It wasn't there.
"It's not here… It's gone."
No matter where she looked, it was nowhere to be found.
'Maela's Magic Engineering Lecture Notes.'
The cursed artifact that had plagued Eisel with untold suffering in the story.
In the novel, Baek Yu-Seol had seized the notebook, saving Eisel from becoming a scapegoat for Professor Maizen Tyren's twisted schemes.
Flame had been fully prepared to shoulder that burden herself, without hesitation, without fear.
But—
'If I can't find Maela's Notebook, then all my determination means nothing.'
For nearly a week since returning to the past, she had combed through every bookstore in Arcanium. Yet, no matter how many shelves she scoured, the notebook remained elusive.
It was already late evening.
With curfew drawing near, Flame had no choice but to turn back and head toward Stella Academy.
The journey back to the dormitory was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects. The flickering streetlights cast long shadows that seemed to stretch endlessly. A strange, hollow loneliness washed over her… but she shook it off with a determined breath.
Then—
She noticed the lights were still on in Class S's private study room and came to an abrupt stop.
'No way… Did Eisel already find the notebook?'
No. That couldn't be it.
In the novel, Eisel had stumbled upon it by chance just the day before the lecture.
But still, just in case—
She crept closer, her footsteps soft on the stone path, and peered through the window of the study room.
Class S's private study room was exclusive, its occupants limited to a select few students. It didn't take long for her eyes to find Eisel, sitting alone at a desk.
And then—
"Ah."
Flame froze.
Eisel was sitting at the desk, her eyes glimmering with excitement as she carefully read through an old, worn-out notebook.
'There are still two days left until the experiment…'
So why did Eisel already have the notebook?
Focusing her mana-enhanced vision, Flame scrutinized the notebook from afar. The worn state of the notes made it clear… Eisel had found it several days ago.
'The timeline I knew… it's changed.
Time travel is never absolute.
Eisel had said this before they left for the past.
She warned that even small actions could alter the flow of the past, leading to major changes in the future.
Was this what she meant?
Flame realized with a pang of guilt that her cold demeanor toward Eisel a week ago had likely triggered this ripple in the timeline. It was her behavior that had led Eisel to find Maela's Lecture Notes earlier than intended.
'It's not too late. There's still a way.'
Even if Eisel had the notebook, Flame could convince her not to use that recipe during the experiment.
***
The Next Morning
The hallways of Stella buzzed with activity as cadets hurried toward their alchemy lecture. Among the sea of students, Flame spotted Eisel and darted toward her, reaching out to grab her arm.
"Hey. Wait a second."
"... What is it this time?"
Flame noticed the slight edge in Eisel's voice. Perhaps yesterday's encounter had made her even more wary. Forcing an awkward smile, Flame replied,
"You're heading to alchemy class, right? I am too. Let's go together."
Eisel blinked, unimpressed, and shot back in a deadpan tone,
"So are all of those people over there. Why don't you go with them?"
"No, I wanted to walk with you—"
"I'd rather not."
Eisel brushed her off coldly and continued walking without looking back.
Sigh.
How do you get close to someone?
Making friends had never been a struggle for her. People usually gravitated toward her naturally, and she'd never had to work hard to earn their trust.
And yet—
How had Baek Yu-Seol managed to win over people like this and get them to open their hearts?
'He really was amazing… Seriously. I guess I have no choice.'
***
Alchemy Classroom.
The lecture hall was buzzing with anticipation as students settled into their seats. As usual, Eisel had claimed her solitary spot in the corner, far away from everyone else.
"Did you know?"
"Professor Maizen likes excellent alchemists, but that's actually a lie. The professor prefers students who simply follow his recipes exactly as they are."
"If you want to learn alchemy, it's probably better to stay in the professor's good graces, right?"
Whether Eisel was listening or not, Flame kept talking anyway.
"Oh, and there's this too. Last year, a senior didn't follow the professor's recipe and... Huh? Where are you going?"
Eisel suddenly moved seats, seemingly unwilling to listen to her anymore.
"Please don't follow me. I'm begging you."
"Uh... Oh... Okay..."
Eisel's frosty departure stung more than Flame cared to admit. But at least she had managed to say what she needed to.
'She must have understood enough... right?'
Despite her cold demeanor, Flame knew Eisel cared deeply about the professors' opinions. Surely, if she had grasped the gravity of Flame's words, she wouldn't risk showcasing Maela's recipe in front of everyone.
The alchemy experiment began, and Flame immersed herself in the task, carefully following Professor Maizen Tyren's recipe. The synthesis was intricate, a delicate balance of ingredients and techniques, but having done it before, the challenge felt more tedious than daunting.
Suddenly, she recalled Baek Yu-Seol from her first-year alchemy class.
'Hehehe, potato potion.'
'Kimchi potato potion is the best!'
Her first impression of him... Was that he was a weirdo.
An alchemy weirdo.
She had never encountered anyone who genuinely enjoyed the repetitive drudgery of alchemy. But Baek Yu-Seol had. He thrived on it, his enthusiasm lighting up even the dullest moments.
'He must have repeated this kind of thing so many times, yet he still enjoyed it...'
The thought brought a faint smile to Flame's face. Channeling that same energy, she focused on her own alchemy and, to her surprise, started to enjoy it.
By the end of the session, she had perfectly replicated Maizen's recipe.
If she had managed to obtain Maela's notes in advance, she might have synthesized that recipe's potion instead of Eisel's. But for now, this was enough.
She could have prevented Eisel's misfortune, albeit in a different way than Baek Yu-Seol…
"Eisel. Just because you got into the Class S, you think you're all that, huh? Who said you could change the experiment materials as you pleased?"
'… What?'
