Chapter 75

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Since returning to the capital, I had been leading a relatively peaceful life. On weekdays, it was business as usual. The ominous movements of monsters were becoming more frequent in various regions, and although there hadn't been any major attacks, the need to "stockpile" made the work quite busy. On weekends, I would go shopping in the capital with Chelsea, exchange letters with Emi's village—where Lucash and the others were—and visit my master, who was still staying in the capital with Arnold. My master was always concerned about Elvira's condition, and I felt the same way, but he would always say:

"The symptoms are currently under control."

While I felt relieved by these words, there were also nights when I was overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of anxiety, fearing that the "now" when the symptoms were under control might eventually come to an end. Still, I managed to get enough rest, and the days passed peacefully—until they were about to come to an end.

This was because I had been informed about the preparations for the next royal apprentice alchemist examination. That morning, before the start of business hours, I, along with Chelsea, Lina-senpai, Arnold, and a few other senior royal apprentice alchemists, were called to Casper's laboratory.

"Everyone might have already heard, but the next royal apprentice alchemist examination will be on a larger scale than usual. It's not just about increasing the number of hires, though."

Casper laughed, but he seemed more listless than usual.

"The examination method will be the same as usual, with a written test and a practical test. What I need from you all is to prepare the alchemy tools and herbs for the examination and guide the examinees on the day of the test."

As he explained, Casper handed us a sheet of paper. It listed the roles and responsibilities for the preparation and operation of the examination. I found my name under the item for guiding the examinees. I remembered that when I took the examination, there were people who I assumed were royal alchemists standing along the way to the examination venue. I was probably assigned that role.

"I'm sorry to burden you all on top of your regular duties. Please, I kindly ask for your cooperation."

Casper bowed deeply, and we exchanged glances and smiled wryly. It's impossible to treat a superior—especially one who has always been so helpful like Casper—rudely when they bow to us.

Since everyone had passed the previous examinations and was familiar with the process, Casper's explanation was brief. We were about to return to our respective laboratories when—

"Lina, and Laura and Chelsea, could you stay for a moment?"

The three of us were called back. I wondered why for a moment but quickly realized it was probably about the "training role" Arnold had mentioned. As the other seniors left, Arnold stayed behind, looking as if it was a given.

Casper hesitated before speaking.

"I would like to ask you all to take on the role of training the next batch of apprentices."

"Wh-what?" Chelsea exclaimed. She stared at Casper for a few seconds before turning to me, her eyes wide. Without saying a word, her expression and gaze clearly asked, "Laura, did you know about this?"

"I know it's a lot to ask, but we're really short on hands right now..."

Casper's voice trailed off, and he looked down at his feet. In my previous life, middle management was often caught between upper and lower management, and it was a tough job. It seems the same applies in the world of a classic RPG.

"How many people are you planning to hire? How many new apprentices will each of us be responsible for?"

Lina-senpai's calm and precise question made Casper look up. He then glanced at the documents in his hand and answered.

"We plan to hire about five people. We won't lower the passing score, but we're considering hiring everyone who meets the standard."

I, Chelsea, and a senior who was currently training in a branch office, as well as Arnold and Lina-senpai from the previous batch, had been the only ones hired in the last three rounds. Five seemed like a lot compared to the usual two.

"Until now, we've only hired up to two people at most. With five, we don't have enough young alchemists to take on the training roles. Especially for Laura and Chelsea, it's a big burden..."

"Is it really necessary for me to take on this role? Can't we exclude Laura and Chelsea? It seems too much for second-year apprentices. What about Inaha-senpai, who was here just now?"

Lina-senpai stepped forward and asked Casper. I didn't know Inaha-senpai, but from the context, she was one of the seniors who had been helping with the examination.

It was Arnold, standing next to Lina-senpai, who answered.

"Inaha-senpai and the other 'apprentices' above us have been ordered to take the examination to become full-fledged royal alchemists. They can take it as many times as they need until they pass."

The laboratory fell silent for a few seconds.

