Chapter 30

30. The Guest (1)

After securing the materials, several weeks passed.

Oliver, as if trying to wash away the shock of that time, reduced his meals and sleep to a minimum and read books in the study one after another.

It was as if he were a child turning away from an unbearable truth.

Everyone was worried about Oliver's behavior but dared not say anything.

First, Oliver's demeanor was different from usual,

and second, despite this, he still managed to fulfill all necessary schedules, such as emotion synthesis and classes.

Thus, Oliver fulfilled his duties while reading books obsessively.

And he discovered a few interesting facts.

For example, the consumable nature of emotions.

Emotions, which are energy derived from the soul, have a sort of expiration date from the moment they are extracted,

and while special storage methods or black magic can significantly extend this expiration date, they will eventually evaporate and disappear or deteriorate, which is inevitable.

Oliver was shocked by this fact and searched for any possible methods.

However, even after reading almost all the books in the study, he could not find any such method.

More shockingly, even if emotions are stored inside a person's body without extraction, they are fluid and can change over time and due to the surrounding environment.

Despite studying a lot about black magic, which he so desperately wanted to learn, Oliver felt more emptiness and loss than joy upon learning this fact.

How could this be expressed?

Perhaps it's similar to a man who has acquired all the wealth and fame in the world but, facing death, realizes that everything is futile.

If emotions can change over time, then the beautiful light he saw in the lightning mage and Joseph would eventually disappear, wouldn't it?

Oliver looked silently at the emotions of Joseph, which he had carefully kept in his possession, feeling an indescribable emotion.

To think that this beautiful light, which he had finally obtained, could not be preserved forever.

“...”

Oliver suddenly thought.

Why did he want to have these emotions in the first place?

Upon reflection, it seemed quite strange. He had never even thought about what he would do with them.

It was similar to a child picking up a pretty stone.

Picking it up because it's pretty, without thinking about what to do with it next. It was purely instinctive.

Oliver suddenly began to ponder what he should have thought about from the beginning.

What to do with these emotions.

If he just stored them, they would eventually disappear. How could he use them most effectively?

While he was deep in thought, a knock came from the door.

“... What is it?”

“It's me, sir. Marie. We need to make filigrettes soon... Should we do it ourselves, or will you participate?”

“...”

Oliver remained silent.

Something... He felt like he was seeing a clue.

Oliver suddenly started searching through the books. It must be here somewhere.

Ah... A moment later, Oliver found the book he was looking for.

It was more like a notebook with handwritten notes, yellowed with age, containing easy-to-understand information about filigrettes.

The actual purpose of filigrettes, which are now used as drugs, is a tool for indirectly experiencing the emotions used as materials,

and it was written in red ink that they could extend the storage period of emotions several times over.

Oliver looked at the small amount of emotions he had extracted from Joseph, as if he had finally found a use for them.

After a long silence, Marie spoke again.

“... Sir? Is something wrong?”

“... No, nothing. I'll come too.”

***

Oliver visited the workshop with Marie.

All the preparations for the work were already complete, but he noticed something strange.

He had been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed it until now.

“Marie?”

“Yes, sir.”

Marie placed her hand on her chest and bowed respectfully.

“Was our workload always this much?”

Oliver asked, seeing more cigarettes, water, and emotions than he remembered.

“No, it wasn't. It used to be much less.”

“But...?”

“Since the filigrettes made with the synthetic emotions you created have been well-received, the order volume has increased over the past few weeks. To the point where the pharmacists are supplying emotions...”

Oliver scratched his head.

He had left the organization's affairs to Marie and Peter while he read books, but he hadn't expected this to happen in such a short time.

It seemed that the number of synthetic emotions was increasing not only in the Anthony and Dominic families but also elsewhere... Well, maybe it didn't matter.

“... Let's finish as quickly as possible.”

With that, the work began.

With the temporary apprentices involved, the preliminary work was handled by them, and the lower apprentices took care of the other labor.

The senior and intermediate apprentices were involved in the chemical processing to thoroughly mix the emotions in the second extraction distillate,

while Oliver, instead of directly participating in the work, observed others' work as he did during classes and gave corrections as needed.

“Adjust the temperature of the fire.”

“Move the collected distillate immediately.”

“Chanting the spell like that won't work; you need to do it this way for the emotions to blend better.”

The subordinates in charge of each task responded loudly and followed Oliver's instructions.

Of course, one correction didn't completely improve things, but it was gradually getting better.

Thanks to this, the work speed was much faster compared to when Joseph was around.

It was like a machine in motion, and once the work stabilized, Oliver turned his head to inspect the completed filigrettes.

The quality was higher than Joseph's, and even the pharmacists recognized it, so it was probably true.

The first sip of Oliver's filigrettes induced a state of awakening due to anger, but soon the user would taste maternal love and feel a corresponding sense of peace.

Oliver, the creator, realized he had never tasted his own filigrettes.

He had wanted to try them before, but not now.

Why? Because he wanted to taste the filigrettes made with Joseph's emotions for the first time.

