Legilimency and spatial manipulation magic involved.

Not dwelling on it further, Erwin opened the box on which he had cast the [Undetectable Extension Charm] and took out various materials and tools from within.

Erwin intended to create assistants for his magical research, Magical Servants, in short.

These assistants didn't need exceptional abilities, merely the capacity to help him handle repetitive work.

The problem troubling Erwin now was the intelligent system for these Magical Servants.

He had already figured out their physical forms and prepared the energy systems.

However, how to perfectly instill his own knowledge into the processing core was the biggest challenge he currently faced.

Fortunately, he already had some leads.

That was through the magic of the [Eden’s Memory Sanctuary].

After this spell was cast, each character became independent and would develop differently according to the memories and magical power instilled by the caster.

For example, if Erwin created a certain personality type in a dream, even without his intervention, that character would pursue their particular inclinations every day.

Erwin modified this spell to transmit specific knowledge and memories, then created characters within the [Eden’s Memory Sanctuary].

These would then be permanently solidified onto the Magical Servants.

This would serve as a manifestation of pseudo-artificial intelligence.

With this in mind, Erwin began his experiments, constantly shaping memories within the [Eden’s Memory Sanctuary].

It was a demanding process, even more difficult than creating an entirely new spell.

What Erwin had to accomplish was maintaining the specific memories he shaped even when he wasn't actively sustaining the [Eden’s Memory Sanctuary].

It would be a long process, and Erwin only hoped this spell could be perfected before the end of this semester.