Chapter 21 - Retrospection

There was no need for other Academy personnel to intervene besides these two. When Gael and Flynn joined the fight against the ghouls, the battle became easier.

"Flynn, you take the left."

"Understood."

The knights guarding the noble's carriage were encouraged when they saw the Eternia insignia on Gael's armor.

The addition of an Eternia-trained swordsman was like having a thousand troops.

Flynn took the left, Gael the right, and they continued their offensive. The number of ghouls decreased rapidly.

After cutting them down one by one, only two remained at a distance. The remaining ghouls roared at them and then fled.

Flynn said, looking at the fleeing ghouls, "Disgusting creatures."

Fortunately, there were no injuries. The only damage was the carriage door, which was half-destroyed and barely hanging.

If the Eternia carriage hadn't passed by, it could have been a dire situation where the knights and carriage passengers might have been wiped out.

The person who seemed to be the head of the guards offered thanks to Gael.

"For an Eternia carriage to pass by in this situation, we were truly fortunate. Thank you."

"It's nothing. We only did what we had to do."

The people inside the carriage carefully came out.

A middle-aged couple and a young lady who looked about twenty came out, trying to calm their startled hearts. Their attire was as lavish as if they were going to a ball.

The couple momentarily held their breath, seemingly surprised to see the carriage with the Eternia insignia and Gael and Flynn.

They looked with wide eyes, alternating between the ghoul corpses and Flynn. Then, the wife whispered quietly into her husband's ear.

The middle-aged man stepped forward and spoke, "If it weren't for your assistance, we could have been in big trouble. I sincerely thank you. I am Count Sinatra. This is my wife, Scania, and our only daughter, Nancy."

As he said this, he gently pushed his daughter's back closer to Flynn.

Nancy lifted her skirt and curtsied gracefully.

"It's an honor to meet the professor and disciple whose fame is well-known in Wiesel."

Gael and Flynn looked at each other with round eyes.

Gael, noticing something strange, asked, "Do you know us?"

The fact that they were going out for the Masters Class evaluation was supposed to be confidential, known only to those associated with the Academy.

Count Sinatra said, "How could we not know? Aren't you Lady Silveryn and her disciple, the genius swordsman Damian? As we heard, you handled a sword with mystique."

Damian?

Flynn's eyebrows twitched. He knew well enough about Silveryn's reputation, but it was the first time he had heard that Silveryn had a disciple.

He had heard rumors that she was not the type to take on separate disciples, so it felt strange.

Moreover, even though they were far from their hometown and the Academy, Flynn's pride was a bit hurt to have someone else's name attached to him regarding swordsmanship.

Gael shook her head and said, "We're on a mission, so we can't discuss personal matters."

"I understand. I spoke out of turn."

"This is not the time for this. More ghouls might gather, so we need to move quickly."

If the carriage had been completely destroyed, it could have greatly delayed traffic by blocking the road. There was no guarantee that the damage would be as minimal in the next attack.

The situation was quickly resolved, and the carriages began to move again.

The nobles' carriage was moving ahead of Gael and Flynn's carriage.

"He isn’t as good as the rumors."

"What do you mean?"

"The impression is completely different. I heard he was handsome..."

"You have no filter with your benefactors! Don't pay attention to baseless rumors!"

They were unaware that their voices were leaking out because the carriage door was damaged.

Flynn tried to push their words out of his mind.

Gael also showed no reaction to the idle talk and just quietly looked out the window with her arms crossed.

If it weren't for the ghouls earlier, it would have been a scenery that could be considered quite peaceful.

Although the matter was more or less resolved, Flynn felt oddly uneasy about something.

"Professor, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Were there always this many ghouls in this area?"

***

I woke up at dawn and re-read Zveref's research notes on Potion No. 1 manufacturing record.

The more I read, the more I couldn't help but admire this alchemist's dedication and madness.

He repeatedly formulated, experimented, and discarded combinations to create the perfect potion.

After conducting live experiments on ghouls and achieving some stability in the potion, Zveref moved on to human experiments. I wasn’t sure if the participants were voluntary, but the experiments continued successfully, and the effects of the potion became increasingly clear.

The final name for Potion No. 1 was “Griffin Potion”.

The Griffin Potion was created to assist in combat involving intense physical activity.

While the potion's effects lasted, it generally improved elements essential for combat, such as dynamic vision, force generation, jumping ability, reflexes, and so on.

