Out of Seclusion!

Bell ended up living in Nicolas's house.

Basically, aside from eating and sleeping, Bell spends most of his time in the Library. He only comes out to ask Nicolas for help when he encounters a problem he can't figure out.

Shimu. Perenelle was very dissatisfied with Bell's hard work and diligence!

Finally, a cute little child had come to visit, and she wanted to chat with Bell more. So she repeatedly suggested that Bell relax and should make time to play. Many of Nicolas's alchemical items are quite fun; if you don't know how to use them, his Shimu can teach you.

Bell always casually brushed off his Shimu's wife's advice.

Just kidding, what toy could be as fun as magic?! Don't stop me, I want to study!!!

Bell was so engrossed in the joy of learning that he completely forgot about time. It wasn't until his Nicolas, told him that he could begin learning how to make the Philosopher's Stone that he realized more than half of summer vacation had already passed.

Bell was thrilled to finally begin learning how to make Philosopher's Stone.

However, before an hour had even passed, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, instantly extinguishing half of his enthusiasm.

The process of making Philosopher's Stone takes far too long!

Even with all the materials ready, it would take Nicolas about two years to create a Philosopher's Stone.

Among the materials needed to craft the Philosopher's Stone, some have extremely demanding requirements for acquisition. Even with the wealth and connections accumulated by Nicolas over hundreds of years, coupled with the current efforts of the Menethil Family to collect them, it is impossible to gather all the materials immediately.

"Teacher, could we find a way to make some inferior versions of the Philosopher's Stone? Using a full-size Philosopher's Stone is wasteful when the need for magic is low. So, could we reduce the quality of the materials and shorten the production cycle to create Inferior Philosopher's Stone with a slower magic conversion rate?"

Bell wanted to obtain a Philosopher's Stone as soon as possible, even a low-quality one. Space exploration wasn't something that could begin immediately upon acquiring the Philosopher's Stone; various experiments and research would be necessary beforehand.

"Regarding this, I can't give you a definite answer either. Converting other forms of energy into magic is not a simple matter; it requires very high-quality materials. So, if we lower the quality of the materials, I don't know if it would be possible to make it successfully. I can only say that, theoretically, it should be possible to create Inferior Philosopher's Stone if we can find a balance between the quality of the materials and the speed of magic conversion."

Since even Nicolas couldn't be sure if making Inferior Philosopher's Stone was feasible, Bell put the idea aside for the time being and focused on learning how to make the Philosopher's Stone from Nicolas.

Currently, 80% of the materials needed to craft the Philosopher's Stone have been gathered. The remaining 20% will have to wait. Some special materials can only be collected at specific times, which cannot be rushed.

However, this doesn't mean there's nothing that can be done except wait. Those materials are mostly used in the later stages of production, and for now, Bell can learn the initial production process and theoretical knowledge from Nicolas.

"Bell! Come down and eat!"

Shimu. Perenelle's voice came from downstairs again; she had now basically given up trying to persuade Bell.

Previously, Bell was so annoyed that he finally decided to introduce his mother and sister to his Shimu's wife.

I wonder if it's because they're naturally compatible? Or maybe it's because my Shimu can get along well with everyone?

In short, Shimu. Perenelle's relationship with Elena and Shanna progressed very quickly, to a degree that even Bell found unbelievable. However, this was a good thing, and Bell was finally free from his Shimu's entanglement, allowing him to study in peace.

Perhaps it was because of her mother and sister's instructions? Although Shimu. Perenelle no longer stopped Bell from studying, she became even stricter about his daily routine.

Bell was strictly instructed on what time to eat and what time to go to bed; he couldn't be even a minute late!

And so, it was dinnertime again. Bell was certain that if he didn't appear at the table within a minute, he'd be fixing the door again after dinner.

Because the Shimu would definitely kick the door open, rush in, and drag Bell out.

"Bell, you don't need to study tomorrow," Shimu. Perenelle suddenly said at the dinner table.

Bell looked at his teacher's Shimu strangely. Hadn't she stopped harping on him many days ago? Why was she bringing it up again today?

"You little rascal! You haven't forgotten you're going home the day after tomorrow, have you? Have a good day of relaxation tomorrow, and spend some quality time chatting with us two old folks. Who knows when you'll be able to come again!"

Bell then realized that there were only 4 days left before school started!

Bell planned to go home for three days to rest at the end of summer vacation. If Bell didn't go home for even a single day during the two-month summer vacation, he wondered if his mother and sister would come to Hogwarts to find him.

Actually, if it weren't for the fact that Nicolas's house was so well hidden that the two of them couldn't find it at all, Bell believes that there would be more than just three people sitting at the dining table right now.

This summer, aside from his daily morning training, Bell put aside everything else unrelated to alchemy and devoted all his attention to learning about alchemy. He even reduced his video chats with his younger sister to a minimum, which made the little girl very unhappy, and it's unknown how long Bell will need Bell comfort her before she calms down.

However, the gains from this summer vacation were also considerable. Bell not only greatly enriched his Alchemy knowledge, but also successfully mastered the theoretical knowledge needed to make Philosopher's Stone. As long as the materials are ready, Bell can make Philosopher's Stone independently!

Of course, the success rate is something only God knows.

But that's not the most important achievement! With Nicolas's help... well, actually with Bell's assistance, Nicolas successfully further improved the Surveillance Mirror. The Surveillance Mirror can now successfully perform Side-Along Apparition and Apparition!

Everything is ready now, except for the Philosopher's Stone!

The thought of going home the day after tomorrow morning made Bell restless.

"Maybe I should just go back a day earlier?" Bell thought.

But looking at Shimu. Perenelle's expression, Bell simply didn't have the courage to say it, otherwise he doubted he might not be able to leave the house.

After dinner, Bell decided to rest starting tonight.

After summarizing the achievements of the past two months with Nicolas and making arrangements for future studies and research, Bell returned to her bedroom to chat with her younger sister for a while.

'...'

Why did Shanna block my video?!

Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

Bell panicked and quickly sent another video call request to her mother Elena, which was answered very quickly this time.

"Mom, why isn't Shanna answering my video call?! What happened?!"

"Don't you have any idea why she's not answering?"

Elena looked at her son with a cold smile. She both loved and resented her troublesome son.

"You ran off to learn martial arts without a word, and you didn't even discuss it with us before summer vacation! Wait till you get back, I'll teach you a lesson! Humph!"

After saying that, Elena hung up the video call.

o((⊙⊙))o.

Bell felt like he was going to die...