Chapter 0: Prologue

Ugh.

A sigh mixed with irritation escaped her small mouth.

This was roughly the tenth time. Another failure.

“Ugh…why isn’t this working…?”

Finally, she put down the flask and herbs on the desk and flopped onto the bed.

She needed to cool down her head, which had been heated up from magical research.

“I used ogre muscle because it’s supposed to be elastic, but that didn’t work. I used sea serpent mane because it’s supposed to be flexible, but that didn’t work either…”

It wasn’t spacious, but it had everything she needed. This was her magic laboratory.

It was a precious home that she had obtained after much effort, developing various magic spells after being transmigrated into this body.

Of course, looking at the chaotic interior, one might think it wasn’t precious at all…but that was just a matter of personal preference.

“Haah…”

She was currently developing a magic weapon.

It was shaped like a staff, but with an internal mechanism that allowed it to fire projectiles like a gun.

However, it was currently stalled in the development stage.

“The demons will start going crazy soon, and then this will surely be a hit!”

As you can probably tell from the context, she had transmigrated into a novel.

A typical fantasy world with a hero protagonist, filled with clichés.

The hero protagonist gathers companions to defeat the Demon King, and whether by coincidence or design, only heroines join, eventually turning it into a harem party rather than a hero(warrior)party.

Of course, this had nothing to do with her.

She hadn’t transmigrated as the hero or anyone around him, and even if she had, she would have found a way out.

‘I’m not crazy, why would I follow them?’

Even if it was a harem party, it was still a group whose foundation was fighting demons and monsters, so they fought a lot. As someone who pursued a leisurely life, her personality was the complete opposite of that party.

“And this body…”

What should have been there was gone, and what shouldn’t have been there was present.

Even though what was newly added wasn’t as overwhelmingly large as the heroines of the hero’s party.

However, she found the smaller size easier to move around with.

“It should be…about a year by now.”

She had seen news of the hero’s party being formed about a year ago in the newspaper.

Her laboratory was located a little distance from the imperial capital, so the news was delayed.

One year meant it was still the time for them to train and build their strength within the empire.

And according to the hero’s party’s route, they weren’t too far from here.

“Ah…what should I do?”

The weapon in front of her was more important than the hero’s party. Why should she care about them when they wouldn’t even provide her with ingredients?

That’s why she had been ignoring the letters sent by some high-ranking officials. It’s not like she would be sent to the guillotine for ignoring them.

After transmigrating into this novel, into this body, she realized that magic was her calling.

And by appropriately combining magic with knowledge from her previous life, she had been earning enough to at least avoid starvation.

‘If I can’t complete this, I’m in big trouble.’

However, she had recently spent all her money buying some supplies, so she needed to finish this weapon as soon as possible.

“…I’m hungry.”

She got out of bed, her steps lightened by semi-forced motivation, and checked the shelves.

She could see that food like bread was running low.

“Ah~ I wish someone would cook me a meal.”

How nice would it be if she could eat for free without money, do magic research, and get all the ingredients she wanted!

Maybe she could sell some magic equipment secondhand…

“No, I can’t do that to my babies.”

She had put so much effort into obtaining them. Absolutely not.

In the end, the place she took refuge in was once again her bed.

Oh, bed. My little paradise.

Is there really no way to live in paradise forever?

……The hero’s party.

Strong monsters and demons.

Byproducts of monsters and demons. Good ingredients. Fresh ingredients.

Food. Almost free, though there’s the drawback of having to take turns cooking.

Research. High probability of freedom, considering the hero’s personality.

“… … … Nah. I’m still not going.”

What audacity would it take for her to join the hero’s party, who were going to defeat the Demon King?

Absolutely not.

And soon, a witch heroine would join, replacing the mage.

That meant there was a high possibility of conflict since they were in a similar line of work.

It was better to just shut up and develop equipment and skills.

“…Come to think of it, isn’t this around the time they start thinking about replacing their equipment?”

Because their equipment couldn’t handle their increased strength, there was even an episode where they were put in danger.

But well, that was the kind of ordeal the hero had to overcome.

So there was no need for her to interfere and help.

Hmm.

Indeed.

“Everyone! We have a new member joining the party! Everyone, listen up!”

“…I’m Rui, the new mage. Pleased to meet you.”

Just get the ingredients and leave immediately.