Oliver pondered how to make them to best experience Joseph's emotions.

He watched the work process but soon shook his head.

This method wasn't it.

It was a delicate process to minimize the loss of emotions, but it involved mixing emotions with water to increase the quantity.

Oliver wanted to properly taste these emotions, even if it meant having less.

Making them this way would be a kind of insult to Joseph's emotions.

Then, how should he make them?

Should he directly impose the emotions on the cigarette? No, that would be too difficult.

He needed a medium to prevent the volatility of the emotions and bind them.

While pondering, a memory surfaced in Oliver's mind.

The meeting with the Anthony and Dominic families.

At that time, a large man had taken a drug to test Oliver.

A drug that had a muscle-up spell cast on liquefied life force.

That was it.

After some time, the work was completed.

Everyone seemed exhausted, and Oliver thanked them formally and instructed them to clean up and rest.

They happily cleaned up, and then Oliver approached Marie.

“Marie.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Can you bring me some stored life force? Preferably fresh.”

“Ah, yes. I'll bring it to you.”

Marie, for some reason, seemed pleased and soon returned with a test tube containing active life force.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you.”

“... If you don't mind, could you tell me what you're going to use it for?”

“No, Marie, you don't need to know.”

It wasn't cold... No, it wasn't objectively cold. It was just his usual formal tone.

A mix of appropriate distance and politeness.

However, for some reason, Marie felt a great disappointment and sadness.

It was evident in her expression as well as her emotions.

Oliver couldn't understand why she was reacting this way, but then Peter cautiously interjected.

“Sir... The cleanup is complete.”

“Did you finish quickly?”

“Yes, we all worked together, so it was done quickly. Is there anything else you need?”

Oliver looked around and answered.

“No, go ahead and take some personal time.”

“Yes, understood.”

Peter bowed and told the other apprentices to rest, leading them out of the manufacturing room.

As if he knew Oliver had something to do here.

In contrast, Marie stood there like a stone.

“Marie...”

“Yes, sir. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, nothing. You can go now.”

Marie emitted a look of disappointment again, along with intense loneliness and a rather serious obsession.

“Is there anything I can help with...”

“No, nothing. Go ahead.”

Oliver's repeated words. Eventually, she bowed and left.

What can I say? Since the time he privately taught her black magic, she had shown signs of this, but it seemed to be getting worse.

However, he quickly pushed it aside and focused on his current goal: making filigrettes with Joseph's emotions without any loss.

Oliver took out a pack of cigarettes he had prepared, the life force Marie had brought, and Joseph's emotions.

“Hmm... No, no.”

Oliver, excited, suddenly realized something.

He had been so excited that he was about to make filigrettes without any practice...

The method he was about to use was something that had never been done before.

He didn't know what problems might arise when he actually tried it.

But, using this risky method on the limited emotions of Joseph?

It was a foolish idea.

Oliver took any emotion from the workshop storage.

He opened the test tube containing the emotion and the life force and began to practice on the spot, following his instincts without a specific theory.

First, he extracted the life force.

Beautiful life force gathered in Oliver's hand, and when he clenched his fist, it condensed and turned into a liquid.

Next, Oliver extracted the emotion and began to mix it with the life force.

Surprisingly, the life force mixed much better with the emotion than the processed distillate, as if they were originally one.

No, both were energy derived from the soul.

It made more sense for them to blend into one.

Oliver stored this information in his mind and further condensed the mixed life force and emotion.

It boiled and thickened, and Oliver poured the thick liquid into a cigarette.

“Huff... Huff...”

He blew on the hot cigarette and inspected it.

The emotion was stored in the cigarette with almost no loss, and it seemed even more intense due to the combination with the life force.

It felt like the emotion in a human body.

Oliver, confirming that this method worked, practiced again.

Once, twice, three times, four times... Greedily.

As a result, both the life force and the cigarettes were almost gone, and Oliver decided to move on to the real thing.

He extracted all the remaining life force, gave it vitality, and added Joseph's emotions.

Surprisingly, when Joseph's emotions mixed with the life force, the beautiful light he had seen before reappeared.

Oliver, entranced, condensed the emotions.

As if he couldn't afford to lose even a bit.

The life force absorbed all of Joseph's emotions and condensed, just as it had before.

It boiled in the air and turned into a thick liquid.

Oliver poured the liquid into the last cigarette.

“Haa... Haa...”

The freshly made filigrette.

Oliver looked at it silently, entranced.

Thump... Thump... His heart slowly beat, and he picked up the filigrette with a slight tremor in his hand.

Oliver put the filigrette in his mouth and looked for a lighter.

“Ah...”

He suddenly realized he didn't have a lighter.

At that moment, Peter knocked on the door and entered.

“Sir.”

“What is it?”

Oliver, emotionally agitated, asked in a louder voice than usual.

Peter, surprised but calming down, replied.

“... A guest has arrived.”

“... A guest?”

“Yes, James from the pharmacists has come.”