Chapter 78 Guidance
――After gaining a junior, about a month has passed.
I got up early in the morning and headed to the training room to prepare for today's training. Unlocking the door to the room, I opened the windows and doors wide to refresh the air.
I went to pick herbs and prepare synthesis tools during the training. What I prepare in advance is mainly reference materials to consult. I open the prepared materials, placing sticky notes on the parts to cover today.
At times like this, my god-given memory comes in handy. Since I have memorized the contents of the materials I've read once, I can instantly recall where that description was located.
――While silently preparing, something suddenly charged into my back.
"Senpai, Senpai, good morning!"
"Ah, Iris, good morning."
Iris sparkled as she looked up at me.
With her friendly personality, she has been clinging to me since the first day of training. It makes me happy that she's attached to me, but honestly, I sometimes feel puzzled by her excessive communication.
"Hey, hey, Senpai, is it true that you found The Drinking Water of the Spirits?"
The topic she brought up was unexpected.
Although I hadn't been hiding it, I had never explained about [The Drinking Water of the Spirits] in front of Iris and Basilio-san. While wondering where she heard it from, I simply nodded.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Wow! Hey, hey, I want to try synthesis too!"
Iris's arm around my waist tightened. Perhaps she was excited, as her cheeks were redder than usual.
"Iris-san, if you keep making such demands, it will trouble Laura-san."
Basilio-san's calm voice stopped Iris, who had raised her voice.
When Iris looked up at Basilio-san, he was as usual, holding several books against his chest.
Basilio-san is very serious and studious. It seems like he borrows the same materials from the library after training, and I worry that he might be pushing himself too hard.
"Really? Doesn't Basilio mind?"
Iris puffed her cheeks, and Basilio-san smiled wryly. Like an older brother being teased by an innocent younger sister, it seemed like these 2 had a good relationship in their own way.
Thinking again about Iris's words, incorporating the synthesis of The Drinking Water of the Spirits into the training might actually be a good idea.
While Elvira's Self-destruction disease symptoms were still under control, the synthesis of The Drinking Water of the Spirits was also at a standstill. There might be a great potential for a new path with Iris's intuition and Basilio-san's solid knowledge――
"I'll go check with Arnold-san. Since both of you are talented, we might be able to have a slightly different training session than usual."
Iris cheered at my words. Glancing at Basilio-san, he also seemed to be smiling happily.
A genius type and a hardworking type. Although they were complete opposites, they might have similarities in their curiosity for new things.
Leaving the 2 juniors in the training room, I visited Arnold's synthesis room alone.
It used to be a place I visited regularly, but recently, I hadn't been there much. Meeting Arnold one-on-one was also somewhat rare these days.
I realized I was a bit nervous and chuckled to myself.
I couldn't keep the two juniors waiting, so I knocked on the door with determination. "Come in," came the reply from the other side of the door.
Entering as instructed, Arnold was sitting with his back towards me.
"Arnold-san."
"Ampère?"
Without turning around, Arnold responded.
"Sorry, were you busy?"
"No, what's is it?"
"Iris told me that she wanted to synthesize The Drinking Water of the Spirits during her training... Since both Iris and Basilio-san are talented, and I think the training content will be interesting, I want to give permission for it."
To cut to the chase, Arnold stopped moving his hands that he was working with. Then he turned around.
Arnold muttered the name "Iris..." several times. He was probably trying to remember what Iris looked like. After a while, he nodded lightly.
"A unique genius girl. ...Well, that's fine."
Saying that, he finally looked at me.
I felt relieved inside that permission was granted. If permission had not been given, Iris would have been disappointed.
"You seem busy."
"I'm doing things I'm not used to. ...How is Elvira-chan doing?"
The moment I asked about Elvira, I could feel my heart beating faster.
Arnold looked down when I asked, then answered in a low voice.
"She's stable. ...No, not yet."
Not yet.
I didn't miss the furrow in Arnold's brow when he said that.
"Is there something bothering you?"
"I've been getting reports that symptoms similar to a cold have been appearing frequently. It seems that giving 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits' stabilizes it for a while."
Symptoms similar to a cold. Those are common symptoms seen in the early stages of Self-destruction disease. Of course, it could also just be a simple cold.
――The changing symptoms cannot be taken lightly.
I felt suffocated in the fallen silence.
"...I see."
I could only nod in response.
According to Arnold, 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits' is still effective. Even if this time's symptoms were caused by a simple cold, 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits' should work for a cold too.
Is it a cold or Self-destruction disease? It's hard to tell at this stage. That's why we need to find the next step for 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits'.
For the past few months, I had been living peaceful and calm days. Not to the point of being complacent, but it felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on my heart.
――But there's no time to dwell on it.
"Since Iris and Basilio-san are both talented... they might pave the way for new ideas that I hadn't thought of."
I murmured softly.
In fact, there was a high possibility of that. Iris, who has intuitive thinking and a different perspective from others, and Basilio-san, who has a vast amount of knowledge built up from the basics. Because they are complete opposites, there is potential for a synergistic effect.
