Heroine-Saving System: Reborn In A Third-Rate Manga As The Protagonist-Chapter 56: Alchemist In A Mordern World

Kōya didn’t speak.

He recognized the girl from his class, though. She was one of the ones who had his number... he had a rough memory of her face from homeroom, though her name escaped him right now.

The girl, on the other hand, was looking at him with increasing confusion rather than recognition.

She tilted her head.

First of all, he was several inches taller than she remembered Kōya-kun being... significantly taller, actually. His hair was wrong too, longer than it should have been, some of it falling down past his eyes in a way that was either careless or deliberate.

And he was, objectively, considerably more handsome than Kōya. She could have mistaken him for a noble if she passed him on the street without context but it wasn’t him.

She looked a moment longer to be sure, then accepted the conclusion, picked up her scattered flowers from the pavement one by one, and walked past him.

"Sorry," she said pleasantly, brushing a petal off her sleeve. "I mistook you for someone else."

A small pause.

"But you are very handsome, mister."

She continued down the street without looking back.

Kōya ran one hand slowly through his hair.

He could already smell... practically in advance, the sheer volume of confused staring that was going to happen when he walked back into ALI Academy tomorrow.

"Master, do you know that girl?"

"Kōya, do you know that girl?"

Both voices came at almost the exact same moment. He looked left at Yuna, then right at Victoria on his shoulder, then forward again.

"Same class," he said. "Yes."

He glanced at Yuna.

"Are you taking us to get your sister’s medicine or not?"

Yuna blushed immediately and straightened up. She reached out her hand toward his then touched his fingers and flinched back as though the contact had burned her and she reached out again, hesitated for a full second then took his hand properly.

He raised an eyebrow.

Whatever internal crisis she had just worked through in the span of four seconds was her business... He didn’t ask.

"Lead the way," he said.

"Yes. It’s not too far." Her voice came out steadier than her face looked. "This way."

...

It took about ten minutes on foot.

The building they stopped in front of was large and circular, with two tall constructs protruding from the top in a shape Kōya recognized after a moment... It looked exactly like a stethoscope.

The instrument a doctor pressed against your chest to listen to your heartbeat. He had forgotten the name of it in his distraction but the shape was unmistakable.

The doors opened automatically as they approached, sliding apart to reveal a wide, well-lit interior.

It looked, at first glance, exactly like a supermarket. It had the same layout, same long aisles, and the same shelving units running parallel from front to back but where a supermarket would have food, every shelf here was stocked with either medicines or supplements... rows of bottles and blister packs and sealed containers in every color, organized by category, labeled in clean font.

"This place is called the City Chemist," Yuna said, releasing his hand and stepping inside. "You probably know it since you live around here, but you can buy any supplement or drug you want here. The bone supplements for Awakened are very expensive though, so watch out for those."

She turned back to him with a slightly formal expression, as though presenting something she was proud of despite being nervous. "Please look around, Master. I’ll go find my sister’s medicine."

She ran off into the aisles before he could respond.

"Kōya, can I follow her?" Victoria asked from his shoulder.

He glanced sideways. "You don’t need my permission for that."

She lifted off immediately and flew after Yuna in her bat form, landing on the girl’s shoulder and making her go rigid with surprise.

Kōya was alone and the System waited approximately three seconds before appearing.

「Host, are you still interested in the supplements?」

’What are you doing. Trying to rip me off even more?’ he thought.

「There are several supplements and pills in this shop that can be crafted by hand into functional combat-grade compounds. Think of it as basic Alchemy. These supplements can have either temporary or permanent effects depending on how they are processed and combined.」

He stood still for a moment.

Honestly, being an alchemist in a world like this wasn’t a bad position to occupy. The only supplements that currently existed here with temporary strength or mana enhancement properties all came with documented side effects... nausea, mana circulation disruption, crash fatigue that lasted hours.

The only truly clean option was healing, and that required either an Awakened Healer... those were rare enough that governments fought over them or the healing fluid, which was expensive but not enough to heal severed limbs and other very serious issues.

’No side effects?’ he thought.

「Correct. There are no side effects using these compounds. Would you like a full analysis of available ingredients?」

’Run it. Everything in the shop.’

「Scanning all medicines and supplements in the shop... analyzing composition... cross-referencing against known synthesis pathways...」

He pushed a cart over from the rack near the entrance and began walking slowly down the first aisle with his hands in his pockets as he let the System work.

Near the far end of the aisle he noticed the receptionist... a woman behind a low counter near the pharmacy section watching him.

When he looked over she dropped her eyes immediately to the book open in front of her, with the specific over-casualness of someone who had absolutely been staring.

