Chapter 77

After the practical exam ended, the grading was hurriedly carried out, and it seems that the list of successful candidates was announced. When Senpai Rina, Chelsea, and I were called to visit Mr. Kasper's room, there were five men and women inside. They must be this year's successful candidates for the Royal Alchemist Apprentice Exam.

Among them, I noticed two familiar figures. A man with a fully grown large body and a girl with light pink hair. Both were examinees I had met by chance yesterday. I had a feeling the girl would pass, but the man, who had a determined look on his face, thinking it was his last chance, also seemed to have passed.

While being stared at by a variety of eyes, I recalled last year. I met Chelsea and Senpai Rina in this very room.

"Senpai, you will be in charge of the education of the new apprentices. From right to left, Rina Bevershtam, Laura Ampere, and Chelsea Gaulry."

After a brief bow to the new apprentices, they also bowed in return. Mr. Kasper introduced this year's successful candidates one by one and explained which of us would be in charge of which apprentice.

First, Chelsea was assigned to a shy girl with glasses, and Senpai Rina was assigned to a lively young man with a spiky hairstyle and a girl with multicolored hair. As for the two I was assigned to,

"--- Laura, you will be in charge of Iris and Basilio's education."

By some coincidence, they were the man and girl I met yesterday.

The man's eyes widened slightly upon seeing my face, then he slowly smiled with relief. On the other hand, the girl beamed happily, looking at me with her amber eyes, just like the heroine of Last Brave.

"Senpai, please take them to their respective laboratories. Thank you!"

***

"Um, nice to meet you again, I'm Laura Ampere. Please take care of me."

We left the room and reintroduced ourselves. Honestly, I am quite anxious, but these two will be my "special apprentices" with whom I will have a particularly close relationship. I want to build a friendly relationship with them.

As I bowed slightly, the girl immediately leaned in to look at my face.

"Hey, Senpai, do you remember me?"

"The girl I met on the exam day... Iris."

"Ahaha, that's right! I'm glad you remember. Senpai also passed on the first try, right? So you're one year ahead of me. You don't need to call me 'san.' Nice to meet you, Laura Senpai!"

"Nice to meet you, Iris."

As I called her by her name as she suggested, Iris opened her mouth wide and smiled. She is the perfect embodiment of the word "cheerful." And indeed, she seems to be a genius who passed on the first try.

Her hair, which was in a ponytail yesterday, is now in twin tails. The complex hairstyle is still there. Watching her twin tails bounce as she moves, I wonder if she has nimble fingers.

--- Still, I can't help but focus on her "amber eyes," the same as the heroine of Last Brave. Although her face doesn't resemble the heroine's, I have never met anyone with amber eyes before, so I will probably keep thinking about it for a while.

"Um... Excuse me..."

Suddenly, a low voice interrupted. I looked up hurriedly and met the green eyes of Basilio. Although he is my junior in position, he is much older than me in age.

"Nice to meet you, Basilio. Congratulations on your hard work."

He smiled modestly, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Thank you... When you called out to me during the exam, I was able to calm down. I'm not a very capable apprentice, but please take care of me!"

Basilio bowed deeply. I had thought he was probably a serious person from the moment we met in the hallway, and my first impression seems to be correct.

Just as I was thinking how endearing it was to see him so nervous,

"Ahaha! You're a hard worker!"

Iris laughed innocently. Her words seemed to pierce Basilio's heart, and he froze, looking down.

A genius and a hard worker. The youngest to pass on the first try and the oldest to seize the last chance. They are complete opposites.

Since we will be in charge of their education, we will likely spend a lot of time together in the same laboratory, just like Chelsea and I did last year. I am worried about my shaky guidance and the compatibility of these two opposites.

Trying to change the heavy atmosphere, I quickly changed the topic.

"Ah, right. Have you talked to your family yet? Since you will be living in the dormitory, it's best to say your goodbyes today."

"Really? Then let's go now!"

Iris, who latched onto the topic I suggested, exclaimed and immediately ran off.

As expected, she is even freer than I imagined. She seems to act on her intuition and feelings.

Thinking about the future where I will be dragged around by this free-spirited apprentice, I followed Basilio and her small back. She headed to a room prepared for the relatives of the examinees. Most of the people had already left, and only a few remained.

Iris spotted her target and hugged them enthusiastically, waving at me.

