Chapter 68 My Mentor'S Past
The next day,
My mentor greeted me and Arnold at the inn with a solemn expression. Without any preamble, my mentor began speaking as soon as we sat on the sofa.
"The moment my granddaughter Annette developed the Self-destruction disease was right after celebrating her fourth birthday."
Annette, the granddaughter mentioned in the diary.
Feeling unprepared, I was taken aback as my mentor delved straight into the topic, causing me to avert my gaze in confusion. At that moment, I unintentionally caught a glimpse of Arnold sitting next to me on the sofa, and surprisingly, his expression remained calm. Perhaps I should say he was already more prepared than I was.
"It started with a small burn on her fingertip. Both my daughter and Annette were puzzled... we didn't realize it was the Self-destruction disease for a while."
Burn marks are a common symptom of the Self-destruction disease. However, recognizing a mere small burn mark as a sign that her granddaughter was afflicted with a rare disease would be extremely difficult. It's natural to wonder if it was acquired unknowingly at some point.
My mentor continued,
"It took almost a year after the onset for me to realize something was wrong... Annette's fingertips caught fire."
Fingertip ignition. Undoubtedly a sign of the onset of the Self-destruction disease.
Unconsciously, I found myself tightly gripping the hem of my clothes.
"Realizing something was clearly wrong, I, in my position as the Royal Alchemist, scoured through literature worldwide and finally found a disease with similar symptoms. That was the Self-destruction disease."
With that said, my mentor took a sip of tea beside her.
What did my mentor think when she found out her granddaughter was suffering from a rare disease? What did Arnold think when he found out his sister had the Self-destruction disease?
"From that point on, I documented the progression of the illness in the diary. The diary Laura found is just one of many."
She said this and handed me a bag. Reflexively taking the bag, I found it filled with dozens of diaries.
The diary I found clearly started somewhere in the middle and ended abruptly. I wondered if there were other diaries detailing the progression of the illness, but I never expected there to be so many.
Just finishing reading one book took a toll on both physical and mental strength, let alone considering reading all of them. However, they were valuable resources. There might be hints useful for future treatment hidden within them. There was no choice but to read them.
After setting the bag aside, my mentor spoke again.
"I divided the progression of the Self-destruction disease into three stages. The first stage includes burns, fingertip ignition, and symptoms similar to a cold. The second stage involves larger ignitions, intense body heat, and scratching all over the body. And finally, the third stage. Burns spread all over the body, the skin blisters, and eventually, the bones and organs are burned to ashes—leading to death."
I felt Arnold tense up next to me. Glancing at him, I noticed a deep furrow between his brows.
My mentor's description of the symptoms of the Self-destruction disease was more gripping than reading cold text on paper. Although my mentor's tone was calm and concise, a sense of regret was evident in her expression.
"Annette passed away the day after she turned 15. From the moment I realized she had the Self-destruction disease until her death, it was ten years."
According to the few records available, some patients have lived around 40 years after the onset. Due to the varying timeframes from onset to death in cases of the Self-destruction disease, it's impossible to predict how much time Elvira has left.
After forty years, they might still be alive, or they could suddenly take a turn for the worse and lose their life tomorrow. I have set a line for myself until Lukas's departure. That line is approaching, and I am starting to feel anxious, but more importantly, there is also the possibility of Elvira's life burning out.
"For the last year, she can hardly move, and even when she tried to sleep in bed, the flames that burned her body burned everything she touched. Of course, She can't even wear clothes. I cared for her all night near a spring with a healing potion in hand."
Imagining the situation from the words spoken sends shivers down my spine.
If there is always a possibility of some part of my body catching fire, it's natural that I can't sleep in bed. It makes sense to take care near water to minimize the fire, but the thought of the treatment scene I imagined is so tragic that I bite my lower lip.
Even if I prescribe a healing potion to heal the burning and scaly skin, the fire will mock the desperate treatment by burning the skin again. How despairing that sight is.
If I know the symptoms of the Self-destruction disease, I should have been able to imagine that scene. However, my thoughts didn't extend that far. It's not that I took the Self-destruction disease lightly, but perhaps without realizing it, I had been 'restraining' my imagination to avoid being overwhelmed by the pitiful reality.
