Elementary

"人は何かの犠牲なしに何も得ることはできない"

『鋼の錬金術師』 

"You can't gain anything without any sacrifices."

"Fullmetal Alchemist"

This reminds me, I probably should finish the original Fullmetal Alchemist (not Brotherhood) anime series one day...

2000 years ago, Hermes, son of God, was sent from the guardian star Nibiru to the planet to teach the people. Before Hermes left again, he bestowed upon the humans Seven Divine Secrets and if humans could solve all of them, they themselves would be able to reach the realm of God. It would take nearly two thousand years before humans would finally solve the first secret. Hundred years ago, Magnus was the first person who managed to conduct elemental transmutation, making him the first alchemist. The brilliant Magnus traveled across the planet, coming up with brilliant inventations based on alchemy and paving the way for future alchemists. In the decades since, some people have learned to master the art of transformation and these transformers are able to change the shape of objects, but actual alchemists, who can transmutate objects at the elemental level are much rarer: with time, people realized there are always only seven alchemists on this world at the same time. These alchemists are of course considered human treasures and most of them devote their lives to research the remaining Six Divine Secrets.

While some humans have obtained the gift of tranformation, which allows them to change the shape of objects, only alchemists are able to transmutate objects at an elemental level, making these people very valuable human resources. It's for that reason that kingdom of Astarte has created Alkahest, a special military unit especially for Theresa Paracelsus, one of the current seven alchemists. Following earlier events, she arranged for Emilia Schwartzdelphine to be assigned to her unit as her assistant, though most of the time, Emilia is just busy keeping his boss focused on her work. Alkahest's mission is to conduct research on alchemy and to uncover the Seven Secrets, and it is for that reason Theresa and Emilia are sent on a mission to the Mercury Tower, a tower made completely out of mercury! The building was erected by Hermes himself two thousand years ago, using unknown alchemy to keep mercury in a semi-solid state and one century ago, Magnus also lived for while in the Mercury Tower. The army caught rumors that one of Magnus' secret still resides within the Mercury Tower and that other, rival parties are already on the move, so Alkahest are sent to the Tower too. The tower lies between the borders of the kingdom of Astarte and the empire Bahl and is therefore controlled by the "neutral" Church of Sephirah. When Theresa and Emilia arrive at the tower, they are welcomed by Priestress Sophia Ashton of the Church and her two assistants, but they also learn there are more visitors, including the alchemist Nicolas Flamel and his assistant, who are on the exact same mission for the Bahl army, but there's also a reporter and a unit of the Church Knights present, who are all investigating rumors of disappearing pilgrims who have visited the Mercury Tower. A storm cuts the Mercury Tower and the little island it resides on off from the outside world that night, and with little clues to go on, the alchemists decide to continue their search for Magnus' treasure the following day.

The next morning however, the people in the tower are shocked to discover that two people have been killed: the reporter and the head knight. But they soon realize this is impossible due to the characteristics of the Mercury Tower. The outer and inner walls of the Mercury Tower are literally made out of a body of mercury floating in the shape of a tower. Usually only an alchemist would be able to manipulate mercury to create a door opening there, but Magnus had installed special devices of his own design next to each room that can also temporarily create an opening in the mercury, allowing normal people to open doors too. However, only one single person's handprint can be assigned to a room's "lock" and these devices can't be operated from inside a room during the night. This is what makes the two murders impossible: the victims couldn't have opened the doors to their own rooms to let the murderer in themselves because the "locks" don't work during the night, nor could the murderer have opened the doors of the victims' room from the outside, because only the registered user of the room can operate the lock to a specific room. Everyone realizes that only alchemists could've gained entry to the victim's rooms during the night without using the locks and by forcing an opening in the mercury walls, but why would the two alchemists present here use the one method that'd give themselves away? Realizing there might be a dangerous murderer lurking among them, Theresa and Nicolas decide to forget about their mission for the moment and focus on the crime: whoever solves the murders first, will be allowed to take Magnus' secret back home once everything is settled. Who will be the victor in Konno Tenryuu's Renkinjutsushi no Shoushitsu ("The Disappearance of the Alchemist", 2020) which also has the English title Alchemist in Mercury Tower?

This is the second book in this steampunk fantasy mystery series by Konno Tenryuu: I decided to start with this one because the second book seemed to have been received more favorably, but I have a feeling that wasn't really the best way now, as this second book does spoil a few details of the first book I think, and in other regards it seems to skip over things that are probably explained in more detail in the first book. So if this reviews manages to pique your interest in this series, you may want to start properly with the first book.