It made him think of that girl.

The librarian... The one who had asked for his number when he first came into this world. He wondered briefly where she was and what she was doing right now.

「Analysis complete. Two common-rank supplements can be synthesized from available ingredients.」

’Show me. And I hope for once this doesn’t have a price tag attached.’

「Supplement #1: Iron Surge Pill」

「Effect: +10% physical strength for two minutes.」

「Classification: Physical Enhancement (Common)」

「Ingredients: Creatine Monohydrate, Caffeine, Beta-Alanine, Magnesium, Beeswax, Honey」

He stopped walking.

A physical enhancement pill made from ingredients he could buy off a shelf in a civilian shop. Ten percent was modest, but on top of his current base stats as a four-liner, ten percent was not nothing.

And if he could produce them in bulk cheaply... give them to Yuna, eventually to others in whatever group he was building, the cumulative advantage in a real fight was significant.

’Show me the next one.’

「Supplement #2: Mana Flux Pill」

「Effect: +10% magical power for two minutes.」

「Classification: Magical Enhancement (Common)」

「Ingredients: Lion’s Mane Mushroom, L-Theanine, Rhodiola Rosea, Zinc, Beeswax, Coconut Oil」

’L-Theanine? Rhodiola Rosea?’

He sounded out the names in his head. Neither of them existed back on Earth or at least not under those names in any pharmacy he’d ever visited but if they were sitting on the shelves here, the locals had clearly found uses for them already, which meant availability wouldn’t be a problem.

’Can I make both with what’s in this shop right now?’

「Affirmative. All required ingredients are in stock. Generating step-by-step synthesis animation now.」

He exhaled.

’It’s going to cost SP, isn’t it?’

The System didn’t answer that, which was answer enough.

He turned the cart and started moving through the aisles with purpose, pulling items from shelves as the System highlighted them... small tubs of Creatine, a blister pack of Caffeine tablets, Beta-Alanine powder, Magnesium capsules, a jar of Beeswax, a bottle of raw honey, a pouch of Lion’s Mane mushroom powder, L-Theanine capsules, Rhodiola Rosea extract, Zinc tablets, a small container of Coconut oil.

He also grabbed pill molds... the System flagged them specifically, small flexible silicone trays near the back of the health section along with measuring spoons, two mixing bowls, and a pack of toothpicks.

The receptionist watched the growing pile in his cart with open curiosity and said nothing.

...

"So... Master, this is my apartment." Yuna bowed slightly, standing in front of a standard residential building with a security panel on the door.

She was avoiding his eyes. "It’s very low class. Please don’t judge."

’Why is she talking like I’m some kind of rich young master?’ he thought.

She entered the code and pushed the door open.

The living room beyond was modest... It was clean, clearly maintained carefully, but small. The furniture was old and mismatched in the way that came from buying things second-hand over years rather than all at once. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She ushered them in and closed the door behind her.

Victoria dropped off his shoulder, landing lightly and transforming back into her human form in a single smooth motion, her dark dress settling around her.

She sniffed once.

"It smells strange in here," she said as her nose wrinkled slightly.

"Ah—" Yuna’s face went pink.

She immediately started moving around the room, unlatching windows and pushing them open one by one.

"My sister locks herself inside with all the windows shut. She doesn’t like cold air because of her condition, so the ventilation is..." She trailed off, completely embarrassed.

Then footsteps sounded... They were small and coming from upstairs.

A girl appeared at the top of the staircase, assessed the drop with total confidence, and jumped.

Yuna caught her without hesitating, absorbing the impact with her enhanced body and settling the girl against her chest.

"Yuu-chan." Her voice shifted completely... the careful politeness she used with Kōya was gone, replaced by a motherly voice. "What did I say about jumping from that height? You could hurt yourself."

The girl... Yuu looked nothing like the post-rank-up version of her sister.

She was smaller, paler and her skin was carrying that faint washed-out quality that came from being indoors too long and not eating enough but her eyes were sharp and her mouth was already moving.

"I always knew you’d catch me," she said simply.

Then she leaned back in Yuna’s arms to get a proper look at her face.

"You got more beautiful... Rank ups really work I guess since you were really ugly before."

Yuna’s arms tightened.

She very clearly wanted to drop the girl onto the floor but she was not going to, because Yuu was sick and because there were guests present.

Both of these facts were visible on her face simultaneously.

"Yuu," she said meekly. "These people are my saviors." She turned slightly to present them. "And that is my Master."

Yuu looked at Kōya then she looked at him for longer.