Flame's heart dropped at the sound of the familiar shouting voice.
Hurriedly, she turned to look. Professor Maizen Tyren stood there, her face contorted with genuine rage as she scolded Eisel's results.
'What? Why…?'
'No way…!'
Panic flared as Flame's gaze darted to Eisel's workstation.
There it was… a different potion. One that wasn't Maizen's recipe.
'Ah…'
That's right. Flame had thought she had warned her well enough, but it was all a misunderstanding.
Eisel had already closed herself off, too hardened by mistrust to hear anything Flame had said. And yet Flame had blundered in, acting superior, lecturing her like she knew best.
'How arrogant could I be?'
Back then, Baek Yu-Seol had faced this exact moment. But his response had been nothing short of audacious.
'Huh? But this method gives better results.'
He had stood his ground, unshaken by Maizen Tyren's wrath. Shamelessly confident, he had absorbed the professor's anger to protect Eisel.
But Flame wasn't like that.
"I… I performed alchemy in the way I believed was right."
Eisel stammered, voicing her belief. It was proof that her resolve hadn't completely crumbled yet.
And Flame knew—she absolutely had to protect that resolve.
However…
"You arrogant brat!!!"
Maizen's furious shout rang throughout the entire laboratory.
"Are you saying that my alchemy formula is wrong?!"
Oh no.
Flame's stomach churned as she remembered the terrifying truth about Professor Maizen Tyren.
The professor's self-esteem was paper-thin, and her deepest fear was having her alchemy challenged by someone undeniably brilliant.
And now, a true genius like Eisel had denied her methods. What would happen next was obvious.
'I can't believe this. I didn't see this coming at all…'
Baek Yu-Seol had always handled Professor Maizen Tyren's anger with finesse. He managed to provoke her just enough to make his point but never crossed the line to truly set her off.
But Eisel didn't know how to do that.
Instead, she outright denied Maizen Tyren's alchemy methods.
This…
It was an entirely different development from the original story.
'Did I mess something up?'
Right now, the priority was to calm Professor Maizen down.
Because Maizen Tyren wasn't just a temperamental professor… she was a dark mage in hiding. Her transformation into something far more dangerous would be triggered if jealousy fanned the flames of her anger.
'I have to intervene…'
But just as Flame hesitated, someone else had already moved first.
"P-Professor! Please calm down…!"
It was Alterisha, the alchemy assistant.
With her bright pink hair and a future destined for greatness as one of the world's greatest alchemists, Alterisha held incredible potential. But here and now, she was little more than a lowly assistant, lacking the authority to stand against Maizen Tyren.
And her well-meaning interruption only seemed to make things worse.
"…Alterisha. How many times have I told you not to interrupt me during class?"
Maizen's voice, now lower and colder, made it clear that her anger had reached its peak.
But Alterisha, ever the clever one, knew better than to escalate things further.
"P-Professor," she stammered, "I just thought that someone as accomplished as you shouldn't waste your anger… on the child of a traitor."
Flinch.
The students' expressions subtly shifted.
Eisel's face froze coldly, and her arms trembled slightly.
'… That's it.'
Once Professor Maizen started losing her temper, it was like an uncontrollable wildfire. The only way to stop her was to lower the genius and elevate her own status.
"Y-Yes… that's right…"
Thanks to Alterisha's quick thinking, the professor's fury abated slightly. Maizen's expression twisted into a mocking smirk as she turned her scornful gaze back to Eisel.
"What was I even doing, wasting my energy on the child of a traitor?"
With a sharp turn, she moved away, inspecting the other students' experiments with an air of false composure.
The students fidgeted nervously, presenting their work. But, to their surprise, Maizen offered no scathing critiques, not even for the most glaring mistakes.
It was almost as if she were saying:
'See? For your level, this is fine. In fact, you're better than that so-called genius who botched the recipe with her ridiculous improvisation.'
It didn't feel like an exaggeration.
Every time she inspected a student's work, her side-eye glances at Eisel were all too obvious.
But Eisel didn't even look up. She just stared blankly at the failed experiment she had created.
'… In the end, it's a failure.'
With this, Eisel would likely retreat further into herself.
'Today… I failed to save her.'
As soon as the class ended, Flame didn't even think about comforting Eisel. Instead, she sprinted straight back to the dormitory.
Clang!
"Hah… Huff…"
Out of breath and drenched in sweat, she didn't bother wiping her face or even changing clothes. Instead, she grabbed a notebook that had been lying nearby and flipped it open in a hurry.
'I was an idiot. There's no way this half-hearted approach is going to work. I need to plan more carefully… much more carefully.'
Countless events that would occur in the future.
Flame didn't know all of them, but she at least remembered most of the major episodes involving Eisel.
The novel hadn't offered solutions to these challenges. But now, Flame had something even better.
'I just need to follow Baek Yu-Seol's method… exactly as he did.'
She began jotting down everything that was bound to happen.
From the group alchemy project to the necromancer's attack and even the events during summer break…
'… Ah.'
As Flame carefully recorded Baek Yu-Seol's strategies, she suddenly realized her pen had stopped moving.
'I… don't know.'
And then it hit her.
For some incidents, Baek Yu-Seol had resolved them so discreetly that no one ever knew he was involved.
She had no idea what had happened in those situations or how he had managed to handle them.
Flame had simply trusted that, someday, he would tell her the details.
In fact, Baek Yu-Seol had explained some of the incidents to her in the past. But… there were still many major events she knew nothing about… not even the full story behind them.
She had to protect both Hong Bi-Yeon and Eisel… yet right now, she felt completely powerless.
'What am I supposed to do…?'
Flame quietly set her notebook down and slumped into her chair.
Her mind went completely blank. Nothing came to her.