My lips tremble. Fearing being dragged into bottomless despair, I instinctively shake my head to dispel the image that came to mind.
As if to signal the end of the conversation, my mentor closed her mouth. She glanced at us, silently urging if there were any questions. Knowing that this opportunity is rare and considering the future, I should ask questions quickly, but the terrifying revelation makes my voice fail me.
"No, I can't continue like this," I thought, taking a deep breath. Then I moistened my throat with the tea beside me. Finally, I tried to speak, but just before me, Arnold asked a question.
"...Please tell us the ages at which the symptoms of the Self-destruction disease transition to the second and third stages."
His voice wasn't trembling, but it was unusually firm, as if he had suppressed his emotions.
"The second stage is around ten years old, and the third stage is about a year before... around fourteen years old. After transitioning to the third stage, as I mentioned earlier, she couldn't even sleep properly in bed."
Arnold immediately followed up with another question.
"What treatment methods were tried?"
"At that time, I use all the treatment methods I found. I also regularly traveled to the country of Noit in search of the power of the spirits."
The name Noit country that suddenly came out of my mentor's mouth sounded familiar. It was probably a word that appeared in "Last Brave." However, it didn't seem to be an important country related to the main story because I couldn't recall any information about that country.
As I pondered, lowering my head and resting my chin on my hand, Arnold interjected,
"It's the country where elves live."
Arnold's concise explanation finally triggered my memory.
Yes, Noit country was a sub-event created as a character development for Elvira, a country visited in the game.
Elves establish elf villages around the world, living together with their own kind. One of these villages grew into a nation, which became the Noit country.
Not all elves belonged to the Noit country. In fact, Elvira's hometown was not in the Noit country but in a small village in the country of Ostria. There, she met her relatives, and as the events unfolded, the existence of the Noit country was hinted at several times.
Although it was only hinted at, I never actually visited the Noit country. From a meta perspective, it seemed that creating a country (map) that didn't tie into the main story for a sub-story would have required additional effort from the staff. It appears that only the setting was created without actual implementation.
"Elves are said to have spirits as their ancestors. I thought that if there were spirits with powers beyond humans, they might help, so I visited many times, but in the end, they never lent me their power."
What came to mind was the existence of 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits.' In the past, even my mentor sought help from the spirits.
Whether The Drinking Water of the Spirits is effective against the Self-destruction disease is still unknown. However, the Self-destruction disease is a difficult illness that can only be dealt with by relying on a 'transcendent being' rather than a human, as I was once again reminded.
The strong magic power possessed by the patient burns their own body. Since the cause is the magic power they possess, there are limits to intervening from the outside. There is no known way to remove the magic power inherent in the human body. It is truly a troublesome disease.
My mentor took a deep breath and spoke in a slightly higher tone than before.
"After Annette died, my daughter followed suit. I lost all motivation to do anything and quit being a Royal Alchemist, moving to Emme Village."
The story that followed was spoken quickly and was too heavy to just brush off. My mentor lost everything and came to Emme Village.
I wonder if 'Last Brave's 'Synthesis Granny' also had such a hidden setting. I thought she was just a convenient character who synthesized healing potions, but what was she really thinking behind the scenes? It may be rude to think like this, but I wish 'Last Brave's 'Synthesis Granny' had no dark past and was just a 'synthesis maniac.'
"I thought those days were long gone, but I never expected to be reminded of them in this way."
My mentor looked at me with red eyes and chuckled. I couldn't nod or respond with a smile.
The red eyes passed over me and turned to Arnold.
"Arnold, what is your sister's name?"
"Elvira. Elvira Rocco."
My mentor repeated the name Elvira a few times as if savoring it on her tongue. Her expression was like that of a grandmother cherishing her beloved grandchild.
"If there's anything I can help with, let me know. I couldn't find a cure for the Self-destruction disease, but maybe you two could..."
Saying this, my mentor looked at me and Arnold alternately, with a faint light shining in her eyes. At that moment, was she seeing the future beyond me and Arnold?
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