He was tall... noticeably, genuinely tall in a way that required her to tilt her head back to see his face properly from where Yuna was holding her.

His hair was long and his expression was the flat, evaluating kind that didn’t give anything away.

"You have some weird fetishes, sis." Yuu said.

Yuna bumped her firmly on the side of the head with one knuckle and Yuu accepted this without complaint.

Yuna carried her over to where Kōya and Victoria were standing near the center of the room, set her down carefully, and straightened up.

"This is Yuu. She’s rude, but she’s genuinely sweet once you get to know her... Yuu, say hello properly."

"Hello properly," Yuu said, still looking at Kōya.

"What’s her condition?" Kōya asked.

The lightness left both of them at the same time. Yuna looked at her sister, then at the floor, then back up.

"Heart disease. It developed about a year ago... the doctors said it was congenital but it only manifested recently. She’s in serious pain without the suppressants, which is why I need the money consistently." She paused. "The suppressants manage it... but they don’t fix it. There’s no fixing it, apparently."

Kōya looked at Yuu’s color.

’I can’t have her worrying about her sister constantly. It’ll interfere with her work.’

He believed that when he thought it. He also knew, somewhere adjacent to that thought, that it wasn’t the entire reason he was bothered.

’System, is there a cur—’

"I can heal her."

Victoria’s voice came from beside him and he looked at her.

She was already studying Yuu with her crimson eyes.

"I’ve seen the issue," she said. "It’s structural... the heart tissue itself. Put her on one of the couches and let me work."

Yuna looked immediately at Kōya and he nodded once.

"Yes, Mistress," Yuna said, and moved toward the couch with Yuu.

"I’m not his Mistress," Victoria said, following after them with her skirt trailing. "I am his wife. Wife. The distinction matters and I will continue stating it until everyone in this city understands."

Kōya turned toward the kitchen.

"I’ll be using your kitchen," he said.

"Yes, Master, of course, please use anything you need—" Yuna called back, already settling Yuu onto the cushions.

...

He found a spare apron hanging on the back of the kitchen door. It was considerably smaller than what his current frame required, which meant it sat higher on his chest than intended and the ties barely reached around his back, but it was functional enough to keep things off his clothes.

He tied it and surveyed the counter space.

He laid everything out from the bags in a single organized row.

Two mixing bowls, Mortar and pestle, Saucepan, Pill molds, Measuring spoons, Toothpick pack and a small pot for the beeswax.

Every ingredient in its container, grouped by which pill it belonged to. He was, apparently, about to become an alchemist.

’Play the animation.’

The screen opened in front of him and he waited.

What appeared first was a title card... 「Cooking with the System」 rendered in cheerful block lettering with small animated sparkles around it, then the sparkles cleared and a woman appeared.

She was mature, red-haired and the teacher’s uniform she was wearing was doing an objectively remarkable amount of work trying to hold her oversized breasts.

She had a spoon balanced on top of her head for no clear reason and her tongue was out slightly with one eye closed and the expression of someone posing for a photograph they found amusing.

"Welcome to Cooking with the System~!" she said, her voice carrying that particular quality of a professional singer who had decided to apply her skills to narration.

She gestured broadly at the counter in front of her which was, inexplicably, identical to Yuna’s kitchen counter. "I’ll be your guide today. You may call me the System."

Kōya stared at the screen for a moment.

He had, without ever consciously thinking about it, always imagined the System as something male.

’You’re weird,’ he thought flatly.

The System on screen turned to look directly at him through the fourth wall and smiled.

"Today we’re creating the Iron Surge Pill, so let’s begin. First... measure 500mg of Creatine Monohydrate into your mortar." She demonstrated, pouring a precise measure of white powder from a container into a bright red mortar. "Nice and steady. Don’t rush the process."

He measured his own and poured it in.

"Perfect. Now 200mg of Beta-Alanine." She added hers. "And now we grind."

She picked up the pestle and began working the two powders together with smooth, circular pressure.

"Grind like you mean it. Hard and deep..." She paused a bit. "Like you’re doing so with a woman."

Kōya stopped grinding and looked at the screen. The System looked back at him with the exact expression of someone waiting to see what he would do.

"No fun~" she said, sighing.

He returned to grinding without comment.

"Keep going until the texture is completely uniform... there should be no visible difference between the two powders meaning no lumps~" She leaned over her own mortar to inspect it.

The uniform she was wearing did not survive the lean gracefully. "There we go. Set it aside."

He set it aside.

