Part 4: The New Kid

Video- “Chapter 2 Intro”

Watch the Story Unfold

???: Where is your mother? Or your owner? Were you abandoned?
Hmm… Traveling alone can be quite boring. How ‘bout it. Wanna come with me?
…Is that so. Then I’ll have to give you a name.
Uhm… Alright. Sulpher. Your name is now Sulpher.




Things had almost fallen into a routine here.



Is this it?
Yeah. We have to let it stew for about 10 minutes.
It looks kinda bland. This special, red liquid’ll make it look pretty.
N-don’t! We have to make it exactly how the textbook says.
How boring. You’re so serious about this stuff.
Isn’t that the point?

But things got kind of shaken up today.



What’s going on?
So today, we got a new transfer student in our class.
That’s rare. Especially at this time of year.
I bet there’s a secret behind it. His scent sang, “Suspicious.”
I wonder what kind of person he is…
I am curious, too.

By the way, Flay has taken to just appearing behind us, it’s a real problem.



Please don’t scare me like that…
Hmph, you still aren’t good enough to sense my presence.
But more importantly, tell me about this transfer student.
Okay, so his name is Roxis and he’s from the famous Rosenkrantz family.
Rosenkrantz? I think I’ve heard of them.
That family’s been researching alchemy for hundreds of years.
Yeah, that’s the one. He attended a normal school until just now.
But he seemed to me like… a snotty bastard.
A snotty bastard from a famous family… Sounds interesting! Come, Vayne!
Come? Where?
To the transfer student! We can’t let the other workshops get him first!
Oh, so we’re gonna get another friend?
There’s no time to waste! Hurry!
But, uh, we’re still in the middle of a synthesis.
Have fun!

Roxis was pretty easy to find, he was reading in the classroom.

Video- “Roxis”

Listen to Roxis’ Awesome Music

Yeah… I wonder why he’s alone.
This is perfect! Come on. Worst case, we die with honor!
That’s not comforting…

Unfortunately, we were too late.



You the transfer student?
I believe I asked you a question first.
A snotty bastard indeed. I like it!
Though I appreciate your honest, your comments are rather unpleasant.
Hey, don’t sweat it! From no on, you’re gonna be a member of my workshop!
That’s what you want? Then…
Hahaha! Too bad, Flay!
Huh!? That voice!
Roxis already has a contract with us.
That’s right. Sorry.
What villainy…
Are you mad? Frustrated? Mortified?
A person of great talent, duped into the service of evil…
Who are you calling evil!?
If you’re done here, please leave.
Grh, just you wait! You’ll regret becoming my archenemy!
Hey, Flay…

Flay ran off, so I followed him.



Hahaha! That felt great!
With all due respect, please leave. I cannot concentrate on my reading.
I normally wouldn’t take this from you, but… eh. I feel so good right now!
There is, however, one thing I would like to ask.
Huh? What’s that?
Who was the boy standing next to that Flay guy?
Oh, that’s Vayne. He’s the guy our teacher is keenly obsessed with.
Vayne… I see. So he’s the one…

Even worse, at homeroom we got some bad news. There’s going to be an exam at the end of this term.

Video- “Exams”

Watch Our Unfortunate Fate

At the end of this term, you’ll have a final exam. Study hard!
Clarissa: What kind of test is it?
That will be a surprise. Just concentrate on your current Assignment.

Still, the exam was all we could think about.



Yeah, but we weren’t told what was gonna be on it.
Me either. Argh, I’m so worried right now.
I don’t think worrying about it right now’ll do us any good.
How can you be so calm?
It’s not that I’m calm…
You guys’re making too big a deal about this. It’s an exam, not a sacrifice.
Ahh! Please don’t appear behind me like that…
Oh, yeah. You know about the exams, right Flay?
Yeah, Flaya! What was your Freshman exam like?
I have no idea. I’ve never even taken an exam.
Huh!? You mean, we don’t have to take them?
It’s not that big a deal, really. You’ll just get called out by the teacher.
Isn’t that a pretty big deal?
Man, Flaya, you’re never any help.
I guess we’ll just have to wait until they tell us.

Oh, and it seems some mice are getting into the workshop.



What’s wrong?
There’s a mouse. It just startled me…
Ooh, ooh, lemme see? There it is!
I’m gonna getchu… Hah!
Mouse: *dash *
Hrm, pretty quick aren’tcha… Tah!
Mouse: *scuffle * *dash *
Urrg, you dinky speedy wannabe… Dahh!
Mouse: *dash * *dash *
Grh! Damn you little!

It’s probably a good thing they can’t understand Sulpher some days.



Sulpher?
Mouse: *dash * *dash * *squeak *
Hey!
Here, I got it.
Wow! You’re so good, Sulpher!
G-good going…
…Hah.
…! Did he just laugh at me!?
Oh, uh, n-no…
If you can’t even catch a mouse, you’re a failure as a beastman or a cat.
Sulpher, that’s not…
I know he’s saying mean stuff to me right now.
He’s not, he’s not.
Don’t worry, Nikki. As they say, you don’t need cats who can’t catch mice.
Hrgah!!
That wasn’t really a consolation…
Oh… Sorry…

And that was when Nikki ran out crying.



There she goes…
It’ll be fine. It’s a path everyone goes through to become a full-fledged cat.
I-it is?
When she comes back, she’ll surely be a splendid cat.
Uh, okay… I hope?

The exam is still a while away, so we’ll just have to go on as normal for now. I just hope it isn’t too hard…