21 – memory

Besides these two, there was no need for another academy to intervene. When Gael and Flynn joined the fight against the ghouls, the battle became easier.

“Flynn, you take the left.”

“All right.”

The knights who escorted the noble’s carriage raised their morale when they saw the seal of Eternia painted on Gael’s armor.

The joining of a swordsman from Eternia was like a thousand forces.

Flynn took the left side and Gael took the right side and continued the offensive. The number of ghouls dwindled in an instant.

They were cut off one by one, and only two remained at a distance. The remaining ghouls roared at them and ran away.

Flynn said as he watched the ghouls flee.

“The gross things.”

Fortunately, there were no injuries. The door of the wagon was broken in half, and there was only a loss to the extent that the body was hanging around.

If Eternia’s wagon hadn’t passed this place, it was a dizzying situation where the knights and the wagon’s occupants could have been annihilated.

The person who seemed to be the captain of the escort thanked Gael.

“For Eternia’s wagon to pass by in this situation, it was fortunate. Thank you.”

“It was nothing. I just did what I had to do.”

The man inside the wagon cautiously came out.

A middle-aged couple and a young lady who seemed to be around 20 came out calming their startled hearts. Their costumes were gorgeous, as if they were going to a ball.

When the couple saw the wagon with the seal of Eternia and Gael and Flynn, they held their breath for a moment as if they were startled.

They open their rabbit eyes and alternately look at the dead bodies of the ghouls and Flynn. Then the wife whispered in her husband’s ear.

A middle-aged man spoke first.

“If it wasn’t for your support, I would have been in big trouble. Thank you very much. I am Count Sinatra. This is your wife, Scanya, and your only daughter, Nancy.”

Then he gently pushed his only daughter’s back closer to Flynn.

Nancy lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed politely.

“It is an honor to meet the professor and his two students, who have a great reputation in Wiesel.”

Gael and Flynn widen their eyes and look at each other.

Gael noticed something strange and asked.

“Do you know us?”

The fact that they were going to judge the masters class was a confidential matter that only the academy officials could know.

said Count Sinatra.

“How could you not know? Aren’t you Silverin-sama and her student, the genius swordsman Damien-sama? As I heard, he handles a mysterious sword.”

‘Damian?’

Flynn’s eyebrows twitched. I knew enough about Sylverin’s reputation, but it was the first time I’d heard of Sylverin having a disciple.

It felt strange because I had heard rumors that he would never be the kind of person to have a disciple.

Furthermore, no matter how far away from his hometown and academy, it was a little bit of a pride for Flynn to have someone else’s name attached to him in relation to the sword.

Gael shook his head and said.

“We are on a mission, so we can’t tell you about your personal details.”

“All right. I must have said something useless.”

“This is not the time to be like this. More ghouls may come, so we must move quickly.”

If the wagon had been completely destroyed, the road could have been blocked and traffic was greatly delayed. I couldn’t guarantee that the damage would be this low in the next attack.

Things quickly settled down and the wagons started moving again.

The nobles’ carriage was moving ahead in front of Gael and Flynn’s carriage.

“It wasn’t as much as the rumors.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It feels completely different. I heard you’re handsome… .”

“There’s nothing I can’t say to my benefactors! Don’t listen to trivial rumors!”

They were unaware that the wagon door was broken and all the sound was leaking out.

Flynn tried to get their words out of his head.

Gael also didn’t react to the buzz, just staring out the window with his arms crossed.

If it hadn’t been for the ghouls from before, it would have been quite peaceful.

It was done somehow, but there was something strangely unpleasant about Flynn.

“Professor, I have a question for you.”

“what?”

“Were there originally so many ghouls in this area?”

***

I woke up early in the morning and perused the recipe for making potion #1 in Zverev’s research papers.

The more I read, the more I couldn’t help but admire the tenacity and madness of this alchemist.

In order to create the perfect potion, the recipe was formulated, experimented, and discarded countless times.

Zverev went through the ghoul living experiment, and when the potion gained some stability, he moved on to the human experiment. I don’t know if the participants in the experiment were voluntarily, but the experiment continued successfully and the effect of the potion gradually became evident.

The final name for potion #1 was ‘Griffon Potion’.

Griffon Potions were created to aid in battles involving intense physical activity.

While the effect of the potion was maintained, elements required for combat, such as visual response, main power, jumping power, and reflexes, improved overall.