"We'll do our best together, the three of us."
Two heads are better than one.
Arnold nodded slightly at my words. As he did, his black hair fell over his eyes, and I vaguely thought that his hair had grown longer than before.
* * *
"Iris, Basilio-san, I got permission."
"Yay!"
"Thank you!"
Not only Iris but also Basilio-san seemed happy at my report. It was heartwarming to see them smiling at each other.
We immediately started preparing for the synthesis. We lined up the synthesis equipment and materials for 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits' on the synthesis table. Next to it, I placed a notebook and instructed them to record the synthesis process step by step.
I left everything else to them and started the synthesis right away. Iris picked various herbs as she pleased, while Basilio-san carefully selected herbs by comparing them with literature.
――After synthesizing several healing potions, Basilio-san suddenly left the synthesis table and walked towards me. More precisely, he approached me to sit on the nearby chair for a break.
He sat on the chair and let out a small sigh. Sweat was gently beading on his forehead.
"It's not about what's good or bad, but Iris and Basilio-san are complete opposites."
I watched Iris continue her synthesis work while standing next to Basilio-san. It seemed like she couldn't hear my voice. Once Iris focused, she only saw that one thing.
On the other hand, Basilio-san looked through documents in between synthesis, confirming each detail and moving things forward. I often saw him take short breaks like now, summarizing past syntheses.
"Iris seems to be quite intuitive, while Basilio-san is the type to think things through thoroughly, isn't he? It's because they are so different that they stimulate each other..."
Basilio-san nodded deeply at my words.
"I agree. Oh, Iris-san, the potion is about to spill from the container!"
Basilio-san hurried to Iris. It seemed Iris had tilted the container, causing the healing potion to almost spill. Iris chuckled, and Basilio-san couldn't help but smile wryly.
They looked like siblings.
I was initially worried, but they seemed to be getting along better than I expected. I breathed a sigh of relief.
* * *
"Hmm..."
I tilted my head in front of The Drinking Water of the Spirits' storage room.
I had been synthesizing The Drinking Water of the Spirits for several days. There weren't significant results yet, but Iris's unexpected synthesis methods and Basilio-san's thorough knowledge provided me with surprises and insights.
Maybe I could grasp something. No, I had to grasp something.
With determination, I planned to continue my training using The Drinking Water of the Spirits today, but――
(There are clearly fewer containers than yesterday...)
Yes, the number of containers was noticeably low. After I took some containers out yesterday, had Arnold also been busy with synthesis?
I thought I should go to Flaria soon to restock. Maybe I could take Iris and Basilio-san on another expedition for training, if that was allowed.
"Oh, Laura-san!"
Basilio-san was already standing in front of the training room door before me. He must have been waiting in the hallway since he needed the key I had to enter.
I hurriedly opened the door and asked him.
"Basilio-san, you're early. Do you need something?"
"Oh, no. Actually, I received a message from Arnold-san for Laura-san and thought I should deliver it as soon as possible."
Click. The sound of the key unlocking echoed in the hallway.
Basilio-san looked into my eyes and spoke firmly in a lower voice than usual.
"Last night, when I left the library late, I happened to meet Arnold-san... He mentioned he would be away for a while."
I had a bad feeling.
Arnold had suddenly left the royal capital last night. Had a town been attacked by monsters? Or――
Suddenly, the scene from earlier came to mind. The reduced number of containers for The Drinking Water of the Spirits.
My heart raced. Perhaps due to tension, I couldn't feel my fingertips.
My expression must have been terrible. Basilio-san's green eyes peered at me with concern. Unable to respond, I waited for his next words.
"Um, it seems there was a large fire in the village where the elves live. Fortunately, no one seems to have died, but there seems to be quite a bit of damage..."
――A large fire in the village where the elves live."
Unexpectedly, the worst-case scenario crossed my mind.
(Could a fire break out due to Elvira's Self-destruction disease relapse...?)
Once that thought surfaced, I couldn't think of anything else. It made sense that Arnold, upon receiving the news, took The Drinking Water of the Spirits that had clearly diminished.
After that, Basilio-san seemed to be relaying a message from Arnold to me. However, his words seemed to pass through my ears without registering in my mind.
The fact that Arnold specifically asked Basilio-san to deliver a message to me indicated a high likelihood of Elvira's involvement. Furthermore, the fact that Arnold, in a rush, entrusted a message to a chance encounter like Basilio-san should be seen as a sign that there was no time until departure. Otherwise, Arnold would have directly conveyed the message through a letter or some other means.
But, my mind was in turmoil as I desperately tried to think.
(If Elvira's Self-destruction disease relapsed, could it lead to such a large-scale fire...?)
What came to mind was a small flame emanating from Elvira's fingertips, swallowing spirits. What if that flame intensified?
With only the current information, nothing specific could be understood. It's because of this lack of understanding that I end up considering the worst-case scenario.
Even as I sit here, Arnold and Elvira――
I stood there, unable to think of anything until Basilio-san, who was worried, tapped my shoulder.
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