(((part 2 out of ??? idk if im gonna finish this or if it's gonna die like a lot of my AU projects)))
While he was close to his goal, there was still so much to do ahead of him. First he'd need to proceed with human trials to see how efficient his thumb-sized stone would be on larger being, how long it would take to treat different wound types and how large or severe they are. Depending on the result he might have to produce larger stones or somehow enlarge the one he already had. After all the data gets solidified he would then have to mass produce the stones on size and ease of use of the stone. If the stone proves to be small and capable of direct application then every soldier could have one in their issued first aid kit but if the stones have to be larger than a fist or require advanced channeling then they would be distributed to the healing alchemist of the infantry as well as the high courts. In an ideal world where he wasn't on such a tight deadline He'd probably spend at least a full year testing out the stone on people to make sure there weren't any side effects from excessive use or to see if the stone might stop working entirely after a while. Sadly with conflict brewing at the border of the Hikarikagayaku nation and the remnant of the cold country time was of the essence. It meant a lot to him too.
Ikkioi Honda used to live in a small village that bordered the cold lands back when it was still called Sverkayusnia. Life was simple back then and for a while the two countries were in good terms. There was even a caravan passing through their town quite often and he became friend with one of the merchant's kids. They nicknamed him "Mika" because they couldn't pronounce his full name back then. And then Yakov came into power. Under his rule Sverkayusnia became a war-hungry nation desperate to expend their reach to as much land as they could get their hands on. During that war Professor Honda was still relatively young so he wasn't recruited as a soldier just yet but he became a protector for this village regardless. He wasn't able to do much however. His little town was completely erased by Sverkat forces and he had to flee to the inner lands of Hikarikagayaku for safety. With how small Hikarikagayaku was back then Sverkayusnia would have probably taken it over had the Huánguó nation not stepped in.
Sverkayusnia doesn't exist anymore, most of its territory has been colonized and force-pacified by Huánguó with a small portion of it having been gifted to Hikarikagayaku. The only part that somewhat remain and has been referred to as "the cold country" is the small most North part of the land that both Huánguó and Hikarikagayaku found too cold to capture. Rumor has it that in recent years the Sverkat living there have been trying to take back land by convincing their kins living in converted territories to rebel and with their war efforts mainly being targeted toward the Hikarikaguan lands. Honda has his doubts on the topic but if the rumors grants him the title and funding of a royal alchemist that allows him to created a stone capable of saving people in the future then so be it.
Taking notes and writing his report took him quite a while and was a tad bit tedious but it was necessary. If his writings were not clear enough for the emperor to understand it could mean losing his funding and position. To him using a Meredic Press to concentrate Opal essence infused with Aqua Vitae into a Gemmagica conduit was obvious, but for his superior it would probably best to rephrase this as 'compressing mixed gem compounds in a machine to make an elemental stone'. There was probably some things he wouldn't be able to simplify but nothing he wouldn't be able explain it in person if need be. With how things were moving he was almost certain he could get the papers finished by the next afternoon or the one after that.
The alchemist was so busy getting his work done with his assistant to notice his student enter the lab.
"Mr.Honda" flatly said the woman, her arms crossed and her face stern.
"Nora! What brings you down here?" replied Ikkioi
"I've heard news regarding your studies..."
"Your uncle told you, I suppose?" he rhetorically asked, dipping his quill before resuming writing "Do not worry about it. Everything is moving along at reasonable pace!"
"Are you positive?" Her tongue was sharp, there was no doubt she was very much upset "He gave you only a week"
"I'm sure It will be done in the next two days. Don't worry about it!"
"Hmm..."
"By next week we might even start the human trials and I want you involved!" cheerfully said the professor "You are still going to be the head of the infirmary but you will be the one overseeing the patient we will test the stone on while I'll be down here writing the bulk of the reports and doing stone adjustments whenever needed. Speaking of adjustments I think I'll try to put and extra coat of compound on the stone tomorrow to fix the big chip it got when I dropped it yesterday. As far as I can tell it's just an aesthetic issue but I'd rather get it patched up just in case."
"Noted... Looking... forward to it."
"Fantastic!"
As the woman left the lab Andrei couldn't help but feel the disgust emanating from her. If Nora and her uncle really wanted her to become the new royal alchemist this was the perfect opportunity, have the report delayed so the emperor would simply get Honda out of the picture. With how diligently she had been working in the medic quarters as of late and the fact that Professor Honda had personally taught her his most advanced alchemy she'd be the perfect candidate to replace him.
Mr.Alexeev patiently watched as the Alchemist nurse walked away until she finally vanish into the darkness of the hallway. He then made his way toward the Professor and tapped on his shoulder.
"What is it?" asked the scholar, not lifting his eyes from his work
"Just make sure you keep your report where you can see it" the guard whispered, not wanting the assistant to hear in case Heikin would tattle.
"You really think she's that mad about all of this? Ikkioi whispered back
"It's my job as a guard to watch people for the smallest hints of scheming so I can intervene before shit happens" Andrei replied with a smirk as he stepped back a little "But maybe you're right, I'm reading too much into it… but better safe than sorry!"
"Ill keep that in mind. Thanks for keeping my work safe Mr Big Guard"
"First you flatter yourself, then you flatter me!"
"Well, I think everyone is great and full of potential" Ikkioi warped his arm around his assistant who had kept quiet "We're all doing great work here, right Heikin?"
"I-I'm trying my best!"
It was clear Honda and Andrei had quite different views of the current situation: Ikkioi was optimistic and felt like everyone was doing a bagging job despite the occasional friction, Andrei meanwhile saw a much dire scenario where betrayal was afoot if not handled carefully. Perhaps both point of view could be somewhat correct with Nora was working just as hard as Ikkioi but it was her uncle scheming something. For now only time would tell. All they could do is do their job as flawlessly as possible. Professor Honda would be focused on tidying up his notes for the report and Mr.Alexeev need to make sure no one beside the Alchemist would touching those papers as long as he was on watch… He would have to hope whoever was on nightwatch did an equal job if the Royal Alchemist decided to leave his report in the lab at night. Hopefully the suggestion he had given him would knock some sense into him and Ikkioi would keep his papers safe under lock and key in his quarters or on himself whenever he left the lab.
If anything were to happen to Honda's report there wasn't much either of them could do. Not only was Nora just as competent of an alchemist as Ikkioi was, but her uncle had quite the power-pull. Mr.Katashi wasn't just anyone, he was one of the emperor's advisor and ranked far above the castle's medicine man. If Andrei or Ikkioi were to say anything merely implying that him or his niece had any involvement in that report going missing they would have much more to worry about that losing their title and jobs.