The side effects are increased heart rate, insomnia, loss of appetite, sometimes nervousness, and eyes glowing golden like a griffon. Dependence and addiction were low, and the side effects were tolerable.

I couldn’t help but covet it very much. The power of my sword was not supported by my physical abilities, so I had to raise it with potions for a while.

Even a ghoul was worth it, but this potion is absolutely necessary to deal with monsters such as Cockatrice, Ogre, Troll, and Wyvern.

The downside is that the effect does not appear until three or four hours after taking it. It was difficult to use in a sudden battle.

To compensate for this shortcoming, Zverev even created an immediate-release recipe that works quickly, but the number of ingredients and difficulty in manufacturing doubled here, so this is on hold for now.

You have to purify the herbs you bought before the Griffon’s blood arrives so that you can make them quickly later.

However, I wonder if my knowledge of alchemy will support this well in this process.

I need to try the drug before the academy judges come.

As I was racking my brain, someone knocked on my door.

I pushed Zverev’s note under the bed and said,

“Yes, please come in.”

The door opens and Silverin enters. Her hair was a mess as if she had just woken up.

“Were you awake?”

“Yes. I was reading some books.”

“Aren’t you busy? Do you want to remember that girl? The kid who was seriously injured by a ghoul before and came here.”

I remember. The villagers had come from dawn carrying a girl and made a fuss.

The child’s only blood relative, the grandmother, died and the child became an orphan.

“Yes.”

“The kid woke up. Would you like to come down and see me?”

I immediately followed Silverin downstairs.

Silverin opened a door along the corridor and went inside.

A small room, in the middle of which was a bed, and a girl my age was sitting there, leaning against a pillow. Next to him, two maids greeted Silverine.

The girl stiffened in surprise when she saw Silverine.

It seemed that he did not even know that he was being treated at Silverin’s mansion in the first place.

“How are you feeling?”

She couldn’t respond properly to Silverin’s question, and stammered with her hands.

“Me, me, where is this… .”

“This is my mansion. The villagers brought you here.”

When the girl became anxious, Silverin added a word as if to reassure her.

“I just woke up, so I came to check on my body. I won’t kick you out, and I won’t ask for a reward.”

“Ah, ah, yes. Thank you…”

The girl hesitates before opening her mouth again.

“Hey, grandma, what about my grandma?”

Silverin hesitated for a moment. The girl’s grandmother was killed by a ghoul. That miserable image still lingers in my mind.

“… Unfortunately, your grandmother did not survive.”

The girl’s pupils widen. He makes a surprised expression for a moment, but soon returns to his original state. Although he maintains his composure, he seems to be harboring a whirlwind of emotions inside.

The girl spoke to Silverin in a tone that suppressed her emotions.

“All right. Thank you for your treatment… .”

“Are you sick anywhere?”

“Yes, thank you for taking good care of me.”

Silverin looked at the girl’s face and nodded slowly.

“There will be a lot to think about, so I’ll step aside first. Call the maid if you need anything.”

“Thank you very much.”

Silverin left the room. He knew very well that the girl needed time to sort out her feelings. Me and the maids followed her.

After closing the door leaving the girl alone, Silverine spoke to me.

“Get ready to practice. I’ll change my clothes and come back.”

“Yes.”

Silverin went up to the second floor.

I thought for a while in front of the door.

What will happen to that girl once her body recovers? Will I go back to that little house?

If so, you have to start standing alone as a woman at a young age.

I’m not in a position to be so fussy either, but I can’t help it that it bothers me.

Then, a voice comes from behind the door.

It was the sound of a girl sobbing.

“… .”

I feel like I heard something I shouldn’t have heard.

He was a child who seemed accustomed to killing his emotions in front of people.

The cabin where the girl lived was not a very affluent environment. She would have had to struggle to make ends meet with her grandmother, and the girl would have had to grow up earlier than her peers.

You must have lived a life where you shouldn’t show your hard side to anyone.

“Black… Hee hee hee hee, I’m sorry, grandma.”

“Huh, I’m alone… Alive, Black… really sorry… . grandmother… sorry.”

A whirlwind of emotions suddenly overtakes me as well.

Alone survived.

The words the girl uttered stabbed my lungs in an unexpected way.

I had no choice but to stand there doing nothing.

It was because a memory that I had buried deep in my consciousness came up against my will in a completely unexpected situation.

I was the one who didn’t survive, so I couldn’t fully understand her feelings.

So, I couldn’t offer premature comfort.

I was just thinking about how it felt to be left alone.

Looking back quietly at Liza.