Chapter 72

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After deciding to take Elvira to Flaria, however, I couldn't immediately take action. Of course, I had to compile a certain amount of the expedition training report, and Arnold was also busy with various tasks, unable to secure a substantial amount of time.

Still, with the time Arnold managed to squeeze out, I found myself swaying in a carriage with Mercedes, Elvira, and Arnold, heading to Flaria once again. It had been about a month since the expedition training, and it was a bit colder than the last time. It was winter, as we knew it in my previous life.

This world doesn't have the distinct four seasons like in my previous life in Japan—northern countries are snowy all year round, and southern countries are warm all year round—but there are still some temperature changes depending on the time of year. The flow of the year is basically the same as in my previous life in Japan. It's probably designed to be familiar to the majority of Japanese players of "Last Brave." While it was hard to grasp just by playing "Last Brave," there is a unit of a year, divided into twelve months, with changes similar to spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

"Elvira, are you okay? Not cold?"

I called out to the black-haired girl sitting next to me, looking tired. She weakly shook her head.

"Look, we can see Flaria. Let's get ready to get off."

Elvira's black hair swayed as she looked past her. The woman with the thin red eyes—Mercedes—smiled at Elvira and me, then suddenly frowned and turned around. She tapped the shoulder of the black-haired man sitting next to her, in the opposite direction of Elvira. Arnold had been sleeping since we got in the carriage.

"Hey, Arnold! We're almost there!"

Shaken by Mercedes, Arnold slowly lifted his head, which had been hanging down. He seemed to still be groggy and not fully aware of the situation, looking around with a more childlike gesture than usual.

Our eyes met. He must have taken off his glasses while he was sleeping, as I saw his black eyes without the lenses for the first time in a while. It wasn't just my imagination; the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than usual.

It was a three-day period squeezed out of his busy schedule. Considering the travel time, our stay in Flaria would be just over a day. I had applied for a two-day holiday and added one more day.

"I'll be a bit of a poor guide, but I'll show you around."

After getting off the stopped carriage, I started walking, leading Mercedes, Elvira, and Arnold. Our first destination was the inn. During the expedition training, we stayed at Emilianna's mansion, so I had passed by the inn many times, but I had never entered it before. —At least in this life.

After checking in at the inn and receiving the keys, I realized that the inn only had double rooms, so we naturally ended up taking two rooms.

"I've booked two double rooms. The room assignments are..."

"Arnold and Elvira, and Master and Ampere, naturally."

Arnold said this and held out his hand. I placed one of the keys in his palm. He must have been exhausted and wanted to lie down as soon as possible, as he took Elvira's hand and headed up the stairs leading to the rooms.

Arnold, of course, had his duties as an alchemist, but recently he had also been in demand as a magician by the knights. I had a vague sense that Arnold was aware of his own talent. He knew he was better than others. And because of this awareness, he seemed to believe that it was natural for others to rely on him.

He wasn't arrogant. It was more like a spirit of service, a willingness to share his given talent with those who didn't have it.

"Let's take a break today, Laura."

Mercedes snatched the room key from my hand and winked at me. Following her, I stepped into the room. Because our stay was short, we had brought minimal luggage. After a brief unpacking, I sat on the bed and took a deep breath. Suddenly, Mercedes spoke.

"…You've heard about Annette, right?"

The name Annette filled the room with tension. From what my master had told me, I knew that Mercedes knew something about Annette.

"Yes. You... knew her too, Mercedes?"

I wasn't sure how to respond, so I whispered softly. But my voice must have reached Mercedes' ears, as she sighed and began to speak in a nostalgic tone.

"My father was an eccentric man. In his later years, he became an apprentice to a human alchemist. He was Master Berta's first disciple."

Mercedes' father. The first disciple. He, Mercedes, Casper, and I—these were the four disciples taken by the famous alchemist Berta.

"I was born after my father became Master Berta's disciple. So, I was born in the capital. Although my father often took us back to his village, which I consider my hometown."

Mercedes' father, who became a disciple of the royal alchemist in the capital, and then Mercedes, who was born after that. This means that her twin brother, Oliver, was also from the capital. The village they often returned to was probably the same village where Arnold and Elvira were born.

"Annette... Annette was like a little sister to me. Oliver was born weak and timid, so he was often bossed around by the younger Annette."

I don't know exactly when Annette passed away, so I can't determine the exact age difference between her and Mercedes. But it seems that Mercedes and her group were older. Mercedes looked fondly at the memories of the past.