Side effects included increased heart rate, insomnia, loss of appetite, occasional nervousness, and eyes glowing golden like a griffin's. The dependency and addiction levels were low, and the side effects were manageable.

I couldn't help but covet it. Since my physical abilities couldn't support the power of my sword, I needed to boost them through potions for a while.

While I could handle ghouls, I would definitely need this potion to face magic creatures such as cockatrices, ogres, trolls, and wyverns.

The downside was that the effects only appeared three to four hours after consumption. It was difficult to use in sudden combat situations.

Zveref had even created a fast-acting recipe to compensate for this drawback, but the number of ingredients and manufacturing difficulty doubled, so I put that on hold for now.

I needed to refine the herbs I had bought before the griffin's blood arrived so that I could quickly manufacture it later.

But I wonder if my alchemy knowledge would support this process well.

I needed to test the medicine before the Academy evaluation team arrived.

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

I pushed Zveref's notebook under the bed and said, "Yes, come in."

Silveryn entered as the door opened. Her hair was messy, as if she had just woken up too.

"Were you awake?"

"Yes. I was reading a book."

"Are you busy? Do you remember that girl? The one who was badly injured by a ghoul and brought here."

I remembered. The villagers had caused a commotion, bringing the girl here at dawn.

Her only relative, her grandmother, had died, and she had become an orphan.

"Yes."

"They say she's woken up. Want to come down and see her with me?"

I immediately followed Silveryn downstairs.

Silveryn walked down the corridor, opened a door, and entered.

In the small room, there was a bed in the center where a girl about my age was sitting, leaning against the pillow. Two maids beside her greeted Silveryn.

The girl stiffened in surprise when she saw Silveryn.

It seemed she didn't even know she had been receiving treatment in Silveryn's mansion.

"How are you feeling?"

She couldn't respond properly to Silveryn's question and stammered, fidgeting with her hands, "W-where is this..."

"It's my mansion. The villagers brought you here."

Seeing the girl's anxiety, Silveryn added words as if to reassure her, "I just came to check on your condition because I heard you woke up. I won't kick you out or ask for any compensation."

"Ah, I see. Thank you..."

The girl hesitated before speaking again, "Um, my grandmother, where is she?"

Silveryn paused for a moment. The girl's grandmother had lost her life to the ghouls. That horrific scene was still vividly etched into my mind.

"...Unfortunately, your grandmother didn't survive."

The girl's pupils dilated. She looked shocked for a moment but quickly returned to her original state. She maintained her composure, but it seemed like she was harboring a whirlwind of emotions inside.

The girl spoke to Silveryn in a tone suppressing her emotions, "I understand. Thank you for treating me..."

"Does anything hurt?"

"No, it’s all thanks to your splendid care."

Silveryn looked at the girl's face and slowly nodded.

"You must have a lot to think about, so I'll leave you for now. If you need anything, call a maid."

"Thank you very much."

Silveryn left the room. She knew that the girl needed time to collect her emotions. The maids and I followed her out.

After closing the door, leaving the girl alone. Silveryn spoke to me, "Get ready for training. I'll change my clothes and come back."

"Yes."

Silveryn went upstairs.

I stood in front of that door, lost in thought for a moment.

What would happen to that girl once she fully recovered? Would she return to that small house?

If so, she would have to start living independently at a young age as a woman.

Although I wasn’t in a position to meddle, I couldn't help but feel concerned.

Then, I heard a sound from behind the door.

It was the sound of the girl sobbing quietly.

"..."

It felt like I had heard something I shouldn't have.

She seemed used to suppressing her emotions in front of others.

The hut where the girl lived didn't look like a prosperous environment. She must have had to struggle to make a living with her grandmother, and the girl probably had to become an adult earlier than her peers.

She must have lived a life where she couldn't show weakness to anyone.

"Hic... hic, hic, I'm sorry, grandmother."

"Hic... for living... alone, hic... I'm really sorry... Grandmother... I'm sorry."

The whirlwind of emotions suddenly engulfed me, too.

She survived alone.

The girl's murmured words pierced my lungs in an unexpected way.

I could only stand there, unable to do anything.

Because a memory buried deep in my consciousness surfaced against my will in a completely unexpected situation.

I was one who hadn’t survived back then. Therefore, I couldn’t fully understand her feelings.

So, I couldn't offer premature consolation presumptuously.

I could only think about how someone left alone might feel.

Quietly looking back at Lisa.