Chapter 77. Victoria’s Ordinary Afternoon (3)
“This restaurant used to be the alchemy workshop my mother ran.”
Victoria explained calmly as she led them through the workshop.
“These alchemy tools and research records were left behind by her too. As her daughter, I’ve been using my mother’s research as the foundation for exploring new areas of cooking.”
Yuhyeok carefully probed,
“Your mother was...?”
“You may have heard of her. She was an alchemist named Mary Frankenstein. Her maiden name was Mary Shelley.”
Victoria smiled.
“The restaurant’s name also comes from my mother’s maiden name.”
As expected.
The moment he heard Mary’s name, Yuhyeok knew they had come to the right place.
He deliberately asked,
“I’ve heard of her. They say she was an extremely famous alchemist.”
Then he casually added,
“I also heard she created the Philosopher’s Stone.”
“My mother never completed the Philosopher’s Stone.”
Victoria answered far more firmly than he expected.
But Yuhyeok had no intention of believing that so easily.
“Really?”
“That’s just a false rumor that spread because my mother was so famous.”
Victoria shrugged.
“Besides, the Philosopher’s Stone isn’t nearly as incredible as people think.”
“No way. I heard it can even bring the dead back to life.”
“Reviving the dead...”
Victoria smiled bitterly.
“In principle, true resurrection is impossible.”
“Even if you reconstructed a dead person’s body with the Philosopher’s Stone, there would still be the question of whether that being could truly be considered the same person.”
Yuhyeok looked confused.
“Come on. If you can bring someone back, then you brought them back. What’s complicated about that?”
Victoria slowly shook her head.
“Even the Philosopher’s Stone can’t call back a soul once it has left the body.”
“The moment someone crosses the threshold of death, their soul becomes something that belongs to an entirely different world.”
There was something strangely sad about her expression as she spoke.
“Even if you restore the body, all you have is an empty vessel without its soul.”
“The kind of resurrection people imagine can never truly be completed.”
Victoria continued quietly,
“A human only gets one life.”
“And that is precisely why a life has infinite value.”
Then, as though deliberately trying to lighten the mood, she smiled.
“All right, that’s enough gloomy talk!”
“Is there anything else you’re curious about while touring the laboratory?”
Jincheol and Sewoon quickly exchanged glances.
“What do we do? It really sounds like the Philosopher’s Stone isn’t here.”
“Yeah. Maybe the whole thing really was just a rumor.”
Yuhyeok’s mind raced.
Judging by Victoria’s explanation, the Philosopher’s Stone really did not seem to be here.
But after everything they had gone through to get this far, leaving empty-handed felt unbearable.
He quickly whispered to his companions,
“Then let’s just take something else worth money. We didn’t come all this way to leave with nothing.”
While the three were whispering, Victoria asked,
“What are you talking about?”
Yuhyeok quickly changed the subject.
“Th-There are so many amazing-looking things here!”
He stammered.
“I was just wondering which one is the most expen... I mean, the most valuable.”
“That?”
Victoria brightened.
“You should’ve asked sooner!”
She suddenly held out a flask filled with something that looked like white porridge.
“This is it!”
All three stared at the flask.
This was the most valuable thing here?
It did not make sense.
“What is that?”
“Looks like white porridge.”
“That’s the most valuable thing?”
Victoria explained proudly,
“It’s a homunculus!”
“It was specially made using a formula my mother left behind. In a way, it’s one of her keepsakes.”
She continued,
“It’s an artificial life-form produced through alchemy. I use it for all kinds of reaction experiments.”
A white lump inside the flask wriggled.
If it was an artificial life-form, then it appeared to be alive.
Yuhyeok stared suspiciously.
“Is it expensive?”
“Probably?”
Victoria thought for a moment.
“For another alchemist to make a homunculus of this quality, they’d probably have to invest several hundred million won.”
“I get to use them for free thanks to my mother, though.”
Yuhyeok’s eyes lit up.
Sewoon and Jincheol reacted the same way.
“That’s very fortunate.”
The three quickly exchanged meaningful looks.
The target had been decided.
Now it was time for the distraction.
Crash!
“Oops. I accidentally broke a glass bottle.”
Jincheol deliberately knocked over a nearby bottle while pretending it was an accident.
Victoria raised her voice in alarm.
“Oh no! Be careful!”
“I’ll clean it up.”
“No, no. Dangerous materials should be handled by an expert.”
Victoria casually put down the flask she had been holding.
Then she walked over to clean up the broken glass.
Yuhyeok immediately whispered to Sewoon,
“Take it.”
Sewoon quickly opened the flask.
Stealing the entire large container would be too obvious.
Instead, he planned to scoop out some of the contents.
“Good. Even if there’s no Philosopher’s Stone, this alone will make us a fortu... AAAAAAGH!”
Sewoon suddenly screamed.
Yuhyeok jumped.
“What happened?!”
Sewoon stumbled and raised his arm.
The white homunculus had suddenly extended tentacles around it.
Worse, it was forcing its way into Sewoon’s body through his blood vessels.
“Th-This thing is... entering my body on its own... We have found a new body... AAAAAH! It’s messing with my head... after an eternity of suffering... we have finally come into contact with organic matter that shall become our new flesh...!”
Two different voices came from Sewoon’s mouth as the homunculus seized control of him.
Sewoon desperately resisted.
But the homunculus was consuming his body far faster than expected.