"Next... your wet ingredients. One teaspoon of water into the saucepan, low heat only. We’re dissolving, not cooking." She measured hers out. "Add 100mg of Caffeine and 150mg of Magnesium and stir continuously." She demonstrated, stirring with the spoon that had previously been on her head. "The liquid should turn clear with a mineral smell. The moment it clears, pull it off the heat immediately. Do not boil... boiling destroys the Caffeine’s binding properties and you will end up with expensive chalk."

He watched his mixture carefully and pulled it at the right moment.

"Beautiful. Now let it sit for thirty seconds... you want warm, not hot." She tapped the counter with one finger patiently. "While we wait, a quick note on why this works."

She turned to face him directly, the performance dropping briefly into something more like genuine instruction. "Creatine saturates the muscle tissue with fast-release energy. Beta-Alanine buffers the acid buildup that causes the muscles to slow down under strain. Caffeine fires the nervous system and removes the fatigue signal before it can break your output. Magnesium regulates the contraction itself. Individually they each do something small. Together, timed correctly—" She snapped her fingers. "will give a ten percent increase for two minutes."

She smiled again.

"Now. Pour the liquid over the powder in a slow, thin stream while stirring. Think of it like making a roux."

He poured and the mixture clumped immediately.

"Keep stirring," she said. "It always does that. It will resolve."

It resolved.

"Now the honey." She held up the jar with both hands. "Add it one small drop at a time, folding it in after each addition. You are building structure, not sweetening a dessert. The target consistency is stiff... it should hold its shape when pressed but not crack. If it’s too wet, it won’t hold a pill shape. Too dry and it crumbles before it dissolves."

He worked the honey in slowly.

Drop.

Fold.

Drop.

Fold.

The paste thickened gradually into something that pressed between his fingers without spreading.

"There." She nodded at his work. "Now roll and make it garden-pea size with firm pressure... into a tight sphere. Compress it... a loose pill falls apart inside the stomach before the compounds fully release."

He rolled six pills with steady hands, lining them up on the flat side of the pill mold tray.

"Excellent technique," the System said, looking at his work approvingly, then at his hands with a lewd expression.

He ignored it.

"Beeswax." She melted hers in a small pot, tilting it to show the liquid pooling golden at the bottom. "Thin coat only... you want to see the pill color through the wax, not cover it. Roll quickly, one second of contact maximum, then set it down. The wax sets almost immediately at room temperature."

He worked through each pill in turn, rolling them through the liquid wax with the toothpick, setting them back in a clean line.

"Now leave them for four hours at room temperature, do not refrigerate. The wax cures in ambient air... cold makes it brittle and the coat will crack in your pocket at the worst possible moment." She clasped her hands together. "Iron Surge Pill, complete~!"

She turned to face him fully with her hands on her hips.

"You did well for a first attempt. The technique is rough but the composition is correct. These will work." She tilted her head slightly. "Would you like to continue with the Mana Flux Pill, or do you need a moment to recover from my presence?"

’Start the next one.’ he thought.

"So eager," she said, and smiled, and the next animation loaded.

...

Thirty minutes later, a second row of pills sat beside the first on the tray... slightly smaller and darker in color, with the earthy bitter smell of Lion’s Mane and Rhodiola beneath the coconut oil base.

There were six iron surge pills and eight mana flux pills.

He untied the apron, hung it back on the door, and looked at both rows for a moment.

’First batch...’ he thought. ’It’s rough but they’re functional.’

There was an effectiveness percentage with each pill and his were at 89% meaning they would work properly but not last the whole two minutes while the System was at 100% despite them doing literally the same time.

Kōya had a feeling the System was fucking him, despite that, He covered the tray loosely with a cloth to keep dust off and left them on the counter to finish curing.

"Let me check on the girls," he muttered, and pushed the kitchen door open.

He stopped.

Yuu was jumping on Yuna’s stomach with both feet in a bouncing rhythm, while Yuna lay flat on the couch making sounds of moderate protest.

Victoria was crouched beside them with one hand extended, a healing light still dissipating at her fingertips, watching this development with the expression of someone who had completed a difficult task and was now watching it immediately become irrelevant.

Kōya stood in the doorway.

’Wasn’t Yuu supposed to be the one receiving treatment?’

Victoria turned, registered his expression, and shrugged with one shoulder.

"The heart issue is resolved," she said. "She recovered faster than expected." She glanced back at the bouncing. "This happened approximately forty seconds after that."

Yuna made another sound from beneath her sister.

"Yuu-chan... I am going to put you through the floor—"

"You’re softer than before too," Yuu observed, still bouncing. "The rank up really did a lot for you. Look at these breasts."

Kōya dragged a hand down his face...