The person she hugged so innocently was

"Teacher, that's my senior!"

"Iris, what are you saying to your Senpai? ...Ah, it's you from the other day."

It was the man with dull red hair who was looking for Iris yesterday.

The man's amber eyes caught sight of me, and he slightly relaxed his frown. Although his gaze was still sharp, I was used to it from Arnold, so I didn't feel scared.

On either side of the man stood a silver-haired young man and a blonde young man. They were very similar in build, and when the two flanked the red-haired man, it created a beautiful valley. Both the silver-haired and blonde young men were tall, and the red-haired man was also on the tall side.

"Teacher, be more friendly."

The silver-haired young man whispered this advice to the red-haired man. The man furrowed his brow for a moment but then awkwardly averted his gaze.

"Ah? --- Ah, sorry. I was born with a bad mouth and a sharp gaze. I'm Reinhardt. Iris... You probably already know, but she's quite free-spirited and might cause a lot of trouble. But she has real talent. Please take care of her."

Reinhardt bowed, and from his attitude, it was clear he cared deeply for his apprentice, Iris.

Despite his harsh words, he seemed to be a warm-hearted person. A classic character type with enduring popularity.

While I was thinking about this meta perspective, I didn't know how to respond, and suddenly Iris laughed.

"Teacher is in serious mode, it's weird."

"Hey, Iris."

The silver-haired young man scolded Iris and looked at me with a gentle smile.

Then I noticed that he also had "amber eyes," just like Iris and Reinhardt.

"My name is Sieg. If Iris causes any trouble, please let me know. We've also had our hands full with her."

Sieg bowed gently, and I returned the bow, looking into his amber eyes.

Suddenly, another face appeared next to Sieg's gentle smile.

"I'm Leon. Iris is a pain, but she's not a bad kid. Please take care of her."

Leon, the blonde young man, said this in a tone similar to Reinhardt's. His sharp, amber eyes also looked down at me.

All four of them had the same eye color, but their hair colors were different, and their facial features didn't match. Iris and Sieg also called Reinhardt "teacher." In other words, they are not a family.

I recalled the heroine of Last Brave. She had silver hair. The physical characteristics of silver hair and amber eyes match Sieg's, but his smile did not remind me of the heroine.

"I'm Laura Ampere. Nice to meet you."

Although I was curious about the unclear relationship between the four, it would be rude to pry. Besides, I don't have time to pry. As an instructor responsible for important apprentices, I need to be reliable to make them feel at ease.

After the initial greetings, Iris happily talked to Reinhardt. The conversation expanded to include Sieg and Leon.

Iris will soon leave them to start her training. I quietly left to give them some time to talk.

"Ah, Laura!"

I turned around at the voice from behind. There stood Basilio and a woman with navy blue hair, who looked similar to him. Her mouth also resembled his. She must be his mother.

The woman who I assumed was Basilio's mother approached me quickly.

"Are you Laura Ampere? I'm Basilio's mother. My son is slow and will probably cause a lot of trouble, but I hope you won't give up on him. Please take care of him. Thank you."

She bowed deeply.

I was taken aback by the sudden bow from a junior's mother. I hurriedly returned the bow.

"Mother? I may not be perfect, but I will do my best. Thank you."

She bowed repeatedly, with tears in her eyes, moved by her son's hard-earned success.

She seemed to want to talk to me more, but Basilio intervened, saying I was busy and that it was getting dark, clearly trying to get her to leave. Although I was curious about his intentions, I didn't want to intrude on their conversation and watched silently.

In the end, Basilio managed to get his mother to leave. She gave me a last, deep bow as she left.

As soon as his mother left the room, Basilio sighed softly. He smiled wryly when I looked up at him.

"I'm sorry for the noise. My mother is overprotective. As she said, I've always been slow and had to work extra hard to keep up. ...I will probably cause a lot of trouble, so I apologize in advance. I'm sorry."

Basilio seems to lack confidence in himself.

Indeed, he did not pass the Royal Alchemist Apprentice Exam on the first try like Iris. He failed multiple times. However, he passed this time and became an apprentice, which is a significant achievement.

He looked into the distance with a far-off gaze.

"Being a Royal Alchemist has always been my mother's dream. So I had to work hard."

His profile looked somewhat lonely.

He said it was his mother's dream, not his own.