Royal apprentice alchemists are not allowed to perform alchemy independently. While this restriction isn't a big issue in daily work, I once broke it when the capital was attacked by monsters. After that, I wasn't reprimanded because things were hectic, but it could cause unexpected problems in the future. Therefore, they probably want to increase the number of alchemists who can move more freely. I understand the intention, but it seems quite blatant to say they can take the exam as many times as they need.

"Many of the seniors are busy with their own examinations, so that's why the training roles have been assigned to us new apprentices."

Arnold explained this implicitly.

"In terms of the number of apprentices, Lina and Laura will each take two, and Chelsea will take one. If the number of hires changes, we'll adjust accordingly..."

Casper hunched his back even more and looked at Lina-senpai, me, and Chelsea in turn. It was heavy to nod in response to his gaze, but we all understood the situation. After exchanging glances, we slowly nodded in unison.

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"Really, I can't believe it... I can understand if it's me, but to assign the training role to Laura and Chelsea as well..."

The next weekend, after being informed about the training role, Lina-senpai, Chelsea, and I were enjoying tea at a café in the capital. We had gone shopping and naturally ended up discussing the training role.

"Well, it can't be helped. The seniors are busy with their examinations, and it's not ideal to have a large age gap between the trainers and the new apprentices..."

"Exactly, the examinations! Why are you excluding me from the list? I'm qualified to take the examination too! I wasn't planning to take it yet, but still!"

Lina-senpai, sipping a trendy juice, expressed her anger, while Chelsea tried to calm her down.

"Besides, why is Arnold acting like he's on Casper's side? He should help too. That way, Laura's number of apprentices would decrease."

Lina-senpai, who knew the decision couldn't be changed, was more venting her frustration than genuinely angry. I felt grateful that she was so concerned about us. As I was about to say, "But he's also good at taking care of people," I decided to hold back to avoid making the atmosphere worse. I agreed with Lina-senpai's point that a new apprentice might feel intimidated by Arnold.

To change the mood, I tried to lighten the atmosphere.

"By the way, Arnold asked if I wanted anything. Maybe I should extort some delicious sweets from him."

Lina-senpai's eyes lit up at my somewhat theatrical suggestion.

"Then why don't we check out a new store that just opened? I've been curious about it."

We nodded and left the café, with Lina-senpai leading the way. As we walked down the main street, Chelsea suddenly asked,

"Why did Arnold ask if you wanted anything?"

"I helped him with some work..."

I laughed and gave a vague answer, but neither Lina-senpai nor Chelsea seemed to mind and accepted it.

We could see our destination, and Lina-senpai pointed to an unfamiliar sign. At that moment, I noticed a familiar figure nearby. Lina-senpai also noticed and exclaimed,

"Arnold, what are you doing here..."

Lina-senpai muttered his name. Arnold seemed to notice us and nodded in greeting.

It was unusual to meet him in the capital on a weekend. I wondered where he was going and then realized that the inn where our master was staying was nearby. He was probably heading there.

As we passed by, I couldn't help but ask,

"Arnold, are you going to see our master?"

"Yes, to listen to him."

Arnold and I often visited our master together, but it seemed he also went alone. I was worried about his busy schedule but more concerned about Elvira's condition.

"By the way, how is Elvira?"

"For now, she's not showing any symptoms. She's resting in the village."

I sighed in relief. While there was no definitive proof of a cure, the spirit water had shown some effect on the self-destructive disease. Arnold looked much better, though he wasn't smiling.

"Are you going somewhere with Lina and the others?"

"Yes, we're going to a new store that just opened."

I was surprised to have such a casual conversation with Arnold. It was the first time we had such a conversation, and it was even more surprising that he initiated it.

"By the way, have you decided yet?"

"Decided what?"

"Your gift. I said I'd buy you something, so decide what you want."

I laughed, as I was about to decide on that. I told him I was still thinking, and he nodded.

I didn't want to keep Arnold from visiting our master, and Lina-senpai and Chelsea were waiting. I saw them looking at us from the front of the store.

"See you, Arnold. Get some rest."

"Sure. Take care."

I watched him walk away, noting how much more composed and calm he seemed compared to before. Despite the