"Later, little Casper joined us, and Annette, Oliver, and I played at being parents to him... It was fun."

—Little Casper. The name made my shoulders jump. This was the second time I had heard his name unexpectedly. From the context of "playing at being parents," it seemed that Mercedes and the others had taken care of the young Casper.

But before I could think too much, there was something I needed to confirm.

"Little Casper... the current royal alchemist..."

"Yes, that Casper. He's come a long way. To think that little boy..."

I was almost certain, but it seemed that my superior, Casper, was indeed the one they were talking about. He must have had a parent who worked in the castle, either as a knight, a courtier, or an alchemist. His parent and Master Berta must have been close, and the families must have interacted a lot.

There were still many unclear aspects about Casper's relationship with the master and the others, but as I was thinking, Mercedes looked down. Her long, beautiful hair cast a shadow on her face.

"After we found out that Annette had self-destruction disease, as you've heard, Master disappeared without a word after Annette's death. We searched for her for a long time before we found out she was in Eme village."

Master came to Eme village without telling anyone. The residents of Eme village, which is both closed and isolated, didn't pry into the eccentric old lady who had moved in, and kept a certain distance from her. This might have been comfortable for her. No one knew her past, and no one tried to uncover it. There were few residents who would leak the information that an eccentric old lady had moved to the village—now, I'm in the capital, and Petra works in the city, but generally, the lives of the people in Eme village are self-contained.

It must have been quite a hassle to find Master.

"When we finally met again, Master hadn't changed much. But it seemed more like she had given up on everything rather than accepted Annette's death..."

Mercedes paused, then looked up. Her face was calm and smiling.

"After that, we kept in touch regularly, but I was very surprised when I heard she had taken on a disciple. And I was even more surprised when she said she wanted to provide a better environment for her talented disciple and came to visit me herself."

She paused again, then looked me in the eye, choosing her words carefully.

"Your talent reignited Master's intellectual curiosity... or perhaps, subconsciously, she had high hopes for your talent. Maybe she thought you could find a cure for the 'self-destruction disease' that had taken everything from her."

I knew that the disciple Master was talking about was me, but it still didn't feel real. The story of the famous alchemist Berta's excellent disciple, as told by Mercedes, seemed to pass by like it was about someone else.

—No, I couldn't fully accept it. I couldn't accept that I was "that kind of person." I couldn't accept the heavy reality that my talent was trying to change someone's life.

"Arnold felt the same way. He was frustrated but hopeful when he met a genius like you. He thought you might be able to save his sister."

—The expectations placed on me were heavy and terrifying. I wanted to shout that I wasn't such a great person. But I couldn't, and all I could manage was a pitiful, trembling voice: "Such..."

I had always had a vague sense of this. I knew that there were people who expected and entrusted something to my talent. It was a very proud thing, but why did I feel such deep fear? It was because I, more than anyone, didn't fully believe in my own talent.

Why was I—Laura Ampere—given the talent of an alchemist? If there had been such a description in the "Last Brave" Laura Ampere, I might have accepted it, thinking that God had made her that way. But since there was no such setting in "Last Brave," I still had doubts deep in my heart about my talent.

The abnormal memory for alchemy-related matters. The successful alchemy that worked by intuition. The awareness that I hadn't put in the effort to back up my abilities. Because of this, I was always haunted by the fear that one day, this talent might slip through my fingers.

One day, I might open a book and find that nothing makes sense.

One day, I might start an alchemy process and not understand the heat control.

—As I bowed my head, feeling like I was being swallowed by darkness, Mercedes' warm hand touched my shoulder. When I looked up, I met her eyes, which were filled with a motherly kindness.

"You might think I'm saying this, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. Yes, Laura, you have a rare talent, but your life is yours. You're searching for a cure for the self-destruction disease out of kindness, not obligation."

—Not an obligation. The words made my shoulders feel a little lighter, but my chest felt tight. Yes, it wasn't an obligation. It was a personal request from Arnold. But for Luchas, for Arnold, and for this world, it was a request I couldn't refuse.

After taking a few deep breaths, I nodded. Mercedes smiled more deeply and said, "Let's rest now," indicating that she didn't want to continue the conversation.

The heavy expectations and the fear I felt were because I lacked the strength and confidence to meet them. If I lacked confidence, I needed to gain the strength and confidence to meet those expectations.

I realized that it had been a few months since I passed the royal alchemist apprentice exam, and I would soon be a year into my apprenticeship. Since becoming an assistant, I had been busy, and it was hard to find time for myself, but I thought it might be good to return to the basics and study alchemy again.