Volume 4 Chapter 3 The Potion Master Exiled from the The Black Alchemist Guild I
The Villainous Guildmaster, Act Age, received a request from the Hero Party.
One day, at the Alchemist Guild [Jewel of Honor].
"Shawn, you're fired."
Shawn, 16 years old.
A potion maker and a boy belonging to the Alchemist Guild.
With brown hair and green eyes, he has a distinctive, somewhat frail aura.
"...Wh, why... Mr. Bakuman?"
Bakuman, the Guildmaster of Jewel of Honor.
An elite-style man with glasses.
"Because you don't fit in with our Guild."
Bakuman speaks while polishing his glasses with a handkerchief.
"As you know, we are among the top in the Alchemist Guild in terms of strength. We are the elite."
The magic potions made by Jewel of Honor are invaluable in every field, starting with adventurers.
"And what about you? You're just garbage that can only make potions, no matter how much time passes."
"...Th, that I'm... garbage... it's... so... cruel..."
Sniff, Bakuman snorts through his nose.
"Cruel, huh? It's your fault for being garbage."
"Ug... gugu..."
Shawn's tears fall in big drops.
"I thought you might have great talent since your late master was an amazing alchemist... but to only be able to make potions? What a disappointment."
Certainly, Shawn's master──his grandfather──was an amazing person.
Raising Shawn, who had no parents, his grandfather taught him the skills to survive.
But no matter how hard he tried, Shawn couldn't make various magic potions like his grandfather.
(It's okay, Shawn. It's fine not to be able to do many things. Just focus on mastering one thing. Then... someday, someone will recognize you.)
That was his grandfather's last word.
Even after his grandfather died, Shawn continued to advance in potion making.
Then one day, Bakuman visited him.
Learning of his grandfather's death, he had come to scout this relative and apprentice.
He wanted to become an amazing person like his grandfather.
That's why he joined the Guild Jewel of Honor, but...
He couldn't get the results he wanted.
So, he was dismissed.
"Don't cry, just get out quickly."
"Ugh... sniff... yes..."
Shawn wipes his eyes and bows deeply.
"...Thank you for everything so far."
Even though he was treated badly, he feel grateful for the time he was employed here.
Shawn bowed his head, but Bakuman didn't pay any attention to him.
"Forget that. Just disappear quickly."
Shawn gestures dismissively, like swatting away a fly.
Feeling increasingly sad, Shawn shoulders slump as he leaves the Guildmaster's room.
"...I need to pack my things."
Shawn heads to his own workroom.
This Guild gives each Member their own lab.
But...
"...What is this..."
His room was ransacked.
A pile of broken flasks.
Books torn to shreds.
Even his best potion, made after sleepless nights, was shattered, with its contents spilled.
"Hey, Shawn. What's going on~?"
"...Mr., Po."
A cheerful-haired man, the alchemist Po.
He's also Shawn's peer.
But calling him "Mr." shows he's higher in rank.
"Looks like someone spilled your potions on the floor, huh?"
"......"
Shawn didn't have the courage to ask if he did it himself.
There's no proof that Po did it.
If it's brought up, Shawn can't deny it.
"What? Huh? Say something back! Come on, you gotta have something to say, huh?"
"......"
Shawn was deeply shocked that all his hard-made potions turned out useless.
"Hey, trash, get out of here! You're fired, after all. Oh, but clean up this mess first. I'll be using this room next."
"......"
"HEY, ANSWER ME!"
Bam!
Po pushes him, and Shawn falls to the ground, hands on the floor.
"...Ouch."
He cut his palm badly on the broken glass.
"Just because your old man is famous, don't get cocky, you useless fool! Talent doesn't come from genetics, idiot!"
Po laughs loudly and leaves the Room.
Shawn feels miserable and starts picking up broken pieces one by one.
Tear drops fall painfully as Shawn cleans until late at night.
When he's done and about to leave the Guild, not a single Guild Member mourns his departure.
Instead, everyone seems glad the troublemaker finally left.
"...Sniff, Ugh... Ugh, WAAAAHHHHH..."
Shawn walks alone on a dark night, tears falling.
His self-worth is denied, and all his efforts are invalidated.
Not even his only supporter, the master, is there anymore.
"...Living is too hard now. I want to die... I want to die..."
And then, at that moment──
"Not yet. It's still too early to die."
Looking up, Shawn first thought the moon was out.
But tonight is a new moon.
The only light that brightens him is in the two eyes of [he] there.
"...You, who...?"
Shawn asks, and the man with golden eyes answers.
"I'm Act Age. Shawn, I came to scout you."
"...Scout?"
Could he be from the Alchemy Guild...?
"...Sorry, I mean, you're from the Alchemy Guild, right?"
Shawn laughs bitterly.
"...If you came based on rumors about grandpa, I'm sorry. I'm... trash. Unlike grandpa, without talent, I'm a useless piece of junk. I'm not worth scouting."
Shawn had been mocked and belittled by Poォ and Bakuman, his self-esteem hurt.
But... Act shakes his head.
"I don't care about your grandfather. I want you."
He extends his right hand.
"I can see. You have a huge talent hidden inside."
"...No, I don't. Talent... nowhere."
Otherwise, I wouldn't have been expelled from my old Guild...
"What are you looking at that makes you say that?"
"...Huh?"
His eyes looked straight at Shawn, endlessly.
"To my eyes, you look like a raw gem. You have such incredible talent hidden inside!"
"......"
He didn't seem to be joking.
He was saying it seriously.
(...Does he really think I have talent...?)
"Do you not believe in yourself?"
"...Yes."
"I see. Then... trust me. Even if you can't believe anything now, just follow me. If you do, I'll show you sights you never thought possible."
He wanted him more than anything.
It was the first time anyone had ever wanted him this much.
Honestly, he didn't know what to believe about him, since they just met.
But... right now, he wanted to believe in those golden, shining eyes.
In the piece of talent that sleeps inside him, just waiting to be found.
"...I understand. I will trust you."
And so, the potion maker Shawn was taken in by Act.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)