So, when you think of alchemy and Japanese pop culture, it's impossible to not think of Fullmetal Alchemist. If you've been into anime and manga somewhere in say the last fifteen years, you'd have to have at least heard of the mega-hit that was Fullmetal Alchemist. You'd think that if anyone was going to make an anime/manga/light novel about alchemy now, you'd try to differentiate yourself from Fullmetal Alchemist in some way, right? At least, that was what I thought, but after the first few chapters, you realize that this book is about two protagonists who have a secret goal they want to accomplish which is why they joined the royal army because they need the connections to accomplish their goals and that in this world, alchemists are so rare and powerful they are used as human weapons by states, you'll probably realize that Renkinjutsushi no Shoushitsu doesn't even try to be very different from Fullmetal Alchemist's premise. What I really thought was shocking was the depiction of alchemy in this book. Fullmetal Alchemist came up with one of the more iconic and unique ways to show off alchemy, with alchemists placing their hands on objects with transmutation circles and transmutating objects accompanied by special effects. Renkinjutsushi no Shoushitsu keeps talking about alchemy from the start, but I was getting really worried when it never explained how alchemy was conducted in this world. By the time I arrived at the scene where... indeed, they conduct alchemy by placing their hands on the object they want to transmutate and you have the flash of light and everything, well, that was what I feared the most. I wonder whether the author really thinks that the way alchemy was portrayed in Fullmetal Alchemist is a standard way to depict alchemy, because the whole book seems to assume that the reader will know alchemy is conducted like that, even though it's a specific Fullmetal Alchemist trope. Perhaps there's a whole generation out there that thinks that alchemy as shown in Fullmetal Alchemist is the standard!

But back to the story itself. As a mystery novel, Renkinjutsushi no Shoushitsu of course has a unique premise as it's set in a world where alchemy exists, and this particular story is set inside a tower with mercury walls, which is probably a one of a kind! The impossible situations in this novel are therefore based on unique premises: normal humans and transformers can't transmutate mercury, while alchemists can transmutate mercury, but the two alchemists present have no reason whatsoever to have to committed the murders using transmutation, as it'd immediately give themselves away (each alchemist would know of themselves if they are innocent, so that'd immediately put the suspicion on the other alchemist). The mystery of how the victims were killed in their rooms/moved out of their rooms, combined with the plot of Theresa and Nicolas competing to solve the case first results in a book that's interesting to follow from start to finish as it basically always has something new to surprise you with. At first, the exact workings of alchemy and the doors of the Mercury Tower might be a bit vague, but it does result in a book that keeps you guessing and as more and more becomes clear, you'll be able to make more informed guesses as to how it was all done.

The book is surprisingly packed with interesting fake solutions and a fairly dense plot, and by the end, the reader will also be pleasantly surprised by the finale that reveals that Renkinjutsushi no Shoushitsu is not only a fun and memorable locked room murder mystery, it's also a mystery novel that only works because of its fantasy premise, with alchemy as its main pillar. The ideas used in this book to pull off the impossibility only work in this universe, but it's set-up well and the attentive reader is offered a very fair chance to solve it themselves. What some readers might find a bit disappointing is how the story does feel 'in progress' in some regards, with some minor plot points obviously written to tie in with future novels in this series, but Renkinjutsushi no Shoushitsu can be enjoyed as a standalone locked room mystery if you just look at the core puzzle, and it's a great one that reminds of writers like Shimada and Oosaka.

By the way, I think most will have noticed by now, but the names in this novel are a bit... cliche. From Paracelsus to Hermes, Nibiru, Nicolas Flamel, Magnus and other names like Hohenheim, Astarte and Sephira: you'll have heard of all of them in relation to alchemy, religion and other esoteric fields of interests and at times, these uninspired names will even make you think of some lazy fanfic, but some readers might be more bothered by this than others. The banter going on between the lazy (but woman-loving) Theresa and Emilia (who has his own problems to deal with because of a personal connection to Nicolas' assistant) is probably easier to digest for most readers.

Anyway, Renkinjutsushi no Shoushitsu is an enjoyable locked room mystery that makes brilliant use of its fantasy setting, but it's also clearly "an entry in an ongoing series" so you might want to begin with the first novel or wait for more to come so you can read more in one go. It's a series I'll be keeping an eye on though, as I thought the core mystery plot of this book was clever, surprising and memorable, showing once again that mystery fiction doesn't need to be realistic to be fun and satisfying. The book arguably does have a lot of trouble to feel unique in terms of atmosphere because how it doesn't even attempt to hide what media influenced it, but the core mystery is definitely unique and one to leave an impression.

Original Japanese title(s): 紺野天龍 『錬金術師の消失』